"Every moment of one's life, one is growing into more or retreating into less." - Norman Mailer

Monday, April 28, 2008

El Primer Hombre Embarazado/The First Pregnant Man

I found this article while doing Spanish homework. It can be found in situ aquí on terra.com. Really interesting stuff:

Beatie, cuyo aspecto actual es el de un hombre embarazado de cinco meses, se sometió a una operación para eliminar sus pechos femeninos y a tratamiento de testosterona en su proceso de cambio de sexo, aunque conservó sus órganos reproductores. Esta pareja formada hace más de diez años siempre quiso tener un bebé, pero la mujer de Beatie, Nancy, sufrió una endometriosis hace 20 años y por culpa de la enfermedad se le practicó una histerectomía que le impide tener hijos.

Una vez que alcanzaron una situación económica acomodada la pareja tomó la decisión de que Beatie fuera el encargado de gestar el bebé de ambos.

“Habían pasado ocho años desde mi última menstruación, pero mi cuerpo ya se regulaba a sí mismo y no tenía que tomar estrógenos ni progesterona, ni siquiera medicamentos para favorecer la fertilidad con el fin de ayudarme en el embarazo”, aseguró Beatie.

El plan de este matrimonio se encontró entonces con la oposición de la comunidad médica, sus vecinos y familiares.

“Los doctores nos discriminaban por sus creencias religiosas, algunos se negaban a llamarme por mi nombre de varón y a reconocer a Nancy como mi mujer. Los recepcionistas se reían de nosotros y la familia y los amigos nos negaron su apoyo. Gran parte de la familia de Nancy no sabía que yo era transexual”, explicó Beatie.

“¿Cómo se siente un hombre embarazado? Increíble. Estoy estable y seguro de mí mismo como el hombre que soy. Técnicamente me veo como un sucedáneo de mí mismo, aunque mi identidad sexual es de varón. Yo seré el padre, Nancy la madre y seremos una familia”, confesó Beatie, que le pregunta a la sociedad qué es ser “normal”.

EFE/Terra USA


picture courtesy of The Advocate.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Land of the Free?

I recently read this article on feministing.com about college date rape. It always hurts me afresh when I learn of specific instances when justice fails a woman seeking it, although I am able to keep such a disturbing reality at bay much of the time (not that I am proud of this). Perhaps the most disturbing thing about the article was found in the comments. Someone shared her own experience. It's outrageous. It follows, and the original article can be found by clicking the above link.
a few years ago, i was date raped at the college i was attending. they pulled similar shit! when my rape kit and police report weren't enough to get the guy on criminal charges (yah i learned that its pretty fucking hard to get your rapist arrested if he used a condom and claimed it was consensual, guess i just went through that hellish exam and trip to the ER and police station for kicks), i pursued the case within the college's own judicial system. they couldn't find him guilty of the assault for some bullshit reasons, but they did expel him based on his admitted drug use during the assault. problem is, to make it "fair" and "legit" for them to expel him, they also had to put on the record that they charged ME with drug use also. although i didn't get any true suspension/expulsion, i still got that shit put on my academic record. when i left the school, i refused to sign the paperwork for it, so they put a hold on my transcripts from there. I didn't really have the energy to fight it anymore, because I was sick of all the unfairness and defeat. I was also pretty scared that i'd be slut-shamed to death if i had fought any more or sought a civil case. I had had enough, and all i wanted was to get the hell out of there and get on with my life. Sometimes i get angry with myself for not fighting more, but i've recently come to accept that i really did do all that i could at the time. Damn this really boils my blood!


But we're all equal and free now, right?

Friday, April 25, 2008

Graduation present

These are some random cool dolls that I found online. They are too expensive for me to justify buying; however, if one were to be inclined to buy me one as a graduation present, I would certainly be okay with it.

:)

They are so cute!!!!!


http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5507100

Thursday, April 24, 2008

An unintentional nod to Michael Feldman

Married To The Sea
marriedtothesea.com
aka "Things You Learned In School Had You Been Paying Attention"

Saturday, April 19, 2008

My Dad's famous and stuffs--or at least, getting known...

A Catholic University president who wants to understand Catholicism within a larger quest for truth and human communion. It's refreshing. Check it out:

By HOLLY WAGNER
Quincy Herald-Whig Staff Writer
The pope told Catholic educators that both faith and reason are integral to a Catholic education, Quincy University President-elect Robert Gervasi said Thursday.

His message was consistent with the tone he set at the outset of his papacy, Gervasi said. That is, that "God is love."

Gervasi was invited to attend Pope Benedict XVI's address at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., in which he spoke to more than 400 heads of U.S. Catholic universities, colleges and schools.

"It was a very, very inspiring address," Gervasi said. "It really was wonderful not only to see and hear the Holy Father but to be in the company with Catholic (educators) from throughout the country."

Gervasi understood the pope's message to be one that was both "very encouraging but certainly challenging as well," he said.
Conservatives were expecting Benedict to accuse educators of abandoning the faith to conform to an increasingly secular world. The nation's Catholic colleges and universities have been at the center of a tug-of-war within the church for decades over religious identity and free expression.

The pope told them that academic freedom has "great value" for the schools, but it does not justify promoting positions that violate the Catholic faith.

"(The pope's) fundamental message is that Catholic education is the culture through which we want to encourage students to have that personal encounter that really changes their lives," Gervasi said. "(We can) provide the culture in which that can happen in a shared search for truth, employing both faith and reason."

Gervasi quoted the pope as saying the Catholic identity can't be measured in statistics or course content, but by faculty and staff who model the experience of love and joy in their own lives and invite students into it.

"I think that speaks well to institutions like Quincy University where half of our students are not Catholic but all I think are welcomed into that culture of caring that makes genuine learning possible," Gervasi said.

Gervasi, an education consultant and former president and CEO of the Institute for Study Abroad in Indianapolis, was selected in December as the first lay president of Quincy's 147-year-old Franciscan university.

He was in Quincy last weekend participating in the Bridge the Gap race, and he plans to return for graduation the weekend of May 18-19. Gervasi will move to Quincy in June and spend the summer getting to know the school and community.

"I know Quincy University has been through some trying times, but I'm determined to look forward and encourage everyone to celebrate the good that QU has done in 150 years," he said.

-- hwagner@whig.com/221-3374
Created: 4/18/2008 | Updated: 4/18/2008

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Claude Levi-Strauss

Almost 100 years of perfection!

Did you know that on November 28 of this year, Claude Levi-Strauss will turn 100 years old???!!! Let's all root for him to make it to 100 years old!Woot woot! Go, father of structuralism! (PS "root for" doesn't seem to be a written verb. I'm really not sure how to spell "root/route/rute.")

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Israel is the victim?

Victims of IOF Attacks on Gaza rising: 77 Killed; including 19 Children

The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) continued its attacks on Gaza today. IOF's military operations have killed 47 Palestinians in Gaza today. Of those 27 were civilians; including ten children and three women. Since Wednesday 27 February 2008, IOF killed at least 77 people and inured approximately 130.

Al Mezan's fieldworker in north Gaza reported that a few people who were injured during IOF's incursion in the eastern parts of Jabalia are still in the streets until now. IOF prevents the area's residents or ambulances from reaching them.

At approximately 4.30pm today, 17-year-old Nirmeen Abu Saif was injured from IOF fire while she was inside her family house. The family called the ambulance service to collect her. Palestinian health officials contacted the Israeli army requesting security clearance for an ambulance to reach the area. They received a positive response after two hours. However, according to the ambulance driver Mustafa Saidawi, Israeli soldiers opened fire at the ambulance when it tried to approach the area and hit its body and one of its wheels.

At approximately 5.30pm, IOF launched three missiles at the house of Khalid Atallah, a 23-year-old Hamas activist, destroying it. Atallah's mother, 60-year-old Su'ad, and brother, 35-year-old Ibrahim, were killed in the attack. Nine other people were also wounded.

Later, at approximately 8.30pm, IOF fired missiles towards the police station in the town of Khan Younis . Two policemen were killed and many injured in this attack; including one in a critical condition.

As the IOF's incursion into east Jabalia continues, some 40,000 people in the area have been without water or electricity since dawn. IOF prevent the authorities from reaching the area and operate the water wells in it. Two other blocks in the neighboring Jabalia refugee camp have also been without water.

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights strongly condemns the conducts of IOF in Gaza , which deliberately target civilians and prevent rescuing them. These acts represent flagrant breaches of international humanitarian law, which oblige the occupation forces to refrain from targeting protected persons and objects; including health teams.

Al Mezan also condemns the inaction of the international community and demands it to uphold its moral and legal obligations and bring to an end to Israel 's crimes. International intervention is urgently needed as the Israeli aggression is escalating and its victims rising.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

WHY isn't someone impeaching Bush?

It makes me sad that the Bush administration even has to be reminded that we do not live in a dictatorship or a monarchy. Please see John Yarmuth's response to an email I sent regarding US military action against Iran.

Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns regarding Congress’ role in preventing a potential war with Iran. I appreciate hearing from you on this important matter and am pleased to report that we are in agreement.

In fact, I am proud to be a cosponsor of H.Con.Res. 33, legislation which expresses the sense of Congress that the President should not initiate military action against Iran without first obtaining authorization from Congress. This legislation clarifies that obtaining congressional authority prior to taking military action against Iran is not discretionary; it is a legal and Constitutional requirement.

H.Con.Res.33 is currently pending in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. I am hopeful the legislation will move soon, and will certainly do all I can toward this end. Clearly, the debate in Congress regarding Iran is far from over. As the situation develops in the weeks and months ahead, I hope I can continue to count on the benefit of your advice. Thank you again for sharing your views, and please do not hesitate to contact me in the future with any issue of concern.

If you would like to learn more about my work in Washington and in Louisville, please visit my website at www.yarmuth.house.gov where you will find the latest news, my weekly schedule, video from hearings, and information about constituent services. You can also sign up for my e-newsletter to receive periodic updates on important issues and services for your family.

Sincerely,

John Yarmuth
Member of Congress

Friday, March 21, 2008

Asparagus lingers (in great literature)

In case you thought that asparagus was annoying because it makes your pee smell strongly...you were wrong! That just means you do not have refined sensibilities like Marcel Proust in Swann's Way which enable you to see the poetry in your nocturnal micturations subsequent to the ingestion of said dinner vegetable. Or, according to Wikipedia, you lack the genes which enable your ability to smell the digested asparagus compounds excreted in your urine. Hmm... In the words of Proust himself, asparagus is magical:

...But what delighted me were the asparagus, steeped in ultramarine, and pink, whose tips, delicately, painted, with little strokes of mauve and azure, shade off imperceptibly down to their feet--still soiled though they are from the dirt of their garden bed--with an iridescence that is not of this earth. It seemed to me that these celestial hues revealed the delicious creatures who had merrily metamorphosed themselves into vegetables and who, through the disguise of their firm, edible flesh, disclosed in these early tints of dawn, in these beginnings of rainbows, in this extinction of blue evenings, the precious essence that I recognized again when, all night long following a dinner at which i had eaten them, they played, in farces as crude and poetic as a fairy play by Shakespeare, at changing my chamber pot into a jar of perfume. (translated by Lydia Davis, 123-4)

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

It's OPPOSITES Day!

orthoepy |ôrˈθōəpē|
noun
the correct or accepted pronunciation of words.
• the study of correct or accepted pronunciation.

Now, TRY to pronounce that word correctly. It. is. im. possible.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Happy Birthday, blog


I don't have much time... Am trying to remain focused in this final week before Spring Break. But I wanted to give a shout out ...to myself... and say, "Happy Birthday, Blog." Yesterday marks the 2 year anniversary of my blog's life.

Although you have changed names and layouts, little blog, you remain a record of my meanderings in the etherea; and in this, I take pleasure. Thank you, also, dear readers, for being dear readers. Here's to more years of blogdom here at doulaclare.blogspot.com . Cheers!

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Louisville is for Single Payer Health Insurance

The letter below is an email I received today from John Yarmuth('s office). He is the Congressperson who represents Louisville in the House. To all of you who live in Louisville: this man wants you to have insurance. To those of you who live outside of Louisville: TELL YOUR CONGRESSPERSON TO SIGN HR 676 -- it is our moral and civic duty to achieve universal, single payer healthcare in the United States, if we are to realize and live out our American ideals of freedom (from debt and illness) and equality (of access to health regardless of ability to pay, neighborhood, income, race, gender, age, etc.).

Thank you for contacting me to express your support for universal health coverage. I appreciate the benefit of your views on this matter, and am pleased to inform you that I have signed on as a cosponsor of H.R. 676, the United States National Health Insurance Act.

Our broken health care system places an enormous strain on American families and American businesses. Currently, there are a staggering 47 million Americans who do not have health coverage and 85,000 individuals in Metro Louisville alone. In addition, half of all bankruptcies can be traced back to medical bills. Not only is it a national urgency that we respond to this public health crisis, I believe it is also our moral obligation.

H.R. 676, the United States National Health Insurance Act, will ensure that quality health coverage is not a luxury of the privileged few, but a right afforded to every citizen in the richest nation on the globe. It will expand and improve Medicare, the highly successful single-payer universal health care program for seniors and the disabled, to cover all Americans. This legislation is supported by over 210 labor unions, 13,000 physicians, and more than 100 grassroots organizations across the U.S. In fact, both the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the Louisville Metro Council have passed bills urging the U.S. Congress to enact comprehensive health insurance, and specifically H.R. 676.

Because I firmly believe that high quality health care should be a right and not a privilege, and because of the strong support for universal health coverage in Louisville and in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, I am proud to have added my name to this landmark piece of legislation. H.R. 676 is currently pending in the House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees. Please be assured that I will continue to do all that I can to see that this bill advances in the weeks and months ahead.

Thank you again for contacting me to share your views on this important issue. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future with any issues of concern.

If you would like to learn more about my work in Washington and in Louisville, please visit my website at www.yarmuth.house.gov where you will find the latest news, my weekly schedule, video from hearings, and information about constituent services. You can also sign up for my e-newsletter to receive periodic updates on important issues and services for your family.

Sincerely,

John Yarmuth
Member of Congress

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Steely heart, be strong

Your emotions are running extra high today, Clare, and you will feel a deep knowing inside that assures you that you are right. Hold on to this power pellet of inner strength. You will need it today as someone tries to push you off the top of the mountain by way of their fast talk and barrage of facts and information. Even though your thinking may be a bit off base, your heart is in the right place.


This could be my stock horoscope for every day in the last 6 months. I feel emotional and steeled against people who try to tell me I am wrong. I have spent my whole life training myself to believe others before myself; this will not happen anymore. And while my thinking may be a bit off, I've got to figure out how to correct it myself and not from outside influences.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Why I Shan't Be Voting for John McCain

Don't get me wrong; I don't mean to say that I think he's a horrible person. On the contrary, the thing that most recommends McCain to me is my impression of his credibility. Unlike my opinion of most politicians, I think John McCain actually says what he means and does what he says. That's also why I won't vote for him. Fuck if I'd vote for a man who says the following--and believes it!

- It "would be fine with me" if America kept a military presence in Iraq for 100 years.

- Asked last year about Iran's nuclear ambitions, he jokingly sang the words "Bomb, bomb, bomb. Bomb, bomb Iran" to the tune of the Beach Boys hit "Barbara Ann".

- On Israel, McCain offers unqualified support, expressed in years of public statements.

- He has the endorsement of pro-Israel icon Joseph Lieberman, the independent senator from Connecticut.

- He has the endorsement of former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

- McCain has met every Israeli prime minister since Menachem Begin and backed Israel during the 2006 Lebanon war.

- He opposes restrictions on assault rifles.

- He wants to "bring democracy" to the rest of the world.

- McCain was endorsed by John Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

- He has made it very clear that the best way to deal with Iran is an effective sanctions regime, but is willing to attack them "if necessary."
* * *
I must admit, however, these points in his favor:

- He voted against amending the constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage.

- He is against having English be the national language (because of Native American languages, not because it's distinctly un-American to declare a national language).

- McCain voted YES on giving Guest Workers a path to citizenship.

- His work on Campaign Finance Reform.

- Rush Limbaugh and James Dobson rail against him.
* * *
See, McCain resists spin like an electron beam. I like that. But he is a crazy motherfucker about the military! What the what! In short: Scheunemann, a longtime McCain adviser, said the senator "rejects any other label than a `consistent conservative'." I like the 'consistent' part, but I can't abide the 'conservative' part.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Rally for Higher Education

Hello, to anyone who lives in Kentucky. Especially if you are a college student or about to be one, this info is for you:

The RALLY FOR HIGHER EDUCATION is on Wednesday, February 20th. Budget cuts will affect students!!! A 15% budget cut in the works means 25 million dollars less for the University! Also, the KEES Scholarship Program is going to be cut as well, which means a lot less money for you. If you would like to go and speak out, please email your name, email, and county to sgaevp@louisville.edu Here is some info about the day:

We will leave for the Rally at 10:00am from Papa John's stadium - you can park there for the day. On the bus ride to Frankfort we will go over the agenda for the day, distribute: folders with literature to give to legislators, a map of the Capitol, an excuse letter for missing class, and a t-shirt. We will arrive in Frankfort around 11:00am, giving everyone a chance to eat their free lunch and visit their own individual legislators. The actual Rally will convene in the Rotunda at 1:15pm, will last about an hour, and will feature several speakers. We should be back to the stadium no later than 4:00pm.

I plan to go, so if anybody wants to, you know, like, be my bus-riding-buddy, that is cool with me. Just post a comment here or email me. :)

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Lou Dobbs is a Cocksucker

Sorry for the strong language kids, but I just had to get that off my chest. What an effing m-effer.

I am sitting in the atrium of the Galt House waiting for James and working on my shizzle, and I happened to look up and my eye caught the television screen above the coffee bar (both now permanent fixtures in almost all public places in the US). And that fat fucking windbag was blowing his gasket about some shit or another on a split screen with Jesse Jackson. Thank GOD I cannot hear the t.v. from here. B A R F .

Hope all's well, kids. I've been an absentee from the blogosphere for reasons of work and thesis-writing. Wish me luck! I'll have something intelligent and/or high-larious to place here in the near future.

WATCH THIS SPACE. As the random sticker on the newspaper dispenser near campus said:

I HAVE INTERESTING OPINIONS ON CONTROVERSIAL SUBJECTS. (and a potty mouth, of course.)

Monday, January 28, 2008

Religion is for Peace, not Violence

This is a pretty nice little op ed about how Israel/Palestine is NOT a religious conflict; and as far as the religions which are practiced in the region, NONE OF THEM CONDONE VIOLENCE.

Oiled Hilarity

I used to think there was no cultural divide that could not be crossed. Watching this video today on Attack of the Show made me think there might be evidence to the contrary. It is amazing how just a baby oil slide and a transvestite host can make me question my original dismissal of Samuel Huntington's Clash of Civilizations.... Has the world gone mad?

I repeat my original query: WTF is up with the Japanese?

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Read a Mothafuckin' Book

Check out this video: Read A Book



Add to My Profile | More Videos

For your viewing pleasure.

If you are interested in learning more about Bomani Armah (aka D'mite), here is his website: Not A Rapper

Thursday, January 24, 2008

U of L's new marketing campaign

Perhaps it will grow on me, but for now it appears that UofL's new branding campaign begs to be followed by "That's What She Said." Check it out here. Or see it in context here.