Bullets!

[rax]

• Catgirl Goth Rave was amazing. It wasn't super mad crazy packed, but that was good, because it felt like the right size for the venue. Go team Catgirl Goth Rave. So many people helped put it together and we had five different DJs and everything was wonderful and I did bring enough ears. I had sooooooooooooooooo much fun. I miss dancing while in a catgirl costume. Maybe I should do it more! Also I got to see a ton of friends I haven't seen in a long time, some for like six years, and I got to spend lots and lots of time with Rik and Krinn and that was super mega awesome good. It is nice to know that my friends are still my friends even when I am not around them all the time. I mean, I know, but it's nice to be reminded. 
• I am actually relaxing! Mostly! Although I do keep talking about and reading about gender theory as you will see from the majority of this post. ^^;;
• For example, I started reading a blog called Vegan Ideal at befitting 's recommendation and ran into this post about the use of the word "tranny" on Glee. That led me to this great post by Quinnae Moongazer on the topic [0] as well as this other post by Tobi Hill-Meyer following up on Kate Bornstein's apology and then apology-revocation. She keeps doing this. It's really rather frustrating. It makes me want to say this:
• Dear Kate Bornstein, you are not my aunt. I have aunts, both in my chosen family and in my family of origin; you are in neither. Your attempt to put yourself into my family structure and the family structures of other trans and genderqueer persons is creepy and weird, and saying things like this: "And yes, you may call me Auntie Kate. I will positively burst into tears if you don’t." makes me feel queasy as to the possibility of real discourse with you. In order for us to be chosen family, we must both consent to that choice; I do not. In order for us to be family of origin, you're going to have to marry into my family somehow. This solution does not scale.  Also, "I pulled down my blog post saying I’m not gonna use the word tranny any more. I tried, and it didn’t work." ?? Try harder. [1] Oh and there was that whole anthology call for proposals. Yeah, I just. (On the other hand, all of the comments over on questioning transphobia accusing her of being a Scientologist and thus not worth listening to what the hell?)
• Yeah so maybe I'm only sort of relaxing. But I keep playing Pokemon Mystery Dungeon! It is SUPREMELY ADORABLE. It also continues to be harder than I expect it to be. The room full of monsters drop thing is really annoying although I guess it gives me something to do with all of those items. And rrrrrr I wish I could better control the other members of my party. But what can you do. The plot is kinda forced; Dusknoir just told me that he was from the future. He's so in league with Grovyle, I am so calling it, I am calling the fuck out of it right now. I AM JUST SAYING. It is kind of sad that part of the reason this is so obvious is that he is a dark/ghost type. Croagunk is the closest there comes to a "bad" type as a good guy in the story. Fehhhhhh. POKEMON RACISM anyway
• Actually I am going to claim that I have been relaxing on the grounds that I have watched multiple movies in less than a week. Multiple movies!! That never happens. The last one I didn't even have a laptop out while I was watching it. It was How To Train Your Dragon, if you're curious, which is ripe for somatechnical theoretical intervention surrounding authenticity and prosthesis and animality and and and and and. If I were cool like chagrined  I could do an academic fanvid but I am not. The folks I am staying with are allowing me to work on an outline but have forbidden me from actually writing a non-required academic paper while on vacation. This is probably OK. ... I may start working on it when I leave here though ^^;;;;;;;;;
• My dear friend Bea has written a great review of the new My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic show. You should read it, but summary: It's probably awesome. I need to watch it, but it is on normal television and not on DVD yet. Either I will figure it out online (it pops up on YouTube periodically) or I will be patient or I dunno. But oh my god it sounds so good.
• Yes, I spend most of my time thinking about gender theory inside baseball and the rest of it with Pokemon and My Little Pony. I believe the appropriate Internet invocation is this:
• 
• <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 to everyone!

[0] She also has an interesting post about transphobia in academic theory that I have only read briefly because I only have so much care but it looks good and I intend to revisit it.
[1] While I'm nitpicking: "I'm old school, pal. I was taught butch and femme in the late 90s." ??? The late 90s are not old school for butch and femme identities. Just no.

Comments

[poussifeu]

People who refer to themselves with family and relation words - especially "auntie" because those people are often the most patronizing - creep the fuck out of me. Almost all the people I've seen do this seem to have like some sort of mothering complex or want to be able to insert themselves into other peoples' lives in order to look more authoritative and I find it to be very patronizing and a violation of my personal space. D:

[rax]

I am so with you on this.

[hebinekohime]

Huh, thanks for that last link; I have a feeling that "theorizing from the center" is going to be a very useful concept for me.

[lhexa]

Congrats on a successful CGR! Maybe I'll be able to make it to a future one.

Regarding Kate Bornstein: I don't know much about the specific matters, but it does touch on something I've thought a lot about recently: namely, when a person comes to decide or feel that she is representative of her group. This is problematic on both a communal and a personal basis. On the communal basis, it often happens that the wrong person decides that she is representative, and starts to cause damage as a result. Why does this happen, and how can a community respond to negate the damage? Kate Bornstein looks like an example of this phenomenon, particularly with her attempt (which you criticized) to establish a relationship with her entire community, one that goes beyond belonging or even representation. And on a personal basis, I do sometimes find myself taking myself to be representative, say of furries or of physicists or of philosophers. How can I make, why am I making such a claim? It seems like an awful gap in self-knowledge...

[rax]

I don't have useful responses here other than "Yes, this is a good thing to think more about." But yes. I'm particularly nervous about being seen as representative of furries in academia...

[baniszew.livejournal.com]

Wait, there is new My Little Pony that actually has _plot_? Real conflict and danger, rather just tripe about learning how to share a ball? This news is possibly the best gift I got for Christmas. The original MLP was practically my religion. Then in 2004 I got the DVD "Dancing in the Clouds" with a pony I bought, and it was terrible. I'd assumed any show with a title like "Friendship Is Magic" would have to be equally empty and saccharine. But now I have hope! Rather than continuing to destroy my childhood, some people may even be remaking it more cleverly than before?! I must track down this show.

[bossgoji.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there is basically no reason NOT to watch FIM. Unless you're, like, allergic to adorable ponies.

[rax.livejournal.com]

You really, really, really must. <3

[anacoluthon.livejournal.com]

I had a lot of fun at Catgirl Goth Rave! It's not the sort of thing I really ever attend, but it was great to put cat ears and nail polish on and dance for a bit. A++ would dance again.

Also... I feel like Kate Bornstein was my magical hero for a long time, because reading Gender Outlaw was a huge part of what made me question my gender identity in the first place and she delivered an amazing keynote speech to Gender Odyssey 2005, after which she was really sweet to me when I fanmoed at her. And now that she's pissing me off a lot, especially with her near-instant retraction of her decision not to use "tranny" any more, it's very sad. I don't want to be frustrated with her, but that's where I am right now. Thanks for the links, by the way - I'd seen some but not all of those.

[rax.livejournal.com]

No problem! She seems to have been a magical hero for a lot of people; I have one of her books but have not gotten to it. (I mean, I probably should, there are just so many books.) I had nothing but good impressions second-hand until like six months ago... :/ I mean, who knows, sometimes awesome people screw up. But this is very clearly screwing up.

[anacoluthon.livejournal.com]

And it's not only screwing up, it's willfully continuing to do so after many, many people have said in clear language why her behavior and language are problematic. Bah.

I am still glad I met her and have a picture of me sitting on her lap grinning like crazy, because that entire weekend was really intense for me and talking to her was an important part of the experience. But yeah, I am much less excited about her now, and also really saddened by that.

[perbac.livejournal.com]

That new My Little Pony show sounds awesome. I am not sure if MLP was *my* religion, but I think I had a purple one, maybe Firefly.

[rax.livejournal.com]

It was never my religion, but I have always had a foolish fondness. Personally my favorite is Gusty. <3

[perbac.livejournal.com]

I may have watched three episodes since my comment was posted, um, however many hours ago. I also got sucked into TV Tropes because of the review. (*sigh*) I've cleared out most of the browser tabs now, though.

Also, ran into this of-potential-interest blogpost from the person-in-charge:
http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2010/12/24/my-little-non-homophobic-non-racist-non-smart-shaming-pony-a-rebuttal/

[iridium.livejournal.com]

Sorry to have missed seeing you on the front end of your trip -- maybe I will catch you after I get back, before you leave SF?

[rax.livejournal.com]

Maybe! I will be around until Jan 2, although I will be back and forth from San Jose much of that time. I think. My schedule is full of ???

[plymouth.livejournal.com]

Wait, if you will be san-jose-ward that's closer to where I live, which is mountain view. If lunch in the city does not work, lunch down here might, or after-dinner (and after medi-cat) coffee.

[identityfail.livejournal.com]

the kate bornstein thing, yeah. which is sad b/c like, the whole gender outlaw thing is a fun/liberating concept blah blah blah like she has done good things so why is she being so weird/problematic/offensive now, has she always been that way and have i just not noticed it, etc.

also oh lord the call for submissions: i am always baffled when the reaction to someone saying, "hey, this thing you're doing is offensive" is to be all, "no it isn't, and let me tell you why it's not!" like...you don't get to decide that. Also male-identified or ftm-spectrum ppl who think they are "reclaiming" "tranny"? You're doing it wrong, that's called appropriation and is a thing that you don't get to do, like why is that a difficult thing to understand?

[rax.livejournal.com]

There are arguments that maybe those folks can reclaim that word; the editors of that publication were not, in my opinion, making sound arguments.

[identityfail.livejournal.com]

are there? i've never heard 'em.

[rax.livejournal.com]

Some trans-masculine people experience it as a slur, is the most obvious one.

[scholars.livejournal.com]

I've been playing Pokemans Mystery Dungeon too, we're basically on the same part. I just finished Dark Hill in the future world. When I found out that Dusknoir's underlings were a bunch of Sableye I was like WHAT NO. Sableye is one of my favorites and they're ruining its reputation. :C I kind of love Croagunk though, he's not "bad" so much as "creepy" and I think it has more to do with what he looks like than his typing. He has a total creeper face, it's like MEH-HEH-HEH

Also, yes, Monster Houses are not fun at all. Though they've been pretty easy for me lately. I took every Gummi I owned to Spinda's Cafe and drank almost all of them, so now I'm a level 34 Shinx with stats in the 70s.

Lol wait that might have been spoilery, don't read it

[scholars.livejournal.com]

I forgot, I think you're actually behind me in the storyline... IF YOU READ IT I'M SORRY.

Re: Lol wait that might have been spoilery, don't read it

[rax.livejournal.com]

I am, but I managed to stop myself, and I'm not a super person who cares about spoilers a lot so it's OK.

[rax.livejournal.com]

I've totally caught up (and now passed you probably and can't say what I'm thinking without spoiling you ;) but yes! To all of that! Especially Croagunk. <3 <3 <3

[scholars.livejournal.com]

I'm now post-storyline (about to do Aegis Cave to be exact), so feel free to tell me your thoughts! I've been playing like crazy and going nuts over how much post-game stuff you have to do before you/your partner are allowed to evolve. Argh, I wanna evoooolve. And I still need to play all of the Special Episodes.

Have you read Bidoof's diary? Apparently Croagunk watches Bidoof sleep lol creeper

[rax.livejournal.com]

You're ahead of me again! :) I have done one or two layers of dungeon on the Hidden Land, and am so irritated that I cannot store items at any of the Kangaskhan statues.

I have not done any Special Episodes yet... and I didn't read the diaries because I though that would be rude, which is arguably ridiculous ^^;; That is amazing though. I love Croagunk even more now (http://janemai.squarespace.com/storage/pokemon/ethan4.gif). Is there any in-game penalty to reading the diaries? Because if not I totally should when I get back and can do so.

Also I want to evolve so bad tooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Not even me so much --- Mudkips are cuter than their evolutions --- but my best friend Foxycakes needs to evolve into a Ninetales to match the Ninetales named Foxycakes I have in SoulSilver. Because I am like that.

[scholars.livejournal.com]

I HATED how you couldn't mess with storage at the mid-point Kangaskhan Rocks! Eventually I started watching a Youtube walkthrough just to see which rocks had storage. D:

I thought there would be some kind of penalty to reading the diaries at first, but there isn't! You should read them. Yay invasions of privacy!

Yes, stay a Mudkip, they're adorable! I'm a Shinx, and while Shinx are also cute, I've always loved Luxrays so I'll be evolving. So close, yet so far. /punches legendaries

[rax.livejournal.com]

You get to be a Luxray??? *jealous* I am very fond of Luxray after using one in my Pearl playthrough. Although Mudkips are awesome too. Look, I'm a meme!

[rax.livejournal.com]

AUUUUUUGH the credits are rolling not fair not fair NOT FAIR ;_;

[rax.livejournal.com]

Holy fucking headfake, Batman.

[yonho.livejournal.com]

Which version of Mystery Dungeon are you playing? (Hopefully Sky, because Sky is superior.) Oh, and I think the plot will surprise you as it goes on, but I won't say anything more than that.

Re POKEMON RACISM: This has always bothered me ever since I first played these games, especially since Dark and Ghost are some of my favorite types! I notice Poison seems to get the evil treatment even more, actually. I hope that if/when they make a new Mystery Dungeon game, the villain is some small, cute Pokémon that no one suspects of being evil precisely because of their cuteness. Like Mew or something. That would be awesome.
In terms of "good characters with 'bad' types", there is also Duskull!
(Also, Dusknoir is a pure Ghost type, not Dark/Ghost. I feel compelled to point this out because apparently I am just that nerdy.)

[rax.livejournal.com]

I am playing Sky --- at your recommendation! <3 And I forgot about Duskull. I thought of you when it became obvious that Zubat was a bad guy, too. I was like... Oh no, I wonder how yonho feels about this! NOW I KNOW.

Mew as a villain would be major. Hmm. I need to finish this game and see what I think I guess. (And then play Rescue Team, probably, and I have a copy of Explorers of Darkness because I found it for $5 and depending on how obsessive I get I might play it or I might send it to one of my friends to play. I have this thing where I feel obligated to catch them all at the physical game meta-level? ^^;; ) Thank you again for the recommendation!

[tiamat360.livejournal.com]

I feel the need to point this out: http://video.adultswim.com/robot-chicken/apocalypse-pony.html

Also there is a matching shirt you can get at woot.com :D

[mmsword.livejournal.com]

Squirtle's hydro pump will pierce the heavens.

[sprrwhwk.livejournal.com]

The folks I am staying with are allowing me to work on an outline but have forbidden me from actually writing a non-required academic paper while on vacation. This is probably OK. ... I may start working on it when I leave here though ^^;;;;;;;;;

When else would you write a non-required academic paper if not on vacation! (He says, hacking madly on non-work-related code...)

[greyooze.livejournal.com]

Things I learned today:

• A cartoon where characters are literally all the colours of the rainbow is totally racist you guys


• Unicorns are phallic apparently?


• Croagunk is having the best Friday

The folks I am staying with [...] have forbidden me from actually writing a non-required academic paper while on vacation.

Sounds like they're good people! Relax, rax!


hey i'm a poet and i dun even know it