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In no particular order:
1. My sister and her kids stayed over last night. They left this morning (for a family vacation) before I got up. The kids made cards for me saying goodbye and they'll miss me. Which was really sweet. My niece drew a picture on her card of the two of us standing together. I'm wearing a Superman belt buckle and a t-shirt with a dog on it. Oh, how she knows me. :D
2. A link came up on my twitter stream about net neutrality. A petition to support it, anger about House democrats not supporting it, talk about how it's selling out to the big communication companies, etc. Nothing unusual there (though it is an important cause). The unusual thing is that this petition is backed by a mobile communications company (i.e. cell phones, but these days that includes a lot of 'net access).
3. The AP tweeted a link to this article: As oil spews in Gulf, BP chief at UK yacht race. Which would be jaw-droppingly bad PR if not for the fact that most jaws have metaphorically been continually open over BP's handling of the spill, the lead-up to the spill, their PR as regards the spill, and basically everything else even tangentially related.
On the other hand, stuff like this is planned far in advance, and his not going isn't exactly going to help anything, so maybe it's not such a huge deal, after all. I dunno.
4. I'm sort of vaguely toying with the idea of creating a new community on Dreamwidth. It's a whole big thing which probably deserves its own post. But it probably won't happen because (a) I don't have it in me to whip up interest to get things rolling, (b) I don't have it in me to stand up and fight the inevitable trolls, (c) I'm worried that it doesn't have anything to drive it - I know what I want it to be, but not what it should be about.
The basic idea is... EPCOT. Not the theme park, but more like the original idea - building the community we want to have not by fighting against what's wrong in the present but by making a small place where things are done right, and hoping that it will spread.
But it's also about making a place where everyone can feel safe and secure in being themselves. Where it's not about what you are (race, gender, religion, etc.) but who you are (personality, etc.)... which is a very broad generalization, but not bad as a founding/guiding principle. Where we can take advantage of the fact that we're coming together in a place where you literally cannot see or hear or otherwise detect anyone else's outer self (except, of course, for what they choose to share), but only their words and ideas.
But it's also about moderation. About not looking at any one aspect so closely that you start to miss the forest for the trees. About not going too far in any direction. About understanding that too much of a good thing can be just as harmful as anything else. About seeing the larger picture and other factors that come into play, but also seeing the smaller picture - seeing things on a case-by-case basis without relying too heavily on generalities.
But it's also about making a place where discrimination is not tolerated. Where trolling is not tolerated. For any reason or any cause. Where everyone is given an equal voice and an equal baseline level of respect. Where it's understood that we all have unique and complex experiences. That there's no math to say that one wrong is equal to another, that a certain number of wrongs in one area can make up for advantages in others... that that entire line of thinking is counter-productive, to say the least. Where you're allowed to be yourself and label yourself (or not) as you see fit, without being expected to conform to any external mold.
Because, yes, to be honest, it is in part a reaction to those who, with no apparent sense of irony, would discriminate in the name of fighting discrimination, would force people to conform in the name of non-conformity. (Except, of course, that this means that, in some sense, I'd be taking an activist stance against activism...) And it scares me to think of what I'd face in trying to do that, scares me to think that such an idea would be considered bold and eminently assailable.
... None of which really drives content. It's all ground rules. The way you should talk and behave, the way you shouldn't talk and behave. (And how to enforce those rules would be a whole other mess...) None of it actually says what we should be talking about or what we should be doing while behaving properly. And I'm afraid that, even if I got the community together and got people to join up, we'd just end up sitting around doing nothing, saying nothing... until the whole thing was just forgotten and empty.
5. I keep feeling like there was something else. But I'm very tired (what else is new), and if there is anything else, I can't remember. If I do, I can always come back and edit it in or post again. Time to head off and see if I can help out a bit around the house. We've got company this week, and plans for a get-together tomorrow.
6. ETA: There was something else. A couple of quick Clarence Darrow quotes. First is about a client he's defending:
So... he's trying to start a newspaper (it's his life's ambition), but he insists that actually working would never get him anywhere. He wants to spread his ideas, but has no education. In order to spread Socialism, he... tries to take someone else's property.
Other quote is about World War One:
He goes on to talk about the wider issues and his efforts to do the right thing even when it contradicted one side or the other and so on. Being for the war but against the propaganda that supported it, etc. Interesting stuff. But that line there just tickled me.
Meantime, I find myself surprised that at the beginning of Chapter 26 (where I most recently left off reading) he's at the end of WWI (1918 or so - he does do some jumping back and forth as he tells his stories), but only 44% of the way through the book. He's covering his life from 1857 through about 1930, but he's already up to 1918 and he's not even halfway through? I wonder what the other half of the book will be like.
7. ETA 2: Just read this post on Scans Daily. If you know anything about Barbara Gordon, go read it. So much love.
1. My sister and her kids stayed over last night. They left this morning (for a family vacation) before I got up. The kids made cards for me saying goodbye and they'll miss me. Which was really sweet. My niece drew a picture on her card of the two of us standing together. I'm wearing a Superman belt buckle and a t-shirt with a dog on it. Oh, how she knows me. :D
2. A link came up on my twitter stream about net neutrality. A petition to support it, anger about House democrats not supporting it, talk about how it's selling out to the big communication companies, etc. Nothing unusual there (though it is an important cause). The unusual thing is that this petition is backed by a mobile communications company (i.e. cell phones, but these days that includes a lot of 'net access).
3. The AP tweeted a link to this article: As oil spews in Gulf, BP chief at UK yacht race. Which would be jaw-droppingly bad PR if not for the fact that most jaws have metaphorically been continually open over BP's handling of the spill, the lead-up to the spill, their PR as regards the spill, and basically everything else even tangentially related.
On the other hand, stuff like this is planned far in advance, and his not going isn't exactly going to help anything, so maybe it's not such a huge deal, after all. I dunno.
4. I'm sort of vaguely toying with the idea of creating a new community on Dreamwidth. It's a whole big thing which probably deserves its own post. But it probably won't happen because (a) I don't have it in me to whip up interest to get things rolling, (b) I don't have it in me to stand up and fight the inevitable trolls, (c) I'm worried that it doesn't have anything to drive it - I know what I want it to be, but not what it should be about.
The basic idea is... EPCOT. Not the theme park, but more like the original idea - building the community we want to have not by fighting against what's wrong in the present but by making a small place where things are done right, and hoping that it will spread.
But it's also about making a place where everyone can feel safe and secure in being themselves. Where it's not about what you are (race, gender, religion, etc.) but who you are (personality, etc.)... which is a very broad generalization, but not bad as a founding/guiding principle. Where we can take advantage of the fact that we're coming together in a place where you literally cannot see or hear or otherwise detect anyone else's outer self (except, of course, for what they choose to share), but only their words and ideas.
But it's also about moderation. About not looking at any one aspect so closely that you start to miss the forest for the trees. About not going too far in any direction. About understanding that too much of a good thing can be just as harmful as anything else. About seeing the larger picture and other factors that come into play, but also seeing the smaller picture - seeing things on a case-by-case basis without relying too heavily on generalities.
But it's also about making a place where discrimination is not tolerated. Where trolling is not tolerated. For any reason or any cause. Where everyone is given an equal voice and an equal baseline level of respect. Where it's understood that we all have unique and complex experiences. That there's no math to say that one wrong is equal to another, that a certain number of wrongs in one area can make up for advantages in others... that that entire line of thinking is counter-productive, to say the least. Where you're allowed to be yourself and label yourself (or not) as you see fit, without being expected to conform to any external mold.
Because, yes, to be honest, it is in part a reaction to those who, with no apparent sense of irony, would discriminate in the name of fighting discrimination, would force people to conform in the name of non-conformity. (Except, of course, that this means that, in some sense, I'd be taking an activist stance against activism...) And it scares me to think of what I'd face in trying to do that, scares me to think that such an idea would be considered bold and eminently assailable.
... None of which really drives content. It's all ground rules. The way you should talk and behave, the way you shouldn't talk and behave. (And how to enforce those rules would be a whole other mess...) None of it actually says what we should be talking about or what we should be doing while behaving properly. And I'm afraid that, even if I got the community together and got people to join up, we'd just end up sitting around doing nothing, saying nothing... until the whole thing was just forgotten and empty.
5. I keep feeling like there was something else. But I'm very tired (what else is new), and if there is anything else, I can't remember. If I do, I can always come back and edit it in or post again. Time to head off and see if I can help out a bit around the house. We've got company this week, and plans for a get-together tomorrow.
6. ETA: There was something else. A couple of quick Clarence Darrow quotes. First is about a client he's defending:
I asked him why he tried to burglarize the house. He replied that he had wanted to start a Socialist paper, and as he had no education he could never get the necessary money by working.
So... he's trying to start a newspaper (it's his life's ambition), but he insists that actually working would never get him anywhere. He wants to spread his ideas, but has no education. In order to spread Socialism, he... tries to take someone else's property.
Other quote is about World War One:
When Germany invaded Belgium I recovered from my pacifism in the twinkling of an eye. It came to me through my emotions, and it left me the same way. I discovered that pacifism is probably a good doctrine in time of peace, but of no value in war time.
He goes on to talk about the wider issues and his efforts to do the right thing even when it contradicted one side or the other and so on. Being for the war but against the propaganda that supported it, etc. Interesting stuff. But that line there just tickled me.
Meantime, I find myself surprised that at the beginning of Chapter 26 (where I most recently left off reading) he's at the end of WWI (1918 or so - he does do some jumping back and forth as he tells his stories), but only 44% of the way through the book. He's covering his life from 1857 through about 1930, but he's already up to 1918 and he's not even halfway through? I wonder what the other half of the book will be like.
7. ETA 2: Just read this post on Scans Daily. If you know anything about Barbara Gordon, go read it. So much love.
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4. Those are rules I wish could be applied to every community ever.
♥ ♥ ♥!
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4. Yeah, I wish...
From: (Anonymous)
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From:
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