Be Me For a Day
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Below are the 25 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Michael" journal:[<< Previous 25 entries]
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12:29
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Australia: Transsexual takes to the footy field
http://theage.com.au/national/transsexual-takes-to-the-footy-field-20090606-bz7v.html
Transsexual takes to the footy field
Jill Stark
June 7, 2009
Will, 25, who has been living as a man for two years, hopes to play competition football. Photo: Simon O'Dwyer
LIKE many young Victorian males, Will loves his footy. He dreams of joining the thousands of men who lace up their boots every weekend and play in amateur competitions. He's just like them in every way but one — he was born female.
When the 25-year-old takes to the field he will become Australia's first female-to-male transsexual to play competitive football in a men's team.
( Read more... )
Current Location: Boston, MA, United States
Current Mood:  okay
Current Music: Absolute Radio
Tags: articles, trans stuff
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12:29
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US: For philanthropy courses, students become the givers
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2009/06/25/for_philanthropy_courses_students_become_the_givers/
For philanthropy courses, students become the givers
By Tracy Jan
Globe Staff / June 25, 2009
Laura McNulty, who works at the Somerville office of National Student Partnerships, said goodbye to client Maria Selamoglu after she helped her locate a permanent residence in Somerville. (Maisie Crow for The Boston Globe)
WALTHAM - College students, many of whom spend the little extra cash they have on pizza and laundry, don’t fit the typical profile of a wealthy benefactor. But in a growing national movement, students enrolled in newly created philanthropy courses are steering thousands of dollars to local charities.
At Tufts University, students decided this spring to give $1,500 to expand English courses to immigrant parents in Medford. Northeastern University students donated about $2,500 to a Boston after-school program promoting cross-cultural tolerance through cooking. And students at Boston University distributed $7,500 to help local at-risk teens land jobs in the financial sector.
At least 10 New England colleges, including Brandeis, Holy Cross, Boston College, Wheelock, and Lesley, will offer similar courses next school year, using seed money donated by corporate and family foundations. In the classes, students draw up mission statements for makeshift foundations, research nonprofits in their communities, and decide how to allocate the pot of money.
( Read more... )
Current Location: Boston, MA, United States
Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Absolute Radio
Tags: articles
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12:29
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On the 40th anniversary of Stonewall
'But I will not give up because I won't give the mainstream gay organisations the satisfaction of keeping us down. If we give up, they win. The reason we right now as a trans community don't have all the rights they have is that we allowed them to speak for us for so many damn years and we bought everything they said to us, "Oh let us pass our bill, then we'll come for you". Yeah come for me. Thirty-two years later and they are still coming for me. We can no longer let people like the HRC speak for us. It is not my pride, it is their Pride. I have nothing to be proud of except that I helped liberate gays around the world ... before I die, I will see our community given the respect we deserve.'
-- Sylvia Rivera, a tireless Trans activist who fought at the Stonewall riots in 1969 and passed away in February 2002.
Quote found in Pinned Down By Pronouns (2003, Conviction Books), edited by Toni Amato and Mary Davies.
Current Location: Boston, MA, United States
Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Absolute Radio
Tags: activism, trans stuff
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12:29
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Swedish parents keep 2 year old's sex secret
Sex, not gender. Pop will make Pop's gender known pretty clearly at some point, whether or not it aligns with Pop's sex. Either way, this reminds me strongly of Baby X - A Fabulous Child's Story, which I think is fantastic.
http://thelocal.se/20232/20090623/
Swedish parents keep 2-year-old's gender secret
Published: 23 Jun 09 16:24 CET
A couple of Swedish parents have stirred up debate in the country by refusing to reveal whether their two-and-a-half-year-old child is a boy or a girl.
Pop’s parents [see footnote], both 24, made a decision when their baby was born to keep Pop’s sex a secret. Aside from a select few – those who have changed the child’s diaper – nobody knows Pop’s gender; if anyone enquires, Pop’s parents simply say they don’t disclose this information.
In an interview with newspaper Svenska Dagbladet in March, the parents were quoted saying their decision was rooted in the feminist philosophy that gender is a social construction.
“We want Pop to grow up more freely and avoid being forced into a specific gender mould from the outset,” Pop’s mother said. “It's cruel to bring a child into the world with a blue or pink stamp on their forehead.”
( Read more... )
Current Location: Boston, MA, United States
Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Absolute Radio
Tags: articles, trans stuff
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12:06
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Local activists among 40 ’transgender heroes’ honored at Stonewall bar
http://baywindows.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=news&sc3=&id=92846
Local activists among 40 ’transgender heroes’ honored at Stonewall bar
by Ethan Jacobs
Bay Windows staff reporter
Thursday 25 June 2009
Stonewall’s legacy: (from left) Gunner Scott, Nancy Nangeroni and Grace Sterling Stowell will be immortalized as ’Transgender Heroes’ at the Stonewall Inn in New York City. (Source: Marilyn Humphries)
Historians have long credited poor and working class drag queens, bull dykes and other transgender and gender-non-conforming people as key participants in the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion, but within the wider LGBT community that defining moment is all-too-often remembered as a gay, rather than LGBT, milestone. The International Court System and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force hope to change that. On June 25, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the riots that marked the birth of the modern LGBT rights movement, the two organizations will hold a dedication ceremony at the fabled New York City bar to unveil a plaque featuring the names of 40 transgender heroes past and present.
The plaque will go on permanent display at the bar, and Bay State visitors will likely recognize a few familiar names on the list. Among the 40 heroes are Gunner Scott, director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC); Grace Sterling Stowell, executive director of the Boston Alliance of GLBT Youth (BAGLY); longtime activist Nancy Nangeroni, former president of the International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE), former co-host of GenderTalk Radio and current host of GenderVision; and Cole Thaler, an MTPC founder who is now the transgender rights attorney for New York’s Lambda Legal.
"It will be permanent, so people going into the Stonewall Inn will be able to see this plaque and see the names of these, to me, true heroes of our community," said Nicole Murray-Ramirez, a longtime San Diego-based activist who presides over the International Court System as Empress Nicole the Great. The International Court System was founded in 1965, four years before Stonewall. Member courts in the United States, Canada and Mexico, including the Imperial Court of Massachusetts, hold events in which members don campy and outrageous costumes and adopt royal titles, all while raising money for LGBT and HIV/AIDS organizations.
( Read more... )
Current Location: Boston, MA, United States
Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Absolute Radio
Tags: articles, trans stuff
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12:06
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US: Screen star Fawcett dies aged 62
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8118426.stm
Screen star Fawcett dies aged 62
Actress Farrah Fawcett, who became an icon of 1970s US television, has died of cancer in Los Angeles aged 62, her spokesman has confirmed.
Fawcett is best known for starring in Charlie's Angels, and in later years for hard-hitting TV and stage roles.
Her battle with illness was chronicled in the television documentary Farrah's Story earlier this year.
Her partner Ryan O'Neal said: "After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away."
He was said to be by her beside when she passed away in a Los Angeles hospital.
Obituary: Farrah Fawcett
( Read more... )
Current Location: Boston, MA, United States
Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Absolute Radio
Tags: articles
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12:06
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US: Ed McMahon Dead at 86
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/entertainment/NATL-Ed-McMahon-Dead-at-Age-.html
Ed McMahon Dead at Age 86
Updated 8:21 AM EDT, Tue, Jun 23, 2009
Ed McMahon died at a hospital in Los Angeles this morning, his agent said today.
The 86 year old TV personality died this morning at Ronald Regan UCLA Medical Center.
The 86-year-old TV personality and former "Tonight Show" host died this morning at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, his agent said today.
McMahon, who is best known as Johnny Carson's sidekick on the late-night show, was hospitalized in February with pneumonia and other illnesses.
Current Location: Boston, MA, United States
Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Absolute Radio
Tags: articles
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12:06
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US: Chaz, 'Good luck, brother!'
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/06/12/chastity.bono/index.html
Commentary: Chastity, 'Good luck, brother!'
By Jamison Green
Special to CNN
Jamison Green is an educator, adviser and advocate on transgender issues, and the author of "Becoming a Visible Man" (Vanderbilt University Press, 2004).
Welcome, Chaz!
Before the word "transsexual" had been coined in English, an intrepid young person whose family belonged to the British nobility set out to transform herself from female to male. He received a medical school education, obtained hormones -- relatively new substances that were poorly understood at the time -- and independently began living as a man in the early 1940s.
Eventually, he found a plastic surgeon to help him, and his physical changes were complete by 1949, but his family rejected him. The British tabloids hounded him. To escape publicity, he was forced to carve out a life for himself virtually alone. He became a Buddhist monk, and died in Tibet in 1962 at the age of 47.
His name was Michael Dillon, and he one of the Western world's first transsexual people, that is, someone who changes sex and/or gender by medical means. His extensive writings were suppressed and destroyed by his family -- only fragments survive.
( Read more... )
Current Location: Boston, MA, United States
Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Absolute Radio
Tags: articles, trans stuff
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12:06
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US: Chaz Bono Gives Voice To An Often 'Invisible' Community
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=7827428&page=1
Chaz Bono Gives Voice To An Often 'Invisible' Community
Trans Activists Say Chaz Bono Could Be Rare Face for Transgender Issues
By LAUREN COX and RADHA CHITALE
ABC News Medical Unit
June 13, 2009
Transgender men fighting for legal protections say Thursday's announcement by Chastity Bono, child of Cher and the late Sonny Bono, that she will be transitioning from female to a male as Chaz Bono is a welcome break from an all too common "invisible" paradox.
For reasons that are part biology and part society, transgender men say in some ways they have an easier time being accepted and recognized as masculine than transgender women have being perceived as feminine.
Yet at the same time, there has been a virtual black hole in public awareness of female-to-male transgender people.
( Read more... )
Current Location: Boston, MA, United States
Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Absolute Radio
Tags: articles, trans stuff
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12:06
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Call for Submissions – ‘Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation’
From ![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif) q_transphobia.
Kate Bornstein and S. Bear Bergman are co-editing a new book, “Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation“, which aims to:
[...] collect and contextualize the work of this generation’s most forward-thinking trans/genderqueer voices—new voices from the stage, on the streets, in the workplace, in the bedroom, and on the pages and websites of the world’s most respected mainstream news sources.
Kate and Bear have issued a call for submissions from “non-normatively gendered/sexed voices” but add that they will “include all the good stuff we can, regardless of current identifiers of the author”.
The deadline is 01 September, and payment will be $50 and two copies of the book on publication by Seal Press later next year.
The full text of the call for submissions may be found over at Bear’s LJ – link here.
Current Location: Boston, MA, United States
Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Absolute Radio
Tags: trans stuff
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12:06
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US, TN: Trans person shot in Memphis
From transgriot.
TransGriot Note: This news is courtesy of the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition, and it's less than 24 hours after several Shelby County Commissioners loudly said there was no need for an anti-discrimination ordinance in Memphis.
We were contacted by a reporter with Channel 3 (WREG-TV) who provided a copy of an affidavit of a shooting that occurred in South Memphis on Wednesday, May 27. The man arrested for the shooting, Terron Taylor, told police that he did it because the victim “misrepresented his gender.”
The victim, identified as Kelvin Denton, is in critical condition after being shot in the nose and throat.
At this point, we do not know any details about Denton’s life, but regardless, we abhor this sort of violence for any reason. Our thoughts and prayers of everyone in the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition go out to Kelvin, family and friends, for a speedy recovery.
We urge Shelby County authorities to prosecute Taylor aggressively and not permit the use of the trans-panic defense.
We also urge members of the Tennessee General Assembly to pass HB0335 by Rep. Jeanne Richardson (D-Memphis) and 21 others, and SB0253 by Sens. Beverly Marrero (D-Memphis) and Ophelia Ford (D-Memphis), as soon as they return in January. This bill would add “gender identity or expression” as a hate crimes sentencing enhancement factor to Tennessee Code Annotated 40-35-114. Passage of this bill will make it easier for state and local authorities to track and prosecute hate crimes against all LGBT Tennesseans.
If you do not know the names of your state legislators, go to http://capitol.tn.gov .
Federal Legislation:
In addition, we urge swift passage in the United States Senate of S.909, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The House of Representatives has already passed this legislation, which is supported by President Obama, by a vote of 249 to 175.
Please contact both of Tennessee’s Senators, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker and tell them you want to them to support S.909.
We also ask everyone to continue talking to both Representatives and Senators about the importance of the fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act. We anticipate that ENDA will be introduced in the coming weeks. It is time to end job discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. If LGBT people can find, and hold, decent paying jobs, then we are less likely to end up on the streets where we become vulnerable to hate crimes.
Current Location: Boston, MA, United States
Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Absolute Radio
Tags: trans stuff
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12:06
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Weekly curry 'may fight dementia'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8080630.stm
Weekly curry 'may fight dementia'
Eating a curry once or twice a week could help prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease and dementia, a US researcher suggests.
The key ingredient is curcumin, a component of the spice turmeric.
Curcumin appears to prevent the spread of amyloid protein plaques - thought to cause dementia - in the brain.
The key ingredient appears to be turmeric
But the theory, presented at the Royal College of Psychiatrists' annual meeting, has been given a lukewarm reception by UK experts.
Amyloid plaques, along with tangles of nerve fibres, are thought to contribute to the degradation of the wiring in brain cells, eventually leading to symptoms of dementia.
Professor Murali Doraiswamy, of Duke University in North Carolina, said there was evidence that people who eat a curry meal two or three times a week have a lower risk of dementia.
He said researchers were testing the impact of higher doses - the equivalent of going on a curry spree for a week - to see if they could maximise the effect.
( Read more... )
Current Location: Boston, MA, United States
Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Absolute Radio
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12:06
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Call for Submissions: FTMs
From an e-mail.
Hello,
Megan Rohrer and I are putting together a book: Letters to my Brothers: Transitional Wisdom in Retrospect.
We are making a number of strategic asks to get some of the most respected members of the Trans community in this book and we invite you to send a submission. The book will feature essays from respected Trans men mentors who share the wisdom they wish they would have known at the beginning of their journey into manhood. More specifically, we are inviting you to write a public letter to yourself (the you before you decided to transition) for the book.
Proceeds: 30% will be divided among the authors, 20% will be given to the National Centre for Transgender Equality (NCTE), and the rest will enable us to ensure more stories can be told in the future.
Full details of the call for submissions is posted at http://wilgefortis.com/submissions/brothers/
While we are probably familiar with many of the same members of the Trans community, please feel free to let us know the names of individuals you think have a diverse, humorous or unique story that we may not know about.
Zander Keig
Current Location: Boston, MA, United States
Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Absolute Radio
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12:06
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Australian national conference: Queer Collaborations 2009
What: Queer Collaborations is a national queer conference. It's full of educational and activist-y fun, with something for everyone.
Who? All Trans, intersex, lesbian, bisexual, gay, etc. people are welcome. Usually about 90% of the delegates are university students.
Where? Canberra
When? July 13-18
How much does it cost? $45 + accommodation + food + travel
Is it really that great? Yes! You will learn cool stuff in the workshops, and meet lots of interesting young people from around the country. It's super fun.
For more info, contact qc09@anu.edu.au.
If you are coming, please register by July 1st. If you're travelling far, you should book your travel tickets really soon, because airlines charge way too much if you leave it to the last minute.
Please pass this on!
Current Location: Boston, MA, United States
Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Absolute Radio
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12:00
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Singapore: First LGBT Rally
http://globalvoicesonline.org/?p=76930
From the Flickr page of macbiff
More than 2,500 people in Singapore gathered at Hong Lim Park to form a human Pink Dot - a symbol of love and inclusiveness. It was Singapore’s first public rally in support for the Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
The historic event was organised by PinkDot:
At PinkDot, we believe the first step to overcoming these barriers is for open-minded segments of society to come together. That's why we're providing this platform for individuals, organisations and businesses to identify themselves as advocates of a more inclusive, more loving Singapore.
( Read more... )
Current Location: Boston, MA, United States
Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Absolute Radio
Tags: articles
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12:00
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Dignity USA newsletter - Transgender issue
Thanks tommytesto for this.
http://dignityusa.org/sites/default/files/pdf/qv/DUSA%20QV%202nd%20Qtr%202009.pdf
Dignity USA is the US's Roman Catholic LGBT organisation. Their current newsletter focuses on Trans issues. There is an autobiographical essay by CJ Garber, a Boston area FTM who struggled with suicide and who was lost in January. There is also an essay by Ethan. Both have photos.
Current Location: Boston, MA, United States
Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Absolute Radio
Tags: trans stuff
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16:25
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Today is National Pound Cake Day in the US.
As always, all measurements are in US units. See http://www.onlineconversion.com/cooking_volume.htm for converting measurements.
* Red Lobster's Cajun Chicken Pasta: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/02271.htm
* Red Wine Pot Roast with Porcini: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/02272.htm
* Crock Pot Ham and Beans: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/02273.htm
* Pirozhki: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/02274.htm
* Wilted Greens with Garlic and Anchovies: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/02275.htm
* Taco Soup: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/02276.htm
* Baked French Toast Casserole: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/02277.htm
* Angel Food Cake: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/02278.htm
* Low Carb Black Pepper and Balsamic Pork Chops: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/lcarb3.htm
* Diabetic-Friendly Italian Style Green Beans and Tomatoes: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/diabet3.htm
* Low Fat Squash Dinner Rolls: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/lfat3.htm
Kelley's Cooking Tips
( Read more... )
Move Over, Vinaigrette
By Mark Bittman
( Read more... )
Ponzu Sauce
( Read more... )
Poulet à la Fermiere
( Read more... )
Subscribe to the VJJE Recipe Weekly - It's fun and it's free! http://www.e-cookbooks.net/sub1.htm
Current Location: Boston, MA, United States
Current Mood:  full
Current Music: Absolute Radio
Tags: recipes
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16:54
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Today is National Peach Cobbler Day in the US.
As always, all measurements are in US units. See http://www.onlineconversion.com/cooking_volume.htm for converting measurements.
* Red Lobster Shrimp Pasta: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/04111.htm
* Oven Fried Chicken: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/04112.htm
* Peppered Beef Tenderloin: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/04113.htm
* Cuban Roast Pork: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/04114.htm
* Sweet Potato Fries: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/04115.htm
* Greek Salad: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/04116.htm
* Artichoke Bruschetta: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/04117.htm
* Rhubarb-Strawberry Crisp: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/04118.htm
* Low Carb Bacon Muffins: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/lc19.htm
* Diabetic-Friendly Chicken Pasta Salad: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/diab17.htm
* Low Fat Green Goddess Dressing: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/lowfat39.htm
Kelley's Cooking Tips
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Chocolate Chip Cookie Tips:
( Read more... )
Quickly and Easily, a Touch of Elegance
By Mark Bittman
( Read more... )
Lettuce-Wrapped Fish
( Read more... )
Savoury Mint Lamb Chops
( Read more... )
Receive The Leading Recipe Ezine On The Internet! http://www.e-cookbooks.net/sub1.htm
Current Location: Boston, MA, United States
Tags: recipes
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16:44
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Today is National Artichoke Hearts Day in the US.
As always, all measurements are in US units. See http://www.onlineconversion.com/cooking_volume.htm for converting measurements.
* Applebee's Garlic and Peppercorn Fried Shrimp: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/03141.htm
* Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Sauce: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes1/03172.htm
* Crockpot Burgundy Beef Roast: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/04073.htm
* Stuffed Spicy Chicken Breasts: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/04074.htm
* Roasted Brussel Sprouts: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/04075.htm
* Macaroni and Blue Cheese with Chives: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/04076.htm
* Baja Black Beans, Corn and Rice: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/03147.htm
* Mom's Cheesecake: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes1/03178.htm
* Low Carb Cabbage Lasagna: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/317lc.htm
* Diabetic-Friendly Penne Casserole: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/317diab.htm
* Low Fat Deep Dish Fruit Pie: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/317lf.htm
Kelley's Cooking Tips
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Storing and Handling Eggs:
( Read more... )
A 'Traditional' St Patrick's Day
by John Havel
( Read more... )
Irish Lamb Stew
( Read more... )
Irish Soda Bread
( Read more... )
Garlic Prime Rib
( Read more... )
Receive The Leading Recipe Ezine On The Internet! http://www.e-cookbooks.net/sub1.htm
Tags: recipes
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09:45
[Link] |
Gay Trans guys in Out magazine
http://www.out.com/detail.asp?id=23533
The Trans Fags
They're like any other gay men. Except born female.
by T Cooper
On a cold winter night I take my 20-year-old friend Hunter to an East Village gay bar -- his first time in a New York City watering hole where he could wade among other cute gay men like himself. I convince the bartender to let us in by pretending that Hunter is my little brother who just turned 21 and came out but had his wallet and ID stolen on the subway. The barkeep grudgingly lets us stay, and we take a seat in the rear. It’s a pretty empty weeknight, but a few guys start throwing looks over shoulders and cruising Hunter, and he whispers that he thinks one of them is cute — the straightest-looking dude in the room.
Then, as if called in from any-gay-bar central casting, a lanky dark-haired guy starts unbuttoning his fly and pulling out a soft dick, then lets it flop around outside his jeans as he struts around the bar. Both Hunter and I try not to stare, but we start betting on whether it’s real. For 20 minutes we’re convinced it is, but then someone pulls the thing, and it stretches to a skinny foot-long before snapping back wildly. Hunter laughs and mouths, “Totally fooled me.”
Despite handling the often rugged and unforgiving testing ground of a gritty downtown gay bar with aplomb, Hunter -- like the rest of the men you see on these pages -- is the kind of guy some online gay hookup sites don’t want you to meet. But I do. So let me introduce you to Trystan, Cole, Kelly, and Hunter, all trans fags -- Transgender men who date other men.
( Read more... )
Current Music: Virgin Radio
Tags: articles
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10:36
[Link] |
US, MA: Trans bill briefing draws a crowd
http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=features&sc3=&id=54949
Trans bill briefing draws a crowd
by Ethan Jacobs, staff reporter
Thursday Jan 17, 2008
About 40 people, a mix of lawmakers, aides and LGBT advocates, turned out at the State House Jan. 16 for a legislative briefing on House Bill 1722, which would update the state's non-discrimination and hate crimes laws to make them Transgender-inclusive. The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC), the lead organisation in the coalition to pass the bill, presented lawmakers and their aides with a panel to explain the basics of Transgender identity and anti-trans discrimination as well as personal stories from Transgender people about their own experiences with employment issues. The briefing is part of MTPC's run-up to the Judiciary Committee hearing on H.B. 1722 that is expected to take place sometime in the next two months.
( Read more... )
Current Music: Virgin Radio
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10:29
[Link] |
Transbigotry?
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/01/transbigotry.php
Transbigotry?
Filed by: Guest Blogger
17 January 2008 8:30 PM
[EDITOR'S NOTE:] This post comes to us from Mercedes Allen. She lives in western Canada and blogs at Dented Blue Mercedes.
Mercedes Allen
When I was about three or four years old – enough to be talking but not enough to be in kindergarten – my mother carried me through the lineup to the tellers at the bank. I had never seen a person of colour, and so I’d been awed to see a tall fellow with that “purple”-deep colour of skin. I turned to my mother and said, “Oh, Mom, I’d never let myself get that dirty.”
My embarrassed mother kindly explained that some people are simply born with darker skin, and that ended my experience of personally-felt racial bigotry. A few years later, I learned from a close friend I’d made from Trinidad that skin colours sometimes come with cultural differences. It never occurred to me that any one skin colour or culture was any better than any other.
But I did also learn quickly that others didn’t necessarily share that same blissful innocence. As much as it clearly puzzled me when people expressed their contempt for my friend, it was certainly apparent to me that their contempt was very real. Even in Canada, where hatred was nowhere near as entrenched as it was further south, racism thrived.
I’ve also experienced it from the receiving side, twofold, one from the perspective of being Métis, in a culture where Natives are largely despised. In this situation, shame is taught implicitly, where it is intimated that a person should take refuge in their French last name, or resort to referring to their nationality as “mongrel” rather than identifying themselves as Métis. While I have since learned to be proud of my culture and now mourn not having been able to learn more of the traditions associated with it, it was still a painful experience hiding and pretending that nothing was amiss.
My other experience of bigotry came from being transgender. Even though it took me several decades to finally transition, the feelings were always there, and every crass joke that people made about men in dresses or every condemnation of “those perverts” served to drive me further into hiding, further into shame and further into the nightly suffocated struggle that almost culminated in suicide many times.
So if we learn so intimately how painful it is from the side of the victim, why is bigotry so easily foisted around in our own community?
( Read more... )
Tags: trans stuff
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10:26
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US, AZ: Volunteers Needed to Staff Trans Conference
Wingspan's Southern Arizona Gender Alliance (SAGA) is seeking volunteers to help with the IFGE 2008 international Transgender conference that will be coming to the Doubletree Inn Reid Park April 1-5, 2008. SAGA is the local host committee. The conference will feature more than 100 educational seminars, a variety of social activities, and much more. Transgender activist Jamison Green will present the keynote address, with opening remarks by Mayor Robert Walkup (R-Tucson) and Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ).
For more information about the conference, visit http://www.transeventsusa.org/ifge , where you'll find the complete workshop schedule, all the entertainment, and many social activities already posted!
SAGA invites our friends to join us in welcoming hundreds of Transgender and allied people to Southern Arizona. We're currently in need of volunteers for the following positions:
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10:50
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US: Transgender activists turn on one of their own
NATIONAL NEWS | http://washingtonblade.com/
Transgender activists turn on one of their own
Once lauded, Stanton denounced as traitor after interview with FL newspaper
By LOU CHIBBARO JR
Jan. 11, 2008
Less than one year after being fired from her job as city manager of Largo, Fla., because of her status as a transgender woman, Susan Stanton has come under fire from transgender activists, who have called her a sell-out to their cause.
In a series of developments that would have been unthinkable just months ago, Stanton’s perceived status as a positive role model for the transgender community has soured, with transgender activists expressing outrage over a recent newspaper article quoting her as calling trans people “men in dresses.” Stanton says the article misrepresented her views.
But Stanton remains firm in her support for gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and the Human Rights Campaign, over their controversial decision to back an employment non-discrimination bill (ENDA) for gays that excludes protections for trans people. Frank and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have said there weren’t enough votes to pass a trans-inclusive bill and that moving ahead with a gay-only version would make it easier to pass a trans-inclusive bill sometime later.
“I think we need to do a whole lot more educating before we’re going to be able to realistically have the support on the national level to get this passed,” Stanton said of a trans-inclusive measure. “I personally don’t feel denying the rights of one group should be perpetuated unless everybody has those rights,” she told the Blade.
( Read more... )
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13:12
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Gmail cockup
If you use Gmail, you might want to check your filters. They cocked up somewhat, and it's possible someone is forwarding your messages on to another address.
The hole has since been fixed, but it's a good idea to check your filters just in case.
Current Music: Virgin Radio
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