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Name: Bill LaLonde, or a reasonable facsimile
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Comments are welcome and encouraged. If making an "anonymous" comment, please provide a name by which you may be addressed (it need not be your real name; pseudonyms are fine).Here's some common sense legal stuff:
By posting comments to this blog, you warrant and represent that you either own or otherwise control all of the rights to that content, including, without limitation, all the rights necessary for you to provide, post, upload, input or submit the content, or that your use of the content is a protected fair use. You agree that you will not knowingly and with intent to defraud provide material and misleading false information.
You acknowledge that comments are not regularly reviewed, but that I shall have the right to remove at my sole discretion any content for any reason whatsoever.
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![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) steamfashion
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) v_coke | |
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I'm a long time lurker, but this is my first time posting.
Alright, before I get started, I'm going to apologize for not having any pics, as I am operating on Dial-up, and uploading pictures is a pain, especially since I lost my memory card 2 days ago.....
okay, without further ado,
I have a super old, hand-me-down suede-ish leather jacket, that doesn't fit right. Obviously it is now going to be part of a steampunk costume, but I currently have absolutely no ideas as to what to make it look like...
so this is where YOU guys come in ;) if anyone has any cool pics stockpiled of awesome leather steampunk jackets/vests/whatnot, share!
I also have an aviator hat, but the leather is much darker than that of the jacket. But I wanted to see if I could incorporate it into an outfit anyway, so for the jacket I'm looking on the side of the airship pirate/aviator scheme.
So just.. spam me with jacket ideas :D muchly appreciated.
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mystic_savage | |
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Because it was Monday morning, Joseph knew he was close to death. He lay on his futon, aching everywhere, doomed by the HIV / brain tumor / H1N1 / plague that he'd contracted overnight. From where he lay, about 8 feet from the kitchenette, he could see fruit flies hovering around the half apple he'd left out of his pink refrigerator the night before. He'd swear he could hear them buzz, but "I heard a fly buzz when I died" had already been taken. He'd have to think of something else, and quickly, before Melissa woke up. There was no point in having chosen your last words if there was nobody there to hear them. He just hoped he'd last that long. It was a drag crashing at his older sister's place, Joseph thought, and wondered if there might be some possibility there in that verb. "Like a computer loaded with Window's '95, I crash," he croaked dramatically. Didn't quite cut it. He rolled over, feeling the spears of hostile aliens probing his brain. His feet poked out of the not-quite-long-enough comforter, and he noted that his toe nails needed painting. Black this time, he thought. It would suit his mood. Not that he was Goth or anything. He didn't have to be. There *was* nothing more gothic than getting through a Seattle November, even if he never left this futon again, which at this point seemed highly likely. The loud and obnoxious sound of the Bangles emanated from his sister's room. Melissa had different alarm tones for every day of the week. Monday's lyric "If I had an airplane, I still wouldn't make it on time..." blared out and he groaned. Maybe "I'm catching the early train" would be good last words to whisper in his final moments. Particularly if he died this morning, at the tragically young age of 19. "Rise and shine!" Melissa bounced out of her room, perky as ever. She worked as a receptionist downtown, and "perk" was more than just her 9-5 persona. Joseph couldn't imagine how they'd come from the same parents. Maybe they hadn't. Maybe (he thought, for the millionth time), he'd been given away by his real parents, genius scientists who were kidnapped by a hostile foreign government. He groaned. "Headache?" Melissa asked with a smile. She bustled to the kitchen and got a plastic bag, tossing it to him as he tried to prop himself up on his elbows. "Make sure those get into the glass bin -- the pick up is tomorrow." Perfect. She'd been harping on to him about his bottle collection for weeks and she'd chosen now, the hour if not the moment of his death, to insist that he get rid of it. Something about glass maybe? He remembered something about being immortal until the second glass of wine...but maybe that was "mortal". He couldn't remember. He listened to Melissa getting ready for work, and sat up when she brought him coffee. "Thanks, " he said. He took a sip. He couldn't think of any good dying words this morning. Probably best to go on living until he was more inspired. Tags: famous last words, writer's block
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bipolypagangeek
bifemmefatale | |
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1. 4 or 5 out of 6ers are welcome here and have always been. *However*, this is a bi-centric comm, and a kink-centric comm, and a gamer-centric comm, and so on. Entries are generally expected to be about at least 1 of the 6 interests, and you do not get to tell bi people "chill out" when they protest their lack of inclusion. You're expected to be an ally. 2. This community has always strongly valued civil discourse. Criticism may happen, especially of someone's ideas rather than their selves, but ad hominems and responses like "fuck you!" are not tolerated. I try to give a warning first, but repeated offenses are not tolerated. 3. melssexysecret was warned and continued to behave badly, so zie was banned. After zie sent a private message consisting of nothing but 300 "Fuck you!"s to my inbox, zir sockpuppet was also banned. Please remember this is only the second user who has been banned in the history of the comm. Don't be afraid that I'm on a power-tripping rampage. I have no desire to micromanage this community and rarely even have to comment wearing my mod hat. I have no intention of banning a ton of people. Tags: admin note
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![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif) the_wildhunt | |
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http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/11/even-more-pagan-news-of-note.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/?p=3673 My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens. What? You didn’t think I was going to get caught up in one day did you? I have so much more to cover before we can settle down to a more sedate pace!
We start off today with word from Thorn Coyle that Diana’s Grove, a 102-acre Pagan-owned sanctuary in Missouri, is going to sell off the land due to hardships brought on by our current economic climate.
“While blessed with these wonderful supporters who have given so generously of their time, energy, and money, Diana’s Grove Center has nevertheless been suffering under the current economic climate. It’s founders no longer have the energy and stamina required to support their dream, in it’s current form, in these challenging times. They have decided to make major changes before major changes are forced upon them, and will be selling Diana’s Grove. It is their intention, and the intention of the residential and Mystery School staff, to make this transition with as much positive energy and integrity as we can.”
The sanctuary’s founders and care-takers, Cynthea Jones and Patricia Storm, plan to continue currently scheduled programming at the site through 2010, and then continue the Diana’s Grove Mystery School at different locations in the future. They have reassured supporters that the land will not be sold to loggers or developers, and investors will be refunded after the sale. I wish them all the best for the future, and wonder if Diana’s Grove isn’t the only Pagan-owned land that is experiencing increased hardships in our current economic climate. Will the downturn end up rolling back some of the Pagan-owned land advances made in the 1980s and 1990s?
Since I first reported on it, the story of the fired Bath & Body Works employee who claims she was let go after her newly appointed superior found out she was Wiccan has spread like wildfire through the Pagan community with many calling for a boycott of the chain until they resolve the matter favorably. Meanwhile, some have wondered if there is more to this story, or if Gina Uberti was fired (after 8 years) for some sort of negligence or performance issue. I’m not omniscient (yet), so I can’t know for sure, but the complaint does seems rather convincing, and Bath & Body Works have either refused to comment, or have released a canned statement implying that Uberti was fired justly.
“My name is Linnea, and I work for Bath & Body Works. I know there’s been a lot of discussion about accusations that one of our managers fired someone due to their religion. I can assure you that once we became aware of the allegations, we immediately conducted a thorough investigation which showed that our internal policies and the law were being followed and that no one had been discriminated against. We are confident that the court will agree with our investigation findings. Bath & Body Works is an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate against race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, sexual orientation or marital status. I don’t take this topic lightly and I hope you understand that my company doesn’t either.”
If that isn’t prose written by a lawyer I don’t know what is. So we’ll all have to wait for the trial to learn more about the firing, and make our own personal judgments in the meantime. I doubt it’ll be popping up in the news much until the trial since all parties involved are clamming up. However, an employment lawyer speaking to the Connecticut Law Tribune did say that the Bath & Body Works will either have to prove that Uberti was fired for performance/disciplinary issues (Uberti’s complaint claims she had a stellar performance record until her firing), or that her beliefs that prompted the time off weren’t sincerely held. Since the latter is a hard thing to prove, you can bet Bath & Body Works is scouring their files for any hint of performance problems.
Speaking of Pagans fired from their jobs, Bath & Body Works isn’t the only employer with an unhappy ex-Wiccan. TechCrunch reports on the case of James Bara, a Google employee who claims he was singled out, had his faith mocked, and was ultimately fired after he came to the defense of a female transgender employee.
“Bara complained about the comments to Sohn, who Bara says turned on him and began to treat him, and the other men in the office unfairly. Bara, who is a member of the Wiccan religion, also said that Sohn made inappropriate comments directed towards him about witches and his religion that made him feel uncomfortable. For example, Sohn would sing The Wizard of Oz’s “Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead.” Bara’s employment was eventually terminated by Google after long standing issues with Sohn.”
You can read Bara’s lawsuit, here. Like Bath & Body Works, Google claims the firing was just and did not involve discrimination or any kind.
“After a thorough investigation, we have no reason to believe James Bara was discriminated against or treated unfairly, and we’ll defend ourselves vigorously against these charges. Google values a diverse and respectful workforce and does not tolerate discrimination.”
If Google is liable (and if should be noted that this discrimination didn’t happen at their headquarters, but at an Atlanta-based data center) they’ll be a bit hard to boycott considering their ubiquity on the Internet, nor would such an action really harm the Internet search giant (they aren’t a retail chain dependent on holiday sales). Instead, concerned parties should read the lawsuit, decide if it seems a valid complaint, contact the company with your views, and then publicize the matter on your own site, blog, journal, or newsletter. I imagine Google would respond to an influx of traffic calling them out for this incident.
Turning to politics, last week President Obama attended the The White House Tribal Nations Conference, there he addressed issues of poverty, sovereignty, law enforcement, and education to representatives and leaders from all federally recognized tribes. During a speech he not only referenced his adoption into the Crow Nation, but told leaders that he was on their side.
“I get it. I’m on your side. I understand what it means to be an outsider. I was born to a teenage mother. My father left when I was 2 years old, leaving her — my mother, my grandparents to raise me. We didn’t have much. We moved around a lot. So — so even though our experiences are different, I — I understand what it means to be on the outside looking in. I know what it means to feel ignored and forgotten and what it means to struggle. So you will not be forgotten as long as I’m in this White House.”
Those are some pretty strong words of support, it should be interesting to see how that support develops over his term, and how Native Americans will view the president’s performance on issues important to them. White House spokesmen also stressed that this was part of his ongoing outreach to “all Americans”, does that mean we might see a meeting with religious minorities sooner rather than later?
In a final note, it seems that monotheistic faiths don’t like their forms of animal sacrifice being equated with, well, you know, animal sacrifice. Ever since press have reported that Theodism, and now-famous adherent of Theodism, New York City Councilman Dan Halloran, occasionally partake in a ritual animal sacrifice (in which the animal is then eaten) the Republican councilman has been trying to put the practice in a context people might understand. Before the election he equated it with kosher butchering, which made a Democratic Jewish supporter of his opponent all but call him a Neo-Nazi. Then, after the election, he equated it with the Greek Orthodox tradition of roasting a whole spring lamb on Easter. That got him in trouble with New York’s first Greek-American elected official, Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (a Democrat).
“If Dan Halloran feels the need to explain his religious beliefs to the public, that’s his business. In doing so, he should not mischaracterize the faith of thousands of his new constituents … Easter lamb roasts have absolutely nothing to do with the religious animal blood sacrifices practiced by Dan Halloran. Dan Halloran must immediately apologize to the Greek Orthodox community for his offensive comments as should anyone who is associated with him.”
So, for the record, when an Abrahamic tradition ritually slaughters and eats an animal it is not animal sacrifice. It is only animal sacrifice when Heathens (or possibly Santeros) do it. As for Halloran, he seems done trying to explain his faith to outsiders.
“The fact that my religious beliefs are not mainstream or are not part of what popular culture would consider the norm should have no bearing on my issues.”
Something tells me that despite Halloran’s wishes this isn’t the last I’ve heard of this issue, or the last his opponents will attempt to use his faith against him.
That’s all I have for now, have a great day!
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bipolypagangeek
liamstliam | |
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Gov. Paterson is trying really hard to get the State Senate to pass a same-sex marriage bill duringt he ession that started today. I live in Sen. Betty Little's district (the Northway, basically), and I am in favor of same-sex marriage in new York. I think it's important for our citizens, and I think it's important to take the momentum away from the decision in Maine. Our senator, Betty Little, who is generally and good and supportive senator, has oppsed same-sex marriage in the past, and I have express my concern about that. I called her office at (518) 455-2811 and talked to Kathy, who said the senator does not think the state should redefine marriage. She also said they are keeping track of the number of calls they receive expressing an opinion. Honestly, if you have a strong opinion on this, I urge that you call either way. In case you are not up here, this site will tell you how your senator stands on the issue -- http://tools.advomatic.com/24/nyequality/totalsEven if your senator has declared opposition to same-sex marriage, please contact him/her so our voices can be heard. Update: Fom the Albany Times-Union's "Capitol Confidential" blog a little while ago: As for legislation legalizing gay marriage, the Senate Democrats engaged in heated discussion during conference earlier — a conference meeting that did not include Sen. Tom Duane, the lead Senate sponsor of the bill. But so far, there’s been no indication that it will be brought on the floor today.
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ysabetwordsmith | |
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There's an interesting discussion over on crowdfunding about whether a donate button constitutes begging or something else altogether. For what it's worth, I tend to use "donate" here either as a general term, or referring to small amounts of money going toward a particular project or to making it possible for me to spend more time writing. I use "sponsor" referring to funds that cover a complete work, such as a whole poem. Both have perks, but they're a little different -- any donor with LJ account gets put on my Donors group for a couple of months, and can read the special donor-perk posts; I also list all donors associated with a project. Sponsors get an extra perk: nonexclusive reprint rights to the sponsored piece. That means if you buy a whole poem from me, I treat you like an acquiring editor who can publish it somewhere, such as on your blog, in addition to it appearing here on mine. So I'm not begging here; I'm busking and selling. If you like what I'm doing, you can buy some of it, or you can give me money so I'll have more time to write. If you like a particular subject, and you consistently throw money and/or compliments toward it, you will increase the amount of it in the world. You can be a patron of the arts. You can be an editor. And I'm not just proud of my writing; I'm proud of you, because I have a tremendously cool audience doing marvelous things. You folks are my rocket fuel. Tags: cyberfunded creativity, economics
Current Mood:  busy
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Previous
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