My cheap little Olympus digital voice recorder is the best thing that has ever happened to my freelance career (except I can't figure out how to use it on the phone line, but I think that's my failing rather than its fault). Just sayin'. Tiny! Fits in my pocket. Clear sound! Even in my windy backyard. Easy to use! Ridiculous amounts of storage! No funny fittings that need adapters! One tiny battery!

OK, back to transcribing.

http://news.bme.com/2009/11/16/is-it-me-or-does-this-suspension-make-me-look-skinny/

Jared sent in pictures of his apprentice suspending. There are tons more in the gallery worth looking through.



See more in "Knee suspensions" (Ritual)

Hi,

Is anyone in this lj community in Paris? I will be visiting in the spring to show some work at Palais de Tokio.
I am trying to get a sense of how life is for TG/TS there, so please reply here (or feel free to contact me via my lj) if you live there and would like to share some thoughts!

Thanks very much.

http://news.bme.com/2009/11/16/it-was-a-bear-i-swear/

Dave wrote me the other day to let me know he'd redone his facial scars. Apparently they didn't work as he'd wanted the first time. Quinten from Kalima Body Piercing Studio in Worthing, England "burnt him a little deeper for a better scar." He also included a photo of him ...

this post is RIDICULOUSLY picture heavy, i warn.
apologies to those with dial up or capped interwebs or a shitty connection in general.

( sleeping is my 9 to 5. )

Disease Of Conceit by Bob Dylan

There's a whole lot of people suffering tonight
From the disease of conceit.
Whole lot of people struggling tonight
From the disease of conceit.
Comes right down the highway,
Straight down the line,
Rips into your senses
Through your body and your mind.
Nothing about it that's sweet,
The disease of conceit.

There's a whole lot of hearts breaking tonight
From the disease of conceit,
Whole lot of hearts shaking tonight
From the disease of conceit.
Steps into your room,
Eats your soul,
Over your senses
You have no control.
Ain't nothing too discreet
About of disease of conceit.

There's a whole lot of people dying tonight
From the disease of conceit,
Whole lot of people crying tonight
From the disease of conceit,
Comes right out of nowhere
And you're down for the count
From the outside world,
The pressure will mount,
Turn you into a piece of meat,
The disease of conceit.

Conceit is a disease
That the doctors got no cure
They've done a lot of research on it
But what it is, they're still not sure

There's a whole lot of people in trouble tonight
From the disease of conceit,
Whole lot of people seeing double tonight
From the disease of conceit,
Give ya delusions of grandeur
And a evil eye
Give you idea that
You're too good to die,
Then they bury you from your head to your feet
From the disease of conceit.

Copyright ©1989 Special Rider Music

I learned about hubris this week, in a way I never have before. From observation and listening, and being alarmed to understanding.

I saw Goats Who Stare At Men tonight, and I realized something sort of sad.

Kevin Spacey has been ruined for me as an actor by the movie 21. I can't watch him without sort of mentally overlaying JP onto whatever character he's playing. In the goat movie, this is especially humorous.

Heart and bone damage from low vitamin D tied to declines in sex hormones

Researchers at Johns Hopkins are reporting what is believed to be the first conclusive evidence in men that the long-term ill effects of vitamin D deficiency are amplified by lower levels of the key sex hormone estrogen, but not testosterone.

In a national study in 1010 men, to be presented Nov. 15 at the American Heart Association's (AHA) annual Scientific Sessions in Orlando, researchers say the new findings build on previous studies showing that deficiencies in vitamin D and low levels of estrogen, found naturally in differing amounts in men and women, were independent risk factors for hardened and narrowed arteries and weakened bones. Vitamin D is an essential part to keeping the body healthy, and can be obtained from fortified foods, such as milk and cereals, and by exposure to sunlight.

I don't know how or if this would translate to us. But it's valuable to note that estrogen is an important hormone for the health of cismen, and presumably us too. This study also makes note of the confusing results of hormone treatment of post-menopausal women. Such treatment didn't show lowered heart disease risk, but greater heart disease risk. This means that exogenous (not body produced) estrogen introduced to ciswomen didn't have the benefit attributed to endogenous estrogen.

Simone has actually only taken off her diaper once. Well, twice. And not even in my presence; Shayna reported it last week (when she did it in public! Nothing that Baby Gap hasn't seen before, I trust). I'm just gearing up for a future wide open with diaper-free (and duct-tape-full) possibilities.

I got the duct tape idea from my Mom; it's what she used in the pre-resealable days.

I was just curious to see what reason codes/ how have people been able to get their hystos covered by insurance? Whether it be before, during or after medical Transition (ie. T and/or Top surgery)?
Also were you limited to only a "certain" type of hysto? (ie. abdominal, just cervix and uterus removed, everything remove and so on).

I feel more people would benefit from such a discussion. Plus I am just curious for my own nerdy purposes because this is not as commonly discussed and I wanted to see if there was any pattern/ common reason.

Thanks in Advance

Cris

I was just wondering if anyone had personal experience having a hysto with a gynecolosist by the name of Dr. Zoe Rodriquez in NYC. She is affiliated with Beth Israel Hospital.

Thanks in Advance

Cris

Dear Disposable Diaper Designers,

I remember when you launched your exciting new innovation in diaper technology, the resealable tab. Yes, this design revolution happened within my lifetime, and I remember life before these new, exciting, versatile adhesives. It certainly seemed like a good idea at the time, didn't it? So clever! Open, shut, open, shut, ad infinitum. Plus, no sticking to sensitive baby skin -- very nice.

I seem to remember that this was marketed as a way to conserve diapers -- no more ripping open a diaper only to discover it pristine and unsoiled, but having to throw it away anyway. Somehow, I bet that diaper prices went up concurrent with this new 'frugal' innovation, but that's beside the point.

So what is the point? Simple. My daughter, who is not even fourteen months old at the time of this writing, has recently developed a fascination with taking off her own clothes. I understand that this is a normal developmental stage, and that she is not at all precocious in this regard. (She also enjoys putting on various items of clothing, including and especially hats and scarves, but again, this is beside the point.)

You may guess where this is going, yes? My daughter has figured out how to undo the fancy-schmancy resealable tabs on her diapers.

I understand, too, that switching to cloth diapers may not be an improvement, as many diaper covers are held together with velcro. And you may have guessed that my daughter has already mastered that material.

I may have to resort to duct tape. Possibly in bulk -- it's looking to have many practical applications for impending toddlerhood.

Dreaming of archaic technology including diaper pins and shoelaces,


Lori S.

Hello sirs.

I haven't commented or posted in awhile, but I still enjoy looking at everyone's photos. I transitioned in 2007. Hormones: not yet, but may be in the cards for next year.

I'll be 18 in December, and I can't wait to vote in the special election being held on my birthday!

I went out with a friend I've known 27 years last night and she is a year older than me. That means, she's 53. Every little bar we went into, from the Lex to the Homestead, searching for a nice, uncrowded place to drink a beer on a Friday night in the Mission, every place - she exclaimed as if in agony, "THERE ARE ONLY CHILDREN IN HERE! CHILDREN! I CAN'T DRINK WITH CHILDREN!"

I was surprised and would look around, "But some of these people are in their 30's I bet."

'THEY ARE CHILDREN, I DON'T WANT TO WATCH THEM TALK, I DON'T WANT TO DRINK WITH THEM. THEY DON'T KNOW ANYTHING, THEY THINK THEY KNOW EVERYTHING, THEY ARE CHILDREN!"

"You know, I bet there are even a couple or three here in their 40's." I was trying to reassure her but my friend was not to be reassured and pursed her lips, shaking her head -- she would have none of it. "CHILDREN CHILDREN! LET"S GO!"

OK. I was mildly stunned. After all, we had been defiant slightly crazed punk rockers together in our twenties. Now, here we were... Well, gee... I thought, I guess I drink around these "children" regularly and I just don't think about it ya know. I just assume, I told her, that everyone in the room is probably younger than me. And, who cares? On the other hand, I look pretty young for my advanced age I am told. But... Well, why think about it?

We eventually found a cool, rockabilly, punkish het (but mixed a bit) bar and settled in to watch drunk girls dance and listen to some decent tunes from the DJ. They had great posters of motorcycle Big Daddy Roth type monsters on the wall and strange action figures on the bar. We had found our place. The people were uniformly young but there was one old gray haired guy who got up and starting dancing with a young woman. "Yea, shake it grandpa!" I said in approval, although not so loud as to be heard. It was loud, and the woman he was dancing with was writhing to the beat with weird little twists of her hips and hands. I wondered when I would start looking like that old guy in this bar. Well, I reassured myself -- hasn't happened yet, but I guess that day is coming. Wow.

My friend was very pleased to watch the old guy dance. He was pretty good actually. All gray haired and a bit wizened, but still filled with energy. The music was from his era, the 60's. Even we were too young for the songs, but we could remember them. At least, we were not, the oldest ones there.

Firebrand blogger and New Yorker Pamela Geller speaks in Texas about the recent attack on soldiers at Ft. Hood and Islamic jihad, and also Islam and Europe, the attack on free speech, Iran, the UN, Honduras, honor killings, the media, healthcare reform, and liberty. Well, she covers more than that, you'll see -- this speech is mesmerizing and gets better as she continues. She's tough, she's passionate, she knows her material, and she has a great accent! When she mentions "CAIR" in here, she means "Council on American-Islamic Relations" not the agency CARE. I wasn't sure myself, so I'm letting you guys know up front. She also talks a lot about the case of Rifqa Bary, a Muslim teenager who converted to Christianity, who is attempting to become emancipated from her family since she is deathly afraid that they are going to kill her.

Note: you can get rid of the ad on the bottom by touching the X... that is for the video site apparently.

She opens with a video of cops being chased by Islamic radical demonstrators in the UK, that's right COPS being chased:

Let's say that you've purchased some small, inexpensive yet somewhat specialized item. For the sake of argument, let's say that the price was about a buck fifty. For whatever reason. you wound up not having a use for the item, and you think it's unlikely that you'll have use for it in the future. It's returnable, but you would have to go out of your way to take it back.

What do you do?

Back on the ground, kids. Returned the rental car, went to Costco, cleaning up the months and months of mess that the wedding has wrought in our apartment. We basically just haven't cleaned much at all since we moved in. I mean, a little to make this place not completely disgusting, but it's been kind of a nightmare as far as living spaces are concerned.

I've got to go back to work tomorrow, and we have school again this week, for the first time.

We're watching The Avengers right now, the cartoon version, which is fantastically ridiculous.

Yes, I am part of the stay-at-home-on-a-Saturday-night brigade this evening. This was going to happen even before the plague hit my household, but still. On the other hand, someone took me shopping, and someone else cooked me dinner, my babies are clingy but adorable (and now asleep), and I had a very fun freelance interview this morning in the garden which tomorrow I must transcribe, and then write up proper on Monday.

And I have cookies.

Simone has managed to figure out how to liberate her suction-cup bowl from the high chair tray after only two days of use. I may resort to glue and/or duct tape.

April is finally thinking about walking, but only if you don't watch.

I bought $5 worth of hats at Goodwill last weekend for the ladies and it was the best investment ever.

And so it goes.

so once again, i'm kage and here are some more pics!

Kage Jonas, 23, pre-everything, Ohio

thanks!

~kage jonas

I'm going to be traveling November 20-29. My regular cat sitter may or may not be in town during that time. Would anyone in the area be willing to take care of the kittens while I'm gone if she's not available? It would entail coming by my place about every other day to make sure that the furballs have food and water.