Volunteering

So I started volunteering a couple months ago. I help teach English to seniors who are refugees or immigrants from East Africa, mainly Ethiopia, Somalia, and Eritria. It's immensely satisfying, hopefully helpful, and I'm very glad I started. The organization is the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization, and I volunteer at Africa House, one of its branches.

Volunteering is something that I've really always wanted to do, but never did for one reason or another. It wasn't something really done in the community where I'm from. People there have their own problems and mostly keep to their own. So community service was never really ingrained in me. I have always tried to donate to worthy causes when I had the money, but wasn't motivated enough to do the volunteering myself. I just barely started getting a glimpse of it a few years ago. We had a friend who volunteered with IRC (International Rescue Committee) which aids refugees. We started donating things like clothing and baby items and got to see a little bit of how this impacted a refugee family's life.

Anyway, I just wanted to post something quick for anyone who might someday look at this blog and was thinking of volunteering. Find a place and dive in. It's so worth it, so very needed, and the people will appreciate your efforts in any way you can help.

Chiles

Saw an advertisement at a farmer's market for "'pasilla' poblano" chiles. FYI, pasillas and poblanos are separate varieties. Pasilla (little raisin) is the mature form of the green chilaca (a long green chile similar to New Mexican pod type), while poblanos mature into "ancho" chiles.

While the color is similar in the dried form, it's a whole different enchilada. :)

Social Media

As an historian, it's easy to get lost in the past. We spend so much time reading about the past, writing about the past, and simply thinking about the past, that the present sometimes seems almost...I don't know...mundane I guess. And certainly too transient. Many of us look upon present trends and wonder if they will just be passing fads, relegated to the dustbin of history, a dustbin that we routinely spend time sifting through.

For me, this phenomenon takes the form of being hesitant to accept technology. While some of this is simply me lacking the time (or money) to spend learning new technologies, I think my greatest aversion to trying out new technologies is the unwillingness to let go of the past and dive in to the future.

In an effort to break out of this trap--and at the urging of my wife--I am trying to become more adept at using social media. I was very late to the MySpace party, as well as to Facebook. By now, I've long been using Facebook to keep in touch with old friends, but I only recently created accounts on LinkedIn and Twitter (I follow 6 people and have 1 follower!). Meanwhile, I've let this blog wither on the vine. Part of the problem is not really having a focus for the blog. When it's just my random thoughts, I find it hard to justify sharing them with the world. It seems pretty arrogant to think that anyone would, let alone should, care what I have to say. But I guess that's the world I'm living in now, and I need to get used to it.

In any case, although I have said this before and will probably say it again, I hope to revive my blog and actually use it. /crosses fingers

Arizona racism

If anyone was under the delusion that Arizona's anti-immigrant bill SB1070 was only after immigrants and not racist, look no further than the state's new law against Ethnic Studies. Mexican AMERICANS are the primary target. As if mainstream high school history wasn't "designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group," that is, whites.

So, their idea is that you won't know you're being oppressed unless your teacher tells you, even while passing a law that will encourage racial profiling. How stupid do they think people are?

Man cleared by DNA

Sad that I had to find this story from a UK site.

In my younger days, I used to not be opposed to the death penalty, because I thought in theory the state should have the right to put someone to death for a violent crime. I quickly came to recognize that the theory cannot be separated from the facts and actual practice of law enforcement and our justice system. People are just too fallable.

Stronglifts 5x5

So this week I started training with the Stronglifts 5X5 program. We recently got a YMCA membership, and I've really been looking to get stronger. I don't care too much about getting "ripped," but I want to get some solid functional strength that will translate to a physical everyday life and more frequent sporting activities. Right now, I'm just weak. And I'm carrying about 15 lbs of fat around I would like to get rid of. I'm 5'11" and 185 lbs. Most of my weight is in my trunk, but I've got spindly arms and legs, no ass, a pencil neck, and burgeoning man boobs. As a side note, I have an exceptionally long trunk and arms, but short legs. Wow, that really makes me sound like a total freak to behold.

Anyway, the idea of Stronglifts is to do compound exercises like squats with high sets (5) x low reps (5), adding weight each workout until you stall out on squats. There's a lot more to it than that, but it is a simple program. Reading reviews made it sound like just what I am looking for. As instructed, I'm starting with the empty bar for most of the exercises to concentrate on technique (proper form), to reduce injuries, not stall out to soon, etc.

Today I just finished my second workout, the first Day B workout, which included either pullups or chinups. I grabbed the bar for pullups and immediately realized that I'm not capable of one. Damn they're hard. I switched to chinups and got off 2 of those, but they were ugly and I only sort of got 1 on each of the next 2 sets. Damn, they're hard too.

So far, the hardest thing is putting away my rather modest ego. Putting 2.5 lb plates on a barbell for benching looks ridiculous, as does failing so miserably on pullups/chinups. At least the weights start adding up soon, but the body weight exercises are shameful. Oh well, screw everybody else.

I'll post more when I get further along.

Bombadil

Great band. Look them up. Do it right now. They're worth it.

Historic day--Health Care Reform

This is an historic day. Health Care Reform will become law.

It's also a very good thing. It could be much better. It could include a decent public option. Or, better yet, some form of single payer system. Still, this legislation will help save lives. It will curb abuses by insurance companies. It will provide insurance to more than 30 million more people.

Don't believe all the vitriol from the right. This is not a government takeover of healthcare. Far from it. If anything, this bill entrenches the current system by curbing a few abuses but leaving the whole system largely in tact. Insurance companies will gain millions of new customers--most of which will be healthy, thus increasing the monetary pool from which to treat the ill. And, I think Pelosi was spot on when she noted that it frees workers from being stuck in shit jobs, or unable to start a new business, or take a job with better pay but worse benefits, for fear of losing their health insurance.

I do want to point out that there are potential problems with the bill. I think, for instance, that if the penalties for companies are not big enough, they may drop employee benefits, forcing more employees into the exchanges. That could raise costs.

It's not perfect. It's not single payer. But it is definitely a good start.

Otra vez

Unbelievably grim to hear of the earthquake in Chile after Haiti endured one. Just thinking about how lucky I am to have avoided such a destructive natural disaster. My sypmathies to the people of Chile.

Intent as Defense = BS

Awesome sauce from Genderbitch here.


Intent! It’s Fucking Magic!

23Jan10Crossposted to Questioning Transphobia

"Warning: This post is sarcastic to such a point as you may actually slip in the pools of sarcasm that are dripping off of it. Please walk carefully. The caution cones are there for your protection. Also, we totally didn’t intend for you to slip so we’re not responsible if you do.

Today, someone said a slur. It actually doesn’t matter what slur it was, because you see, he didn’t intend to hurt anyone and therefore it couldn’t possibly be a slur. Much like how intent magically protects the actions of all privileged fuckjobs, intent means that anything you say, no matter how many groups it hurts, what awful views it enables, no matter what systemic bigotries it props up through the usage of language that enforces social concepts that crush a marginalized group, it mystically negates all of that.

So if you out a trans woman? Your uncanny intent wraps around her and protects her from murder, harassment, degendering and objectification by the people you just outed her to! If you say something ableist, you’re not actually contributing to the system that demeans PWD because your intent will gird your words with alchemical shields, made of eldritch power themselves, that prevent the words from creating and furthering social associations between disability and being bad, wrong, broken or unwanted! I know? Isn’t it grand? I love magic!

See, the great thing about this thaumaturgy is that it protects anything a privileged asshole says! So it fits in line completely with that glorious sense of entitlement that privilege tends to confer, basically, the idea that you can say anything you want and should never have accountability for what you say! Because you see, all privileged people have this ancient eldritch power called “Intent”. In fact, intent is one of the primary elements of the world (see figure 1). Like fire, water, wood, metal, air and earth, Intent helps make up an important part of the very existence of the universe. So when you invoke its ancient might, its tendrils of ephemeral power shift in the very fabric of the ‘verse, creating a magic so powerful that you can manipulate thousands upon thousands of threads of fate, just to protect the person you just said or did something supremely privileged and horrible to.



So say, if you make a bunch of racist jokes, instead of contributing to the systemic oppression of POC, the bewitching might of Intent (I’m capitalizing the I now, to give it proper respect as a primary element) spreads out, blocking every single person from fully hearing the awful racist shit you just said, further preventing them from internalizing it and using it to justify actions. It also prevents it from creating an environment where racist behavior is seen as more acceptable, by twisting the very threads of fate there as well! And, the best part? If you say it in earshot of someone who’s offended or hurt by it, the occult powers of Intent change everything! Now, instead of hearing a hurtful slur or sentiment that reminds of past abuses at the hands of privileged fuckjobs, the marginalized person in question only hears the beautiful natural sound of birds chirping. Or whale noises! Because you see, Intent is just that powerful. It literally keeps anyone from getting hurt by your fuckery!

But you see, it goes further than that.

Intent is so unbelievably epic that it doesn’t just cover slurs. No, it covers actions as well! Because you see, the very threads of fate are not immune to this otherworldly flow of what you meant to do or say. So if you kick a trans woman out of a homeless shelter into the cold because she didn’t fit your views of what a woman should be and she didn’t want to be put in with the menz (who would likely rape and murder her, or at least harass her), your Intent literally changes the tapestry of fate so that instead of freezing to death in the cold, she actually is heated by an unexpected fire, lit by a lightning strike from clear skies, onto a pile of garbage that can’t spread the fire to anything else, right next to where she just happened to fall in exhaustion! I know! Isn’t it awesome?!

Intent is a power that you only have if you believe in it. Because so many marginalized people don’t believe in the power of intent when it comes to their/our marginalizations, few of us are able to call on its supernatural strength. Some rare marginalized folk are able to, but only in given situations and generally only in relation to themselves.

But you see, it isn’t even limited to the fuckery of kyriarchy, self applied -ism and/or privilege. It works everywhere else too! Made a really bad business deal that bankrupted your new business but didn’t intend to screw that up? Intent will magically negate the effects of the business deal on your finances! Drove during a foggy night while drunk as fuck and accidentally ran down a college student with your car going at high enough speeds to instantly kill him? Intent’s eldritch power will restart his heart and heal his wounds! Intent has the ability to change everything and anything you do and say to match your intent. That is simply how strong it is as one of the primary elements of the universe. It’s why we’re so darn unreasonable for being mad at the fuckery of privileged assholes, or for even calling them assholes. They didn’t intend to hurt anyone! They didn’t intend to do anything bad! And clearly, due to that Intent, to that thaumaturgic sorcery that spills forth from the mindset of the asshole who claims its power, any harm or bad shit they caused is magically negated!

Because you see, Intent is the ultimate alchemy. It doesn’t change lead to gold, it changes harmful, negative or damaging actions into happy, fun, “everyone hugs and no one is oppressed”, magical unicorn actions. It dips its eerie powers into the pools of time and space and counters each and every ripple of fuckery and pain created by the actions of an unthinking douchebag who was too privileged or self absorbed to see that their actions were a problem.

Isn’t that magical? I sure think so."

Haiti, ma pais

Thinking of Haiti right now after such an awful tragedy. I'm donating to the Red Cross. Please give what you can to help.