So I watched this movie the other day. I don’t really know if it’s the kind of movie one can like, per se, just because it’s such a downer… but I’m glad I saw it. Hillary Swank is amazing as Brandon; according to the movie’s imdb page, she dressed as and lived a man for a month before the role in order to really nail it. Apparently, her neighbors thought that her brother was coming to visit repeatedly when it was really her.

Anyway, so the one thing that bothered me about this movie was the title. Boys Don’t Cry. I know it’s a song The Cure and all, so it has value for that… but, taken at a literal face value, it’s kind of weird to think about. I say this because Brandon does cry in this movie, quite a few times in fact. Does this mean that he’s not a boy because he cries? Or am I just being too literal and serious (as usual) and really it’s not that big of a deal. Hmm. I don’t know, but it’s interesting to think about.

Despite this, I think it’s definitely a movie to watch if you’re interested at all in LGTQ(QQIAetccc)/trans issues.

- cjs

Charles de Lint is one of my favorite new authors that I’ve been discovering this summer. He writes books that I would want to write, if I were a better writer. He blends fantasy and contemporary realism with an expert touch, populating his fictional world with characters that wholly engrossing. And, best of all, I found this great quote while looking up some info about him:

“Why did men worship in churches, locking themselves away in the dark, when the world lay beyond its doors in all its real glory?” – Charles de Lint.

So good.
-cjs

to have recognition, no matter how small. My photo was used to advertise for the Seattle NW Photo Center summer classes!

You can see the advertisement here

Also, anyone in Bellingham should check out ladyfest, a festival celebrating women artists. I have two photos in their art gallery! Around town, June 18- June 20, 2010.

-etw

Photos that illustrate the Palestinian folktales I’m reading for my class, and the poems that go with them.

“Tunjur Tunjur”
Poem: The story of a pot and her mother

————————————————
“Sahin”
Poem: The story of Sahin and the king’s daughter

————————————————
“Seven Leavenings”
Poem: The story of an old woman baking bread

-etw

1. Describing a girl as “having a face like the moon” is the highest standard of beauty you could describe

2. Palestinian women are known to crave sour grapes during pregnancy, the way American women are known to crave pickles

3. If a woman is infertile, and prays to Allah to let her bare a child, she must be careful what she wishes for or she might give birth to a cricket, or a pot, or a pile of dung.

4. A lunar eclipse is thought to happen when a wale swallows the moon, so on such evenings, children bang pots and pans to ward off the whale

5. Honey is a highly valued product, worthy of the best dishes.

6. Ghouls and Jinn are often around to cause trouble and trick the humans. It is commonly asked “are you a Jinn or are you of the fair race [human]?” when encountering someone who could be a ghoul or jinn in disguise.

7. A bird is often used as a symbol of sexual significance

Stories often tend to have things “backwards” – for example, girls in Palestinian folklore often have male names, or take on male roles, or a child’s decision is passed first to the father, then to the mother, then to the paternal aunt, then the maternal aunt – a chain of passing control from who in reality would have the most power (the father) to the person who has the least control of the child (maternal aunt).

Shitting is often a theme. Feces are taboo in Muslim cultures (considered dirty and haraam), but are often brought up as a point of humor in stories, Palestinian folktales, especially, use bodily functions as humor…but not without an interjection, “Excepting the listeners!” to make it more polite.

-etw

At least, that’s probably what they’ll say in court.

In reality, Detroit police went into a home early sunday morning to arrest a suspect in a homicide that occurred on Friday, May 14 2010. They did arrest the suspect, but in the process, somehow managed to shoot a sleeping seven-year-old girl in the neck. She was sleeping on the couch. I don’t know about you, but I think the police officer had every right to assume the sleeping child would suddenly burst out from under her blanket, wielding a knife concealed in her teddy bear. I mean, come on, it happens all the time, right?

Why do we give these people guns? Fuck the police. $100 bucks the officer gets off.

Did I mention she was black? What a surprise.

-etw

Did you know that…

… echidnas don’t have REM sleep, perhaps because they are descended from reptiles?

… hippocampus (i.e. the part of the brain that deals with memories/emotion) is the Greek work for “seahorse”, because it kind of looks like one?

… the word “splenetic” means bad-tempered/irritable, because people used to think that the spleen was the center of emotion in the human body?

In other news, I am procrastinating studying for finals, and have decided to impart on you some random tidbits of knowledge from this past semester. Enjoy.

<3,
cjs

Read the book of poems Geographies of Light for class yesterday. The poet’s name is Lisa Suhair Majaj. Many of the poems are for the people of Palestine. Here are a few of my favorites: (Click for words)

“Guidelines”

“Answers”

“Practicing Loving Kindness”

(UPDATE: Sorry it took so long to get the words up!

…Literally.

Have you ever seen a photo of a bee’s knees? ‘Cause they’re pretty damn interesting. And it just so happens that one of my favorite photographers photographs such things, as bee’s knees.

Her name is Rose-Lynn Fisher, and she does incredible macro photos of bee parts. I first heard about her in my photography magazine a few years ago, and was quite impressed.

Her insect work is called BEEyond, and the photos range from being 50x the actual size of the subject, to 5000x the actual size. It’s amazing how she taps into this world that is thousands of times smaller than our world, even though we encounter bees every day. Very cool work.

I’ve linked to some of her photos here:

Above: insect eye, 200x actual size

Above: Antenna, 150x actual size

Above: proboscis, 150x actual size

You can see the rest by clicking on one of the photos, or by going to http://www.rose-lynnfisher.com/beepage.html

You can also see the rest of her work (it’s not all insects) at http://www.rose-lynnfisher.com/index.html . The rest of her work is equally amazing. (Unfortunately, the site doesn’t have a photo of a bee’s knee. I have one on my wall at home that I cut out of the magazine, though. And trust me, it’s as wonderful as the rest.)

-etw

That is all. I don’t have anything particularly witty or insightful to add … mostly I just really wanted to make us into jellyfish. I don’t think they’re actually catostylus mosaicus jellyfish, since I found them hanging out in Google Images, so you can just pretend they are.

-cjs

P.S. Not related, but this is kinda hilarious: