I want to wish everyone the happiest of holidays, whether you celebrate today, or another day, or every day, whether you're religious, or secular, observant, or not! And, best wishes for peace, equality, health, wealth, and happiness in the New Year!

I just noticed, I've been a member here for six years, 26 weeks. That's six and a half years!

It's true, I haven't been crowing about my milestones here, so why this one? I'm not sure, really. Maybe its just because I'm amazed how long I've been hanging around? Maybe I'm just looking for a pat on the back. Who knows? I've been in a crummy mood lately, so maybe this is just me, reaching out somehow.

This article strikes me as useful:

25 Things You Should Know About Self-Publishing.

Interesting, and somewhat sympathetic, article in the NY Times today:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/31/movies/new-roles-for-trans...

Discuss.

Hi. I don't know if anyone feels like chatting, but with Bob's passing, the chatroom here is no longer accessible. It was his server that provided the access. If anyone would like to chat about that, or anything else, Amber-Willow has put up her own IRC chatroom, at least for temporary use.

There's fodder for a story here, somewhere! This news item first appeared last week, but I just tripped over it while poking around a news consolidation site.

BERLIN | Wed May 4, 2011 11:20am EDT
(Reuters) - A mayor in Germany helped rescue a man who became trapped in a women's prison after mistaking it for a shortcut to a nearby park, police in the northern city of Hildesheim said on Wednesday.

Hildesheim Mayor Henning Blum heard the man's cries for help while passing by the prison near the city center and notified police who came and freed the 24-year-old.

The man told police he was strolling through town and did not immediately notice he had walked into a prison. By the time it dawned on him where he was, the gate to the jail had already closed, locking him inside.

Police said they are investigating why the prison gate was open, enabling the man to wander in.

Looking up at the Brooklyn sky, and what do I see? Fighter jets flying overhead. Not very high or fast, either. Loud things. Nothing on the news yet.

Probably nothing happening, but remember, folks! You read it here first.

Just poking around the 'nets and I tripped over something I'd like to share. I've been waaaaay guilty of this myself, so I'm not posting it to shame anyone, just for the lulz (as the kids say). (Disclaimer: stolen wholesale from Wikipedia. No original content beyond this point. Formatting automagically screwed up by cut-n-paste. See the original in Wikipedia if you want to see the footnotes.)

Skitt's Law:

A few of us are over in the chatroom, shooting the breeze. If you enjoy chatting with fellow transsexuals, crossdressers, and fans of TG fiction, come on over! We don't role-play in the room, although there's a separate role-play room you can open/join. Fetishists and chasers are not welcome in the Main Room, unless you seriously behave yourselves.

Saturday Night Live had one of their send-up fake ads this weekend that was particularly aimed at making fun of transsexuals. IMHO, it was transphobic, trivializing and mocking. GLAAD is calling for an angry response from the LGBT community. Considering GLAAD is rarely "there" on trans issues, this is a bit of an earthquake.

Here's a link to start with, with links to other links, including embedded video:

http://www.towleroad.com/2011/01/estromaxx.html

Saturday Night Live is a production of NBC Universal, which is in the process of merging with Comcast.

I'm not sure what I can say about this. The nature v. nurture argument pops up in many areas of discussion of human behavior and identity. Following is an example of personal anecdotes (and photos) of gay men and women and their earliest evidence of being... different.

Presented without further comment:

http://borngaybornthisway.blogspot.com/

There was a commercial New Year's Eve party/event in Brooklyn last night, a big one. Two guys who are event organizers have been having these for several years. Three thousand people in a vacant 45,000 square foot industrial loft, themed as an airline terminal, with lots of people in costume. Airline stewardess seemed to be a popular one.

I know we have a number of sci-fi and space-flight geeks here. If you are one of them, you might enjoy this 45-minute NASA-produced video of shuttle launch footage previously unseen by the general public:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2VygftZSCs&feature=player_em...

Just saw Scotty's blog posting on dressing up as Lolita. I hope he finds the bits and pieces of outfit he needs to pull it off, and I'll be looking forward to pictures.

Let me turn the topic now to... me, because like a lot of people I either like talking about me, or am so completely insecure that I need to, always with the hope that people will somehow offer me some support and acceptance, and if not love, then at least "like." Self-esteem... some day I should get me some.

*Gasp*

A sensitive, understanding article about a transgender basketball player, from the New York Daily News, the News! And, on the Sports pages! Oh, my goodness, the sky is falling!

This is pure gold, imho.

It's either useful or humorous (or maybe both), depending on your needs at the moment.

The Female Stereotype Flowchart [link].

I could stare at it for hours... giggling.

I loved this article, inspired by the occasion of the publication of the 16th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style. If, like me, you've ever wondered what that was, or where it came from, you too may find the article interesting and educational.

"Hyphenate This!" [Click Here]

I've tagged this blog for Mature Audiences due to rude language contained in the linked article.

There was a time I suspected I might have Asperger's Syndrome. Then I read a book on it and realized I didn't. Such fun! (What I think I do have is hypochondria.)

Anyway, I found this test. I wasn't looking for it. In fact I could have used this around 3 years ago. It would have saved me reading that stupid book. But, I'm very good at finding things I wasn't looking for. Or at least not recently.

I'm not going to lie to you and try to tell you that Bull Durham wasn't about baseball. That's mostly what it was about. But, it was also about people, and sex, and a bit of mysticism.

Not sure how or why, but I tripped over a link to the screenplay. It's richer, darker, possibly funnier, but definitely more touching than the movie was. I was particularly taken with its very open view of sexuality, sensuality and gender. If you do nothing else, just word-seach on "panties" and skip through it. Oh, and read the ending. It's nice.

Someone has posted a public domain version of a famously thin and stupid book known as English As She Is Spoke.

Mark Twain wrote the forward to the first American Version. Here is an excerpt of that forward:

Many persons have believed that this book's miraculous stupidities were
studied and disingenuous; but no one can read the volume carefully through and keep
that opinion. It was written in serious good faith and deep earnestness, by an honest
and upright idiot who believed he knew something of the English language, and could

Just got back from church. Wow... My head would be spinning, except things worked out pretty much exactly as I expected. Well, I guess it is spinning. Things working out as expected is a pretty rare occurrence, truth be told!

I'm speechless. I'll let this, and the linked articles, speak for themselves:

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/06/29/doctor-...

Japanese are weird, pt. 23c:

The following is a trailer for a Japanese tv show called approximately "The Ancient Dogoo Girl." What qualifies it to be here is a brief sequence in which a guy gets zapped and appears to sprout breasts. Other than that (well, even including that), it's just plain weird.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHK_UbtFXgE

Any fans of Japanese graphic culture who are familiar with this genre of entertainment, feel free to fill us in on the background and such!

Just tripped over a notice for this:

http://threedollarbillcinema.org/calendar/translations-2010/

Thought I'd share.