Wednesday, October 22, 20083:04 PM - it is happening again.it's that time againI just got an e-mail in my inbox for my work's periodic blood drive. I've known several people over the years who were enthusiastic blood donors, and at one point, I even wanted to do this myself. Seeing my own blood makes me queasy, especially if it is outside of my body, and I would much prefer that it would stay put, thank you very much. Still, there's always a need for blood, and I count blood donors among the most courageous and generous private citizens around. So, the request for blood came out today, along with the obligatory link to the website that says, among other things, that gay men can't donate blood. Nope. Not a drop. In fact, a quick internet search revealed that in 2007 the FDA renewed its prohibition for gay men to give blood, which was originally instituted in 1983 due to the blossoming AIDS crisis, even though now donated blood is thoroughly screened for HIV and hundreds of other things that you don't want to be passing along to people who receive the blood you donated. The only even remotely scientific rationale for this is that STIs travel faster in gay male communities, so the ban on gay men donating blood would "prevent" the transmission of a previously unknown blood-borne pathogen. Assuming that no one else ever catches the thing and goes to donate. Which brings us to our next point, really... we are supposed to self-select out of donating blood. Have you ever had sex with a man since 1977, they ask, and then show us the door. So... what happens if I lie? "Why no, such a thing would be unimaginable!" I gasp, feigning shock. Does this mean that I get to donate blood? Does pretending to be straight streamline my blood past a series of tests that would detect problems that only gay men get? Here's my favorite: what if the poll worker notices my impeccable sense of style, flair for the dramatic, and lack of old football injuries? What if she finds out that I am a trapeze artist? What if she suspects that I'm lying about not being gay? Is she then obligated to throw my blood out? Is she entitled to make a judgement call? This is institutionalized homophobia, underscored by the fact that even the Red Cross calls the rule "medically and scientifically unnecessary." So what do I do, when these little e-mails come out? Honestly, I take solace in the fact that being gay is protecting me from seeing my blood forcibly removed from my body, even if it is going to a better place. I enjoy the small comfort that discrimination is preventing me from being asked to make a sacrifice that would be difficult, if rewarding. The alternative is to descend into a frothing rage, which is not something I like to do in a professional environment; I reserve outbursts for my blog. Tuesday, October 21, 20087:58 AM - preview photos are insteampunk, day 001quick photo set lots of previews Enjoy! Tuesday, October 14, 20083:08 PM - ...I gave at the office! har.on another noteI made a donation today to the campaign to defeat California Prop 8. I feel that in this historic moment, if I am going to run at the mouth as frequently as I do, I should also put my money where my mouth is, so to speak. I hope that you find the time to do the same. 1:52 PM - a buncha random thoughtssteampunk, day 00We had our photo shoot on Sunday. Good gravy was it a lot of fun. Definitely worth driving to Vallejo at 7:30 in the morning... of course that was helped by having a strawberry scone in one hand and a hazelnut mocha from Peet's in the other. Nummy! Here's a preview photo from Kim. This is all you're going to get until we get the real teasers in 3 weeks and the full set in 8, so please ration out your enjoyment until then.  Ed Pingol was amazing. He posed us like superheroes, and then he was overflowing with so much enthusiasm that several times he stopped shooting to show us the photos on his viewscreen. We did a "Mighty Ducks V" which looks suspiciously like the promotional shots for Heroes on NBC, and we did trading card-style solo shots, and we did some fun precarious shots on a bunch of old girders. I'm glad that I had practiced walking in heels, because once we started climbing on rusty narrow things, it was all I could do to not fall. I also did a good job of not clocking anyone with my cane (although Sho almost got it once, oops) and I mostly didn't crack up inappropriately during the shoot, except once with Aimee and once when I turned around and Lydia was pointing her gun directly at my face. She totally out-villained me. A quick note on the bionic arm.... I really did make one the day before the shoot, but it had a serious problem where the paint flaked off really quickly, exposing white plastic underneath. It also hurt a lot to wear, so I am glad that I didn't try to wear it for 2 hours for this shoot... I might have lost my arm entirely. Maybe I'll try re-making it, but honestly, the costume doesn't really need it. My secret hope: that the top jacket chain isn't stuck behind my corset in all of the Ed Pingol photos. I dunno when during the day that happened, in part because I couldn't look down, but I'm going to be really annoyed if my jacket is permanently askew. Friday, October 10, 20081:24 PM - brain rotsteampunk, day 010, part iiJust a comment: I wish that I had kept track of all of the DVDs I watched while working on this project. Examples: LotR Trilogy, extended, x2 Kaleido-Star first season, pretty much all episodes Fifth Element, x2 Hero, x2 Stardust, x4 The Fall, x2 Batman Returns, x2 Spirited Away, at least twice The Cats of Mirikitani The Goonies Labyrinth (to be fair, I did no work during this one) The Dark Crystal Cirque Du Soleil, Dralion and Quidam Project Runway, as available Firefly, 2 episodes Heroes, 4 bad episodes ...and some desert movie at AJ & Judy's house I'm sure this mostly only covers September/October... I may have seen more during August. This is more media than I usually consume in a year. 11:22 AM - head hurts. must sleep more.steampunk, day 010I was up way too late last night. Updating my to-do list. This is all pretty ambitious for the speed at which I usually work. But it's fun to be on the team and posting a to-do list. Yay. Optional items are in italics.
Thursday, October 09, 200810:01 AM - updated to-do, for my benefitsteampunk, day 05111Optional items are in italics.
Wednesday, October 08, 20084:22 PM - Tony's (predictable) opiniona quick no on prop 8As many of you know, California's Prop 8 is a proposal to make an amendment to the state constitution that would eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California. This right was recently granted to us by a ruling of the State Supreme Court, which ruled that denying same-sex couples the right to marriage was a violation of our equal rights, even in the presence of an "equivalent" option. We all get to vote on Prop 8 soon, so the discussions are heating up. When I've talked to people who oppose same-sex marriage, it has always come down to a Christian, religion-based definition of marriage. These people are afraid that the courts are trying to come into their churches and force them to allow queer people to get married in them. I'd like to clear up that misconception. The government cannot reach into your church and tell you who to let in or who to allow to get married there. Period. That's what the First Amendment is for; it protects your religious beliefs and your right to make choices around that. In pushing for our state and federal marriage rights, queer people are not trying to change or attack your religion. I think that most of us respect both your right to believe what you believe and the right of your religious community to make its own rules and decisions. Your religion's definition of marriage is not under attack. The legal definition of marriage has changed over time to reflect our ideas about equal rights (ex: US anti-miscegenation laws from 1863-1967), just like our interpretation of "all men are created equal" has changed over time (remember when only white male landowners could vote?). A constitutional amendment should be something that protects the rights of everyone, not something that explicitly codifies discrimination into the law. We tried that with the federal constitution and Prohibition, and it doesn't work. Before you vote on Prop 8, please take a moment to consider what you are trying to protect. No one is trying to take away your right to your beliefs; please don't misconstrue our quest for equal rights as an attack on your religious freedom. Monday, October 06, 200811:26 AM - sewing mostly done. now it's all hardware.steampunk, day 0511, part ii Mostly done with sewing. To-do list in previous entry. I only snapped a couple more needles; the point of one of them hit me in the face about an inch below my eye. Nice. I also accidentally scissored the same finger that I cut while I was slicing strawberries a week or so ago... Hooray for collateral damage. Last Wednesday, Aya was exceedingly kind and came to sewing circle just to help me with the pants. I showed her how I was doing the hem, and she did one while I did the other (hooray for having long legs). I was standing in my boots while she marked the length of the hem, and two people came in and asked if I was standing on a box. This was hilarious to me. At least I think I'll be able to loom villainously in the back of the group shots. Hah. The bionic arm brace seriously may not happen. Then again, I might not need it. I've been able to go somewhat aristocratic and villainous already, and the arm might look like it was thrown together at the last minute, especially compared to the other steampunk bionic arm that someone else has been posting pictures of. No promises yet either way. Does anyone else out there have progress piccies? I feel like Aimee and I are going to look like we came from the same universe... the colorful, steampunk bling universe. Anyone else? haha. 12:27 AM - a quick to-do liststeampunk, day 0511The home stretch?
Wednesday, October 01, 200811:33 AM - This is taking forever.steampunk, day 051I think that when I go into the sewing store, all of the needles cower in fear. I don't sew as often as many people, but I work with a lot of heavy fabrics and canvases and vinyls, and I end up bending and snapping a lot of needles. Sigh. Maybe I need a better machine? Maybe I need to only work in chiffon. Anyway, here's what I snapped 4 needles on last night:  I love it. And now, we are through the hard part, and I expect no more needle misbehavior. The pants are pretty cool too... I fixed the issues with the siamese twin pants, and they flow really well now. I got buttons, so I'm going to do buttons and hemming tonight. I was originally going to grommet them a bit on the side, but I don't think it will show from under the jacket anyway, so it's going to be downgraded to "nice to have." Also, I am considering making gloves. Tonight: finishing the pants. |
