It's been years since we were all at the same place at the same time.
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July 19th, 2009 | Author: sarcozona
I live relatively close to the Grand Canyon, and friends and family want to see it when they visit. This means that I’ve been to the Grand Canyon quite a few times now. I like that I’ve been able to visit the Grand Canyon through different seasons and in different weather. I wish I handled elevation changes better and could hike down into the canyon, but just seeing it from the rim is breathtaking.
My mother had dreamed of seeing the canyon since she first learned about it in elementary school. She hasn’t been able to travel much, and I really enjoyed seeing how much fun she had when we visited.
Oh, and did you know Dr. Isis has a temple there?
Isis Temple
July 02nd, 2009 | Author: sarcozona
I was really worried about my mom’s visit, but we had a really wonderful time. She’s changed a lot – she believes that evolution happens. This is a huge step away from biblical literalism. Her rejection of creationism meant that she could truly enjoy our trip to the Museum of Northern Arizona.
Ammonite Fossils
The museum has an awesome geology exhibit on the Grand Canyon that explores how the land has changed over time. Fossils from different layers are a large component of the exhibit. They’re a lot more interesting when you don’t believe god put them there to test your faith.
June 14th, 2009 | Author: sarcozona
Finals were over in early May, and I was looking forward to long, warm days with time to go to work and cook and dance and read. Unfortunately, it’s been mostly in the 60s with cloudy and sometimes rainy weather nearly every day. Having a migraine every afternoon has made me pretty miserable and kept me from accomplishing much of anything.
My summer work list is a lot more daunting now that I’ve got more than a month less to do it all than I’d planned.
And my mother is coming to visit, which I’m pretty concerned about. My mother is a fundamentalist Christian and chooses to ignore the parts of my life that don’t agree with her beliefs. The person she says she loves and misses doesn’t actually exist. I’m wondering how long she’ll be able to maintain the delusion when directly confronted with the things and people I surround myself with.
November 23rd, 2008 | Author: sarcozona
Obama is considering a drug czar who opposes needle exchange programs. Needle exchange programs are very effective HIV prevention tools and help slow the spread of of other diseases such as Hepatitis C.
Not long before the Transgender Day of Remembrance police brutally beat Duanna Johnson, a transwoman. She was found dead recently. Sublimefemme links to a powerful post about mourning by queenemily.
This is not Pride. This is remembering our dead. This is not something you can make fucking upbeat and acceptable and call “awareness.”
Grace the Spot has a useful guide for surviving and possibly even enjoying a holiday with your family.
Luxury handbag designers tell their customers not to buy counterfeit bags because they come from places that horribly exploit their workers. Well, turns out the factories of Prada, Mulberry, Louis Vuitton, Samsonite, Aspinal of London, Nicole Farhi and Luella are pretty horrific too:
Workers earn poverty wages, work long hours, and suffer from a variety of health complaints linked to poor health and safety conditions. They complain that there are not enough toilets for all the workers and those that exist are filthy. The only drinking water is from a hose on the toilet floor.
Justin tries to find the best time to drink coffee.
Leibniz, Spinoza, and Descartes’ failure.
Democrats, homophobia isn’t ok.
Princeton has their own version of Proposition 8 – and it’s just as silly as the one in California.
Sublimefemme has an awesome post up about femme invisibility, prompted by the response to Lindsay Lohan.
There seem to be two dominant schools of thought about Lindsay’s sexuality, both of which turn on the “problem” of her femininity. The first position, which I’ve written about before, is that she couldn’t really be a lesbian because, hell, just look at her! The other position is the inversion of the first. It claims that Samantha Ronson is a real lesbian (hell, just look at her!) and Lindsay wouldn’t chose a girl like that unless she was herself really queer. In this reading, it’s the butch’s supposedly irrefutable lesbian appearance that provides evidence for the femme’s queerness. However, in both cases, queer femininity is fundamentally framed not just as a contradiction in terms but as a disappearing act.
November 03rd, 2008 | Author: sarcozona
Tomorrow, in addition to voting for a new president, people in Arizona will be voting on Proposition 102. Prop 102 would add the following to the Arizona constitution:
Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state.
A similar measure, Prop 107, was on the ballot in 2006. It did not pass. Arizona law already defines marriage as between one man and one woman. The proposition would make further gains in civil rights for queer people more difficult. More worrying to me is the homophobic sentiment the very well-funded Yes on 102 campaign is stirring up in my home. Every day I receive fliers and phone calls suggesting that by not voting yes on 102, marriage will be ruined for straight people and our community will be damaged somehow. This is simply untrue. First of all, if 102 does not pass, gay marriage will become legal in Arizona. Secondly, even if it did, in California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maine, Hawaii, the District of Columbia, Oregon, and Washington where some form of same-sex partnership is legal, divorce rates have not skyrocketed, there is no epidemic of pedophiles, people have not suddenly started hating children or being mean to their neighbors. Society has not fallen apart.
If you live in Arizona, Florida, Arkansas, or California, I hope you vote no on the homophobic ballot initiative in your state. Your vote is affecting the lives of people you know and care about. To vote for these propositions will do you and your community no good. It is just cruel.
I have adopted moms that mean the world to me, the day that they were able to get legally married was one of the happiest days in my life. Even though the institution of marriage isn’t my favorite thing in the world, seeing the looks on their faces, being privileged to be one of their witnesses meant the world to me, and remains one of the most important days in my life. A few months later the state of Oregon sent them a letter telling them that their partnership of over 13 years was not recognized, and that they were no longer married and my heart broke for them, and every other couple that received that letter.
Many people who support these initiatives, say they do so in the name of “family values.” But if you vote for these propositions, you are hurting families.
October 19th, 2008 | Author: sarcozona
Last weekend I went to my five year high school reunion. I was so excited about going, and I was not disappointed one bit. It was the best weekend I’ve had in a long long time. I forgot how amazing it was to be around so many smart, passionate people.
I spent Sunday afternoon at my grandmother’s house and half of my relatives stopped by. It was the least stressful family event I’ve been to in a long time.
August 28th, 2008 | Author: sarcozona
My brother visited the other week. It had been far too long since we’d seen each other. I had a wonderful time with him and can’t wait for him to visit again. While he was here, we went on a beautiful (but exhausting) hike in the Grand Canyon. I was impressed with how well he did at this altitude.
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