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Thursday, February 25th, 2010
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2:09 am - Let's Try This Again
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| Wednesday, May 24th, 2006
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12:07 pm - This Journal Closed
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Instead of this being a "friends-only" journal I think I'm just going to let this die, because I'm lovin' my new journal and name so much more.
I announced the name of my new journal in a friends-only post, so go there to check that out. If I haven't friended you, you can e-mail me at kodamagirl@gmail.com to get the new name. You're free to release this one from your f-list. I'm going to archive it, and maybe take some of my good old rants and post them periodically on the new journal.
Wow, after 11 years, it's a bit weird to give up this name, but I really was sick of it.
Onward!
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(7 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, April 10th, 2006
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12:30 pm
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You know, I thought I'd been crazy extravagant (after all, I did pay for our little get away last week mostly because Chris was broke and I wanted to - although he paid for the aquarium) but I actually have about $400 more than I thought I did. I think I'm approaching some sense of financial maturity, or at least better about being impulsive with my money. And the fact that I bought my spring wardrobe mostly at thrift stores didn't hurt either. I STILL LOVE MY $10 BLAZER.
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(comment on this)
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| Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006
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10:47 am
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| Thursday, March 2nd, 2006
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8:09 am - OMG SIX WEEKS
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Okay, so Chris has spent the entire day playing Kingdom Hearts. I shouldn't complain - I've encouraged him to play the game since I've known him, and he's just finally got around to it. But I also know it's addicting and well, LONG, so he's going to be at it for a while. I am going to be a video game widow.
But I really, really can't complain, because six weeks from now, he's going to be a video game widower, because KINGDOM HEARTS II finally comes out! April 15! I am SO excited! It was supposed to come out a WHILE ago and I've been wasting time looking at trailers and screenshots. It looks even better than the first. Here's why! ( Read more... )
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(20 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, January 24th, 2006
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12:42 pm
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I am never planning another group trip as long as I may live.
I'm having nightmares about wood panneling.
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(comment on this)
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| Saturday, January 21st, 2006
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12:56 am
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I started to get into an affirmative action discussion in ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) debate.
THEN I STOPPED BECAUSE I'M NOT THAT FUCKING STUPID.
The end.
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Friday, January 20th, 2006
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4:05 pm - Fuckin' Sick Of Smokescreens
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I'm sure some of you know what this is in reference to, but I'm loathe to link to it because it's not like people need another reason to hate feminist.
I'm sick and fucking tired of posters who've already proven themselves to be not just ignorant, but quite happy in their ignorance and unwilling to learn, attempting to take the language of oppressed peoples and turn it around and use it to VALIDATE white racism. I'm fucking tired of it. Bill O'Reilly can't spin things half as good as some of these folk.
It's a SMOKESCREEN to complain of "US-centrism" when the discussion at hand is based on US/Western culture.
It's a SMOKESCREEN to say "Well, some POC don't like other POC, so they're racist too!"
It's a really gross, ugly SMOKESCREEN to compare LiveJournal "cliques" comprised mostly of women of color to similar cliques of white, privileged people at Ivy League colleges. In fact, drawing ANY comparison between the "injustice" you may experience in an online community to what POC have to face every day in the real world is just fucking disgusting. There is no "power privilege" (yes, it was really said) based on being a well-liked member of one of the LiveJournal communities devoted to dealing with the issues women of color face.
And it's a GODDAMNED BIG SMOKESCREEN to act as if growing up in a "diverse" area (that may or may not actually be diverse) somehow gives you a "get out of jail free" card when it comes to white privilege.
Also, just because the Los Angeles area is host to many different ethnicities does not mean that a random white person growing up in the area knows jack shit about shit. I've spent time in SoCal, and despite it's "diversity" it's also ridiculously segregated. I grew up in a town that was 60% Chicano, yet extremely racist attitudes are very prevalent among the white people, to the point that white boys would bring Confederate flags to school on Cinco De Mayo. The "diversity" of the town meant nothing in terms of understanding racial issues.
Wouldn't it be nice of people could address white racism without having to search for all these excuses reasons why white racism isn't all that bad?
Cross-posted to colorful_rage.
current mood: angry
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(129 comments | comment on this)
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2:35 pm
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TRYING TO PLEASE 8 DIFFERENT PEOPLE AT THE SAME TIME IS COMPLETELY FUCKING IMPOSSIBLE.
Oh god, talk about the griping and the whining.
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(8 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, January 19th, 2006
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11:45 am
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What my cat does not seem to realize is that her life isn't made magically more exciting once I'm out of bed, no matter how many times we play the "annoy mommy until she gets the fuck out of bed game." Once out of bed, I just ignore her while awake. Well that's not entirely true, sometimes I annoy her, but whatever she's looking for, insisting that I wake up to please her furry little butt is NOT going to accomplish it.
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(4 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, January 9th, 2006
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11:59 am
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The sight of Alyson Hannigan dancing around in a fatsuit may be one of the most horrifying post-Buffy moments I've ever had.
JOSS COME BACK! Give these actors something (feminist) to do before they embarrass themselves, ruin their careers, and alienate their fans, PLEASE!!
current mood: horrified
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(5 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, January 3rd, 2006
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1:53 pm - My Taste In Music Is Mildly Embarrassing..
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iTunes invoice for the gift card I got:
Feel Good Inc. - Gorillaz
Mr. Brightside - The Killers
Let's Get It Started (Spike Mix) - Black Eyed Peas (I love this song but obviously was uncomforable with the original lyric)
Real Folk Blues - Yoko Kanno
Keep Fishin' - Weezer
Rockin' The Suburbs - Ben Folds
Night and Day - Fred Astaire
You're The Top - Cole Porter
It's Delovely - Cole Porter
The Bare Necessities - The Jungle Book
Part of Your World - The Little Mermaid
I Won't Say (I'm in Love) - Herclues
Yachilvi Veyachali - Ofra Haza
A'Salk - Ofra Haza
Kuch Naa Kaho
Koi Mil Gaya
Who Treats You Right? - Pansy Division
No Protection - Pansy Division
1000 Words (Orchestra Version) - Final Fantasy X-2
Suteki Da Ne (Isn't It Wonderful?) - Final Fantasy X
Real Emotion - Final Fantasy X-2
To be entirely fair, I downloaded a lot of "seroius" music from my brother's computer - Regina Spector, Frank Black, The Postal Service, etc. I love that stuff too. I just wanted to be really indulgent and poppy too.
So there, you all know my secret. I adore really bad pop music and Disney musicals.
current mood: silly
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(10 comments | comment on this)
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| Saturday, December 31st, 2005
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2:24 am
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Three facts you probably didn't know about me:
1. I suffered from a serious speech impediement as a child, and basically had a lisp. I had the hardest time with my "rs" and still have a really hard time learning new sounds (like the "ch" in Hebrew - literally took me years of practice to do it right, but now I'm pretty good!) I did speech therapy all through elementary school. The impediment still comes out sometimes when I'm really nervous or a bit intoxicated. Luckily, I type really well! It's easier than speaking in a lot of ways for me, despite being a total yap-your-ear-off type.
2. I was a virgin until I was 18. Maybe that isn't surprising? I have no idea.
3. I was once a graveyard shift waitress at Denny's in Davis, CA.
I TAG YOU ALL. Someone else with insomnia (or up early) tell me three weird things about you.
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(4 comments | comment on this)
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| Friday, December 16th, 2005
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12:59 am - Finally, Regarding the feminist debacle...
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It's being snarked everywhere, from debate to JournalFen's otf_wank, and I hear LJDrama, although I've promised myself I won't go there because I am supposed to be writing a paper that's due tomorrow (FREAKOUT). I was really disappointed in a large part of the feminist community for reacting so defensively and negatively to the new anti-racism rules, but somehow I'd forgotten that their responses were really just the tip of the big ol' ignorance iceberg.
I mean, on one hand I'm privileged enough to have had a decent understanding of these "new" definitions - which I guess I should back up and explain because for good reasons, not everyone reads that community. A mod post was made stating that there are new rules regarding the discourse on racism in the community. Specifically, for the purpose of discussion, "racism = power + prejudice" and thus disempowered groups are not capable of being racist, although they are certainly capable of being prejudiced, both on an individual and a group level, but lack the power to make that predjuice significant at anything other than a shallow level. What's interesting is that I'd say the vast majority of the members would agree with that definition when applied to sexism. Women simply lack the power as a group to oppress men. Duh. This doesn't mean that there's not the occasional woman who is personally bigoted against men, but it's not significant in a feminist discourse. And I'd argue that women are far more likely to be bigoted against women due to internalized sexism, but that's neither here nor there. You get the point. But for some reason, the idea that similar principles apply to racism drives feminists absolutely batshit.
I fully accept this definition of racism and predjuice and have for a while. Some would argue that the issue is better served by differentiating between institional racism and referring to a personal prejudice as racism, but I find that minimizes the issue, because then you get buttloads of people saying, "But I don't have institutional power because I'm poor/female/gay/SHORT/whatever. Frankly, these "new" definitions are simpler, and they're not at all new, either. They've been used and accepted by academics and people who write on racial issues for decades. But oh no, that must be classist because we don't all have access to academia, right? Yes and no. It's true that many people don't have access to a college education, which is probably where people are most likely to learn and understand these definitions. I'm not going to blame a person for not being born with an understanding of how privilege works and why these definitions are necessary to create both a meaningful discourse on race and to make spaces more welcoming to people of color. The thing is, the mod post in feminist and the comments contained in the clusterfuck within had many links to wonderful websites and essays written on this subject, explaining the concepts in plain English. And while the definitions may have originated in academia, they are now commonplace in many grassroots activist movements which are not inherently academic. In short, there's really no reason for anyone not to "get it" at this point.
Out of all people, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) ghostlight in debate made the best argument against the definitions, that being that most people are unfamiliar with them and will find them laughable at first, which obviously will also reduce meaningful discourse, as we've seen in feminist. It's a valid point. When talking to an average person off the street, I don't expect them to understand or share the same definition of "racism" that I use, and while I don't change my definition to talk to that person, I will try to explain it in a way that makes sense. But a feminist community is NOT the same as talking to any person on the street. Ditto for progressive communities and groups in general. You're entering into that space with the hopeful assumption that most people in that space are dedicated to equality and are already operating on a level that has some understanding of privilege and power issues. I don't think that's a crazy assumption to have. If someone is committed to being a feminist or a GLTB activist, or whatever, they should be motivated enough to have done some basic learning (which doesn't have to happen in a college classroom, by the way) and open to learning more. Someone who's committed to equality for one disenfranchised group (especially if it's a group they happen to be a member of) also has a responsibility to do their part for the equality of other disenfranchised group. I know this is something I'm guilty of - I focus way more on feminism than I do on say, GLTB issues or civil rights issues. But I'm trying, and probably sometimes overstepping my bounds in the process - trying to walk the line between calling out other straight, white, middle-class, able-bodied and so forth people on their "isms" without speaking for groups I'm not a part of, or assuming I know what's best because hey, I'm a straight, white, middle-class able-bodied girl. (More on that issue to come in another post).
It's just...not that hard for me to see, I guess. Even if I, due to my privilege, ignore "isms" that don't affect me too often, it wasn't that terribly hard for me to grok the concepts behind them. I mean, painful, yes - realizing that I, despite my liberal, feminist cred was chock full of unconscious racism and homophobia and everything else - but not hard to comprehend. I was lucky to have some wonderful, patient, kickass people to help teach me along the way, and I'm lucky to be part of a community of folk, both online and off, who continue to educate me even though it's not their job. Yet on feminist and even more so to the nth degree in the snark around the issue, I see so, so, so, so, so many people who just don't get it. Why?
I think a huge problem is the way we're taught about race (and everything else) in the school system. We're taught that what we should aspire to, as white people, is color-blindness. That will solve the problem! Yeah, let's just PRETEND that we don't see race, and let's not talk about race, and then racism will just go away! Bull-fucking-shit. This is a racist society. I'm not going to attempt to prove that with fancy stats or links. If you don't think so you really don't belong on my friends-list. In a racist society, colorblindness cannot exist. Oh, it's a nice utopian ideal, and I can see why the prospect is attractive, but as the way things stand now (and will probably stand for hundreds of years) it's impossible. But for some reason people cling to this notion of color-blindness, as if they can truly think and behave in a colorblind manner without enjoying the fruits of their privilege. Simply doesn't work. Not all "racism"/predjuice is the same because there is not an equal playing field, nobody is colorblind, and in the western world, whites hold the vast majority of the power. Accepting this fact doesn't mean you're being pessimistic or overly-academic.
I know - I hope - that I'm preaching to the choir here and all that, but I've just read so many dumb fucking comments that I'm trying to work out as best I can a way to articulate these issues in a way that stupid fucking people can understand. But I guess you can't understand if you don't wanna? It's easier to just say "OMG all racism is the same!" and not listen. And then talk about how you're oppressed because of your Irish heritage or some such other bullshit.
By the way, the moment in this whole thing that really took the cake was when zippo138 or whatever his name is of debate, a white man, told a black woman, "You're ignorant. You don't know what racism is," when she tried to explain these definitions. I'd link to it, but it would probably give some of my dear readers homicidal urges, and I ain't got money for bail.
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(20 comments | comment on this)
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| Sunday, December 4th, 2005
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5:04 pm
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oh and I guess that picture is as good a way as any of announcing that, for the first time since like, 200, I have super-short hair.
And this time it wasn't on purpose.
But it's okay. I'm adjusting. I mean, I always LIKED having short hair, it's so easy and fun, but I hadn't planned on getting it cut this short until I lost weight, thinking the cut would look bad on my face being as round as it is. I'm on the fence about how it looks now, but there's not much I can do about it, eh? I also fear that it makes me look older, like a Berkeley Lacrosse Mom or something, but OMG I don't have to wash my hair at least once (sometimes twice) a day anymore.
As long as it's short I should do something really funky color-wise. Even though I just dyed it brown a week ago.
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(9 comments | comment on this)
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| Saturday, December 3rd, 2005
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11:14 am - Holiday Cards!
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Poll #626094 Holiday Cards
Open to: Friends, detailed results viewable to: NoneIf you'd like a holiday card, put your name and address in the box!
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(comment on this)
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| Tuesday, November 29th, 2005
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8:05 pm - Saturday Night
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If you haven't recieved an evite for gwenzilla and my birthday drink extravaganza, and I don't hate you, then email me, because it was probably a stupid oversight on my part. I have yet to have a comphrensive address list on any of my many accounts.
Also, if you want to come but can't make it until later, don't worry! I'll be there until midnight for sure, but I'm planning on closing out the place, if I can pace myself. I will be riding my bike back, of course!
And if you are local and you do not come then I will never love you and I will certainly not have your babies.
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Friday, November 25th, 2005
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3:42 pm
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| Friday, November 18th, 2005
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12:55 pm - Pro-Choice
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This meme is from hothead and others.
I am pro-choice and I have had an abortion. I would have an abortion again. I would assist any of my friends in having an abortion without passing judgement on their decision.
If you're pro-choice, and tired of the "I'm pro-life BUT all you sluts you learn to keep your legs shut!" type of caveats, please post this (or something reasonably like it) in your journal.
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(comment on this)
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2:58 am - Goblet Of Fire: Initial Thoughts (No Spoilers, as if you hadn't read it yet, ha)
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I miss Alfonso Curacon.
I wish Mike Newell knew how to MIKE A SCENE. What is this, an Altman flick?
Felt more like a series of disjointed, although entertaining episodes rather than a coherent narrative.
Some wonderful, charming, classic scenes, as well as a lot of things that missed the mark. Some of the stuff that sucks can be blamed on Rowling's lack of skills as a writer, but others can be blamed on Newell.
What's funny - as with the previous films - what does work tends to work based on the skill of the amazing cast. The actors that play Harry and Hermoine are just incredibly likable. I really wish they'd cast Ron better, though. I'm not a fan of Rupert, sorry. His mugging is inane and he brings nothing to the character.
LOVED THE TWINS. Needed more of them towards the end.
Cho is a boring and useless character, in the books and the movie as well. Cute Scottish accent though.
GOF's sexism came through in the film. Was any female character anything but useless? Seriously.
Did like the awkard pubertyish stuff. Worked better than most.
NOT ENOUGH SNAPE but he stole every scene he was in.
I'm convinced Dumbeldore is a sadist.
THE END. Sleepy now.
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