Reaching Out

Jaded: Okay
so I did a MASSIVE REPLY post to ardhra
hopefully
it won't be too bad

me: what kinda massive reply post?

Jaded: About cultural appropriation
and casteism

me: yes but like
agreeing or disagreeing or what?

Jaded: agreeing and then some disagreeing
more like "I see, but also this"

me: nod

Jaded: hopefully it won't be too bad

me: what do you mean, too bad?

Jaded: still nervous around her

me: ah, ok
well
she gives off that air
of superiority
but it's like
she's just awesome

Jaded: I'm sure she's the sweetest
and yes, she is

me: even when she disagrees with me and schools me
i dont feel like i've wasted my time
just wish i hadn't wasted her time

Jaded: EXACTLY
JESUS
I DON'T WANT TO DISAPPOINT HER

me: it's like i just want the Ardhra Seal Of Approval

Jaded: is that weird?
me too!

me: i dunno

Jaded: I really, really don't want to make her sad/angry
I don't even know her and want her approval
eep

Re-reading old emails and chat transcripts between myself and dmp for my essay for nisi_la and found this, which happened while we were working on our essay for Shira Tarrant, which had a wordcount limit of 5000 max:

Ay-leen: ha! After edits, the word count id now down to 6072

Jha: .....

Ay-leen: lol

Jha: wait whut
*6*072
?
are you sure not *5*072?

Ay-leen: ^-^;; no it is not
but is was 6200-ish last night
d'you think I should condense the examples in the intro more?

Jha: yes
i was thinking about the list of the "kinds" of steampunks people play
that could go
ay-leen! it was 5598 words when it left my hands!
what did you do???
:P

Ay-leen: lol oops ^-^
cutcutcut

Jha: lol XD

MUCH LATER

Ay-leen: lol
ah wait, I see why the word count was so off
Once I hide the markup, it drops dramamtically
now we're only at 5560 XD

me: aaahhhh
THANK GOD.
XD

So like, my mom is totally greedy.

Jha says:
D:
my mom is GREEDY
Caitlin - has an awesome place for next year! <3 says:
D:
What happened now^
?*
Jha says:
i asked my dad this afternoon to buy me a packet of prawn crackers
let me explain to you why this is important
these prawn crackers are EPIC
Caitlin - has an awesome place for next year! <3 says:
And you probably haven't been able to get them here, right?
Jha says:
like, one cracker can be AS BIG AS MY HAND
Caitlin - has an awesome place for next year! <3 says:
Whoa!
Jha says:
THATS HOW EPIC THESE CRACKERS ARE
so my dad very nicely got me one
Caitlin - has an awesome place for next year! <3 says:
(Okay, is it just me, or did FWD get hacked or something? *stares confusedly at random weird page appearing*)
Yay!
Jha says:
and he bought mango for my mum
which is, you know, awesome and all
Caitlin - has an awesome place for next year! <3 says:
Yeah
Jha says:
so i went out for dinner with a friend
had a great time!
Caitlin - has an awesome place for next year! <3 says:
yAY!
Yay!*
Jha says:
THE TEEN READERS SECTION IS WAY MORE INTERESTING THAN THE ACTUAL FANTASY SCIENC FICTION SECTIONS
NOT FAIR
SHERLOCK HOLMES IN MALAY
WTF FTW
Caitlin - has an awesome place for next year! <3 says:
Huh?
Jha says:
yeah, we went to the bookstore
XD
Caitlin - has an awesome place for next year! <3 says:
Ahhhhhhhhhhh
Jha says:
at the local mall
which is a piddly mall
Caitlin - has an awesome place for next year! <3 says:
lol
Jha says:
and thus, has a piddly bookstore
ANYWAY
yeah, awesome fun was had
Caitlin - has an awesome place for next year! <3 says:
(Srsly, though, go to FWD and look at it. :/ )
Yay!
Jha says:
but i decided to cut it short because i felt really bad about having doorkeys
Caitlin - has an awesome place for next year! <3 says:
Why was having doorkeys bad?
Jha says:
oh dear
they;ve definitely been hacked
Caitlin - has an awesome place for next year! <3 says:
Yeah
D:
Jha says:
because, well, the maids dont have their own
Caitlin - has an awesome place for next year! <3 says:
Ahhhhh
Jha says:
normall i put these keys out in the shoe cabinet so they always have access
but this time i forgot
Caitlin - has an awesome place for next year! <3 says:
Ah, gotcha.
Jha says:
so i came home early to make sure my mum and the maids werent locked out
went upstairs, found her
dad called
and he's like
did mum find the mango? he asks
and i say, yes, she did! because i could see the bowl on the table with the mango
AND UNDERNEATH
AN EMPTY PACKET
DEVOID OF PRAWN CRACKERS
Caitlin - has an awesome place for next year! <3 says:
D:
Jha says:
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD:
Caitlin - has an awesome place for next year! <3 says:
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD:
Jha says:
"MUM ATE MY PRAWN CRACKERS!!!!!"
..... and then they both laughed
T_T
DDDDD:
Caitlin - has an awesome place for next year! <3 says:
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD:
NO FAIR FOR YOU
That's so not cool.
Jha says:
anyway
it;s not lkike
a serious serious i am sad and upset and depressed
it's actuially really funny
Caitlin - has an awesome place for next year! <3 says:
XD
Also still unfair. XD
Jha says:
like =DD: sort of way
Caitlin - has an awesome place for next year! <3 says:
Yeah
Jha says:
so yeah
that's my exciting story of the evening


I went back out and got two more packets of prawn crackers. The lady at the cashier recognized me. "You finished already?" and I said MY MUM ATE IT BEFORE I GOT TO IT. And she laughed.

Jha: also, ya seen this yet?
http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2009/12/if-you-use-contraceptives-you-will-not.html
Tariq: ...sigh.
too tired to bother really. but damn, that's just a recipe for fucking disaster.
Jha: BUT YOU WILL NOT GET RAPTURED!
:O
Tariq: I'm a Muslim
we generally won't

Zibblsnrt says:
so the form I had to fill out for the flu shot today made my day
Jha says:
howso?
Zibblsnrt says:
"Gender: ( ) Male ( ) Female ( ) Transgender ( ) Unknown" <- that's not smoething I expected to see on a Nova Scotian government form
Jha says:
.... that IS cool
Jha says:
this must be LJ'd
Zibblsnrt says:
Isn't it great?

tariq.kamal: omg
you should see those hypernationalist indonesians
and of course
PUTERA UMNO
mmmmm
racism + hypernationalism
me: oh shitz
tariq.kamal: what a vunderful combination
me: iz like nazism vunce more!
tariq.kamal: HEIL NAJIB!
1MALAYSIA
KERJA BEBASKAN ANDA
me: HAHAHA!
tariq.kamal: that would make horrible inappropriate t-shirt
me: indeed
MUST MAKE.
tariq.kamal: XD

Peter says:
so I just figured out what the eighties-est thing is!
Jha @ werk says:
oh?

Jha @ werk says:
do you even remember the eighties?
Peter says:
No! I was only alive for the very end of it.
Peter says:
This is of purely historical interest.
Jha @ werk says:
right
Jha @ werk says:
go on then!
Peter says:
Jem and the Holograms.
Peter says:
pretty much sums it up : o
Jha @ werk says:
okay
Jha @ werk says:
that made me snort out loud and i'm still in the office

It's late May and it's still cold T_T

And the worst bit may be that it could be just cold in my apartment, and just chilly outside.

Which kind of makes it worse (have I mentioned how last summer I overdressed a lot because I thought it felt chilly inside and when I got outside...).


I spoke to divabat last night about the issue of cultural appropriation and tried to explain to her why some people find it a huge deal, and how it can affect others. I also went looking for Cultural Appropriation 101. God knows it wasn't easy for me to understand and while I don't feel the same outrage others do, I'm at least starting to get what's going on. Still, I think I overall failed to explain the issue.

A huge part of trying to understand this, though, has to do with the fact that it's very America-centric (since that's where the fucked-up-ness happens the most, it seems), and I'm having difficulty trying to figure out what's relevant to someone growing up in a multi-cultural society like Malaysia (well, it used to be...) from the issue that would make understanding it much easier. I don't really have to, but it's the edumacation thingum thing and I don't like seeing someone else feeling alienated just because they can't grasp the issue. Been there, done that, not fun.

Pretty darn interesting conversation anyway. In the end she told me something like, "you're behaving like I'm not properly outraged" and I said sorry, and I was, and another part of me lost my fucking shit with hilarity, in the "I can't believe I DID that!" sort of way.

But seriously, I'm kind of bugged by the fact that I can't find a primer on what cultural appropriation is, how it's applicable, when it's not applicable, and the accompanying power dynamics involved.

Ran into an old neighbour today.

Me: So, did you guys go on your cruise this year?
Hal: Oh yes, we go every year. We're going to Israel next month.
Me: Really!
Hal: Yes. Howard (his partner of 37 years now) wants to go. I don't want to go, but if he's going to get bombed I want to get bombed with him.

Caitlin says:
I have to go to the school clinic to ask to be tested for haemachromatosis anyway.
Caitlin says:
(I think I spelt that right? XD)
Jha says:
eek
Jha says:
(I have no idea XD)
Caitlin says:
(I did. XD)
Caitlin says:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haemochromatosis
Caitlin says:
My Aunt Marion has it, Mum probably does (what with them being identical twins and it being genetic), so I need to be tested.
Jha says:
....
Caitlin says:
(Oops, I didn't: haemochromotosis*)
Jha says:
extra iron
Caitlin says:
Yep.
Caitlin says:
XD
Jha says:
so
Caitlin says:
But more than just extra.
Caitlin says:
Like.
Jha says:
does that mean you could end up being like Wolverine?
Caitlin says:
...No, I could have organ damage and die.
Caitlin says:
XD
Jha says:
oh
Jha says:
XD
Jha says:
sorry