Reaching Out

kajafoglio posted this, mentioning how the singer/violinist would make a great Gil (Girl Genius' Gilgamesh Wulfenbach, also one of the greatest hotties in the comic world), and I concur:



He is SUCH a cutie.

Because I'm slightly obsessive like that, I hunted down another vid of his:



I LOVE those lyrics. They're so sweet:

( SO VERY CUTE )

They're kinda non-committal, non-demanding, and non-angsty, and just happy and taking joy in the relationship as it is. OMG SO CUTE.

It's like watching Jareth the Goblin King, except without the goblins, on a BIG-ASS budget of crack and doom, played by a hot bishounen of a woman.

While I'm still on a video kick.

But first, a song by Noel Quinlan, from his album series Middle Kingdom. The song and poem are called "Mulan" which, yes, is about the legendary figure. I couldn't translate the poem for you though, sorry, but the song is pretty darn awesome:



( Teresa Teng was a famous pop star in the 70's and 80's, internationally acclaimed across Asia and she could sing in several languages, too )

It's a brand new Sunday! Which is rainy and chilly and generally miserable. I've been on a ragtime kick, particularly looking up music by Scott Joplin:



I've also finally caught up with FWD - Feminists With Disabilities - a new blog oriented specifically towards disability issues, which are issues that able-bodied people don't have to worry about, such as the second shift for the sick (similar to the Second Shift for women). They also have an Ableist Word Profile - important because what we say in everyday language is reflective of unconscious attitudes towards those who are different from us - the Ableist Word Profile as of now includes: Retarded, Hysterical, Lame, Idiot, Cretin, Vegetable, the phrase You're So OCD! and the concept of Intelligence. Yeah, I know, it's a pretty long list of very common insults. I even use a few of those on a regular basis. Yea, it's difficult to un-learn those words. Nice to know I'm not the only one trying.

But being aware of disability issues is pretty important! For anybody who's ever had a friend on crutches, or wheelchair-bound, we generally know how inaccessible places can be. It's generally a fallacy to set it up as an We won't ever face.

Anyway, some more links:

Accessibility - the Soundtrack of my Life:
Rise above means pain and suffering. Rise above means that accessibility is not a concern. Rise above means money above human pain and suffering. Rise above is what we are told every single day and no one outside of another differently abled person can understand the cost of this very damaging social myth. The demand that we be super human, in the face of everyday exclusion leads to pain. I cannot be more direct than that. Pain. Whether it is emotional or physical pain, to demand that someone live with that on a daily basis is to show a true contempt for humanity.

Would It Kill You To Be Civil?
This is why it’s important to think beyond yourself: not in some self-abnegating “I can never talk about my own problems” way, but in a way that understand that some forms of your own behavior contribute to a culture that hurts you too.

This one's an old one from '07, but I still think it''s relevant: Helpful Hint for the Colorblind: BE LESS BLIND:
BLIND is not a moral positive. BLIND is an inability to perceive what the non-blind people around you can clearly fucking see. My grandfather was red/green colorblind. His family also had a strawberry farm. His father used to beat him for not obeying instructions to pick only the RED strawberries and leave the GREEN ones on the bush.

A Different Kind of Stroke:
Yes, fuckers, STROKE is one of the risks of being on hormonal birth control. So next time you hear a guy complain about using a fucking condom, pull out this little gem. Risk of stroke isn’t just a bunch of tiny words on a pill pack insert no one reads.

The Friendly Atheist has given us this charming chart to enable you to discern which religion you should follow, because cultural stereotypes will definitely help you determine what religion you belong to!

The Angry Black Woman asks, What do the Obamas tell their children about the death threats their father receives? Quote from the Telegraph: "Since Mr Obama took office, the rate of threats against the president has increased 400 per cent from the 3,000 a year or so under President George W. Bush, according to Ronald Kessler, author of In the President’s Secret Service."

Talulah Mankiller's Open Letter to Disgrasian:
SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP. ABOUT FAT PEOPLE.

And she's damned fucking right, as usual.

Jim Hines is a fantasy authour, and a couple of years ago, he wrote a post on rape and men. Good stuff.

Scholastic won't have a book at their book fair because one of the characters has lesbian moms. My, we're starting the hetero-supremacy propaganda early!

Amelia Earheart's final resting place might be found! h/t auroranine

Minnesota's Indian Women Resource Center Sex Trafficking Report Released:
The Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center (MIWRC) of Minneapolis, MN has released its ground breaking report on the scope of sex trafficking of American Indians in Minnesota entitled Shattered Hearts: the commercial sexual exploitation of American Indian women and girls in Minnesota. This report is believed to be the first of its kind in the country to analyze the victimization rate for Native females in our state.

Open Left: How Feminism Can Also Save the Planet

Kidnapped Into Marriage:
A rather peculiar and alarming practice that locates itself in certain parts of the country exhibits this same gender imbalance in a frighteningly unique manner. Poverty and the inability to muster a "decent" dowry for the daughter's marriage; the scandalous possibility of an unmarried daughter at home and the social stigma attached to it has led to desperate measures in certain parts of the country. A recent government survey shows 209 men were kidnapped in the country last year. They were forced into marriage. The age group of these prospective grooms varied from 10 to 50 years.

Eternal Earth-Bound Pets, USA:
You've committed your life to Jesus. You know you're saved. But when the Rapture comes what's to become of your loving pets who are left behind? Eternal Earth-Bound Pets takes that burden off your mind.

And for the History buffs, Susquicentennial Madness:
I’m chronicling Sesquicentennial Madness by traveling to various sites of (occasionally dubious) Civil War importance as their 150th anniversaries roll around, documenting what I find there. Hopefully there will be interviews with the people there, along with my own thoughts on what happens as people celebrate these anniversaries. There will even be pictures!

( More ragtime under the cut! )

Here's a super-neat video combining Luciano Pavarotti and Freddie Mercury's voices into one seamless song:



Here's a video mixing all sorts of songs related to the theme of "magic":



In there is the Cars' "It's Magic", which is sort of a song I'm in love with but I can't seem to find it.

I've been watching this music video almost non-stop.

Possibly because Linda Lewis has the most incredible voice I'd ever heard.

Definitely because I've always loved that song. I liked Madonna's rendition of it in the Evita movie, but somehow, Linda Lewis makes it so... epic.

Possibly because Linda Lewis is a WoC who isn't exactly in any way objectified / hyper-sexualised in this music video. It's just her, the stage, her, the microphone, her, and a bit of the audience. I love the way she looks right at the camera.

Oh, have I mentioned the voice and epic-ness?