天高皇企鹅远

illuminate the nos on their vacancy signs

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:10:34 GMT

I've had a week off work, which was pretty awesome, spending time first with Zanchey and Sheebaface, and then dropping them off at the airport and swapping them for Dr Greg. We've spent some time sitting around watching tv (Children of Dune and 30 Rock and Johnny Mnemonic, which, what a terrible film but Greg was missing Rick), and some time adventuring.

I like having friends drop by, and it was nice to just hang.

I've already blogged about going to the Roller Derby in Ballarat, which was lots of fun. We also visited the Botanic Gardens for the first time, had a wander down to St Kilda Pier, and meandered through NGV:I. We visited some markets, and ate a lot of food (including at Shakahari, Tom Phat, and A Minor Place. We also had an amazing breakfast at Grigons & Orr with Greg). We almost lost Sheeba in the State Library of Victoria, because it is very big and she fell in love. I made a set of their adventures on flickr.

I also learnt about Extreme Ironing, about which I am very excited!

Today is the big return to work! I have a very busy week ahead. I am working from home AS WE SPEAK, which is a bit of an odd feeling. I would much rather be sleeping, but it's ten past nine and I've already done an hour and a half worth of work, so that's nice. Yes, I am wearing clothes (not pyjamas).

Danni's brother Chris should have arrived by now, and Furry is in town somewhere and allegedly staying with us at some point. More people should come visit us! Our spare bed is comfy, and we're lots of fun! Also I cook lots of curries (sorry).

I know I know, riveting stuff.

I hope we get to put our Christmas tree up today or something. And also happy birthday-party day to socraticomatic, whose birthday party I sadly have to miss for Chinese class :o(

Things I have enjoyed reading

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:43:10 GMT

I really enjoyed this blog post at Pulse, which I thought makes an interesting point that doesn't get the primacy I think it should have: How Eurocentric is your Day?

Unbeknownst, my students discover that they wake up in ‘pajamas,’ trousers of Indian origin with an Urdu-Persian name. Out of bed, they shower with soap and shampoo, whose origins go back to the Middle East and India. Their tooth brush with bristles was invented in China in the fifteenth century. At some point after waking up, my students use toilet paper and tissue, also Chinese inventions of great antiquity.

Do the lives of my students rise to Eurocentric purity once they step out of the toilet and enter into the more serious business of going about their lives? Not quite.

I enjoyed reading Made You Look! Magazine, linked to via Hoyden About Town. The post at HAT also includes a contents list to make the .pdf easier to read. Made You Look! Magazine is from Don't DIS my ABILITY, and I found it a really great read.

I enjoyed reading (/looking at) What Stormtroopers do on Their Day Off, a photo essay of awesome.

FINALLY: the internet has declared, these are the awesomest things that will ever exist.

And also, MUPPETS. 101 Muppets - this is really awesome.

And the Muppets performing Bohemian Rhapsody is basically the greatest thing ever. I have enjoyed watching it MANY TIMES.

tryptich in WAIT WHAT

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 11:48:41 GMT

ballarat derbytante brawl

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:44:34 GMT

Sheebaface and Zanchey are here for a few days, and there were no roller derby bouts on locally, so we road tripped it out to Ballarat for the Ballarat Derbytante Brawl on Sunday. This bout was between the Libertines (really great logo) and the Gold Diggers. It was lots of fun! Probably the most leg space I've ever had at a roller derby (practically luxurious), and the bout started slow but really sped up. Half time entertainment was from the Libertweens and the Little Miss Gold Diggers (LOL).

The Libertines started really strong, but in the end the bout went to the Gold Diggers, who staged a massive comeback, with 186 to 160.

The Libertines included 9 Lives Isis ( <3 <3 ) and Apocalypse Nerd, and highlight skaters on the Gold Diggers were Ace of Hearts and Miss Hellfire (who proves you CAN be an amazing roller derby girl and wear glasses, giving hope to all us nerds). Mabel Stark was also pretty awesome, but more importantly she was wearing a fantastic skirt.

I'd also like to note that there was a little girl skating around wearing a shirt that said 'Hammah Montanah 10 mileys per hour' which was lol.

It was Sheeba and Zanchey's first roller derby, and they loved it, and it was a great afternoon, so a good trip all around!

all photos ballarat derbytante brawl here

speaking from the heart (ed sally morgan et al) and on that thing we don't talk about

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:48:04 GMT

I've been thinking about making this post for a while, but I've not been quite sure how to write it.

There's this attitude in Australia that I come up against all the time, this sort of 'the lot of Aboriginal Australians would be fine if they'd just pull themselves up by their bootstraps.'

When I encounter this, I have to assume that the person making such a statement simply doesn't
a) know; or
b) understand
the history of this country, because the alternative,
c) they don't care
both horrifies and disgusts me. And I don't mean that hyperbolically - it actually disgusts me.

I just finished reading Speaking from the Heart, a collection of stories and essays edited by Sally Morgan, Tjalaminu Mia and Blaze Kwaymullina. Last year I read and reviewed Heartsick for Country, which followed a similar style and made me weep. It's a great book to read if you haven't.

Speaking from the Heart, like Heartsick for Country, made me weep and cry and feel excited and want to know more. I want to know more about Australia's horrible history. I want others to know more about Australia's history. And I want to acknowledge and do something about the way Indigenous Australians are treated today, this legacy of this shitty racist system, that still has its claws and its branches in our hearts and in our institutions.

Mia writes (p. 213), 'Why can't you tell us stories about other spiritual beings besides Jesus and the Holy Ghost?' I used to ask them. I wanted to hear stories like the ones Grandad used to tell. ' Your grandfather made all that up,' they told me. 'Your family don't really care about you or your brothers and sisters.'

There are lots of stories in Speaking from the Heart that talk about this disconnect, this distance and this erasure, and being erased is totally the worst, and the continuous erasure even now on an institutional and public level frustrates me, makes me wonder how complicit I am in this, makes me hate everyone for every silence, every street law that's about 'public decency' but is actually about limiting the freedom of Aboriginal Australians (there's a commentary to be made here about a local law about to come into effect in the City of Yarra, but I don't know sufficient about it to make that commentary).

The kind of institutionalisation that I and my brothers and sisters experienced as children doesn't prepare you for life, it just prepares you for more institutionalisation. A lot of the kids from homes ended up as prison inmates and this included my own brothers.
- Tjalaminu Mia in Speaking from the Heart p.217

Robbo at Biting the Dust has some great links on Indigenous Australians in the justice system.

There's this excellent post up at Crikey, National Imprisonment Rates, that illustrates this very well. If you look at the figures, in the NT, 645.8 people for every 100 000 of the adult population is incarcerated. In WA, it's 274.5. In Victoria, it's 106.9. Do you really think it's coincidence?

Finally, WA Today (I know) has an article that is interesting but unsurprising reading: Stolen generations mums, violence link

Indigenous women from rural areas who were forcibly removed from their birth families are three times more likely to experience violence than other indigenous mothers, a new report reveals.

It's the first report of its kind to examine the lasting effects of forcible removal on indigenous mums of the stolen generations.

...

"Here are mums that have been taken away as children themselves and possibly, they've never been provided with interventions saying `violence isn't acceptable' or that `what you've been through is incredibly traumatic.'"

So yes. The only thing preventing Indigenous Australians from a life of middle-class aspirations is their inability to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Yes. Sure. That's totally what it is.

I don't want to be silent, I want to acknowledge this, I want to do something about it. And I want you to acknowledge it too.

昨夜見軍帖

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:42:16 GMT

I love Mulan, and I'm so excited about this new live action movie.

If you've never read it, The Ballad of Mulan is a good read.

of the day's annoyances, these

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:41:19 GMT

of the day's annoyances, these:

that i didn't sleep very well (not your fault, sheebaface)
that i'm overwhelmed by projects and deadlines and clients who don't do things when i tell them to
that i didn't bring any chocolate to work

I could really, really, really do with some chocolate right now.

10001 days

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 06:40:30 GMT

Today I'm 10001 days old! That's 10001 days worth of stories. (Today's: I reread the Tao Te Ching. I love its words and its meaning and the way it always makes me feel like I can know and I can be and there is awesomeness. I never know if that's what I'm supposed to take). If there's something you feel like you should know about me, but don't, you can ask. And I might tell you one of them.

(10001 days!)

asian women blog carnival #5

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:50:28 GMT

I am really excited to announce that I am hosting the 5th Asian Women Blog Carnival, and submissions are open. Yay! (the 4th carnival can be found here)

The title of this Carnival is: Who I Am When I'm (not) With You.

Submissions are open until February 12 (so I can post it during the Lunar New Year/CNY) but you are very welcome to submit any time before that.

The performativity of being an Asian woman changes according to context and situation. It changes from person to person - how I live my life as an Asian woman is different from how my sister lives her life as an Asian woman, to how you live your life as an Asian woman. It changes at work, at home, on the bus, when I'm in Australia and when I'm back in Malaysia and when I'm elsewhere. It is impacted by class, disability, sexuality, cultural expectations, and geographic location, amongst other things.

There are so many reasons for performativity, and the performativity is so different, and coming from different perspectives, and this Carnival seeks to explore that.

This carnival is intended to focus on Asian women. The definition of Asian, within the scope of this carnival, includes people from East Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, North Asia, Southeast Asia, Far East, Middle East, Near East and people of Asian descent living in non-majority Asian countries (including mixed-race Asian). The definition of women within the scope of this carnival, includes trans women and cisgendered women.

Submissions are welcome from Asian women, living both as members of their diaspora and in-country (you may know this as sourcelander), as well as from allies. When recommending postings for inclusion in the carnival, please feel free to submit your own posts or suggest posts or links by someone else. You may submit multiple posts. Permission will be sought by the host (me) for all links not provided by the author.

I am not US-based, if that makes a difference to your desire to be a part of this edition (based on discussions surrounding the carnival, I suspect that in some cases it will).

Submissions are welcome to disagree with my claim that as Asian women we perform our Asian-ness, or to use it to explore different issues stemming from and creating the space for this (or indeed, any of my other statements). All forms of submission (poetry, fiction, illustration, essays, and personal narratives) are accepted.

Submissions are welcome to be hosted on LJ, Dreamwidth, Blogspot, Wordpress, personal webpages, etc. Submissions are also welcome from those without a webpresence - you can submit via email and I will make arrangements for your submission to be hosted.

For more information on the guidelines of this carnival, please check out the blog. You can submit via comments on this post, or via email: yiduiqie at gmail dot com

Cross-promotion is very strongly encouraged.

carbon offsetting

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:18:10 GMT

As you may recall, I didn't go to Perth for B + Lys' wedding in October. This was for a few reasons, but one of them was the amount of flying we've done this year. In terms of carbon emissions, we're doing awesome being (mostly)locavore vegans, but all of that is undone by a return flight to Perth, and I'm not a big fan of offsetting.

Offsetting is like recycling. It's been promoted so people feel good about themselves, feel less guilty, and don't actually change anything meaningful (there's a reason why recycling is at the bottom of the waste triangle, way way way after avoid, reduce, and reuse).

I now feel even less positive about carbon offsetting, thanks to this article (via unusualmusic): Thanks to GM, People Are Being Displaced So Their Forests Can Become Offsets for SUVs

out and about

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:13:30 GMT

I'm toying with going to a thing tonight: Working on what we wear: Tackling exploitation in the clothing sector. 1830 - 2000 on Burke St (near Southern Cross Station). Anyone want to come with?

reasons i hate passing as white #450

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:09:12 GMT

having to sit there, with a straight face, as some darling old lady client tells me that it's not that she thinks it's race-based, it's that it's all the asians leaving all the rubbish on the street.

things about talking

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:11:20 GMT

I've recently started attending Cantonese classes (again). But wait! you may exclaim. Stephanie Penguinface, don't you already speak Cantonese?

And the answer to this is yes. And it is no.

My family (some of it) is Cantonese. We are from Malaysia - specifically, from Penang. Penang is an island filled to the brimming with Hokkien speakers. Lots of people speak Bahasa Malaysian, and there's some English speaking and some Tamil speaking going on. So when I say, my family speaks Cantonese, that's what I mean. But there's this thing. It's a patois, which may or may not be referred to by the term 'Manglish' (may not, if I were to have my way). And it's, you know, a legitimate form of speaking. When I worked at that Other University In Perth, we spoke in this Malaysian-English patois all the time. (especially at food times - it was all sudah makan? and tak makan and don wan lah)

So my family speaks Cantonese, because we're Cantonese. But speak Hokkien also. And also this patois. It's just the way things are. But I was seriously about twenty before I realised that 'ang pau' is Hokkien, not Cantonese and I always say 'ikan' like 'ngo msik ikan' as if that's an actual sentence in Cantonese. And somewhere along the way, I started speaking better Mandarin than I do Cantonese, and I'm not going to be one of those diasporans, no my word.

So I've started attending Cantonese classes again.

#

So I've started attending Cantonese classes again, and it's been a good chance to hang with SEA-Chinese Australians (hooray! We're everywhere). We talk about durian and bolsters and the Singapore MRT and the smell in the air and the lilt in your voice and family and curry and maggi mee and the wonder in W's voice when she says, "oh, you can cook curry?" makes me laugh.

(Still can't find a decent vegan laksa in this city)

#

It's always really easy to tell who has learnt another language before, and easy to tell who hasn't, and easy to tell if that learning was formal or informal. It's interesting, the way it changes how you think.

#

Chally wrote this post: duality, and it's sort of how I feel. She posted it at Feministe, as well, but I found the comments a bit something.

saturday morning dance time

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:55:30 GMT

Saturday morning dancing around the house

This is such a sappy song.

lyrics + translation

笑就歌颂一皱眉头就心痛
我没空理会我只感受你的感受
你要往哪走把我灵魂也带走
它为你着了魔留着有什么用

When you smile, I sing to praise. When you frown my heart aches the same.
I don't care for myself, I only feel what you feel.
Wherever you go, please take my soul away, it is enchanted by you,
So why keep it for myself?

CHORUS

你是电你是光你是唯一的神话
我只爱你 you are my super star
你主宰我崇拜没有更好的办法
只能爱你 you are my super star

You are the electricity, you are the light, you are the only mythology of the world.
There's no way but love you, You are my superstar.
You dominate, I worship. There is no better way
But love you. You are my superstar.

手不是手是温柔的宇宙
我这颗小星球就在你手中转动
请看见我让我有梦可以作
我为你发了疯你必须奖励我

Hand, isn't just a hand: it's a gentle universe;
Myself a tiny planet, and you got me twirling in that gentle universe.
Please, notice me,so at least I could have a dream to dream about.
I've got crazy for you, you should mercy me.

CHORUS GOES HERE

你是意义是天是地是神的旨意
除了爱你没有真理
火你是火是我飞蛾的尽头
没想过要逃脱为什么我要逃脱
谢谢你给我一段快乐的梦游
如果我忘了我请帮忙记得我

You're the reason Of heaven, of earth, you're God's decree.
Except for loving you, there is no Truth.
Fire, you're the fire---me a flying moth, your fire is the moth' predestined terminus. (LOL)
Never thought of escaping (Why escape?) There's no way but loving you.
Thank you for giving me a fantasy to dream about.
If I forget myself, would you please help remember me.

So sappy: makes me think of stuff asian people like: sappy music videos and cheesy ballads.

it says life's a beach

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:32:55 GMT

I got back in the pool this morning. I was going to say that the first session after the winter is always the hardest, but that would be a lie; the second session after the winter is worse, but of course I'll make it there. Eventually.

I pulled myself out of the pool, toweled myself down, threw my dress on over my speedos and meandered on off to the tram. The problem with this plan is the slow drip drip drip of water from my speedos, so I stood the whole tram ride home, not wanting to leave a seat damp for some unsuspecting passenger two minutes hence.

Now I'm lying on the couch, and the heat is stifling but that's okay, because I'm fresh from the water and it feels lovely on my skin.

Other things that are nice (about summer and hot weather): watermelon; the smell of sunscreen; potato salad; any salad; ice cream; quick drying washing; big floppy hats; cold, freshly squeezed juice; bare feet.

Anything else?

if i ever found a pot of gold

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:28:51 GMT

Due to a hodge-podge of projects, I've a day off today. It's a ridiculously warm day, currently at the high of 33C, and the upper half of our apartment (containing the kitchen) is feeling it, whilst the lower half is lovely and cool, perhaps about 29C. I've thought about going to the Brunswick Baths, as they've an outdoor pool and I am quite desperate to throw myself back into swimming for the season, but it's the middle of the day and I can't bring myself to be in the sun for so long at this time (I'll go first thing tomorrow morning). I could have loitered below-decks, as it were, keeping cool; instead, I baked a banana, walnut + sultana cake.

Some reading, if you're keeping still: Life or Books (a blog, just found it today); 18th Down Under Feminists Carnival; Eurasian Sensation (awesome Asian-Australian blog).

mid week links

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:27:29 GMT

This is the greatest piece of homework ever turned in: homework win. I know it's a demonstration of not taking the assignment seriously, but in a way, I think it is. And it is the best ever. And there's no evidence that this student had any ancestors in that situation, but it is a very lols reminder that not everyone approaches things in the same way (or has the same history).

More on schools, 5 year old with aspergers voted out of class.

I just discovered this blog tonight, I've read three pieces and I'm looking forward to more: Race and the City, an Australian blog talking about race.

I was very interested to read 'If I Make You Angry Enough, Maybe You'll Keep Reading', at New Matilda, on the role of 'trollumnists' in stirring up outrage and generating more hits for online news sites.

Jo Tamar writes The privilege of choice.

It seems from this article that, if you are in a situation where you can care for your child some, but not all, of the time, you don’t receive a whole lot of respite support. Your care may also reduce the likelihood that your child will be placed in a permanent supported residential position (which may not be what every person with a disability aspires to, or hir carer, but I’m sure many people do).

The solution? ‘Abandon’ your child by leaving them permanently in the care of DOCS and relinquishing all parental rights.

Yeah. Good one.

Jha blogs on classism: My Pidgin Does Not Signify Lack Of Intellect. This is mostly on classism in Singapore but I think it's relevant beyond that.

This article was about Miss Singapore, and I can't find the original article, but hree's another one about the same issue. While at the Miss World pageant in South Africa, she inadvertently slipped into speaking Singlish, the Singaporean creole that mixes English, Malay, Chinese and god knows what else. And this was a huge fucking deal because apparently, all beauty queens must be able to speak perfect English, the standard of which is probably set by the English-speaking world that is the UK and North America, I guess. And because Miss Singapore slipped up and showed her real linguistic roots, she is suddenly a shame of the nation!

And more on classism, Things Bogans Like. I actually really severely disagree with this blog! Not necessarily with the things it ascribes to boganism, but unlike the blogs it would appear to be based on, such as Stuff White People Like, it doesn't have even any vague pretensions towards analysis (at which SWPL fails, but at least pretends). Things Bogans Like feels like class mockery only.

The Pink Dress: At seven o'clock on a Thursday morning, my 4-year-old son announced, "I'm going to wear a dress to school today." I froze, teacup halfway to my lips. I shouldn't have been entirely surprised by the statement, given Sam's history on the pink side of the dress-up box, but this time something was different.

It's Not Like It's The KKK by the willow:

Here's the deal, the next time someone says "It's not like I'm a Nazi wanting to exterminate the Jews / It's not like I'm a KKK member / It's not like I'm __ insert whatever extreme hate group they want to use to benchmark their own isms__"; the next time someone says something like that? I suggest your reply be this.

"Yeah, it's not like an abusive spouse is a serial murderer; it's not like a violent cop is Josef Mengele; it's not like a school yard bully is someone who abuses and kills dogs!"

Cause what they're doing is another form of Oppression Olympics. Only the competitors are the actual oppressors. And they believe they or whomever they're defending didn't even get the bronze; so why are you even saying anything? So it's a good idea, to at least state publicly what the fuck it is they're doing with their twisted logic.

Finally, the lols: Is Keanu Reeves immortal? Perhaps the greatest conspiracy theory ever!

the danger of a single story and stories to challenge and learn

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:10:33 GMT

Lots of bloggers have been talking about Chimamanda Adichie's TED talk, The Danger of a Single Story. It's about twenty minutes in length, but that link also contains a transcript (if that makes it easier to consume), and the talk was thought-provoking and interesting.

I was also an early writer. And when I began to write, at about the age of seven, stories in pencil with crayon illustrations that my poor mother was obligated to read, I wrote exactly the kinds of stories I was reading. All my characters were white and blue-eyed. They played in the snow. They ate apples. And they talked a lot about the weather, how lovely it was that the sun had come out. Now, this despite the fact that I lived in Nigeria. I had never been outside Nigeria. We didn’t have snow. We ate mangoes. And we never talked about the weather, because there was no need to.

My characters also drank a lot of ginger beer because the characters in the British books I read drank ginger beer. Never mind that I had no idea what ginger beer was. And for many years afterwards, I would have a desperate desire to taste ginger beer. But that is another story.

What this demonstrates, I think, is how impressionable and vulnerable we are in the face of a story, particularly as children. Because all I had read were books in which characters were foreign, I had become convinced that books, by their very nature, had to have foreigners in them, and had to be about things with which I could not personally identify. Now, things changed when I discovered African books. There weren’t many of them available. And they weren’t quite as easy to find as the foreign books.

I have had her book, Half of a Yellow Sun, bookmarked as a book to find, for a while, but listening to her talk pushed it again to the front of my mind and, yesterday, loitering around Flinders Street waiting for my Cantonese class to start, I wandered in to Dymocks to purchase it.

I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. I'm still not sure if I'm going to like it, I've only read the first chapter. But oh, how this text has already challenged me, challenged my assumptions and yes, I too suffer from the vision of a single story, and I am pretty sure I love her:

'Of course, of course, but my point is that the only authentic identity for the African is the tribe,' Master said. 'I am Nigerian because a white man created Nigeria and gave me that identity. I am black because the white man constructed black to be as different as possible from his white. But I was Igbo before the white man came.'

This book is gentle and lyrical and evocative, as it challenges me and forces me to confront my assumptions, and I like that.

you kata you keluar dengan kawan you

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:10:52 GMT

of the day's annoyances, these:

my busted knee; walking up and down and up and down chapel street, with my busted knee; dealing with rude traders; feeling dehydrated; AND a laksa with too much kelapa, not enough assam (and it had mushrooms and zucchini, which, not in my laksa).

BUT

I got home, and my copy of Zee Avi's album was in the letterbox, two weeks before I expected it (this is my favourite song so far); and there are tofutti cuties in the freezer, and maybe today is actually okay.

storytelling

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:09:53 GMT

I have a very visceral, knee-jerk reaction to things that feel like cultural appropriation. I don't have a clear cut definition in my head, a line to draw between appreciation and appropriation, but I think that's okay; I was linked to this article and in the comments of the linking post there was a lot of "Well I don't think it's appropriation" and okay, well, that's nice for you, but for some of us it is.

I think sometimes that this visceral reaction, this "don't touch it, it's not yours" thing, is about the ability to write our own stories. If this tradition is mine, if this ridiculously binding (and well-tailored) qi pao is mine, if this monkey is mine, if this explosive and anticipated festival is mine, if this gooey moon cake is mine, if this history is mine, then it is mine, and a tool I can use to write my own stories.

If this is mine, then these are my stories. But if you get to take it, if you get to appropriate it when you don't understand it and when you haven't lived it, then it's not really mine and they are not my stories. And if they're not my stories then how can I say I'm Chinese? How can I say I'm Malaysian?*

Funnily enough I don't feel this doubt about being Australian, or even Anglo-Australian; and if I'm honest with myself I can admit that I'll insist that I'm Chinese and I'm Australian and I'm Anglo in one breath (because I am). But I know that this doubt is because I'm mixed-race, and because I'm a minority in this big white country and on this big white internet. I wonder if people who aren't mixed-race are less hostile about the possibility of appropriation?

(remember that time some random white woman told me I can't be Chinese? yeah. good times)

mid weekish links (in brief)

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:35:20 GMT

Anli and Laura got featured on Offbeat Bride! They are super adorable. You can see their feature here: Anli & Laura's Lesbian Gamer Geek Wedding ETA OMG and they're on Boing Boing!

ice kacang macarons (OMG)

article: Murdoch left untouched for cover - Sarah Murdoch has appeared on the cover of AWW without her photo being retouched.

for lols: Stuff White People Like in Melbourne.

This has been posted all over the place, but that's because it's cool: Don't Sleep On Africa. Stockholm. Paris. London. New York. Helsinki. Milan. Tokyo. These seem to be to go-to places when it comes to "street-style" and what's hot in general on most fashion blogs, but I just wanted to share some of the street-style you'll find on the African continent. Some really great photos.

via unusualmusic, The Secret World of Deaf Prisoners.

on hypocrisy: Isn't This Special? Gainesville, FL Anti-Trans Amendment Supporter Arrested For Bathroom Voyeurism. "It's a bit hypocritical when that group was allegedly putting the petition on the ballot to protect women in bathrooms and then the manager of the store who was allowing the petition gathering was in fact preying on women in bathrooms," said Terry Fleming, spokesman for Equality in Gainesville's Businesses.

More on Yu Xiaochun, who was beaten to death by Walmart employees in a carpark: Wal-Mart: Violence and Lies.

Ableism in Workshop Advice: “There are Worse Things Than Death...” However, when I see this advice handed out in workshops, I usually see it being invoked in an ableist way. “Your character doesn’t have to lose his life to show he’s sacrificed to show that he’s lost something. There are other things you can do that are even worse. You can...” And here comes the ableist parade: You could mutilate him. He could lose his arm. He could lose his legs. He could become disabled.

The Slave-Made Prius and the Future of Green, Fair Labor

photog: Midway, an amazing series of photos by Chris Jordan (who did my favourite series, Running the Numbers). These photographs of albatross chicks were made just a few weeks ago on Midway Atoll, a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the North Pacific. The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking.

scent of magnolias sweet and fresh

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:08:43 GMT

I was never much of a tea drinker out and about in the world.

In Chinese restaurants or at home, sure, Oolong and Pu'er and Jasmine and whatever was going, by preference poured bitter and cooled to room temperature. And when the pot was finished, I tilt the lid until someone dashes by with a refill of hot water, and I have to pour and wait for the temperature to drop.

Last week at Tinh Tam Chay we were served tea from thermoses, and it tasted like Oolong but it had this aftertaste of Chrysanthemum, which caused me consternation - I like my Oolong slightly above room temperature but my Chrysanthemum chilled or at room temperature!

Victor has a really great post about tea: Drinking Tea.

I've slowly come around to infusions. My favourite is ginger and lemongrass in a plunger, because it's familiar, but after gradually drifting into it I find I can drink things like peppermint infusions from teabags and stuff.

D thinks this means people will like me better, because I'm less likely to point blank refuse people when they offer me tea or coffee.

Still not a fan of Earl Grey, though.

Or coffee.

Just as I finished writing this post, Julie posted Mmm, I’d love a cuppa right now, and in it she links to a G-Magazine article that posits tea against coffee in environmental impact.

acknowledging the bits of it

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 06:05:22 GMT

In Australia especially, but also online generally, I'm used to people denying that their country is racist, so this was interesting for me:

Is Malaysia a racist Country?
YES 455 (94%)
NO 29 (5%)

I actually disagree with the reasons put forward in the linked article (I think it is not just the policies only, but a combination of many things), but it is interesting to see a situation where people are actually saying that their own country is racist, and not busy denying it or shifting attention to other countries. (I know I know, it is only an online poll, but still)

Just as my love of Australia doesn't stop me from saying it is a racist country, my love of Malaysia does not stop me also.

(my new favourite term is 'umnoputras')

think i'm probably too young to be ticking off my days

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:43:58 GMT

socraticomatic and I stayed out well past our bedtimes (well, it was at least well past mine) to see Institut Polaire play just around the corner from my house at the East Brunswick Club. My body did not appreciate this as I had to get up early for a breakfast meeting, but it's been almost a year since I last saw them (November 2008 at the Northbridge Festival), and it was totally worth it!

I was saddened by the loss of their violinist and their trumpeter, but it was nice to see them live again all the same, because they are one of my favourite Perth bands. Perth! (One Movement is on in Perth this weekend and BoysBoysBoys! are playing and everyone should go if they can)

This is not a clip from them last night, obviously, it is their clip for 'City Walls and Empires' and I looove them.

mid week links (minks?)

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:32:52 GMT

I have got to post these more often than 'sporadically,' otherwise I just have a giant list. A miscellany of interesting posts to read on a Wednesday afternoon.

Bri talks about the trial of gastric banding on 30 Indigenous Australian participants in I’m not just concerned, I am utterly appalled!. This is a good intersectiony piece on this proposed trial.

Additional reasons why I would be particularly concerned about inflicting this procedure on the group in question would be regarding follow up. Most people don’t go to the doctor unless they are feeling unwell. For a lot of Aboriginal people, they have to be feeling VERY unwell before they will seek medical advice (usually due to past experiences of racism or the cost of medical treatment). There are so many complications that can occur after banding that if not treated promptly can become life threatening situations. And who is going to sit down and explain the ins and outs of the procedure and the potential risks? Is there going to be true informed consent? How can there be when there are no long term studies into banding? Are the researchers going to consider the possible literacy issues some Aboriginals deal with on a daily basis?

Relatedly, ignore the bad title and read Shock and Awe, about a pharmacist working with isolated indigenous communities. It talks about the difficulties in giving effective care and the problems with our medical institution in treating indigenous patients.

The photos in this article are great: The 20 Best Signs At The National Equality March. Some really great signs! (I love the arched eyebrow the guy at #6 gives when he holds up his sign)

And then you can read this: A Step in Faith, an article by a Christian guy who went from believing homosexuality is an abomination, to marching in the National Equality March.

Sarah has a great post up about Roe 8, the 6-lane extension of Roe Highway between North and Bibra Lakes, and some of the environmental problems related to the proposed extension.

Comic Rec: Over the weekend I discovered and read a comic that is new to me, and whose main characters are all queer (gay, lesbian and trans so far): Khaos Komix. I love the line on the front page, This comic contains an equal amount of straight and gay people but unfortunately for straight people (who are already so under represented in the media) I only really write about the queer ones. The comic has lots of awesome characters (some of whom are clearly not-Caucasian) and it was a fun, if sometimes confrontational, read. May be triggering (contains a scene where people get beaten up in one of the later sections). It is an ongoing comic.

At Sociological Images (one of my new most favourite blogs), Race-Mixing is Communism. The picture, I think, is particularly awesome as a commentary.

I like this article by Meloukhia, One Of My Best Friends Is...

This is called “tokenizing.” When you represent the point of view of a minority group through a “best friend” who is not present to use it to prop up your argument, you are invoking that person as a token. And this is not cool, for a number of reasons, among which is that fact that it alerts the person you are arguing with to the fact that you do not care about that minority group. As soon as the “my best friend is…” argument gets hauled out, I know it’s pointless to continue the discussion, because the person I am talking with is not willing to engage.

the national identity myth at Shiny New Coin. Finally, where in this notion of mateship, being given a fair go, ANZAC spirited Australian identity do I fit as a 21st Century professional woman? I’ve never worked with my hands, I’ve never seen war, I’ve only recently been able to use the word “mate” without cringing.

You might have seen some stuff about the Nestle boycott floating around. I Am Evil at Fusion Parenting is a nice brief post about its importance, and you here can find a list of companies and products owned by Nestle. It includes Uncle Toby's :o(

Recent Migrants and Inclusion in the Australian Arts Scene: Part 1 - Education by Tiara Shafiq is an interesting read on the lack of diversity in recognition of in the Australian arts scene, and in education. I liked this quote: QUT, the university I was in, brands itself as a “university for the real world” – however, I found most of the content in the Creative Industries degree heavily Australia-centric. Many subjects sprung off assumptions about art and society that were not shared by many of the students, which led to gaps in understanding and appreciation. Tiara also talks about some solutions to these problems.

surprise to white people at Resist Racism:

So whiteness is rarely discussed in white households. And the lack of discussion is used to further enforce the idea that race has no meaning, that we’re all alike under the skin, that we live in a meritocracy and that we don’t see color...But we can’t talk about racism, because when we do we’re silenced by the majority outcry. We don’t see race. We are colorblind. We treat everybody as equals here. And you are the one who is creating the racism by talking about it! But I am a person of color and this is my community. And I see race. And I am not colorblind. I would like to believe that everybody is equal, but when you silence my voice I know different.

Action and reaction: on avoiding “offense”, by Skud.

I’m trying to remove the word “offense” from my vocabulary when talking about sexism, and I think it would be good if we all did...One of the tools I use to move from a reactive “offense” statement to an action statement is simply to replace the word “offended” in the sentence with something more specific: marginalised, belittled, stereotyped, frustrated, humiliated, threatened, patronised, silenced, intimidated, misrepresented.

Would this be easier to read if I broke it into sections with headings? I suspect it would, but I don't want to remove the intersectionality of these issues.