hmph.

i'm fascinated when a young person is told that s/he/ze is 'too selfish.'

of course,

there are bounds and contexts and exceptions and severities to consider.

but it boggles my mind to think that one who's only just come into some sort of sphere of self awareness and ability to exercise said awareness and expression of self in a preferred environment

would be anything less than selfish.

free from being watched, observed, taken care of,

freed from immediate expectation.

having finished biding her/his/hir time,

why should one be expected to, at all times, be less than even a bit selfish?

without self interest and temporary selfishness,

the growth to appreciate what selflessness could mean wouldn't have the space to occur.

and then that selflessness, or the attitude thereof, whether occasional or not,

would be a meaningless happenstance. unappreciated.

[ wordswordswordswordswords. ]

"..there's so much focus on bullies and the youth that are being bullied, and so little focus on the institutions that are not creating safe spaces. and the heterosexism and heteronormativity in our schools...teachers aren't taught how to mediate...and having real dialogue about it. and creating safe spaces for people of all sexualities and gender expressions, and -- let's face it -- when we're talking about school age kids, they're not getting bullied because of their sexuality, they're being bullied because of whatever gender expressions are coming out of them." --andrea gibson.

andrea gibson, speaking about something that was recently brought to national attention: transphobia and the inability of mainstream america to see beyond the gender binary. a boy and his mother appeared in an ad campaign for J. Crew, the boy with pink nail polish on his toes.

The Daily Show - Toemageddon 2011 - This Little Piggy Went to Hell
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

walk away, watch me burn.

Walk Away Watch Me Burn from Brett Dennen on Vimeo.

Brett Dennen recording "Walk Away Watch Me Burn" for his new record around a single microphone with Luke Reynolds (slide guitar), Dave Wilder (bass), Pete McNeal (drums), and Zac Rae (keys). Brett Dennen's fourth album "Loverboy" is available now! http://www.brettdennen.net/

filmed and directed by Ben Moon http://www.benmoon.com/

edited by Allie Bombach http://www.redreelvideo.com/

cannot wait to own this album.

it's, like, the basis of civilization.

"if jordan catalano is like, nearby, my entire body knows it...i'll keep talking and stuff, but my mind won't even know what i'm saying. i keep wondering if there's like a term for this."

--angela chase. my so-called life.

when you talk to me,
or are even nearby,
it's hard to concentrate,
let alone form coherent, intelligent sentences.

"People always say how you should 'be yourself.' Like, yourself is this definite thing. Like a toaster, or something. Like you can know what it is, even.

But every so often, I'll have a moment. When just being myself, in my life, right where I am, is like...enough."

--claire danes as angela chase. my so-called life.

autism awareness month begins today.

when i was thirteen, it was 1 in 166. apparently the number has risen to 1 in 110.

they're the best.

of any (unrealistic) on-screen romance,
this is the one i'd replicate, if given the option.
and we'd both be as witty as diablo cody's screenplay.
sans child.

things to love about '90s television:

1. plaid.


2. cut-off denim vests.


3. the layering of plaid over another type of plaid, under a cut-off denim vest.


4. REM.


5. the cranberries.


6. smashing pumpkins.


7. rage against the machine.


8. scrunchies.


9. lack of cell phone culture.


10. references to bill, hillary, and chelsea clinton.


11. clueless parents who are certain they're correct about whatever it is, who then try to talk to their children, and are always wrong. always.


12. that the clueless parents actually tried to talk to their kids. regardless of how wrong they were, or how uncomfortable everyone was. always.

It just seems like you agree to have a certain personality, or something. For no reason. Just to make things easier for everyone. But when you think about it, I mean, how to do you know if it's even you?

And, i mean, this whole thing with yearbook; it's like, everyone's in this big hurry to make this book, to supposedly remember everything that happened, but it's not even what really happened. It's what everybody thinks was supposed to happen. Because, if you made a book of what really happened, it'd be a really upsetting book.

--clare danes as angela chase. my so-called life.

phoebe in wonderland.

Jaime: You were so different on stage. ..How come you spit?

Phoebe: I don’t know. Why do you wanna play a girl’s part?

Jaime: It’s a play. I can do whatever I want.

Phoebe: But why do you do it when everyone makes fun of you?

Jaime: Because.

Phoebe: So, because for me, too. ..Sometimes, I get this feeling. This feeling to jump off a roof.

Jaime: You wanna die?

Phoebe: No! It’s what I feel like. All the time. With the things I do. I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help it. It’s like being on the edge of a roof. All the time.

nostalgia.

and another..

during the song "northshore," off of their latest LP, sainthood.

i took some mediocre photos with my little camera,

and then i forgot about them.
from 6th august 2010, at the Honda Civic Tour.

people are somehow really excellent at constantly letting down expectations of what we perceive them to be like.
good and bad.

but maybe that's just my experience.
or maybe perceptions are bullshit.

otherness is overwhelming.
especially when there's too much of it.

too many unpopular opinions.
too many principles
too many convictions
politics too loud.

too many thoughts
too much thinking
too contemplative
not__________enough.

...There must have been. I mean, there's rumors about it. Some of the people who have shaped our humanity, our civilization, were gay. That's just the reality of it. But we don't get to see that being put into the context of our history.


I talked to this woman on a plane about "gay people," and I didn't tell her I was gay, she brought it up on her own, and basically, from her (perspective), and the majority of society it seems -- upper class, white, middle America -- thinks that gay people like to party and buy clothes. And have sex. And do drugs. Like it's a party culture.



They don't think that we can be great politicians, or great minds, or great thinkers, or great artists, or great painters, or great musicians. There's this idea that if you're gay you're being held back. She actually said that "gay marriage is a great thing," because it would help "ground us" as gay people.

--sara quin

cloud nine is prettyfuckingawesome.
don't want this time and headspace to pass.

thus the basis of its appeal.
(--tenthingsihateaboutyou throwbackmuch?)

on the gender binary and other things..

the short documentary The Codes of Gender is rather good,

but when the topic of the gender binary came up, it was asserted that “transgendered and transsexual people have challenged this distinction.”

i would think that most or many trans people actually fit successfully into the gender binary, should they so choose. isn’t that what “passing” is? just like someone who would have been born biologically male or female and happens to feel comfortable within the binary that society is accepting of.

with acceptance of the understanding that sex is not gender, i don’t really believe someone’s status as cis or trans has much to do with challenging the gender binary, but rather, any individual’s choice to do so would, obviously, signify this.

additionally, someone who identifies as androgynous or genderqeer would, i think, be the most likely to be defying the norm of gender stereotypes. even so, someone who most often identifies as andro. could easily choose at any time to personify a more strictly defined classically ”masculine” or “feminine” identity, just as one who is comfortable in a binary category may be free to present her or himself as androgynous at any time.

...it's not your fault.

..if I asked you about art, you’d probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written. Michelangelo...but I’ll bet you can’t tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You’ve never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling; seen that.


If I ask you about women, you’d probably give me a syllabus about your personal favorites. You may have even been laid a few times. But you can’t tell me what it feels like to wake up next to a woman and feel truly happy.



You’re a tough kid.



And I’d ask you about war, you’d probably throw Shakespeare at me, right, “once more unto the breach dear friends.” But you’ve never been near one...I’d ask you about love, you’d probably quote me a sonnet. But you’ve never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable...


You don’t know about real loss, ‘cause it only occurs when you’ve loved something more than you love yourself. And I doubt you’ve ever dared to love anybody that much.


And look at you… I don’t see an intelligent, confident man… I see a cocky, scared shitless kid. But you’re a genius Will. No one denies that. No one could possibly understand the depths of you.


--robin williams as sean maguire in good will hunting.