Sunday, 9 December 2018

Fighting Nazis on Many Planets

Based on past experience I was expecting the faceless trolls to pile into the current series of Doctor Who and newspapers to cull these unrepresentative tweets as evidence of a backlash, given ratings are up, many collum inches written and there is actual evidence that new fans of the show have been created the BBC will be hoping for many more of those kinds of backlashes. 

Those talking about the Darleks conveniently forget they weren't exactly subtlety coded as space nazis who frequently preached racial superiority and purity, I can also point out attacks on Thatcherism or just Robert Holmes essentially moaning about having to pay tax.

Thursday, 6 December 2018

Is Die Hard A Christmas Film?

Been pondering  that not-so age old debate about whether the film Die Hard can be counted as a Christmas film. In the end its a subjective judgement, much like compiling a list of companions from Doctor Who, there's a definite yes pile, and then there's a few up for debate does Kamelion count? Or Adam from the post 2005 series'? In the end its just a bit of fun, much like Alan Rickman's performance.

Btw it is a Christmas film.

Wednesday, 5 December 2018

Binders

So the Mail on Sunday, following on from their expose of food banks a few years ago which gave the shocking revelation that they were willing to help someone who said they were in need. Comes their wont-somebody-think-of-the-children comes the story of a organisation helping young trans men access safe but not cheap binders. The alternative being trans teens resorting to methods that are potentially dangerous and among the many things this blog supports is that if you're binding do it well, and take care of yourself.

Tuesday, 4 December 2018

Eating at Desk

One thing I've noticed after having many office based jobs is that the smellier your lunch is the more likely it is that you're going to inflict your weird onion and garlic fishy diet on everyone around you by eating it at your desk. Which is certainly near the air conditioning / heating unit which amplifies the smell further and makes those not next to you smell it and hate you as well. All the while you go into some strange state of oblivion to everyone glaring daggers at you and start thinking of a egg, very mature cheese and extra onion mix to bring in tomorrow.

Monday, 3 December 2018

Monday

It's only Monday and I'm shattered already, politely opted out of the work secret Santa and treated myself to a dress partly using the savings from not buying someone a gift they probably wont like and buying something I definitely will. 

Sunday, 2 December 2018

Mummified Hands

Being around with a free period to spare I took a look at the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery in what is a converted house with a little extension for the art displays. Being a converted house there are lots of little rooms and narrow stairs to navigate and explore while enjoyable, the whole collection is crying out for a more modern and accessible space, which hopefully they will get one day.

Saturday, 1 December 2018

Blogmas 2019

I've hired Shakin' Stevens (ably assisted by his elf) in his chart topping era pomp to say merry blogmas everyone!

Its Christmas month, a time of traditions none more than my miscellaneous series of short blog posts leading up to the 25th.

Reworkings in minor key are not allowed.

Shakin' Stevens - Merry Christmas Everyone (Official Video)

Monday, 19 November 2018

Transgender Day of Remembrance 2018

On November 20th we remember them.

Another year, another grim list of those trans+ people whose lives were lost because of anti transgender hatrid and violence. One such person was Naomi Hersi who died after being found with knife wounds, of the few reports several misgendered her and/or tied it into their agenda over knife violence in London and coded comments on race ignoring the specific issues which contributed to her death. There's many places around the world where it is unsafe to be openly trans, more closer to home the current coverage from the UK media of misinformation and moral panics from the 80s Section 28 play book can only make things potentially riskier and encourage those already emboldened in their hatrid over the last few years to take it out on a trans/ nb + individual.

If only that powerful trans cabal the media talks about actually exists.

Wednesday, 31 October 2018

After The Shitshow

So after the shitshow of the GRA reform consultation, the relentlessness of which was way too triggering for many. Still it enabled us to see many in their true colours and be grateful for the support of allies who came out in support. You can probably work out my responses were on favour of a non beuroctatic (I'm trying to avoid the loaded and slightly misleading term, ' self declaration '), that it poses no threats to women's rights and the Equality Act and to more recognition in law for non binary people.

I'd like to say you can rest but with other attacks like trans erasure happening you sadly can't.

Monday, 24 September 2018

Students Starter Kit

As term starts and students start accruing debts they will spend the rest of their working lives trying to pay off Waitrose were being roundly mocked for putting out a very Waitrose type student starter kit containing such ingredients as Rose Harissa paste and after spending over a tenner you've nothing actually to eat. My own starter kit included a big bag of dry pasta, jar of coffee, pepper, tins of spaghetti and tomatoes, cheese and some frozen vegetables. That along with jacket potatoes (something so simple even I couldn't mess it up) along with far too many takeaways and Guinness' formed a large part of my student diet.


But apart from the diet or lack of, it is a great time to find yourself and come out, (like spending your bouillon money on a pair of tights) if that's what you want to do and please don't isolate yourself there are many great support network's and councillors, on and off campus.


Finally one essential piece of advice it is to not buy value bin bags, they will disintegrate as soon as you take it out the bin, let alone to the door and you really don't want to clear up what your flatmate put in the bin a few days ago believe me. Love your blogging mum.

Monday, 3 September 2018

Curly Hair Problems

..and more of my curly hair problems. Sadly living in an intemperate climate moisture of some kind will land on your head turning wiggly squiggly and not in the direction you prefer.




My top tips for those with curly hair are as follows;


  1. Shampoo and condition.
  2. Buy a good anti frizz cream.
  3. Find a hairdresser whose done a lot of curly heads, preferably specialises.
  4. Move to a dry climate.
Or spend several hours with your hair straighteners and cover your hair with a plastic bag.



Sunday, 26 August 2018

Top 10

Hello again, time to stare at that blank screen and put something down. I'm apparently a top 10 LGBT blog and its all thanks to me (and especially all those very good writers who have either deleted their blog or not posted for several years).

More than once I've had a thought and made a mental note to mention it, only my mental filing system is jumbled with lots of little screwed up pieces of paper that are now totally unreadable. I did see Barry Humphries has doubled down on his transgender rants which he first made in 2016, blaming primary school teachers. I'd have thought the teaching profession was too busy with other things than to be turning children trans. Its all too similar to the 1980s when evil teachers and librarians showing children lesbian and gay books turned those young innocent minds homosexual. He was, and presumably still is a smart man and you'd hope he's talk to someone other than Germaine Greer on trans issues or even better meet some primary school teachers.

One media outlet has noticed celebrities wearing skorts more often them more. Being the kind of place that has used chopeing angle paparazzi photos do they really have to ask why.

Tuesday, 24 July 2018

Melty Puddle


Its a hot and dry period, which means trying a "light" make-up regime that doesn't descend into a melty puddle. Its also time to find the strong sun crème and go and an open space between built up areas you didn't know existed which has encouraged lots of butterflies, bees and dragonfly's which makes a change from the flying ants everywhere else I suppose.



And an church, which was closed a few years ago, its remaining online presence is a notice promising a website is coming which presumably will never arrive. Apart from the broken windows, overgrowth and other signs of neglect, it looks all neat and tidy inside and like they could hold a service at a moments notice though is more likely to be someone's house soon.

There's also the Mechanics Institute being propped up with scaffold until they finally get round to saving it or let it fall down.


Tuesday, 17 July 2018

Increasingly Hay Coloured



Where does the time go? I publish something, soak my feet in a fountain and before you know it you watch your national team by all objective measurements, overachieve at the world cup, the grass become increasingly hay coloured and nearly a month has passed.

Saturday, 16 June 2018

Birthday Bits

Anyway the footieball global cup has started, you may have heard something about it or the many ads which portray fans as "passionate" consumers of gassy larger, pizza and metre wide TV's.


So my birthday passed off uneventfully,  I've found a few more grey hairs though unlike many nearing their 40's my knees seem to still be working and I'm not sure how. I recently saw a marvellous range of medical technologies aimed at supporting the joints and extremities without the need for major invasive replacement surgery.


A headline claiming a trans prisoner was to receive a £20000 operation, I could have sworn those things were only costing the "taxpayer" £13000 a year ago, a more expensive surgeon? Or are they plucking these figures out of the air and adding a few thousand to keep the sensational headline.


I visited my niece who chose to watch Look Whose Talking Now over the 100's of other better films available on demand. For those who stopped after the sequel, they made one several years later where the children were old enough to talk for themselves so it's their pet dogs who were given voice overs, shenanigans ensue and John Travolta's English boss sexually harassing him seems to be the main plot. There's then a weird so-bad-its-good video over credits, with the main cast and the 90's brief phenomena toys come to life in which toys come to life.