O neglect

I am reminded by my recent gushy Cumberbatch fangirl post -- wherein, he is inducted officially into my man harem, in a wee bit part on rumors of his motorbike love -- that I have yet to post about my own motorcycle! Trevor gifted me with lessons a year ago and I got my license and my bike a month later. It's been super fun and exhilarating, yet also a bit scary at times, and of course very  convenient for city living. I feel both indignant and admittedly hella awesome when I'm out and dudes think that I'm carrying a helmet solely because they think I'm going to hop on the back of some guy's bike.

I also feel that I've become a better automobile driver. Once you ride, you do of course become much more aware of the perils riders face, and if you tend toward being safe and responsible (or generally not a driving nightmare), I suppose that uptick in auto safety may be par for the course.

Anyway, I hardly ever put personal photos up here, but I'm feeling saucy.

Big ups to ladies who ride.

Ugh, one step forward for civil rights, and then two steps back, courtesy of the myopic sheep of California.

No Refuge For Domestic Violence Perpetrators

[California] Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, a San Francisco Democrat, has pushed for an online registry of men and women convicted of domestic violence. But her effort has gone nowhere because of concerns it would lead to reprisals or could mistakenly put innocent people on the danger list...Ma says she'll try again but will need support from her critics.

aaaaaaannnnnnd...

No Halloween for Sex Offenders

...the Tulare County (of course) Board of Supervisors has passed a new measure banning sex offenders from decorating for Halloween or answering the door for trick-or-treaters...Public Defender Michael Sheltzer has raised concerns about the legality of the bill under state law and the First Amendment. After all, these people have served their time...

"After all, these people have served their time." Are we to believe that your civil rights are different after you have done your time? This is a slippery slope we are treading.

Now, before everyone gets their panties in a knot thinking that I have sympathy for sex offenders and wife-beaters, this is actually what I think: 1) some humans are vile, ignorant creatures who jump to wild conclusions about everything, want to blame everyone but themselves for their predicaments, and live in fear-filled boxes, all the while refusing to parent their own children lest they be blamed for screwing them up, and 2) civil rights are civil rights.

Besides the fact that I had an 18 year old friend in high school who had to ridiculously register as a child predator for having sex with his 16 year old girlfriend because her parents needed someone to suffer for the shame they felt, I also recognize that when we start chipping away at the civil rights of true undesirables (read: real child rapists, men who beat women, the Westboro Baptist Church, etc.), it is just a small skip-jump to trampling on someone's rights because oh, say, a community doesn't like child-free couples, or single moms, or people who aren't white or heterosexual. Or people who are JUST LIKE YOU.

My friend Brian just posted this on Facebook; we'd be wise to remember it.

The privacy and dignity of our citizens are being whittled away by sometimes imperceptible steps. Taken individually, each step may be of little consequence. But when viewed as a whole, there begins to emerge a society quite unlike any we have seen -- a society in which government may intrude into the secret regions of a person's life.

William O. Douglas

Finally! Confirmation by experts that my sushi snobbery is actually good for me. Sadly, though, this article seems less about the horrors of rampant sub-par sushi and more about free advertising for sushi at Wal-Mart.

I want to see more of this:

"I get these questions all the time -- people call me: 'Hey Yoshi, my husband went to fish a big salmon, we're looking to eat it as sashimi. We opened it and a bunch of worms came out. Can we eat it?'"

Christ on a bike.

Also very sad that there was no talk of what a fellow yelper calls, "Jive-Ass Rolls." You know what I'm talking about: those mayonnaise, teriyaki, and otherwise sauce-covered concoctions that, IMHO, exist primarily to mask dodgy fish.

My friends had a roll recommended to them at a Louisville, Kentucky sushi bar that not only had all of those jive-ass hallmarks -- tempura, hot-sauce spiked fish, teriyaki sauce, and mayo -- but also melted mozzarella cheese. Oh yeah, and it was served on fire. WTF? Run away!

I'm going to risk my Nihonjin card and say I actually like and partake of some rolls considered jive-ass. But I fight my urge for spicy tuna, spicy scallops, and crab salad all the time, unless I'm at a trusted Japanese joint. I humbly suggest you do the same. No one likes barfing, tapeworms, or crap masquerading as culinary delight that somehow manages in all its crappiness to still set you back at least a tenner.

I feel like all I've been doing is complaining lately, but I just have to post what's currently pissing me off. From this article, in a nutshell, it is namely:

1) State officials say the amount of pesticide applied shouldn't pose severe health risks, but they've also refused to rule out that the spray can affect humans, particularly sensitive people such as children and the elderly.

Or people with lungs, or skin, or eyes. Read on...

2) The U.S. Department of Agriculture obtained an "emergency exemption from registration" from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that allows the agency to use the pesticide in aerial sprays over California cities. Because of that exemption, the spraying program isn't subject to state approval, according to representatives of the state Department of Pesticide Regulation.

Not subject to state approval. That has all kinds of implications for future nastiness.

3) There is no widespread infestation of the light brown apple moth, but U.S. Department of Agriculture officials say they are trying to head off a potential disaster.

Check out this fact sheet about Checkmate -- the pesticide being used -- and the light brown apple moth.

What is laughable is the assurance by the Feds that since the EPA has no concerns about the pesticide and even allows farm workers into the fields after spraying, we shouldn't worry either. This is the same EPA that exempted power plants from new mercury emission rules and needed a Supreme Court order to force them to regulate greenhouse gases. Um, yeah, sure -- I feel better already.

Less important, but still relevant: what happens to organic farms in the area? Also, my inner conspiracy theorist is inevitably suspicious about being used as a guinea pig for other more destructive applications, like biological weapons. This isn't right, and it smells fishy.

To paraphrase Senator William Proxmire – ‘If a foreign government crop dusted our children and our cities with powerful, secret, untested, unwanted pesticides – we would consider it an act of war’

David Dilworth, Nov 2007, HOPE Executive Director

Ex-Sierra Club head Adam Werbach hired to "green" Wal-Mart.

First reaction: WTF? Wal-Mart, that anything but sustainable, community-raping, evil den of buy-more-stuff-to-fill-your-empty-heart?

But then, one stark reality:

I was a typical San Franciscan, very disconnected from Middle America, and, I tell you, now I'm turned off when I hear people use the expression 'fly-over states.' I mean, I love my little Bernal Heights neighborhood, I love having Progressive Grounds Coffee right up the street, and all those things. But the thing that was most educational to me is that this isn't the dream everyone has. Democrats, Republicans, conservatives, it is America out there, and right now what they want is to have parking to do their shopping all in one place, to have strawberries for $2 in February. And if the public demands, a retailer will provide. You say you hate Wal-Mart? Well, the American public has chosen this place; they like Wal-Mart a hell of a lot.

Okay, so Werbach would also make a great politician. But it is true: people love Wal-Mart. And no amount of maintaining that they are a hellmouth of evil is going to change that. Hell, even if they had children sacrifice goats to some archaic god at noon in the food court and had terrorists publicly molest the elderly and infirm in the pharmacy y'all just know most people would put their blinders on and continue to buy the Wal's cheap-ass Chinese crap and then complain about lead poisoning and the export of American jobs. That's how we humans work.

So, as much as it pains me to say it, I think Werbach is doing more good than harm by partnering with the devil.

The "greening" of America's biggest retailer -- even if it is selective and I suspect merely to help their bottom line -- cannot be denied as a very good thing. Analyzing and implementing where they can cut down on fuel and electricity would make huge dents in carbon emissions around the globe and possibly cause a ripple effect among their suppliers and distributors. Marketing organic produce in 4,000 megastores increases the demand for this type of farming. And bringing the concept of global warming to the "red states," as it were, is a tasty proposition. With a glass-half-full mentality you could almost say they would be creating demand for things (in this case, good things) people never thought they needed before. And lookee there -- isn't that the Wal-Mart way? Everyone's happy.

This still doesn't mean I advocate shopping at Wal-Mart. Though I can understand the sentiment this might promote, it in no way means if you can't beat 'em join 'em. There are certainly still glaring problems with Wal-Mart, the biggie being their tendency to make money off poverty. This starts with stores that are more often than not opened in economically depressed areas with employees who make the lowest possible wages and are denied affordable healthcare (and are therefore often subsidized by taxpayers), and ends with catering to a customer base largely populated by the poor, the elderly, and the chronically un-or-under employed.

The in-between in this poverty clusterfuck? Exploiting sweatshop and child-labor to fill their stores with low-quality crap. This leads to the other big bad no-no of supporting Wal-Mart -- the horrifying cause and effect of its supply chain. From the loss of domestic jobs to the sweatshops that are a direct result of supply and then demand of toasters or sweatpants or what have you for $4.99, the suffering that exists because of corporate and consumer greed is appalling.

I'm not trying to invalidate all the criticism Wal-Mart gets, but in this crisis we collectively face, being negative is not a winning strategy. The whole system is broken, and we've all got a moral charge to fix it.

We're all hypocrites somehow when it comes to sustainability and the like, so I acknowledge the importance of baby steps, especially with the Big Bad. I remain a Negative Nellie about Wal-Mart's actual motivation and investment in becoming more "green," but I'm on board with seeing what happens.

In case you didn't know...

...that Caltrans spent over $500,000 of California tax money to pay for something that could have been conveyed for far less if we just stopped pandering to the willfully clueless, now you do.

I get the need for some level of advertisement. And if you have driven on the freeway at all in NorCali in the last three weeks, you could not have missed those flashing signs on the side of the road screaming, "BAY BRIDGE CLOSED LABOR DAY WEEKEND!" But expensive color flyers and paid tv and radio and movie preview ads? Grrr, give me my hard earned money back! Hire one person to actually work at a State of California office to call churches, schools, and other community centers to get the word out! News and radio peeps will follow up -- for free -- because that's how news and community works.

But for those who've been hiding in a cave or on a six-month world cruise: The bridge will close at 8 p.m. Friday and reopen no later than 5 a.m. Tuesday.

It's cold, I know, but if you fall into these categories: while you may not deserve to have to turn around and drive to San Mateo to get into San Francisco, sometimes you gotta take one for the team.

I too have been stuck on the bridge -- which is HELL -- and also had to go 'round "the backdoor of the Bay" on the Golden Gate and Richmond/San Rafael to get home to sweet Oakland when they've been working on the Bay Bridge. So, when I have something to do in the city, now I check to see what I'm in for.

I can, however, get fully behind footing the bill for the insanely expensive BART trains for the weekend, and running them 24 hours. May even take a wee electric voyage myself over the weekend then.

When I read things like this I want to seriously move far away from the Bay Area to a cabin in the woods and never come out.

Spa camp? For children? Is this for real? Or is it something conjured up by Fox News to make the Bay Area look even more insane?

"This class is good for little kids because they need to relax more," [Maggie, 6], said, lifting her handmade lavender-scented eye mask for an interview. She said her anxiety comes from arguments with her parents over going to bed when she wants to stay up and read her mystery books. Another stressor is struggling with new tasks, like washing the dishes.

"I can do it for like 15 minutes, then I start feeling like I can't, and I have to take a five-minute break. I use that method to get through it," she said.

Sorry sweetie, but your parents telling you what to do isn't something that facilitates being so stressed that you need self-indulgence reserved for adults with real stress in order to deal. I hope this is being conveyed to her; otherwise, this is just nurturing psychosis around normal childhood. You know what works well for kids (and some adults too?) Get off the Wii and go outside. Jump around. Make mud pies. Eat ice cream. Anything but wallow in how much you need pampering and a eye pillow at age 6.

But you know, I bet life is a real bitch if your parents send you to spa camp. I can only assume any 6 year-old having her normal anxieties pandered to like they're going to destroy her is not getting modeling nor encouragement of healthy coping mechanisms in the first place. Poor thing's gonna prolly need therapy to deal with the injustice of real life -- that you can't take a 5 minute break every 15 minutes when you have responsibilities. Never mind the cruelty that is learning new tasks and adapting successfully without needing shiatsu or a lavender sachet at every turn.

It is utter shite like this that makes me truly feel like we're devolving.

And y'all just know leviathans and such are marking time until that happens, when they will flood the earth and take over, and we'll all be screwed. Man, that's when we'll need those killer robots to do battle for us. Hope the humans that end up with the "technology over all" part of human devolvement get those suckers online in time.

Um, anyway...spa camp for kids bad! :)

Violet Blue, SFGate sex columnist, takes a tongue in *ahem* cheek look at ultra right wing sexual fetishes.

While a sort of trite regurgitation of things we already know about the ultra right wing and their treatment of sex (the more you condemn, the nastier you prolly are), the greatest thing about this article was finding out that when you Google Santorum you still get this and not this as your numero uno hit. Proper.

Okay, and while her article was blowing some well-deserved snark up the asses of scary conservatives like Rick Santorum, she has a serious point. It is ridiculous that many consensual sexual acts between adults are linked to moral legislation by pounding the pulpit lawmakers, which results in a very narrow and unrealistic view of sexuality being served up as a litmus test for how upright and "good" someone is.

Ugh, so listen up otaku -- while I still think anigao is creepy as fuck and totally not conducive to healthy relationships, I guess I got your (creepy-ass) back.

Also, can I get an amen for this:

Disney movies have shown my friend's 4-year-old how to strike freakishly provocative poses, yet give her no tools to know not to do that in front of strange men at the mall. How about instead of "OMG sex!" in the media and hiding sex "for the children", instead we give accurate sex information, and provide kids with tools to navigate the sexuality they're already encountering in the world?

I'm not so knee-jerk that I think plain old conservatives, social or otherwise, are idiots, but why oh why aren't these facts an across the political spectrum thing?

Yeah yeah, I get that people want to be responsible for their own kids' sexual education, but face it, so often it just doesn't happen. So, moral busybodies: get an excuse slip for your kid and leave the parents alone who want comprehensive sex education taught to their kids.

And everybody should check this Good Vibrations sponsored reference guide of sites that promote knowledge-based sex education for teens.

Oy, here it comes. Obligatory Harry Potter post. Please be aware my links and narrative may spoil the new book for you, though I will attempt to contain my narrative as much as possible out of respect for your reading enjoyment.

I will admit that even though I love to read, I've never cracked one of the books. Not interested after watching the first film. Love the films, I do. And a very large part of my love for those films is the magnificent Alan Rickman's portrayal of Severus Snape.



























Yes, if you know me, you've got me -- it does have a lot to do with the villianous black nehru jacket and flowing black priest-like cloaks (phwoar!), the gothic trappings, the uptightness, the jet-black hair, the measured and stern voice...*swoon*

Ah, and don't forget his riding crop...erm, I mean wand...erm, no, I mean...how about that wand?

*ahem* anyway...

My first brush with Alan Rickman was as one of the two actors in the excellent film Closet Land; since then I've really enjoyed his hysterical performance as Metatron in Kevin Smith's Dogma and of course his very important bit as Severus Snape. Very similar characters, in a way, I know, but he's also quite versatile. Who can forget the evil Hans in Die Hard and "classic fool" Harry in Love, Actually?

So, of course, being completely enthralled with Alan Rickman's performance and knowing the importance that Snape plays in the last two books, I have been all over the internets gathering the last story because I just couldn't wait.

And you know what? I was heartbroken at the injustice of the end.

I realize Harry is ultimately an innocent and deserves a happy ending. But a less than innocent but long-suffering -- and most importantly, repentant and romantic -- character such as Snape, highly dedicated and a master of his craft, but unloved and under constant, almost lifetime stress for a greater good, deserved much more than what JKR dished out. I'm definitely not the only one who feels this way -- there's an excellent essay about this travesty of justice here.

It could be said that there was a certain romance to Snape's end. Maybe I'm a different kind of romantic, but if that is what was intended, it lacked fundamental pieces that make such things bittersweet and thus romantic. Boo, I say -- I just didn't get it.

Nice little article in the San Francisco Chronicle today on my honey's workplace, Diesel, a Bookstore.

While I would have liked a little more concrete discussion about why people should shop at local businesses (community character, supporting your local economy, ethical consumerism, and how all of that ultimately protects your interests, etc.), I am impressed that an independent, local shop is getting ink in one of the biggest newspapers in the country. And I suppose it is an article in the business section -- not so much a place to proselytize.

But I am happy at the very least that the guts of how a small business works is being conveyed to consumers. The real in and out, everyday workings of a small business is an important piece of the puzzle in educating consumers about the difference between a place like Diesel and a place like Borders or Barnes and Noble.

Now just get the piece out of the business section and into the parts of the paper people actually read!

For me, the importance of knowing how a small business must conduct itself is this: I still find it funny that it isn't common sense -- and that small businesses have to defend -- why they can't offer the same deep discounts as Amazon or why they don't have every fucking thing under the sun in stock. I am blown away by how annoyed customers get when something not in stock is offered as a special order, or in the case of a bookstore, questions are asked of the customer and something else is suggested. It's like for those folks, customer service only matters when they want to complain.

Amazing to me too is a debate that periodically rages in my hometown paper's Letters to the Editor as to why a local hardware store (that provides benefits and a living wage for knowledgable employees and doesn't have bulk-buying power) charges a dollar more than Lowes or Home Depot for the same piece of lumber or whatever. Duh. And oh so related, I am equally shocked at how often some consumers act like they are getting one over on the little guy by getting it cheaper or without waiting for a special order at the megachain -- like the local shop was trying to fuck the consumer over and "they showed them." Right.

Recently, my friend and super manga expert, Domi, who works at local comic purveyor Dr. Comics and Mr. Games related her funny big chain bookstore manga experience. Crouched down in the children's manga section, checking out the competition's wares, she found amongst the Doraemon and other such kiddie fare many sexually explicit yaoi and other adult manga. Shocked, she pulled them all out and took them to the counter. Thumbing through them to illustrate why they shouldn't be housed in the children's manga, she was told to put them back in the section because that is where "the manager told us to put them."

Hmmmm, okay. I think I'd rather pay that dollar more to a business where the employee is more likely given the freedom to think and use common sense, and therefore hopefully invest themselves in their employer, stock, and customers. Sheesh.

Alright, this is spiraling into a diatribe of black-hole ickiness. Let's lighten the mood, shall we?

--

I'm loving Sex in a Can. Only in Asia, baby. Or possibly a Tijuana pharmacy.

And in the era of the 3 ounce only rule and cavity searches, Violet Blue tells us how to safely fly with your sex toys.

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Ever notice how much the new Blonde Redhead sounds like Lush? The hubby just put it on and I thought it was Miki and Co.

NP: Grinderman. Slow to pick this up because of all the hype, though I heart Nick Cave (I even heart his child molester moustache). I am not disappointed. Brilliant, as hyped. Definitely reminiscient of The Birthday Party, but less chaotic or bewildered in its longing and vitriol. There's an understanding there, finally. Still primal, yet seasoned. Superb.