geek meets grrrl

this'll be brief. it's late and i need sleep so i can get cracking in the morning bright and early on my art for common grounds... stuff. <-- brain shutting down. but, had a link to share. if you like comics, and you like feminisms, then you might like this: Girls Read Comics (and they're pissed)

that's "pissed" as in pissed off. not falling-over-legs-akimbo-and-puking-down -the-side-of-the-sofa pissed. actually, that scenario would probably be deserving of, "rat-arsed".

right. to bed.

LB

men are cool. but i couldn't eat a whole one.

a/theistic twits

ikon is now on twitter:

see: ikonbelfast if you're into this newfangled technology lark...

LB

tyra banks can bite me

yesterday turned out good. choppy internal seas calmed thanks to some writing and then lunch with jayne in which we concluded that hormones are a rollercoaster of shit and that the only solution is a good cry and some cake. drinks in muriel's followed (photo's below) with lovely folks, and then ikon Last Supper at The Roost.

it was a privilege. peterson shared poetry, an extended scene from doin' time in the homo nomo halfway house and a wonderful extract from a brand new project he's writing.

and then peterson's partner, glen retief, shared an incredible chapter from his memoir, the jack bank, which is due to be published in 2010. an equally powerful extract available here. their offerings left me speechless, shaken and stirred. amazing stuff.

::

which brings me to today...
my plan was to return to dublin this morning but instead i'm staying an extra night. am heading to QUB tonight for an event peterson's doing (details here), and looking forward to a final nightcap with P&G after.

and the morning has proved rather eventful...

i awoke to find my plan B for 2009 of applying to be on America's Next Top Model cycle 13 (all models under 5'7") is no longer necessary. which is a relief, since Celia was knocked out of cycle 12's final 4 for being "too old". at 20-fricking-5.

so this plan B is in the bin thanks to,
(1) getting notification from UCD that,

"The Graduate Board of the College of Human Sciences has approved your application for the MA Women’s Studies programme (full-time)...We hope you will accept the offer and look forward to seeing you here in September"

colour me saying, "i will."

and

(2) at the age of 35 and a 1/2, i'm now adding "cover girl" to my resume - *without* the help of the above mentioned ms banks. seventeen magazine?, i hear you ask. oprah magazine? french vogue? ms.? bitch? bust? national enquirer? fly fishing weekly? nope. Christian Century. details here on pete's blog. the article's actually an interview with pete but the cover makes for a kind of ikon where's wally? of familiar faces and silhouettes.

as of tomorrow i'm gonna follow in ms evangelista's footsteps and won't get out of bed for less than $10,000. i presume this means i need to purchase a cathater forthwith.




















::

photos of some of the lovely folks of the week - sadly missing is a pic of steve lawson, who surprised us with a visit. he managed to convince me of the beauty and possiblity of twitter. and did so without the use of thumb screws. i usually don't get to see steve any other time than greenbelt so this made for an unexpected treat.


peterson and ian (mrs tumnus) strike a pose in muriel's...
















LittleBird and Pád, my love...
















The Father (our host for the week) and Glen sharing a lunchtime pint at The Nook,
before walking down to the Giant's Causeway on Monday...















right, i'm off to meet the rollins for lunch. which reminds me,

friday night, centaur, gb09. ikon will be committing theological arson. we is rubbing our collective and collaborative hands together gleefully at the plan that is coming together... we've now 3 months to do a Macgyver on it...

LB

p.s. i'm really rather proud and admiring of fr tim bartlett for standing up for his convictions. tim's a nice guy, was very supportive of zero28 and i've seen him faced with some very difficult questions over the years in various fora. but none as difficult as last sunday.

lots of dark, tiny signs of light

bit of laundry list this. stuff that caught my eye and ear inbetween to-ing and fro-ing... i'd write more on what i've been thinking on all of this but the tops of my fore and middle fingers on my left hand had an accidental encounter with a razor blade and so typing is proving awkward.

from the daily dish:
i've gone back to this video several times. an arresting juxtaposition of happy people and angry voices...

li wei's amazing *not photoshopped* images:


















After Wars, Mass Rape Exists an important highlighting of an issue that has had pitifully little attention given its severity. and a not uncontroversial report by Nicholas Kristof in the NYT of the same - the comments are provocative.

it's been a troubling week for being part of Christendom on this part of the world...
there's good coverage of the 'gay debate' at the Church of Scotland's general asssembly over at sunday sequence and william's blog, including the big question that now hangs over CofS's daughter church, the presbyterian church in ireland. none of it entices me to return to the fold of the denomination.

sunday sequence yesterday gave most of the programme, unsurprisingly, to the 3000 page report on child abuse in the Catholic church in ireland published last week. the debate: will there be justice for victims? made for powerful and at times deeply uncomfortable listening.

i had a job a few years back typing up statements from victims of abuse in church run institutions. i'm not sure there's ever going to be anything to say as adequate response to the horrific history brought unequivocally into the light. the challenge lies in what should be done, rather than said, in response. with two more reports yet to come this summer, the role of, and extent of power given to, the roman catholic church in irish society is now severely under question.

on a (perhaps, slightly) more positive note, william had a very interesting conversation with susie orbach last Sunday about her new book, Bodies. the interview is no longer there but there's an Observer review here.

LB

"in a word: wrong"

Pádraig got my day off to a crying-with laughter-start by sharing Awkward Family Photos

it's a shame this site doesn't use categories like cake wrecks, but it's good for a laugh.
my top 3, which definitely need the tag, awkward:

(1) the sEARS family

(2) while the family watches

and,
(3) the wonder years (warning: you may not want to look at this while your boss is around. or children. call your therapist. you'll be wanting an extra session. seriously. wrong.)

and yet, i doubt anyone will ever take our hearts like those Christian album covers have.


if i had a church, i'd use one of these covers each week for the front of the order of service.



















if you fancy a quick one, you'll find Jay under the tent.












oh, and it turns out Nietzsche was wrong:



















i think it's safe to assume, however, that "Liz" is.


LB

stories from the margins

peterson has a great post today:

Three men in a Tube–NEW YouTube videos on Transgender Issues

i believe it's vitally important to listen to the stories of those who are living on the margins. to believe in the dignity and worth of each human is to undergo transformation beyond the narrowness of our experience, definitions and understanding. gender difference is perhaps the most basic human definition we have. it colours everything we expect in a fellow human being. trans stories challenge the limitations we create for others and ourselves through these gendered assumptions.
when one begins to hear the stories of those who are excluded and hurt because their stories don't fit our expectations, there is a responsibility to keep on listening and to learn. if we believe we are called to step into being more compassionate and welcoming, then we are implicitly challenged to explore whether our own understanding limits to whom we are willing to extend our compassion and welcome. each human story can reveal more about what it means to be human. to understand the other better, is to understand ourselves.

is my understanding open enough, understanding enough, just enough, loving enough, to embrace the dignity and worth of the other...? all too often it's not... it's not the other that has to change, it's me...

enlarge your world

LB

don't let the T be silent

i've added peterson's blog to my published list, over there on the right hand side, but he wanted this particular story to get a push. so consider this me circling it with a highlighter pen and passing it over. please pass it on.

through his art and activism, peterson has been focussing increasingly on the rights and stories of transgender people over the past year, and this story is troubling. on several levels.

no time to say more right now as my step-brother is getting married in a couple of hours and there's champagne needing drunk...

LB

soul surmise

stocki has a new blog - hit above title for link

and mike riddell's has been renamed and reformulated, here

we call this a blink

newly discovered blog. a prolific one for the geeks in da house, including those with a dash of chic. recommended for those wanting to keep up to date on the dark knight.
lots of movie and tv reviews and news with a definate eye on the kingdom of comic book geekdom.

here's the blink:

john bierly

LB,x