Western Aristocracy

nprfreshair: Happy Monday. How about a peek behind the scenes...

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:37:11 -0600

Happy Monday. How about a peek behind the scenes of The Royal Tenenbaums to start your week?

More behind the scenes shots from more movies here.

Just this once, everybody blogs!: butterofcolor: here’s to all the quiet queers.all the queers who eat...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 06:13:18 -0600

Just this once, everybody blogs!: butterofcolor: here’s to all the quiet queers.all the queers who eat...:

butterofcolor:

here’s to all the quiet queers.

all the queers who eat micro-agressions and secretly cry themselves to sleep.

the queers who dress the way their cis mothers told them to.

the queers who think about killing cis fucks every half hour, but never say a word more radical than “sorry.”

the queers who sip tea at their friend’s house while considering suicide, since that’s just about all they can think about.

the queers who are living double lives.

the queers who put on makeup at 2 a.m. in a hand mirror, making sure to wipe it off before school the next morning.

the queers who go to work dead and come home to see the world.

the queers who fuck, and suck, and kiss with the same hands and lips they use to eat dinner with their well-meaning shitty-acting parents

the queers who are ugly to you, too fat for you, running from you with lips sewn shut

here’s to the quiet queers, since it’s about fucking time we stopped shaming them.

"We did not seek nor did we provoke an assault on our freedom and our way of life. We did not expect..."

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 09:02:58 -0600

“We did not seek nor did we provoke an assault on our freedom and our way of life. We did not expect nor did we invite a confrontation with evil. Yet the true measure of a people’s strength is how they rise to master that moment when it does arrive…The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels, but every time we think we have measured our capacity to meet a challenge, we look up and we’re reminded that that capacity may well be limitless. This is a time for American heroes. We will do what is hard. We will achieve what is great. This is a time for American heroes and we reach for the stars.”

- President Jed Bartlet, The West WIng, S4E2, 20 Hours in America Part II

cognitivedissonance: Harry Stamps just might be the most...

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 23:31:26 -0600

cognitivedissonance:

Harry Stamps just might be the most interesting man in the world. I want to meet people like him.

Read his full BAMF obituary here. (h/t to Jer Fugleberg)

I can only hope that when my time comes, my obituary is this awesome.

Rocketship to the Moonprincess: I am done with 'love is love'

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 08:30:07 -0700

Rocketship to the Moonprincess: I am done with 'love is love':

felixrocketship:

anotherlgbttumblr:

I am done with ‘love is love’.
I am done with pictures of two young men holding hands.
I am done with same-sex wedding pictures.
(Don’t get me started on gay soldiers.)
They are the gay equivalent of the white seal pup used to sell environmentalism.
They are the easy way out.
They are the non-confrontational option.
They ask for minimum tolerance, not full acceptance.
You know what I want?
SEX IS SEX, no matter how I fuck or with how many.
GENITALS ARE GENITALS, no matter if they fit your manual.
I SHAPE MY BODY AS I SEE FIT.
I PEE IN ANY BATHROOM I CHOOSE.
I AM THE GENDER I SAY I AM, and you had better fucking respect it.
(don’t get me started on recognition and visibility)
You know what else I want?
I want us to put the weakest in our organizations first.
I want us to fight for the homeless queer youth,
for the aging queers dependent on the care of others,
for the sick, the unemployed, the lonely, the victims of rape.
For the ones fighting more than one form of oppression.
And when they know that they are loved, they are cared for, they are believed, they are safe and they are at home in our movement.
Then,
and only then,
Will I cheer for your big white wedding.

I want us to put the weakest in our organizations first.

Super fucking relevant. I want the “LGBT” movement to become the GSD (gender and sexual diversities) movement, to become intersectional, to support the people who don’t have the privilege to fight for their own rights and dignity.

Wonderful World of Royals: Schedule for the Abdication of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 21:35:32 -0700

Wonderful World of Royals: Schedule for the Abdication of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands:

houseofwindsor:

royalrumormonger:

Programme for April 30

10.00-10.30
Abdication of Her Majesty the Queen in the Moseszaal of the Royal Palace Amsterdam. Those present will include the Presidents of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Council of Ministers for the…

Shut The Fuck Up Straight People: are you a good straight ally?

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 19:56:20 -0700

Shut The Fuck Up Straight People: are you a good straight ally?:

justjasper:

disclaimer: other queer people can and do disagree with me, blah blah blah

do you identify as an ally? do you claim that as a title?

do you support SBNN?

are you adamant the A in longer LGBTA+ initialisms stands for ‘ally’?

do you feel excluded when the A is not used or said not to be for ‘ally’?

have you ever referenced your lgbt friends as a defence when someone calls you out on something?

do you think dan savage is a positive role model?

do you think heterophobia is almost as bad or equal to homophobia?

do you get angry when queer people are “mean” to straight allies?

do you hate being called “cis”?

have you ever “come out” as an ally?

do you think queer people being mean to straight allies about their allyship is bullying?

have you ever ignored criticisms levelled at straight people so you don’t have to deal with them?

do you think straight people have a right to be present in queer spaces?

do you think “cishet” is an insult?

do you use slurs like “dyke” or “f*g or t****y”, even affectionately?

do you think it’s ever appropriate to offer an unsolicited opinion into a discussion of queer issues?

have you ever used things you learned in your college queer theory course to counter the lived experience of queer people?

do you ever use your fandom ships to argue for lgbtq rights?

do you dodge confirming/making it obvious that you’re straight when talking about queer issues?

do you think it’s appropriate for straight people to lead queer organisations?

have you ever purposefully misgendered someone?

do you believe blogs ‘calling out’ queer people created in response to blogs calling out allies appropriate/fair response?

do you claim not to “see gender” or “see sexuality”?

do you routinely start posts/sentences with: “as a straight ally…”

do you expect to be rewarded for being an ally?

do you get personally offended at posts addressing straight people in general, or feel those are personal attacks?

do you expect not to have to deal with criticism while engaging in “ally activism”?

do you claim to be queer by merit of your allyship?

if you answered ‘yes’ to any of these, you need to try harder

do you check the post on lgbtq issues is written by a queer person before reblogging?

do you go out of your way to reblog commentary from queer people rather than straight people?

if you engage in tumblr activity around oppression, do you state clearly somewhere on your blog that you’re straight and cis?

do you research charities before donating/spreading information about them?

do you support queer-only spaces?

if you answered ‘no’ to any of these, you need to try harder

(via yourfriendlyscop)

Washakie County school officials OK gay senior's yearbook photo

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 12:02:34 -0700

Washakie County school officials OK gay senior's yearbook photo:

Update in Yesterday’s Signal Boost.

ifreakingloveroyals: With English subtitles for those of us...

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 19:23:09 -0700

ifreakingloveroyals:

With English subtitles for those of us with little to no knowledge of the Dutch language :)

isshebraiding: you beautiful woman you

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 18:58:44 -0700

isshebraiding:

you beautiful woman you

ming85: Announced today that she’ll retire this year! What a...

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 18:58:27 -0700

ming85:

Announced today that she’ll retire this year! What a classy queen she’s been.

Fashionably Royal: “When Queen Beatrix abdicates [April 30, 2013] His Royal Highness the...

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 18:57:37 -0700

Fashionably Royal: “When Queen Beatrix abdicates [April 30, 2013] His Royal Highness the...:

fashionablyroyal:

“When Queen Beatrix abdicates [April 30, 2013] His Royal Highness the Prince of Oranje will become King Willem-Alexander, and Her Royal Highness Princess Máxima of the Netherlands will become Queen Máxima. They will both be addressed as ‘Your Majesty’. After abdicating, Queen Beatrix will be called Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, Princess of Oranje-Nassau, etc. As soon as the Prince of Oranje ascends the throne, his eldest child, Her Royal Highness Princess Catharina-Amalia, will be the first in line to the throne. She will then become the Princess of Oranje (under section 7 of the Membership of the Royal House Act).

The titles and names of the other members of the Royal Family will not change after Queen Beatrix’s abdication. The membership of the Royal House and the line of succession will however change under the above Act.

After the abdication, the line of succession will begin with the children of His Majesty the King: Her Royal Highness the Princess of Oranje, Her Royal Highness Princess Alexia, and Her Royal Highness Princess Ariane. The next in line will be His Royal Highness Prince Constantijn, his children and finally Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet.

After the abdication, the children of Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven will no longer be eligible for the throne. They will also cease to be members of the Royal House.”

-courtesy of the Dutch royal court

Wyo high school student petitions to include senior portrait with gay pride flag

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 16:18:36 -0700

Wyo high school student petitions to include senior portrait with gay pride flag:

dustinbleizeffer:

by Dustin Bleizeffer
— January 28, 2013

A Worland High School senior is petitioning Washakie County School District No. 1 to allow the inclusion of his senior portrait, which features the gay pride flag, alongside his fellow classmates’ photos in the school’s yearbook.

Signal Boost.

The Wyoming Legislature

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:49:46 -0700

The rage I feel right now is incredible.

Today the Wyoming House Committee on Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions held hearings on HB 168 (Domestic Partnerships) and HB 169 (Marriage Equality). HB 169 was defeated by a vote of 5-4. HB 168 passed by a vote of 7-2 and now goes to the full House. Some see Domestic Partnerships as a big deal; a huge step forward for the so called Equality State. I agree it is a step, but I’m still angry.

I’m a third generation Wyoming native. I was born and raised here like my parents and their parents before them. I love this place. I have chosen to stay her for a variety of reasons, but today I find myself unable to remember them.

I am tired of being told by my government, my elected officials, that I am a second class citizen. I am tired of being denied my rights, rights that my siblings and cousins and a vast majority of my friends enjoy. I am tired of feeling that in the eyes of a supposedly egalitarian society that I am some how lesser. I am just tired.

Today is a resounding success for the philosophy of “separate but equal”. It makes me sick.

"Here’s something you may not realize: Gun ownership has been declining for decades. According to the..."

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 19:01:05 -0700

“Here’s something you may not realize: Gun ownership has been declining for decades. According to the University of Chicago’s General Social Survey, in 1977, 54% of American households had guns. By 2010, the number had fallen to 32%. Yet gun sales are at record highs. That means that existing gun owners are buying more and more guns. It’s not enough to have a hunting rifle over your mantle; you need an entire arsenal, just in case the government falls, society disintegrates, and you have to protect your cave — sorry, your home — from the marauding hordes.

That’s exactly what the gun manufacturers want you to think, so you keep buying. They know that hunting will never again be the pastime it once was, and as more Americans move from rural areas to the suburbs and cities, their natural market withers.

That “responsible gun owner” politicians talk about, the one who reverentially passes down to his son the bolt-action rifle his father gave him? That guy isn’t good for business. The manufacturers need the other guy, the one who fears he may not be all the man he could be.”

- Paul Waldman, discussing masculinity and gun ownership in his piece, “Not man enough? Buy a gun.” (via cognitivedissonance)

Princess Mette-Marit And The Right To Be A Parent “When...

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 19:00:00 -0700

Princess Mette-Marit And The Right To Be A Parent

“When red tape kept their daddies from them, Princess Mette-Marit disguised herself as a nanny and traveled to India to care for the newborn twins of a same-sex couple. Today, Princess Mette-Marit, surrogacy and the right to be a parent are On Our Radar. “

Being Liberal: OPEN LETTER to Wayne LaPierre and NRA from a South African Army veteran, and a Connecticut resident. He KNOWS what he...

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 18:48:34 -0700

Being Liberal: OPEN LETTER to Wayne LaPierre and NRA from a South African Army veteran, and a Connecticut resident. He KNOWS what he...:

beingliberal:

Dear Mr LaPierre and Mr Asa, with all due respect.

I spent 2 years in the South African army, where I was subjected to the following situations: we got ambushed 2 or 3 times in Angola. We got shot at with small arms fire and RPGs. When the apartheid government become desperate in 1984 and 1985, and quite literally tried to kill any opposition, we in the army, along with the Police Force, were sent into the Townships to quell riots, raid houses and the like. We had Molotov cocktails thrown at us, stones, knives you name it. The townships was door-to-door stuff, in very close, cramped streets.

Here’s the thing. For two full years I was trained and re-trained (and even trained with Israeli troops) in a division of the Special Services precisely to deal with these situations. Arguably, I was more prepared than any teacher or any armed security guard being trained by the NRA in this country could hope to be. I was a well trained and a decent marksman.

And yet, whenever I was in these firefights, or riots, it was chaos. It was confusing, disorienting and terrifying, and it was over in a matter of seconds. It was never ever clear in those moments who the shooter was, or where the fire was coming from. When ambushed while on patrol by “insurgents”, the firing invariably came from innocent civilian’s shantys where the attackers took cover and used the civilians as human shields.

With all due respect sirs, if one has never been in one of these incredible stressful and completely CHAOTIC situations one cannot possibly know just how dangerous adding MORE guns to the situation is. Even battle hardened veterans, police officers get it wrong in most of these situations (13 police officers in Cleveland just shot 2 innocent people by pumping 135 rounds into them for a car that backfired, yes backfired).

Teachers, and I would argue, most security guards, are not trained for this, and very few people can handle these situations. Our best trained are coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan in record numbers with PSD. You two gentlemen, and most of the teachers in this country, given a gun in that situation would kill the wrong people. These are not static paper targets 20 feet away. These madmen are not deer that you can hide from and shoot a mile away with a high-powered rifle from a platform camouflaged 20 feet above the ground.

My ask of you and your followers is to not be immediately dismissive about a discussion about tighter gun laws. My ask of you is to consider what might actually happen when either a teacher or an armed security guard pulls a gun out to protect your children from some madman.

Let me make myself clear. I think people should be allowed to own guns if they are stupid enough to think they will be able protect themselves from someone hell-bent on killing them. I think people should be allowed to own guns if they feel good about going out to kill innocent animals. Arm yourselves at home if you wish, but when doing so make sure you don’t kill the wrong people especially your own children who you think you can protect in these fast moving, frightening situations. Gentlemen I do not want my 3 sons getting killed by you when you, a teacher or a security guard pulls out a gun and misses. This is the most likely outcome.

Access to guns should be far more difficult. How about putting more responsibility on the gun owners for example? Perhaps simple things, like requiring any person buying a gun to have to buy a gun safe at the same time? Why not make guns far more expensive so fewer people would have the means to buy them? How about limiting how much ammunition you can buy at one time, and when you want to buy more, you have to turn in your spent casings so you cannot stock-pile it? Smaller clips/magazines? I am sure there are a million good ideas out there, if you just listen for a change.

Giving teachers guns and putting armed guards in schools is not feasible, financially or in any other way. And stop blaming TV shows and video games for all the gun violence in this country. We export these things in vast quantities, and we do not see the same gun violence in any other society as a result. Your proposals this morning sound like you have spent too much time in front of Black Ops 2.

So, lets have a REAL discussion about what can ACTUALLY be done to protect ourselves and our children.
Sincerely,
Guy Sealey.

Web-Based Communication and Learning Designs: The 10 Craziest Quotes From The NRA Press Conference

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 18:38:25 -0700

Web-Based Communication and Learning Designs: The 10 Craziest Quotes From The NRA Press Conference:

webcommdesigns:

1) Gun-free schools zones “tell every insane killer in America that schools are their safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk.”

2) “There exists in this country a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells, and sows, violence against its own people.

3) “[V]iolent crime is increasing again for the first time in 19 years! Add another hurricane, terrorist attack or some other natural or man-made disaster, and you’ve got a recipe for a national nightmare of violence and victimization.”

4) “We need to have every single school in America immediately deploy a protection program proven to work —and by that I mean armed security.”

5) “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. Would you rather have your 911 call bring a good guy with a gun from a mile away … or a minute away?”

6) “And throughout it all, too many in our national media … their corporate owners … and their stockholders … act as silent enablers, if not complicit co-conspirators.”

7) “Then there’s the blood-soaked slasher films like ‘American Psycho’ and ‘Natural Born Killers’ that are aired like propaganda loops on Splatterdays and every day, and a thousand music videos that portray life as a joke and murder as a way of life.”

8) “In a race to the bottom, media conglomerates compete with one another to shock, violate and offend every standard of civilized society by bringing an ever-more-toxic mix of reckless behavior and criminal cruelty into our homes — every minute of every day of every month of every year.”

9) “Through vicious, violent video games with names like Bulletstorm, Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat and Splatterhouse. And here’s one: it’s called Kindergarten Killers. It’s been online for 10 years. How come my research department could find it and all of yours either couldn’t or didn’t want anyone to know you had found it?”

10) “Isn’t fantasizing about killing people as a way to get your kicks really the filthiest form of pornography?”

via ThinkProgress

exodusofmetaphors: The fact that my 27-inch monitor couldn’t...

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 18:33:00 -0700

exodusofmetaphors:

The fact that my 27-inch monitor couldn’t even put the entire list without having to scroll down is beyond terrible and disturbing.

Washington DC needs to act. NOW.

U.S. Shooting Deaths Since Sandy Hook Top 100

cognitivedissonance: Just sayin’ Submitted for your...

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 18:28:34 -0700

cognitivedissonance:

Just sayin’

Submitted for your consideration.