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Jul. 22nd, 2011 02:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwydion* Wow, The Brood is far from David Cronenberg's best. Weirdly, I remember the advertisements from when it first came out. I was not allowed to see it, but I remember Keri Zelson and I making up our own stories based on the image in the advert. I know longer remember the details, but my version was a sort of modern day take on Beowulf, done as a modern horror movie, with a touch of Rosemary's Baby thrown in, if Rosemary had been a prime mover in the plot instead of a victim. I hadn't seen Rosemary's Baby either, but I'd heard about it. Not bad for a nine year old riffing off a movie poster. I can't remember Keri's version, alas.
* Watching Videodrome for the first time in about fifteen years, I can only think that it was pretty damned prescient about societal direction.
It's funny how shocking unashamed kink was in 1983. Society's really moved on.
* Recently, live journal had a question about AIDS in there daily prompt thingie. This is part of my response to a discussion about that elsewhere. I think we'd have found the actually HIV organism faster, which would have led to testing maybe a year or two earlier. I think we'd have gotten protease inhibitors maybe five years faster, which could have saved a lot of lives.
I really am not convinced we'd have a true cure by now. It's not clear a real, cure you in a month drug is possible. Ten years ago I thought we'd have a vaccine by now, but given how complicated that is proving, some experts have genuinely given up and are looking for more ways to slow or stop viral multiplication. We've got a lot of new tech out of it that helps everyone, like actual antivirals that will help the next major influenza epidemic. No one was even seriously looking for one in 1975 (pre-AIDS).
Again, I totally think prejudice played in to the rapid spread of the virus (very little funding for education programs) and the slow increase in effective treatments (shortage of research funding), but I think the startling amout of brand new ideas and basic science required means you need actual paradigm shifts in thinking that don't happen predictably. It's as if Kennedy asked for an FTL instead of a moon landing in his famous speech in the early 1960's.
Anger is absolutely the right response to Reagan Era assholery since it really did kill people. Anger was the right response to HIV denialists like the Foo Fighters. Anger is still the appropriate response to the shortage of outreach to communities with currently high sero-conversion rates like POC men and women of all colours, as well as the historic and continuing resistance to needle exchange programs. Did you know that the needle exchange in Seattle has dropped the sero-conversion rate for injectable drug users to almost nothing? Yet they have to fight constantly to keep certification and rely entirely on private donations to stay afloat. Instead of putting a program like there's in every city, the full muscle of the government leans on harm reduction programs to try to shut them down.
Things like the need for support for outreach to POC and women, and the funding and spread of harm reduction programs seems a more useful way to focus anger then hand wringing over might have beens, to my way of thinking. We can never know exactly how many people died because Ronald Reagan and Bill Buckley and the rest of them hated gay people. I think focusing on the people sero-converting and those dying right now just makes way more sense.
* Moody's has listed five states: Maryland, new Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia as states so entwined with the federal government, that there credit rating will drop with the US as a whole to Zambia levels. The governor of Virginia has suddenly changed from a hard line, no raise unless we get everything we want to an "OMG! Raise it ASAP or the economy collapses" position.
* Clownfish aren't that bright, really. They also have a specific species of Anemone that they like to nest in. A salt water tank keeper friend of mine (hi bio!0 once told me that if you have a different anemone species in your tank, but want clownfish to nest in it, you print off a picture of that anemone species and a picture of a couple of clownfish. You tape them together to the side of the tank so it looks like the fish are nesting in the anemone. The real fish see it and decide that if other clownfish are doing it, it must be okay, and they make a nest.
I keep thinking of this as the Progressive Caucus circulates that Reagan speech essentially calling people who vote against raising the debt ceiling traitors among the Tea Party Caucus. Let's hope they are not dumber than clownfish. I'm not holding my breath though.
* For the record, I'm in favour of a clean bill. now is not the time to be arguing budget details. Trading social security cuts for future promises from Republicans is bullshit. They haven't delt in good faith for several years. This is too important to gamble on, when we know the game is fixed.
* Re: News corp: the whistle blower died mysteriously yesterday, and Scotland Yard is claiming there is nothing suspicious about that, despite the escalating bribery scandal that includes exact figures for various illegal and corrupt services Scotland Yard was providing news corp. Scotland Yard claims there is no connection at all between these two things.
* Good bye Atlantis. Good bye bold space dreams.
* Rather than closing Guantanamo, we've paid to improve another in Somalia's Mogadishu, presumably because we are not despised enough abroad. I mean, the more we break international law, the more we kidnap and torture people, the less safe we are, which provides an occasion to cut down civil liberties here at home. Rather than close the Bush sponsored prison, Obama has paid to have the CIA update the facilities.
* Two lawsuits are moving forward in Minnesota because of anti-gay bullying in their public schools. Good. This is part of hopw we win. you sue the schools that allow bullying, the policies change because schools are always short of funds. This emboldens teachers to stand up to bullies on behalf of LGBT kids and put in place safe classroom policies. This attracts more teachers of good will to the district, students feel safer standing up for each other, and it creates a culture of equality that expands outwards. I've seen it happen.
* What happens to the debate if you change one word to "Bolivia:" http://www.fluentself.com/blog/stuff/bolivia/
"Because I know that some people are not really capable of encountering a different way and still understanding that we are both allowed to have our way. Of knowing that my way doesn’t imply that your way is wrong.
* Things like this are why I love "Of Another Fashion:" http://ofanotherfashion.tumblr.com/post/7882903448/photographs-of-1940s-white-servicemen-dancing-with#disqus_thread"
* Aiyee! http://awkwardfamilypetphotos.com/2011/07/19/amazonia/
* I'm kind of excited that Ridley Scott is making an Alien prequel. Let's hope it doesn't get fucked up.
* Am I the only one who hears about them making a "jolly" Clockwork Orange musical, and immediately thinks of "Springtime for Hilter." I will be curious to see if they can succeed in making it so bad, it's good. I'm suspecting it'll just be bad, though.
* John Stewart on several of the Republican hopefuls with scary clips of their actual s6tatements, unfortunately divided into a lot of little parts: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-july-21-2011/indecision-2012---survival-of-the-funded?xrs=share_copy
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-july-21-2011/indecision-2012---king-of-the-jungle?xrs=share_copy
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-july-21-2011/indecision-2012---king-of-the-jungle?xrs=share_copy
* Stephen Colbert appears out of character for "It Gets Better:" http://youtu.be/BThRZbCs-p8
* Watching Videodrome for the first time in about fifteen years, I can only think that it was pretty damned prescient about societal direction.
It's funny how shocking unashamed kink was in 1983. Society's really moved on.
* Recently, live journal had a question about AIDS in there daily prompt thingie. This is part of my response to a discussion about that elsewhere. I think we'd have found the actually HIV organism faster, which would have led to testing maybe a year or two earlier. I think we'd have gotten protease inhibitors maybe five years faster, which could have saved a lot of lives.
I really am not convinced we'd have a true cure by now. It's not clear a real, cure you in a month drug is possible. Ten years ago I thought we'd have a vaccine by now, but given how complicated that is proving, some experts have genuinely given up and are looking for more ways to slow or stop viral multiplication. We've got a lot of new tech out of it that helps everyone, like actual antivirals that will help the next major influenza epidemic. No one was even seriously looking for one in 1975 (pre-AIDS).
Again, I totally think prejudice played in to the rapid spread of the virus (very little funding for education programs) and the slow increase in effective treatments (shortage of research funding), but I think the startling amout of brand new ideas and basic science required means you need actual paradigm shifts in thinking that don't happen predictably. It's as if Kennedy asked for an FTL instead of a moon landing in his famous speech in the early 1960's.
Anger is absolutely the right response to Reagan Era assholery since it really did kill people. Anger was the right response to HIV denialists like the Foo Fighters. Anger is still the appropriate response to the shortage of outreach to communities with currently high sero-conversion rates like POC men and women of all colours, as well as the historic and continuing resistance to needle exchange programs. Did you know that the needle exchange in Seattle has dropped the sero-conversion rate for injectable drug users to almost nothing? Yet they have to fight constantly to keep certification and rely entirely on private donations to stay afloat. Instead of putting a program like there's in every city, the full muscle of the government leans on harm reduction programs to try to shut them down.
Things like the need for support for outreach to POC and women, and the funding and spread of harm reduction programs seems a more useful way to focus anger then hand wringing over might have beens, to my way of thinking. We can never know exactly how many people died because Ronald Reagan and Bill Buckley and the rest of them hated gay people. I think focusing on the people sero-converting and those dying right now just makes way more sense.
* Moody's has listed five states: Maryland, new Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia as states so entwined with the federal government, that there credit rating will drop with the US as a whole to Zambia levels. The governor of Virginia has suddenly changed from a hard line, no raise unless we get everything we want to an "OMG! Raise it ASAP or the economy collapses" position.
* Clownfish aren't that bright, really. They also have a specific species of Anemone that they like to nest in. A salt water tank keeper friend of mine (hi bio!0 once told me that if you have a different anemone species in your tank, but want clownfish to nest in it, you print off a picture of that anemone species and a picture of a couple of clownfish. You tape them together to the side of the tank so it looks like the fish are nesting in the anemone. The real fish see it and decide that if other clownfish are doing it, it must be okay, and they make a nest.
I keep thinking of this as the Progressive Caucus circulates that Reagan speech essentially calling people who vote against raising the debt ceiling traitors among the Tea Party Caucus. Let's hope they are not dumber than clownfish. I'm not holding my breath though.
* For the record, I'm in favour of a clean bill. now is not the time to be arguing budget details. Trading social security cuts for future promises from Republicans is bullshit. They haven't delt in good faith for several years. This is too important to gamble on, when we know the game is fixed.
* Re: News corp: the whistle blower died mysteriously yesterday, and Scotland Yard is claiming there is nothing suspicious about that, despite the escalating bribery scandal that includes exact figures for various illegal and corrupt services Scotland Yard was providing news corp. Scotland Yard claims there is no connection at all between these two things.
* Good bye Atlantis. Good bye bold space dreams.
* Rather than closing Guantanamo, we've paid to improve another in Somalia's Mogadishu, presumably because we are not despised enough abroad. I mean, the more we break international law, the more we kidnap and torture people, the less safe we are, which provides an occasion to cut down civil liberties here at home. Rather than close the Bush sponsored prison, Obama has paid to have the CIA update the facilities.
* Two lawsuits are moving forward in Minnesota because of anti-gay bullying in their public schools. Good. This is part of hopw we win. you sue the schools that allow bullying, the policies change because schools are always short of funds. This emboldens teachers to stand up to bullies on behalf of LGBT kids and put in place safe classroom policies. This attracts more teachers of good will to the district, students feel safer standing up for each other, and it creates a culture of equality that expands outwards. I've seen it happen.
* What happens to the debate if you change one word to "Bolivia:" http://www.fluentself.com/blog/stuff/bolivia/
"Because I know that some people are not really capable of encountering a different way and still understanding that we are both allowed to have our way. Of knowing that my way doesn’t imply that your way is wrong.
* Things like this are why I love "Of Another Fashion:" http://ofanotherfashion.tumblr.com/post/7882903448/photographs-of-1940s-white-servicemen-dancing-with#disqus_thread"
* Aiyee! http://awkwardfamilypetphotos.com/2011/07/19/amazonia/
* I'm kind of excited that Ridley Scott is making an Alien prequel. Let's hope it doesn't get fucked up.
* Am I the only one who hears about them making a "jolly" Clockwork Orange musical, and immediately thinks of "Springtime for Hilter." I will be curious to see if they can succeed in making it so bad, it's good. I'm suspecting it'll just be bad, though.
* John Stewart on several of the Republican hopefuls with scary clips of their actual s6tatements, unfortunately divided into a lot of little parts: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-july-21-2011/indecision-2012---survival-of-the-funded?xrs=share_copy
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-july-21-2011/indecision-2012---king-of-the-jungle?xrs=share_copy
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-july-21-2011/indecision-2012---king-of-the-jungle?xrs=share_copy
* Stephen Colbert appears out of character for "It Gets Better:" http://youtu.be/BThRZbCs-p8
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(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-22 05:30 pm (UTC)...WTF?
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-23 01:08 am (UTC)