I was on my way home tonight by foot, naturally, going the same way home my feet always take me. I don't know why I looked up, but suddenly a figure caught my eye. Catlike by round, a Racoon lumbered down the sidewalk. He stopped a moment and looked back at me, paying no head to the couple moving forward across the street and beyond. He watched me watching him, then wnet on his way, fluffy tail and glowing eyes daring me to follow as he waddled along. I did.
I followed the fuzzy bandit to an black iron fence alongside a rather nice looking apartment building. The kind you might nto associate with a racoon's hiding place, but to each their own, even in the animal kingdom. He paused one last time, watching me watching him. I told him I cold not follow him further tonight. a blink, and he was gone.
I continued down this new path, new architecture to take in in the quiet night, when silver light caught my eye. the moon, just coming into fullness, lay over my new path, leading me on, all but taking my hand for the journey. I wondered that She would take such time for me, but I smiled back at Her as I walked, content that she thought of me even if only for a moment.
and a moment was all it took to follow Her glow to a tiny house, gently situated back from the urban street, of no consequence to any but those who know to look. Lamplight on the cobled path to the door, the sound of running water heralding a starnge presence, palpable yet elusive. I wonder at seeing it again without the Moon to Guide me...
I wandered on only to have a black cat emerge from the streetlamp night, well-fed and fluffy in the last of his winter coat. He paused only a moment before rambling on in his sure-fotted kitty cat way.
A corner turned, homeward bound, I was caught enthralled, a garden of light. Tiny litted flowers, garish colors coming together in a goldwash of light, happily playing across dew-strewn grass, new leaves in colors only moonlight and streetlight can show.
Gentle intrigues all as the Moon rolls on, and the tides roll in, and the nodding night wind blows. But why the Lady fishes the streets, only the Lady knows...
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Apple's Revenge: We all get it in the end
As many of you are no doubt aware, an interesting story hit the news late last week about a blogger, Jason Chen of Gizmodo, who paid $5000 for a ‘found’ prototype of the 4G iPhone that was left in a bar by one of the researchers. His home was raided by police in san Mateo county and he could be facing felony charges.
This brings up a series of arguments and thought processes when it comes to bloggers. California does have laws in place that shield journalists from revealing their sources, but are bloggers journalists? What does and does not qualify as journalism?
As someone who was once bouncing around the idea of a career in journalism, this strikes a deep cord in me. Free speech is in fact protected under the First amendment, but how far does that really extend? There’s Free speech, then there’s threatening the life of the President (you WILL do Federal time for this, even if you don’t mean it. After Kennedy, the Treasury Department does not mess around). There’s free of speech, then there’s trade secrets, state secrets, and medical information. Even if you have access to this information, sharing it, regardless of free speech laws, incurs penalty by law.
So where is the line drawn? This is something people have been kicking around the past few years and the blogosphere has expanded into view-shifting territory. There’s a blog for quite literally ever palette, and that leads to many of the same questions that the internet has faced about free speech, privacy, and in the end, accountability.
My opinion, what Jason Chen did is stupid. Just plain stupid, to say nothing of questionable. I mean, whatever happened to finding something dropped in a bar and giving it to the bartender in a ‘lost and found’ type gesture? I appreciate iPhones aren’t cheap since I KNOW what I just paid for mine, but doing anything else is theft, by law. Taking an object, regardless of intent, and reconfiguring it for your own purposes is theft in the eyes of the law, as it should be. Can Chen then be held accountable for willfully buying stolen property? It’s entirely possible.
This is going to be an interesting story to follow, not only for the sake of bloggers, but journalists in general. Lines will be drawn by this criminal suit, even if a civil suit is not filed.
This brings up a series of arguments and thought processes when it comes to bloggers. California does have laws in place that shield journalists from revealing their sources, but are bloggers journalists? What does and does not qualify as journalism?
As someone who was once bouncing around the idea of a career in journalism, this strikes a deep cord in me. Free speech is in fact protected under the First amendment, but how far does that really extend? There’s Free speech, then there’s threatening the life of the President (you WILL do Federal time for this, even if you don’t mean it. After Kennedy, the Treasury Department does not mess around). There’s free of speech, then there’s trade secrets, state secrets, and medical information. Even if you have access to this information, sharing it, regardless of free speech laws, incurs penalty by law.
So where is the line drawn? This is something people have been kicking around the past few years and the blogosphere has expanded into view-shifting territory. There’s a blog for quite literally ever palette, and that leads to many of the same questions that the internet has faced about free speech, privacy, and in the end, accountability.
My opinion, what Jason Chen did is stupid. Just plain stupid, to say nothing of questionable. I mean, whatever happened to finding something dropped in a bar and giving it to the bartender in a ‘lost and found’ type gesture? I appreciate iPhones aren’t cheap since I KNOW what I just paid for mine, but doing anything else is theft, by law. Taking an object, regardless of intent, and reconfiguring it for your own purposes is theft in the eyes of the law, as it should be. Can Chen then be held accountable for willfully buying stolen property? It’s entirely possible.
This is going to be an interesting story to follow, not only for the sake of bloggers, but journalists in general. Lines will be drawn by this criminal suit, even if a civil suit is not filed.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Convention Attention!
Yup, it’s that time again. Con season, though it didn’t take MUCH of a break, it’s about to break me in new and wonderful ways. THIS is why you should never let anyone see that you’re responsible. They start putting you in charge…
Shibaricon – I’m really looking forward to this. A lot of good panels, some of which I’ll actually get to attend between security duties and making sure the heads of security do things like eat and sleep. It’s always so nice when my job is to make sure other people don’t fall over. :) I also need to pick up a ton of rope beforehand to make sure I have enough for later on in the weekend. Can’t show up to one of Midori’s panels without supplies. That’d just be rude. That and if a certain someone decides to do something stupid at this particular event, I need enough extra length to leave him strung up like a piñata, but that’s another entry entirely…
Duckon – Ah, Duck. The gateway drug of Chicago cons. I’m bringing in 2 newbs this year, which should make things interesting if Eric tries to pull me up on stage again. That’s also what I get for opening my mouth in front of Eric. Anywho, it’s all about the party. That’s right, it’s Kyttin’s birthday, and the resident 1920’s bouncer will be working the door of Speakeasy central. And all that only after I get 3 Batman villainess costumes done ala Sew-a-palooza 2 weekends from now. I love my life. :)
Faerie Worlds – honestly, it doesn’t look like it’s happening this year. With London next spring and everything else going on, I have to cut something I’m not actually responsible for facilitating, and I do believe this is where the line gets drawn. Shame, I was looking forward to it, though I do hope they get the layout fixed this year. Having performers in direct sunlight in the middle of the afternoon in August? Really, are you TRYING to kill these people? And now I’ll have to find somewhere else to get my costuming together for Windycon. Bristol, here I come!
Bristol – annual Ren Faire, always a pleasure, especially when it’s not hot enough to fry human brains in their pressure cooker skulls. The visual is interesting, but in practice it really just smells. I’m likely going twice and only twice this year. Once to scout and once to buy for costumes. We’ll see. I also HAVE to see Kamala. I’m out of several oils, and I need her to construct one for me. I’ll see about opening weekend to put in my thoughts for an order. Anyone care to join me?
Pixies in St. Louis – I have no earthly idea how I’m getting there OR getting back, to say nothing of where I’ll stay, but I’m going to try my worst! Pixies in October. What could be better? Besides, you know, lavender pudding and pillow fights in green wigs…
WindyCon – Oh, dear fandom, why do you keep trying to stomp me into oblivion? Tricky Pixie is the awesomesauce that got cooked up in the kitchen of Win and curry and fiendish siren bliss, but getting there may well kill me. I have 2 costumes to finish, Vlad’s and my own, and I STILL don’t have his wings prepared. I need an engineer for wings this large. I wonder is my cousins are Purdue are doing anything this summer… (evil grin laced with baked goods). To say nothing of the Con Comm juggling act being committed by the Con chair. I love getting ringside seats for a good slugfest, but not when it involves my boyfriend. *sigh*
Midwest Furrfest – Once again, responsibility rears its annoying little head. I got tapped for Dealer’s room, which is VERY good if I’m going to helping run things for WindyCon in the future. I dare not speculate, but I do love furries so. And it gives me an excuse to do more of what I love: keep the head of Security from falling over due to exhaustion or hunger. Whee!!!
Shibaricon – I’m really looking forward to this. A lot of good panels, some of which I’ll actually get to attend between security duties and making sure the heads of security do things like eat and sleep. It’s always so nice when my job is to make sure other people don’t fall over. :) I also need to pick up a ton of rope beforehand to make sure I have enough for later on in the weekend. Can’t show up to one of Midori’s panels without supplies. That’d just be rude. That and if a certain someone decides to do something stupid at this particular event, I need enough extra length to leave him strung up like a piñata, but that’s another entry entirely…
Duckon – Ah, Duck. The gateway drug of Chicago cons. I’m bringing in 2 newbs this year, which should make things interesting if Eric tries to pull me up on stage again. That’s also what I get for opening my mouth in front of Eric. Anywho, it’s all about the party. That’s right, it’s Kyttin’s birthday, and the resident 1920’s bouncer will be working the door of Speakeasy central. And all that only after I get 3 Batman villainess costumes done ala Sew-a-palooza 2 weekends from now. I love my life. :)
Faerie Worlds – honestly, it doesn’t look like it’s happening this year. With London next spring and everything else going on, I have to cut something I’m not actually responsible for facilitating, and I do believe this is where the line gets drawn. Shame, I was looking forward to it, though I do hope they get the layout fixed this year. Having performers in direct sunlight in the middle of the afternoon in August? Really, are you TRYING to kill these people? And now I’ll have to find somewhere else to get my costuming together for Windycon. Bristol, here I come!
Bristol – annual Ren Faire, always a pleasure, especially when it’s not hot enough to fry human brains in their pressure cooker skulls. The visual is interesting, but in practice it really just smells. I’m likely going twice and only twice this year. Once to scout and once to buy for costumes. We’ll see. I also HAVE to see Kamala. I’m out of several oils, and I need her to construct one for me. I’ll see about opening weekend to put in my thoughts for an order. Anyone care to join me?
Pixies in St. Louis – I have no earthly idea how I’m getting there OR getting back, to say nothing of where I’ll stay, but I’m going to try my worst! Pixies in October. What could be better? Besides, you know, lavender pudding and pillow fights in green wigs…
WindyCon – Oh, dear fandom, why do you keep trying to stomp me into oblivion? Tricky Pixie is the awesomesauce that got cooked up in the kitchen of Win and curry and fiendish siren bliss, but getting there may well kill me. I have 2 costumes to finish, Vlad’s and my own, and I STILL don’t have his wings prepared. I need an engineer for wings this large. I wonder is my cousins are Purdue are doing anything this summer… (evil grin laced with baked goods). To say nothing of the Con Comm juggling act being committed by the Con chair. I love getting ringside seats for a good slugfest, but not when it involves my boyfriend. *sigh*
Midwest Furrfest – Once again, responsibility rears its annoying little head. I got tapped for Dealer’s room, which is VERY good if I’m going to helping run things for WindyCon in the future. I dare not speculate, but I do love furries so. And it gives me an excuse to do more of what I love: keep the head of Security from falling over due to exhaustion or hunger. Whee!!!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Continental divide… and road trips
So, as some of you may already know, my girlfriend, Kyttin (WyldeKyttin on LJ) has been going through a mess recently. Her older brother, Rich went into the hospital, and we were getting some very, VERY bad medical news. So we hopped a flight down to see what was what, and promptly got dumped into a Springer-worthy power struggle. Ah, the wonders of man (or in this case woman) and the need to never ever share anything with anyone even if what they are doing is the worst thing possible and people who know what the hell they’re doing aren’t allowed anywhere within range. (breath) Yeah, it was a bitchfest, but in the end I was happy to be by Kyttin’s side. I just wish driving over the continental divide hadn’t been quite so stomach-dropping. Felt so bad for Vlad…
And as these situations tend to, it brought up my own thoughts on medical need and what might happen to me if it was me laid out in a bed without means to dictate my thoughts. It always seems to take looking into someone else’s peril to recognize our own, so I’ll bite this hook and see where it takes me once I clear the water’s edge.
I’ve never wanted to be kept on life support. It just feels… without purpose. If I can’t get out a sarcastic quip now and then, there’s no reason to keep me around simply because heart and lungs are still going. I’ve also decided that my sister, Alexis, the perpetual pre-med who has more knowledge than most acting residents, is the best equipped to handle the task of corralling both our family and certain persons of fandom in a time of crisis. Gods help her, however, if she has to do both at ONCE…
Of course, all this is going on paper and being appropriately notarized and blessed and smudged and so on, but I figure a relatively secure public forum that very few people read of care about is a good place to archive these musings. Or let them putrefy, one of the two...
Once again, I’m far too tired for this kind of talk, so I’ll leave you with this tidbit that my dear Raven and the lost girls of House Cerulia inspired in me on my trip to Seattle recently:
“Are you all right?”
“Headachy with forgotten epiphany and heedlessness.”
Blink. Blink. “Cup of tea will fix that right up.”
“Have I told you how much I love you even though I’m an unspeakable horror?”
“Yes, but you’re MY unspeakable horror. Sugar?”
Lost girls. They are made of win and pie and pirate. Ravens are made of song and story and curry, you see….
And as these situations tend to, it brought up my own thoughts on medical need and what might happen to me if it was me laid out in a bed without means to dictate my thoughts. It always seems to take looking into someone else’s peril to recognize our own, so I’ll bite this hook and see where it takes me once I clear the water’s edge.
I’ve never wanted to be kept on life support. It just feels… without purpose. If I can’t get out a sarcastic quip now and then, there’s no reason to keep me around simply because heart and lungs are still going. I’ve also decided that my sister, Alexis, the perpetual pre-med who has more knowledge than most acting residents, is the best equipped to handle the task of corralling both our family and certain persons of fandom in a time of crisis. Gods help her, however, if she has to do both at ONCE…
Of course, all this is going on paper and being appropriately notarized and blessed and smudged and so on, but I figure a relatively secure public forum that very few people read of care about is a good place to archive these musings. Or let them putrefy, one of the two...
Once again, I’m far too tired for this kind of talk, so I’ll leave you with this tidbit that my dear Raven and the lost girls of House Cerulia inspired in me on my trip to Seattle recently:
“Are you all right?”
“Headachy with forgotten epiphany and heedlessness.”
Blink. Blink. “Cup of tea will fix that right up.”
“Have I told you how much I love you even though I’m an unspeakable horror?”
“Yes, but you’re MY unspeakable horror. Sugar?”
Lost girls. They are made of win and pie and pirate. Ravens are made of song and story and curry, you see….
So passeth a woman of integrity and grace…
… who knew how to ROCK a hat.
Dorothy Height was a pioneer in the pursuit of civil rights for all, not only blacks but all oppressed peoples. "Civil rights are civil rights. There are no persons who are not entitled to their civil rights. We have to recognize that we have a long way to go, but we have to go that way together." - speaking to the Human Rights Campaign in 1997. She died April 20th at the age of 98.
A truly brilliant, passionate, yet understated lady of grace and charm who was more than willing to step up and fight for what she knew to be right. May we all be as brave, as fashion conscious, and as resilient in word and deed as this lady was.
Dorothy Height was a pioneer in the pursuit of civil rights for all, not only blacks but all oppressed peoples. "Civil rights are civil rights. There are no persons who are not entitled to their civil rights. We have to recognize that we have a long way to go, but we have to go that way together." - speaking to the Human Rights Campaign in 1997. She died April 20th at the age of 98.
A truly brilliant, passionate, yet understated lady of grace and charm who was more than willing to step up and fight for what she knew to be right. May we all be as brave, as fashion conscious, and as resilient in word and deed as this lady was.
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