Month: October 2012

Cross-Country Connections: Pissed

Brianne Bilyeu, 218 Comments

Cross-Country Connections is a Biodork weekly blog entry dedicated to telling stories in pictures of three family members – me, my sister and Mom – living in very different locations across the country. Every week we choose a different theme and then take or contribute a personal photo that fits the theme. This week’s theme is Pissed.

From Mom in Carbondale, Illinois:

Even though I was thrilled to host Erin and Ralph on the last leg of their move across the entire United States, Sipsy was not at all pleased with the “extra baggage” they brought, particularly their dog, Ivan.  Of course, all Ivan wanted to was play.  Sipsy spent a great deal of time “upstairs” glaring down on the miscreants below. 

From Brianne in Minneapolis, Minnesota: 

“Pissed,” as in “about to be.”

From Erin in Takoma Park, Maryland:  

“Pissed Off Oliver” – Taken on the great move somewhere between Bellingham, Washington and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Cross-Country Connections: Pissed
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Gaylaxicon Fun

Brianne Bilyeu, , , 738 Comments

This weekend I’m at a GLBT Science Fiction/Fantasy Convention called Gaylaxic0n. It’s a national event, and it’s being hosted in Minneapolis this year. It’s a smaller, more relaxed convention; I’d guess there are about 300 attendees tops, and there are three panels per time slot. Guests of Honor include Gary Russell, Lyda Morehouse, Kyell Gold and Barbara Schulz.

Continue reading “Gaylaxicon Fun” →

Gaylaxicon Fun

Pareidolia Play Along 6: The Reveal

Brianne Bilyeu, 855 Comments

This is a post by guest blogger Ellen Bulger

In this installment, Ellen reveals the answer to Pareidolia Play Along 6: Creation Myth.

Old with Rivets © Ellen Bulger

Rivets on the vertical supports for a rusty old railroad bridge. I thought they were quite handsome. I did not stand, however, under the bridge when there were trains going over it.

Trestle-Xs © Ellen Bulger

machineintelligence – I’ll search the area for petrified squirrels and get back to you on it.

lochaber– Solid plan except for the soap-in-a-sock slings. Rocks would be available. Socks, not so much.

peicurmudgeon – Looks like a ruin, but still in use. I’ve never seen anyone do any maintenance on it. This, in the land of the Mianus River Bridge, worries me.

Emu Sam – Good, good! I was going to ask about the paper, but you’ve thought of everything. Do you make your paper like this?

Susannah – Bridge not track, but close enough.

maddog1129 – And you know the thing about crocodilians is that they can just lay there and wait, quiet as death, until something tasty comes in range.

sheila – If you ever decide to start up a matriarchal religion franchise, I think the folks at Scientology Inc. would be sweating the competition. Allow me to present you with a fine pair of granite ovary totems, or maybe they are Neolithic bowling trophies, I’m not sure.

Good Name for a Bar © Ellen Bulger
Pareidolia Play Along 6: The Reveal

Why She Left Her Church

Brianne Bilyeu, , , 715 Comments

A very good friend of mine just left her Catholic church in large part because of its support for the marriage amendment that will be on Minnesota’s ballot this November. The church put a “Vote Yes” sign in their front lawn, and that was the final straw for her.

Not sure I can stomach the Vote Yes sign outside of my church. I get where they are coming from (I mean, it’s a Catholic church!) and that we all have to make our choices inside of our religion, but that sign…it’s so…in my face. I think I need to make an enormous change. My faith is strong, but I need to find a place that aligns with the rest of me too, right?

I know she agonized over the decision, but she did end up resigning; she couldn’t continue to attend and raise her children in a church that is opposed to marriage equality and that holds GLBT people and families in disregard. She would describe herself as being a firm believer in God and so she’s now looking for a new place to worship. She has received a ton of support from her friends and family. In fact, her mom told her that  she stopped being a Catholic years ago!

Keep shooting yourselves in the foot, RCC. Keep telling women that they’re underlings, keep telling people that teh gay is nasty, keep telling your parishioners that they don’t have any control over their lives except what you and God give them. See how that works out for you in the long run.

I’m an atheist (no – really!), but that’s my personal decision about God(s). I know I’m right, just like my friend knows she’s right about God’s existence. I don’t love her any less for her belief. I’m not gloating that she has decided that her church doesn’t work for her. But I am proud of her for rising above this one particularly odious doctrine of her church.

Thank you, you beautiful, brave woman for sharing your story (her story is shared here with permission).

Why She Left Her Church

It's not a tramp stamp, it's a tattoo.

Brianne Bilyeu, , 456 Comments

I have two tattoos. I want more! I love wearing art that is important to me, carrying with me the memories and experiences that went into my choice of tattoo. Even though my first tattoo was flash picked off of a wall, I smile at the eagerness of my just-turned-18 self, that the fact that I was getting a tattoo was more important than what I put on my body. Even that crappy tattoo has its place.

All sorts of people get all sorts of tattoos for all sorts of reasons, and in recent Western culture we have placed judgement on the types of people who get tattoos, what those tattoos are, and even where they’re placed. If you get a tattoo you’re a punk who will never amount to anything, you’re defiling your body because teh bible. If you get a highly visible tattoo you’re an idiot who will never get a respectable job. There might be a few instances where it’s okay for a man to get a tattoo – military tattoos come to mind. But if you’re a woman, well, it doesn’t really matter why or where you get tattooed – you’re a skanky whore.

Critink has a post about this perception of women who get tattoos. The author justifiably took exception to an article which mentions the phrase “Skank Flank: The New Tramp Stamp”. With very little digging Critink shows that judging women who have tattoos is just one more instance of body-shaming and the idea that women should be told what we can and can’t do with our bodies:

Here is how the same douchebags would like us to view tattoos:

  • Lower back tattoos: you’re a tramp
  • Rib tattoos: you’re a skank
  • Wrist tattoos: you’re a dumb skank
  • Arm tattoos: you’re a whore
  • Leg tattoos: you’re a whore
  • Feet tattoos: you’re a whore
  • Shoulder tattoos: you’re a whore
  • Tattoos anywhere: you’re a whore
  • No tattoos: you’re still a whore.

Visit Critink for the full story. It’s a short, but powerful read.

It's not a tramp stamp, it's a tattoo.

It’s not a tramp stamp, it’s a tattoo.

Brianne Bilyeu, , 3,489 Comments

I have two tattoos. I want more! I love wearing art that is important to me, carrying with me the memories and experiences that went into my choice of tattoo. Even though my first tattoo was flash picked off of a wall, I smile at the eagerness of my just-turned-18 self, that the fact that I was getting a tattoo was more important than what I put on my body. Even that crappy tattoo has its place.

All sorts of people get all sorts of tattoos for all sorts of reasons, and in recent Western culture we have placed judgement on the types of people who get tattoos, what those tattoos are, and even where they’re placed. If you get a tattoo you’re a punk who will never amount to anything, you’re defiling your body because teh bible. If you get a highly visible tattoo you’re an idiot who will never get a respectable job. There might be a few instances where it’s okay for a man to get a tattoo – military tattoos come to mind. But if you’re a woman, well, it doesn’t really matter why or where you get tattooed – you’re a skanky whore.

Critink has a post about this perception of women who get tattoos. The author justifiably took exception to an article which mentions the phrase “Skank Flank: The New Tramp Stamp”. With very little digging Critink shows that judging women who have tattoos is just one more instance of body-shaming and the idea that women should be told what we can and can’t do with our bodies:

Here is how the same douchebags would like us to view tattoos:

  • Lower back tattoos: you’re a tramp
  • Rib tattoos: you’re a skank
  • Wrist tattoos: you’re a dumb skank
  • Arm tattoos: you’re a whore
  • Leg tattoos: you’re a whore
  • Feet tattoos: you’re a whore
  • Shoulder tattoos: you’re a whore
  • Tattoos anywhere: you’re a whore
  • No tattoos: you’re still a whore.

Visit Critink for the full story. It’s a short, but powerful read.

It’s not a tramp stamp, it’s a tattoo.

Cross-Country Connections: Home

Brianne Bilyeu, 435 Comments

Cross-Country Connections is a Biodork weekly blog entry dedicated to telling stories in pictures of three family members – me, my sister and Mom – living in very different locations across the country. Every week we choose a different theme and then take or contribute a personal photo that fits the theme. This week’s theme is Home.

From Erin in Takoma Park, Maryland: 

In an attempt to make our new apartment feel like home, we’ve wandered the Eastern Market flea market in Capitol Hill and found this awesome print by artist Mike Tanoory.

From Mom in Carbondale, Illinois: 

Home is what we create.  It isn’t the table that the feast is on, its the feast itself.  And you can only have a feast and a home when good people surround you in body or in spirit. 

From me in Minneapolis, Minnesota:

Home is where the pets are.

 

Cross-Country Connections: Home