Sleepless in Scotland

(Note: I know Emma Goldman didn’t actually say that exactly, but that’s not gonna stop me from using it. I like the sentiment anyway.)

I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I think I kinda love 4-chan right now. They’ve demonstrated the organising power of the internet, and hopefully will show a whole generation that protesting and activism can be not only fun, but even damn hilarious. (In some cities, they rickrolled the Co$, people! Awesome!)

Some related links:

• Wikipedia explains 4-chan — scroll down to section 2.1 and beyond for info relevant to this whole thing.
• Wikipedia explains Project Chanology for an explanation of what went on yesterday.
• Wikinews article on yesterday’s protests.
• Photos and reports, in which, unfortunately, the words “fag” and “gay” are liberally strewn around as slurs. This would be the part of this that makes me hideously uncomfortable, yes.
• Cleo has a sampler of the above.

In conclusion: I don’t agree with everything they do or say, and again, the “fag” slurs make me not want to participate, but the effective use of the internet as an organising and focussing tool for activism? Awesome.

In conclusion:

[ETA] Via Cleo: deathboy says:

I can’t remember the source, but there’s some sci-fi story I’ve read where the conclusion reads along the lines of “They could withstand the fiercest of our weapons, they could defeat us intellectually, but in the end, I think they died of sheer culture shock” - the looks on the faces of the scientologists when faced with a crowd in which a lone voice shouts:

“I HEAR TOM CRUISE HATES MUDKIPS!”

(all) “NOOOOOOOOOOO!”

… how do you fight that?

How do you, ideologically speaking, defeat a crowd that is enthusiastically demanding that you “DO A BARREL ROLL! DO A BARREL ROLL!!” ?

Which is sort of what I was trying to get at, really. It needs balancing with actually getting one’s message across, but announcing you’re gonna protest for a specific reason will make it clear to the target/audience what they’re there for, and every protest I’ve been to has had its share of cryptic signs — the message still came through. Sure, the rickrolling and the Fresh Prince rap will confuse people, but they’ll be more likely to come and ask if thge protesters are obviously having fun. (And no, I don’t get the Fresh Prince thing either. Huh?) [/ETA]

Crossposted from Sleepless in Scotland. Comment here or there.

Anna (troubleinchina) has been doing Friday Discussion Posts for a while now, inviting discussion on feministic (hush, it's a word) issues, and I think this week's is an especially interesting one: You must be this thin: >< to perform (But if you are there's something wrong with you).

For once, I n ot only managed to comment, but I actually managed to be coherent enough that I want to save the comment for my own reference. Go to Anna's post to read, or read here, or whatever.

( It's about the fact that women shouldn't take up space. )

WHAT.

Augh. Hey coworkers with strong perfume, please don't stand so close to me? If I can smell it, it's got to be pretty bad. (Actually, I think I'm getting more and more sensitive to alcohol-based crap like that. I nearly choked last week when someone sprayed air freshener all over the toilets, and while I'm on the subject, what the hell is up with that? Hate!)

... I'm easily irritated today. Gah.

[ETA] Aaaaand now there's a stupid and offensive racist "joke" in my inbox. I hate forwards anyway, and this one makes me want to hit someone. I hate everything. Can I go home yet? [/ETA]

Is anyone else getting old comment e-mails? Like, from a month ago? o_O

So near my work, there's a bunch of used car dealerships, and at one of them, this car is currently prominently displayed, and um. ikindamaybewantit. I have no idea how the fuck that happened, I mean, I don't like cars, I'm a motorcycle girl at heart, and the only cars I've ever even vaguely considered getting if I had the money for it were a VW Beetle, or a Deux Cheveaux, or a Mini, and even that was more idle consideration than actually coveting, and also, I don't even have a driver's license, so WTF self?

(To further my shame, it's an SUV as well. Gah!)

Aaaand a hearty "Fuck you!" is in order, I believe?

Scene From The Break Room:

Assorted People: *stand around in line for coffee machine*
Candy Vending Machine: *jingle*
Melle: ... Did that machine just randomly drop money?
Co-Worker: *checks change tray, holds up 10p coin* Yep.
Melle: O...kay, then. o_O

[ETA] It just did it again! :D Only 5p this time but hey, money's money. [/ETA]

And then I had a call from a bloke who was looking for a summer job ... for his kids. The hell? Unanimous reaction from self and co-workers: "Why are his kids not looking for jobs their own damn selves?" I mean, seriously.

I nipped into the new second hand shop down the street after work yesterday to see if maybe they had a pair of jeans that fit me, because having only one pair of decent-ish jeans is starting to annoy me. Didn't find a single pair of normal, non-low-slung jeans that fit me, but I did find a lovely pair of work trousers--blue shimmery velvet, perfect fit, and best of all, they have pockets, and only cost £3.50! \o/ Also, a cheapy pair of shorts for work in case it turns out to be a hot summer. I'm not to happy with those because they're knee-length and have this weird split thing at the end of the legs, but they were only £1.50 and they'll do in a pinch if it's a choice between these and overheating.

No S:AaB recap today, as I got distracted by the dishes while cold Case was on in the background, and then I returned to the living room to see Bones was on, and it was about a historical dig, and pirates, so of course I had to watch David Boroneaz get his glee on (awww, he's really not that bad when he's not playing Broody McMoperson), and um. "... Is that Rod Rowland?" Yep, my weird talent for switching on shows I never watch just for the eps starring certain obscure actors I like has struck again! This happens to me all the time with Adam Baldwin as well. Either I have some sort of weird homing device for these guys, or they're stalking me through the TV.

So this weekend in Bruges, a bunch of skinheads beat up a black guy, who is currently still in a coma. Yesterday afternoon, an eighteen-year old shot a Turskish woman, a black woman, and the two-year old (white) child she was babysitting. The Turkish woman is heavily wounded, the other two victims didn't survive. I just ... I'm almost not surprised about this, after watching the number of extreme right voters rise constantly since ... pretty much since I became politically aware, really, which would have been the early nineties, probably even before, but the first real Black Sunday was 1992, I believe. Something had to give in the end, and I can only hope that this is it, that it's not just a buildup to something bigger.

Oh, and then my mum got taken to the ER on Wednesyday with what looked like it could be a heart attack, then might have been lung cancer, but thankfully turned out to be "just" atypical pneumonia. I'm ... kind of glad I didn't hear of it until last night, actually, when there was an actual diagnosis, because I would have freaked the fuck out. Yeah.

Dear Kellog's Company: These wheat an oatmeal bakes with chocolate chips are both delicious and nutricious enough to help me make it through the first patr of the morning. I love you!

For anyone who's pissed off at South Dakota banning abortions, you will love this:

The President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Cecilia Fire Thunder, was incensed. A former nurse and healthcare giver she was very angry that a state body made up mostly of white males, would make such a stupid law against women.

"To me, it is now a question of sovereignty," she said to me last week. "I will personally establish a Planned Parenthood clinic on my own land which is within the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Reservation where the State of South Dakota has absolutely no jurisdiction."

You can find info on how to donate, either specifically for the clinic or just to the tribe in general, and on how to contact President Fire Thunder, here.

( Firefly quiz. I'm ... Book? Huh? )

I've not said anything about the Katrina situation, because everyone else has already been saying it better than I could, but I think you should all read this and this, because this specific aspect of the whole thing is making me more sick than anything. It's not even just the fact that tens of thousands of people were left behind to die in the flood because they have no cars or other means to leave, and that "mandatory evacuation" apparently does not mean actually providing buses and trains for people to actually, you know, evactuate. No, let's add insult to injury and pretend that the people who stayed behind did so because they're stupid and stubborn and chose to, for whatever reason, and then when they go and take food from the stores, food that will go bad by the time the waters subside, let's call it looting and threaten to arrest them for it!

I really hate people sometimes.

(Secret message to the Belgians on my friendslist: am I the only one who keeps flashing back to Oosterschelde, Windkracht 10?)

Yesterday was one of those days when I wish I drank tea. Unfortunately, I'm not quite that assimilated yet. (Besides, I think they'll get me into drinking Irn Bru before I succumb to tea. Heh.)

Friendslist and metaquotes are filled with musings on the difference between the US reaction to 9/11, and the London reaction to yesterday's boms. I feel the need to point out that part of that is simply because of the difference in number of deaths, and also in material damage--I don't think even Londoners would have sprung back quite that fast if there'd been a sudden huge gap in the skyline where, say, Big ben used to be. (Although, on the other hand, if that pinapple building or the London Eye got boomed, that might have actually sped up the healing process. Snarf.)

But a lot of it does indeed have to do with the simple fact that Londoners/Brits (and mainland Europe, though not to quite the same extent¹) are just kinda used to this kinda shit. TheBritish reaction to terrorism is gallow's humour, tea, and lots of grumbling about pesky terrorists and how dare they interrupt our days, mutter mutter pish posh. And you know, in the end, I think that's better than chest-beating and vows of bloody vengeance. Not that I think those who did this shouldn't be caught and brought to justice, obviously, but I see terrorists as not unlike toddlers throwing a temper tantrum. If you pay attention to them, they'll just get louder, but if you shrug and go make yourself a cuppa, they'll see that tactic isn't working and try something more constructive.

And in completyely and utterly unrelated² news, according to this website, which is absolutely brilliant, if I take a shortcut, I could walk to/from work in about 3.3 km (that's a bit over two mile for you USAians stuck in the Imperial Stone Age. :P) That'd take me about 40-50 minutes to walk. And the weather's been nice, lately. Hm. *ponders*

¹ I think the Belgian reaction to this sort of attack would contain more panick, but also a lot more beer, for example. :D
² Well, not entirely, as I did get that link through the london07072005 community.

( Meme! )

Am knackered. Cannot feel knees below the knees, and my back is agony.

Queed to get on march longer than I actually spent marching, and then, just as we start actually moving, they start showing U2 at Live 8 on the big screens. Bastards. Avoided sunburn, but whacked a few people in the head with my sign (if you see a belgian flag on TV reports, that'll be me, whoo!) and nearly tripped over a toddler half a dozen times. All in all, a fun-filled day. Now I need, in order, a shower, some food, a lie-down, and to clean my flat.

Amusingly, when I was typing in the LJ url, IE's autocomplete (I'm in an internet cafe) popped up with, among other things, time_and_chips. Ahahahaha!