I am a perverted moth...
Feb. 27th, 2003 08:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ebonlockSo now I've read an LJ that says we get no ROTK goodness at all in March. I am much vexed, but am holding onto my faith in TORN's article. Hopefully those souls able to get themselves to a theater on Friday/Saturday will post info for the rest of us. Hopefully.
Ok, one non-spoilerish brief comment about Daredevil, things I liked: The X2 trailer before it, the soundtrack; things I didn't like: not being able to switch channels during the exposition and mushy stuff, the confuse-o-vision fight scenes. In summation: a decent matinee if you've got a few hours to kill.
Will be seeing Cradle 2 Grave despite my intense, automatic dislike of any film a) using a number 2 in place of the word "to", b) starring a current or former rap star. Why? Jet Li and Mark DiCoscos...'nuff said.
Saturday is the annual "John and Ellie Pilgrimmage to Chinatown" followed by Shanghai Knights. This may include a brief stop at Lush as I'm currently out of Veganese conditioner, and like any other junkie, I need my fix. But it just smells so good, and makes my hair so soft, I cannot resist its siren call. This also works into my Sunday post-houseguest meltdown, which will include a nice long soak in a bath smelling of Cerridwen's Cauldron. I smell it every time I walk into the bathroom and murmuring, "Soon you will be mine."
A quick word or two on Saturday's performance. I learned a couple of important things during the experience. One, that a dancer has to be prepared for the unexpected. In our case this came in the form of two carpets taped together in the middle of our dance space, and lighting units we hadn't expected. On the plus side, the stage setup kept wait-staff from walking through the performance area (unlike Menara, Shamshiri, etc.). On the negative side it threw us all into a mild panic, "How am I supposed to spin on carpeting? I can't possibly spin fast enough for the airplanes!" We managed to get things arranged so that we all ended up on the tile, so it all turned out all right in the end. Still, you can't count on all the elements of a performance space being optimal, and we need to take that into account when rehearsing and practicing on our own.
Second, I discovered that being backstage at a bellydance show is a truly wonderful thing. The sense of comraderie is truly amazing, everyone is very supportive and helpful and encouraging, and the air is positively electric. Sure it's terrifying as hell too, but while you're shaking in your fringed belt, you're also dying to get out there and show your stuff.
There is also a great deal of female nudity.
Dancers have absolutely no problem stripping down to the altogether without the slightest hesitation in a room filled with other dancers. Shortly after we arrived a woman bustled in, agreed to dance second, and then without a word, threw off every piece of clothing she was wearing. She did it completely without shame, and kept up a happy, witty conversation with all of us while doing so. When our teacher shucked her own bra I had to keep repeating, "Look at her face, not at her chest." like a mantra under my breath. I get the feeling it's going to be my mantra in class too...good lord she's a gorgeous woman!
Ahem.
Anyway, it was an interesting experience and it brought up some of my own issues about my body image. Could I have stripped down in the middle of everyone without a second thought? Well there was a time I would've answered, "Yes!" I'm a pagan after all, we don't have any silly notions about sin, and we recognize that our bodies are a part of us, not some enemy thing to be controlled ruthlessly. Hell I've danced naked in the rain with others on several occasions, and skinny dipping used to be one of my favorite summertime activities.
So why, if you asked me that question now, would I answer "No"? There are reasons, of course, but ones probably not worth mentioning. Suffice to say that I've spent the past few years with an ego smashed into about a million pieces. Though I've been working hard to glue the fragments back together again, it's going to take time, lots and lots of time, and patience. And I've never been very good at jigsaw puzzles.
I'm hoping that continuing to dance, feeling stronger and more confident as my body starts to do what my brain is trying to tell it to, will help with that. I want that confidence back that I'm OK. I'm not shooting for "I am *all* that", I've never had that perspective in my life and I don't see it as a realistic goal now. But comfort and self-assurance, yeah I think those are worth shooting for.
I was pleased to be able to take part in yesterday's "Win Without War" campaign, which apparently succeeded splendidly in flooding Washington with the voices of those opposed to what is undoubtedly an inevitable war with Iraq.
Tom Andrews, a former Democratic representative from Maine who
is running the organization, said more than 500,000 people had
signed up on the Internet to take part and a half a million more
were also expected to participate without registering on the
group's web site (Moveon.org).
"We have hundreds of thousands of calls and faxes that we know
are going in. It's a first-of-its-kind protest and a tremendous
success already," he said. "People are making their voices heard
loud and clear -- don't invade and don't occupy Iraq."
A very interesting article on Yahoo news:
Veteran U.S. Diplomat Resigns Over Iraq-
J. Brady Kiesling, who served as political officer at the Athens embassy, reportedly said in a resignation letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) that he left the diplomatic service because of his disagreement over the Bush administration's Iraq policy.
"Our fervent pursuit of war with Iraq is driving us to squander the international legitimacy that has been America's most potent weapon of both offense and defense since the days of Woodrow Wilson," Kiesling wrote, according to The New York Times.
And apparently at least Britain's House of Commons isn't quite as unified in their support of America as their Prime Minister is, Rebel vote stuns Blair 121 Labour members vote against war, Biggest ever revolt against a government:
The vote "demonstrates there is no public support for a war. The prime minister has failed to convince the public or the party. It's time for him to think again", said the leftwinger Jeremy Corbyn, who has been campaigning against Saddam Hussein's brutality since the 1980s when his regime was backed by the west...
The one consolation for Mr Blair was that moderate rebels such as Chris Smith, whose amendment it was, said they could still be persuaded.
"There may well be a time for military action ... but at the moment the timetable appears to be determined by the decisions of the president of the US," Mr Smith, a former cabinet minister, told MPs.
Found this one interesting too:
Kenneth Clarke: 'Revolting regime is not a basis for war'
So much to read, so little time...
Ok, one non-spoilerish brief comment about Daredevil, things I liked: The X2 trailer before it, the soundtrack; things I didn't like: not being able to switch channels during the exposition and mushy stuff, the confuse-o-vision fight scenes. In summation: a decent matinee if you've got a few hours to kill.
Will be seeing Cradle 2 Grave despite my intense, automatic dislike of any film a) using a number 2 in place of the word "to", b) starring a current or former rap star. Why? Jet Li and Mark DiCoscos...'nuff said.
Saturday is the annual "John and Ellie Pilgrimmage to Chinatown" followed by Shanghai Knights. This may include a brief stop at Lush as I'm currently out of Veganese conditioner, and like any other junkie, I need my fix. But it just smells so good, and makes my hair so soft, I cannot resist its siren call. This also works into my Sunday post-houseguest meltdown, which will include a nice long soak in a bath smelling of Cerridwen's Cauldron. I smell it every time I walk into the bathroom and murmuring, "Soon you will be mine."
A quick word or two on Saturday's performance. I learned a couple of important things during the experience. One, that a dancer has to be prepared for the unexpected. In our case this came in the form of two carpets taped together in the middle of our dance space, and lighting units we hadn't expected. On the plus side, the stage setup kept wait-staff from walking through the performance area (unlike Menara, Shamshiri, etc.). On the negative side it threw us all into a mild panic, "How am I supposed to spin on carpeting? I can't possibly spin fast enough for the airplanes!" We managed to get things arranged so that we all ended up on the tile, so it all turned out all right in the end. Still, you can't count on all the elements of a performance space being optimal, and we need to take that into account when rehearsing and practicing on our own.
Second, I discovered that being backstage at a bellydance show is a truly wonderful thing. The sense of comraderie is truly amazing, everyone is very supportive and helpful and encouraging, and the air is positively electric. Sure it's terrifying as hell too, but while you're shaking in your fringed belt, you're also dying to get out there and show your stuff.
There is also a great deal of female nudity.
Dancers have absolutely no problem stripping down to the altogether without the slightest hesitation in a room filled with other dancers. Shortly after we arrived a woman bustled in, agreed to dance second, and then without a word, threw off every piece of clothing she was wearing. She did it completely without shame, and kept up a happy, witty conversation with all of us while doing so. When our teacher shucked her own bra I had to keep repeating, "Look at her face, not at her chest." like a mantra under my breath. I get the feeling it's going to be my mantra in class too...good lord she's a gorgeous woman!
Ahem.
Anyway, it was an interesting experience and it brought up some of my own issues about my body image. Could I have stripped down in the middle of everyone without a second thought? Well there was a time I would've answered, "Yes!" I'm a pagan after all, we don't have any silly notions about sin, and we recognize that our bodies are a part of us, not some enemy thing to be controlled ruthlessly. Hell I've danced naked in the rain with others on several occasions, and skinny dipping used to be one of my favorite summertime activities.
So why, if you asked me that question now, would I answer "No"? There are reasons, of course, but ones probably not worth mentioning. Suffice to say that I've spent the past few years with an ego smashed into about a million pieces. Though I've been working hard to glue the fragments back together again, it's going to take time, lots and lots of time, and patience. And I've never been very good at jigsaw puzzles.
I'm hoping that continuing to dance, feeling stronger and more confident as my body starts to do what my brain is trying to tell it to, will help with that. I want that confidence back that I'm OK. I'm not shooting for "I am *all* that", I've never had that perspective in my life and I don't see it as a realistic goal now. But comfort and self-assurance, yeah I think those are worth shooting for.
I was pleased to be able to take part in yesterday's "Win Without War" campaign, which apparently succeeded splendidly in flooding Washington with the voices of those opposed to what is undoubtedly an inevitable war with Iraq.
Tom Andrews, a former Democratic representative from Maine who
is running the organization, said more than 500,000 people had
signed up on the Internet to take part and a half a million more
were also expected to participate without registering on the
group's web site (Moveon.org).
"We have hundreds of thousands of calls and faxes that we know
are going in. It's a first-of-its-kind protest and a tremendous
success already," he said. "People are making their voices heard
loud and clear -- don't invade and don't occupy Iraq."
A very interesting article on Yahoo news:
Veteran U.S. Diplomat Resigns Over Iraq-
J. Brady Kiesling, who served as political officer at the Athens embassy, reportedly said in a resignation letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) that he left the diplomatic service because of his disagreement over the Bush administration's Iraq policy.
"Our fervent pursuit of war with Iraq is driving us to squander the international legitimacy that has been America's most potent weapon of both offense and defense since the days of Woodrow Wilson," Kiesling wrote, according to The New York Times.
And apparently at least Britain's House of Commons isn't quite as unified in their support of America as their Prime Minister is, Rebel vote stuns Blair 121 Labour members vote against war, Biggest ever revolt against a government:
The vote "demonstrates there is no public support for a war. The prime minister has failed to convince the public or the party. It's time for him to think again", said the leftwinger Jeremy Corbyn, who has been campaigning against Saddam Hussein's brutality since the 1980s when his regime was backed by the west...
The one consolation for Mr Blair was that moderate rebels such as Chris Smith, whose amendment it was, said they could still be persuaded.
"There may well be a time for military action ... but at the moment the timetable appears to be determined by the decisions of the president of the US," Mr Smith, a former cabinet minister, told MPs.
Found this one interesting too:
Kenneth Clarke: 'Revolting regime is not a basis for war'
So much to read, so little time...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Re: Actually Gary Hart said it really well...
Date: 2003-02-28 08:46 am (UTC)I think the heart of his speech, and the heart of the folks that oppose what we see as an overzealous rush to war on the part of G. Bush Jr., rests on two points. One is that we are currently acting with belligerence rather than principle.
Power exercised for its own sake, or for the sake of a selfish or expedient interest, is ultimately self-defeating.
His second, and it's one I wholeheartedly agree with, is that we must start thinking and acting like a part of the international community, an important part sure, but a part none the less.
We should not behave differently to others, including the most humble nations, than we would have them behave towards us.
I know we discussed yesterday why people like myself didn't protest against Clinton and his foreign policies. However, you never asked why I and likeminded folks didn't do the same against George Bush Sr. I mean you didn't see this anti-war groundswell when it came to the Desert Storm campaign. Why do you suppose that was? Why did this country manage to find so many allies to support it then? What did James Baker manage to do that Rumsfeld hasn't? Why did one administration succeed so well in foreign policy while the other is failing so miserably?
Re: Actually Gary Hart said it really well...
Date: 2003-02-28 10:52 am (UTC)Obviously I disagree with you and Hart, here, and in any case, I don't see that belligerence and principle are mutually exclusive. Sometimes saber-rattling and the threat of force gets you where you need to go (see also, the Cold War); moreover, sometimes busting open the Arsenal of Democracy is absolutely necessary (see also, two World Wars).
The principle I see us acting on here is (a) toppling the murderous regime of a terrible dictator who we had an unfortunate role in propping up, before (b) the situation devolves until it's similar to the North Korea standoff, where our options are vastly more limited because of Iraq's WMD capabilities (c) that it should not be permitted to possess in the first place, given the terms of the 1991 Gulf War ceasefire and twelve years of United Nations resolutions. The blog entry I pointed you to yesterday is a nice roundup of all this, and more.
Why do you suppose that was? Why did this country manage to find so many allies to support it then? What did James Baker manage to do that Rumsfeld hasn't? Why did one administration succeed so well in foreign policy while the other is failing so miserably?
Well, first, I think the "success" of Bush I's foreign policy and the "failure" of Bush II's is more a matter of perspective than a fact in evidence. In fact, there was substantial foreign and domestic hemming and hawing before the Gulf War; not quite to the level we've got now, but bear in mind that the circumstances were markedly different, too. Then, Iraq had just invaded Kuwait. It's hard, politically and diplomatically and ideologically, not to condemn something like that. It's a lot easier when Iraq is "just" defying United Nations resolutions and concealing WMD programs; there are no corpses that you have to justify your opposition to.
Another thing that contributes to the perception of "failure" is, I think, a changing geopolitical picture. At the time of Gulf War I, the German Chancellor wasn't desperate to pander to the anti-war Greens keeping his coalition government in power. The French government wasn't trying to obstruct U.S. foreign policy goals for the sake of national pride and in a pathetic attempt to assert itself as first among equals within the EU. The French and the Russians weren't trying to preserve lucrative oil contracts with the Iraqi regime. And so on and so on.
Third, I think the dimensions of domestic politics have changed significantly over the last thirteen years. Since at least the WTO protests in Seattle a few years ago, it seems to me that the grassroots left has become increasingly beholden to shrill partisan cranks. Sure, there are some people out there who are sincerely (if naively and/or misguidedly, IMO) opposed to war. But most of the "opposition" smacks of a combination of political opportunism blended with socialist claptrap: this is a convenient moment for the various "no blood for oil", "Bush was unelected", "stop imperalist war", "Sharon = Hitler", "free Palestine" ninnies to get exercised and crawl out of the woodwork.
So I think that if Bush II's foreign policy has been a "failure" compared to Bush I's, it's a matter of perspective. Certainly Bush II is less circumspect than his old man, but I'm not sure that's necessarily a bad thing.