chanter1944: an older house and surrounding autumn scenery (Wisconsin autumn: smells like fall)
This post brought to you by my having spent a chunk of my free time during the last few days getting caught up in a new series! Er, a new-to-me series, as it's anything but new. I have you to thank, [personal profile] sovay, for my now being a fan of Sapphire And Steel. And, well. You'll see.

So, I was out on a walk earlier, and was passing by a large local park that's almost always full of people of all ages, between the soccer field, the tennis courts, and loads of open green space. And as I got closer... At first I thought someone had unfortunate timing with a child's musical toy, which got a mutter of "It's flipping September, come on," but once I was more in range, I realized what I was hearing was an ice cream truck with a playlist that, for a warm day in fairly early autumn, was downright eerie. I counted at least three Christmas songs, including some of a more religious variety, before the tunes shifted to old-fashioned, vaguely western standards and nursery rhymes, back again to carols and then away a second time.

And forgive me, but all I could think was, this is music out of time! An incursion? I absolutely said, "Oh, this is creepy!" at least once aloud. ... Er. I may have also murmured, "Upstairs and downstairs, upstairs and downstairs," in the suitable rhythm a time or two before I stopped myself. Yes, I was on a public sidewalk and yes, I'm of an age where that sort of thing is generally frowned upon. Boo hoo. The adult Anne Shirley would have done it too, even after 1918, and there have been shades of Anne Shirley in me for ages. I've had that pointed out to me before, by a trustworthy source I know wasn't being either cruel or snide when he said it.

The darn truck continued to mess with my head until I was out of its range, which, given my hearing and local wind action, meant until I was nearly home. Not that it was actively malevolent or any kind of threat, because I can still tell local reality from a particular fictional universe, thanks, but the oddity, the touch of the surreal, that was Christmas music on a warm afternoon in late September, plus the nursery rhymes (darn you assignment 1) and the twinkly mechanism overall definitely put me in a fannish headspace. Er, more of one is probably a better description. Heh.

All the way down the first block, and then the next one, I was daydreaming. I've long since gotten home, but my brain's been... elaborating. And then I admitted I was shelling thirst-scribbling again, because aces can do that too. By way of a self-insert elemental persona, no less. Ugh! I'm embarrassed. And I'm proud of what I've written, of the imagery, but also... shells, Chanter. I was going to post it, but now I hesitate.

Dammit.
chanter1944: an older house and surrounding autumn scenery (Wisconsin autumn: smells like fall)
And I will write it, but right now, I probably just need to settle in for the night and reorient to my own life. To make a long story a little shorter, I've been to Winnipeg, I've been to rural Manitoba and a little of equally rural Saskatchewan, I've donated blood in a country other than my own, I've done a metric half-ton of geocaching, I've had a few awkward and/or painful conversations with one or more family members as a side effect of traveling in close proximity, and I... have a lot of feelings and a few old, unhealed wounds that have been prodded as a result. I need to settle back into my own skin, and then I'll write up a storm. There may be one public post and one friendslocked one for the less usual personal details, even. No offense to anyone, but I'd sooner some things not run the risk of waving out there on the wider 'net.

Anyway. The trip was, by and large, a great time. It was planned for months in advance; my not saying much about it here has everything to do with my lack of posting. Whoops. And I am still warm and fuzzy over the blood donation thing. :D That was also planned for months in advance.

I'm going to curl up with an oldtime radio stream. Back tomorrow-ish with a longer entry.
At least, not without going a) unnecessarily trite or b) un-funny, given circumstances. So yeah. I'm on furlough for the next two days, which is better than nothing by far, especially as I'm on public transport every day. I am going to work Thursday and Friday, because my coworker has a funeral to go to up north.

My mental health is... I picked the wrong time to poke myself in an unhealed, barely-treated mental injury. Some days are much less shaky than others, and I am safe and functional, but I will not deny, I've been better. At least the radiated mental pain has eased off, for now, and thank you for the terminology, [personal profile] ysabetwordsmith. This whole virus situation is not helping my general state of untethered longing one bit. Add my general thing for competent medics into it, and...

When this whole virusy nightmare winds up, I want to have the biggest, most poster example of harmless controlled chaos family reunion we've managed in years. Heck, I'll lend a hand setting the thing up. We can't all squish into the back yard in Schofield anymore (dang it, I still miss my grandparents' house) but I bet the house in Waupun could fit us all... I think, anyway. I may be getting optimistic with the space we'd all need! If not, there's always the pavilion in Schofield.

I also want to go canoeing with you, [personal profile] meimichan, and possibly cart you strawberry picking with my mother and the girls, if you're game.

There's hard lemonade in my refrigerator, but I am not letting myself drink it. That feels too much like leaning on the unnecessary in an unsafe way, or what could become an unsafe way. I'll glug water instead. That I know will help with the platelet donation I shifted forward to tomorrow. Take *that*, entropy and death and frakking evil, and play it on your home accordion. ... Nah, evil doesn't deserve anything nearly as cool as an accordion.

Oh, I just got an idea! *opens writing draft*
Do snowflakes have order? I'm going to say no. :)

Pimp Your Favorite Communities, Fests or Challenges! Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

Hat tip to [community profile] milliways_bar, which is a panfandom roleplay community that's been going for something like 15 years, first on LJ, now on DW. It is a *blast*, and I owe my friendship with [personal profile] ceitfianna, Saph, River-mun, Desire-mun, and many others to it. I play Sariel Rager of Star Trek TNG fame over there, though I really need to get her back inna bar soonish...

Hat tip also to [community profile] queerly_beloved, which is a welcoming meeting place for MOGAI folks of many/any spectra, and [community profile] thisfinecrew, which fair warning is based in U.S. political activism.

For fandom communities, I recommend [community profile] allthemiraculous for Miraculous Ladybug, [community profile] fandomgiftbox as a warm fuzzy panfandom gift exchange, and... I really should find an active Star Trek comm over here.
Yikes! I'm late! Better late than never? :)

In your own space, introduce yourself! Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

If you already have a sticky post or full bio, make sure they’re up to date so that people visiting your journal can learn something about you. Update your interests; make sure your fic posts are current; check that all your links work, etc. If you don’t already have a post introducing yourself, create one!

My profile is up to date as of a couple months ago, as are my interests. For completeness's sake, as well as for those who'd like to or may not otherwise know (trying to write profiles in the actual profile space is darn hard, for some reason), here are a few more details about yours truly. I'm thirty-something, CIS female but queer as the eponymous 3-dollar bill - pretty darn charcoal grey-asexual, biromantic and probably demiromantic, and kinky (not disclosing details unless asked) - proudly living in the upper Midwest of the States. Wisconsin is my home, and pretty likely always will be; I've tried living elsewhere and it does *not* work. I've been a towering nerd of multiple stripes since I can remember, so expect multiple and layered references to fly. I'm a fic writer as well as reader, I'm the author of one professionally published original poem so far, and I practice crowdfunded creativity besides. That's one for which I do have a relevant sticky.

I'm also both totally blind and nonautistic neurodiverse, to the tune of anxiety, dysthymia, synaesthesia and some unnamed but still evident unusual wiring throughout. The former two aren't fun. The latter two don't feel like bugs at all, despite what society might say. Telling society where to go stick its Shadow-touched ideas is an ongoing process. The blindness is, for me, just another aspect of who I am. I don't tend to say much on the subject of accessibility challenges or, especially, disability politics; I burned out on the political aspect of blindness years ago due to some truly horrible experiences, and I will not be going back. I did have a guide dog, one much-loved and dearly-missed velvet fuzzball of a mellow yellow lab, for over a decade. I don't believe I'll ever get another.
chanter1944: a house and road blanketed in snow (Wisconsin winter: buried in snay)
Happy new year, folks! :) Oh good lord, 2020 still seems surreal.

I did end up going out last night, though I did it in two attempts. I got reasonably dressed up, [personal profile] elisem earrings included, fully intending to go buy a bottle of wine, get tipsy on my own, and write all night. Those plans met an epic derailment when the first place I tried sticking my nose in had a locked door... and then the second ditto. I will not repeat what I said on that second discovery, but I was not the only person in the vicinity, and neither was I the only person swearing! So, went home, took off the shoes that, thanks to a wonky insole, had blistered my left foot (ow!), ordered pizza, almost decided to content myself with soda for the night and then said... heck with this, I am not having a lonely New Year's Eve. Changed shoes and went out again, ending up in the Shamrock at about 11:30 or so. For those not local to Madison, the Shamrock is a queerfolk bar, which meant a) I'd fit in, and b) I'd be far less likely to suffer someone's groping hands, which is a giant relief. Seriously, the vibe in there is far less threatening than your usual bar, and I wasn't even flagging ace at the time.

I rang the new year in there, plus one rainbow paper tiara (they were being set out for people to pick up and wear, and I made sure nobody else had worn it before I snagged it off the bar), plus a reasonable amount of brandy, a midnight champagne toast and a mellow buzz, plus a couple conversations with people I've met in passing before, and plus one squee because they played a song I've loved since I was about ten. Hello, Stars On 54. I didn't stay very long after the year changed over; I was home by just after 12:30. I *did* have to contend with an idiot questioning me from across a street while walking home. No, dude, the white cane means I'm deaf. Yes, I'm blind, and buzz off. I think his filter had been obliterated by booze. Granted I did snark at him rather than just thinking it and leaving things alone, so my filter had pretty definitely been dented a smidge as well. Got a little work done on "Difficulties Keeping To Myself," then curled up and went to bed. I'll take it.

Today, I'm not suffering from the hangover that half this city is probably fighting, and I'm in Badger red. I'll shortly be distracted by football. For now, I have coffee, a gingerbread-scented candle, and the rest of the day off work before I go back tomorrow. Oh, that is going to be a nightmare. :s

Yes, I kept the tiara!
chanter1944: a lilac tree in bloom (Wisconsin spring: lilac season)
Whatever else happens tonight (I'm biting my dang nails over this state Supreme Court race, argh!) my city just made history in electing its first openly queerfolk mayor! Satya Rhodes-Conway is a progressive, openly gay woman of color, and she is so *very* welcome as Madison's newest mayor. :D

Praying the horrifyingly anti-quiltbag candidate for Supreme Court doesn't get the nod... ack!
chanter1944: a cream-colored yellow Labrador lying at the top of a staircase, one paw draped over the top step (mellow yellow)
Update to, or rather about, the last entry. Remember that speculation I made about demi pride pins, and the idea of a golden as one of them? Well... Squeeeee squeak!

Somebody please do describe the golden fuzzy? I am meeeeelted. <3 I don't recognize that cat breed, though. Time to do a little research.

... Now I just want to cuddle a big friendly fluffy golden.
chanter1944: a lilac tree in bloom (Wisconsin spring: lilac season)
I've been pointed toward the Pride Pets kickstarter, and am I ever glad of it! These are adorable-sounding pins, one dog and one cat of a specific breed for each variation, in the colors of multiple pride flags; nonbinary, trans, both the more common gay pride and the specific lesbian pride flag, ace, poly, pan, bi, a sweetheart pin, and ally are live so far. Bi Siamese! Nonbinary Russian blue! Trans black kitty! Ace husky fluff! :) There's the distinct possibility of demisexual or genderqueer pride, or both! being upcoming goals. [personal profile] alatefeline, I thought of you when the idea of a genderqueer kitty pin came up. If it's a tortie...!

I personally could not resist the lure of an ace Maine coon, and did the Kickstarter backer thing for the first time ever as a result. XD I'm holding out for a demi pin as well, and reeeeeally hoping it's a demi labby or golden. Then again, retrievers adore everyone pretty much instantly and equally, so maybe not... I've also had the idea of a demi blue heeler in my head since earlier this evening, which ties back to my own personal history and has everything to do with excellent guitar music played by a delightful Australian friend and nothing to do with a fuzzy. Still, sharding well waaaaant. That'd be perfect. That's just me, though. I'd love to see an intersex pair down the line somewhere too. Intersex tuxedo cat? XD

What color are the bi Meezer's points? For that matter, what color are the Birman ally's points, since I believe that breed of kitty is colorpointed? Oh, and the FAQ specifically said the Maine coon's not a tabby due to the comparative difficulty of designing and creating stripey pins. Is there a solid base color beyond the ace flag's four? *curious*
chanter1944: paratroopers Talbert and Smith in Carentan, Tab looking delighted, Smith embarrassed (BoB - Carentan: Tab and Smithy - ack!)
A large padded envelope showed up at our apartment building. Turned out it was for me. In it was an absolutely wonderful set of wristwarmers, royal blue with an almost star-shaped curly cable design in a greeny-grey yarn that's close enough to match the matte surface of my grey-ace pride ring to be noticed as such. I imagine that was as close as the knitter could get without going for metallic yarn, which is, as I understand it, pretty distinct in texture. I was, and still am, thrilled! :D

To the knitter, who's also been a joy to correspond with, and to the mods over at [community profile] fandomlovespuertorico, thank you! :) These are perfect for a night's DXing, because I can avoid freezing but still have my fingers free for manipulating radio dials/antennae/switches/straight keys, or reading logs after I write them out if I bring a slate and stylus along to do things the old-fashioned way, as I tend to when working QRP. And they're darn close to my color pair!


You really do tend to treasure the little things when they're your decision, and yours alone. At least, I do. This feels not like reclamation, but that much more of a straight-up claim, on my own identity. I really do owe that crafter one. :)
For those who are able and so inclined, the lovely folks at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab debuted two new scents yesterday, in response to the latest sludge bomb flung from the White House. Proceeds from both these scents benefit the National Center for Trans Equality and the American Civil Liberties Union. For the record, I've not been paid to signal boost this; I'm just a fan of both equality and lovely smells.

The first is here:
Irish Coffee Buttercream
and the second is here:
Spiced Rum Buttercream Coffee

I freely admit I've already put an order in for the second one.

Trans rights are human rights and, as I said on twitter last night, if I ever dispute that without about twelve helpings of snarky sarcasm in my voice (as in, I'm quoting someone else's rhetoric for the purposes of mocking them to oblivion), please lay me out. As in boom! to the moon, knock my sorry block off, because I'll deserve it. Not that I ever intend to deserve it. Not for that reason.
My openly MOGAI, shamelessly politically liberal self is suddenly *very* glad she stopped crossposting to livejournal several years ago. Part of me wants to disable comments over there, but the rest of me either a) wonders if that's a moot point, given my last non-postdated entry is from 2013 and my last edit from 2015, or b) balks at agreeing, however briefly, to the latest iteration of the ToS as I've read it in translation. See above, especially the bits about my MOGAI status.

I miss the SouCon folks from LJ. I wish more of them were on DW. I also miss a few of the comms I used to belong to over there as well; rigelianculture, for one, radio_alouette for another, gay_oddities for a third. For me, though, the LJ ship has thoroughly sailed.

*emphasis on fluff, in its usage as a mild term for passing gas
chanter1944: a house and road blanketed in snow (Wisconsin winter: buried in snay)
75,000 to 100,000 people at Capitol Square this afternoon. Diverse, entirely peaceful crowd: Women, men, nonbinary folks, multiracial, multiethnic and multilingual (languages counted so far today=3: English, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese), babies to seniors. I got a pleasant surprise when Milwaukee's own righteous firebrand of a state senator, Senator Taylor, was introduced! :) Music, poetry, spontaneous organization... and zero ill will seen anywhere. Plenty of calling certain officials out on their horribleness, but no evil intent. *That* is how we rally, Mr. Donald [crude potty humor/cultural reference mashup redacted]. Expect more of the same.

I've missed this. I shouldn't have done, considering the circumstances that lead to protests in both 2011 and now in the first place, but... I have. The atmosphere today had the same magical quality as the iconic snow rally we held, nearly six years ago. Let's hope that atmosphere, and the crowds creating it, continue. I for one am crossing my fingers. And turning out, of course.
chanter1944: a panther being stared at by multiple other animals (this panther has been to Colorado)
Go ahead, Mr. Donald J. Duck Dump, he whose name in spoonerism crossed with amateurish potty joke is, so says the lovely [personal profile] meimichan, an insult to innocent duck shit. Go ahead, Mr. Tronald Dump. Go ahead, Mr. Sexual Predator, Mr. Shameless Tax Evader, Mr. Road Company Understudy of Harry Lime, Mr. Fractional Third of the Third Man. Go ahead, pal. Hit me. I can take it.

I'm a terrier with an idea, just like my own character Kendra. I am a stickler, just like James Madison, for certain convictions. My conviction, not quite in mirror of his but close enough, is equality and dignity for every person. People are people are people. Everyone has a story. I've been this stubborn since the idea of people not being allowed to believe what they wanted to believe set my blood boiling with an emotion I had no name for. I was in Mrs. Rose's class in the first grade. I was seven. I've been this stubborn since the phrase 'slave pen' set me so aflame with inarticulate righteous anger that I had to isolate it on the page and reread it, just to savor the acid and the horror of the rage I felt. I was roughly ten, and learning about the Underground Railroad for the first time. I've been this stubborn since I was maybe eight, and utterly bewildered by the idea of war in the countries in the news (Somalia, I'm fairly sure it was) being motivated by religious conflict. I've been this stubborn since I realized I was the weird one, and that respect as a competent human was novel. I was barely walking, barely using a cane. I've been this stubborn ever since I was a kid falling in love with Resistance stories and Underground Railroad stories and Revolutionary stories, secret codes and midnight rides and discreet exchanges of information, and I never. grew. up.

So hit me with your best damn shot, Mr. Duck Dump. Sybil Ludington fought for ideals better than yours. So did Deborah Sampson, and Dr. Joseph Warren, and the legendary Iron Brigade of Wisconsin, and 506's Easy Company, and my grandfather, my dad's dad, in Belgium with Patton, and the segregated officers washed ashore in Saint Lawrence, Newfoundland, and Washington himself and yes, I went there. Hit me, pal. Grab my queer self by the pussy. Black my eyes, break my nose, mark me up and down. I can take it. I will take it. Because I can take it where others cannot. I refuse to lie down or shut up. Go ahead, take a swing at me. Make me a target. You have got nothing on me for sheer, homespun, righteous blue resolve. I will get up again, and I will shame you as I stand. Go ahead, have fun trying to knock the dumpy little blind lady down. You'll fail.

You will look like an idiot when you fail.

And I'll laugh in your face as I square up with you. And again. And again. And I will. not. stop.

May have been the losing side, this time. Still fully convinced it was the right one.
chanter1944: a Pringles can with the words 'you can't write just one' written across it (drabbles are like pringles)
I had the good fortune to make it to Lauren Jankowski's 'Where Are The Asexual Voices?' panel at this year's WisCon (despite what eventually became an all-day rainshower and a marvelous but hazardous floor-length skirt that kept tripping me up--ahem). While there, Lauren mentioned she was seeking interviewees for her Asexual Artists blog (Wordpress/Tumblr). It took me rather a while to get up the courage, and rather longer to finish my answers to the interview (!), but I eventually... took the writerly plunge. Eep!

Today, the interview went live. :)

The link is alive, and the cake is not a lie!

Hat tip to [personal profile] ysabetwordsmith for allowing me to link to Schrodinger's Heroes as a whole in the course of that interview.

Oh my shards, I did the thing!
chanter1944: a starscape, including a spiral galaxy (on a quest for a jewel)
Same-sex marriage is legal in all fifty U.S. states. Equality is now the law of the land.

!!!!!

:) :D :) :D :D

We won. We're equal, legally. No more second-class status. I'm equal.

I didn't think we were going to win this one. Thank you, and blessings on the five of you. And, Justice Kennedy. Thank you, sir. You were the known swing vote, and you came down on the side of secular equality. Thank you all, so much.

:) :) :)
chanter1944: a lilac tree in bloom (Wisconsin spring: lilac season)
I could get married, if I wanted to. I could get married by a Justice of the Peace here in Dane County, and who cares if both brides are wearing skirts and calling it good? I could have my great huge reception under a Fond Du Lac County summer sky, overflowing the whole back yard and forget the caterers, everybody bring a dish to pass and nobody burn what you're grilling. I could get married, if I were so inclined.

Holy crap. It's still sinking in, even a day and a half later.
chanter1944: a starscape, including a spiral galaxy (on a quest for a jewel)
Things are... not perfect. Not great. but they're somehow or other somewhat better than they were. I'll take what I can get.

I have a grey ring. It's tungsten carbide, charcoal grey in the middle and more silvery at the edges. It's got lovely forty-five degree downward slants at each outer edge, and it's very much distinguishable from black. the original ring I bought didn't fit - too small - and though I tried to make it work, I finally gave in and exchanged it for a larger size. the jeweler I bought it from was a sweetheart about it and allowed a one-time switch, and the correctly-sized ring showed up yesterday. It's now on the middle finger of my right hand. Hello visible orientation symbol! :)

speaking of orientation symbols, in the course of picking up the ring in question, I wound up coming out in full to my mother. I was expecting a bad or hurtful (or both, but mostly the latter) reaction, but to my surprise... and I find myself both pleased and suddenly with no need for this argument I've been constructing in my head for months... she hardly batted an eye. she now knows the whole thing, romantic homosensual grey-bisexual, if not in those terms and with plain definitions included... and she accepted it. I asked her if she was surprised, half-jokingly, and she said no, she really wasn't surprised at all. I'm... not really sure how to feel about that. Pleased, sure, because she gets part of me. but on the other hand... she gets part of me.

I don't think her initial reaction ten years ago on my attempting to tell her I was bi is ever going to not be hurtful. But this... this is a relief. and surprising. and just a little vindicating, even though I really shouldn't feel quite that way. See? It wasn't just a phase. Mostly a surprising relief, though.

In completely unrelated news, I have a planter that will soon be filled with either radishes or carrots, I haven't decided which. I'm also slowly working on another orange!verse story. It'll hopefully be posted for sponsorship soonish, though I'll warn in advance that there's a lot of both internalized and external trans* panic and transphobia involved in it. It involves a recurring character, if that matters to folks.

anyway. I have a sinkful of dishes and a planter to fill with seedlings. Off for a bit. Still here, though. :)
chanter1944: a blue-shaded dyed egg (not enough blue in the world)
First the icky, then the happy.

Dear Justice Prosser,

Violence in the workplace is not allowable. Period, end of statement. If you'd tried that sort of thing on anyone at my office, you'd now be in hot water at the very least. So you know.

Furiously,
Me
P.S.: Don't blame me, Wisconsin. I voted for Kloppenburg.

Dear New York,

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 and lots of rainbow sparklies! Thank you. That is all.

Much, much love,
Me
chanter1944: a blue-shaded dyed egg (not enough blue in the world)
Because it absolutely sharding well needs to be shared. Thanks for the initial link, [livejournal.com profile] simplykimberly!

Part of me wants to share this with my kid sister. Hell, part of me wants to share this with my mother. I won't say I haven't wished I could share this with high school!me, either. Considering I was one of the referenced asshole teens due to attempted religious conservatism and extreme denial... yeah, high school!me might've benefitted from something like this in a couple of ways. Might've sent her into a corner in a million pieces and made things worse, though. Eh, I get to properly enjoy it now. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cTQNwMxqM3E

I almost died at the Scrooge McDuck reference, good lord. And I never knew that about Cher's kid. I went 'Chastity is trans? ... Oh, okay.'

... Oooof, I really have come a long way from high school!me. Good thing, too.

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