I’ve kept quiet much for the last few months because I’ve been mourning a loss, the equal I can only compare losing my father at age 11. I’m not going to share the particulars of this loss because it doesn’t really matter in …
Reading
23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism
Ha-Joon Chang
My So Called Life
activism
transgender
Suicide, Leelah Alcorn, and Living Openly Trans*
markets
Money
stocks
Is Wall Street Disconnected from Main Street?
I’ve recently (since June) started putting back money for my retirement both in a 403b and a bit of money in some individual stocks. Seeing my portfolio see-saw back and forth, and at best maybe breaking even, I have to wonder who makes money …
advice
apartment living
garden
green thumb
help!
home and garden
plants
A Green, Green Thumb: Help the Newbie!
So I thought I’d spruce up (and help the air quality) of my apartment by buying a houseplant. So I traveled down to my local store and bought this:
There have been a few problems with this plant (right now I’m not sure what type of plant …
Conservatives
LBC
LBC radio
media
Why I'm Angry
Why I'm Angry at Conservative, Corporate Media
In a Twitter discussion with LBC radio presenter, Julia Hartley-Brewer asked me:
@Martiabernathey that's a LOT of money and a BIG %. What are you so angry about? — Julia Hartley-Brewer (@JuliaHB1) October 29, 2014I AM angry. I'm angry because …
politics
British politics
Conservatives
LBC
LBC radio
PT Barnum said...
Scroungers, Benefit Cuts, and the Tory Media
This morning I was listening to LBC radio and the radio presenter, John Stapleton (who was sitting in for James O’Brien), took a call from someone that said the Tories don’t care about benefit cuts and people in poverty: [soundcloud …
My So Called Life
credit
banks
credit cards
credit repair
Giving Banks Credit
Now that I’m almost a year into fixing my credit, I’m starting to get a lot of offers for credit. Well sort of. Most of the loans in being offered are really absurd; a loan for $1000 that will cost $500?! I’ve also received a lot of …
activism
abortion
autonomy
personal liberty
Renee Zellweger
sex work
TERF
trangender
Renee Zellweger, Abortion, and Trans Bodies
Wading through all the comments on Facebook about Renee Zellweger’s “new look” have made me think a lot about a common thread between abortion rights, trans bodies, and body modification through surgery. The common issue is between …
Amanda Palmer
credit
life lessons
quick fix
repairing credit
repairing life
Repairing Credit, Repairing Life
When I was married, I had the car (the car loan), the house payment (the mortgage), and the credit cards. We spent all we made, and put a lot of things we needed on credit. So much so that even though we were making close to $80k together, we were …
My So Called Life
depression
perspective
suicide
Thoughts on Suicide, Living, and Dying
My mind has been in a million different places today. I read this thoughtful post by a doctor about a patient that committed suicide. I saw this today on dying with dignity:
My So Called Life
friendship
love
passion
romance
What's New is Old Again
I took this blog offline for a while and I’ve deleted a lot of the posts that don’t make sense being here, but I still feel the need to write. I look back over my writing and my life and see and feel where I was at the time.
In this life …
My So Called Life
Looking In the Rear View, Giving Thanks
Tonight is an anniversary for me as well as Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving 2003 was one of the lowest points in my life. I had recently moved to Washington DC and had a one bedroom apartment that was baren. It had a bed (from the previous owner), a small …
My So Called Life
Wisconsin
Devil's Lake
A Beautiful Day in Wisconsin: Devil's Lake
[youtube www.youtube.com/watch
Such a beautiful place you are, Devil’s Lake.
My So Called Life
Family
Granny
KKK
Poppy
My Klansman Poppy Taught Me How To Love Republicans
Growing up in a super dysfunctional household, I had very little in the way of nurturing. Between working full time and regularly engaging in marital battles, my mom had little quality time with us kids. I spent a lot of time with my …
My So Called Life
2009
home
Middleton
Wisconsin
Home Is Where Your Heart Is
A friend of mine moved to Indianapolis, Indiana from New York because in his words, “Indianapolis feels like home.” As someone that’s always hated living in Indianapolis, I couldn’t understand how someone would WANT to move …
My So Called Life
Joy
All That I've Let In, I'm Blessed Beyond Belief
I’ve always found great joy in music, but there are few songs that impact me to such an extent that I cry the first time I hear them. Tonight I heard the following song did: All That We Let In - Indigo Girls
“Dust in our eyes our own …
Uncategorized
climate change
climate change deniers
right wing nutjobs
Climate Change and the Search for Truth
(Recently on a progressive e-list I’m on a person pointed to the work done by Science and Public Policy Institute and suggested that we “learn the truth” about climate change. The following is my response to him)
When someone claims …
My So Called Life
relationships realizations
The Pressure to Date is Off
For many years I thought I needed someone else to make me whole. Someone to "complete me." I've tried many ways to find that completeness, but sometimes the cliché is the truth. The easy truth is sometimes the hardest to actualize/realize/deal with. …
*color me amused*
chicken fuckers
Dokken
Youtube
Dokken: Chicken Fucking Heavy Metal Rock Gods
I recently was watching the new Dokken/Norton Antivirus commercial (DENY version):
I think they're funny as hell, but they led me to watch this old video: …
My So Called Life
Deborah
divorce
marriage
Nicholas
recordings
StoryCorps
My Story Corps Interview
This recording was done at a mobile StoryCorps trailer on September 16th, 2007. The StoryCorps website describes itself this way:
StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit project whose mission is to honor and celebrate one another’s lives through …
*color me amused*
music
80s
punk
Zero Boys
My Civilization's Dying
Music kept me alive and sane when I was a teen/tween. One of my favorite bands was the Zero Boys. This song crystallizes that moment in time:
The really fucked up thing about the song is …
Uncategorized
balls
festival
Thanksgiving
turkey testicles
Great Balls of Turkey!
Late last Wednesday I started my trek across Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin to Madison for Thanksgiving. About 2 AM on Thanksgiving morning I stopped at a 7/11 in Huntley, Illinois to take a restroom break and to get a java refill. When I brought …
Uncategorized
If You've Ever Wondered What Privilege And Entitlement Are All About
Then you should read this. It's the best piece on white privilege and entitlement I've read in a while.
My So Called Life
1986
high school
Southport High School
teachers
Most Significant Teachers
I recently wrote about my high school experience over at Classmates.com:
I had so much bad stuff going on in my life, I came to school to get away from the drama at home. I really didn’t care to do the work (something I regret now). School was …
My So Called Life
adoption
family drama
Kinda Killed My Buzz
Recently I went to the health department to get a copy of my birth certificate. One of the women at the ISDOH pulled me into an office to tell me, "Usually, it doesn't take so long to process this, but since you're adopted, it takes longer."
I …