This otter was snapped at the Wildpark Lüneburger Heide by Oliver Gaser, who shared it on flickr.
Please feel free to use this thread to natter about anything your heart desires. Is there anything great happening in your life? Anything you want to get off your chest? Reading a good book (or a bad one)? Anything in the news that you’d like to discuss? What have you created lately? Commiserations, felicitations, temptations, contemplations, speculations?
Categories: Life
Soggy here, innit? 
In memoriam: Diana Rigg 
Getting out the ‘yes’ 
100 books by women in 2016 
Hoyden About Town 
Hello Hoydens!
This week I have been gearing up for my favourite part of spring semester (cue shameless self-promotion): Queer Honi Soit. Each year the University of Sydney queer collective puts together one edition of the student magazine to come out during pride week.
I know there are a few people floating around here who go to Sydney University or know people who do, so I thought I’d spread the word here as well as in my usual networks. Anyone who wants to get involved or write something can email queerhonisoit2011@gmail.com. We haven’t picked a precise deadline yet, but as I think it’s meant to come out in the second week of September, probably by the end of August would be nice if you’d like to send in an article?
I had to get out of bed so I could switch from ipad to laptop in order to swear on the internet properly about fucking Fred Nile and BoF’s willingness to consider Nile’s demands to dump the Ethics classes. *RAGE*
@mimbles,
Yes I see that Fred Nile is now the “Premier of NSW”. I look forward to the Australian telling us how it is.
[TW for discussion of rape trials]
Sorry if this topic isn’t really the thing for otterday, but I haven’t found it commented on anywhere in the blogosphere, and I can’t shake this off. Seeing yet another footballer acquitted of rape this past week I felt like I had to let go of any vestigial faith that the courts can work as they are supposed to. I mean, I know it has already been said that rape is, in practical terms, legal in this country, but the defence here didn’t even bother mounting a case. It looks as if they just know they can count on juries never to convict. Remember this one from a while back, where the guy actually got up on the witness stand and confessed, and was still acquitted? Will you just look at how this latest victim was allowed to be questioned, let alone at the pig ignorant, insult-on-top-of-injury comments from the guy from the Law Society of Victoria?
Given that the DPP is forced to take the likelihood of gaining a conviction into account, when deciding whether to pursue a charge, are we facing the very real prospect of the Crown ceasing to prosecute rapes because they know no one will ever convict?
I’m working, but at least I’m working from home where I have two snoring pugs and a snoring kitteh for company, and can plan a holiday in between work – and planning a holiday is about my favourite thing to do in the world. It may be better than the actual holiday 😉
I have quite literally been talking about making and selling children’s clothes for some years now. Lately that’s coalesced into a desire to make fun, colourful clothing for small male-identified kids, since it seemed like both a major hole in the marketplace and a nice conflation of my feminism and clothing obsession(Pink! Colours! Soft textures! Themes other than violence or insolence!).
I have finally put my money where my mouth is and paid for a shared stall with some friends, come October. And this week my dining-room table is covered with a fabric rainbow (some of it recycled/in the process of being reborn from bed or table linen status). I feel foolishly cheerful about the rainbow-stripe and turquoise-white polka dot trousers. 🙂
Well, I should say “with an emphasis on being for male-identified kids with an eye to potentially getting apolitical parents to still consider them”. So no skirts or dresses.
Aphie, a friend of mine in Sydney would be keen on this stuff. She has a male toddler and would love to dress him more colourfully than cultural restrictions see to currently allow. She definitely won’t be the only one!
Aphie:
Maybe you two should form a company…
I just put a cooking post up on LP which references a blog called Hungry Tiger by Redfox.
If you haven’t seen this blog you really should go over there and have a read, (1) because she writes really beautifully, (2) because her recipes are really useful (vegetarian) and her photography is gorgeous, and
(3) OTTER!!!!
Bah. I seem to have come down with a cold. Am drinking lots of hot water with lemon and honey (and the one I had last night had whiskey too).
It’s still at the annoying sore throat stage right now — I’m wondering if I should go for a (gentle) walk before the runny nose/coughing/headache stage sets in, or if that exertion will make things worse.
Sounds great Aphie, especially the rainbow part. I find even children’s clothing marked “gender neutral”/”unisex” and “colourful”/”fun” tends to come in very muted tones to my eyes.
oh thank you for all these on-off-otters 😉
may i/lemme share since i consider myself e.g. “a terrible/hopeless optimist”
1. this bobcat http://laughingsquid.com/bobcat-sitting-on-top-of-40-foot-tall-cactus/
and 2. i wish i could produce this affordably for uprooted/displaced/fugitives e.g.
http://mein-casulo.de/en/casulo_video.htm
I am, feeling almost well enough having taken a break from study to do something about the to-do list of blogs I have filed away. I’m also starting to think that I can re-read and read more closely some of the texts I’ve gone through for uni and get more out of, again thinking of blogging about that.
Also having watched far too much of the law and police dramas cropping up, having just done a semester in ethics and justice, it’s occurred to me that television is examining justice in it’s myriad forms far more rigorously than I would have credited. Obviously none of them are without issues, however, the up side pleases me immensely. (Oh that feeds into one of the first blog posts I would like to do on my pet hates of expectations in people that we (generally speaking) don’t focus on teaching). (Lalalalaalalaa).
Also, this print of a map created by a friend of mine is one of the best motivators I’ve had as an external student who has also had a pretty bad year personally. I give you, fellow Hoydens; The Map of Win!
I also have read an old short story anthology edited by Andre Norton and Martin H. Greengerg called ‘Cat Fantastic’ and I loved it so! My review of this will also be a blog post.
It’s exciting to be excited about writing! Happy Sunday, Hoydens!
I hope you feel better soon, Beppie.
Helen, curiously enough the market I’m making for is part of a local Bellydancing Festival! Hammer pants would be highly appropriate.
Ju, that link is made of Win, thanks for sharing it.
Mary, I totally agree. Kids clothes seem to be moving towards a very “adult” palette at the moment, moreso for small penis wielders. I think grey can be fabulous, but it feels like there’s years and years of that ahead, so what a wasted opportunity to wear rainbow-striped pants when you’re three!
Aphie, I would totally buy such clothes for kids of my acquaintance of any/all genders! 🙂
And Helen, that recipe looks great, and I am definitely planning on making it sometime in the next week or so.
In other news, I have just emailed (1) the NSW Premier, (2) my local State MP and (3) the NSW Minister for Education to say that I support the retention of ethics classes.
I really, really can’t believe that the Premier is pandering to Fred Nile already.
Oh wait! I can! Grrr.
*Proffers virtual chicken soup to Beppie*
depression sucks.
(((hugs if you want them Amazing Kim)))
(((((The Amazing Kim))))) It does…
Republishing a comment lost in the hack:
Mindy, we’ve been using AVG for years. Seems to work well.
You even found my comment! Yeah someone tried to tell us that AVG sells your details on – never experienced that and I suspect they were just trying to sell us something to meet sales quotas. Although I did notice that the new AVG is only very basic protection not the whole free suite it used to be so I might end up buying Internet security software anyway.
We upgraded to the paid version of AVG a while ago.
In other news: what about this ‘collar bomb’ scare in Mosman last night? Weird, very weird.
Mindy: I use Avast, which I’m quite happy with. When I first started using it, it had generally very good reviews, which is why I picked it. Not sure how it compares at the moment; haven’t checked for a while.
tigtog: re the “collar bomb” scare – yes, yikes!
How terrifying for that poor girl. I hope the young policewoman who sat with her gets a bravery award too.
Thanks for the security tips, looks like we will be upgrading.
Really loving following @2011 Census on twitter.
I had brunch with a friend today and we were discussing our 14 yr old boys’ (who are friends and through whom we met) lack of interest in girls. She made the comment that her son has been known to say of a girl things like “she’s such a slut, you should see all the make-up she wears.” My friend’s response to this is to say to him he can’t know that, that unless he has had personal interaction with the girl he can’t know she’s a slut and therefore shouldn’t say it. All of which makes my head hurt and my gut feel ill 😦
For the record, I’m pretty sure my son knows that I would find him saying that about anyone to be utterly unacceptable irrespective of who the person was, what they wore or what they may or may not have done. But just in case he doesn’t I think we’ll be having a little chat in the near future.