Too busy for clever names, but on Tumblr anyway...

You know, sometimes I think about getting older and I’m...

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 12:49:00 -0500

You know, sometimes I think about getting older and I’m tempted to do the thing we’re all trained to do: to stress out and worry about lost youth and all that. Then I remember that Dick Lucas and the rest of the SubHumAns, despite the band having been formed when I was two, are /still/ out there at 50+ kicking the asses of bands literally half their age. I’ve seen them live three times in the last sevenish years and they’ve been amazing every time.

I know old school punk isn’t all of y’all’s thing, but man, too many memories of teeny!me banging away on his drums while yelling out the lyrics to this song* for me not to share.

* the mellowness of age does move to express a heartfelt thanks to my parents for putting up with this, at least.

towritelesbiansonherarms: sassygayalexkralie: i’M GOING TO FUCKING SHIT OK I GOT THIS EXTENSION...

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 09:27:47 -0500

towritelesbiansonherarms:

sassygayalexkralie:

i’M GOING TO FUCKING SHIT

OK I GOT THIS EXTENSION STAYFOCUSD THAT STOPS ME FROM BROWSING SITES MORE THAN A SET AMOUNT EACH DAY AND I ACCIDENTALLY SET IT TO 10 MINUTES PER 24 HOURS WHICH WAS WAY DRACONIAN AND I DIDNT NOTICE ‘TIL THE 60 SECOND COUNTER WAS GOING AND

SO I THOUGHT IT WAS OVER RIGHT AFTER ALL THAT BUT NO

IT OPENED THIS FUCKING PAGE

GOD

DAMN

brilliant

It’s even better if you read all the dialogs in the voice of GLaDOS

I’ve been sitting on this project for a while now, working...

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 10:01:00 -0500

I’ve been sitting on this project for a while now, working on it a bit here and a bit there, tweaking this and that for months, which is a bit sad given that it’s all of 12 minutes long. So, I’ve decided that it’s time for me to flip the damn switch on this thing and put it out there. This is my first attempt at producing, for lack of a better term, an “NPR-ish”, non-fiction audio piece (plus text preamble), and I would love to hear what people think. I’ve got a few more ideas kicking around, and especially if people are into this, I may make more.

Postcards from DragonCon
So there I was at DragonCon, one of the biggest scifi/fantasy conventions in the world. I was there because two audio theater podcasts with which I’ve had the pleasure of being involved, Second Shift and The Mask of Inanna, were up for Parsec awards (Inanna won!), but other than a short awards ceremony, I really had no idea what to expect from or do at such a huge convention.

It’s easy to feel alone in a crowd at an event like DragonCon so, reminded of my exchange with Mr. Glass, and encouraged by Seth Boyer, a musician and podcaster I met there, I… just started interviewing people; anyone who would talk to me. This is the result of that project. I recorded about 40 interviews over the course of two days, mostly between the hours of 1am and 6:30am (yes, am), and was only able to use a small fraction of them in this piece. The biggest lesson I learned is that when you go into an interview project without a specific narrative in mind (which seems to me the most honest way to do it), building a narrative out of what you get can be surprisingly difficult. I got a lot of great advice on this subject and others from Melissa Galvez, a public radio pro who was a huge help to me as I worked on editing this project. Thanks, Melissa! (by the way, as of this writing, she’s in the job market, in case anyone’s looking!)

One thing I wish I could have worked into the piece was some acknowledgement of the issues the con has had recently, which range from a problematic (if legally binding) relationship with its co-founder to conflicts with fan groups. I say this not because I want to bring down the many people who work hard to make Dragon*Con great, but because I think they’re nonetheless important issues that warrant acknowledgement and due consideration in any introduction to the con that aspires to be comprehensive. Shortly after my return I wrote about the two biggest issues of which I’m aware, along with my general impressions of the con as a first-time attendee, here. Edit: someone else has a writeup detailing some of the legal complexities here.

Music Credits (in order of audience):

Celtic Dragon, by Oursvince
By The Coast, by Antony Reijekov
Chamomile by Anitek
Le Bal De Rmy by Circus Marcus
Bsqueda Exploratoria by Circus Marcus
Trust, by Jahzzar
Last Dragon*Con by Deena Roth

Special thanks to Jamendo.com and FreeMusicArchive.org, where I found most of the music for this show, all of which is used with permission and/or under a creative commons license.

If I do anything else like this, I’ll put it up on the RSS feed at http://geekdome.net/podcast/

inurashii: motherjones: (via) ilu mojo <3

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 08:40:53 -0500

inurashii:

motherjones:

(via)

ilu mojo <3

The other reason, aside from the speeches, why I was up way past...

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 11:57:00 -0500

The other reason, aside from the speeches, why I was up way past my bedtime last night. My gimp-fu is still not strong enough to make up for the different lighting sources in the photos, but after spending forever tweaking the thing I think I finally got the colors mostly right.

MY TIME HAS BEEN WELL SPENT AND NONE MAY TELL ME OTHERWISE!

stephaniefoo: It’s easy to feel like you’re the only girl who...

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 17:51:12 -0400

stephaniefoo:

It’s easy to feel like you’re the only girl who skates in this whole city, but it’s definitely not true. There’s a whole, amazing community out there. I shredded around SF with a bunch of other girl skaters and wrote about it for the Bold Italic.

http://www.thebolditalic.com/sfoo/stories/2354-ladies-on-board

The Science of Racism: Radiolab's Treatment of Hmong Experience

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:40:00 -0400

The Science of Racism: Radiolab's Treatment of Hmong Experience:

I need to be clear that I haven’t heard the RadioLab segment in question, but to me, it’s not really about that. If I give this woman the same benefit of the doubt that I want to give the RL team, namely that she’s telling the truth of her experience, I don’t need to have heard the piece to believe that there are important cautionary tales here for any journalist, ones that can be expanded to apply to any human in a position of power; social, political, editorial or otherwise. It speaks to all kinds of important things, from (to give the RL crew that same benefit of the doubt) the dangers of making careless statements about one’s intentions in engaging with someone, to the subtle and insidious nature of “modern racism”, which doesn’t require people to wear pointy hoods or have malice in their hearts, but just to be unaware of how casually some voices can be dismissed and disrespected, even by those who are trying to hear them out.

I’m not spreading this to condemn RadioLab; again, I haven’t head their side, and from what I know of their reputation I believe they acted in good faith. But the fact that this other side of the story exists, that the account linked here could be written in good faith, illustrates layers and layers of important stuff.

this-is-not-native: ayiman: juxtapose-me: littleangrytiger: a...

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 14:33:54 -0400

this-is-not-native:

ayiman:

juxtapose-me:

littleangrytiger:

adailyriot:

mistress-caitriona:

for me as a european, it’s unbelievable. seriously.

to watch later.

this is why racism is not a fucking joke, if you dont understand what Natives deal with, why we’re angry, watch this and you will understand

I can’t stop crying.

So much love to Megan Bertasson for her bravery in sharing her stories.

Canada does not give a shit.

It really doesn’t. Our dehumanization, especially that of Native women, is total.

and I’m sorry, but to the “as a European” person: if this is unbelievable, your blinders must be something else. Fuckin believe it, and remember that the vast edifices of Europe were bought and paid for with the blood and suffering of billions.

I have nothing else to say. I cried. I’m pissed.

because no one gives a shit.

ayhay wapi-maskwa iskwew

This is native and you should all watch it.

"Look, guys. No matter what a girl does, no matter how she’s dressed, no matter how much she’s had to..."

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 15:33:57 -0400

“Look, guys. No matter what a girl does, no matter how she’s dressed, no matter how much she’s had to drink, it’s never, never, never, never, never okay to touch her without her consent. That doesn’t make you a man, it makes you a coward.”

- Vice President Joe “the BAMF” Biden, in a speech launching the federal government’s campaign to fight sexual violence on college campuses (via girl-non-grata)

Today's historical badass...

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 15:27:00 -0400

…via @RealTimeWWII, which is an a-mazing Twitter feed:

Witold Pilecki. A member of the Polish resistance, who was caught on purpose to report on Auschwitz from the inside.

While there, he…

Organized a secret prisoner’s union.
Sent previously-unknown intelligence about the horrors there to the outside world
…using a radio he and the other prisoners built themselves in secret
Then he and a friend escaped and went back to Poland.
…with documents they’d stolen from the Nazis along the way. You know, just in case anyone was doubting their badassness at this point.

Four years later, he was executed for treason by the communist government in Poland, which he’d spent the intervening years fighting as part of the underground.

Dayum. Hollywood, are you reading this??

(Full disclosure: the above is all based on skimming a wikipedia article— if it inspires you to investigate further, great! But it is not authoritative by its self!)

thedailywhat: The Empire PSYkes Back of the Day: Luke has a...

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 13:28:35 -0400

thedailywhat:

The Empire PSYkes Back of the Day: Luke has a close call on Bespin. Yet another 11 seconds you won’t regret.

[thanks, khalid!]

School of Seven Virtues finale writeup

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 11:48:58 -0400

This weekend was the end of an almost 3-year long LARP campaign in which I had the pleasure of taking part. There’s really nothing like spending that much time collaboratively making up and acting out an epic story with hundreds of other people. Suffice it to say it was lots of fun and extremely satisfying, dorky stigma be damned.

Anyway, I wrote some about the experience, and the exceptional final scene of the campaign, on lj. Most of the people who follow me on Tumblr already follow me there, so I’ll just link instead of cut/paste. Post includes links to upcoming campaigns at the end.

stephaniefoo: Tumblr peeps, What’s your opinion? Last night I...

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 09:02:59 -0400

stephaniefoo:

Tumblr peeps,

What’s your opinion? Last night I was at the supposedly incredibly haunted Warfield theatre in SF. I was sitting outside Jerry Garcia’s dressing room in pitch blackness, playing Hearts on my iphone. The lead ghost hunter was inside Jerry’s dressing room. She started to say, “Who’s there? Who’s outside the door?” I was like,”Uhhh it’s me,” and she mentioned a noise. I did not hear any noise at the time, the room was silent as death. I thought she might be nuts, but when I went back into the tape, this sound is what directly preceded her asking.

What do you think? Is it just a door? Just a fluke? Or do you hear a ghost?

edit: made louder.

Sounds like Jerry dropped his roach clip on a glass tabletop to me… :)

I won that new voices in public media scholarship two years ago and went and wrote a thing about it in response. You can find it if you google my name and airblast. It was an AMAZING experience, and so valuable to my career! Thanks for publicizing it!!

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 10:44:28 -0400

Of course! I only wish more people had picked it up!

I think I remember reading somewhere that Glynn Washington also won the scholarship at some point, but can’t find anything on it now. Is that true, and if so is that how you started working together?

In any case I’m a fan of your work, both on Snap and on Stagedive (someday I would love to do a similar project), and if we have the new voices scholarship to thank in part for that, then I’m all the more glad it’s there.

Keep doin’ what you do! :)

Remember I told you I had exciting news?

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 11:48:08 -0400

stephaniefoo:

We on WNYC, bébé.

And did you miss when we got on KPCC?

Also, we are moving to a sweet weekends @ noon spot on WBEZ soon.

*~O HAY AMERICA~*

Congrats and well-deserved!

dromeda: teal-deer: 1. This is real. Here is the sauce 2. As...

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 01:37:30 -0400

dromeda:

teal-deer:

1. This is real.

Here is the sauce

2. As I’ve said many times before, I don’t usually get celeb crushes, as they are silly, but Tom Hiddleston really needs to stop being my ideal romantic partner. Before it was just like “Oh I like people who are clever and well read and well spoken and have a sense of wonder and a good sense of humor; high cheekbones and dashing good looks help”

And now it’s like “oh that person exists and it’s Tom Hiddleston”

welp

(me and ninety billion other fangirls and probably fanboys, right?)

Also while I wouldn’t want to marry Colin Mochrie he’s TOTALLY AWESOME and I loved his show and this just reinforces my opinion that he’s hilarious and great

Oh, Colin Mochrie and Tom Hiddleston, why are you two so amazing?

Am I the only one whose main reaction to this is “that should totally be MacStone, act *I*, scene I”?

…yes? Ok. >.>

Wow, is it just me or does she totally look like girl!Jareth...

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 12:09:00 -0400

Wow, is it just me or does she totally look like girl!Jareth (Labrynth kind, not (necessarily) Second Shift kind) here?

I mean, not that that’s bad, just… the Goblin Queen… staring into my soul… O.o

mehreenkasana: verbalresistance: Day after Sikh Temple...

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 15:19:00 -0400

mehreenkasana:

verbalresistance:

Day after Sikh Temple Shooting in Wisconsin, Mosque in Missouri burned to the ground [In 2nd fire to same Mosque this summer]

A mosque in southwest Missouri burned to the ground early Monday in the second fire to hit the Islamic center in little more than a month, officials said.

The fire at the Islamic Society of Joplin was reported about 3:30 a.m. Monday, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office said. The sheriff’s department said the building was a total loss. No injuries were reported and no charges have been filed.

Imam Lahmuddin, who leads the mosque and was in the building until late Sunday, said he was “sad and shocked” by the fire.

“I’m still in front of the building looking at the damage and nothing can be saved,” Lahmuddin said in a telephone interview Monday. “But since we are people of faith we just can remember that this is a thing that happened because God let it happen, and we have to be patient, particularly in the month of Ramadan, control our emotions, our anger.”

A blaze at the same building July 4 caused minor damage and was determined arson. No arrests were made and the FBI has offered a $15,000 reward for information leading to charges in that fire. The agency released video footage of what appeared to be a man starting the July blaze that did not cause extensive damage.

FBI spokeswoman Bridgett Patton said the agency is investigating the cause of the latest fire and whether or not it was also the result of arson.

Sharon Rhine, spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office, said the center’s security cameras were burned in the Monday fire.

About 50 families belong to the Islamic Society of Joplin, which opened in 2007 as a mosque and community center. The FBI led an investigation in 2008 when the mosque’s sign was torched. That crime also remained unsolved.

Lahmuddin, who has lived in Joplin for about four years, said several people were at the center late Sunday. He said despite the attacks, the center’s members have good relationships with residents and other churches. He said many are doctors at area hospitals.

The latest fire came a day after a gunman killed six people at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin. The imam said it was a cause of great concern that both faiths had seemingly come under attack.

“I heard that yesterday, and this morning we see this happen in our place,” he said. “We are more fortunate that no one here got hurt in this incident.”

[via Ibn Percy / ABC News; Video: Raw Story]

See Also:

CAIR Offers $10K Reward After Mosque Destroyed by Fire; State the “urgent need for increased police protection for Muslim and Sikh houses of worship nationwide” | Market Watch; WSJ

Second Fire In Five Weeks Burns Missouri Mosque | TPM

‘Suspicious’ fire leads to destruction of Joplin mosque | The Joplin Globe

Speechless.

Their FB page has info on how people can help fund them rebuilding: https://www.facebook.com/TheIslamicSocietyOfJoplin/posts/343584665727246

Scholarship contest for under-represented new voices in public media!

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 14:44:00 -0400

I just got this on one of my local audio-related mailing lists. The folks at airmedia are having a scholarship contest to bring “minority producers” to the Third Coast conference (their FAQ defines “minority” as any group typically under-represented at the conference and/or the industry in general). I’ve never been to Third Coast myself, but from what I hear it’s huge, a big deal, and very cool if you’re into audio and/or public media.

I’m a big believer in audio, be it podcasts, radio, music, or whaterver, as a powerful medium for telling stories with a lower barrier to entry than pretty much anything other than text, and I would love to see a greater diversity of voices out there in the scene. If you are or know someone who could be the next Glynn Washington (to whom I was introduced far too recently, and who has quickly become one of my audio heroes— seriously, if you don’t listen to his show, Snap Judgement, you should), please link, reblog, and read on!

(also, upon reading the details more closely, the contest isn’t even limited to audio— video/multimedia producers are also eligible!)

Note: Everything from here on is from a representative of airmedia, not me.

Apologies for the cross-postings, but we want to make sure we get the
word out far and wide. We’re giving New Voices scholarships for
minority producers to attend Third Coast and would love it if you
could forward this on to your regional groups or anyone who you think
might make a great New Voice. Here’s the link for tweeting/FBing
purposes:
http://www.airmedia.org/PageInfo.php?PageID=749

Thank you!!
erin

Subj: AIR New Voices Scholarships for minority producers: Apply Now!

AIR’s New Voices scholarships were established 3 years ago with
funding from CPB and NEA to support professional development for
minority producers working independently or at a public media
stations. Our goal is to broaden the pipeline for a new generation of
diverse talent – people who show potential to help make public media
more reflective of the American public. Many of our New Voices alumni
have found ripe opportunities to further develop their talents, expand
their professional relationships and understanding of the field, and
strengthen their voice.

We’ll be directing our 2012 scholars to attend the Third Coast
Conference happening in Evanston, IL on October 5-7. This is the
largest gathering of audio creatives in the country. We’re looking for
emerging and mid-career producers to take advantage of this
opportunity. You may be working primarily with audio or sound, or you
may be a multi-media, video, or film producer interested in expanding
your chops. Get the scoop by reading our FAQ:
http://www.airmedia.org/PageInfo.php?PageID=602

and also visiting:
http://www.airmedia.org/PageInfo.php?PageID=749

Will you be one of the 20 we choose this year? Apply @
https://airmedia.wufoo.com/forms/airs-2012-new-voices-scholarship/

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS 5:00 pm Pacific Time, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012.

We’ll provide up to $1500 to each individual chosen. The funds must be
used to offset costs associated with Third Coast transportation,
meals, hotel, and registration. For more information and to apply:
http://www.airmedia.org/PageInfo.php?PageID=749

If you know talented, eligible candidates, please forward this email to them.

If you have any questions about AIR’s New Voices scholarship contact
Erin Mishkin at erin airmedia.org.

+++ AIR is everywhere. +++
www.airmedia.org

Funding for this program comes from the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting (CPB) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

Arbitrary Quote Tuesday: On Activism

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 11:15:37 -0400

echoboots:

OK, here I go, taking my first steps towards Saying Things on the Tumblr!

This first one is a Nellie McClung quote about activism:

“Never explain, never retract, never apologize. Just get the thing done and let them howl.”

I like this quote, even though I wildly disagree with it, because the ideas it represents about activism seem to me like they have been broadly represented in recent discourse. And I value that, but am also puzzled by it.

The idea that activism is about unapologetic statements, but also about demanding apologies, is fascinating and contradictory to me. I struggle with both concepts, because I work as an advocate within a microcosm in my day-to-day life, and the most efficient advocates I know are always pleasant even when they are being firm about a boundary. I am slowly realizing, however, that this kind of advocacy and broad-scale activism may just be different things. I have not yet reached any firm conclusions about how I think activism should work, but I still think that owning mistakes is an important part of coalition building and grassroots movements.

I would love to hear what other people have to say on this topic, especially on this forum. It’s been on my mind of late, which is why I chose a quote about activism for my first one.

While I can’t claim much expertise on activism writ large, just my own observations from being On The Internet, I think one difference between your situation and “broad-scale activism” is the nature of the audiences. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the people with whom you deal are usually explicitly part of the same system, and acknowledge that what you do has some bearing on what they do and vice-versa. In other words, there is some expectation that you will at least be heard when you speak.

I think a big reason for the amount of “yelling” online is that it requires more work for an offended minority to get the attention of an oblivious (willfully or otherwise) offender online than in your situation. In many ways its easier to start a dialogue with individuals than with communities.

The power of the Internet Rage Firehose to effect change, whether by provoking self reflection when one realizes “damn, I made a lot of people really angry just then…”, or by intimidating business interests into trying to save face, sincerely or not, is remarkable.

Would it be as effective if it was the “Internet Stern But Civil Criticism Firehose?”. On the one hand, I think the real power is in the firehose part, the quantity, not the rage. On the other, if there weren’t rage, would there be a firehose?

This is where it gets complicated for me. There are many examples of “tone policing”, whereby anger is silenced or ignored in the name of “civility”, forcing offended parties who don’t have the power to force an issue to feel like they have to come hat in hand and ask very nicely just to be heard. But I think the backlash against that has in some cases created a false dichotomy between anger and civility, as though one can’t be both without also being weak. I’ve seen lots of cases where someone who seems to be acting maybe out of ignorance, but not out of ill will, gets a flood of abuse and name-calling from people who seem to assume the absolute worst of that person and hir intentions and respond from those assumptions, where I suspect that a flood or stern but civil corrections (followed by whatever if the person then continued to willfully be a dick) would have been as or more effective.

So I think the real answer is nuanced, something between allowing tone policing to silence anger and treating anger as a reason to unleash the righteous flamethrower every time. Unfortunately, The Internet does not always deal well with nuance.