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Monthly Archives: November 2008

Revisiting Bowling for Columbine

Posted on November 28, 2008 by Linus Posted in Politics, Twitters .

Today, on IFC, they were showing Bowling for Columbine. This Michael Moore documentary was an interesting look at the gun culture of the US. But it reminded me more of the differences between Canada and the US in general. When I first watched it a few years ago, it left me with an impression of a society that has very strict divisions of society as well as a “culture of fear”. And now, after living in the US for the past year, I find that it’s not that far off.

One of the things I noticed the most was how the media was done. Part of my work background is that of a computer and security expert/writer. One of the things that most are aware of is the fact that FUDing (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) does more harm than good. When people are in a constant state of fear and have uncertainty about that induces a huge amount of distrust in the work place and in general life. The reality is that our society needs some sense of trust somewhere.

We always hear questions about whether we trust the government but the question I’d be asking is: how much do you trust the person sitting next to you? Thanks to the mass media (i.e., news, movies, tv shows, talk shows, etc.) we have been taught to fear each other. I find this odd since most Americans I’ve met are really friendly and willing to help. There is an inner desire within each of us that is prevelant, I believe, to help others in need. It’s unfortunate that society has turn that ability to help into something bad or perceived as bad.

We’ve allowed others to decide for us what is “right” and what is “wrong” rather than going through the experience of getting to know one another and creating connections. In Canada, this exists as well but to a limited degree. It’s interesting that most of our “fears” actually were derived from and about the US rather than about other Canadians. I suspect it’s part of why there is such a huge push to have “Canadian only” or “mostly Canadian” content on TV, movies and elsewhere plus a large import from other nations (most notably, the BBC and France). But it’s more than that. There is something in Canadian culture that suggests we trust our neighbours more.

And although we trust our neighbours more, we want to learn even less about them compared to Americans. Many people stereotype Americans as nosy and loud. I suppose you could look at it that way but from my experience it’s more that Americans have a geniune curiosity about those around them, wanting to learn and offering an opinion about what they learn. There is a built in desire there to be part of something more than just their own lives. If we could remove the built up fear about the unknown, you probably wouldn’t see as much poverty, full equal rights for all and tolerance towards all who are different from ourselves.

And although Michael Moore’s piece was somewhat shocking (I can’t help but shake my head at the thought of a bank giving out a gun when you open an account and having 500+ guns in the vault — that, to me, is an invite to rob), in the time I’ve been year I’ve yet to see one gun. I totally respect people’s rights to have them as long as they are smart about them (proper training, storage and usage).

Basically, long winded way of me saying I like my new host country and consider it a second home for me.

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Tags: Add new tag, bowling for columbine, Canada, Life, media, Michael Moore, Poverty, work .

Video Blog: November 26, 2008

Posted on November 26, 2008 by Linus Posted in photo blog, transgender, transition .

Quick Thanksgiving video..

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Tags: blog, video .

Because someone wanted to see me in colour..

Posted on November 26, 2008 by Linus Posted in Uncategorized .

And I went out for a haircut so you get the clean cut boi. 😉

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Updated me…

Posted on November 26, 2008 by Linus Posted in Uncategorized .

I’m contemplating hiding my grey. I’m curious if others think I should or not..

4 Comments .

Meaning of Linus..

Posted on November 25, 2008 by Linus Posted in Uncategorized .

What Linus Means


You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow.

You are light hearted and accepting. You don’t get worked up easily.

Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.

You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It’s easy to get you excited… which can be a good or bad thing.

You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don’t stick with any one thing for very long.

You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.

You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.

You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

You are a very lucky person. Things just always seem to go your way.

And because you’re so lucky, you don’t really have a lot of worries. You just hope for the best in life.

You’re sometimes a little guilty of being greedy. Spread your luck around a little to people who need it.

You are the total package – suave, sexy, smart, and strong.

You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know.

You don’t always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don’t have as much going for them as you do.

What’s Your Name’s Hidden Meaning?
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Quick post: Sometimes it’s the little things

Posted on November 24, 2008 by Linus Posted in Uncategorized .

I had a minor moment of happiness today. I was on the phone with someone and got “sir’d” regularly through it. For some, this may not seem a big deal but for me, it’s a sign of things moving forward. I’m a happy transguy this evening.

1 Comment .

Still Black – A Portrait of Black Transmen

Posted on November 23, 2008 by Linus Posted in transgender .

As it happens, I came back to do more research and stumbled upon this article about Kortney Ziegler and her documentary, Still Black.

1 Comment .
Tags: Kortney Ziegler, transmen .

Trans Activism: Transgender news articles

Posted on November 23, 2008 by Linus Posted in trans activism .

I’ve been doing daily checks of the news to see what news, if any, is out there on trans individuals or issues facing trans individuals. I recently found these two. The first is about changes to identity laws in Europe. Now this may not have impact here but don’t be surprised if someone figures out the extra money that could be made off of trans individuals by forcing them to have one federal ID with original birth gender and one with “true” gender. One of the speakers at the NYC TDOR mentioned how in India they are trying to get a third gender, T, identified for federal items such as passports, etc. That actually has appeal to me to a degree but I know for some trans individuals this would remove their stealth abilities.

The European law makes it more difficult for most trans individuals to get proper ID and adds far more paperwork to a system already rife with it. From a security point of view, it will probably create new loopholes for abuse. Either way, it will be unpleasant and very possibly traumatic experience for more trans individuals.

Meanwhile the family of Dwight DeLee contend that he didn’t kill Teisha Cannon and that he doesn’t hate those with different sexual orientation. They continue with the belief that if he did kill it was because he was provoked or intoxicated. While I’m a strong proponent of innocent until proven guilty, I’m hesitent to accept this as is. Discovering that someone is transgendered is enough “provocation” for some to kill another. It shouldn’t be a justification or an excuse, however. Murdering someone because of who they are is just plain wrong.

Last but not least is the showing of XX Why in the Toronto Film festival. It’s an interesting look at one transguy’s journey in life in a 50 minute documentary. If you get to see it, try to.

2 Comments .
Tags: federal, Life, transgender, transgendered .

Trans Activism: Where’s the transguy history and community?

Posted on November 23, 2008 by Linus Posted in trans activism .

After TDoR this past week I’ve had a desire to do more trans activism. I’ve submitted a volunteer request to the Sylvia Rivera Law Project and hopefully somewhere there I can do something. We’ll see where all this is leading but one thing I have noticed is a lack of trans history. Oh, it’s there but more modern regular history seems lacking (that or I’ve not looked into all the right places). We are often overshadowed by LGB history and it leaves us in the cold, particularly for trans guys. This lack of history can mean a lack of “society” or culture for trans guys. From the research I’ve done thus far we have Thomas Beattie, Buck Angel and Brandon Teena, each uniquely special and poignant to our history in their own way. The most tragic is, in my opinion, Brandon.

That said, there has to be more. I know that transmen make up the smaller portion of the transsexual/transgender community but certainly there has to be more out there, isn’t there? When searching the blogosphere for trans individuals to connect with, I’m faced with lots of beautiful transwomen but am having a hard time finding transguys. I’ve been pondering the why for a while now and have come up with a few thoughts/conclusions on this (entirely based on guesses and conversations):

  1. Most transguys go stealth and give up their trans history. This isn’t an unusual behaviour or response and totally understandable. What I’ve seen more often from transmen* is that they’ve identified as a boy or man since age <insert whatever young age here> and never identified with their female-born body. Many outright despise Beattie for showing the world a pregnant transman and thus, reducing us to “freak status”.
  2. There’s just less of us. I’ve seen figures as low as 10% but I do suspect that is changing. With far easier access to resources, the number of transmen is probably increasing. The Philadelphia Trans Health Conference 2008 was disproportionately high in the number of masculine-spectrum trans individuals, a lot of them young (18-24 age range seemed common).
  3. A feeling of disconnect from any community. For some transmen who were part of the lesbian/queer community first and then transitioned they find, as I have found recently, an ostracization by those communities. There is no sense of connect with transwomen and thus, they feel they have no where to go. So they fade into the woodwork of stealth, never to be seen or heard again in the communities that were once home.
  4. It’s noticeable that the only identified transmen that one can find historically (the three listed above) are all white. Based on the support group I go to, there should be POC, Latino and other races making up the history of transmen.
  5. We are afforded privilege, particularly those that are white. And with the privilege means we blend in with society without even trying. We are accepted as brethen without question by cisgendered guys (something I’ve noticed in some of the non-LGBTQ sites I’m part of)

I’ve been told that at some point I’ll want to be stealth, even if it’s for safety reasons. This may be true but right now I have no desire to do this. If anything, I intend on staying out as long as I can and for as long as I want. Many transwomen are successful at doing this, so why not the guys? For our community and culture to survive and prosper, we need to have a history. We need heroes who have stood up against adversity and role-models for those yet to come. We need someone to look to and say, “I wanna be like him”.

I’m going to continue searching to see if I can find some more, perhaps stuff that isn’t as mainstream but I remain doubtful at what won’t be found.

*I use the term transmen to refer to all trans individuals born female at birth but presenting and/or transitioning (medically or not) masculine outwardness.

2 Comments .
Tags: community, transgender, transgendered, transition .

Love Story: K and Linus 2 Years later (& Vegan Thanksgiving)

Posted on November 22, 2008 by Linus Posted in Daily life, Gratitude, Life, recipes .

Wow. Hard to believe that two years have passed. K and I first met online just over two years ago. And two years ago on Thanksgiving I asked her out officially. Our first year was hard because of distance and life’s challenges but we survived it. Every day I realize how lucky I am to not only have a job, a roof over my head and a path to where I’m going but also have this beautiful woman beside me. There are times where her beauty makes me want to cry in joy and love. Most people are shocked at our age difference but quite honestly, I’ve never noticed. With K I feel totally alive, younger than I am and whole. We laugh lots. We’re silly at times. We have great “adult fun” and we even just enjoy being with each other. I’m totally thankful that this woman walked into my life when I least expected it. And hope that it lasts the entire rest of my lifetime.

I love you, K!

Tonight I made a tofurky for us as well as mashed vegan sweet potatoes with a mushroom gravy since we won’t be together for Thanksgiving (she’s visiting family back in Los Angeles).

Linus’ Vegan Mashed Sweet Potatoes:

4 regular yams/sweet potatos
2 Idaho potatos
2 small onions, chopped
4-5 shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced and chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, diced
olive oil to coat pan in
soy spread
mushroom broth
ground sage
1-2 tbsp of vanilla soy creamer
salt
pepper
garlic powder/salt
onion salt

Clean and cut the potatos into chunks. Put into a pot of boiling water and let boil until all are soft. In a pan, sautee and brown chopped onions on med-low heat in olive oil. I use a heavy iron skillet and add water when the onions potentially stick (about 4-5 min). Stirring often can lessen sticking problems When the onions are browned, add garlic and sautee until brown (about 2-3 min). Finally, add mushrooms and sprinkle salt, pepper and sage. Mix it thoroughly and turn heat to low and cover.

While the mushrooms/onion mix is cooking, draining the potatos and put back into the pot. Mash with fork or wooden spoon if masher isn’t available. Add soy spread, 1/4 cup at a time. In regular mashed, milk is used to make them creamy. In vegan option, soy spread can be used. Add soy creamer to help. As the mixture becomes more and more creamer, add salt, pepper, galic powder/salt and onion powder to taste.

Once mushroom/onion mix is cooked, mix into potatos. Serve hot.

Linus Mushroom gravy (modified from Tofurky recipe):

4 cups of organic mushroom broth
1/2 cup of unbleached flour (although I used wheat flour)
2 tbsp of olive oil
4-5 shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
sage
salt
pepper
5-6 drops of Louisanna Hot sauce

In a pan, sautee and brown chopped onions on med-low heat in olive oil. I use a heavy iron skillet and add water when the onions potentially stick (about 4-5 min). Stirring often can lessen sticking problems When the onions are browned, add garlic and sautee until brown (about 2-3 min). Finally, add mushrooms and sprinkle salt, pepper and sage. Mix it thoroughly and turn heat to low and cover.

In a pot mix the olive oil and flour, heating at low-med heat. Add broth. Cook thorough, mixing with a whisk to ensure all the lumps are gone. As it heats it will thicken. Once thick, add mushroom/onion mix. Cover and heat on low-med heat, stirring out lumps occassionally. This should take about 10 min. Then add hot sauce and continue to cook on low for another 10 min.

1 Comment .
Tags: cooking, Life, love, recipe, recipes, vegan .
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