this is your Official Notice: my publicly available writing is about to consolidate into one spot (it is also about to exist). you can find it here:

http://loxocele.wordpress.com

or, if you'd like to read it via livejournal syndication, add the feed "loxocelewp".

i've started out with a question about people's feelings around genetic counseling, and would really appreciate it if as many of you who are willing would take a look and answer (it's preliminary research for my masters paper). in general, the new blog is going to be stuff i'm thinking about related to my research interests, grad school in general, and the weird observations i make on a day-to-day basis. (most of the squicky personal stuff will stay heavily filtered on here, but who knows how much time i'll have to write? time seems to be giving me the cold shoulder as of late.)

that is all for now. :)

right, so: i have an old bike frame i want to paint. before i can do this, however, i'll have to get the coats upon coats of previous paint (in various states of chipping off) off.

as much fun as destroying my wrists by cupping sandpaper around all that tubing and sanding down to metal would be, i'm thinking there's got to be a better way to do this...but the only tool i know of for powersanding is more for large flat surfaces than small curvy ones.

anyone have any suggestions, for sanding or for priming the frame?

Iranian blogger:
If anyone is on Twitter, set your location to Tehran and your time zone to GMT +3.30. Iranian Security forces are hunting for bloggers using location/timezone searches. The more people at this location, the more of a logjam it creates for forces trying to shut Iranians’ access to the internet down! We must help them! Cut & paste & pass it on! Go Humans!!!

iscari0t - because i can't say it any better: I will do this, if only to assist those who refuse to have their voices hushed; I suggest anyone who supports free speech over tyranny and the right to be heard regardless of your views over suppression of the lower classes to do the same. Worst case, it's a temporary empty gesture to help make those of us living quiet, comfortable, privileged lives feel better about ourselves. Best case - we help give a voice to those who have been silenced.

it has come to my attention that i totally need a certain sort of software. i'm not certain if it exists, but if it does, i'd love to know about it; if it doesn't, someone should code it ASAP.

what i want is something that does the following:

1) while doing research for a paper, i typically read a crapton of text files. most of them are .pdf files, but a few of them are excerpts from google books and some of them are webpages. i'll end up printing most of these out - either by printing the .pdf file or copy/pasting the webpage [google books stuff i just have to bookmark] - but i'll also save the .pdf and .txt files on my computer.

2) let's say all my .pdf files and .txt files end up in a sort of library folder for this Magic Application - either because i put them there myself, or because the Magic Application loves me and has been filing all those .pdf files automatically as i read them. [bonus points if there's a plugin for my browser that allows me, with one click, to insert the URL of an interesting article i'm reading into this library.]

3) this is the important part: when it's n-o'clock in the freaking morning, and i can't remember where on earth i read [insert random fact here], i pull up the search function in my Magic Application. i type in what i remember of the relevant phrase, click "search", et voila: because it loves me, Magic Application not only scans all those .pdf and .txt files for my search terms, it also goes to all those saved URLs and scans *those* pages for the search terms - then returns the results in a format not unlike a google search [each mention of the term presented inside a few sentences of context, with the title of the article at the top of the result (click on it to open the whole document or get taken to the relevant webpage); bonus points for a complete citation (specify your preferred format in the preferences for the applicaton) at the bottom of the result].


this Magic Application would have saved me hours upon hours of flipping through document printouts scanning margin notes tonight alone, and would greatly improve my life in the years to come. if this thing doesn't exist yet, someone make it happen?

you kids are smart, you can do this. ;P

hey everyone -

one of my lovely friends (Agent M) has taken on the mission of finding a Suitable Companion for another of my lovely friends. Agent M's initial action to this end has been a posting on craigslist:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/w4m/1032629163.html

if you're near the bay area - or know anyone in the bay area - Agent M and i would be very, very grateful if you'd take the time to read the posting and forward it to anyone you know who might be an appropriate candidate. our single friend is very cute and very wonderful, and we want to help her make some new friends.

thank you! :)

right, so: it turns out there's a 4" hole in my right coat pocket, through which my phone apparently escaped sometime during my early morning trek from Allston Point A to Allston Point B. (even better was the fact that my friends and i were walking down the middle of the streets, so the likelihood of the thing being intact in a snowdrift somewhere - instead of shattered to smithereens in the path of traffic - is woefully low). i'd never lost a cellphone before (and i never delete numbers), so i just lost 4 years worth of accumulated contacts.

if you ever want me to have the ability to contact you, please send me your phone number. i do not have it, and no matter how many times i've called you, i promise you i don't know your number (unless you're my parents, in which case i can call you on the landline because the number's been the same since i was 5). i've put all comments on screen, so if you leave a comment with your info i'll transcribe and delete.

repeat: please send phone number, kthx.

reposted:

-----------------------
It is something we all knew would happen eventually. Maybe not this scenario, but we all knew something would happen, sometime, that would bring the vultures swarming in to tear us apart.

NIMBY had a fire in the early morning hours of 9 of September. Efforts of those working there to put it out failed and the fire dept was called. Damage was minimal, and there were no serious injuries, but it set in motion a series of actions that permanently closed down all
operations at NIMBY.
________________________________________________________________
By order of Fire Marshal - This building is unsafe to occupy for multiple fire code and building code violations. Entrance shall only be allowed for the purpose of removal of personal items. Entry shall be during day light hours only and must be regulated by
the building manager, Michael Snook. Doors shall remain locked during hours of darkness and all persons shall exit the building. Begin removal of hazardous items forthwith. This shall remain in effect until further notice. Violation of this notice is a misdemeanor and subject to citation.

It is the end of an era for many of us. We have spent more time at NIMBY than we have at our own houses in the last few months. Building, assembling, taking apart, packing, prepping for the Company Picnic out in the desert.

Many people reading this have never been to NIMBY, and really don't know what the hell I am talking about. There is no adequate way to describe it, but I will try. Imagine an industrial workspace inhabitated by welders, fabricators, machinists, potters, blacksmiths, mechanics, painters, musicians, carpenters complete with scuptures, steam engines, art cars, and.. well.. art. One of the last bastions of uncontrolled creativity. A dysfunctional family built on creativity and innovation.

Now that the shock is starting to wear off, we have a long and uphill road ahead of us. We need to dismantle our second homes, and relocate them to an unknown location. It's gonna be hard times for a lot of us, but the person will be hit the hardest is Snook.

He's been a great landlord, not hassling us too much unless we were really fucking up, or interfering with someone else's project. Now it's time for us all to be good tenants and friends and help him out. It's going to cost him a shitload of money (I'd guess $50K) to deconstruct NIMBY and clean up 5 years of projects. And without much of a positive income flow, he's gonna take it in the shorts.

Here are a few memories…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h4kdPkaBQ0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThFSPDXmlMM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J18IskwoZNY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVYKEBDJwwk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqxwRsZg8oI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbbo2Ret64M


I was going to point everyone to the website (www.nimbyspace.org) to let everyone look at the art that has come out of nimby, but it seems that the site is now down. Read the story there, and please donate something, so that we can find another space, and do this again. (with all of the proper permits, and without the fire)

Please repost this to any list that has been impacted by or experienced the benefits of the art that has come out of NIMBY.

Thank you for your time,

BoyChaos

hey guys -

just in case you haven't heard of it yet, there's this contest running right now where people get to vote on videos from local bands - and the top three are submitted to the band coldplay, which will then select its opening act for their sold out boston show from those three.

as it happens, the band currently ranked at #3 is made up of some long-term friends of mine. they're reeeeally excited, but the #4 band is very very close to catching up - so my friends need all the help they can get.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take two clicks to cast your vote for them - you can only vote once per IP address far as i can tell, so we really need more people to jump in and help them out.

go here: www.coldplayontour.com/wfnx and click to vote for the second band from the top - the luxury.

...and if you happen to repost this somewhere, you'll be my (and my friends') hero forever. :)

last reminder!

my last show with oldjack
set time = 9:00 PM
@ church
(69 kilmarnock st, boston - by kenmore / fenway)

there will be codes for a free download of two roughs from the new album + one demo rarity (oooooh), and also an afterparty.

come play; i'd love to see you. yes, you. ;)


-w.

hey kids -

oldjack's playing a show! we have some new songs, and some new arrangements of some old songs, and all sorts of fun surprises in store.

be there, or...uh...don't. but i'd recommend the former.

show starts at 9; we anticipate being on around 11. [the paradise lounge is like the mideast up of the paradise on comm ave, for those not in the know.] show is 18+, so yes - you can bring your drastically underaged boyfriend/girlfriend/sibing etc.

see you there :)

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Heywood Wakefield + TraniWreck
Date: Jan 31, 2008 6:25 PM


This is the casting call. I’ve added some information based on emails and talking to them about what they’re looking for. I think they’d rather have a trans person play the part and so they can be flexible about height etc, but they’ll consider other folks like andro bio men if the look is right. They understand they’re not necessarily going to get seasoned professional actors. So, if you’re interested in the opportunity, read below and check in with kyle. And then give me 10% for getting you a good job. ;)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CP Casting, Inc in Boston is seeking (ideally) a Transman/FTM/Genderqueer person or an androgynous looking men for a principal role in the feature THE GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST. We are looking for someone who is 5’6’’ to 6’0’’ (but they’re flexible) , good looking, and would have been a believable girlfriend of Matthew McConaughey as a woman. Please go to www.cpcasting.com/ghost.html and pull sides for the character of the SHAWNA the BAR MAN. We will be auditioning this role on:
This will be one day of work (tent sched for late April). Pay is SAG scale which sits at about 750 to 800 for 8 hours and overtime after that. This is definitely a work in progress role. (Meaning, if they like you, they’ll work with you.)

Call kyle crand 310 388 7319 or at kyle.crand@gmail.com if you're at all interested in auditioning with us.
Auditions are located at:
CP Casting
537 Tremont St
Boston, MA 02116
Please bring a headshot (if you have one) /resume or a recent picture to the audition.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
The film is about a bachelor goes to his younger brother's wedding, where he is visited by the ghosts of his past girlfriends.
CAST: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner;
EXEC PROD: Chris Bender, J.C. Spink;
PROD: Brad Epstein, Jonathan Shestack, Jessica Tuchinsky;
DIR: Mark S. Waters;
SCR: Jeff Nathanson, Jon Lucas, Scott Moore.
SAG SCALE
Shoots: February 19 thru April 4 in Boston

after all the chaos of today, i am apparently one cat short. somehow, at some point, liadan got out.

she's wearing a tag, but not at all used to being outside.

i am now panicking exponentially.

please repost - and if you see this cat around somerville, please let me know asap; i am freaking the hell out.

hey everyone -

this is an incredible long shot, but i have to ask: does anyone have an extra ticket for mike doughty's show at the lizard lounge on november 17th?

i was lucky enough to get four of them, and i am going with three of my most favorite people. however, another of my most favorite people is coming back from living abroad earlier than expected...and it's breaking my heart that i don't have a 5th ticket.

does anyone have an extra ticket - or one with which they'd be willing to part? on my end, i am willing to pay more than the $23.50 face value, and will also throw in booze or cookies or whatever expression of my intense and eternal gratitude you would find most pleasing (sorry, but due to the nature of my relationship with he-for-whom-i-need-the-ticket, sexual favors are out of the question :P).

please let me know - thanks!

hey kids -

for those of you who have been waiting for venue info, i finally have it: oldjack (for which i sing backing vocals) will be playing this saturday at kennedy's midtown in boston, near the common.

show is 21+, cover is $5, we're on at 11:30.

it's going to be a wee bit odd because, out of the three backing vocalists, i'm the only one who can actually make the show - so i'll be there doing what i do and hoping it doesn't sound fucked-the-hell-up minus the other two thirds of what's normally three part harmony (though luckily the two guitar players both front their respective main projects, so we're figuring it out). therefore, you should come out to support me ('cause, ok, i'm a little nervous)...and then also come out some other time to hear what this band i'm in *really* sounds like (because while we may have a somewhat gratuitous amount of vocalists, we're bloody *awesome* with all of us there).

anyway, yeah. hope to see you then. :)

well, more "singing" than "playing," but you get the idea: this saturday night, i'll be doing some backing vocals with some very talented people at cambridge's lizard lounge - hell yeah.

it'll be my first time on the other side of a boston-area stage [i'm ridiculously psyched, and extremely terrified of losing my voice before then - stupid asthma!!], so you should come out. seriously.

details below:

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: oldjack
Date: Jul 10, 2007 6:53 PM


so we're opening up this weekend for Eric Salt...who you really need to check out. I actually took the gig so I wouldn;t have to pay to see him...so you should come..Besides its our first gig on the right side of the river as they say.. we are also packing a few surprises to the usual lineup...and this may be one of those two in the morning , had a few too many, ideas that actually pans out.. according to JFD its actually the best idea I've ever had.. musically that is... oh and DOMS BACK FULL TIME...yeah for us...although this does compromise one of our song titles...he'll get over it.. see you there lizard lounge mass ave cambridge,, 9pm...tickets online $8 at the door $10

Cheers
The Jacks

so i'm taking this course on research methods and writing this summer - and as part of it, i have to do a group project that involves doing research. my group is examining people's attitudes and feelings on various sexual topics.

this is a short survey, which will take less than 10 minutes to complete. i'm going to need a veritable crapton of responses in a very short time, so it would be *super awesome* if you could fill it out for me. (infinite gratitude and crazy bonus points to anyone who reposts - seriously.)

again, sex survey - click here.

thank you :)

seen via indigofan, and reposted: http://bookshop.livejournal.com/834653.html


in a nutshell, "we thought he was gay, so it's totally ok that we beat him for hours, took pictures of ourselves beating him, left him for dead in a ditch, came back and shot at him, and only came back for his body days later when our friend wanted to steal his jacket."

yet another horrific midwestern hate crime - but this one's getting swept under the rug.

please repost far and wide.

i just purchased a CD.

like, the kind that comes with an interest rate, not a "parental advisory" sticker.


this trips me out to no small extent.

apparently this hasn't hit many american news sources - so here you go. and pass it on.

from New Scientist, last updated 23 january 2007: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10971-cheap-safe-drug-kills-most-cancers.html

New Scientist has received an unprecedented amount of interest in this story from readers. If you would like up-to-date information on any plans for clinical trials of DCA in patients with cancer, or would like to donate towards a fund for such trials, please visit the site set up by the University of Alberta and the Alberta Cancer Board. We will also follow events closely and will report any progress as it happens.

It sounds almost too good to be true: a cheap and simple drug that kills almost all cancers by switching off their “immortality”. The drug, dichloroacetate (DCA), has already been used for years to treat rare metabolic disorders and so is known to be relatively safe.

It also has no patent, meaning it could be manufactured for a fraction of the cost of newly developed drugs.

( no, really.... )

hey kids -

yeah, i almost forgot too...but *tomorrow* is this year's annual "celebrate my uteral ejection by eating lots of food*" event. and you should come.

holy shit, i'm (one day short of)27!
SATURDAY, 30 December
8:00 pm
Grasshopper Restaurant, Allston

after dinner, Something will Happen - i don't know what or where yet, but there will likely be alcohol involved. yes.

RSVP if you haven't, as i always feel bad when suddenly i need three more tables than i told them.... :)



*[technically i wasn't so much "ejected" as "wedged and then sliced out," but you get the idea.]

even if you don't need to Acquire Things for an impending Holiday Season, come out and support the many small, locally-owned businesses and non-profits which are participating in this event:

-----------------------
For Immediate Release

What: Holiday Central in Central Square
When: Tuesday, December 12th, 4-10PM

Special Holiday Festivities & Shopping Extravaganza in Central Square, Cambridge, MA
Benefiting Local Human Service Charities:

Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, Cambridge Cares About AIDS, Cambridge Family YMCA, Cambridge YWCA, CASPAR, Child Care Resource Center; Food for Free, Hildebrand Family Self-Help Center, and Salvation Army

The Central Square Business Association is organizing its first ever Holiday Shopping Extravaganza with shops and restaurants saying open until 10p.m on that day and offering specials, Live Music, Poetry Reading, Game Night, and more! Musical performances will take place in the Carl Barron Plaza starting at 4pm. Participating performers include the Cambridge Ringe & Latin School Ensemble; the Fletcher/Maynard Chorus; the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble; the Hot Tamale Brass Band, the Delhill group and much more. In addition street performers will be all around the Square! But this is not all what makes this event so special.

In Central Square on that day the shopping and festive atmosphere will be for an important cause! Local charities will benefit this season from the generosity of businesses in Central Square. Many local businesses have partnered with area nonprofits to give back to their community by offering proceeds from that day.

The following businesses are participating in the event and will offer specials/entertainment: (the benefiting charity is indicated in brackets)

1. University Stationery 311 Mass Ave (Salvation Army) Special Fountain pens sale
2. Mariposa Bakery 424 Mass Ave Live Music, holiday pies (Food for Free)
3. Economy Hardware 438 Mass Ave performers by employees Kate Klim (folk music) and Dan Gonzales ( www.dangonzalezmusic.com ) and Holiday Gift-wrapping booth
4. Middle East Restaurant and Night Club 472 Mass. Ave. Belly Dancer 9-10p.m!
5. InkTec Zone America Corp. 485 Mass. Ave (Boston Area Rape Crisis Center)
6. Venus Cosmetic Stores 485 Mass Ave
7. University Florist 505 Mass. Ave. (Cambridge Cares About AIDS) Store specials!
8. Clothing From Italy, 528 Mass Ave. Special Holiday Sale
9. Hubba Hubba 534 Mass Ave (Cambridge Cares About AIDS) Store specials!
10. Teddy Shoes 548 Mass Ave ( CASPAR, Inc) special shoes/dance shoes sale
11. Manhattan Clothing Store 563 Mass Ave (YMCA)—All store sale
12. CORT Putnam Home and Office Furniture Rental (CASPAR, Inc) 564 Mass. Ave. All Store Sale!
13. SHALIMAR Gourmet Indian Foods, Spices and Clothes 571 Mass Ave: Special Henna Tattoo & Indian clothing and jewelry sale
14. Artist & Craftsman Supply 580 Mass Ave - Live Music, Store specials (Child Care Resource Center)
15. Harvest Co-Op Market 581 Mass Ave, specials & violinist (Food for Free)
16. Central Square Florist 653 Mass Ave, store specials
17. Cheapo Records 645 Mass Ave special holiday music of all times
18. Supreme Liquors 600 Mass Ave special holiday wine packages
19. Custom Eyes 50 Prospect Street Store specials, Holiday discounts
20. Pandemonium Books & Games 4 Pleasant Street (YMCA) Singer & song writer - Jonathan Coulton 5-6 p.m then Games Night
21. Ten Thousand Villages 694 Mass Ave (Hildebrand Family Self-Help Center) Holiday Store specials and Live Music
22. Rodney's Bookstore 698 Mass Ave (Boston Area Rape Crisis Center) Presentation and book signing by Sarah Boyer, Cambridge Historical Commission and the Author of "Crossroads: Stories of Central Square" Poetry reading 6.30 on, Live Music, food & specials!
23. Seven Stars 731 Mass. Ave
24. Picante Mexican Grill 735 Mass. Ave (Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, Child Care Resource Center)
25. 1369 Coffee House 757 Massachusetts Avenue (Cambridge Cares About AIDS)

(More stores are joining every day!)


For more information please contact Marina Pevzner, Central Square Business Association, 617-8643211 or marina@centralsquarecambridge.com

in a way, this is one of those "well, duh studies...but interesting nonetheless:


Retro Poll Report Shows Ignorance Linked to Opinion Patterns
 Innovative Methodology Illuminates Widespread Misinformation
 
Berkeley, CA — Americans who scored poorly on factual questions about major news events tended to display markedly different opinions from the better-informed on opinion questions ranging from the Iraq war to the U.S. government's response to Hurricane Katrina and the death penalty, results from a recently completed Retro Poll indicate.
 
Retro Poll's method of asking both factual and opinion questions – and comparing the opinion responses of those demonstrating accurate and inaccurate comprehension – points to the grave danger such widespread ignorance poses for a powerful nation that may easily be led astray by false claims, said Dr. Marc Sapir, executive director of Retro Poll.
 
( 'What people think they know--if it is consistently wrong--can endanger our nation in a world environment of war, crisis and US dominance' )
 
“Some pundits will argue that these differences simply reflect core differences in ideology and allegiance.  That may be somewhat true,” Sapir asserted. “But the important point is how strongly these opinion differences are linked to bad information in our surveys.”  In the current survey 64% gave tv as their main source of news.  Of these almost half mentioned Fox or CNN.  13% mentioned NBC or MSNBC.  

reposted:
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------

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Larry(aRRiel's Father) is wanting to publish a book of aRRiel's writings along with some artwork she has done.







aRRiel was a much loved myspacer as can be seen in many of the groups that have threads dedicated to her and her memory.





Her perspective on life was breathtakingly amazing. To read some of her beautiful visions you can click here She was a best friend to many, her intelligence was astounding to watch as she learned quickly to master the html and css codes.


Sadly, she passed away unexpectedly on June 25th, 2005. website dedicated to her


Just think if we can get 20, 000 people to send 50 cents that would give her family 10, 000 dollars!!!



To add a donate button or to donate

click here

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