Archive for the ‘Austin’ Category
Where I live is skin-meltingly hot
My partner’s optimistic response: “It gets cooler.” And then we both laugh because we can’t cry – the heat has dried up all our tears.
Favorite Informational Email from UT each year: Bats on Campus
It reads:
Environmental Health and Safety and the Office of the Vice President for University Operations want to remind you that Austin has a significant bat population. Bats are considered a high-rabies risk species and should never be touched.
If you find a live or dead bat in a building or a live bat outside that cannot fly, please call Environmental Health & Safety’s Animal Make Safe program at 471-BATS (2287).
Please remember to shut all windows and doors especially in the evening to help keep bats and other animals from getting into buildings.
I remember the first year at UT when I received this. It freaked me out so much that I memorized the, thankfully, easy-to-memorize number. So far, I have yet to see a bat in my campus office.
In case you don’t know about Austin and our bats:
Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge is home to the world’s largest urban bat colony, which is composed of Mexican Free-tailed Bats. The bats reside beneath the road deck in gaps between the concrete component structures. They are migratory, spending their summers in Austin and the winters in Mexico. According to Bat Conservation International[1], between 750,000 and 1.5 million bats reside underneath the bridge each summer. Since Austin’s human population is about 750,000, there are more bats than people in Austin during the summer.
The nightly emergence of the bats from underneath the bridge at dusk, and their flight across Lady Bird Lake primarily to the east, to feed themselves, attracts as many as 100,000 tourists annually.[1] Tourists can see the bats from the bridge, from the sides of the river and even from special boats.
Just what UT needs: A “Family Values” Center
From The Daily Texan (UT’s student-run newspaper):
State university campuses with gender and sexuality centers could have to add a “traditional family values center” that receives equal state funding if an amendment to the House Budget Bill from Rep. Wayne Christian, R-Center, succeeds.
The House passed a version of the budget that included this amendment Sunday. While presenting the amendment, Christian said universities such as UT and A&M would be affected because they have gender and sexuality centers that offer and encourage education about “alternative sexual practices.”
“This is not restricting [alternative sexual practice education],” Christian said. “If they’re going to [offer such education], they have to match the center, the dollars, the mortar and the cost of taxpayer dollars for traditional values. You would be able to go to The University of Texas and A&M and attend their heterosexual gender and sexuality centers.”
Gender and Sexuality Center director Ana Ixchel Rosal said according to her interpretation of the amendment, it will not affect UT since the center’s current $180,000 annual budget is not funded by state dollars.
I wish you could see how HARD I am rolling my eyes right now. As a commenter to this DT article said:
IF ONLY there were some “safe place” where heterosexuals could go and find acceptance and get away from the persecution by those who don’t “agree” with them. Perhaps, with a “free exchange of ideas” and a program committed to educating the public, heterosexuals can gradually, with hard work, find acceptance in society.
Clearly, this shit goes DIRECTLY against the supposed focus on dwindling the budget (because who needs teachers when we could have a center dedicated to propping up patriarchy, heterosexism, and misogyny!?!?!). In reality, it’s meant as a scare tactic so that the university shuts down the G&S center instead of funding an additional center. They didn’t realize, though, that the center doesn’t take money from the state (probably for this exact reason). They will need to find another way to destroy it, I guess.
According the G&S website, the center exists to serve the women and LGBTQA communities. It provides:
safe spaces for all members of the UT Austin community to explore, organize, and promote learning around issues of gender and sexuality. The center also facilitates a greater responsiveness to the needs of women and the LGBTQ communities through education, outreach and advocacy.
Oh, the horror!!!!
I’m feel so exhausted by everything that is happening right now, both in my backyard and at the federal level. The GOP hates women, it hates minorities, it hates anyone who isn’t heterosexual, it hates anyone who would ever – gasp! – need some help from the government created to help its citizens. I’m just tired.
In Texas, Be a Man (Pt. 2!)
Way back in late July 2010 (it feels so long ago now), when my blog was just starting out and starting to pick up steam, I got a major shout out from Maud at Shakesville, who linked to my post which was a picture of a car in Austin with the license plate that read: “Be a Man.”
I was super thankful for her plug and her definitive, “No, thank you” response to that car’s demand. She commented a few times on my posts in the first few months of my blogging and just having someone whose writing and analysis I so looked up to comment positively on my posts was a huge ego boost and kept me plugging away.
I was so sad when Melissa McEwan announced in November that Maud had died.
And today, I think Maud would have gotten a kick out of seeing that the “Be A Man” license plate is still haunting my universe. My partner snapped this photo over the weekend when he took our son out for breakfast here in Austin:
Listen to This: Bright Eyes’ “Waste of Paint”
Last week was South by Southwest Music festival here in Austin. On Saturday night I was lucky enough to get to go to the free Bright Eyes show on Auditorium Shores.
I saw Bright Eyes when they were here a couple of years ago. I also saw Connor Oberst, the lead singer of Bright Eyes, perform in October with Monsters of Folk.
I think his music often reminds me of Bob Dylan: it’s about the lyrics, not necessarily the voice. It’s poetry.
One of my most favorite songs EVER is Bright Eyes’ “Waste of Paint.” I have days where I listen to it six, seven times in a row. I think yesterday I listened to it at least five different times. It’s just…perfect, in my opinion.
Here is Connor Oberst performing it on Austin City Limits (lyrics):
The end is the best part.
Another amazing song, “Lua” (lyrics):
PRO-CHOICE DEFENDERS in Texas, I thank you
This is a conglomeration of posts I did today over on my new tumblr site, Keep Your Boehner Out of My Uterus.
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I, scatx, creator and administrator of this tumblr, live in Texas. While I know there is lots of legislation trying to curb the right to abortion throughout the nation, I am most keenly aware of what is going down in my own state legislature right now.
I posted earlier this week about our anti-choice governor, Rick Perry, and the fact that the first piece of legislation to be debated and voted on in the House this session would be a bill requiring women who want an abortion to first view a sonogram. Instead of trying to tackle the massive budget crisis that our state is facing, we are instead focusing on legally curtailing a woman’s right to bodily autonomy.
The person proposing the legislation is Rep. Sid Miller:
House Bill 15, sponsored by state Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, requires a doctor performing an abortion to conduct the sonogram at least 24 hours before the procedure was to take place. The doctor also is required to show the woman the sonogram image, play the sound of the fetal heartbeat for her and describe in some detail the image that appears on the sonogram. The woman does not have to view the sonogram or hear the heartbeat, although she still would have to hear the doctor’s description.
Miller’s bill is a more stringent version of Senate Bill 16, sponsored by state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, which passed two weeks ago. Patrick’s bill, approved by a vote of 21-10, requires the sonogram to be performed within two hours of the abortion. It also makes an exception for women who have been the victim of rape or incest or where the fetus has fatal abnormalities. The House version does not allow exceptions. (via)
The legislation PASSED the House. Miller won. Women and children lost…again.
But there were a lot of Democratic (of course) representatives yesterday who stood up and spoke on behalf of women and children in this state. And I want to thank them. While it is hard to listen to what anti-choice people in my state have to say about me, a woman, I was heartened to see what these elected officials were saying. It’s good to know that even if the numbers aren’t on their side, the reps are still fighting the good fight. I am going to give each one them their own post to highlight their awesomeness and as an antidote for the real-life beliefs of Boehner et al. that go into the jokes we tell on this tumblr.
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#1: Rep. Jessica Farrar (D-Houston)
While she questioned Miller, R-Stephenville, on the bill, state Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, attempted to pierce Republicans’ argument that the bill was not about abortion, but about providing “informed consent” for women.
“It seems to me that the motive of this bill is to get women not to have abortions,” she said, asking Miller if he agreed with that statement.
“That’s fine with me,” he responded. (via)
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#2: Rep. Carol Alvarado (D-Houston)
The debate was sometimes uncomfortable. Intent on highlighting the invasive nature of sonograms during the early part of a pregnancy, state Rep. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, asked how a woman unclothed from the waist down, with her “legs in the stirrups very far apart” was supposed to “get up and walk away” if she did not want to view the sonogram or hear the fetus’ heartbeat.
“I think it’s about shaming women, humiliating women and embarrassing women,” she said, adding, “Not even inmates in prison are forced to undergo such invasive procedures.” (via)
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#3: Rep. Harold Dutton (D-Houston)
State Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, offered an amendment that would, in the event that a woman decided to carry her child to term after undergoing a sonogram as required by the bill, require the state to pay for that child’s college tuition. When that didn’t work, Dutton proposed that the state pay for the child’s health care until age 18. That failed, too. He followed up with a similar amendment that only went up to age 6, but with no more success.
Dutton told the members that such amendments signaled that the state feels less responsibility to children after they are born. “We want to see all these children around, but the state of Texas ends its obligation to that child when it’s born,” he said. “We want it born, but we don’t want to do our duty.” (via)
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#4: Rep. Marisa Marquez (D-El Paso)
State Rep. Marisa Marquez (D-El Paso) offered an amendment that would have allowed pregnant women, who chose to not get an abortion, to apply for a court order requiring the father of the child to undergo a vasectomy, if the pregnancy occurred outside of marriage and the father previously had two or more children outside of marriage with two or more women.
State Rep. Mike Villarreal (D-San Antonio) asked Marquez if it was her intent to insert a “severability clause” in the bill.
Miller opposed the amendment, saying lawmakers had already been receiving concerns from constituents about budget reductions. “I’m going to have to draw the line and say no more cuts,” he said. (via)
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#5: Rep. Dawnna Dukes (D-Austin)
State Rep. Dawnna Dukes (D-Austin) said she thinks the legislation is a “tactic to try to frighten the woman into not having the procedure, as though she already didn’t have the mental capacity to make the decision.”
“I respectfully disagree. Thank you for your comments,” Miller said. (via)
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#6: Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio)
“So why would we be considering a big-government kind of bill?” Castro asked during discussion on the House floor. “Do you feel that the author and others that support the bill feel that women are just too dumb to make a decision they’ve contemplated for quite awhile?” (via)
Walk for Choice – Austin, TX. Feb 26, 2011 (IMAGES)
The official Facebook page of Austin Walk for Choice.
I don’t have much time to blog about the event today but I had a great time. Even with the strong potential for rain, I thought the crowd was big (and as this was – gasp! – my first political rally, I have no way to judge the numbers of people out there. A couple hundred? We’ll see if the media reports about it at all and gives their own estimates). And I adored all the chanting and yelling and camaraderie. Overall, I found it a very emotional experience, especially when we marched down Congress avenue, past places where people were eating their lunch. We were this united group fighting for the rights of women and it was powerful.
Two of the things that struck me about the crowd: 1) they were mainly young and 2) there were a lot of men. Also, incredible sign makers. Wow, the creativity was on full display.
One of my best friends was with me and s/he took pictures that I am simply going to embed here in a slideshow. I hope to write more about this later.
On a related note: I think someone should purchase http://keepyourboehneroutofmyuterus.com immediately. I mean, it’s screaming for a meme, right?
I’ve moved the slideshow to after the jump because it is causing my homepage to load slowly. So, slideshow and gallery of the photos now after the jump:
REMINDER: Tomorrow is WALK FOR CHOICE
UPDATE: From the Austin Walk for Choice Facebook Page:
We can’t wait to see you at the south gates of the Capitol Building tomorrow (Saturday) at noon for the Austin Walk for Choice 2011! We encourage you to wear pink or orange if you have it and make your own signs if possible, although, we will have some available.
This crazy feminist lady? – Re: Bobby Bones
[TW for misogynistic language]
From Bobby Bones Show’s Facebook page today:
[Written by Bobby Bones Show: "Just got a complaint email about a podcast bit from over 3 years ago...I dont even remember the segment and the lady is pissed!"]
There are over 50 comments to the post, including “Tell that biatch to take a chill pill!!” (no one moderates this page or they don’t mind that their followers are throwing around inflammatory and misogynist language or both).
But here’s where I come in:
[Timothy Shaw wrote: "heh I bet it was that crazy feminist lady that wrote that blog about you. She is probably gong through all your podcasts now looking for more stuff to bitch abot."]
First, it wasn’t me.
Second, fuck you.
Third, WAIT – Bobby Bones reads the emails he gets from listeners? I wouldn’t know as mine got no response.
Fourth, I happen to know that I wouldn’t need to go back more than 3 years to find something disgusting or misogynistic to complain about (because one commenter has already informed me of something). I could probably locate something from today (spent five minutes and here is disgusting and misogynistic). That’s the nature of the BBS and the people who produce it.
Fifth, if anything, this just shows that the words and ideas that people throw out into the world can have a real and lasting and hurtful impact on people.
Sixth, I stand by my original post and my call to Bobby Bones to simply apologize for participating in the triggering and stigmatizing victim blaming rhetoric that he did on his show, a show undoubtedly listened to by sexual assault victims. Clearly, no apology is coming. That silence is deafening and says a lot about Bobby Bones, his show, and the nature of morning radio, even in a hippy liberal town like Austin, TX.
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Related:
Hey, Austin: Walk for Choice 2011 THIS SATURDAY
The facebook page for Austin’s Walk for Choice.
From the site:
Let’s show our representatives that, as a community, we value our reproductive rights and won’t stand by while they dictate the future of women’s health care. We will be walking in solidarity with supporters of women’s rights from Philadelphia to Pakistan.
****We will meet at the Texas State Capitol (Congress and 11th) at 12PM. The route will be announced at noon on Friday 2/25/11.***
