Also on the holiday docket, I'm planning to record some holiday tunage, now that my voice has reappeared. Just have to set aside some time. Maybe in December, when I'm out of NaNoWriMo territory.

Family drama notwithstanding, I will be headed home for Christmas. Part of me is looking forward to this, and part of me would rather just hide in my apartment. Blech.

I'm considering throwing a NYE party. I didn't last year, and it was kind of a bummer. On the other hand, I'm not feeling really "into" people at the moment. Hmm. Things to consider.

In response to this tripe:

I have been a regular Conscious Choice reader since I moved to Chicago in 2001.  I look forward every month to learning more about conservation and sustainable living, not to mention local alternative and green happenings.  I've practiced environmentalism and alternative spirituality for the majority of my life, and in the past few years Conscious Choice has been a useful source for ideas on how to further deepen my consciousness around my everyday decisions.  I am grateful for this tremendous gift.

  This month, however, I was disheartened to read the "Letter from the Publisher."  You see, despite the fact that I live car-free and thus walk several miles every day; despite the fact that I not only grow some of my own greens, veggies, and herbs on my back porch in Albany Park, but also make every effort to buy local and organic (avoiding HFCS, corn, and factory-farmed meat); despite the fact that I am a flaming liberal pagan eco-hippie who carries huge guilt about my corporate day job and the fact that sometimes all I can afford to buy are clothes manufactured in overseas sweatshops....despite all that, I am fat.   

I don't feel bad about this.  It's just part of what my body looks like, the same way it has brown eyes and big feet.  Just like noses come in all different shapes and sizes, so do bodies.   

Reading Richard McGinnis' letter, though, I found myself confronted with the same old tired stereotypes: eating brownies will make you fat (and is irresponsible), fat people are unhealthy, and the overall implication that fat people are doing nothing but feeding their fat children "GMO-laden toaster pastries and sugary pop."  I have seen a recent increase in the number of stories (around both green and mainstream media) talking about how global warming is somehow linked to obesity, how fat people use more resources than thin people, and how if people just walked more and ate local and organic - both global warming and obesity would disappear.   

These ideas are simply false, and perpetuating them only serves to further marginalize a group of people that currently suffer unfettered, broad-ranging stigma and discrimination.  I expect that sort of rhetoric from the government and mainstream media (both of which get substantial funding from the weight loss industry), but I am always surprised to see it coming from groups of people who so often challenge conventional wisdom and question what they are told by the Powers That Be.  Certainly the "Obesity Epidemic" is an effective, though fearmongering, marketing tool...but it is not supported by actual scientific data (I'm happy to provide resources that explain this, if you're interested), and it saddens me to see it rear its lying head in a "conscious" forum.  

Making conscious choices that contribute to sustainable lifestyles and healthier people and planet should be motivation enough, without the added specter of "getting fat."  Using that scare tactic adds to the marginalization of fat people...who deserve basic human dignity, and better than being bogeyman or punchline.  I hope that in the future, Conscious Choice considers this before using its platform to recycle baseless and offensive stereotypes.  

In fact, I'd be very interested in seeing a feature on fat hatred as a social justice issue.   

Best regards,
Tari Follett

For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.

- George Washington

My Christmas List
(In case anyone's interested...)

1. A Digital Camera. Nothing too fancy, 'cause I'm no photo-genius....but something I can use to take at least medium-quality digital shots. Maybe something I can use for promo shots and postcardy pictures. Also, maybe something that will work with some kind of flash memory.
2. A compact, lightweight sleeping bag. I have some travel plans (more about that below) where this might come in handy-dandy.
3. "Spring Awakening" Soundtrack. I can't find this on a digital download site that doesn't require me to download stupid software (which I refuse to do!). I haven't run out and bought the actual CD yet because I am so far out of the habit of buying CDs that I just don't even browse them anymore.
4. Some MBT shoes. I have no idea if these are as comfy and ergonomic as they look, and I'm not really ready to drop several hundred bucks to find out....but I'd take a pair if someone handed me one. And at some point, I'll probably get curious enough to track down a cut-rate pair to try out. Woo hoo!
5. Guitar strings. Can never have too many of these. I personally prefer either Martin Mediums (for my sits-out-all-the-time Yamaha writing guitar) or D'Addario Phospher Bronze Lights. And hey, Fender Heavy Picks are awesome, too - especially in the 346 shape, which is sooo much easier on my thumb tendonitis than the regular picks. Yay!!
6. World Peace. Because I really do want it, and it seems like a good time to ask.

I've decided that I'm going to Britain before my 30th birthday in May. It seems like I should be able to make it off the continent at least once in 30 years, doesn't it? So, yeah, that's on the agenda. My sister will be having a son in March, and sometime in late March or early April, I will be headed over there.

I've already blocked out the time I want, where I want to go, what I want to see, a rough budget, and even the bare bones of a packing list. Here's what I have so far:

London
I figure I'll want a few days in London - two for the British Museum, one for the Tate, with evenings for general touristy stuff, like double decker bus rides and checking out Hyde Park and the Changing of the Guard and the infamous Tower and the Globe Theatre and all that kind of thing. I'm still poking around to find the right hostel to bunk in, and the public transit system looks way complex....but I've got plenty of time to sort through it all. Phew.

Salisbury
This is the closest town to Stonehenge, so obviously I'll need some time here - I figure a night or two ought to do it. I haven't yet done enough digging to find out if I can get into Stonehenge itself all by myself (previous investigations show that they do allow pagan groups in for religious purposes....not sure if that will be viewed as valid for just the one of me). I would be really pleased if I could make that happen, but it remains to be seen.

Bath
I'll probably spend the most time in Bath, or at least sleeping there. I've heard raves about the hostel there from more than one source, which inclines me to think I might just like it a lot. So, I figure Bath would be a good place to hang out for a few days...time to check out the Baths, take a day trip to Glastonbury, have tea at the Pump Room, maybe take the Jane Austen tour, maybe have spa day, wander the countryside, that sort of thing. Then, there's a bus directly from Bath to the airport. Yay!

I'm still undecided about lugging along a guitar; I have a small guitar I have flown with before, so it's not beyond the realm of possibility....but might be a pain in the ass to haul it everywhere. I doubt it would be safe to leave at a hostel....but then again, how awesome would it be to stumble into an open mic or a low key coffeeshop gig while I'm over there? I could add another continent to the list I've played music on! Not to mention I imagine this kind of trip might inspire a slew of new tunes.

One thing I've decided for sure already is to shell out the extra buckage for a business class flight. As much as I enjoy shoe-horning my ass into tiny airline seats for two or three hour domestic flights (wait, actually I don't), the thought of dealing with that on a nine or ten hour intercontinental flight makes me want to hurl....and it runs a couple extra hundred dollars, which seems like a worthwhile investment, and a pretty damned nice birthday present.

And then, I get home, have a lovely birthday, and a few months later get to vote for the first woman President. All around good times!

Today's "Welcome to the Holidays!" Playlist:

"Oi to the World" - No Doubt
"Opera of the Bells" - Destiny's Child
"Maybe This Christmas" - Ron Sexsmith
"Song for a Winter's Night" - Sarah McLachlan
"Not This Year" - Aly & AJ
"Christmas Love" - Billy Idol
"Christmas is All Around" - "Billy Mack"
"In the Bleak Midwinter" - Cindy Lauper
"X-mas Time" - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
"River" - James Taylor
"Coventry Carol" - Suzanne Vega
"Peace on Earth / Little Drummer Boy" - David Bowie & Bing Crosby


Recent entries...
27 December 2007: 2007: Finis.
17 December 2007: A ruse, a rant, and a poem. It's short.
11 December 2007: Music & falling....story of my life.
08 December 2007: Briefly...ish.
29 November 2007: A poem, a rant, a lesson.