The garden of glorified weeds

fishingboatproceeds: entropyexhibited: So I was browsing The...

Sat, 19 Jan 2013 23:05:43 -0500

entropyexhibited:

So I was browsing The Mountain Goats’ thread today and I was coming across a lot of Nerdfighter hate, which I thought was pretty unfair.

Everyone starts somewhere. Just because I came across the Mountain Goats five years ago instead of two days ago doesn’t make me a better person or more worthy of their music. Yes, there are way more songs than “This Year” and “Love, Love, Love”, but come on, we probably all went through that phase. I know I did.

I just find it discouraging when old fans try to turn away new fans.

So, Welcome Nerdfighters! Come join the party! There are in fact more Mountain Goats songs than the ones JD played last night, over 500 to be precise. All of them are amazing.

As far as albums go, “Tallahassee”, “Come, Come to the Sunset Tree”, and their newest one, “Transcendental Youth” are probably the most accessible to newbies. “We Shall All Be Healed” and “All Hail West Texas” are also amazing.

As far as songs to check out, in no order:

Up the Wolves
Last Man on Earth
thucydides II-58
Surrounded
High Hawk Season
Wizard Buys a Hat
He Swims Like a Fish
Color in Your Cheeks
Dirty Old Town
Pigs That Ran Straightaway into the Water, Triumph Of
Dance Music

Signal boost. :)

The Mountain Goats are a great band, and their fans are great fans, but we tend to be extremely passionate about tMG and their work and that can be a barrier to entry sometimes (just as it can be in other fan communities, including ours).

But I’m grateful for the generosity shown here, and I’d only add that other great and good-for-new-listeners songs include Jenny, The Best Ever Death Metal Band Out of Denton, and Damn These Vampires.

I’d also like to add that you should see them live and also buy their music. It really does make being alive a richer and more interesting experience.

edwardspoonhands: P4A is the best time. Loving it!

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 23:56:28 -0500

edwardspoonhands:

P4A is the best time.

Loving it!

digbicks: For his project titled Ara Solís, Guatemalan...

Sat, 01 Dec 2012 13:16:20 -0500

digbicks:

For his project titled Ara Solís, Guatemalan photographer Luis González Palma created a series of images representing small models of 15th century sailing boats, symbolically ‘crossing the seas’ of different sleeping beds. Ideas of migration, intimacy and dreams of the future are brought about in this wonderful series.

This is elegant, thought provoking and just beautiful.

The Tangential: An Existential Nihilist Guide to Tying Your Shoes

Sat, 24 Nov 2012 23:48:28 -0500

The Tangential: An Existential Nihilist Guide to Tying Your Shoes:

thetangential:

1. Put on some shoes. These shoes should have laces, but there aren’t really any other necessary traits for the shoes to have in order for you to tie them. Try not to stop and ask yourself if the shoes actually existed before you opened the closet door and pulled them out. Is the shoe still a…

Esoterica: deluxvivens: lasso: Gay Men’s Sexism and Women’s Bodies At a recent...

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 22:00:31 -0500

Esoterica: deluxvivens: lasso: Gay Men’s Sexism and Women’s Bodies At a recent...:

deluxvivens:

lasso:

Gay Men’s Sexism and Women’s Bodies

At a recent presentation, I asked all of the gay male students in the room to raise their hand if in the past week they touched a woman’s body without her consent. After a moment of hesitation, all of the hands of the gay men…

Full Length version of The Racial Contract

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 23:40:23 -0400

ebookcollective:

The original copy posted was incomplete, so I found a complete copy for you guys.

http://bmorereadinggroup.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/ebooksclub-org__the_racial_contract.pdf

The text after section three as well as the introduction are in symbols.

Make Smith Possible for Transwomen

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 18:04:10 -0400

calliowong:

Hey, everyone: I’m Calliope, a rising senior-gal in a Connecticut high school who is (just now!) discovering Tumblr for the first time. And I have a rather serious personal problem to share with you all that does not involve GIFs, cats, or BBC shows. My problem is with ~~my dream college~~

~~that superspecial place of ironwilled and astonishing women I want to be a part of~~

Smith College and its policies (rather: problematic UNpolicies) on accepting transwomen into its ranks.

Read More

This girl is a boss. As someone that is totally freaking out about college right now I don’t know what it would take to deal with all of this on top of it. I have so much admiration for her courage and determination.

Banned Books from Arizona's banned Ethnic Studies program

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 15:35:57 -0400

Banned Books from Arizona's banned Ethnic Studies program:

joans-own-words:

posttragicmulatto:

Arizona banned these books when they banned ethnic studies.

Banned Books List

High School Course Texts and Reading Lists Table 20: American Government/Social Justice Education Project 1, 2 – Texts and Reading Lists

Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years (1998), by B. Bigelow and B. Peterson

The Latino Condition: A Critical Reader (1998), by R. Delgado and J. Stefancic

Critical Race Theory: An Introduction (2001), by R. Delgado and J. Stefancic

Pedagogy of the Oppressed (2000), by P. Freire

United States Government: Democracy in Action (2007), by R. C. Remy

Dictionary of Latino Civil Rights History (2006), by F. A. Rosales

Declarations of Independence: Cross-Examining American Ideology (1990), by H. Zinn

Table 21: American History/Mexican American Perspectives, 1, 2 – Texts and Reading Lists

Occupied America: A History of Chicanos (2004), by R. Acuna

The Anaya Reader (1995), by R. Anaya

The American Vision (2008), by J. Appleby et el.

Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years (1998), by B. Bigelow and B. Peterson

Drink Cultura: Chicanismo (1992), by J. A. Burciaga

Message to Aztlan: Selected Writings (1997), by C. Jiminez

De Colores Means All of Us: Latina Views Multi-Colored Century (1998), by E. S. Martinez

500 Anos Del Pueblo Chicano/500 Years of Chicano History in Pictures (1990), by E. S. Martinez

Codex Tamuanchan: On Becoming Human (1998), by R. Rodriguez

The X in La Raza II (1996), by R. Rodriguez

Dictionary of Latino Civil Rights History (2006), by F. A. Rosales

A People’s History of the United States: 1492 to Present (2003), by H. Zinn

Course: English/Latino Literature 7, 8

Ten Little Indians (2004), by S. Alexie

The Fire Next Time (1990), by J. Baldwin

Loverboys (2008), by A. Castillo

Women Hollering Creek (1992), by S. Cisneros

Mexican WhiteBoy (2008), by M. de la Pena

Drown (1997), by J. Diaz

Woodcuts of Women (2000), by D. Gilb

At the Afro-Asian Conference in Algeria (1965), by E. Guevara

Color Lines: “Does Anti-War Have to Be Anti-Racist Too?” (2003), by E. Martinez

Culture Clash: Life, Death and Revolutionary Comedy (1998), by R. Montoya et al.

Let Their Spirits Dance (2003) by S. Pope Duarte

Two Badges: The Lives of Mona Ruiz (1997), by M. Ruiz

The Tempest (1994), by W. Shakespeare

A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America (1993), by R. Takaki

The Devil’s Highway (2004), by L. A. Urrea

Puro Teatro: A Latino Anthology (1999), by A. Sandoval-Sanchez & N. Saporta Sternbach

Twelve Impossible Things before Breakfast: Stories (1997), by J. Yolen

Voices of a People’s History of the United States (2004), by H. Zinn

Course: English/Latino Literature 5, 6

Live from Death Row (1996), by J. Abu-Jamal

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven (1994), by S. Alexie

Zorro (2005), by I. Allende

Borderlands La Frontera: The New Mestiza (1999), by G. Anzaldua

A Place to Stand (2002), by J. S. Baca

C-Train and Thirteen Mexicans (2002), by J. S. Baca

Healing Earthquakes: Poems (2001), by J. S. Baca

Immigrants in Our Own Land and Selected Early Poems (1990), by J. S. Baca

Black Mesa Poems (1989), by J. S. Baca

Martin & Mediations on the South Valley (1987), by J. S. Baca

The Manufactured Crisis: Myths, Fraud, and the Attack on America’s Public Schools(19950, by D. C. Berliner and B. J. Biddle

Drink Cultura: Chicanismo (1992), by J. A Burciaga

Red Hot Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Being Young and Latino in the United States(2005), by L. Carlson & O. Hijuielos

Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing up Latino in the United States (1995), by L. Carlson & O. Hijuielos

So Far From God (1993), by A. Castillo

Address to the Commonwealth Club of California (1985), by C. E. Chavez

Women Hollering Creek (1992), by S. Cisneros

House on Mango Street (1991), by S. Cisneros

Drown (1997), by J. Diaz

Suffer Smoke (2001), by E. Diaz Bjorkquist

Zapata’s Discipline: Essays (1998), by M. Espada

Like Water for Chocolate (1995), by L. Esquievel

When Living was a Labor Camp (2000), by D. Garcia

La Llorona: Our Lady of Deformities (2000), by R. Garcia

Cantos Al Sexto Sol: An Anthology of Aztlanahuac Writing (2003), by C. Garcia-Camarilo, et al.

The Magic of Blood (1994), by D. Gilb

Message to Aztlan: Selected Writings (2001), by Rudolfo “Corky” Gonzales

Saving Our Schools: The Case for Public Education, Saying No to “No Child Left Behind” (2004) by Goodman, et al.

Feminism is for Everybody (2000), by b hooks

The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child (1999), by F. Jimenez

Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools (1991), by J. Kozol

Zigzagger (2003), by M. Munoz

Infinite Divisions: An Anthology of Chicana Literature (1993), by T. D. Rebolledo & E. S. Rivero

…y no se lo trago la tierra/And the Earth Did Not Devour Him (1995), by T. Rivera

Always Running – La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A. (2005), by L. Rodriguez

Justice: A Question of Race (1997), by R. Rodriguez

The X in La Raza II (1996), by R. Rodriguez

Crisis in American Institutions (2006), by S. H. Skolnick & E. Currie

Los Tucsonenses: The Mexican Community in Tucson, 1854-1941 (1986), by T. Sheridan

Curandera (1993), by Carmen Tafolla

Mexican American Literature (1990), by C. M. Tatum

New Chicana/Chicano Writing (1993), by C. M. Tatum

Civil Disobedience (1993), by H. D. Thoreau

By the Lake of Sleeping Children (1996), by L. A. Urrea

Nobody’s Son: Notes from an American Life (2002), by L. A. Urrea

Zoot Suit and Other Plays (1992), by L. Valdez

Ocean Power: Poems from the Desert (1995), by O. Zepeda

Bless Me Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya

Yo Soy Joaquin/I Am Joaquin, by Rodolfo Gonzales

Into the Beautiful North, by Luis Alberto Urrea

The Devil’s Highway, by Luis Alberto Urrea

Check out this great interview with Luis Alberto Urrea with Billy Moyers. http://billmoyers.com/episode/encore-between-two-worlds-life-on-the-border/

go AWAY arizona

I don’t know which high school teacher assigns Freire but I know that his cirriculum should not be messed with. These are amazing and valuable books that people should read. The last thing we need is anti-intellectualism.

ebookcollective: Ayn Rand, Atlas Drugged Formats...

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 18:24:54 -0400

ebookcollective:

Ayn Rand, Atlas Drugged

Formats Available

.PDF

Undoing Gender (a fantastic book by one of my favorite authors)

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 18:12:08 -0400

Undoing Gender (a fantastic book by one of my favorite authors)

scientificinqueery: bisexualftw: Change.org petition...

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 22:04:56 -0400

scientificinqueery:

bisexualftw:

Change.org petition - Google’s Technical Staff: Stop blocking the word “bisexual” from instant search results.

Click here to sign.

I had to double check this, cuz it seemed too bad to be true. But it’s true. Try typing “bisexual” into google. Instant won’t let it show up. Gay, lesbian, and pansexual all show up. But not bisexual. This needs to change.

Homosexual does not actually come up. Homosexuality comes up but if you type “homosexual” the suggestion bar goes blank. Unsurprisingly heterosexual does come up .

The Great Taxonomy of Literary Tumblrs

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 18:58:22 -0400

The Great Taxonomy of Literary Tumblrs:

mehreenkasana:

Recommended Reading: Home of the marvelous ongoing fiction series run by Electric Literature.

Words Without Borders: Spreading the gospel of international and translated literature one Tumblr post at a time.

Tin House: You (should) know the magazine. Now you should know their blog.

VQR: The brand new companion to the invaluable source for great long-form and narrative journalism.

n+1: They recently decided to kill off their Personals blog, so perhaps this one will become more active.

New York Review of Books: Need I introduce them? Also, not to be missed, check out the NYRB Classics blog, A Different Stripe.

Granta: Follow these guys for updates on the magazine’s new releases and competitions.

Guernica: Hey, you’re spilling your art into my politics!

Full Stop: Who else would recommend Errol Flynn’s memoir, posit an alternate Olympics Opening Ceremony, and then review the work of Victor Serge?

Vol. 1 Brooklyn: As their banner says, “If you’re smart, you’ll like us.”

Rusty Toque: An online literary and arts journal backed by Ontario’s Western University.

Book Riot: How can you help loving the kind of people who reblog photos of Faulkner’soeuvre alongside galleries of literary tattoos?

Berfrois: Some highbrow curiosities for that eager, eager brain of yours.

Literalab: Dispatches from Central and Eastern Europe, which as anybody who knows me knows to be my favorite parts of Europe.

Triple Canopy: The online magazine embraces yet another means of communicating.

fwriction review: Finally an honest banner: “specializing in work that melts faces and rocks waffles.” (See also: fwriction)

Little Brother: The latest project from Emily M. Keeler.

Asymptote: Dedicated to works in translation and world literature.

Glitterwolf Magazine: Devoted to highlighting UK writers and writers from LGBT communities.

The Essayist: Aggregated long-form writing from all over the place.

Well, now you know where to go when you feel like reading. Other lists are in there as well. Check them out.

"Queerness, to me, is about far more than homosexual attraction. It’s about a willingness to see all..."

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 23:57:04 -0400

“

Queerness, to me, is about far more than homosexual attraction. It’s about a willingness to see all other taboos broken down. Sure, many of us start on this path when we first feel “same sex” or “same gender” attraction (though what is sex? And what is gender? And does anyone really have the same sex or gender as anyone else?). But queerness doesn’t stop there.

This is a somewhat controversial stance, but to me queer means something completely different than “gay” or “lesbian” or “bisexual.” A queer person is usually someone who has come to a non-binary view of gender, who recognizes the validity of all trans identities, and who, given this understanding of infinite gender possibilities, finds it hard to define their sexuality any longer in a gender-based way. Queer people understand and support non-monogamy even if they do not engage in it themselves. They can grok being asexual or aromantic. (What does sex have to do with love, or love with sex, necessarily?) A queer can view promiscuous (protected) public bathhouse sex with strangers and complete abstinence as equally healthy.

Queers understand that people have different relationships to their bodies. We get what it means to be stone. We know what body dysphoria is about. We understand that not everyone likes to get touched the same way or to get touched at all. We realize that people with disabilities may have different sexual needs, and that people with survivor histories often have sexual triggers. We can negotiate safe and creative ways to be intimate with people with HIV/AIDs and other STIs.

Queers understand the range of power and sensation and the diversity of sexual dynamics. We are tops and bottoms, doms and subs, sadists and masochists and sadomasochists, versatiles and switches. We know what we like and don’t like in bed.

We embrace a wide range of relationship types. We can be partners, lovers, friends with benefits, platonic sweethearts, chosen family. We can have very different dynamics with different people, often all at once. We don’t expect one person to be able to fulfill all our diverse needs, fantasies and ideals indefinitely.

Because our views on relationships, sex, gender, love, bodies, and family are so unconventional, we are of necessity anti-assimilationist. Because under the kyriarchy we suffer, and watch the people we love suffering, we are political. Because we want to survive, we fight. We only want the freedom to be ourselves, love ourselves, love each other, and live together. Because we are routinely denied that, we are pissed.

Queer doesn’t mean “don’t label me,” it means “I am naming myself.” It means “ask me more questions if you curious” and in the same breath means “fuck off.”

At least, that is what it means to me.

”

- http://tranarchism.com/2011/07/07/what-queerness-means-to-me/ (via mossflowers)

how much do I need to live my life a little more queer?

(via joans-own-words)

Now Feeling...

Sat, 04 Aug 2012 23:04:59 -0400

createdwithpassion:

A: these are all fantastic GIFs and B: I’m right there with you.

art-is-the-word: pag-asaharibon: My Taxes Are Documented. I Am...

Fri, 03 Aug 2012 23:30:30 -0400

art-is-the-word:

pag-asaharibon:

My Taxes Are Documented. I Am Not.

Undocumented American workers paid $11.2 billion in taxes in 2010 — putting money INTO systems like health care, Social Security, and education, not taking it out. Attacks on American immigrants have claimed the opposite. Ironically, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection annual budget is $3.5 billion — an amount covered by undocumented Americans three times over. Share this with someone who doesn’t see the value that new Americans bring to our communities every day through their work and through their paychecks.

ORIGINAL: This original Upworthy graphic by JD Reeves is based on data reported by Time magazine.

YES YES YES LETS JUST KEEP REBLOGING TILL PEOPLE GET IT THROUGH THEIR THICK STUPID SKULLS

Reblog/like this if you have Trichotillomania

Fri, 03 Aug 2012 18:54:34 -0400

ch3mical-high:

I want to follow all you beautiful people <333

I mean trich isn’t a defining part of my identity or my tumbling but you should really follow: http://trichery.tumblr.com/ and http://sublimeflaw.tumblr.com/

thecrashcourse: lieutenant-sarcasm: I really do appreciate...

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 18:13:47 -0400

thecrashcourse:

lieutenant-sarcasm:

I really do appreciate YouTube comments sometimes.

MEREDITH THE INTERN APPROVES.

joans-own-words: bryonasaurusrex: Lets have a moment of silence for all the people still in high...

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 18:10:23 -0400

joans-own-words:

bryonasaurusrex:

Lets have a moment of silence for all the people still in high school.

cosigned

Appreciated.

Objectifies Bodies

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:12:02 -0400

Objectifies Bodies:

fsufeminist:

super-eklectic1:

The Sexual Objectification Checklist

isaywesay:

1. Does the image show only part(s) of a sexualized person’s body?

BMW

2. Does the image present a sexualized person as a stand-in for an object?

Four Loko

3. Does the…

Reblog if you're still breathing

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 00:04:15 -0400

joans-own-words:

(because I want to know you’re all out there, being.