I'm not sure if anyone is even reading this journal anymore, but if you are, I've moved over to my Dreamwidth account, where I hope to blog more than I have been these past few months. I'll be crossposting entries here, since Dreamwidth has that nifty feature.

You can comment on Dreamwidth journals by using OpenID, or if you'd like to get an account of your own, I have a couple of invites. Just comment and ask.

People of color/non-white fans of sci-fi/fantasy/speculative fiction, please stand up!

This roll call from deadbrowalking is a response to yet another white SFF writer displaying ignorance of the long-standing presence of fans of color - not yet six months after RaceFail '09. You don't have to write anything lengthy or clever - this post is merely an attempt to get a (however incomplete) count of fans of color, after the nth time a white writer/reader said, "Wow, there's non-white people in SFF?"

And people wonder why we need to specify "'09" after "RaceFail" ... The ignorance is here, again, still.

Vienna Teng will hold a concert at the Triple Door on Tuesday, April 21 for her new album, Inland Territory. Anyone want to come with me?

Yes, you! From the comfort of your computer chair!

1. Donate to Home Alive

Home Alive is a Seattle-based anti-violence organization that has presented community-based responses to violence since 1993. However, severe lack of funding has caused them to cut back on their work, and even lose their office space. They are very much in need of financial support right now.

( More details on the situation )

Please consider donating to help keep Home Alive functional. Every little bit helps.

2. Support the first Asian Women Blog Carnival

ciderpress is launching this carnival in April. The call for submissions has details and background, but ( here's the basic information: )

According to these criteria, every single one of you is eligible to contribute to this carnival! You have until April 3 - go for it!

x-posted to IJ

Apropos of nothing (don't think I'm bucking trends here - a navel-gazing New Year's post will be on my regular journal soon), does anyone local have a use for small, rectangular metal tins?

I've ordered a lot of tea samples from Adagio over the years, and now I have a bunch of empty tins that I don't know what to do with. I have re-used some of them to store loose spices and other teas, but I still have over a dozen that are sitting empty in my cupboard. I was going to chuck them into recycling, but I figured they might be one of those odd, random objects that are very useful under the right circumstances.

Relevant info:

-I have over a dozen of these tins (twice as many if you count the ones I'm still in the process of using up), and will give as many of them to as many people as want them.
-They are rectangular and measure about 4 x 4 x 6 in centimeters and 1.5 x 1.5 x 2.5 in inches.
-I don't know exactly what kind of metal they're made of, but they are ferrous (which I found out when I tested to see if they're recyclable).
-A few of them stored fruity herbal teas, and the scent of the teas was strong enough that they still permeate the tins a bit. I wouldn't use these for storing other teas or spices, but they're still good for non-food items, like beads, needles, or small figures.

Let me know if you want any, and I'll bring them next time I see you.

x-posted

Just a reminder, my old position is now open. If you are interested in applying (it's a receptionist/office assistant position) drop me a line and I can give you info and advice. It's a decent job - not without its frustrations and limitations, as you can probably tell by my various complaints over the months - but overall a good place to be for at least a year or so. The position closes on Friday the 25th, so let me know ASAP if you want to apply.

x-posted to IJ

Opponents of same-sex marriage are seeking to reverse the California Supreme Court ruling in June of this year, which legalized same-sex marriage in that state. These forces want to put a constitutional amendment to vote in November that will take that right away.

livelongnmarry is an LJ community seeking to raise money for the efforts against this proposed amendment. Artists of all kinds are offering their services for bidding/purchasing, which you pay for by donating to same-sex marriage activist efforts.

For those (like me) who are not in fandom and do not wish to bid, we can just make donations directly to an organization. The community profile includes a list of suggested organizations. I picked Equality For All, which is a coalition of groups supporting gay and lesbian rights, as well as trans people, African Americans, and Asian Americans. You can donate directly through their website via credit card, for any amount. So even if you can't afford much, you can throw in what you can for a good cause.

(hat-tip: laylah)

The LJ Advisory Board election is being held today, and naamah_darling has posted important information about keeping a sexist, anti-Semitic, ableist, all-around asshole from winning.

Read her post, and then friendshipper's post for concise, informative explanations. And then vote. It's easy and fast, leads to a modicum of improvement in LJ-land, and also - may favorite part - lets you join in pissing off a trolling fuckwit.

I have a feed for my IJ (I think). It looks like it's working so far.

sigelphoenix_ij

Two things:

1. My paid LJ account is running out in a week or so.
2. LJ hasn't gotten any less stupid in the past six months.

When LJ first started coming out with its ass-backwards policies, I decided that I would stay until my paid account expired. At that point, I'd see if it was worth it to renew my account.

LJ is still not acting like a company I want to give my money to, so I'll be moving over to InsaneJournal. (I already have an account there, but no content yet.) I'll probably get a paid account and move my journal content over there (assuming I can - I'm still learning about various migration tools).

I'll keep my basic account here for the purposes of reading and commenting on my friendslist, but besides that I don't expect to use it for anything.

FYI, if you'd like to be able to read my locked posts, you can get an InsaneJournal account for free and I'll friend you. That's what I've been using my IJ account for so far.

American Red Cross Urges Preparations For Strong Winds and Potential Power Outages

(Go here if the above link isn't working.)

SECRET IDENTITIES: The Asian American Superhero Anthology
Picked Up for Publication by The New Press for Fall 2008 Release

Groundbreaking new graphic novel collection seeks contributions from Asian American artists and writers interested in exploring the superhero genre

( this makes me squee like a squeeing thing )

from Jenn at reappropriate

I've already decided that I won't be renewing my paid account at the end of the year, barring some huge improvements in LJ-land (such as, perhaps, entirely new management). I'll stick around with a free account to follow my friends list, but whether I keep posting here will depend on what LJ fixes (or not) in the next few months.

So! In the meantime, I have accounts on both InsaneJournal and GreatestJournal under the same username. At the moment, I'm not posting in either one, just using them to follow people who have already left LJ. If/when I move out of LJ, I'll say so.

For now, I'm asking that anyone who's already made the move please friend me on those journals so I know where you are. I've already friended some people, but I may have missed your announcement or don't know your username.

Thanks!

Thing the first: I am avoiding LJ, as well as most of the rest of the Internet, until I finish reading Deathly Hallows (which should be tonight). If there's something non-Harry Potter that I need to see before then, let me know.

Thing the second: I no longer have access to my university email account while I am not at work. Please use sigelphoenix at gmail dot com from now on.

I did a little purging of the friends list, because it was getting longer than my attention span, and also because I put semi-personal information into friends-locked entries. I used to friend back everyone who friended me, but then it occurred to me that I was randomly making my personal life accessible to people I don't know. I'm sure you're all nice people, but, you know. And I figured anyone whom I don't know who friends me does so for the political content, not the personal. Otherwise that's just creepy. All the political rants are open to the public, so this shouldn't really affect anyone, I think. And I, uh, don't want to make this some BNF-wannabe thing about how I have too many friends or something. Just wanted to give people a heads up.

Starting next week!

The Privilege Game
Monday, May 7
11:15-11:30 a.m. and 12:15-12:30 p.m.
HUB Lawn

Racism and Anti-racism: A UW Student and Faculty Dialogue
Wednesday, May 9
6:00-8:00 p.m.
ECC Black Room

"Anti-racist Organizing: How Does White Culture Become Activist Culture?"
Friday, May 11
6:00-8:00 p.m.
ECC Chicano Room