The Little Known History of Germans in Space.

In response to a dear friends article on World Ice Theory linked here : http://tinyurl.com/yj5ujph I wrote the following, before I read his lovely article, in response to the words "Nazi's in space."
I’m just extrapolating from what you’ve given me, but I presume you’re talking about the incident in which Fredrick II of Prussia, A.K.A. Frederick the great formed what could be called a forerunner to NASA, until it was co-opted by Catherine the Great of Russia in her autumn years in what would become the Russian cosmonaut program. Prussia and Russia, ostensibly fighting over which country had the best name, the two being so similar, had a massive and long ongoing space race. This finally culminated in Germany secretly commissioning the French Montgolfier brothers to create the first workable Hot Air Balloon.
However Frederick II was on his deathbed, and his son, Wilhelm, took over the throne on August 6th. Wilhelm wasn’t nearly as interested in reaching the moon, fearing the great and powerful Lunarian Empire, so he stopped all work on German aerospace work. However the Montgolfier brothers had been paid off, so they got a pair of Frenchmen, de Rozier and d’Arlandes, to fly the balloon on Nov 21, 1783.
After the first attempt was a success little else was done on air and space until Hitler found the secret Receipts in a lockbox under the Louvre whilst personally raiding it. Seeing it as a sign to continue past German success, he promptly patted himself on the back for invading Paris, and ordered to have people strapped to rockets until someone reached the moon (at that time the word “Rocket” meaning a small rock fired from a large tank). When someone pointed out that that wouldn’t work very well, and besides the insurance agency was having a fit, he changed tact and set his party to secretly find a more practical way. Eventually the nazi scientists, under the cover of working on an atomic bomb, found a way. Wernher von Braun developed what we now call “warp technology” with the invention of his ‘Star Gate’, or in English: ‘Star Gate.’
Using this technology, the Nazi’s invaded the sea of tranquillity. Only to be fought back by lunar emperor Zanuck XVI, a great and powerful tactician, who, much like the Russians, used the Germans unsuitability to the local climate against them, and would often stomp around in front of a troop going “nah nah nah nah, you cant breath.” The Nazis soon invented space suits, and returned in full force. German tanks and Lunarian space weasels fought for months on end, as many as 60% casualties on either side, thousands died. Back on earth Hitler was experiencing difficulty, the British and American troops stormed Normandy on D-Day whilst in turn Russia never had let up the fight.
Fighting a war on three fronts proved to be too much for the fuher, and he promptly shot himself inside a Berlin bunker. Soon the German bases in the sea of tranquillity had been captured, and the war against Germany was over. To this day there are Lunarians with blond head tentacles and blue eyespots in certain areas of the moon where it is said they interbred in horrible genetic experiments, and if one looks closely enough, a swastika can be seen in the middle of the crater where the Nazis had first opened up their portal.

In the United States

Having resided in the United States for a few months now, in fact since my last posting, my life has changed most drastically. A new boyfriend, a new, makeshift family, new friendships, and new school. my life has definitely been altered by now.
But I digress. this is but a miniature update to prime for my next posting, which shall be up in all of two minutes.

The Page Turns

Ok, This is the last night I'll spend in Singapore whilst living here. The last time I'll feel that warm, moist, night air for months on end.

So the page turns, one chapter ends, the next begins.

My Singapore life is over tonight, and that's alright, it was a damn good life, damn good, but this crazy gypsy has to keep moving.

A new chapter is about to be written, this one is set in annapolis, and begins at 7 am on the 11th.

All I know about it, mostly from foreshadowing, is that it'll involve a gay couple, 2 chihuahuas, a Polish woman, a nicely sized room, a lot of classes, a car, a new phone, probably more sex then now, but less drinking probably, and excersize, that's on the list anyway.

Should be interesting enough, hopefully I can manage a few romantic sub plots, and some way of legally making money.
I guess that people will just have to follow this blog to find out.

I've said my goodbyes.
One of the more emotional ones was when I was on orchard road, right at that hour where all the mynah birds start looking for a nest for the night, and the air is full of moving black shapes and the sound of a thousand birds chirping. And I just took about 5 minutes to stand there, breath in the air, take in the sound and watch the birds.
I've packed my things.
One suitcase, filled to the brim. one laptop bag. two boxes. one box of clothes to go to the needy. and a closet full of books and useless objects i couldnt/shouldnt throw away. That there is my entire life's worth of things.

Goodbye Singapore, Hello America.

Stonewall, Gay History,(Long)

40 years ago tomorrow, in a small, sleazy, mafia run, gay bar called The Stonewall Inn, on Christopher Street, NYC, a riot broke out in the wee hours of the morning, when a "passing woman" (like a drag king) was arrested in the bar during a police raid, escaped the cop car, and threw her large body against it, evoking the start of a riot within the bar. Soon afterwords, a drag queen threw the first stone, hitting an officer, and symbolically, too many, starting three days of protest and riots. During those three days of fighting many new gay rights groups formed, and the gay community, once nebulous and trying to conform to the rest, became a separate entity proper. Pride began.
40 years on the climate of the gay movement is different, the Mattachine Society and the Sisters of Belitis are no longer the prime example of activism, and queer culture has grown to even include a handful of heterosexuals, and has become a culture and a people in our own right. Nonetheless we are incredibly diverse, as our society is not based on race, nor on gender, but on a less tangible, less visible, separation of sexuality.
We need, therefore, to celebrate our intangible connection all the more. To further this I propose a symbolic tradition, to celebrate stonewall, the formation of a proper gay holiday, to cement our community together, and give us an enforced connection to one another. Some may question this as being unnecessary or silly, but it’s similar to the intention behind the holiday of Kwanza, itself formed in the 60s for similar reason; to cement a minority together, to unify, to celebrate, to fight, and to remember.

The celebration is in my mind separated into 4 days, each with symbolic names.
Day 1, June 27th- Judy Garland Memorial Day
Gay legend holds that the boys, girls, neither, and both, were at stonewall mourning the loss of an icon, Judy Garland, in the same way, celebration of stonewall begins on this day as a day of mourning, and remembrance. On this day we remember those who have passed, those who died of HIV/AIDS, those who were bashed, and those who went down fighting. We remember Garland too, and other strong females, bisexuals and gay men who we ourselves, and those before us, grew up looking up to. By about 11, at certain bars, a local drag queen, or elder, will take on the duty of retelling the story of that night, and we have a cocktail in memory. After the first toast, drinking and revelry is more than acceptable.
Day 2, June 28th- Stonewall
This is stonewall itself, thus the name. On this day, people drink and celebrate in early morning, are welcome to get up late, it’s a day for community planning, and people should go to local gay centres to plan and connect. Perhaps a dinner is in order. Protests are best to begin, or be planned on this day. This is also a day for the older generation to connect with the younger and pass on our history, so we never forget, and so that we have a connection to the past.
Day 3, June 29th- Protest
This is a day for peaceful resistance, those who can are to attend a rally, protest, or march, those who can’t should still write to their congressmen, local legislators, etc to forward the gay rights movement.
Day 4, June 30- Pride
This is the culmination, In some regions, street parades can be organized, it’s a day where you should let your rainbow flag fly, it's a day for coming out, for those who are ready to, it's a day for family too, it’s a day for celebration, for fun. Gay youth and children of gay parents can get a small present on this day. Celebrate however you wish, for Stonewall is over, but our fight continues.

That's my proposal, 4 days of Stonewall, a “Gay Kwanza”: Memorial, Stonewall, Protest and Pride. I hope that this idea spreads and that some decide to celebrate our history, our community, and those who must be remembered.

i dont know if this will work properly, but its something i feel should be here.

Update

I'm going to college.
In Annapolis.
I leave in 2 months or so.
Wish me luck.
Jon gave me my Final Fantasy disk back.
I'm happy overall.
I love dancing.
-End Update-

Ok, here's the deal. I didn't get into college.
I have a new plan, and want to talk to dad about it as soon as possible. I'll take courses at the Center for American Education here, to get credits for a semester, then i'll transfer the credits (checking that they will transfer is vital) to a community college in maryland (ideally.) doing this will mean i wont really be behind in my college plans, and I'll still move out. if all goes well, the hardest thing will be moving, because if the CC I transfer to doesnt have a residency hall, i'll need an apartment.
That's all for now.

Updates and Chess

I haven't written anything here in a bit, but it's time. Rajen and I have problems as friends, but I wont be his enemy or rival, so we'll avoid each other mostly it seems.
this of course, means my readership is down to... well no one really.
Whatever.
Anyway.
Caz and I started playing a game of chess, correspondence chess Via Twitter.
here's the board as it stands :
It's a fun game actually.
I'll be updating with new moves every time the board changes majorly, and you can see my moves on the mini feed.And the question, of course, is "why chess?" well for ages people have played chess through correspondence, finding a friend hundreds of miles away and sending tiny messages like, Knight F5 to G 7 and such, but with the internet, it's become the providence mostly of those too old and crotchety to give up their ways. I'm not great at chess, and neither is Caz, but this is an interesting uniting of the old and new, of an old message, sent through new means, preserved in bits and bytes rather then on paper and graphite.
That and we found the unicode characters and thought "cool you could play chess with these, hey, let's try it." But that story doesn't sound nearly as meaningful.

sorry the board came out so strangely, but there's nothing i can do for now. I'll find a way around it.

In unrelated news, I cleaned my room. and house, and kitchen, and library, and even the bathrooms and balcony and well everything really. Even cleaned out my closet, which was cluttered with clothes and underwear I don't even touch anymore, so now the guest room is... a little bit of a mess, but not too much, I'll tidy that up eventually though. It's not clothes that are a problem there, I put them away well enough, it's just the bedding, so it's solvable.

I'd written a long post, but due to a number of complications it was deleted before it ever reached the internet.
Anyway, gonna take driving lessons, hopefully I'll find some Kendo lessons too.
Wish Rajen would tell me if he even wants to see me or not, and would pick up when i call, it's a nice courtesy, even if you want to avoid someone.
And if he is trying to obtusely avoid me, I wish he'd just say so instead of leaving me confused.
Anyway, I've been seriously angry and pissed off recently. Especially today.
So I'm taking a break. I'm closing down MSN for a while, and not gonna go on facebook. might check e-mail, but probably only for interesting flyers, it's all i use my old account for anyway, it's a glorified RSS reader.
I'll update later, when I feel less pissed at everyone, three people who read my blog.

What's Happened Lately.

My boyfriend broke up with me. It was a fairly mutual thing, no ill will was harbored, quite the opposite in fact.
We broke up because we had an argument, basically. However, the argument was actually more of a buildup of something that I didn't realize was building inside me. Basically, since I'm out and he's not, we realized he put others before me when he normally wouldn't have, and it got to the point that basically he had no time between school and his family left for me. It resulted in some emotional distance, and a lot of pain, so we broke up.
But, there are benefits here. We're friends, i can actually have MORE access to his life now that there's nothing to hide about me, he'll still be there to help me navigate the confusing world of Singapore's gay culture, and I'll still provide unwavering optimism about the human condition. We've talked everything out now, so I'm actually feeling okay about this.
So, I'm not happy that I lost a boyfriend, but I am happy that I gained a friend I can trust.

Poem in Tribute to A Terrifying Dream

lets call this one "The Baker"

They’re sweet and savory
And oh so delicious too.

This is the story of a baker
Who may seem a bit mad to you
He would bake pies oh so sweet
And sell them to children
Children like me and you
But he became dissatisfied
With his kind of cooking
His pies were like heroes
He’d say with a grin
They save us from hunger
They save us from sadness
They can always save the day
They make you all happy
They pick you all up
And yes, every single day
So he made pies with pears and
Chicken and Apple, and
Everything under the sun
His pies were delicious
Loved by all who could taste them
Except a single one;
The baker seemed unhappy
His meat pie was lacking
He loved them but they were wrong.
So he chopped someone up
And tried them in the pot
And finally he tasted some one
His smile was wide
His smile was huge
His wide body and face
It all seemed to move
The taste was delicious.
His pie was his hero
It had salvaged his day
And it made him feel good.
So it couldn’t be true
But maybe it is
This tale so morbid and perverse
But I hope you remember the baker
His glory and defeat
He called his pies “heroes”
For they would save your day
The would put you on your feet
They could make you jump up
They could make you smile
They could make you feel good inside
But ultimately the question
Said with a smile
Is for you to remember too
The question he asked
When he first got a taste
For cannibal pie stew:

Who wants to be a hero too?

I just woke up from a nightmare, in the nightmare, what looked like a mad, talking, typewriter tells me with perfect rhyme, the story of a baker who dices himself from head to toe, smiling like mad, and bakes himself, then writes the entire poem on the typewriter (yes, implying an insane ghost.) the whole thing accompanied by pictures which were kind of burtonesque. i would see a pie maybe, but mostly i would see the baker and his horrific smile.

But what surprises me most, is that my brain can compose terrifying poetry with perfect rhyme in my sleep,

and that all i can remember when i'm awake is the last line and the premise.

and the rhyme scheme and cantor (which were constant and fantastic) go out the window.

weird.

Paris is Burning

I have just finished watching what may be one of the greatest Documentaries I will ever see.

Paris is Burning is about the 1980's drag ball scene. It's about dancing Vogue, throwing Shade, being fabulous and being what you want to be.
Ostensibly.
Actually, Paris is Burning focuses on what it's like to not ONLY be a minority, NOT ONLY be LGBT, but to be poor, and living in a rich, straight, white man's city. the city in question is of course; "New York City! Center of the universe. Things may be shitty, but at least they cant be worse."(Angel, Rent)
Truly, that quote, though written years later, fits this movie like a fine opera glove. Through the film you can see the struggle of the young and gay, or transsexual, minorities during the 1980's. With no money, many resorted to hooking, "mopping" (stealing,) and working any job, legal or otherwise, that they could, just to make a living of some kind. Such a life is depressing. And for many or most of these poor urbanites, the only thing that really seems to keep them going is the drag balls.
The Balls are amazing events. At a ball, one is not yourself, you're what you WANT to be, what you've ALWAYS wanted to be, and you're FIERCE. In real life, you're saving for your sex change operation by hooking, or being an escort, all you want is a normal life, or a famous, fabulous life. you want to be either normal, or what you are but important, but of course you aren't, and the crushing truth? You may never be. Remember, these were the days before RuPaul and Superstar. The days before drag reviews stocked by straight woman at hen parties. So, what you lived for, was The Ball. At a ball you could be anything. You could be a fabulous rich exective, and opulant rich, housewife, a fantastic queen of EVERYTHING. You could be a military officer, successful, manly, you could be "Real."
It's escapism, and who could blame them?
That's not even a true overview of the documentry, it's a garbled mush trying to get across how wonderful and meaningful it is, how inspiring yet depressing it is. In this film you see how far we have come as a people, and how we haven't moved at all. It's a dichotomy. The masculine and feminine clashing behind closed doors, the inspiring tale, and the depressing realization that, ultimately, it has touched so very few. true many hundreds, or thousands, have watched this film. In fact it's grossed a fairly significant amount of money for an LGBT documentry, but if you ask most people if they've heard of the House of Dupree? They won't know. i certainly didn't, and i bet you don't even know what a "House" is.
It's not your fault or societies fault, or anyones, but it's worth learning about.

I have a tinyurl that links to it: http://tinyurl.com/dhtvu4

Please watch it. You won't regret it.

This post is an utter mess but I will not be fixing it, as it's late, and I really don't think i can properly analyze this film so soon after watching it, and there's so much in it, it wouldn't be easy anyway.

Cleaning Day, Found My Watch, Feeling Better, and An Interview.

I had an interview with the embassy, got two hours of sleep the night before, but it doesn't matter, I think they liked me, thought I was funny. I made sure to be honest, explain that I've been sick lately, but usually I'm more then capable of the job. its two hours a day, which sounds like nothing because well, it pretty much is, no matter. The hardest part of the job, should i get it (fingers crossed) will be getting there and back.
If i take a taxi, I'll actually be loosing money for the day.
but it looks like I could take the MRT and bus number 7 for about 4 dollars or less even a day. just take the MRT to orchard, ride number 7 to the british embassy, walk the 5 minutes to the US embassy,
basically i'll have to leave at 10:30 or maybe 10:45, but that's fine. And instead of taking the bus back to the MRT, I'll just walk, it's easier.
It'll start out at about 17 dollars a day, but move up a bit when they have me work longer hours.

Ok besides the interview. I'm feeling a lot better health wise.
My throat hurts alot, it hurts like hell actually. But still better overall. I went from having all sorts of pains and aches and stomach trouble and such to just having a really bad sore throat. Topical Benzocaine, panadol, and a daily dose of Acyclovire (used for herpes usually, but it works on what i have) is helping it along. I'll be fully healed soon, but for now, It hurts.

My usual watch ran out of battery power. Maybe i'll just buy a new digital this time, its had a good run. Eight years of loyal service, maybe it's time for retirement.
Also I found my nice watch, the fancy expensive one I got for graduation. It's in perfect condition, except a single LED flickered out of existance. If I can find the warrenty I'll get it patched up, but really, it's fine, i'll just add an extra hour on mentally after 2 o'clock.

Finally, my boyfriend is coming over tonight, but has to rush off for a time tomorrow. Still he'll be spending the nights at my place, and all of sunday with me. and we'll have breakfast together. Anyway, it means today i'm cleaning my room, hiding the massive pile of books.

Ok everyone, that's all for today, I'm going to make the rest of that mac and cheese i have.

Sore Throat Blues

It's 6 am. four hours of sleep.
fell asleep feeling off
woke up feeling pain.
my throat burns like crazy,'
its sore as all hell
i have to breath through my mouth
cus with my nose, i can't even smell.

i need gatorade, baby
lots of it, can't you see?
I'd like that fruity punch and that lemony kind,
i like them, baby can't you see?
Oooooooooooooohhhhhhouch.

(Set to almost any song by Robert Johnson)

Bailout Rant.

I want to say first that I LIKE the ARRA, American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, because I'm into the whole Keynesian economics, socialization of vital industries, and state health care for the lower and middle classes.
What I don't like is the main criticism I hear about it. "Once again I have to support Americans living beyond their means..."
Its all stuff like that, always "why should I have to help the poor" or "why should I pay for other peoples healthcare"
Think about this.
People are getting pissed off, about HELPING PEOPLE.
People are angry about doing the right thing, assisting the downtrodden and those who WEREN'T necessarily thinking they were living beyond their means.

Back then those who, if one actually looked at their finances, should not have bought a house at that point, were being told by the realtors and banks that they could and should afford it.

And that concept of "NO IT'S MY MONEY" NO ITS NOT, not anymore, its public now because its either give more money to the Fed for a while, or have a complete economic collapse.

On top of that, something that kind of sickens me is the worry about the market value of ones house. In my opinion? They should be glad to even HAVE a house, and shouldn't even be THINKING of selling the thing at this point.

I realize, not everyone who I've asked to read my blog will agree, and of course I'm not totally right or anything, its not like i went off and did a ton of market research, or looked at all of the numbers, but this is a rant, so I'm just venting some anger.
I realize that this will have to be paid for largely by my generation, but to be honest? If it works, or even if it doesn't fully work, but if it helps even ONE person, I'm still willing to pay that price.

Health Update

Ok, I just got back from the doctor, verdict is that, with my symptoms, there's a good chance that I have Dengue, the blood test should come by sometime late tomorrow I think, but once the full course of the disease had been explained to me, I'm actually hoping it may be, to an extent.
Why? because the main negatives at this point will only be a rash, and a low platelet count, which i can handle. i just have to be careful not to get hurt for a while, and not scratch, two things i can definitely handle with minimal problems.

That being said, I also talked to him about getting a small spectrum std test, as I'll admit to having had unprotected sex two or three times, and with more then one partner, namely it's about what i did with Chris that could cause concern.
I'm sure I have nothing, but its not a matter of that, its a matter of having that piece of paper that says i'm healthy.
My boyfriend should get one soon too, he just has to go to his GP and ask.
But that being said its not just HIV they're testing for, Syphilis too, i would have gone for the Hepatitis B test, but I should have already had my immunization shots for that, especially with all the travel.

Outside of that, I'm doing very well, whatever it is I've had this last week has calmed down to an extreme today. I actually felt worse then ever, minus stomach pain, last night, however this morning I felt ok, and i havent taken any meds yet today but i still feel alright.

I may post something about the bailout soon....

A Rant About Gay-Inaction

I'm thinking about something which I may have to fight for for the rest of my life, and not just me but some of my friends and my own mother.

Something most people I know can do that I don't even have the option of doing in anywhere but the above places.
I'm thinking about Marriage.
It has been over 40 years since the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s began, and so many groups have gained equality, not just in the states but around the world, since then, except for the group that I and my mother identify with. Its been 30 years since the assassination of Harvey Milk and we've only slightly progressed since then, which is sickening.
I'm listening to a podcast at this moment.
Its an interview with a great great man, a friend of Milk who appears in the film (in the background, a little cameo) and everything he's said is striking and uplifting, and somehow depressing.
His name is Cleve Jones.
He's saying one thing really, that we must now demand Federal Action, this has gone on for much much too long, accepting little bits of hope and continuing to take abuse. We've gone on doing this for years.
Its rediculous.
Does this mean another march on washington? probably. does it mean boycotting businesses like Cinemark which had/have CEOs who support things like Prop 8? yes.
but boycotts, Marching, Protest, going from door to bloody door to talk to people at home and tell them, plead with them, to support your cause, requires focus.
Which is what Mr.Jones supports; YES we should fight, and we should take no more compromise in LGBT equality until we win.
I realize most of the people I'm tagging in this are not Gay or even Bisexual, but equal rights are important and we should all fight for them.
I think its probably a good idea for most of you to listen to this interview,
On iTunes its under Feast of Fools podcast, episode #892. http://www.feastoffools.net/gay-fun-show/2008/12/05/fof-892-the-real-life-cleve-jones-120508/
Cleve Jones also came up with the AIDS quilt.
I might delete or have to re format this note. but in my defense, I AM pretty new to the whole posting things online thing, i also might put it on my LJ but no one reads that anymore.
I'm already tired of fighting, and i haven't even had a chance to begin.

Water in Ghana

I don't usually get out my soap box for anything non LGBT based, Especially not this early in the morning, but i just woke up to a report that really jilted me.
People in Ghana have to pay over half their income on water that they have to actually walk to get.
This probably doesn't surprise any of you.
Except one thing. Ghana has an extensive pipe system for the very purpose of providing water to the masses, which can't be turned on because corporations wont allow for it, and the government wont allow charitable corporations help do so.
Ghana actually has vast freshwater resources, but because of privatisation they can use none of it affordably.
The exact story is that the world bank pressured the gov. of Ghana (an African country I've always liked and actually might be able to place on a map) to give one of their most precious resources to corporations in its whole.
Many people spend over half their extremely low income (The example on the BBC was 10 US cents for water alone, over half the family's income) on water which is sometimes polluted.
Maternity wards actually ask the pregnant woman to bring fresh water with them.
THIS is why privatization isn't always good.
World Bank HAS gone back to the middle on this subject, but the damage is done.

First Post!

FIRST POST!
Always wanted to say that.
Ok, a blog. maybe i can do this. just because i failed on facebook and on LJ, doesn't mean that i cant keep a blog.
this would be so much easier with a camera.
anyway. I'm typing this whilst being ill, thirty eight and a half degree fever, not pleasant.
but I'll get better soon enough.
I'm going to move all of my old posts from other things, embarrassing as they may be, on to this. kinda make it more substantial.
Might want to make this private if i post certain info i ought to be secretive about.
Maybe I'll go back to LJ.
or cross post, Airy's on that.
but then Rajen's on this.
everyone's on facebook though....
hmm i can keep three network thingies i guess.
though don't be surprised if the next post is two to eighteen months from now.