I Appreciate the Sentiment, BUT...

Now, i'm not criticizing the photo's content, but sorry... this looks like a Photoshop job to me. These people are "looking out the window at what is happening" but from their angle they CANNOT SEE the Marines in the cargo hold. If nothing else, the people on the plane were told to look out their windows thoughtfully for the sake of the photo...

this photo won an award (click here for the site) but the photo looks fake, which in MY opinion diminishes the message. if that Marine was a member of my family, i would be insulted by the fact that the Marine was the subject of a staged photo for a contest

i've been DENIED!

so, i stumbled across a Yahoo chat group that sounded gosh darned perfect for me, a chat group for female pipe/cigar smokers. i even found the site while looking for information on 18th Century "authentic" smoking... but they DENIED my membership!

To get approved, they have you fill out a tiny questionaire asking your name, gender, favorite pipe, and favorite tobacco...

i replied back today to the "denial" e-mail... "What, am i too weird for you?"

Maybe i should have added that i'm a member of the DAR...

i'm a made-up word...

For Lesbians... Where Do You Fall on the Butch-Femme Continuum?

You are a futch... the toss up between butch and femme. On a scale of 1-10, one being femme and ten being butch, you'd be a 5 1/2!
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To Be or Not to Be... a Titleholder

For those of you involved in the Leather Lifestyle, you are probably familiar with "Titleholders". The importance of titles and titleholders is a bone of contention amongst many in the community. To some, titleholders are ultra-fuckable Superstars, great leaders, voices of a generation... Others view titles and titleholders with much distaste. Sour grapes? Acting out against this weird hierarchy of "authority"? Well, when you see how many titleholders demand special treatment because of the bright red, white, and blue studded piece of cow draped over their shouler, you might get tired of titleholders, too. but we are not all bad. Seriously.

I have held two titles in the Leather Titleholder system; the regional title of Great Lakes Bootblack and the international title of Int'l Ms. Bootblack. Both title years are over and have been carried on by others. i don't even sign my e-mails with my titles anymore. As i said to someone over this past weekend (this past weekend was International Ms. Leather, where i won IMsBB back in 2004), i am well aware that my title doesn't mean squat outside this weird and isolated environment known as the Leather Community. It doesn't mean a damn thing when i'm at my day job, hanging out with my cats, or sitting on the toilet...

Recently someone on their Live Journal made a snide comment about titleholders and how titleholders don't respect NON-titleholders (which, as i mentioned before, is a common sentiment). Further details of that conversation are irrelevant, so i shan't mention that entry any further. But mentioning it at all is a reference to why i'm thinking about all this right now...

Now, i didn't "grow up" in the Leather Community so i haven't been surrounded by the supposed "greatness" of titles and titleholders even though yes, i did compete for a bootblack title at my first opportunity. But i'm not so sure that i would do it again if i had the opportunity...

Reasons to NOT run for a title:

Cost. travel is expensive. Even with travel funds (which are limited) travel funds don't cover food, beer, donations to other charities, more food, more beer... etc. and all that is much more expensive than staying home.

Travel. Traveling can be exhausting, which is only ONE reason to not like travel. There are lots of people that are just not able to travel because of work, school, having to care for loved ones (pets, family members in questionable health...) fears of flying, lack of vehicle...

Need for anonymity. If you have a job that would fire you for finding out about your private life, you SURE can't put yourself in the public eye by becoming a titleholder.

Community needs at home. You don't need to be a titleholder to do good things for your community, and if you are NEEDED in your immediate local community, taking on a national/international title might take you away from the people that need you the most.

There are a lot of people who have never been, are not currently, and never will be "titleholders" who do a LOT for the community in the ways that they have chosen (and for them, their chosen ways are more effective for them than BEING a "titleholder".) And, you don't have to be a Mama Reinhardt EITHER to be important, valuable, and respected.

A Titleholder who looks down his/her nose at others who are NOT titleholders... well, they don't deserve their title.

Sign of the Times

Quoted from www.cigarettes-below-cost.com: 1683:- Massachusetts passes the nation's first no-smoking law. It forbids the smoking of tobacco outdoors, because of the fire danger. Soon after, Philadelphia lawmakers approve a ban on "smoking seegars on the street." Fines are used to buy fire-fighting equipment.

A Pantsless Summerfest

Sunday is my last day to bake in the Sun at Milwaukee's Summerfest selling Utilikilts. it will be my seventh full day down at the park. A full day is about 11 am to just after midnight. i am so tan that i think many of my friends won't recognize me.

i've met a lot of people, of course. The kilts have been selling quite well, and i've de-pants many Milwaukee men... which will be awkward i guess if i ever see any of them at the grocery store... "Hey! i took your pants off and stuck my hand down your kilt!" (usually when i fit someone for a kilt, i go ahead and fasten it up myself.) while i was feeding a belt through someone's belt loops i commented, "i know you can do this yourself, but sometimes it's fun to have someone do it for you." The customer agreed, even if neither of us intended it as innuendo.

i even de-pantsed an off duty cop. i shant say his name, but i feel that if i ever get caught by him for doing something, i can remind him of the time that *I* frisked *HIM*... it's probably best to just not get caught at all though...

Our booth is right by one of the main stagtes, but it's one that hired too many cover bands... i posed the rhetorical question, "Which is worse, working Big Corporate retail, or being in a coverband?" that's what i thought you'd say...

i also met Lizardman. He was doing a sideshow act near the booth. Monday the sun and crowds were really getting to me, so i stepped away from the booth for a couple hours. i went and watched the trick skateboarders and then the Lizardman show. watching Lizardman shove things into his face helped me feel a lot better (in ironic contrast to the guy who fainted at the earlier show...)

i got to meet Nate and Brett from UK headquarters, and got to hang out again with Douglass, whom i met last year at my second UK saled gig here in Wisconsin.

Sunday, being the last day, is either going to be the longest day ever, or it's going to go quite quickly...