Single Mother Discharged From Army for Refusing Deployment
I do not know all the details of this story--just what is in the above-referenced article--and I will admit that upfront. However, based on the immediately apparent facts, I am highly disturbed by this. I do not fully understand why she was discharged. The Army is strapped for resources; I can't believe there are no open jobs domestically so that Pvt. Hutchinson could continue to serve, as well as care for her young son. The Army is so ...what, mad? that a single parent with no child care options would refuse to be deployed to a foreign war that they would discharge and demote her, as well as take away her benefits? Perhaps they don't want to set a precedent for other single parents using this as a "loop hole" to avoid deployment. I don't know.
I don't understand and will look forward to finding out details about this issue. On the surface however, it appears--once again--that the Army is an employer injurious to women, single parents, and families (not to mention individuals with whom it disagrees on personal and lifestyle issues). It is an organization that refuses to bend and grow. Ironically, the Army's "militancy" of its longstanding ways is going to catch up with the organization if it doesn't learn to modernize in a social way, the way it has modernized in a technological way.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
...And boy are my arms tired!
I just spent about an hour and a half digging my car out of the snow. I had not planned that. I went outside to mail off an Etsy purchase and noticed that the building snow shovel was available. (Living in an apartment in a city in the mid-Atlantic, I don't own a snow shovel. It would have been nice this year to have one of my own, instead of sharing one with seven floors of people....) I quickly nabbed it and thought I would put, oh say, 20 or so minutes of shoveling in--chipping away at the mess, so to speak. I'd done quite a bit of shoveling before the most recent blizzard, and figured 2 or 3 more stints would get me dug out.
As I was digging, a tow truck driver drove by, car in tow, and yelled out that he was towing all the cars on my street. Well, that's motivation for you. I started digging more sincerely, and with more of a plan. This relevation that Baltimore City was actually towing--and not just threatening it (as so many of us believed)--seemed really to freak people out and cause them to act somewhat irrationally. One woman was yelling and cussing at all the tow truck drivers who came by, as if it was there idea, as if the fact that she "got a baby" would make her exempt. One guy started digging out his car with what looked like an IKEA wastepaper can. I was somewhat crazy as well: thinking I'd only be out there for a bit, I was 1) not wearing a coat, and 2) not wearing waterproof boots.
Shoveling is hard work, so the coat part wasn't a problem--I warmed up quickly. But my feet got soaking wet. And once I dug my car out, I realized...I had to move it...to a garage...about 6 blocks away. So I got to walk quite a ways, sloshing with each step, and without a coat. I am so glad to be back inside, and be warm. And someone is going to get a piece of my mind if they try to charge me for parking in that garage.
Anyway, in light of my frozen tootsies, here are a few of my random thoughts and conclusions following the Double Blizzard of 2010:
1) Just because it is not 1996 anymore, do not forget that Dr. Martens are the best shoes. My trusty Docs were warmer, stayed drier, and had better traction than the stupid $60 knock-off-Ugg fur-lined mocassin boot things I bought for wearing in the snow this winter. These are the boots that just today left my feet completely soaking wet.
2) Apparently, there is piss EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME. It really shows up quite boldly after a blizzard. I've never seen with my naked eye so much urine as I have the past two days. However, just because you can't see the yellow snow in the spring, that doesn't mean the pee isn't there.
3) The Federal Government does not have an adequate telework plan in place. My company--a small government contractor of about 150 people--has had its headquarter offices closed all week, and we have remained 100% functional because we have a sound emergency infrastructure. Apparently, the Government does not. They've been closed all week and they are not really doing anything. Also, they pay themselves, but they do not pay contractors. The whole time they've been closed, we have to eat the costs of paying our on-site employees.
4) People are different when it snows. They are friendlier, they work harder, and they are more communal than they are on a regular day. I was always surprised when I moved to the city that I would see so many people all the time, but no one ever said hello or acknowledged one another. So many alone people living altogether. The snow brought a senses of solidarity to the neighborhood. People helped one another, did kindnesses without recompense or even acknowledgement. It was kind of beautiful.
5) It's weird turning on a national radio station and remembering that it's not snowing everywhere else--only where you are. You realize how myopic weather can make you. Not only are you physically snowed in, but you can become mentally snowed in as well.
6) Don't put your rubber-soled boots on the radiator to dry them out. They will melt into the shape of the radiator. (Isn't that sort of how the Waffle Trainer was invented?)
7) If businesses in your neighborhood have endeavored to open despite the weather, you should patronize them if you can. Thank you, Brewer's Art, for delivering me the best burger in Baltimore after the chicken we had planned for dinner went bad and we couldn't get to a store. Don't forget the businesses that are not only there when you want them--but when you need them, too.
8) Snow can make you feel like a kid again. Nothing can compare with the nostalgic rush you get from jumping into a 4-foot drift of snow (even if a little does get inside your pants because you didn't have your mom to properly dress you).
9) Plastic bags inside your shoes are still not cool, but they still work as good as ever. Thanks, Mom.
10) When you're walking through knee-high snow having all sorts of deep thoughts about the weather, write them down, or your blog will prematurely end.
As I was digging, a tow truck driver drove by, car in tow, and yelled out that he was towing all the cars on my street. Well, that's motivation for you. I started digging more sincerely, and with more of a plan. This relevation that Baltimore City was actually towing--and not just threatening it (as so many of us believed)--seemed really to freak people out and cause them to act somewhat irrationally. One woman was yelling and cussing at all the tow truck drivers who came by, as if it was there idea, as if the fact that she "got a baby" would make her exempt. One guy started digging out his car with what looked like an IKEA wastepaper can. I was somewhat crazy as well: thinking I'd only be out there for a bit, I was 1) not wearing a coat, and 2) not wearing waterproof boots.
Shoveling is hard work, so the coat part wasn't a problem--I warmed up quickly. But my feet got soaking wet. And once I dug my car out, I realized...I had to move it...to a garage...about 6 blocks away. So I got to walk quite a ways, sloshing with each step, and without a coat. I am so glad to be back inside, and be warm. And someone is going to get a piece of my mind if they try to charge me for parking in that garage.
Anyway, in light of my frozen tootsies, here are a few of my random thoughts and conclusions following the Double Blizzard of 2010:
1) Just because it is not 1996 anymore, do not forget that Dr. Martens are the best shoes. My trusty Docs were warmer, stayed drier, and had better traction than the stupid $60 knock-off-Ugg fur-lined mocassin boot things I bought for wearing in the snow this winter. These are the boots that just today left my feet completely soaking wet.
2) Apparently, there is piss EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME. It really shows up quite boldly after a blizzard. I've never seen with my naked eye so much urine as I have the past two days. However, just because you can't see the yellow snow in the spring, that doesn't mean the pee isn't there.
3) The Federal Government does not have an adequate telework plan in place. My company--a small government contractor of about 150 people--has had its headquarter offices closed all week, and we have remained 100% functional because we have a sound emergency infrastructure. Apparently, the Government does not. They've been closed all week and they are not really doing anything. Also, they pay themselves, but they do not pay contractors. The whole time they've been closed, we have to eat the costs of paying our on-site employees.
4) People are different when it snows. They are friendlier, they work harder, and they are more communal than they are on a regular day. I was always surprised when I moved to the city that I would see so many people all the time, but no one ever said hello or acknowledged one another. So many alone people living altogether. The snow brought a senses of solidarity to the neighborhood. People helped one another, did kindnesses without recompense or even acknowledgement. It was kind of beautiful.
5) It's weird turning on a national radio station and remembering that it's not snowing everywhere else--only where you are. You realize how myopic weather can make you. Not only are you physically snowed in, but you can become mentally snowed in as well.
6) Don't put your rubber-soled boots on the radiator to dry them out. They will melt into the shape of the radiator. (Isn't that sort of how the Waffle Trainer was invented?)
7) If businesses in your neighborhood have endeavored to open despite the weather, you should patronize them if you can. Thank you, Brewer's Art, for delivering me the best burger in Baltimore after the chicken we had planned for dinner went bad and we couldn't get to a store. Don't forget the businesses that are not only there when you want them--but when you need them, too.
8) Snow can make you feel like a kid again. Nothing can compare with the nostalgic rush you get from jumping into a 4-foot drift of snow (even if a little does get inside your pants because you didn't have your mom to properly dress you).
9) Plastic bags inside your shoes are still not cool, but they still work as good as ever. Thanks, Mom.
10) When you're walking through knee-high snow having all sorts of deep thoughts about the weather, write them down, or your blog will prematurely end.
Monday, February 8, 2010
How You Like Me Now
I only watched the SuperBowl for the commercials. How trite, right? Hey, whatever. Once the Ravens were out of it, I mostly tuned out of NFL and back into LOST. There was, of course, half-hearted rooting for the Saints (it WAS a feel-good moment for the country at large, I think), more than half-hearted rooting against the Colts, and that still lingering bittersweet tugging on the heart strings whenever I see that cutie-kicker-gone-bye-bye, Mr. Automatic Matt Stover. But mostly I focused on my craft project at hand during the game, and tuned my attention in only for the commercials.
And I was rewarded for my ad-centric focus, ironically, by mass misogyny, sexism, and male stereotyping so blatant that it made my boyfriend and I simul-cringe. Thanks, NFL, for alienating women even more, while alienating men as well.
Anyway, a few notes: The Google ad gave me a little lump in my throat, and my eyes did glisten a bit. BF pretended not to see. The Trebow ad was completely innocuous, which proved to be brilliant for their campaign. I had been mad--for good reason--at the idea of it, but I found the execution A-OK. And finally, the Kia Sorento ad was hands-down best in my book. And not only because of the sock monkey getting a tattoo sewn-on (which made me squee like a true stuffie-maker).
And I was rewarded for my ad-centric focus, ironically, by mass misogyny, sexism, and male stereotyping so blatant that it made my boyfriend and I simul-cringe. Thanks, NFL, for alienating women even more, while alienating men as well.
Anyway, a few notes: The Google ad gave me a little lump in my throat, and my eyes did glisten a bit. BF pretended not to see. The Trebow ad was completely innocuous, which proved to be brilliant for their campaign. I had been mad--for good reason--at the idea of it, but I found the execution A-OK. And finally, the Kia Sorento ad was hands-down best in my book. And not only because of the sock monkey getting a tattoo sewn-on (which made me squee like a true stuffie-maker).
Sunday, February 7, 2010
SnowMFG
I will resist the term "Snowpocalypse" as long as I can. It's not terrifying. It's not the end of the world. But it is pretty freaking annoying. I was out trying to shovel my car out, but the jerk who parked in front of me shoveled out first, left, then came back...parking only inches from my bumper. So I would have to shovel out the back of my car, and back up before I could even know where I could pull out. The second annoyance was where to put the snow. It seems no matter where you shovel it, you know you're just going to be shoveling that same snow again later. You're basically just moving the same snow around to different places. The third pain-in-the-youknowwhat is knowing that once you get your car relatively clear, the snow plow is going to come down the road and block you in again. The only real solution is just to wait for it to melt. Thankfully I'm parked on the sunny side of the street.... 
I've been holed up at my boyfriend's apartment, watching movies and working on my Big Bad Wolf project. It's coming along quite nicely, and I might even finish it before the weekend ends.Oh yeah, and there's that Superbowl thing tonight. I can't wait for the commercials.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Ask, Tell
I would be remiss in my duties as an outspoken liberal if I didn't at least contribute four brain cells and a few paragraphs to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell debate.
1) Everyone in the military has to serve beside someone else who may make them "uncomfortable," whether that is because of their race, gender, athletic prowess, political views, religious views, height, eye color, etc. Sexuality isn't a special facet of the human composition that deserves special consideration. It's just another trait.
2) The U.S. military is supposed to be an organization comprising the most professional, dedicated, trained individuals in world. If someone isn't professional enough, dedicated enough, or trained enough to separate the job at hand from their own issues with someone else's sexuality, perhaps it is that person who should be discharged. The person who is going to compromise the mission is not the non-heterosexual.
3) To people who say "it is not the right time," your logic would dictate that it is never the right time. If not now, when? Some unforeseen future is not an acceptable answer. When has the U.S. military ever been just hanging out, not doing a whole hell of a lot?
4) The proponents of the policy do not have reasons for it, only excuses. No excuse is powerful enough to undermine this bottom line: The policy is bigoted, ignorant, discriminatory, unethical, unconstitutional, and has no precedent. It is absolutely unacceptable for a country like America in a year like 2010.
If you truly want to be repulsed by the representatives of the WRONG side of the debate, check out this bigot, who, frighteningly enough, is a member of Congress.
Stop hating. Just stop. If you don't even understand what you're talking about, just shut up.
1) Everyone in the military has to serve beside someone else who may make them "uncomfortable," whether that is because of their race, gender, athletic prowess, political views, religious views, height, eye color, etc. Sexuality isn't a special facet of the human composition that deserves special consideration. It's just another trait.
2) The U.S. military is supposed to be an organization comprising the most professional, dedicated, trained individuals in world. If someone isn't professional enough, dedicated enough, or trained enough to separate the job at hand from their own issues with someone else's sexuality, perhaps it is that person who should be discharged. The person who is going to compromise the mission is not the non-heterosexual.
3) To people who say "it is not the right time," your logic would dictate that it is never the right time. If not now, when? Some unforeseen future is not an acceptable answer. When has the U.S. military ever been just hanging out, not doing a whole hell of a lot?
4) The proponents of the policy do not have reasons for it, only excuses. No excuse is powerful enough to undermine this bottom line: The policy is bigoted, ignorant, discriminatory, unethical, unconstitutional, and has no precedent. It is absolutely unacceptable for a country like America in a year like 2010.
If you truly want to be repulsed by the representatives of the WRONG side of the debate, check out this bigot, who, frighteningly enough, is a member of Congress.
Stop hating. Just stop. If you don't even understand what you're talking about, just shut up.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Scarlet O'Hare - Altered Art Doll
The idea of Scarlet O’Hare came from the dress. I was in the Goodwill in Bel Air, standing in the checkout line, and this gorgeous/hideous doll caught my eye from across the store. It stood about 18” high, and was at least half again as wide. The doll’s head was as creepy as any doll’s head is (uncanny valley, anyone?), with horrible hair and soulless eyes. But the dress was pretty stunning. I had been needlefelting a lot lately, and was in the midst of a mild rabbit obsession. I almost immediately pictured a beautiful white hare in the dress.
Within a few days, I purchased the black glass beads for the eyes and had needlefelted the shape of the head in white merino and added some black and pink detailing around the eyes with alpaca wool. She didn’t have ears, whiskers, or a mouth yet. This was probably two years ago. Then I put the head somewhere, moved twice, and almost forgot about it, except when I would open my storage closet and see the gigantic doll with the creepy eyes sitting up on a high shelf.
Over the weekend, I resolved that finishing this doll would be the next thing I did. I spent a few hours during Saturday’s LOST marathon working on the ears. It is really difficult to get an ear to the right shape and size, with enough leftover wool to attach it to the head. It’s doubly difficult to make a second one exactly like it. Then last night, I watched Confessions of a SuperHero and finished the facial features, including nylon thread whiskers, and the paws. Attaching the finished features was a lot easier than I had expected it to be, and I think the finished product looks pretty organic.
I’m so happy to get an image out of my head and out into the real world and have it look like I pictured it. It doesn’t always work that way. Here’s to another finished project!
Within a few days, I purchased the black glass beads for the eyes and had needlefelted the shape of the head in white merino and added some black and pink detailing around the eyes with alpaca wool. She didn’t have ears, whiskers, or a mouth yet. This was probably two years ago. Then I put the head somewhere, moved twice, and almost forgot about it, except when I would open my storage closet and see the gigantic doll with the creepy eyes sitting up on a high shelf.
Over the weekend, I resolved that finishing this doll would be the next thing I did. I spent a few hours during Saturday’s LOST marathon working on the ears. It is really difficult to get an ear to the right shape and size, with enough leftover wool to attach it to the head. It’s doubly difficult to make a second one exactly like it. Then last night, I watched Confessions of a SuperHero and finished the facial features, including nylon thread whiskers, and the paws. Attaching the finished features was a lot easier than I had expected it to be, and I think the finished product looks pretty organic.
I’m so happy to get an image out of my head and out into the real world and have it look like I pictured it. It doesn’t always work that way. Here’s to another finished project!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Old New Short Fiction
Since I had lapsed so long in keeping up this blog, I have a lot to catch up on. The invisible silent audience of people who care deeply about the goings-on of my life (didn't we call them "imaginary friends" in grade school?) have missed out on quite a bit. Here's something pretty significant: I was published on an online literary magazine called why vandalism?.
Check it out here. It's called "Fixed."
Be warned: it has curse words and sex and stuff.
Check it out here. It's called "Fixed."
Be warned: it has curse words and sex and stuff.
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