The latest Tom Hanks film, is a cracker. Set in the cold war period of 1957/8 it features the background of the negotiations to exchange Francis Gary Powers a downed U2 pilot and student Frederic Pryor for a Russian spy Col Rudolf Abel who was caught by the US while acting as a dead letter intermediary.
Bettina Rheims best photograph of a transgender sex worker from the 1980s in Paris. Quite an interesting piece especially as it suggests that most of them are now probably dead, presumably from horrible diseases. It struck a chord with me because I transitioned about the same time. Things are so different now.
Pity about the voice, but according to the blurb Cpt Hannah Winterbourne is the highest ranking, serving officer in the British Army who just happens to be transgender.
A document from the UK government about the law as it stands for transgender customers and the requirements of the law to businesses providing services to them such as shops or banks. It's written in very simple language and shows that discrimination direct or otherwise is illegal against a person with a protected characteristic of gender reassignment, viz moi. (And there's me thinking I was just an ordinary woman these days - another illusion shattered).
From BBC3 looks like some of it at least is filmed in the US. Some young transwomen strut their stuff on the beach and so on. Why do they all have such deep voices?
Fraid so. As we draw near to the next completed century with Bike ie 2800, I feel a need to ask the readership if they'd like me to continue writing regular episodes as usual, or not. This is assuming Auntie Erin is happy for me to fill up her servers as before. Remember, Bike is only available at BC - that's Big Closet not British Cycling, so take advantage of its exclusivity, get involved and write a comment (but keep them clean).
In other words, let me know what you think, assuming you can after reading Bike.
It seems the British legal system while on one hand protective of transgender people shoots itself in the foot by two recent cases of people who've lived their entire adult lives as female being sent to male prisons because they hadn't reregistered as legally female. In the first case a voluble protest by activists caused the woman to be sent to a female prison, in the second it turned to tragedy and the woman concerned seems to have carried out her threat and taken her own life. I suspect guidelines might change now that it's too late for poor Vicky Thompson.
I love short stories, reading them and writing them. They have a very varied spectrum in terms of type and genre, as much as any other form of writing or story. They might describe an entire event, or the impact on just one individual. They can reflect just a moment in time from a lifetime of events, which is my favourite sort to write. They don't have a build up just an event, or an encounter and they're over - gone; leaving us to work out what happened before and after, which may or may not be what the writer intended.
The number of children gender identity problems referred to the Tavistock Clinic in London is increasing. Interestingly, more girls than boys. It's also thought the wider availability of information and the effect of celebrity changers might be responsible for this phenomenon.
James and I saved the world again from the nasty people who do nasty things to other folk. Well he did most of the saving, I was watching his back, then in gratitude he runs off with a younger woman at the end of it! Honestly, men!
The stunts are amazing, everything is over the top, so I can recommend it and it has the lovely Daniel Craig - what more could you want? Just some popcorn or sweeties...
Oh yeah, no time to write Bike - I knew there was something else...
I found this on the Guardian website which I must have missed earlier, might have been on holiday. If the conclusions are correct, then it's a frightening prospect especially for transgender people from black or other ethnic minorities. I have blogged about it before but it's still happening and needs to be brought to public awareness. Thanks to the Guardian for that.
Sorry haven’t had time to write Bike tonight I’m a little tired after traipsing round sand dunes in pursuit of our avian friends. Yesterday we visited a nature reserve near Torrevieja and saw a flock of stone curlews, amongst other things. Crested larks, bath white butterflies, flamingoes and Isabelline wheatears made up some of the rest of my haul of observed species.
I suspect I may have been wished an interesting life as very little runs smoothly. I'm still having awful broadband problems (0.2mbs current speed) despite changing supplier - I suspect they're all as useless as each other.
Police in Gloucestershire near Dursley are hunting a wallaby - it could only happen in the UK. Looks like it got the jump on them as it escaped their efforts to apprehend the illegal immigrant.
The link below to the daily Mail shows some photos from the Victorian era of some notable and not so notable cross-dressers, female impersonators and possibly some transgender women as well, including perhaps the first post operative transsexual woman, Lili Elbe made famous in the upcoming film starring Eddie Redmayne as The Danish Girl.
I've been having problems with my internet for ages and in despair decided to go to a new provider. My phone has apparently gone over but my broadband hasn't. It would appear that my old provider has stopped my internet access so I'm having to make do with my mobile device which is slower and sometimes unreliable. Hopefully this will all be sorted out next week some time, so if I seem to be noticeable by my absence you know why.
A sensitive article which tries to stay balanced, sadly some of the comments aren't. It must be very difficult treating children with gender issues. Well done the parents who do their best for their kids. I learned of one near here who's transitioned from FtM recently and his fellow pupils are supporting him. On the reverse I know of someone who is teen/early twenties who nearly went for surgery and has now apparently reverted to being a male again. It's a real minefield.
I was nearly terminated while out on a bike ride today, a car came up to a T-junction which I was cycling across and therefore had right of way, when he just carried on obviously not seeing me despite me wearing an orange, back and white jacket. The only reason I'm able to write this is because I took avoiding action, half expecting it to happen. I'm getting tired of having to think for all the morons driving round in lethal weapons that cars are and I feel the law ought to be changed to reflect the fact that most car-bike collisions are the fault of the driver.
Another offering from the Guardian (where else?), wondering when they start to call it the TG Times. It does have some interesting elements as well as the pro and con comments afterwards.
Only just got back from my leaving do - scampi n chips and a game of skittles - we do things in such high style in darkest Dorset. Actually my house looks like a florist's shop but the scents are delightful and my colleagues gave me a nice contribution towards the microscope I want to buy to dissect owl pellets.
I'm now semi-retired so will only be working about ten days a week, though this week I'm on holiday - well having a new central heating boiler fitted and someone coming to give me a quote for new external doors and having the car checked out, oh and the dentist tomorrow afternoon - apart from that, I'm not doing anything except perhaps sleeping.
Checks can be made out & sent to:
Joyce Melton
1001 Third St.
Space 80
Calimesa, CA 92320
USA
Note: $6000 is the operating, maintenance and upgrade budget. Amounts received in excess of the $6000 will be applied to long term debt accrued over the last 19 years.
