Writing inspiration

It’s the last day of June as I write this, meaning I won’t be able to respond to every “June Jour Challenge” prompt sent out by one of my WordPress peeps, The Finicky Cynic.  That’s okay, though.  I knew I wouldn’t respond to or even get to think about every prompt before the last of June.  F.C. sent out quite a few “deep thought” prompts this June, meaning I’ll spend some extra time thinking about profound responses.

However, on this last day of June, with F.C. usually using her last “June Jour” prompt to solicit thoughts on her challenges, I don’t want to fail to highlight how inspiring and thought-provoking her prompts are.  I’ve been working on a still-incomplete response about one of those deep topics; I won’t say which one, suffice it to say that it’s brought to the top of my mind one or two pivotal moments in my life that stayed in the far recesses of my mind… so much so that it led me to search for information on the person involved in that moment (no results came up, unfortunately).

One other thing I can’t fail to mention is that at least this year, F.C. didn’t just send out prompts.  Rather, she provided further inspiration for them.  I invite you to take a look at her “June Jour” prompts at this tag page on her site.  And when you do, don’t just click on one link and add a comment or response.  Hit the “previous post” link at the bottom, where this year she offered inspiration on the topics she invited her readers to respond to.  Actually, even beyond June, her posts can provide a writing inspiration to those who can’t think of something to write, but these past 30 days they’ve served as real writing invitations.

So, please give F.C. some love and read her “June Jour” prompts.  And while you’re at it, read the rest of her site as well; it’s awesome and inspiring (and awesomely inspiring) in June, July, or any other month.

Thoughts on Loving, 50 years and 1 day later

“There’ll be 100 million people right here in this country who will be shocked and offended and appalled and the two of you will just have to ride that out, maybe every day for the rest of your lives. You could try to ignore those people, or you could feel sorry for them and for their prejudice and their bigotry and their blind hatred and stupid fears, but where necessary you’ll just have to cling tight to each other and say ‘screw all those people!'”
– Matt Drayton to his future son-in-law in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967)

As important as it was to remember the one-year anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy on Monday, another important anniversary that also occurred on Monday should not be forgotten:  June 12 was also “Loving Day.”  What’s that, you ask?  Well, it has to do with probably one of the most important decisions ever made by the United States Supreme Court — the case of Loving v. Virginia, which was cited as precedence for a much more publicized case 48 years later.

Thoughts on Pulse, one year later

I had started work on another post about a different subject this morning, but the significance of this particular day (June 12) has ordered me to take a different direction tonight.  Today is, of course, the one-year anniversary of the tragedy at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in which 49 lovely lives were cut short in horrific fashion.

At my desk

Time to catch up on another of The Finicky Cynic’s “June Jour Challenge” prompts.  As I hinted during my first response, I’m doing these out of order and when I can think of and write up a response.  And this is a rather simple response to a rather simple prompt, which is this: “Take a photo of an ordinary object on your desk (home and/or office) and explain why it has a purpose for you.”

Random stuff (6/3/2017 edition)

Ash Whitaker and his mom (image source: Associated Press)

If you saw some of my retweets on Twitter a couple of days ago, you learned that there was a significant bill introduced in Wisconsin’s state legislature that, if it becomes law, would prohibit discrimination based on one’s gender identity or expression.  I’m trying to formulate a post devoted solely to that piece of legislation (which you can learn about here).  But in the meantime, I want to highlight a couple of interesting LGBT-related items.

The first was another piece of big Wisconsin news this week involving Ash Whitaker, a student at Kenosha’s Tremper High School who received disrespect from the administration of both the school and the school district just because he is transgender.  Originally, Ash made news for wanting to run for prom king, but was rebuffed by Tremper High officials who dictated that he run for prom queen or be dropped from consideration for prom court altogether.  The school relented, allowing anyone who qualified for prom court to run for prom king or prom queen, whichever one matched the gender they identified as.

Random stuff: SNL’s “Handmaid’s” parody

Perhaps you’ve heard by now about a little series on Hulu called The Handmaid’s Tale.  The show, whose first season is being released episode-by-episode as of this writing and which has been renewed for a second season, is based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel set in a dystopian future where religious autocrats have taken over what used to be the United States; have stripped away human rights in general and women’s rights in particular; and have subjugated fertile women into a life in which they’re nothing more than, uh, baby-making machines for the privileged (and barren) upper class.

So far, The Handmaid’s Tale has been critically well received, and has certainly gained notice from those like… uh, [sheepishly raises hand] me who do not have a Hulu subscription (note to self: buy it on DVD if and when it comes out) for what have been described as powerful and engrossing acting, writing, and visuals.  Of course, one other reason for that notice is how it seems to be an ominous warning.  Even though Season 1 went into production well before You Know Who was elected You Know What, the show seems to serve as an advisory for what may lie ahead for society while You Know Who’s cronies desire to take away rights and make America in their own misguided image.  It’s part of the reason one critic has labeled the show the most important of this spring.

With The Handmaid’s Tale having such a dark tone and provocative subject matter, one would think it would not be ripe for parody by a satirical outlet such as, say, Saturday Night Live.  Well… one would be wrong.

Allison empties a bookmark: #MoreThanMean

This morning, I was reminded yet again of the ongoing, very serious issue of misogyny directed at women through online and social media platforms.  One of my tweeps (and I won’t single her out here) had derogatory comments sent her way by some guy hiding behind an icon supporting He Who Must Not Be Named Because He’s Our Thin-Skinned Leader.  All my Twitter friend did was post a couple of witty criticisms directed at men who like… well, let’s just say men who like to post pictures of themselves snagging that big trophy trout on a fishing excursion.  The troll in question replied to her tweet with critiques (to use a less saltier term) directed at her Twitter icon, her physique (she only has a picture of herself from the shoulders up), and suggestions of… uh, inbreeding within her family.

Needless to say, I was disgusted with the flame directed her way, and I encouraged her not to take it anymore.  Personally, I took it a step further and reported this guy’s actions to the powers-that-be at Twitter.  I’m not sure if they’ve deleted his account yet (and he deserves it if they do), but at least my reporting him on my friend’s behalf also meant he was blocked from seeing my account. (Yay!  Take that, Mr. Troll!)

Allison clears bookmarks about an LGBT center somewhere

Please don’t let the title of this post make you think I’ve become blasé about the opening of a center dedicated to those who identify as part of the LGBT community.  That’s not the case, for any office or center, large or small, that’s dedicated to providing support, resources, or just a conversation place to our community is a vitally important thing to have, wherever it may be.  Now more than ever, it seems that these centers and the resources they can provide are important, even as our community has made great strides towards rights and acceptance.

Rants about lack of LGBT respect

Yes, I am angry.

— Allison M. (@AllisonMadison) March 30, 2017

Yeah, I was angry last Thursday.  And not because I heard about how lawmakers in North Carolina repealed that infamous “Bathroom Law” law that not only required transgender people in government and public buildings to use the restrooms that goes with the gender on their birth certificate, but also prevented local municipalities (like, say, Charlotte) to enact anti-discrimination policies — which, in turn, led to North Carolina losing a lot of lucrative business (like, say, college sports championships).

Random personal stuff (3/24/2017 edition)

It’s Friday evening as I write this; I’m here at home; and I’m really, really, wishing I was out of the house.  And I was planning to be out of the house tonight.  That was until this slight stuffiness and sore throat I woke up with this morning became much nastier as the day wore on.  Now, my nostrils are even stuffier, my throat feels even more irritated, and I ache all over.  Yeah, suddenly being struck by a cold during the first week of spring is no fun.  And it’s even less fun when you were feeling fine literally 24 hours earlier.