corpwatch's wto coverage
Tuesday, November 30, 1999 :: 11:50 a.m.
this site features all kinds of information, faq's & individual case studies of abuses by the wto.
seattle anti-wto hq
Tuesday, November 30, 1999 :: 11:45 a.m.
self-explanatory, isn't it? get the latest news on marches, protests, and speeches scheduled all week to protest the world trade organization and its mantra of "free trade."
new york city squatters
Tuesday, November 30, 1999 :: 01:07 a.m.
i went to look up more information about the squats in nyc & found some coverage of the fifth street eviction i mentioned in an earlier entry. but then i found out that the doc blocos squat has been evicted as well, just this past april. i remember when the squatters in the building had the option of buying the building but didn't -- i can't remember why not, the mortgage would have amounted to $200 per person, which is NOTHING in nyc terms. probably some ill-advised "anti-landlord/anti-property" sentiment. too bad.
indymedia.org
Monday, November 29, 1999 :: 11:24 p.m.
the seattle independent media center is a coalition of independent media organizations & producers invested in social & economic justice, offering coverage of the WTO protests that the "mainstream" press is actively avoiding. i wish i could be there, but instead i'm sitting in front of this computer writing my lecture for tomorrow. it must be amazing to be surrounded by thousands of people with all that energy & the passionate politics to match.
freaks talk back
Monday, November 29, 1999 :: 11:07 a.m.
i assigned my students in women's studies 551 ("lesbian & queer perspectives on literature & media") a chapter from joshua gamson's book freaks talk back: tabloid talk shows & sexual nonconformity called "flaunting it." it's a fascinating (& very readable) examination of queers on t.v. talk shows: reactions to their various disclosures & coming-out narratives, behind-the-scenes observations, the politics of visibility, how activists make the most of their limited air-time, which queers get to represent, & what it means to be queer in such a very public "space" like television. it's such a huge topic -- i spent most of the semester opening my class with a survey of the latest queer sighting in that week's talk shows, particularly all the interest lately in drag kings (maury povich's fave topic after sending "bad" teens to boot camps). in any case, this here is an interview with the queer author/academic/activist (who's pretty hot for an academic or activist) & an excerpt from the book.
secret asian man
Sunday, November 28, 1999 :: 10:07 p.m.
website for the zine by the same name. an anonymous boy writes letters to friends, full of the most amazing prose, about his everyday travels across city blocks & sometimes oceans. some excerpts are published here.
blackout books
Sunday, November 28, 1999 :: 09:56 p.m.
i used to walk to blackout books way out on avenue c, past the now-demolished fifth street squat. i'm not much of an anarchist these days but i'd pick up the latest cometbus here & admire the often amazing artwork featured on the walls (sister serpent, cynthia connolly, etc., etc.). there are some useful "how-tos" on the website -- the perfect wheatpaste formula & how to squat a home. i'm not sure how the squatter "movement" stands in city right now. i remember when the aforementioned fifth street squat was unceremoniously declared a fire hazard and destroyed by the city in a surprise move -- hustled outside without any of their possessions, the people who lived there were held back by riot cops & barricades as they watched the wrecking ball obliterate the building. with their PETS inside, no less. a few dogs & cats were killed because the "authorities" wouldn't let the squatters go in to rescue their animals or belongings.
big miss movieola
Saturday, November 27, 1999 :: 08:34 a.m.
she makes movies. you make them too. she wants you to make a video with her, a chainletter of sorts. join the "the lady glitterati of the new movie uprising." you won't be sorry.
on space, sex, & stalkers
Saturday, November 27, 1999 :: 08:28 a.m.
i'm trying to write a paper on bodies in e-space, but i'm having these paranoid moments, see, of being watched, or followed. like someone is taking meticulous notes & re-constructing a golem of me made of wood pulp & hard plastics, held together with binary code as rope. on that note, doing research i found this essay by pam gilbert, a midwestern feminist professor, about her own experience of being stalked on-line. unlike my own vague feelings, this was completely serious & very scary. bordering on psychotic. moreover, if you thought your college professors were generally sane (being allowed to teach & all), this will prove you otherwise.
