Delicious LiveJournal Links for 4-8-2010

[andrewducker]

• The "new" mathematical theory that seems to shed light on the subatomic world.
  (tags: mathematics physics science matrix numbers)
• Real Life Tron on an Apple IIgs - a programming glitch that allowed light cycles to escape into main memory...
  (tags: programming tron games memory apple funny)
• Why the prom debacle was more of a trans issue than a lesbian one.
  (tags: transgender usa education)
• A stonkingly good review of the phone I'm drooling over. One month to go!
  (tags: mobile phone hardware reviews htc android)

Comments

[marrog.livejournal.com]

Why the prom debacle was more of a trans issue than a lesbian one.

Oh, what a load of old bollocks.

Don't get me wrong, I think that story's awful. I also think that it should have got way more exposure than it did - frankly I'm astounded it didn't appear in the same major publications as part of the same story. I also agree that it probably didn't for the exact reason cited - it was seen as a 'trans' issue and not a 'gay' issue, and we all know trannies are creepier than gays, so they get less support from the liberal media.

But please. Whatever the intentions or motivations of the Principal making the original decision, are we really to think that, the issue having blown up as it did, people were making a distinction between the fact she wanted to take a girl as her date and the fact she wanted to wear a tux? That the two issues were being seen and dealt with separately by everyone concerned?

I don't remember, at any point in the coverage, the challenged officials saying, "Oh, it was just the cross-dressing we were bothered about, not the homosexuality." And let's be honest, they'd have jumped at the chance in their ignorance of the wider issue, wouldn't they?

And let's not forget the wider issue. Whether this is about lesbianism or transgenderism, the overriding issue is freedom of expression. I caught on this story and wrote about it because it affected a young lesbian, and therefore resonated with me, but I didn't frame it as a 'gay' issue. I didn't bang the drum of 'gay rights'. It's as much about her being able to wear what she likes as about her being able to take who she likes.

So if this writer is being accused of trying to 'hijack' the 'issue' off the gays, well, they're wrong. They're hijacking the issue away from everyone.

Aside: For the record, I may not have attended many dances in my rural High School days but I attended every single one I was at in a button-down shirt and trousers, and no one ever batted an eyelid. I think there might have been eyelids batted if I'd taken a girl as my date.

[bart-calendar.livejournal.com]

At my high school the gay girls just took gay dudes as their dates and all got the same table so they ended up sitting with and dancing with their girlfriends and the dudes ended up sitting with their boyfriends and nobody complained. (The gay dudes didn't really dance with their boyfriends, but none of the boys straight or gay really wanted to dance, it was something you did when you date was like "take me out on the fucking dance floor if you want to get laid later.")

Everyone knew what was going on, but because they made the effort to on the surface conform to societal norms everyone was happy.

Today, it seems sort of silly that everyone went to that much effort, but it was 20 years ago.

[marrog.livejournal.com]

Well, these days we shouldn't have to lie or hide, even in principle. I guess that's the issue, really. If this lass had been prepared to give some ground, tell some lies, take a beard etc, then none of this would have happened. But nothing would've changed either.

[bart-calendar.livejournal.com]

I agree. That's what I mean about it being silly now. My only point is that gay boys and girls have been figuring out ways to go to prom for years and that it's never been that big a secret.

The kids always knew, the school always knew it was just an illusion so grandparents could look at heteronormative prom photos.

[heron61.livejournal.com]

I completely agree. I didn't find the article all that convincing. I suspect that even if cross-dressing hadn't been involved the same issues would have come up.

[neuralbuddha.livejournal.com]

The main problem with this article is not whether it's biased, gay, transgender or tranvestite (which is the issue that's actually being referred to) but that it's completely unattributed. We, in the wider blogosphere, have absolutely no way of checking the veracity of this person's statements. I personally am interested in this phrase; "but when she brought up the issue of wearing a tuxedo, the Principal told her that if he let her do that, he'd have to let some boy do it.", which to me implies that this is a dress code issue, irrespective of gender or sexuality of any description. However, I agree with Mo that the structure of the article very much lends credence to the notion that they are talking out of their arse.

[bart-calendar.livejournal.com]

That makes the whole prom thing make more sense.

A crossdressing dude is much more socially threatening than a gay girl, no matter what culture you are in.

[heron61.livejournal.com]

The "new" mathematical theory that seems to shed light on the subatomic world.

That's very odd. I only have a partial understanding of the math involved, and I didn't expect it to be nearly as widely applicable. The fact that it is makes me wonder if we really are living in some hyper-intelligence's computer simulation.

[andrewducker]

Well, if such a thing is possible, then the probability is apparently high :->

[red-phil.livejournal.com]

That light cycle story is neat. Incredibly geeky but neat.
The 3 guys who sit near me at work agree, thereby proving the geekiness.

[andrewducker]

Geekiness: Approved!

Glad you liked it.

[cdave]

I've picked up a Hero just before Eastercon, and since they are rolling out Android 2.1 to it soon, much of that review covers my new shiny too :)

[andrewducker]

That's one thing that the iPhone seems to have done - started a trend of being able to upgrade your phone to the latest version of its OS.