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Welcome to the Captain's Log. Ever since my Loyal Webcrafter set up the Site Almanac to record changes in the Website itself, I've been thinking that it would be nice to offer a counterpart to cover my own activity. Thus, this section contains tidbits of news, pointers to relevant information, and assorted commentary about what's going on in my life. Expect this to be a sporadic feature appearing whenever I have time to add a new entry.
If you need some further inspiration on why to vote and practice other forms of political activism, visit The Shadow Government. Next, think of all the people you know and care about who are homosexual, or who have had an abortion, or who might someday need an abortion, or who have been unjustly accused of committing a crime they had nothing to do with, or who simply don't consider the Christian Bible a relevant part of their worldview -- and total up the number of your friends and family members who would be murdered, disenfranchised, evicted, or otherwise oppressed were this group to come into serious power. Now estimate your own quality of life in a country under control of The Shadow Government. <shudder> I prefer to shed the light of Truth and Freedom on the slimy things under this particular rock, thanks. Tip: don't view this Website late at night; it will give you nightmares.
If you control a popular web site, consider placing a "Vote Today" web banner on Tuesday. Here's an example banner you can use if you wish: http://www.moveon.org/votetoday.htm. If you place this non-partisan "public service announcement" in your unsold ad space for just part of the day on Tuesday, you can really make a difference.
In particular, I would like to draw your attention to Matthew Shepard (1976-1998). He was beaten, robbed, and tied naked to a fence; he later died of his injuries. This crime occurred because some individuals took exception to Matthew's lifestyle -- namely, he was Gay. Whether one believes sexual orientation to be a matter of choice or a matter of destiny is irrelevant; one can say that he was killed over a difference of opinion or a difference of physiology, but neither of those constitutes sufficient reason for murder in a civilized society. Please help spread the message that we do not condone hate crimes in America today ... because as long as people remain silent, other people will interpret that as approval. Personally, I consider this incident barbaric in the extreme, and if I were to detail my opinion of the perpetrators, the results would span about a dozen languages and would trip every censorware program in action.
Sometimes activism can be very easy and very convenient. One such opportunity comes in the form of a simple postage stamp. The U.S. Post Office recently issued a stamp for Breast Cancer Research which costs $.40 instead of $.32 like a regular first-class stamp; the extra $.08 per stamp goes to fund research for a cure at the National Institute of Health and the Medical Research Program of the Department of Defense. I have already bought and used several sheets of these stamps and encourage you to do likewise. This disease kills and maims many women (and men) every year -- it's time to put a stop to that.
Recently I reviewed a stunning video called Rain Without Thunder. It works magnificently both as science fiction and as a biting piece of gender studies, painting a bleak picture of a future in which women no longer enjoy the basic right to control what goes on in their own bodies. Watch this movie or show it to feminist friends; it's one of the best pro-choice works I have seen. I'm mentioning the movie here because it will be a while before I have time to reprint all my reviews on the Web.
On a brighter note, I set up my birdfeeders for the autumn and winter season last week, and now the birds have discovered them. So far I've been feeding mostly sparrows and starlings -- the main winter stars haven't shown up yet, which is normal -- but the current attractions include at least four blue jays, one flicker, and the occasional cardinal. I'm especially pleased with a recent addition to birdfeeding options, namely a selection of seedcakes which fit into suet feeders, available in different recipes for specific species. The flicker is quite enamored of the woodpecker cake I put out. Check out the Wild Birds Forever site for more information on attracting birds to your yard this season, or go all out and register your backyard as an official habitat through the National Wildlife Federation.
"Captain's Log" copyright 1998 Elizabeth Barrette.
Art on this page is from the "Late 20th Century Dimensions" set, at Moyra's Web Jewels.
The URL for this page is http://www.worthlink.net/~ysabet/admin/captain_log.html and it was last updated on November 22, 1998.