Jezebel 
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New York, 3:24 PM
Sun Dec 6
22 posts in the last 24 hours
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Anyway, I want to do something for him that will remind him of home. Is there anything specific that people in Georgia do for Thanksgiving? Or just some Georgia tradition, or dish, or thing, or whatever I can do to make him feel welcome and less homesick and less convinced that Canadians are shitty? (Because we're not -- just a little flaky and daft sometimes!)
Anyway, thoughts are appreciated. Otherwise, he's getting the Canadian rhymeswithfeather Thanksgiving specialty -- me, a case of cheap beer, a joint, two forks and a pumpkin pie (with real whipped cream, natch).
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@All - Thanks so much! I love the random conjectures from a bunch of non-Georgians ;) Glad you're all as lost as me. Oh, and as for that 'sweet tea' nonsense, all iced tea is sweetened in the great white north, so maybe I'll just so some of that with straight up vodka. I dig, I dig! It will surely go nicely with pumpkin (or pecan!) pie.
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@rhymeswithfeather: Sweet ice tea. Pecan pie. Biscuits. These are all typical Southern foods that most Southerners will appreciate. (Except me, because I'm weird. See above.) You should Google Paula Deen. She has a show on Food Network, and she's from Georgia. Her food looks amazing, and it might give you some ideas.
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On the bright side, I got to drive through the 25E tunnel in the Cumberland Gap. It was AWESOME.
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This isn't eating leftovers: she makes a second Thanksgiving dinner for the immediate family, complete with two different kinds of pie. It. Was. Epic.
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Oink, baby.
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Luckily, it may be next Thanksgiving before I see her. She won't ask me about it. But I take everyone's point and will wait a decorous amount of time.
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What do you lovely folks listen to at the gym? Missy Elliott is my favorite work out music... but I think I need a little more variety!
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[www.thehoodinternet.com]
Mash up artists. Great mixes. And all of their songs are free.
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I made the list because I was hoping you might be open to other types of music, but I'm more used to being wrong about that. I'm the same way though- I go from Lady GaGa to Nattefrost without a second thought.
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11/29/09
I'm hoping to benefit from any resources you may all know of for help treating depression. For me it's been a lifelong struggle - my depression pervades memories from early childhood - and so I'm beginning to suspect that it is physical and not situational. I'm going through a very extreme low right now, which has lasted almost a year. This week I actually began feeling better, and so I want to address my problem while I'm clear-headed (before a trigger sends me back to a place where I cannot reach out for help). I'm asking here if anyone knows of a good resource to get help. I have attempted to talk to counselors before without success, but am willing to try again if I can find a way to afford it (I'm not in school, and don't know of any community services near me). I want to talk to a doctor, but I'm afraid to answer the questions because I don't want them to believe I'm at risk for self-harm. I don't have anyone in my life right now who I trust enough to reach out to. Where should I go to get help? How do you bring up the topic of depression with a doctor?
Any advice, personal experience, links, etc. would be much appreciated. I'm in the L.A./Orange County area if that helps.
Thank you so much.
11/29/09
[vimeo.com]
I don't really know anything about the mental health services in that area however.
11/29/09
I pushed myself for a long time before my depression got bad enough to be hospitalized. Now with talk therapy and medication, I'm doing a lot better. The difference is night and day.
Also, remember that:
1) You might not connect with any given therapist. Don't give up on therapists altogether because of one bad one. I had an awful therapist in high school, but I have a great one now.
2) Medication is much better than it used to be. The one I'm on now basically just makes me feel more like myself, just without the crushing despair. I'm a little sleepier, but if it means the ability to feel joy, I'll take it.
3) You can do it! The biggest step is wanting to get better. Once you get over that hump, the rest is easy.
In terms of cost, one of my friends was doing a free clinic thing for a little while, but you get limited to a certain number of appointments, which isn't super helpful if you need more than that. Find out if your insurance covers this sort of thing, and if they have any recommended places.
Finally-- GOOD LUCK!
11/29/09
most likely they will simply test you and make recommendations but you must understand that if you show any real indicators of self harm, it may behoove you for them to take you into custody. the latter rarely happens.
But this doesn't mean you should delay any treatment so I'm glad you are showing interest.
back to the doctor visit:
you need to find out whether there are any nutritional deficiencies. I've posted several times, here, that i became severely depressed and suicidal over the course of a year and it was found I had severe B12 and vitamin D deficiencies. Nutrition, excercise and sleep habits play a big part in a lot of depression cases.
if all is well on the health front then you may want to reach out to this organization for referrals.
[www.mhaoc.org]
I would also recommend, if you haven't already, telling at least one person close to you about your battle - it is important to have someone who knows your situation, especially when you seem to go in and out of more serious episodes.
11/29/09
On that note, you should try to find something like that that makes you really happy. Singing (loudly) always makes me feel a lot more whole.
11/29/09
specific to that area, i saw a couple people at hope international university. it was just counseling, no medication, but they matched me pretty well.
you're doing good by taking that first step. i would also look around to see if there is anyone that you can trust. i know it's hard if you don't have anyone, but you might be surprised by how willing to help people are.
i would bring it up in any way that is comfortable with you. i would also focus things in a positive way, like if you've found that you don't have the energy for things you used to enjoy, say that you want to be able to go out and live your life. you could also say that you're tired of feeling crappy.
i know it's hard, but if you are at risk for self harm, that's something that you're going to have to address. they probably won't immediately lock you up somewhere, but it is a very real part of the illness and should be included in your treatment plan.
best of luck, i'll be sending positive energy your way.
11/29/09
I live in the LA area, but I have health insurance right now (I get the impression from your post that you don't). A quick search directed me to this site, which I remember seeing when I first moved to LA. I'm not sure that it's up-to-date, but this page has a whole list of free and low-cost mental health services in LA County:
[www.ihatemylife.us] (And yes, I know it's called "ihatemylife" which sounds very negative. But it's actually a blog about someone who got out of homelessness.)
Best of luck! xoxo
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Thank you again for answering. You've helped so much.
11/29/09
you do need a formal evaluation and some health tests so I'm glad you are keen on doing that.
you are important and your life has value - don't ever forget that.
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11/29/09
MS Word and MS Excel are the two most worthless pieces of crap in the world. Seriously, WTF, the 2003 and 2007 versions have major compatibility issues and I could also write a dissertation on the worthlessness of the equation editor.
And the only thing more annoying than MS Office is Open Office!
I want to spend the next several years of my life developing spreadsheet and word processing software that doesn't suck.
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*Note: I am a spreadsheet dork.
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@SomeAuthorGirl: Let's make jackets. I like that idea. Excel can do some awesome stuff, and it pisses me off way less than Word, but there are some things about it (like, it maxes out at 65,000 rows!--and I actually need more than that often) that really bug me.
11/29/09
This is such a first world problem.
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You should probably yell at me.
11/29/09
Sorry, I just got off a shift that was way longer than it should've been and also it's like 75 degrees out here why the hell are people drinking coffee and it's Sunday so we were sold out of EVERYTHING and... yeah, I'm a little grumpy. But great good luck with your exams! I'm sure you'll do wonderfully.
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I've only had office jobs before this one, and let me tell you it's taught me a LOT about our society. I feel like everyone should have a fast-food or retail job at some point in their lives just to learn about, like, common courtesy and the value of labor. And to tip more. Always tip, everybody!
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11/29/09
Who are some interesting folks that you all follow?
11/29/09
Oh, you were asking about people who exist outside of television? I will just sit quietly, then.
11/29/09
I know it's all old news and business, but I was reading around on stuff about The Last Airbender movie, wondering if people had come to their senses and were like, "durr, maybe Jackson Rathbone isn't the best choice to play an Inuit kid..." but they haven't.
It makes me sad. Avatar: The Last Airbender is a great show. I really enjoyed it, and it's been ages since I actually watched a TV series in its entirety. I know, I know, it's a kid's show, it's just one show, whatever, but this is so common.
Did anyone see the Dragonball movie? I mean, they managed to find Asian people to play Bulma and Roshi, but apparently Goku was TOO MUCH. I mean, after all, he's an ALIEN, right? He could be anything! Therefore, he's white. Huh. Except his fucking name is Goku, referred to as "Son Goku" and is based off "Journey to the West" (I think). But LOLLITY LOL LOL, let's make him white! 'Cause that makes sense. A Chinese legend, a Japanese creator/writer/artist team, and a whitey mcwhiterson main dude.
ATLA is a really great TV show, with a fair amount of racial diversity. The majority of characters are East or Southeast Asian, but there are white people and First Nation people as well. The creators of the show don't support the film's casting and have distanced themselves from the project, repeating that they have nothing to do with it other than the original source material, which is owned by Nickelodeon, not them, if I remember correctly. It's so frustrating. This was a chance to show that race really didn't matter - Aang can save the world if he's Tibetan. Katara and Sokka are just as relevant to kids if they're Inuit. Toph is still a delightful jerk even if she's Chinese.
People bitch about anime characters looking white, but it's not really accurate. Someone said it better than I will, but! I will say it anyway. It's all ethnocentrism. I, as a white American, basically see the "neutral" face as white. It's me. It's my culture. You draw a face with two dots for eyes and a line for a mouth, and white Americans tend to see it as a white, male face. We make it non-white, non-male by making marks on the face: eyelashes, shading in skin color, changing the shape of the eyes, whathaveyou.
If you do this with Japanese people, they tend to see it as a Japanese face. Because "neutral" is them. So, crazy hair colors and giant eyes and long legs don't have to be marked to be Japanese, it's just assumed. People with light hair and eyes exist in Asian ethnicities, but are rare, so you don't see them often. So, when they want to represent something outside of Japanese ethnicity, they mark it. Not that Japan is a bastion of racial understanding and ethnicity, but it's just a different way of viewing the world. Ethnocentrically, since most of us are a little ethnocentric and you can't really even stop it.
Honestly, it feels like watching the episode where the heroes watch a live play version of their lives and everyone is cast terribly. Except this is real.
Any other ATLA fans out there that are just kinda disappointed in the whole shebang?
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The most annoying thing is M. Night Shyamalon. Fuck you, dude. I can't believe I thought you were cool for making Stuart Little. That was all Michael J. Fox anyway. God, what a prick.
For more outrage, check out racialicious.
I also love how people like to say, "Well there are more white actors and if they wanted to pick the best actor it would probably end up being a white cos there's more of them..." Um, THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS. God, even in fucking New Moon they had a bunch of Native American actors to play Native Americans, and how Native American actors do you think there are in comparison to white actors??
Another thing that breaks my heart is how General Zhao and Zuko are played by Aasif Mandvi and Dev Patel. I love them both dearly, but honestly, those are the whitest characters in the show!!
And on your cultural "neutral" thing...that's not a white American thing, it's a fully American thing: the neutral is seen as white, heterosexual, and male, and any deviation from that norm is considered a qualifying characteristic in terms of the character/person.
11/29/09
I heard about the series only because of the "Aang ain't white" chatter on the race-focused blogs I read, and so many folks said it was awesome I decided to check it out. I watched all three seasons in about 3 weeks and LOVED it. I want to get box sets for all the little non-white kids (and hell, the white kids too) I know because it's SO RARE that non-white kids get to be the focus of a story/TV show/movie and are shown to be heroes that save the world. The TV show is so good, so funny, so exciting, and so OBVIOUSLY based on Asian and Inuit cultures. What the fucking fuck makes someone watch that and then decide to cast white actors? I mean, it's not even like The Last Samurai where we get some white character's story shoehorned into an Asian setting -- these characters ARE NOT WHITE (who did you see that seemed white? I didn't see anyone I read as white).
And I'm white! I can't imagine how enraging and painful it must be for Asian-Americans to watch this unfold -- the dominant culture is basically telling them they're unacceptable as anything other than a sidekick or stereotype, that only white people are important enough to get their own stories and that Asians can never, ever be the hero.
Seriously, I can't even talk about the movie. I'll probably have to self-medicate once the previews and posters start showing up everywhere.
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I can't believe how they've handled it. Video from casting calls/auditions are on YouTube, and there are tons of little Asian kids. This guy: [www.youtube.com]
His delivery is a little flat, but his skills are awesome. I mean, with training, he could probably get better comedic timing and more natural delivery. I think he would have been great.
I didn't want to generalize too much with the "default face" thing. I know I do it. But if you tell me, "No, that's a black girl," I say, "Okay," and there's no problem. It's hard to change your kneejerk reaction to what you've been socialized to believe is normal. I know that this face does not need any other marker to indicate that it is not white and male, but that's still the first thing I think of :( I know that's a lot of what anime is criticized on, and I had to argue it with people since... oh, forever.
11/29/09
Gah. I share your frustration because I also hoped the racebend petition would have, you know, changed something. Come to their senses. Yeah.
Hollywood and it's dumbass ideas about how only white male heros can sell can go die in a FIRE and stuff. Seriously.
I'm not a Dragonball fan, but that sounds horrific. Son Goku is pretty damn Japanese. And it's really *special* how they always manage to keep the villains and more marginal characters non-white, if they absolutely must have non-white people at all.
Haaaaaaaaate.
Anyway, yeah. Avatar ruled so hard and this makes me sad right along with ya.
11/30/09
I love the show for many reasons - great writing, good comedy, engaging characters and excellent pacing all make me want to watch the show. The jokes are still funny when you watch it through more than once, which is nice.
But one of the things that made me really appreciate it is that it treats so many "othered" people as normal. Toph is blind, and while it comes up often (usually her pointing out others' privilege, which I find really funny), she's not marginalized by her friends because of it - in fact, her parents' treatment of her is a big part of her anger and how she deals with people. Katara is quick to point out her brother's sexism, and Aang challenges a ton of gender and heroic norms - he's "younger" than everyone (a physical child), he's vegetarian, a pacifist, answers to the nickname "Twinkletoes", and makes jewelry for fun. It makes all these interesting, different characters from what we're used to seeing in American media, and doesn't focus in on that. Aang simply is. And on top of this, there's a bunch of ethnic/racial diversity! Katara being dark didn't make me relate to her any less. I appreciated her character, I related to her because she is like me, I am like her, in many ways.
Part of eradicating racism is to neutralize the way we think of race (good/bad, known/unknown dichotomies). Children growing up with heroes of different backgrounds and abilities than themselves can more easily relate to real people of different backgrounds, because they're used to it. They start to see others as "like them", and that's where curing racism can really gain a foothold. It's not erasing ethnic differences, it's promoting understanding between people and the similarities we have. Our skin color shouldn't make us incapable of relating to one another.
So this movie just takes that and smashes it all over the place - kids (white kids, they mean) don't want to see actors of color! So let's whitewash the whole thing. Except... wait, the show was huge, and the characters were not white.
I mean, I can almost see the argument for Aang, if you haven't seen the show, as he is very light-skinned, but then you look at his clothing and all that, and it's like, well, he's probably Asian. Maybe kids don't get that, but honestly, I think they do. Especially kids of color. They can recognize Aang as like them, and they probably like it.
It just enrages me that there is:
1. So little respect for the source material. When the creators disown your spinoff, that's bad.
2. So little respect for the wishes of the fans - they're the ones who are going to make your movie sink or swim, and they don't like what they see.
3. So little knowledge of the racist traditions of Hollywood, or, if they do know, the lack of initiative to do anything about it.
4. That Fire Nation people will now be dark-skinned, while the Air and Water Nations are white. Making it so that the evil dark people are coming after the good light people.
ARGH. I'm glad there are others that feel this way.
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I'm consistently disappointed when American movies have white protagonists when it doesn't even make sense. This is a minor example, but I read the book Bringing Down the House, about a bunch of MIT students who outwitted casinos and made millions. Most of the students were Asian, and this actually was a significant plot point: the casinos were possibly less suspicious of them because they seemed like stereotypical studious Asian kids. However, in the movie, the main character was white. It was a really stupid change.
Another way movie studios do this is by having an entire cast of another ethnicity but still have a white central character. Look at The Last Samurai! It's about the beauty and honor in Japanese culture, but of course the hero is some white dude, because movie studios don't think white audiences will be able to relate to a non-white lead.
I can see it changing slowly, I think. I know The Princess and the Frog has its issues, but the fact is that it's a movie with an awesome black protagonist, and it's marketed towards kids of all backgrounds. I think this next generation is going to grow up to some extent feeling that it's normal and standard to relate to people of all races. Maybe the next generation or the one after that will no longer "need" a white protagonist to find a movie or character relatable.
11/30/09
I'm just worried that this is the only Avatar movie we'll get. And it's such a stupid reason to ruin it too. I've heard too many stories of studio executives claiming that '(series) doesn't sell because (series movie with studio meddling FAIL added) tanked (because of FAIL).'
SADFACE.
But at least the show itself should remain untouched in it's awesome.
11/30/09
im sure it will EVENTUALLY HAPPEN....
but i feel ya
12/05/09
I had never heard of the MIT thing. That's really interesting.
I heard that many of the extras will be Asian or of other non-white descent. Which is a good start, but unfortunately doesn't address the main issue.
However, I hope that because of the giant racefail of this whole thing, maybe people will pay better attention to these sorts of things. Maybe this fight can't be won, but it can be used as reference to win future ones.
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Ghost in the Shell is a little more flexible, but the Major is intended to appear Japanese as well. She should look it in live-action, too.
Cowboy Bebop is the only one that I'm not sure if the characters have distinct ethnicities. With names like "Spike Spiegel" and "Faye Valentine", they may not be Japanese. With Keanu Reeves apparently playing Spike, they've already made that choice, I suppose.
These things need to be discussed before the studios make final decisions. Fans are the ones who will support the final product, so they matter.
11/29/09
My father just ate an entire bowl of shredded cheddar with sour cream on top.
Sometimes I wonder if my dad is a real person or just a lifelong performance artist fucking with my entire perception of normalcy.
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(seriously though, this made me chuckle)
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@missing_piece: Nope, but diabetes and having no colon definitely is. He just likes to pretend those don't exist. Bah!
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Procrastination is my imaginary middle name. And I honor it constantly.
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