2 Websites Recommend Mine!

Two websites recommend mine!  Probably more do, but I don’t know about them yet
(if you do, please let me know).  The first is the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition’s
(MTPC) Wikipedia page about blogs – click here.  The second is one of Michael Alexander’s
websites – he’s a local trans Jewish colleague – click here.  Thank you to them!    

Happy New Year 2009!

Happy New Year 2009!

If, like me, you’re Jewish, you celebrated New Year’s in September -- at Rosh Hashanah, when year 5768 ended and 5769 began. So happy new year again. If you use yet another calendar, happy that year too.

May this year be our best yet. May we find better ways to live and work together, furthering tikkun olam, (a transliteration of a Hebrew phrase for) "world healing".

Happy Holidays 2008 / 5769!

Happy Holidays 2008 / 5769!

Merry Christmas and Happy 5^th night of Hanukah! Those are my primary celebrations. Happy Solstice and everything else you celebrate.

May your holidays and year be your best yet.

The image is from friend of the family Niel Kropp -- thank you!

I’m distributing smaht cahds at Hahvad Univehsity

(“I parked my car in Harvard Yard” => “I pahked my cah in Hahvad Yahd” is an old joke – about the Boston accent, how difficult it is to drive and park here – especially in Harvard Square, and how it’s forbidden to drive into the college's quad.)

Transgender work is my life’s work; yet alas, I'm still rarely given money for it.

So I’ve been searching for a paid job, and have become an employee of Spherion, the agency that provides temps to Harvard University. Harvard is one of the best places for me to work, and Spherion is the way.

Harvard decided to upgrade their ID cards to “smart cards” (with a computer chip inside), and so they are "recarding" all of their cardholders. They’ve replaced the 12,000 undergraduates’ cards and given the incoming freshmen (frosh? freshpeople?) smart cards. They’ve also created smart cards for the other 56,000 people who have Harvard IDs.

I’ve mostly worked on the Smart Card ID Project, primarily the “production” of the cards. I’ve also worked for Harvard Yard Operations, and for my longtime GLBT colleague Robyn Ochs (bisexual leader) in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures.

Today I started working on the Project’s “distribution” of the cards. Between now and March, I’ll be one of the managers that travels with all 56,000 cards to several sites on the Harvard campuses so that the cardholders can visit us to exchange their current IDs for smart cards.

My previous post about this is "I’m working on Smaht Cahds at Hahvad" (September 22nd).

Thanks Giving

Today is Thanksgiving Day.

I’ve always wanted to go to the National Day of Mourning at Plymouth – perhaps next year.

One of my TWiGs – Keshet Transgender Working Group members – had my best friend / transister / colleague Laurie Wolfe and I to their family’s celebration. And we’re very thankful for that.

All of us have things to be thankful and give thanks for. Indeed, those who have – or seem to have – least are often the most aware and expressive of what they do have. May we all be mindful of and give thanks for all our blessings, today and every day.

Congregation Am Tikva / Temple Sinai Healing Service

Congregation Am Tikva is the GLBT synagogue of Boston, and where I’m a member. Temple Sinai is the Reform synagogue in Brookline’s Coolidge Corner (and is GLBT welcoming). CAT rents space at and has an interactive relationship with TS.

Seven years ago, CAT and TS created a joint Healing Service, held every other month or so and on Yom Kippur. Each is an hour of guided meditation, song, prayer, poetry and more. The Services are followed by an oneg (Hebrew "joy") -- refreshments and social time. At least once a year, the Service ends with havdalah, the ritual for the end of Shabbat (sunset Friday to sunset Saturday).

I started attending a few years ago. I’m especially glad of this one because this is the eve of the international Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Transgender Resolution --> Episcopal Church

Two of my colleagues on the Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality (ICTE) are Episcopal priests -- Reverends Cameron Partridge and Christopher Fike. With Reverend Canon Ed Rodman, they wrote and submitted a resolution in support of trans civil rights and of adding gender identity and expression to the National Episcopal Church non-discrimination canon. This weekend, the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts voted in a landslide to support the resolution. So, the diocese has now petitioned the General Convention of the Episcopal Church to add that language.

Cameron is also a founding member of TransEpiscopal – for his post about the resolution on the TE blog, including the full text of the resolution, click here. For his similar oon the ICTE blog, click here.

This is particularly meaningful for me, as I am Episcopalian on my late mother’s side. Mazel tov!!

My 6th surgery anniversary!

Today is the 6^th anniversary of my chest surgery (I had my chest changed from more female to more intersex / alien)!

I celebrated by sponsoring the oneg ("joy", refreshments after the service and bread and wine / grape juice) at my synagogue, Congregation Am Tikva. (It’s common at synagogues for members to sponsor onegs and other things in honor of special occasions, and I’ve occasionally done it at CAT.)

I brought Trader Joe’s cakes, mini pastries and fruit salad. I decorated with TJ’s gelt (chocolate coins wrapped in foil to look like real coins, usually a Hanukah thing) and roses, and my own Jewish decorations. As always, I also wanted to be symbolic / thematic and funny – so I bought two more things at the Sweet N’ Nasty, a sex-themed bakery and ‘novelty’ shop here in Boston. On top of each cake, I placed and lit a votive candle -- dyed and molded to look like a breast. I also put out a plate of nickel-sized white chocolate truffles – also dyed and molded thusly.

As I’d thought, it was a good way to do something I should do anyway while creating a “teachable moment” about transgender issues.

Today is Election Day

Happy Election Day!!! In a word, VOTE. (Every four years on this date, we elect the President, Congress, et al.)

I want to share the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition’s (MTPC) latest awesomeness – they’ve created a “Transgender Communities and Voting Access” guide. Also, the National Center for Transgender Equality has created an “Overcoming Voting Obstacles” guide. Both of these guides are primarily intended to help transgender voters vote -- and to educate about trans voters' challenges.

If you experience a problem at the polls because you're transgender, please let MTPC know, as they are tracking these experiences and working with local organizations to address any issues. You can fill out a form on their website, email info@masstpc.org, or call them at 617.778.0519.

Photographer Richard Chase's show "The Mask"

Warning: Richard Chase's sites include nudity.

I met photographer Richard Chase when he advertised in the Queer Agenda (a local GLBT et al enewsletter) for trans and other models and I emailed him; we’ve done a few shoots of me.

One of his most recent collaborations is with maskmaker Eric Bornstein, Founder and Artistic Director of Behind The Mask – Richard photographed models wearing some of Eric’s masks, then Photoshopped the images. Some of the photographs are the Cambridge Center for Adult Education’s (Harvard Square) show “The Mask”.

Tonight was the show's opening reception, and I attended.

Coming soon, more about me and photography in my entry “Me & Photography”.

GLAD's Transgender Rights Project

GLAD is Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, the New England legal organization which works to end discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status and gender identity and expression -- their motto is “equal justice under law”. Recently they realized they needed to have a program dedicated to trans legal issues, especially basic civil rights – which we transpeople still don’t officially have in Massachusetts! The bill adding “gender identity and expression” to the state law (against discrimination and hate crimes) should pass next year, but even after that we’ll need GLAD’s help. And so at New England Trans Pride on Saturday June 7^th (in Northampton), GLAD officially launched their Transgender Rights Project.

In July, GLAD announced that they were looking for transpeople to be in the photographs for TRP’s publicity materials. I responded and was chosen for one of the photo shoots, and then for the brochure! (They chose which photo of me to use, and it was a good one.) They hired local trans photographer Jess Dugan, who I’ve known since he was a teenager.

Tonight GLAD held a reception to officially introduce the TRP publicity materials, and I attended. There were speakers, a gallery of the framed photos, and food.

I can’t yet link to the brochure, but the links above include the content. And hopefully you have access to the hard copy or will soon.

Coming soon, more about me and photography in my entry “Me & Photography”.

Islam and I

Fellow Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality (ICTE) member (and blog author) Richard Juang talked me into an unusual outing tonight, and I’m glad he did. (No, not that kind of “outing”!) I've known Islam a bit longer and better than many people, but I still don’t know enough. Yesterday, a few of Richard's acquaintances of invited him to the Boston Muslim Film Festival, and he invited me.

The BMF Festival is a program of the American Islamic Congress and its Project Nur. The AIC is a civil-rights organization promoting tolerance and the exchange of ideas among Muslims and between other peoples, working globally with offices in Washington, Boston, Egypt and Iran. One of AIC’s student-led initiatives is Project Nur (“Enlightenment”), which helps to build bridges between Muslim and non-Muslim students on university campuses by promoting co-existence, tolerance, and understanding.

This year’s BMF Festival theme is “Art Under Fire”. We attended the premiere, Nina Davenport’s documentary Operation Filmmaker at the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square (Cambridge, MA). “OF” is the story of Muthana Mohmed, an Iraqi film student. Liev Schreiber, an American actor, saw Muthana featured on MTV and invited him to intern on the set of Everything Is Illuminated in the Czech Republic. What follows is a long, strange trip through ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’, Hollywood, Europe, England and more.

Before the film, the audience was given Festival goodie bags of informational materials and candy, spoken to by the organizers, and treated to a show of bhangra dancing (the folk music and dance created by the farmers in Punjab region of Pakistan and India to celebrate Vaisakhi, Spring) by Boston University’s group to promote an upcoming collegiate competition.

Our after-party was at least as interesting. In keeping with the theme of the evening, we dined at Algiers (next door to the theatre! it seems they don’t have their own website, but I hope I’m wrong, because it’s a wonderful place and that link doesn’t do it justice). And one of our party turned out to be a Swedish woman here as a fellow at Harvard University, working on the philosophy of the ethics of stem cell research. Yes, we both exchanged contact info with her.

Thank you to all our hosts for a night of much figurative and literal food for thought!

(This entry is crossposted to the ICTE blog. I’ll be emailing it to the Festival as a thank-you card.)

Happy New Year 5769!

Shana Tova (year good => good year)! Or as my friend Chris says, Shannen Doherty!

‘Tis the Jewish high holiydays, the Days of Awe (and Aww).

I had a lovely time last night, this morning and afternoon at Congregation Am Tikva's Erev Rosh Hashanah, Rosh Hashanah and Tashlich services and am looking forward to attending the rest of CAT's hi hol services (CAT is the GLBT synagogue of Boston, and my shul).

I'm giving the dvar (sermon) at CAT’s Kol Nidre service (erev Yom Kippur) next Wednesday, October 8th!

May you and yours spend this time in ways that are meaningful to you.

I’m working on Smaht Cahds at Hahvad

(“I pahked my cah in Hahvad Yahd” (I parked my car in Harvard Yard) is an old joke – about the Boston accent, how difficult it is to drive and park – especially in Harvard Square, and how it’s impossible to drive into Harvard University.)

Transgender work is still my life’s work; yet alas, there still doesn’t seem to be funding for me to do it. And I don’t think I’m ready to start my own business (consulting and/or art), even part-time.

So I’ve been job searching for a paid job. As usual, it’s been a ‘long strange trip’. But I have become an employee of Spherion, the agency that provides temps (temporary employees) to Harvard University. I’ve long wanted to become an employee of Harvard (how much more so since I started temping), and Spherion is the way.

During the second half of August and first half of September, I worked for the Smart Card ID Project, Yard Operations, and on making the freshmen (freshpeople?) student ID cards. I also worked for my longtime GLBT colleague Robyn Ochs (bisexual leader) in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures. The Project and ‘Yard Ops’ were so pleased with me that they each offered me a three-month gig.

I chose to join the Project team. Harvard has been upgrading their plastic ID cards to “smart cards” (like the MBTA Charlie Card). Since January, they’ve replaced 12,000 cards. Between today and the end of November or so, we’ll be replacing the other 50,000 – 60,000.

I’ve done some unofficial and informal GLBT (especially T, of course; and interfaith) education with my fellow temps, Harvard employees and others; that and the rest of my queer experience here has been excellent. One of my favorite moments was when I walked by the entrance to the Harvard College Women’s Center and saw their chalkboard: “ALL GENDERS Are Welcome at the Harvard College Women’s Center”. I went in and told them why I appreciated it, and they appreciated that.

Coming Soon – My 2008 Work

“That’s a very noble story.”

"Noble?”

"Stories can be whimsical, or frightening, or melancholy, or many other things. But noble stories are the ones that can most affect our lives. May I have your permission to tell others this story?”

“Sure. It’s no secret.”

“But stories are an essential part of every person’s being. I would never share one without permission.”

Eudana and Ensign Harry Kim
Star Trek : Voyager
Season 1, Episode 10 – “Prime Factors”
March 8, 1989

I want to summarize my work during 2008 here, but am still writing it up and deciding how to present it. I probably won’t be able to do create and post an entry for each workday -- for one thing, there's too much backlog. I may create a Word document that’s a summary and update this entry with that link (a link to the document in my Google Docs).

My Friend Annette the Awesome

My friend Annette sent me a email forward today about great question and answer quotes from Hollywood Squares (television game show) episodes of decades ago. It included this:

Peter Marshall, Hollywood Squares Quizmaster: “You've been having trouble going to sleep. Are you probably a man or a woman?”

Don Knotts: “That’s what's been keeping me awake.”

Thanks muchly, A!

Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality

The Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality (ICTE) was founded last summer by Richard M. Juang (Masachusetts Lesbian & Gay Bar Association), Keshet (myself included), Dr. Alex Coleman, and a few others. The other current members are Rev. Michael Cooper (Metropolitan Community Church / Boston), Sean Delmore (United Methodist Church), Rev. Christopher Fike (Christ Church / Somerville, Episcopal), Orly Jacobovits (Keshet Senior Organizer & Community Educator) and Elyssa Cohen (Keshet Community Organizer), Rev. Cameron Partridge (St. Luke’s & St. Margaret’s, Episcopal), Robyn Robbins (MCC/B, ICTE webmistress).

We are transgender and allied people and organizations working for transgender inclusion in faith communities. Our primary goal is to help pass the bill formerly known as House Bill 1722, An Act Relative To Gender-Based Discrimination and Hate Crimes – it came close to passing during the legislative session that ended July 1st, and will be refiled with a new number and perhaps name early next year. ICTE increases and mobilizes faith-based support for the bill, much like similar organizations did for the legalization of same-sex marriage.

One of ICTE’s projects is our declaration of faith-based support for the bill. To see a PDF of ICTE’s declaration with its current signatories, click here. To sign, click here (you can also sign by email, phone, fax, or hard mail). To apply for membership, work with us otherwise, or for more information: InterfaithCoalition@GMail.com / 617.524.9227 (Keshet office).

THANK YOU to “my” signatories (those who signed primarily because I asked them to):

Angel(a) Buonopane
Michael Burggren
S. Glass
Christopher Hannon
Louise Kittredge*
Mary Madsen
Zev Michelson
Suzanne Morrison
Jessica Solomon

Your signature helped and will continue to, and you won’t have to resign. If you haven’t signed, I’ll be asking you to. If you’re not asked, it’s because we only need Massachusetts voters.

*Mrs. K also left the best comment: “Transgendered people are a smaller minority than gay and lesbian people, and are therefore more likely to be seen as “strange” and somehow unworthy of protection. That is why they must be protected by law.” There aren’t actually fewer trans people than gay/lesbian/bisexual people – and there’s a great deal of (perhaps even complete) overlap between the identities -- but there do seem to be fewer of us because even fewer of us are visible.

I ordered new business cards today!

I ordered new business cards from Vista Print today! They're fabulous, if I do say so myself -- I designed them using a VP photo of a Chinese (?) blue dragon bas relief with foliage (blue dragons are one of my identities and therefore my primary symbol).

I also added matching address labels. My order will arrive in three weeks (I didn't need it earlier, and that was the cheapest shipping option). I can't wait to see and use both.

Click here to see the PDF proof of the biz cards (I want to use Google Docs to host and share all my files for this site, but GD isn't yet able to publish PDFs to the web -- I'm sure they'll add that asap). I futzed a bit between the proof and the published version, but I didn't edit the text.

I've had a few versions of my biz card over the years -- handmade, printed on home and office printers on Staples blank packaged cards, Vista Printed, etc. These VP ones are the best ever. But I'll continue to create other versions as well.

I’ve Updated My Other Online “Holmes” (Homes)

“Ladies and gentlemen and invited transgender species...”

Lieutenant Commander Data
Star Trek : Nemesis
December 13th, 2002

(Imagine my reaction when I saw that in the theatre!)

I’ve updated my other online “holmes” (homes), except for Live Journal: Facebook, Friendster, Google, Idealist, Linked In, My Space, Queer Today, Yahoo, You Tube.

I need to update them again soon, both their graphic design and content, but.

First I’ll work on my Etsy shop and Flickr gallery, for selling and showing my artwork (and my sister Eloise’s).

Mazel Tov, IlanaRei & Jackie!

My friends IlanaRei and Jackie were wed today. I attended their wedding with our mutual friend Sara; we were also guests at their “rehearsal” dinner party and bridal shower. All of the events were wonderful, and much of the wonderfulness was the result of the couple’s and their family’s long hard labor of love.

One of our favorite moments was when one of their family members included an excellent performance from memory of E. E. Cummings’ poem “Somewhere I Have Never Traveled” in her toast:

somewhere i have never traveled, gladly beyond
any experience, your eyes have their silence:

in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,

or which i cannot touch because they are too near

your slightest look easily will unclose me

though i have closed myself as fingers,

you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens

(touching skillfully, mysteriously) her first rose

or if your wish be to close me, i and

my life will shut very beautifully, suddenly,

as when the heart of this flower imagines

the snow carefully everywhere descending;

nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility: whose texture

compels me with the color of its countries,

rendering death and forever with each breathing

(i do not know what it is about you that closes

and opens; only something in me understands

the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)

nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands

(You’ll note that like countless other fabulous people, including one of the brides, Cummings was a metro Bostonian. And in honor of the other bride, note that he was also something of a New Yorker.)

Best wishes in your travels together, IRT & JG. May we all meet the best companions for our travels. Mazel tov!!

Click here to see my Picasa Web Album of the wedding gift I made for them.