they’re everywhere.

these were in a couple of recent cabela’s flyers over the past week. the top one, a .22lr crickett single shot bolt action is billed as “my first rifle”. they actually have several models, three of them in varying pink options.

the marlin model 60, is apparently available in pink laminate, though i couldn’t find it on their website. marlin has recently been purchase by remington, (careful clicking that link, a video loads automatically when the site loads) though i’m not sure what kind of an effect that will have on their product line. the marlin model 60 has been called “the most popular 22 in the world”. though i know a few ruger 10/22 owners who would argue that. ruger’s site suggests that the 10/22 “is the most popular .22 rifle of the last 40 years”.

edited to add:

the ruger 10/22 comes in several pink versions which can be seen here.

we had a bit of weather on thursday night here in phoenix. 100 mph winds were observed in places, and power went out for upwards of 100,000 residents, myself included. by 2:00 am friday, after tossing and turning in the phoenix heat, we decided to check into our local motel 6, which still had power. sleep ensued, but i was pretty much a zombie all day friday at work.

fortunately, i’m on vacation all this week, so i’ll have plenty of time to recover. and the power finally came back on friday late afternoon.

i took my husband to the range yesterday. he’s been wanting to shoot the smith & wesson 637-2 revolver, and i’d been wanting to shoot the remington 870™ magnum 12 gauge shotgun. (apparently, remington no longer makes this exact model, replaced by the “express” line). it’s been over 15 years since i’ve last fired it, so i figured i’d check to see if it still works.

i’ve heard that the best home defense ammo for the 12 gauge is 00 buckshot, so that’s what we keep it loaded with. i had a couple of boxes of the remington, but purchased 25 rounds of the winchester stuff. it features “low recoil”, but even so, each shot pushed me back pretty hard. my shoulder is still pretty sore today. i compared that to the remington stuff, which is not low recoil, and sure enough, it pushes back noticeably harder. after 2 shots of that, i handed the shotgun to my husband to finish off the box.

this is what 25 rounds of 00 buckshot does to a paper target, at 7, 10, and 15 yards. i did fairly well, considering i haven’t had much practice lately. my husband did very well, considering that was the first time he ever fired a shotgun.

of course, when we got home, i took it apart to clean. it comes apart pretty easy, and most everything is easily accessible for cleaning. it took a little effort to reassemble, as the directions were a little confusing, but it’s back together and loaded up. with the low recoil winchester ammo.

no doubt you’ve seen the media coverage on isis, the transgender woman who has been cast in the upcoming americia’s next top model 11th season. according to this article:

According to America’s Next Top Model executive producer Ken Mok, the decision to cast a transgender contestant in the show’s upcoming eleventh season was done to help further one of Tyra Banks’ initial reasons for launching the long-running reality series.

“We want to redefine what beauty is,” Mok told ABCNews.com in a Friday report. “You can be tall, you can be short, you can be plus size, you can be transgender; you don’t have to be what the modeling industry says you have to be. That was one of Tyra’s original missions.”

that’s right ken, because a mere trans woman can’t fit into the regular old definition of beauty. you must “redefine” beauty in order to include the likes of us.

jerk.

according to this article from ascribe:

New figures released today by the Transgender American Veterans Association reveal that transgender service members and veterans, like many transgender people in the U.S., face a variety of forms of discrimination based on their transgender status. The survey of 827 U.S. military veterans and active-duty personnel mark the first major empirical findings on transgender people in the military.

ya think? well, at least now there’s actual empirical documentation.

kinds gives this issue some teeth.

according to this press release, the apa resolves to play leading role in improving treatment for gender-variant people. i have to wonder if it was their resolution before, to treat gender variant people poorly.

in any event, the news looks good.

The American Psychological Association urged psychologists today to take a leading role in ending discrimination based on gender identity, calling upon the profession to provide “appropriate, nondiscriminatory treatment to all transgender and gender-variant individuals” and encouraging more research into all aspects of gender identity and expression.

read the entire press release here.

I want to put on my most angry music and destroy something.
I want those super powers I’ve been told we use to destroy feminism.

I want to fly to Shanniel Hyatt’s home and destroy him.
I want to hear my metal-enclosed fist break Anthony Tyrone Biscoe’s face.
I would like to tear Adrian Williams’ mind to shreds and watch him gibber in a corner.
I want to watch the blood flow after I cut Allan Ray Andrade’s throat.

And I am not all that violent of a person; vegetarian and anti-war and all.

Where is our super hero?
Where can I find out masked crusader?
How long till we get our Bruce Wayne, or even our Magneto?

Because we don’t get justice.
We get told we deserved it.
If the police won’t help us, if they take part in raping and killing us, it seems like we will need to make our own justice.
And I am beyond pissed off right now.

draykn of monster’s creed totally rocks. he articulates what i’ve been feeling of late. i can’t believe i’ve never added him to my links.

i referenced an article in a previous post, in which comments have taken a pretty horrid turn.

I have seen many transsexuals that I have to say I truly wonder what they are/were thinking. They simply look like men in drag, without one iota of femininity about them, and for whatever reason do not seem to care what others think, and in fact in most part seem to relish being so entirely different. All that said, there are many transsexuals, like myself who blend in seamlessly in any environment, even in hot tubs, lol. My ‘sexuality’ or identity has never been questioned, even though I am six feet tall. (I just make the minimum height for The Tall Women’s Association)
All that said, having attended many therapy groups for transgendered MTF’s I have been appalled by the number of people who I believe to be ill advised by their therapists to make a radical transition. Men who will never, ever pass no matter how much surgery they have, I do believe that they are destined for a life of unhappiness. At a most recent group that I attended as a guest speaker, there were over sixty MTF transsexuals. I am quite sure, as a very empathetic woman, that well over two thirds of those attending were following very unhappy paths. I believe that therapists in this country as well as, doctors and surgeons exploit peoples conditions and are in fact exploiting specifically men who are escaping reality, having midlife crisis or wild fantasies. Many of these ill advised men, who have surgery end up committing suicide as they find themselves entirely un-accepted by either men or women. That old saying, you cannot make silk out of a sow’s ear is particularly true for these men. I am extremely blessed in that I “pass” and consequently live an extremely normal life with no more thought about who or what I am than the next person. I do think the medical profession is very much to blame for the the transsexuals you are referring to. And that is not to deny ones right to be whatever they wish. However, the facts speak for themselves, in you cannot seamlessly blend in with the gender you most relate to, then you are in for a great deal of hurt, and possible ultimately suicide. Obviously it doesn’t need to be pointed out that if you have no reason to question a woman’s gender, then it can be assumed she is authentic…..as a person.

we have become the enemy.

via the gothamist, it seems new york state senate republicans have introduced a bill that would protect minors, especially minor gays and trans people, from bullies.

But no one will take credit for sponsoring the bill, and it may disappear as quietly as it was introduced. A spokesman for the Senate majority leader Dean G. Skelos would not comment on the proposed law, telling the Times, “We are focused on property tax relief.”

figures. read the post here.

so yesterday, we had a somewhat large meeting at work, comprising several departments, with the top brass also attending. as the attendees rambled into the large meeting room, my eye caught a rather large woman, who appeared to me as visibly trans. now i’m notoriously bad at clocking other trans women, but i’m happy to see there’s at least one other trans woman who works for my company. i didn’t strike up conversation, but if i see her again, i may. i have reservations about doing so because of my own experience a few years ago when i was working at sears, when a trans man came up to me and introduced himself.

then tonight, i stopped off at circle k to buy a couple of monsters, and there behind the counter was another trans woman. i made my purchase without incident. and unlike the woman at work, who i believe noticed me as well, i don’t think this woman realized i clocked her.

trans people. we’re everywhere.