josie

Yeah, I've definitely heard the storyline "get him into football to straighten him out, get some aggression out on the other team, he'll grow out of it" except they're not grown by the time they hit draft age... champion that fire and in the wrong guy, you've got a problem.

Fair bet. I'd believe it. Probably a combo of a lot of things. Steroid power trip violence ticks a few.

At least that we hear of... Yeah I don't know. It's bullsh!t and awful. Egos? The meanest dude makes it to the top? CTE? Culture? Probably a million thinkpieces out there on it, no real answer.

I think a tiny part of it is sheer size of the league- much bigger sample pool. There's a good 30 for 30 doc (called Broke I think) about pro athletes going broke post career- you only have 1-3 years in the league on average, and a lot of the people who make it come from rather impoverished backgrounds (versus hockey/baseball)- so they don't use it wisely, they don't invest, they don't go to school, and they take part in the big money player culture. And that culture is all about the ice, babes, and partying. And they're young dudes. And sh!t happens in places where sh!tty people congregate. Think that culture overflows into the team element sometimes. But that's only part of it I'm sure. Tale as old as time, but our culture actually sort of cares now, and you hear about it more.

Oh I'm well aware. He's "old" and his back is a mess. Retirement's definitely coming. I'm amazed he played this year, honestly. Datsyuk leaving took some wind out of his sails too. I've said it before, but when Z leaves, I'm mostly done with Detroit. Just no one on that team to really hold me in. I'll keep following them, but I'm pretty firmly in Sabres territory these days.

Have to work a bunch more tonight (election season rolling in, got a lot of work to do for a client), but tomorrow I'll be performing at Riverworks for their White Party (like white club clothes and music, not kkk sh!t yo). I doubt anyone here would go to that kinda thing, but if you happen by, look up and say hi. Hoping to do more gigs around Buffalo in the future- I'm pretty solidly on the troupe team now, awkwardness be damned.

I'd vote for Washington. It's also dark's birthday that day ? But I'd love to see Ovi. And i don't want to sit there feeling super conflicted watching Detroit. But if it means I get to stare at Zetterberg, I think I can handle it ? I just won't wear my Zetterberg jersey...

Sorry, had a meeting- Nah I agree with you- this is an extreme view. I'm on board with the whole "can we please stop making all the clothing for girls pink with slogans like "I hate my thighs" (yes, really- it was a onesie) while the boys get "future astronaut" and stuff" thing, but like, some people are so far the other way (NO PINK FOR GIRLS BLAH BLAH BLAH) that it just hurts their fight. They do refer to a person's gender as "assigned at birth" in a trans situation. I used to say "biological", turns out that's kind of a no-no. Lots of semantics, it changes a lot as they try to define their existence as a magnifying glass is put on them in the media. Lots of very passionate and extreme rhetoric. Doesn't mean it's all good, or even sensical. But yeah- while I find gender reveals and all that to be really stupid, it's not violence in my opinion. That's ridic. If i have a kid, they're getting gendered, and if they find when they're older that they are trans or nonbinary or whatever, I'll support 'em 100%.

This is an example of someone crossing the line like I've mentioned above. This person is reacting to something that happened over the weekend at London Pride- a group of people who are anti trans-women having their place as lesbians (remember me saying the happy rainbow is a bunch of infighting? Yep) essentially took over the start of the parade. They're called TERFs- and they're just bigots in a different group. So there's a lot of impassioned anger right now trying to demarcate those lines.

Not too shocking I come out a lefty left. When it comes to actually arguing with people I know, I'm actually far more in the center (they all think centrist is a dirty word). Seems most the people I knew in college are all either super libertarian or all in on socialism... to the point that they're unironically posting pictures of Marx and defending Lenin. And I think about 99% of them have no idea what they're talking about despite having a lot to say ?

Ugh I got one. Boss graciously brought in a frozen yogurt truck for us as a treat today. Well, I'm lactose intolerant, but didn't want to turn down the gift and be singled out... so I got the italian ice but it came with some frozen yogurt. Add in the fact I've been rocking a fever all day because hooray being female, was wearing jeans because it's always cold in the office, and that we were all standing in the parking lot in the blazing sun for 20-30 minutes and you get me turning into a fainting goat. Realized I was in trouble, went home, threw up a couple times, hooray me It was good yogurt/ice cream/whatever though.

Counseling. Fits into my ancillary rant about how mental health care is just as important as physical health care but... I'm not sure I'm following correctly, but you're confused as to how/why someone would know inside that rather than being a very femme boy who likes other boys, he knows he's female/would be happier to be accepted by society as female? It's a very individual thing, I'm afraid there's no real "here's why this happens and here are the societal/familial/Freudian/etc. reasons that led up to that decision". I think a lot of people want those logical stairsteps to a scientific, DSM-IV definition. And it's not there right now. People have felt this way forever, but only maybe in the last couple of decades have we actually tried to listen/help without slapping it as psychosis/nutjob/curiosity and shipping them off for electroshock therapy. An argument people like to bring up is "well why are there so many gay/trans/lgbt people suddenly it's obviously a fad" and my counter is no- they just hid before or languished in internal turmoil thinking they were being smote by demons or something dark somewhere up there says that he personally can't imagine it because he isn't, and I have to say the same. Dysphoria is the clinical term I think is easiest to grab onto to explain something you don't feel. I think they're closely related. I have body dysphoria and always have- but it's not about what my body is, gender wise. A trans person, maybe from a very young age, maybe only in later years, has that same horrible feeling of "oh god I'm so not what I know I am". That person (lets say assigned male at birth) partakes in society as a woman and then they come home and take off the dress and there's the ugly truth staring them down- and if only their body could change, the hair lessen, eventually the genitals changed, they'd feel more complete, less of a lie. They're not just a femme gay guy- it's a step farther than that. If this is more of a society thing- I think we're moving in a better direction but it'll always be messy because marketing and money. It can absolutely affect a business to cater to what they consider a "niche" clientele in the face of being pro all genders and such. Trickier conversation.

I believe that's essentially all everyone wants in the end! End the thread, we're good here ? I think where people start crossing wires and getting defensive is when you look at a really involved LGBTQ community like West Hollywood and everyone sort of splits into factions and tend to get offended if they're not addressed appropriately. And while it's not really a part of this conversation, I'm going to mention that each major faction of the LGBT acronym can be reaaaallly gatekeeper-y about what people "qualify" as- aka their community can be just as close minded and sh!tty as hetero culture is purported to be. It's not the pretty happy rainbow with open minds and smiles it's often painted to be. So I think a lot of the fight to find a place in the rainbow so to speak spills out into pronoun wars and definitions- and those not involved in LGBT are going... wtf (hell, most of the community itself is going wtf half the time). And it's overwhelming and exhausting and like learning a new language that changes every few months. Brief example- bisexual is a term a lot of (overarching term- also sort of controversial to some- ugh i know) people are replacing with pansexual. I won't get into it unless you want me to (actually has something to do with trans identity) but it's very small details that some people stake their entire worth on. I call them outrage hobbyists. They exist in every group for every subject since the dawn of time. And if you're wielding the sword of civility/right and wrog... you just end up cutting your own arm off by making other people hate your cause. I think we call them SJWs now. But yeah. The main philosophy here is: be kind, don't be a d!ck, let people live their lives and don't make a huge deal about it.

D'aww butter me up, darling I have to look and see if I did any decent Sabres art worth sharing. Been too busy to really do much ?

Had to go through that with an oncoming cold and then I woke up during the damn thing. They zapped me with fentanyl and I spent the rest of the day post procedure a crying sobbing drug reaction mess. What a horrible 24 hours. Glad yours is over and hope the results are positive.

Holy whoa I leave for like a month or so and the whole place changes! I can get into details as it goes. First thing- I am not an authority- I am not trans. I do identify as somewhat gender fluid and bi- and they are very different things (see upthread about what you like vs what you feel you are). I can explain more if people want to know. I have several close friends who are trans, and they have educated me in much of what I have to say. I saw the Vonn thing in the gen. discussion- first of all, aw c'mon don't hate, us muscly big girls rock. A quick common misconception- that all trans people are gay. This'll be confusing- say my friend Rob* (pseudonym) is born Robin. He knows he's a dude, and eventually starts HRT (hormone therapy) and maybe down the line has gender reassignment surgery (that PRICEY and painful, yo- no one's just flippantly going in for that because of a fleeting feeling or to prove a point). Rob is into girls, dates people who ID as women. He's straight, not lesbian. It's a lot of semantics, and here's why it matters- it's validation. And it's easy to invalidate someone via ignorance, and it's even easier to just use their pronouns and let them live, as it's not harming anyone. It is tricky, and it's "new" to most people. Some people are real a$$holes about it. I think it's important to remember that just because someone is trans or an embattled minority doesn't mean they're a kind, patient, put-upon soul- they're people and react differently accordingly. But MOST will try to educate. Another side note- rudest/worst thing you can do (short of slurs) is use a trans person's "Dead Name". That's usually their given birth name. As above, don't call Rob by the name Robin. In many cases, these people grew up being treated like sh!t for being different, and coming out is a happier, more accepting part of their lives. Don't wanna go back to the dark times. Now, is there a glut of younger people identifying to the point of ridiculousness to be different (Hi welcome to my tumblr I'm 14 and a demisexual otherkin pan/fluid/psyvamp rutabaga and my pronouns are xi/xe/etc etc etc)? I think so- and that is tricky, because eh... easier to just ignore them. They tend to be the strawman argument used by people going "THIS SH!T IS RIDICULOUS BE A BOY OR BE A GIRL". It can be tricky. I had a few students who were trans, and at varying levels of "passing" (looks the gender they ID as). I had to really watch it and use the correct pronouns, but I slipped up once or twice and became a fuddling bumble trying to undo it. In those cases you could tell they were a bit disappointed but everyone gets a mulligan. They're aware that the mirror doesn't always reflect who they are inside, and they know the general populace is going to be that mirror. Sorry, I ramble. I admit, I mostly left the board for a bit because I was just getting so heated every other thread with what I see as borderline to sh!tty attitudes and such. Just was happening a lot, but as long as this club idea stays respectful and as a good place to diffuse thread derailing misconceptions/statements, I'll stick around a bit more. Doubt y'all even noticed I'd left ?

Woof.

It was all my fault. Every time I've ever painted a Sabres player, they've started to suck really badly soon after. It's all me. I await your pitchforks at dawn.

Been hearing it's some kind of co-op or potentially online multiplayer. Which I'm personally super duper meh about. But I guess props for experimentation/trying something new. It'll be interesting to have the setting be the earliest entry into the Wasteland- 25 years after the bomb. E3 is in a couple weeks- don't have long to wait to know.

:wub: I wish I had a bit more time this weekend to whip up some more art. Maybe I'll have some time in the off season.

One of the 26shirts guys told me it would be, but I was teaching and didn't see it. What they say? Anything interesting?

40 seconds in

I'm on such a DonGlover high right now with everything he's doing. I really need to watch Atlanta.

Did the other goalie. I think I'm team Caps. Go Ovi. Go Holtby. But I am glad I can like Flower now that he's not a Pen.

My Star Wars obsessed coworker went in with low expectations and said it was his favorite new SW movie. Had a lot of fun. He and I tend to agree on the newer flicks opinion wise, so I trust his judgement. Looking forward to it now. Honestly I'm just here for DonGlover.