it's a long weekend, here's some stuff to read

Curtis opened a red-paneled module on the Buchla, at which point he saw “a crust or a crystalline residue on it.” Curtis reportedly sprayed a cleaning solvent on the area and attempted to dislodge the crystal with his finger. After 45 minutes, Curtis was overcome with a strange tingling sensation, followed by a nine-hour trip, the report states.

Everything was falling into place except for one thing: an outfit for my first day at work as my true self. Here I was, a 34-year-old trans woman going through a second puberty. I had no idea how it was going to go. My new coworkers seemed excited to have me, but it was impossible to know how customers would react.

Would they clock me as a trans woman and react negatively? Would they be too busy going about their lives to even notice? The branch was in the liberal oasis of Portland, Maine, but even socially liberal people can be transphobic. Once again, I was pressed for time and wanted something extra special.

I knew Dressbarn would deliver, just as it had for that special night with my now-ex-wife. I walked in this time as Katelyn. This time, I knew I belonged.

There are so many places in the world that it’s impossible to properly see them all in a single lifetime. How, in a world of great cities and historically important sites, natural wonders and gorgeous landscapes, do you decide where to go? Well, you say fuck all of that other stuff and make a little Taiwanese town filled with cats the top priority.

This country, and its government, have a serious problem with representation. Who we choose to honor as a society affects the moral attitudes that are baked into us as we grow up. The impact that seeing the face of Harriet Tubman staring back at you from a $20 bill should not be underestimated. This sort of representation can subtly but deeply affect someone’s conception of themselves and their place in society.

I am here at the epicenter of momming and money in order to understand what it means when one of our culture’s most sacred identity markers becomes a profitable branding tool. How motherhood, which has been historically used as a way to keep women from accessing professional accomplishment and financial resources, becomes an economic pipeline.

It’s fucked-up what we do to women in America—specifically mothers. Women still bear the mental, emotional, and physical weight of caring for families; married mothers in America still do twice as much housework as married fathers, and 42 percent of mothers say they had to take time off to care for a child, while only 28 percent of fathers say the same.

Our horses returned from their winter boarding facility with a serious upper respiratory infection, requiring us to cancel or reschedule horse programs.

Horse program fees generally pay for horse care and for financial assistance for girls who would not otherwise be able to attend our camps. Caring for a herd of extremely sick horses is also much, much more expensive than the care our horses usually need. We are asking our community to come together to support the horses and our girls. 

We are asking our community to support our horses and share in the cost of their care, which will ensure that financial support is still available for girls who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend camp.