#VisitOccupyWallStreet

A week ago today, while in New York, Carrie and I wandered down to see what was happening at #occupywallstreet and then have a look at the 9/11 memorial. It was not a special day in the movement’s history–no failed attempts to take over the Brooklyn Bridge, no major unions marching down to join the protest. SPECIAL NOTE TO MY BOURGEOIS READERSHIP: want to support the movement? Give them money.

protesters at occupy wall street

The square was full but not overflowing. At first glance, the people who caught our eyes were the ones you’ve probably heard about, the punks camping out, the people in the drum circle, the hippies setting up microbusiness to sell food or whatever to the other protests (they had some competition from nearby food trucks). But it’s clearly bigger than that. Although I wouldn’t say the crowd was hugely racially diverse, it did seem like there were people from many walks of life there.

protesters at occupy wall street

Most of signs and slogans were easy to understand. There was some speechifying but would couldn’t really hear, even with the makeshift PA setup where the crowd repeats each line the speaker says.

protesters at occupy wall street

The complaints about a lack of leadership or demands seem to me completely misguided. There are so many obvious things that can be done, from taxing the rich and corporations, to closing loopholes in trading regulations to de-socializing risk (or properly socializing its rewards), to shoring up public works, a real single-payer healthcare system, supporting schools, and on and on.

police line at occupy wall street

But instead the state’s investment is best illustrated by this line of police cars apparently permanently stationed next to the protesters. The police present seemed jovial and more or less there to direct traffic, but the threat of state violence is always just beneath the surface at these things.

rules at 9/11 memorial

After hanging out there for a little while, we headed down to the 9/11 memorial, to discover that there is wait of over a month to get tickets. As the sign in the photo, the entire thing is incredibly securitized, which is kind of poetic. The U.S. memorializes 9/11 every day by pouring money down the drain of increased security, blowing trillions on wars it can’t win, and instilling fear in its population through various security measures.

Speaking of which, when it was time to head up to our next destination, we discovered that the nearest subway station is completely closed, and large portions of streets were blocked off. I have no idea what the explanation was, except that people couldn’t ride the train directly to the protests.

Later, we would find ourselves in the Lower East Side (I was in search of a bass pedal). On the way, we passed by a restaurant the looked like one of the greatest Epic Culinary Fails in New York City history:

epic fail: restaurant in NYC named 'Poutine'

I love poutine, but I’ve never had a good serving of it outside Quebec (the “gourmet” Vancouver version I tried was the equivalent of, well, ordering Mexican food in many parts of Canada).

Finally, per Lisa’s request, a photo of the audience from the Cabinet event that brought me down in the first place. The guy in front looking at his notebook appeared to be drawing all the overhead slides.

audience at cabinet talk

Phonautograph + Really?

First, the Cabinet event last night was amazing and a lot of fun. Also it is probably my first and only-lifetime appearance in Time Out.

Sari Carel (my copanelist with curator Leah Abir), her partner Justin and I are talking about some kind of “Explore the Phonautograph” website once she’s done with her Semaphore Island Project, which will combine some of their footage with other interesting materials.

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Since I signed the MUNACA petition and asked change.org not to put me on any mailing lists, they put me on a mailing list. In my inbox today, a message that appears to suggest the way to deal with homophobic slurs in the NHL is to use ableist slurs against the NHL. “Turned a blind eye” is a figure of speech in exactly the same way that “faggot” is a figure of speech. By all means, let the NHL fine Simmonds if that’s where we’re headed in player discipline in pro sports. But by the same logic, maybe change.org should fine Eden?

Dear Jonathan,

What do you do when someone hurls a homophobic slur at a hero? If you’re the National Hockey League, you turn a blind eye.

New York Rangers forward Sean Avery joined the campaign to fight for same-sex marriage in New York this spring, knowing full well he might get blowback from opponents in the NHL. Avery stood up for his beliefs, and he thought the NHL would have his back… but he was wrong.

This week, Philadelphia Flyers player Wayne Simmonds called Sean Avery a “f*cking f*ggot” during an exhibition game. Avery complained to NHL officials, but the officials say they won’t fine Simmonds because “there are conflicting accounts of what transpired on the ice.” This despite the fact that Simmonds can clearly be seen mouthing the slur on video.

Gay rights activist and avid hockey fan Gloria Nieto thinks this is just plain wrong, so she started a petition on Change.org imploring the NHL to fine Wayne Simmonds for his use of an anti-gay slur. Please sign Gloria’s petition today.

Other professional sports leagues have cracked down on homophobic slurs. When Kobe Bryant used the same slur as Simmonds, the National Basketball Association fined him $100,000. Nearly a third of all Major League Baseball teams have made “It Gets Better” videos to stand up against anti-gay bullying.

The NHL’s inaction is not only a step backward in the fight to end the culture of homophobia in professional sports. It’s also a betrayal of Sean Avery, who represents the very best of how professional athletes can help the fight for gay rights.

If the NHL is allowed to ignore Simmonds’ slur, that sends a dangerous signal to other hockey players: Don’t bother supporting the LGBT community. Your league won’t have your back if you do.

NHL officials need to know that you are watching their actions closely and fully expect them to hold Wayne Simmonds accountable. Please sign Gloria’s petition asking the NHL to fine Wayne Simmonds for his use of an anti-gay slur:

http://www.change.org/petitions/nhl-fine-wayne-simmonds-for-his-homophobic-slur-against-sean-avery

Thanks for being a change-maker,

– Eden and the Change.org team

MUNACA Update

I haven’t been blogging the strike as well as I should have been, but luckily MUNACA has been at http://munacastrike.wordpress.com. Highlights of the last couple weeks: solidarity groups have really come together. Although MFLAG’s website shows little action (that should change soon), the group has been furiously busy. There has also be a little administration pushback. While it is common for profs on US and Canadian campuses to take classes off campus during a strike such as this one, the administration has come down on people who have, demanding that they return to campus or be suspended without pay and relieved of all duties until they do.

It’s funny. While I completely and wholeheartedly support taking classes off campus as a simple matter of academic freedom (keeping in mind that some accommodations need to be made for students), I decided not to myself mostly for logistical reasons and because I felt it was more symbolic than anything else (since when eg Canada post doesn’t cross the picket line, the mail doesn’t get delivered), and that I would support the strike in other ways. But now that I see how big a deal McGill admin is making out of it, I am all the more committed to defending it. I can only guess as to why they think this is an important place to impose discipline, but since they do, it obviously matters more than I initially thought it did.

Given how things stand, I invite you to sign a petition in support of the right of McGill faculty to take their classes off campus in support of labor actions. I would point out that some other universities, like McMaster, actually have procedures and policies in place to allow this to happen. And before the admin decided it was an issue, high level administrators themselves said it was well within the range of academic freedom to do so. Until he retracted the statement, Deputy Provost for Student Life and Learning Morton Mendelson had said that relocation of classes “is not an issue unless professors cease teaching altogether.” (That’s a paraphrase but as often as I have been misquoted in the news, that seems like a hard one to get wrong)

Here’s the petition to sign. Please sign it and facebook, link and tweet it. Thank you!

Voice Lift Review: Or, Laryngology Phenomenology (not really, but it rhymes)

Well, I don’t really recommend the operation for a good time (graphic details below the line for the curious) but it certainly has had an effect on my voice. It sounds different and it’s easier to talk. I would definitely do it again. My friend Derek says that before my voice sounded like my old voice but with a cold, now my voice sounds like I have a different kind of cold. It’s still a little gravelly–possibly because I’m sore–since the laryngologist had to poke my vocal cord several times. But I can raise it a little and it takes a lot less effort to talk. I don’t feel light headed as easily. I still needed the speech amp at the Dirty Beaches show last night, but I didn’t have to work as hard. If I strained, it tickled, rather than felt like my breath was rushing out of me. This should be good for about three months. they’re hoping to get new goo from the US to inject next time that will last for six. I don’t think either the doctor or I would relish doing the operation more than once.

Oh, and on the speech amp: I still haven’t totally adjusted to it socially. I mean, I just use it but I do feel somewhat self conscious. Though it’s kind of ridiculous. Take last night. I’m in a room full of painfully decked out hipsters with all their little fashion details worked out just so; that perfect mix of conformity and sanctioned eccentricity. From a viewpoint above the room, one guy with a transistor radio around his neck and wearing a mic is just another hipster with a lame quirk.

Or not. Gory stuff below the line. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Continue reading “Voice Lift Review: Or, Laryngology Phenomenology (not really, but it rhymes)”

Voice Lift: Why I Shouldn’t Have Been So Critical of All The Plastic Surgery in Los Angeles

During our six weeks in LA, we saw a LOT of people who had plastic surgery. At least in the wealthier parts of town, it is part of the culture, and one can talk casually of having “work done.” For example, a friend of ours who is 50, newly single, and drop-dead gorgeous was asked by her date whether she was “going to have her eyes done.” I don’t think he got a second date.

So imagine my surprise yesterday when I went to see a laryngologist and discussed my options. He told me that he could do a procedure that would inject a liquid that would “plump up” my vocal cord, thereby making it easier for me to bring them together. Over time the body absorbs it, so you have to do it repeatedly. It is a face lift for my voice, and indeed they are starting to cross over from restorative cases like mine to cosmetic surgery.

There is a more permanent procedure where they place a gore-tex stint in your throat to move your vocal cord over. I am, however, not a good candidate because they would have to cut through radiated skin. Which is too bad not only because the voice-lift is a temporary solution (well, like a pedicure is temporary, I guess) but because it would have been fun to know I was carrying around a little piece of Vancouver in my throat. As a bonus, you’re awake for the surgery and the doctor adjusts it and you talk. That would be an amazing experience. But I’m happy not to take any unnecessary chances with my neck. The spasms and weird twitches are enough, thanks.