Yeah, I don't think so

As noted by thornsilver, there's a Titanic Memorial Cruise. Didn't these people learn anything from Voyage of the Damned?

Ganked from theferrett

But I can't help wondering, what would have been the reaction if Susan Boyle couldn't sing?

Damned fine article.

Signal-boosting for Massachusetts folks

Ganked from my wife's LJ:

***ACTION ALERT***

Please make a call, and pass this along …

What has happened: As you may know, the House of Representatives released their budget yesterday. In that budget, rape crisis centers, domestic violence programs, specific services to GLBT and immigrant victims of violence, and batterers intervention services were drastically reduced. Representative Driscoll is sponsoring an amendment to restore these funds to the current levels. As you will see below some Representatives have already signed on but we need more!

What you can do today and tomorrow: Call or email your House Representative and ask them to sign on to the amendment sponsored by Representative Driscoll. Ask your representative to email Andrew Hoglund at Representative Driscoll’s office, Andrew.Hoglund@state.ma.us.

If you don’t know who your representative is, go to: http://www.barcc.org/active/speak-out/legislative to find out.

This is the Amendment that you will be asking your Representative to add their name to:

· Mr. Driscoll of Braintree, Mr. Dwyer of Woburn, Ms. Grant of Beverly, Ms. Gregoire of Marlboro, Mr. Lantigua of Lawrence, Mr. Patrick of Falmouth, Ms. Provost of Somerville, Mr. Swan of Springfield and Mr. Walsh of Dorchester move to amend the bill in section 2, in item 4800-1400 by striking out the figure $20,832,710 and inserting in place thereof the figure $23,500,000.

· Mr. Driscoll of Braintree, Mr. Dwyer of Woburn, Ms. Grant of Beverly, Ms. Gregoire of Marlboro, Mr. Lantigua of Lawrence, Mr. Patrick of Falmouth, Ms. Provost of Somerville, Mr. Swan of Springfield and Mr. Walsh of Dorchester move to amend the bill in section 2, in item 4513-1130 by striking out the figure $4,058,264 and inserting in place thereof the figure $6,400,000.

Tell them why these essential services should NOT be reduced when 1:4 women and 1:33 men will experience sexual violence in their lifetimes, let them know why you care. Ask your representative to sign on today by emailing Andrew Hoglund at Representative Driscoll’s office, Andrew.Hoglund@state.ma.us. If your Representative has already signed on, thank them!

Thank you so much for your help!

Fuck

As noted by 'song, Elayna got nothing for financial aid for Explo. Not one fucking cent.

That basically screws us, financially. We've got to raise a ton of money in six weeks (as what we've set aside isn't nearly enough, given the ongoing bite things like rent and food take out of our budget). And with my mom no longer able to chip in as much as she did last year (she's retired and living off investments, and like anyone in that boat, there's a lot less money for her to play with this year).

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

FWIW, the Explo people were very sympathetic (and a phone call is a lot less painful, all things considered, than a form letter). There's just not enough money to go around. Since part of what Elayna loves about Explo is the other kids (and since I don't have the slightest doubt that the ones getting aid are in even worse financial straits than we are), it's hard to get pissed; these folks need it. But it's still easy to be depressed, as this is a pretty damned steep hill to climb.

As was the case last year, we'll be doing auctions, writing, etc to do what we can to bring in extra money (and yes, Elayna will be doing some of that writing, too).

The small upshot, for those of you who enjoy my horror reviews, is that I'll be starting some of my Days of Horror reviews again (complete with donation links). Not sure how frequently -- daily is a killer, but given the short time frame, weekly seems a little silly. Probably two or three a week. The first one will be Habitat, because moominmuppet paid for a review of her choice last year, and I still haven't ponied up. Others that will follow shortly will include (for sure) the current (and sucktastic) Friday the Thirteenth movie, a Uwe Boll film, and a handful of others.