Well… for the last two days, I’ve attempted to record a video blog entry about my revamp status, but for some reason, the Inspiron 1525’s video webcam thing doesn’t seem to be working properly to be uploaded into YouTube. (Does anyone have any experiences with this?? I will research this tomorrow.) Anyway… here’s basically what I said:

I did NOT reach my optimistic milestone date of Jan 1 with the new revamp, to much of my own dismay!

However, I stayed in all of Xmas weekend to get a lot of it done. (Hah! I turned down a Vegas trip to be productive! (What a NERD!!!!)) I’ve reached a great point, which I’m pretty juiced about! I finished inking in (via Wacom) the sketch I doodled a few weeks back. I have to admit that I’m pretty impressed by the capabilities of the Wacom. Of course, I spent a lot of time doing some small details that most people won’t even see since I’ll probably shrink the image, but… for my own satisfaction, I went in and did all the nitty gritty details–which I LOVE to do!

My next goal would be to have the revamp done by end of January, but I won’t have computer access for most of the month, so that won’t be very plausible nor realistic. So… I’m gonna aim for end of February to get it out! I think with the progress I made in the last 2 weeks, February will be a productive month!

The main motivators for my revamp right now are:

1. I’m sooooo bored of this design: it totally isn’t how I feel anymore, and I think my page needs more of a kick like it used to
2. Getting my resume update: While everyone around me is working on updating their resumes in these bad times right now, my resume and everything about me is directly accessible via Googling my name. I need to make sure my persona is all PRESENTABLE the way I want, and I want my site to represent who I am right NOW.
3. Creative Outlet: It’s been suuuchhh a long time since I’ve redesigned my site and its content!

Here’s something I had a lot of fun drawing, particularly the little details!

Thanks for sticking around, and thanks for your support! (Happy New Year!)

(From Equality Camp: http://equalitycamp.com/ )

The demonstrations against Prop 8 that have been organized using Facebook and wikis are promising signs of an opportunity to build a stronger, grassroots-powered movement for marriage equality. The “Please don’t divorce…” photo project is a fabulous grassroots action to help people build a personal connection to and empathy for people who are hurt by Prop 8.

One of the great weaknesses of the No on 8 campaign is that it did not take advantage of the opportunities for grassroots/netroots organizing. Also, the campaign made a big strategic error by hiding the faces of gay people, when we know that personal heart connection is what moves many people to change their minds about supporting gay rights.

The actions of the last six weeks are a great start — and there are many more opportunities to weave together a grassroots, netroots, people-powered movement. There are opportunities for people working on bottom-up initiatives to coordinate together. There are opportunities to take advantage of the power of Web 2.0 technology to empower grassroots organizers and younger activists who live online.

The Web has changed organizing; it will never work top-down again. The Web has shown us how to bring people together to make change. EqualityCamp is a pilot event to bring Web 2.0 geeks who know the lessons of the Web well together with activists for marriage equality and equal rights for gays.

EqualityCamp on January 3 in San Francisco, is a “BarCamp” style event that will bring together netroots, grassroots, and technologists to help coordinate efforts to repeal Prop 8 and support marriage equality. The people with the most power aren’t the people in a few organizations. We all have power. That means you, too. We’re organizing a way for you to exercise it easily. At EqualityCamp you set the agenda. We discover what we want and we teach each other what we need to know.

Themes and topics at EqualityCamp are expected to include:

• connecting “netroots” and traditional organizing
• using “Web 2.0″ tools to support a grassroots movement
• bringing effective practices from the Obama campaign into the movement for marriage equality
• digital video concepts to share stories and build support

Come to EqualityCamp and flesh out your ideas to use your networks, organizing and tech skills to support marriage equality and help repeal Prop 8. We are dedicated to making a people-powered marriage equality movement work from the bottom-up.

Join us!
January 3, 2008
Citizen Space
425 2nd Street, Suite 300
San Francisco, CA 94107
Google Map

For more information: http://equalitycamp.com/
Registration (you’ll need a ticket to attend): http://equalitycamp.eventbrite.com/

If you cannot make it to San Francisco for January 3rd, then visit EqualityCamp.com to learn how to make your own in your town. Please comment if you have any more questions.

I was sick for Christmas.

That’s it.

(Hah–suckkerrr)

I got sick on Christmas Eve, probably because on Christmas Eve Eve, I went out to Japantown to join the Embarkers at the Soju Tweetup at Playground. It was also Gilberta’s birthday too.

I got there and someone handed me a shot of soju+yogurt shot (You know, those small tiny Korean yogurt drinks). It was AWESOME. Most likely, I got some gross germs from the shot glass and it was also FREEZING that day. I probably caught something when I was having my drunken shivers anyway. (Yes! I got drunk for the first time in months! Those damn soju shots are hella damn good! I had like 6 of those… and I think a ginseng shot. Yeah. Totally gross.)

Anyhows, I decided not to go to Vegas with my mom and brother to meet up with our Toronto family friends because I wanted to spend more time on the drawings for the revamp.

Here’s some pics with the new fancy imbedded webcam that I took to narrate the general idea of what I did:

Alright. To be honest, the only reason I took all those pics was to animate the raccoon.

I spent most of the last few days with my laptop and the Wacom set up in the living room, pretending not to be distracted by the tv and random finds on the internet in order to work more on the drawing.

I’ve gotten a lot done, though there’s still a lot of work to do still. (Sorry! No spoilers for you!) I really want to get things up and running by New Years!!! Wish me luck!

Hope y’all are having a great Holiday season! <3

I’m a little bit late on this one, I know, I know!

If you’re interested in joining me on my latest LGBT activism: I’ll be attending the first Equality Camp on January 3rd in SF: http://equalitycamp.com/

If you’re a techie and you’re dedicated to making change in the LGBTQ community, this event’s a mesh of Web 2.0 activists that will plan and discuss ways to incorporate and utilize our techie knowledge as another medium for the social movement.

Article from Yahoo! News: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081223/ap_on_re_us/lesbian_rape

SAN FRANCISCO – A woman in the San Francisco Bay area was jumped by four men, taunted for being a lesbian, repeatedly raped and left naked outside an abandoned apartment building, authorities said Monday.

Detectives say the 28-year-old victim was attacked Dec. 13 after she got out of her car, which bore a rainbow gay pride sticker. The men, who ranged from their late teens to their 30s, made comments indicating they knew her sexual orientation, said Richmond police Lt. Mark Gagan.

“It just pushes it beyond fathomable,” he said. “The level of trauma — physical and emotional — this victim has suffered is extreme.”

Authorities are characterizing the attack as a hate crime but declined to reveal why they think the woman was singled out because of her sexual orientation. Gagan would say only that the victim lived openly with a female partner and had a rainbow flag sticker on her car.

The 45-minute attack began when one of the men approached the woman as she crossed the street, struck her with a blunt object, ordered her to disrobe and sexually assaulted her with the help of the other men.

When the group saw another person approaching, they forced the victim back into her car and took her to a burned-out apartment building, where she was raped again inside and outside the vehicle. The assailants took her wallet and drove off in her car. Officers found the car abandoned two days later.

The woman sought help from a nearby resident, and she was examined at a hospital. Although the victim said she did not know her attackers, detectives hope someone in the community knows them. One of the men went by the nickname “Blue” and another was called “Pato,” according to authorities.

Richmond police are offering a $10,000 award for information leading to the arrest of the attackers.
Gay rights advocates note that hate crimes based on sexual orientation have increased nationwide as of late. There were 1,415 such crimes in 2006 and 1,460 in 2007, both times making up about 16 percent of the total, according to the FBI.

Avy Skolnik, a coordinator with the New York-based National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, noted that gay, lesbian and transgender crime victims may be more reluctant than heterosexual victims to contact police.

“Assailants target LGBT people of all gender identities with sexual assault,” he said. “Such targeting is one of the most cruel, dehumanizing and violent forms of hate violence that our communities experience.”

Skolnik said the group plans to analyze hate crime data to see whether fluctuations may be related to the gay marriage bans that appeared on ballots this year in California, Arizona and Florida.
“Anytime there is an anti-LGBT initiative, we tend to see spikes both in the numbers and the severity of attacks,” he said. “People feel this extra entitlement to act out their prejudice.”

If you’re interested in joining me on my latest LGBT activism: I’ll be attending the first Equality Camp on January 3rd in SF: http://equalitycamp.com/

If you’re a techie and you’re dedicated to making change in the LGBTQ community, this event’s a mesh of Web 2.0 activists that will plan and discuss ways to incorporate and utilize our techie knowledge as another medium for the social movement.