(no subject)

Good morning everyone, and welcome to Radio Free Monday!

LET'S DIVE IN!

Ways To Give:

the_rainbow_jen linked to a fundraiser to establish the Karen Klein Anti-Bullying Foundation to raise awareness about the anti-bullying movement.

soc_puppet linked to an indiegogo for indie gamer Deirdra Kiai, who is crowdfunding her next game, a stop-motion musical detective adventure called Dominique Pamplemousse in “It’s All Over Once the Fat Lady Sings!”. The deadline for funding is August 31, and she's about halfway there, so she could use the help.

dreamwaffles linked to a fundraiser for vet bills for a sick cat. Caveat that neither she nor I know the poster, so use your best judgment and donate with care.

Help For Free:

Kathryn is trying to win a college scholarship in a Zipcar facebook contest, and needs your votes! You can vote for "Kathryn L" at this facebook page to help get Kathryn to college. Voting closes on the 27th, so if you're going to vote, vote soon.

dirtydirtychai linked me to a frankly ugly "news" segment about asexuality. Aside from its superfail treatment of asexual orientation, there's some pretty rapey attitudes expressed. There's an article deconstructing the segment here and a change.org petition you can sign to show your support and request FOX News show a more balanced view.

Fans Helping Fans:

tree00faery is looking for internship opportunities in Dallas in early 2013. She has a wide range of interests and skills, and you can read more about her search here.

justice_turtle is looking for advice on exchange studies in English-language countries. He's looking for queer and especially trans*-friendly areas with good public transit and low cost of living; you can read more about his search and offer advice here on DW or here on LJ.

strange_selkie and darthrami are looking for a housemate on the Maryland side of DC; they have a spare room with private bath they'd like to rent. They have one adorable child, a couple of adorable cats, and are both good friends of mine, so I can vouch personally for them not being murderers or weirdos. You can direct inquiries to darthrami at gmail.com.

dirtydirtychai has had the awesome and very ambitious idea to do an audiobook of The Dead Isle, possibly even with a full cast of characters. She's asking for interested readers and sound editors/engineers at an LJ community created to work on the project. Needless to say I am SUPER EXCITED about this and while I don't have the freedom to work on it myself right now, it has my full backing.

And this has been Radio Free Monday! Thank you for your time. You can always post items for my attention in comments here (or on any post) or email me at copperbadge at gmail dot com. If you're not sure how to proceed, here is a little more about what I do and how you can help (or ask for help!). Remember, brevity is the soul of RFM.

(no subject)

You guys, I think I need to read more news. It has taken me way longer than it should have to figure out that the bizarre, expressionist face circulating the internet as a meme:

is not actually a work of art in a museum (probably titled "Portrait of a Serf" or something) but a restoration of a century-old fresco in a Spanish church.

Maybe I have gone too far into the art world. HELP, I'M TRAPPED IN SOMEONE'S BLUE PERIOD.

On the one hand, I am horrified that an amateur undertook to restore an artwork without training and very likely without permission, whatever she says about the priest telling her she could. On the other hand, taken on its own, it's not bad. It looks like something Gauguin might paint. Like, Gauguin in a really bad mood. Or Munch on mood stabilizers.

I sort of like it.

(I especially like this version, which is very Trinity. The Father, Son, and Holy What.)

(no subject)

I HAVE DISCOVERED THE HORSESHOE SANDWICH.

About a week ago, a post went up on Serious Eats and then just as mysteriously vanished -- I couldn't say why, there was no offensive content or anything, but fortunately Google Reader saved the text. It was about regional sandwiches, and I like to try local specialties, though usually I'm let down. The most traditional Boston Baked Beans I could find tasted exactly like the tinned baked beans I could get from Campbells, which has its canning plant in New Jersey, and don't get me started on the disgusting nature of Chicago deep dish. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained, so I made a note to look up some of these sandwiches.

The jibarito, for instance, which was supposedly invented in Chicago, is a bit like a Cuban only instead of bread you use fried plantain. I have sampled many a fine Italian Beef sandwich, which is marinated, shaved beef served (sometimes with peppers) in a bun that's been dipped whole in au jus. Al's is the best. They're rumoured to use nutmeg in their marinade.

But I had never heard of two of the sandwiches on the list: the Horseshoe, and the Mother In Law.

The Horseshoe: Two pieces of toast, topped with meat (apparently ham originally, though usually hamburger patties now), topped with french fries, TOPPED WITH CHEESE SAUCE.
The Mother In Law: A tamale. In a hot dog bun. Smothered with chili.

We are hearty eaters in Chicago. Well, it supposedly gets cold during the winter.

I WILL HAVE ONE OF EACH PLEASE.