Lost Kodak Moments

Posted on March 11, 2012 by

The evening of June 17, 2008, the Boston Celtics were up three games to two going into Game 6 of the NBA playoff finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.

In a power-house of a match-up that was reminiscent of their three playoff series against the Lakers in the 1980s, the Celtics had a chance to win their 17th NBA championship trophy that night in June, 2008.

And I had tickets.

I and a friend had decided to take a chance that the Celtics would win the championship in Game 6. Splurging on an eBay purchase of a pair of tickets, we met a couple of hours before the game at the Haymarket T stop, he arriving on his bicycle and I having taken the train.  It was a clear, cool, beautiful evening and we enjoyed the weather as we strolled over to the North End for dinner.

Little did I know that we were walking into one of the greatest photo ops I’d ever experienced.

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Posted in Narrative | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Our Siblings of Juchitán

Posted on March 4, 2012 by

There is a book store in a train station in a large city in central Europe that offers hundreds, maybe even thousands of magazines, comic books and newspapers from all over the world.  Well, maybe not from all over the world, but certainly from Europe and North America.

I recently discovered the shop while doing some exploring during a 10-day business trip that kept me in Europe over a weekend.

In perusing the racks and stacks of magazines, comic books and newspapers from not quite all over the world, the color photograph on the cover of one of them caught my eye.  The image was of twin girls of about six years of age, wearing dark blue velvet dresses as though ready to go to church, both looking out from the book with large, brown, soulful eyes.

Upon flipping through the pages, I realized it was a photography periodical, the name of which I have forgotten if I ever took notice of it at all; the title was not printed on the front cover.  This particular edition was devoted to Mexico and included both portraits and journalistic images of Mexican people and places.  A photo essay included within gave me pause at the enormous coincidence of picking up this particular publication among the hundreds that were displayed and led to a discovery that is the subject of this post.

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Posted in Commentary, News | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

(Familiar) Stranger in a (Not So) Strange Land

Posted on February 26, 2012 by

I used to be invisible.

In fact, I was invisible for decades but during all that time, I didn’t even know it.

I came to realize it one day when I was walking down the hallway at work,  just weeks after becoming self-aware of my true gender, wearing some new clothing I had bought only a couple of days prior.  Walking up ahead of me in the corridor was a coworker who turned to look back and then stopped as I approached.

She said, “This is the first time I’ve seen you wear shoes.”

It may not surprise you to learn that English is not her primary language.

I smiled and gently asked, “The first time I’ve worn shoes?”  ”No,” she replied, raising her hands as if to erase what she had just said.  ”I mean, it’s the first time I’ve ever heard you wear shoes that make noise.”

That was a watershed moment for me.  Her simple comment induced me to undergo a complete reflection and reevaluation of how I had presented myself throughout my life, and I realized that up until that day, I had been invisible.

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Posted in Narrative | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

What Not to Say to a Trans Person Unless, Perhaps, You Are Trans?

Posted on January 27, 2012 by

This past weekend I attended a transgender conference and several different trans people, independently from one another, asked me if I was taking testosterone.

Now this might seem like a perfectly reasonable question for a trans person to ask a trans man.  After all, that’s what some trans men do, right?  Some transsexuals take hormones.

Heck, we might even get together as a group and talk about it, or some folks will blog about it, or make videos on YouTube about it.  All this hormone business is out there in the trans-o-sphere and no one thinks twice about one trans person asking another whether they’re taking hormones?

But what if a non-trans person had asked a trans person that question?

If a non-trans person were to ask me personal questions about medical treatments, such as whether I was taking testosterone, I might put that question in a blog post, with a list of inappropriate things that non-trans people say to trans people.

Or if a non-trans person asked me whether I was taking testosterone and that person happened to be a dental hygienist, I might write a blog post about inappropriate ways that health care providers treat trans people.

But in this case, it was trans people who asked me whether I was taking hormones to medically transition.  And so now, I ask you —

Is it any more (or less) appropriate for a trans person, rather than a non-trans person, to pose these sorts of questions to someone about their medical treatments?

Is there a double standard?

Readers, what do you think?

Posted in Uncategorized | 33 Comments

The Human Ovary: Steroidogenesis & Ovulation

Posted on January 7, 2012 by

When we last considered the human ovary, we were discussing a bit of anatomy and a lot of folliculogenesis. We learned about the different steps and changes that ovarian follicles undergo as they develop or become atretic.

With the information from that previous post in mind, we will now consider the functional aspects of the ovary, those being production of steroids and ovulation of a mature egg.

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Posted in Science/Biology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

2011 in Review – from the fine folks at WordPress

Posted on January 2, 2012 by

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 26,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 10 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Happy New Year everyone!
–ATM

Posted in Stuff About This Blog | 4 Comments

Holiday Greetings Manhattan-Style

Posted on December 24, 2011 by

Times Square

I had the chance to go to New York City last weekend and I took advantage of the opportunity by checking out the holiday lights, mainly at Rockefeller Center.

To say that I was blown away would be an understatement. Not only were the lights and decorations absolutely stunningly beautiful, so were the people!

There were lots of them!, entire families, parents and children, from all over the world.  And they were happy and enjoying themselves, and laughing and talking and smiling and taking photographs, and handing their cameras to complete strangers (like me) and asking them to take photos of their families.  There were no arguments or snippy remarks or people losing their patience. People didn’t even seem to notice that it was a cold 29°F.

Radio City Music Hall - Home of the Rockettes!

The entire atmosphere was so pleasant, that I cannot adequately put it into words. Even the cops were in a good mood!

And so for my holiday greetings this year, I will post some mediocre photos I snapped with my Blackberry in Manhattan and wish you all the happiest of holidays in whatever way you celebrate them and a healthy and prosperous New Year.

–ATM

Atlas - at Rockefeller Center

The statue of Atlas in front of Rockefeller Center, taken from St. Patrick's Cathedral, across 5th Avenue

Rockefeller Plaza from W. 50th Street

The huge Christmas tree and ice rink at Rockefeller Plaza

Angels at Rockefeller Plaza

Posted in Narrative | Tagged , , | 4 Comments