REWATCHING COMMUNITY BECAUSE WHY NOT, RIGHT?
S01E08: Home Economics
TRU DAT.
Official Duolingo Blog: A Duolingo Proposal
A few weeks ago we got a very sweet email:
Dear Duolingo Team,
I am Italian and my American girlfriend Kate is in love with Duolingo… she’s learning my own language and she enjoys it so much that I’m wondering if I could ask you to set up an exercise for her…
This is SO COOL.
Prince Harry ‘saved gay soldier from homophobic attack’
Prince Harry rescued a gay soldier who feared he was going to be murdered in a homophobic attack by troops from a rival regiment, it has been claimed.
The prince stepped in to save Trooper James Wharton after he was confronted by six soldiers who were threatening to ‘batter’ him
The third-in-line to the throne confronted the men and told them they would face severe disciplinary action if they continued to make threats, he said.
Trooper Wharton describes Prince Harry as ‘one of my greatest protectors’, and claims the royal’s acceptance of his homosexuality made him realise that he was right to be open about it, despite another attack which left him hospitalised.
He revealed he had gone to find the prince – who was his tank commander in the Blues and Royals – and tearfully told him what had happened after being confronted by the soldiers.
‘I told him: “I think I’m going to be murdered by the infantry.” He had a complete look of bewilderment on his face. ‘I couldn’t stop the tears from welling up in my eyes. He said: “Right I’m going to sort this s*** out once and for all”.
‘He climbed out of the tank and I poked my head out of the turret a few moments later to see him having a go,’ Trooper Wharton said.
After taking on the gang, Prince Harry briefed a senior officer before returning to assure Trooper Wharton the situation had been ‘sorted’.
The soldier, who quit the Army earlier this year, said: ‘I will always be grateful to Harry and I will never forget what happened. Until he went over and dealt with everything I was on track for a battering.’
Details of the incident, which happened during a training exercise in Canada in 2008, have emerged after Trooper Wharton wrote about his experiences during his ten-year military career, called Out In The Army, which is being serialised by the Mail on Sunday.
News of the 28-year-old prince’s actions have been met with widespread approval.
Conservative MP Colonel Bob Stewart, who led British troops in Bosnia, said: ‘Well done Harry. It’s typical of him and of young officers in the British Army today, really superb.’
Ben Summerskill, of the gay and lesbian charity Stonewall, added: ‘I take my hat off to him for protecting James Wharton.’
Nice one, Harry.
Wishing this total lad a very happy Father’s Day.
from katieneeds
Thanks to Duncan for pointing me towards The Foursquare Time Machine, where you can see a sweet infographic of all your checkins and other nerdy stuff. https://foursquare.com/timemachine
On going to the airport to catch a bus
(Today is the tenth anniversary of the time I moved to Europe! In commemoration I am wearing a dress in the style of an Aer Lingus air stewardess, as at the time it was my airline of choice.)
Frida Sundemo | Indigo (acoustic)
I was exploring the artists that are playing at Frizon Festival in Sweden this summer and came across Frida. For the past two days I’ve been unable to stop listening to her.
Most of her songs are electro-pop hits (listen on SoundCloud or Spotify) but this acoustic version of ‘Indigo’ is also delicious. Srsly. So. Good.
Dear friend,
I’m writing to tell you, among other things, that I am super gay. This may or may not come as a surprise to you. If it does: Surprise! If it does not: You were right all along! Either way: Hooray!
I didn’t want to come out. I don’t want coming out to be a thing that anyone has to do.
A short list of things I’d rather be doing than “thinking about being gay” includes (but is not limited to) writing a song, reading a book, climbing a tree, dancing a jig, and watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the zillionth time. Don’t get me wrong - I think it is in the best interest of everyone to strive for a greater understanding of the self. I just wish that being gay (or transgender, or asexual, or fill-in-the-blank here) was as unremarkable to the masses as being left-handed or blonde.
In a perfect world, nobody would have to experience any of the negative side-effects of figuring out that you’re gay, which can include feeling confused, shameful, afraid, lost, or alone. In a perfect world, everyone could just like who they like, and get on with it.
Spoiler alert: We do not live in a perfect world.
I began to realize that I was interested in girls in junior high. At first, it made me uncomfortable. I grew up in a fairly rural, conservative town. I knew exactly one kid who was out at school, and he was harassed on a daily basis. I had always sort of liked feeling different from most of the kids at school – you know, poetry over football and whatnot. But I didn’t want to be THAT different.
My feelings were further complicated by my religious upbringing. My family attended a born-again style church which taught (as many churches do) that homosexuality is a sin. The price of that sin, should you find yourself unable to turn away from it, was to burn in a pit of fiery torment for all eternity. I was an impressionable kid, and hell was advertised to me as very real - and very likely, if I didn’t watch my step. I internalized these ideas as a child and as I grew, they grew with me.
But other growth was happening simultaneously. Over time I got more comfortable with myself, lost a few friends, and made some new ones.When I began my journey as a musician, I decided that I didn’t want to publicly address my sexuality. I didn’t think it was a big deal, or relevant to my job in any way. I also worried that the first word people would associate with me was going to be “gay” instead of “musician.” I didn’t want a non-musical part of myself overshadowing the musical part. Plus I figured it wasn’t anybody’s business.
I still maintain that it is not anybody’s business. I don’t think anyone should have to feel an obligation to come out. I don’t think that outing people is cool. I think every person has the right to privacy, and should be able to share themselves with their friends, their family, and the world at their own pace, in their own time. However, I’ve come to realize in recent months that a big part of my desire to hide this aspect of myself was rooted in those dusty old feelings: that there is something wrong, something bad, something less-than about being gay.
It brings me no pleasure to admit to you that I have felt these feelings. I want to appear strong, because I feel strong now. But at the same time I know it is important - perhaps even the whole point of writing this thing - to make myself vulnerable. Because I know that there are human beings out in the world who understand these feelings but cannot give them a name. I want to tell you that it’s okay to feel messed up. Feeling messed up is a part of life, but it is not the only part. And the only way out of that feeling is through.
This summer I am going to marry my fiancé. Her name is Kristin Russo and she is one half of the team behind EveryoneIsGay.com. Having a firsthand view of the work that she and Dannielle do has been inspiring, and has also made me think more critically about my decision. What kind of a message does it send to a teenager when I avoid a question about my sexuality? Whatever the answer, I’m confident that it is no longer a message I am comfortable sending.
I think it is damaging and isolating for young people to look out into the world and not see a representation of their experience. To encounter others who are like you is to know that you are not alone. Even if you never meet them in real life, these representatives help to contextualize you – they are proof that you are part of something.
You are not an anomaly. You are not a mistake.
I am thankful that in recent years, it has become a bit more common for people from all walks of life to step forward and identify themselves as human beings who also happen to be gay. I am proud to offer my voice to that expanding chorus.
Love,
Jenny
You’re rad, Jenny.
