Vignette: Obfuscate

obfuscate
Syllable breaks: ob|fus|cate
Pronunciation: /ˈɒbfʌskeɪt/

verb [with object]
1. Make obscure, unclear, or unintelligible: the spelling changes will deform some familiar words and obfuscate their etymological origins
1.1. Bewilder (someone): the new rule is more likely to obfuscate people than enlighten them

Origin late Middle English: from late Latin obfuscat- 'darkened', from the verb obfuscare, based on Latin fuscus 'dark'.
***

"Obfuscator, obfuscate, make my brain as flat as a cake," muttered the new girl, tapping her sparkly pen against the page. Her book was most definitely not open to the chapter on European colonialism. Janet shifted on her chair, attempting to stretch her legs while looking at the movement of the new girl's fingers. What was her name? Helen— no, Ellen? Worth a try.

"Ellen," she hissed. No reaction. "Ellen!" she tried again, this time reaching over the gap between their desks just enough to poke the neon-green-clad elbow that jutted out towards her. Grey eyes flashed to Janet, then made an exaggerated roll in their sockets.

"It's Lena, you twit," the girl hissed back. Then she shushed Janet and pointedly turned her attention to Ms Ramsworth.

Lena. Right. Janet glanced at her watch, shrugged, and tuned in.

~

"Hey! Lena!" A girl's voice pierced through the instrumental solo currently blaring from her headphones. She simultaneously lifted an ear pad and an eyebrow, sweeping a glance over the person currently encroaching on her personal bubble. Her gaze paused briefly at the unicorn pendant dangling just above neckline, then at the lip piercing, before she flicked it up to deep yellow eyes.

Lena blinked, quirking a smile. "Nice contacts...twit," she said. The other girl blew out a short breath through her nose, her forehead scrunching ever so slightly. "You're Janet, right?" Lena steered to the side and sat on the corner of a table covered with leaflets in a hundred screaming colours. Janet the twit perched right next to her.

"Yeah. So what was that word you used just now? In class I mean."

A faint scent of peppermint drifted to Lena's nostrils, and she absently rubbed at the bridge of her nose. Then she grinned. "From what I can tell so far, it's Ms Ramsworth's favourite pastime." Janet blinked at her, and she sighed. "To obfuscate means to deliberately make something confusing."

She pushed off the table and read the direction signs hanging from the ceiling, then plucked a long red hair off her sleeve. Before she let it fall to the floor, she grasped Janet's chin with the fingers of her free hand and planted a lipstick print right at the corner of the girl's mouth.

"See you tomorrow, twit," she said.

"Later, Ellen," said Janet, pulling her hair back into a ponytail.

Helsinki Pride 2014

Saturday. Waiting for the parade to begin.

As usual, I participated in Helsinki Pride. I did end up missing a couple of the events I intended to attend, but the opening ceremony on Monday and the parade on Saturday are the most important in any case. Perhaps next year I'll manage to go to the bubble party.

Pride week is important to me not only because of my values, but also because I can reach that inexplicable sense of belonging. I'm a bisexual oddball who has felt more or less like an outsider for most of her life; this one week in June is one of the things that makes it okay.

What incensed many of us during Pride is the fact that the Legal Affairs Committee — one of the many committees in the Parliament — turned down the bill for gender neutral marriage. Thanks a lot, arseholes. However, the matter will still come in front of the Parliament sometime during the autumn, so not all is lost. We might get there within the next couple of years.

Anyway...want to know something amazing? We were 20,000 strong on Saturday. The people were definitely voting with their feet.

All of the photos are from Saturday, because I was a fail-kitty and sadly neglected to take any during the other events. Well, any worth sharing. I do, however, intend to retrace the route we took on the Rainbow City Walk (touring some of the important places in the LGBT history of Helsinki) and snap away, especially towards the end. And then snap a few (dozen) unrelated shots because Embassies and villas and... I just have an appreciation for architecture, okay.

Photos. Yes.

♥

Beware! A homosexual might treat or perform surgery on you!

Mr. Floral McSassypants. He noticed I was photographing him, so he struck a pose. Then we gave each other a smile and a thumbs-up. wh00t for random short connections.

The parade always ends at a park, where we then sit and listen to performers and see what goodies participating organisations have brought with them. As you can see, there were loads of people.

Artsy picture is artsy.

Book Review: Love in the Balance by Marianne K. Martin

Love in the Balance by Marianne K. Martin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a BookCrossing book I nabbed from a shelf in the Lasipalatsi gallery space in lieu of Pride merch, because most of said merch was already gone. Sadface. In truth, I would like to give this novel 2½ stars. Here is why.

Although the romance itself was quite lovely and, yes, occasionally titillating, there were some aspects of the plot that I simply did not care for — especially in the last third or so.


SPOILERS!

After our lovers are happily established, a side-plot comes careening out of nowhere in which two of their close friends, a slightly older lesbian couple, are shot to death by their neighbour. A bit of reflection revealed this to be (in my opinion) a poorly executed Chekhov's Gun. The threat to shoot any animals that might wander onto the neighbour's property is mentioned only a couple of pages before. The event might work better if it didn't appear slapped on like a sticker. Honestly, it reads like the author was running out of plot and decided to just tack this on without much to connect it to the rest of the story. Also, Kasey's reaction is unintentionally amusing:

"Nooo!" Kasey screamed. (http://www.nooooooooooooooo.com)

Much social commentary ensues, flavoured with a bit of interpersonal drama. They eventually win the court case, though. Two years later, Connie asks Kasey to marry her. Happily ever after?


In conclusion: It's a nice read, and the development of the relationship between Kasey and Connie is quite lovely, but if you don't care about a hefty dose of (poorly integrated) socio-political commentary with your fluff, you may wish to skip the last third or, you know, the whole book.

View all my reviews

Number of Items in Outbox: 17

That's a personal record. Yay? Here are some chosen bits.

 

Just look at that ridiculousness. The cat does not seem pleased.

Not many people specifically include flowers in their wish list. I'm glad when they do.

I don't even know what to say about this. Taken in the Trocadero Gardens, reads in the back.

Tell me this is not adorable. I dare you.

Why hello, NSFW content! This is in fact my only LGBT-themed card. I'm using it for the Gay + Lesbian tag.

There was also one person for whom I folded an origami frog and wrote the ID on that, since he requested creativity. Sadly, I neglected to take a picture before sealing the envelope. Perhaps the recipient will do so! If that happens, I'll show it here.

Edge of Seventeen

Oh my lord. My heart has been shattered into itty bitty pieces by this film. It's from 1998, but set in 1984–85. Eric, upon meeting an openly gay guy at his summer job, is catapulted into a sexual discovery of his own. Too bad that in the process he ends up hurting a few people — mostly himself and his best friend. Many of the decisions he makes during the film are far from smart, but let's remember we are talking about a gay adolescent in the mid-80s. The boy is freaking terrified. I loved it, even though the pacing may seem a little slow in places. Then again, that's not a bad thing here. If you like coming-of-age stories of the lgbt variety, do see whether you can get your hands on this. It's definitely worth the watch, methinks. A trailer for your viewing pleasure:

Gen Silent

This wonderful, beautiful documentary broke my heart and warmed it at the same time. These people have gone through so much hardship, yet are so strong. As they repeatedly say in the film, I cannot possibly comprehend what these elders have experienced — not only because of the age gap, but because of the country I live in and the fact that I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by people who could not give a crap about whom I love. Yes, Finland has not always been and is still not a perfect haven for queer folk, but to me it seems a hair better than USA is even today.

I'm truly grateful that I was given the chance to view this film. There is no DVD for the general public, and the libraries don't have a copy. The viewings are usually rented for events, one such being tomorrow night as part of the Helsinki Pride programme. Problem is, I'm going to other happenings. Last night, I filled out the contact form on the Gen Silent website and hoped for the best — and lo, they responded! I was given a link and a password for a private viewing. So tonight, I sat down to watch it.

At points, I was in tears. At others I smiled. There were even a few chuckles in there, mostly when Lois and Sheri were talking. Those two are brilliant. But, again, so are the rest of them. I want to look up Lawrence Johnson's poetry. The fragments of it recited in the film seemed captivating. I want to hug every one of them still alive, speak with them, go out for the night. March with them.

This is a poignant and most of all important piece of film. If you have the opportunity, go watch it. It's an hour long and worth every minute.