No classes = more free time?

Hm, not so much. See, the thing is: When you know that you don't actually have anything to do, you tell other people and then suddenly your schedule is full. I went to the movies twice last week, was invited to two dinner "parties", helped my mum around the house and tomorrow I'm meeting a friend and her two cute girls. I'm also busy writing further chapters for my fanfics (chapter 7 up, people!), editing and posting Callie's scenes onto my Youtube channel, watching Crossing Jordan (season 6 because of Brooke Smith), enjoying the sun and the pool, going shopping (new jacket :D, no new pants :( ) and sleeping. So, actual free time hasn't been experience yet. I miss the summers in which I was so bored that I wished school started again. When you are so bored that you want to go back to school then you know that you are back in the first gear. Right now I feel like I'm going at least in the third gear and I haven't been able to change down a gear.

The movies that I saw were Hancock and Get Smart. I liked both, Hancock was a great new way of looking at Superheroes and featured Charlize Theron. *Swoon*. I didn't like the camera angles and the camera work was weird. Get Smart was very funny, even though me and my friend laughed at numerous scenes at which nobody else laughed.

I've started watching Crossing Jordan because an online friend has told me that it's good and that Brooke Smith is in it, which is reason enough to watch mainly anything. Except Silence of the Lambs, because that movie just freaks me out. So far, I'm really enjoying it! Brooke's character is really great and she gets to do some great acting. I realized, mainly due to the intro, that Tim Kring wrote and produced Crossing Jordan as well as Heroes. He seems very talented, as I like both shows!

"This just out with Liz Feldman" is back for season 2 and I loved the new episode. Made me want to go to a pride parade right now. I am still disappointed that I couldn't go to the one in Vienna this year either.

My Weekend Crush

I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Dorothy Surrenders, whose weekend crush this weekend is: Gillian Anderson, who is, you know, kinda hot!

Watching Nim's Island last Sunday did not trigger this week's weekend crush. Two days ago, I finally saw Little Man Tate, Jodie Foster's directorial debut. The movie tells the story of 7-year-old prodigy Fred Tate and his mother's struggle with his intelligence. Jodie played the mother, Dede, who did not know how to deal with having an extremely smart child and Dianne Wiest played a scientist specialised in prodigies. I enjoyed the movie, the acting was good and it was well written. The pace was slow, which I guess is typical for a movie from that time (1991) and even though I'm not used to this, I still enjoyed it.

Jodie Foster has played many great roles in great movies, such as teenage hooker Iris in Taxi Driver, Sarah Tobias in The Accused, Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs and Nell in Nell. Sadly, I have only seen few of her earlier movies, but her two Oscar wins and two further nominations are definitely well deserved. Her performance in The Brave One shows what a great actress she is. The question which of Jodie's movies is her best has been discussed a few times (eg on AfterEllen). My personal favourite is Nell. I can't really tell you why, but this movie just touches me the most.

I think that Jodie Foster is extremely smart herself. Her interviews seem that way, even though she rarely gives much away in said interviews. She guards her private life as thoroughly as possible, which seems very logical given her history (John Hinckley). Jodie is a mom to two boys who were conceived through a sperm donor. I guess we all know that Jodie is playing for my team, but she has never really admitted that, which is fine to me. Her relationships are not really anybodies business except for the people involved. I somehow always feel uneasy when I read about her relationships because we will probably never really know what is true and what isn't, so I prefer not knowing anything at all.

I'm going to end this post with one of my favorite quotes by Jodie, which is just one more reason why I admire her:

"Normal is not something to aspire to, it's something to get away from."

Nelfy, writer and publisher of fanfiction

Yesterday, I mustered up all my courage and finally posted the first three chapters of my Callica fanfiction "Doctors don't make promises, do they?" on my livejournal page (and on Grey's Anatomy Fanfiction, on Fanfiction.net and the Callica board, because I'm thorough like that.). I already have 5 comments *doeshappydance* on my LJ page, saying that I should write more, which I will do today. It took me forever to find a title and I'm still uncertain whether I actually like it, but I'm going to stick to the promises-theme for a while if I can so the title at least makes some sense.


Today, my parents are finally coming home from their holiday and I'm already looking forward to that! Right now, the weather pretty much sucks a lot, it's raining and I haven't seen the sun in two days. It's really cold as well, one 15° Celsius, which cnn tells me are 61° Fahrenheit. Which is way to cold for summer!!

My godmother, whom I love and with whom I have a great relationship, is getting a divorce. Actually, her husband of nearly 40 years decided that he wanted to spend the rest of his days "in tranquillity" and that he couldn't do that with her, because she always wants to do things and visit places and just enjoy her life with her friends and family. The whole situation is really sad, because she did not want to get a divorce but he more or less forced her to move out of their house. She now lives in a flat while he lives in one of those assisted living apartments. I don't really know how to help her and I feel like all I can do is spend time with her. But that doesn't seem enough. It just makes me so sad because I feel like I can't really make her feel better.

Wahlkampfwerbung die depressiv macht

I think we have already established that I live in Austria. My mother tongue is German, which I rarely use when I'm online. There are a few reasons for that, I just mainly prefer English because it is easier to me sometimes. Also, I speak a dialect in German, so writing the written German is sometimes difficult for me. But, I have decided that I will from now on sometimes post in German when the topic asks for me to stick to my roots. Sorry to the readers who don't speak German, the topics I will write about will probably be local politics and the local lgbt-scene. I hope you understand!

Für mich ist es teilweise etwas schwierig auf Deutsch zu schreiben, weil ich dass so mit Schule verbinde. Wenn ich also etwas nur für mich und zum Spaß schreiben will, so wie diesen Blog oder Fanfiction, dann mache ich das lieber auf Englisch. Außerdem gibt es gewisse Vokabel einfach nicht auf Deutsch (to come out, babydyke, butch...). Aber, da ich anscheinend einige Leser aus Österreich und Deutschland habe, werde ich mich manchmal dazu aufraffen und meine Muttersprache verwenden. Und ich werde mich bemühen dass das dann nicht zu offiziell oder hochgestochen klingt, denn so kommts mir im Moment vor.

Ich nehme mal an dass meine österreichischen Leser die HOSI kennen, falls nicht: die HOSI ist die Homosexuellen Initiative und vertritt die Rechte von Schwulen und Lesben. Ich bin Mitglied bei der HOSI in Linz und bekomme daher regelmäßig Post von der HOSI oder den Grünen Andersrum. Gestern hab ich von den Grünen Andersrum eine Wahlwerbung bekommen unter dem Titel "Lesben & Gesellschaft: Grenzen und Möglichkeiten lesbischen Lebens". Ich finde es ja schon mal total positiv dass zwischen Lesben und Schwulen unterschieden wird, da ja teilweise die Aufmerksamkeit und die Probleme differieren. In dem Folder wird beschrieben mit welchen Problemen Lesben zu kämpfen haben. Was mich etwas stutzig gemacht hat war dass die Situation ziemlich negativ dargestellt wurde. Nachdem ich alles gelesen hatte, hab ich mir gedacht: Eigentlich könnte ich mich jetzt auch gleich umbringen, so schlecht wie es um mich steht. Mir ist durchaus bewusst dass ich dadurch dass ich studiere mehr Freiheiten als andere Lesben hab und ich mich zum Beispiel nicht um Diskriminierung am Arbeitsplatz kümmern muss. Aber so schlimm wie die Situation von den Grünen dargestellt wird finde ich es nun auch wieder nicht. Immerhin ist Homosexualität in Österreich nicht strafbar und man kann hier relativ offen leben. Natürlich bin ich für eine Gleichstellung von hetero- und homosexuellen Beziehungen, auch der Ehe, aber weil es die nicht gibt muss ich nicht gleich depressiv werden.

Ich habe erst einmal gewählt, bei der Nationalratswahl 2006. Auch wenn ich lesbisch bin heißt das nicht unbedingt dass ich automatisch grün wähle. Ich gehöre nicht zu den Personen die übermäßig politisch sind, weil ich für die Politik zu emotional bin und dieses Thema einfach sehr oft zu Streitigkeiten führt. Ich bin sehr froh und dankbar dass sich die Grünen für unsere Rechte einsetzen, aber meiner Meinung nach haben sie mit diesem Folder etwas übers Ziel hinausgeschossen. Mich hat auch gestört dass in dem Folder davon gesprochen wird, dass Lesben sich verbergen und "Heteras" spielen. Meiner Meinung nach besteht ein Unterschied dazwischen ob ich mit meinen Arbeitskollegen mein Privatleben bespreche oder ob ich vorgebe, einen Freund zu haben und hetero zu sein. Dieser Satz wirft für mich die Frage auf: Wer hat diesen Folder geschrieben? Vorwürfe machen ist nämlich gerade nicht nett oder hilfreich!! Reagiere ich über oder haben die Grünen übers Ziel geschossen? Den Folder kann man hier herunterladen.

Samba, fire shows and Brooke Smith - what more do I need?

Walking acts

This weekend, I was at the Pflasterspektakel twice, once on Friday and once on Saturday. I and a friend danced in the samba parade both days, which was so much fun and then we saw the fire shows that take place at night at the main square. On Saturday, the artists had a big finale, in which most of the fire artists participated and it was amazing! They did some things that I hadn't seen before and it blew my mind!

Smile!

Today, I finally went to watch Nim's Island and it was ok, I enjoyed it but I sort of expected more - I guess because I'm not used to Jodie Foster being in such a movie and such a role. I loved Abigail Breslin, she was great as usual and I like Jodie Foster as well, she was funny. I guess this was one of the movies that just really is a kid movie and works best for kids.

Brooke Smith was at the ABC All-Star TCA press tour party and did two interviews with slight spoilers for Season 5's Callica storyline. The first one is with EW's Ausiello and is very cute and actually interesting. Michael Ausiello is the guy who first predicted that Erica Hahn would turn out to be gay and he apparently knows a lot about the business. Brooke's very cute in the interview (love her hair!!) and she once again gushes about Sara Ramirez (who could blame her?). The second one is great too - and Brooke knows that we are out there!! We being Callica fans. I'm not crazy about the fact that we miss 2 weeks, but they seem to know how to deal with the relationship, so *YAY*!

My Weekend Crush

I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Dorothy Surrenders, whose weekend crush this weekend is: Summer Glau.

The first movie I saw Angelina Jolie in was Hackers. I was probably about 12 years old and immediately had a crush on her. She looked very soft butch and played a strong character, who was not afraid of competing with the boys, no less in the world of computers. Back then, I wasn't so much into movies and actresses yet and I don't think that I used the internet at all to inform myself about these things, so I somehow lost track of Angie. That was in 1999, when she was not really famous yet.

The next movie I saw was Playing by Heart, which I also really liked and I really liked her character in it as well. Then came Girl, interrupted, which is the movie that made me fall completely in love with Angelina Jolie. Her performance was amazing and earned her an Oscar, the plot and the writing is great and the other actresses in it were pretty damn good too (Clea DuVall! Brittany Murphy! Whoopie Goldberg!). I think I've seen that movie about 10 times already and I still really enjoy watching it, because it gets me thinking every time. My parents thought that it was unhealthy that I like a movie about young women in a mental institution that much, but I could really relate to them on various levels. I feel like there are not that many movies out there that are so honest with the struggles that some women face when they have to grow up.

So, we are probably in the year 2002 right now and I am now seriously obsessed with Angelina. I have yet to see her in a cinema, because all the other movies were on TV when I saw them. But, I have to way till 2004, when Taking Lives comes out. I loved Taking Lives, because until the very end, there is always a certain suspense. Although I have to say that when she showed her belly for the first time, I turned to my dad and said: "Wanna bet that she's not really pregnant?". But still, a great movie with a strong woman who wins in the end.

Obviously, I went to see Shark Tail, mainly because they had created a fish just for her. Unfortunately, I also went and saw the train wreck that was Alexander. Again, my main reason was that Angie was in the movie, so I sat through three hours of that crap for probably around 5 scenes with her. Since Alexander, I have seen all over her movies - Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Good Shepard, A Mighty Heart, Beowulf and Kung Fu Panda. In some, Angie was able to show what a great actress she is (A Mighty Heart), in others, not so much (Mr. and Mrs. Smith).

Picture @ PerezHilton.com

But her acting talent is not the only reason why I love Angelina Jolie so much. She is a humanitarian, a goodwill ambassador for the UNHCR and a mother of six (Maddox, Pax Thien, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline). In her interviews, she seems very real and raw and she doesn't hold back. Especially in earlier years, she would shock reporters with confessions of drug abuse and self-inflicted wounds, but she never pretended to be someone who she's not. And THAT is the main reason why I admire and love her so much.

Update: Shoot! A reader [thanks!] just alerted me to the fact that I didn't mention Gia and I can't believe that I forgot that movie! The reason why I didn't mention it before is because it doesn't fit in my timeline. When I was on vacation in Canada in 2005, I looked in every DVD store for that movie until I finally found it in Vancouver two days before the vacation ended. I took it home and figured out how to play a different regional code on my computer and and the first chance I got at being alone at home I watched the movie. And it pretty much blew my mind. Because Angelina Jolie and Elizabeth Mitchell together, in bed, make any coherent thoughts pretty impossible. I've also seen Original Sin, the two Lara Croft movies, Gone in Sixty Seconds, The Bone Collector, Pushing Tin and Foxfire on TV.

Restless in Linz...

... not sleepless in Seattle. I came home today, but it felt kinda weird because my parent's aren't home. I'm used to being at home alone while they are on vacation, but this is the first time that my summer starts without them. I'm used to the summer starting together (my parents are teachers).

Yesterday, I went to the cinema and watched "Kung Fu Panda" with a friend of mine, Ms. G. The movie was great, I laughed a lot and I like the plot and the philosophical meaning. I still can't get over how different Angelina's voice sounded. I guess it's true that the voice animation work (don't know the term, sorry) is like acting, you can't just be yourself. After the movie we went to a cafe and had a really long, really interesting conversation about all the world and his wive. All in all, an enjoyable and very nice evening. Ms. G. is going to go abroad to study for one year, so that makes me kinda sad, but we'll keep in touch through the internet and I'm really happy for her because she was able to go to the university that was her first choice - because she's a really good student! And in case you're reading this, Ms. G. - have a great time in Denmark!!

You should all very definitely hop over to Dorothy Snarker and read her post on Helen Mirren. Warning: will cause drooling and a short circus in your brain!!! Dame Hellen Mirren looks better in a bikini than a lot of people that I know, and I'm talking about people in their 20s. She definitely looks 100 times better than me in a bikini, which is why I don't wear bikini's. Anyways, go there, but at your own risk! And don't blame me if you can't stop drooling afterwards!!

Summer, here I come!

That's where I want to be!

Today, my summer holidays finally started. I had my "Strategy and Marketing" exam and it was fine, I guess. I knew all the answers, just couldn't think of two terms, but apart from that I'm satisfied with myself. I guess I could have learned more, but I was just too tired from this term. So tomorrow, I'll go back home and then on Friday, two friends from Innsbruck will come visit me and we'll go to the "Pflasterspektakel". The Pflasterspektakel is a cultural event that takes place in my hometown each year and artists from all over the world come and perform on the street in the city center. It's pretty amazing, there are always a few really good artists, doing acrobatics and all kinds of acts. So we're going to go there and then I'll show them around a bit. My parents are on holiday, so I'll be home alone for a full week, if you count the days when I have visitors. But I'm really looking forward to that, I love having the house to myself, then I can really do as I like.

Today, I have to go to the library and return the books and then I'll start packing and in the evening, I'm meeting a friend of mine and we'll watch "Kung Fu Panda". I don't really know what to expect, but I'll just have a good time.

Have a nice summer, everybody!

What would I do without AfterEllen vlogs?

I should be studying right now, but I really need a break. So, short post to say what I've been doing in my breaks:

There's a new promo for "This just out with Liz Feldman" and I have to say that Raimy is really beautiful. She has amazing eyes and just a beautiful face. I know that I am repeating myself, but she's not just cute and funny, she's really beautiful. *Swoon*. Plus, I love their glasses and hats - very cute! The song is the new theme song for "This just out" by Uh Huh Her.



A new episode of "She made me watch this" with Sarah and Lori is online and guess what? Betty DeGeneres, Ellen's mum, is the guest! How cool is that? The interview is really nice and interesting and just to think that she gave us Ellen makes me like her even more.

It's a girl! It's a boy!

Angelina Jolie gave birth to her twins, a boy and a girl, last night! Congratulations to Angie, Brad and the kids! The boy is called Knox Leon and the girl is called Vivienne Marcheline (after Angie's mum).

The media has gone crazy over those babies even before they were born and there were two false announcements that Angelina has given birth. People magazine even has an own little section on their homepage just for the twins! Crazyness!!

Callie NOT pregnant!

*Doeslittledanceinunderwear*. As AfterEllen reports, "Ask Ausiello" says Callie is NOT pregnant! Phew!

My Weekend Crush

I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Dorothy Surrenders, whose weekend crush this weekend is: actually a couple crush, namely Wall•E and Eve.

To me, a crush can be and mean a lot of things - mostly, it means that I'm not really in love with the person. I can only know one part of a person and have a crush on her skills (eg acting, writing, being gorgeous) and having a crush on a lady doesn't necessarily mean that I want to jump her bones. Just wanted to clear this up.

I've been reading so much fanfiction in the last few weeks and I feel like these stories have kept me sane, at least as sane as I am. At Grey's Anatomy Fanfiction, I stumbled burningeden aka Chelle's stories. I started reading "One Heart Too Many" and I immediately loved it!! Chelle doesn't just use what the Grey's writers gave her and writes some more, she really takes apart the characters, adding complex histories and writing extended storylines for each of the characters in her stories. Her fanfics are also way longer than most, which I very much appreciate because it feels like I'm reading a novel. After I read the first 18 chapters of "One Heart Too Many" and couldn't wait for an update, I decided to check out her other stories. I have to say that "Ready For A Fall" and the sequel "Fallen" are also amazing. Normally, I only read stories with the pairing I'm really invested in, mainly Callica or Caddison. But her writing entertains me so much that I'll read any story she wrote because it's so easy to get invested in her stories. I had to literally force myself to go to bed at 3 am one day because I didn't want to stop reading "Fallen". I thought the suspense would probably kill me in my sleep. Chelle has agreed to me posting two small parts of her stories to give you a tiny little taste. Thanks, Chelle! If you plan on reading her stories, which you really should, here's my spoiler warning! I think I posted some rather neutral parts which don't give too much away, but I'd still like to warn you anyways.


From "One Heart Too Many", Chapter Seven:

"My brother Joel arrives and he skirts the table where I’m sitting. Trevor is allowed to run and greet me ... Hope keeps a firm grip on Savannah. My niece tugs twice to get away, but Hope hangs onto her so tightly that I see her hand turn red and she cries out. Her eyes meet mine and she reaches for me, but she’s not *allowed* to love me. Or touch me. Or come to me.

The truth breaks over me.

They think their son is safe with me as his aunt ... but
their daughter is not because I’m attracted to girls."

I love the things Chelle writes about being gay and how much being out hurts sometimes. Some things she writes touch me so much because I know what it feels like and even when I haven't had really bad experiences (violence, hate crimes), I still feel pain for every gay person who gets killed or commits suicide (just think of the recent Lawrence King murder or all the other hate crime victims.

Chelle writes things that touch me, sometimes also because they feel very close to me. "One Heart Too Many", Chapter Seventeen:

"When you convince yourself that you don’t like people, you really do it because people don’t like you and it hurts less to say it first. You make yourself an outcast before anyone else can do it for you because you can at least save face when it happens."

I don't think that that's what I do, because I have tried so hard to not be an outcast and I still always end up that way. But when she writes something like that, it makes me contemplative and that's a GOOD thing! She also has pop culture references, which is like an added bonus (even though I don't get all of them, but hey, I'm from Austria, so you have to forgive me) and her *cough*sex scenes*cough* are very satisfying as well. And I don't even LIKE straight sex.

Unfortunately, Chelle has an operation today, so we should all include her in our thoughts and send some good juju her way!

So now that you know all you need to know, hop over to her site and let yourself be pulled into her world. It's worth the trip, believe me!

Trip to the Muttereralm

Today, we made a trip to the Muttereralm.
We took the tram from the centre of Innsbruck
up in the mountains and then took the mountain
railway and finally walked the rest of the way.

It was worth it! We had a beautiful day,
it was sunny and warm and the two kids
that were with us enjoyed it as well!

"You seem to have settled in really well!"

That's what my mum said to me today. They are visiting for a few days and somehow, my mum realised that my "new" room is a real second home to me. I've been living in Innsbruck since October, that's 10 months. So yeah, I have settled in. Took me long enough. The funny thing is that my mum also said that I'm happy that they are visiting because I've been alone and therefore lonely a lot in the last few weeks here. I am happy that they are visiting. But I haven't felt lonely just because I was alone (my flatmates often go home for the weekend). That's a distinction some people just don't make. I realised quite a while ago that you don't have to be alone to be lonely. You can be with a group of people and still feel like the only human being on this planet of ours. You can also be completely alone in a large house and not meet other people in days and still not feel lonely (trust me, I've tried that and felt no need for any social contact what so ever). I guess some people are just never alone because they fear being lonely and therefore don't understand this distinction.

I need time for myself a lot. Maybe it's just because I've never been in a relationship and am therefore used to being on my own. But I really enjoy being on my own too, because I feel like I am more in touch with myself when I have some time in which I don't have to socialise. Because this is what it feels like for me sometimes: not like a want, but like an external pressure to socialise. I love my friends and family, but sometimes I really much rather be left alone than spend time with them. Maybe that's also because most of my friends aren't interested in what I am interested in and therefore I need time to process all the things that I can't talk about to my friends.

I wonder how much of that is me and how much of that is the situation I'm in. I guess this might make me a loner or a stranger (as in strange person), but honestly, I don't care most of the time. Any thoughts on that?

Liz and Raimy are back!

Well actually, they have posted 4 promos for the new season of "This just out with Liz Feldman".

I love Raimy's belly laugh! I can't wait for the second season, Liz does the most hilarious interviews ever! I still can't stop laughing when I watch her very first episode, in which she interviews "Shane from The L Word". Plus, Liz has Raimy - "the one friend, that's like the coolest person ever ... and everything they do is cool. You feel cool when you're with them, but as soon as you step out of their shadow, you are like 'I can't believe what a lameass I am'"! I had a friend like that as well in junior high school and I have to admit that I might have a little crush on Raimy. She's cute, I have absolutely no idea what she's talking about most of the time but she does, which I find highly attractive (her knowing what she's talking about, not me having no clue) and she has a great smile that makes her eyes sparkle! Back to the promos: they are short, but sweet and they make me look forward to the next season even more!!

I am rewatching the old episodes of Grey's Anatomy and I realised why I didn't immediately obsess about Callie. No 1 - She really had a small role in the beginning. No 2 - While she very actively flirted with George, she was still very insecure, eg when George found out that she lives in the basement, she tells him that she's not a freak. I like Callie more when she's demanding, when she knows what she wants and just gets it. I'm not really sure whether she has actually evolved as much as I think or whether I'm making this up. But I feel like she isn't as insecure anymore. *ponders*

Room mates, snap elections and lots of babies

I share a flat with two other students. We're not actually room mates, because we all have our own room, but I'm not sure whether "flat mates" is a real word. One of my flat mates finished her studies (medicine) and will move out in August. So, we had to find a new flat mate and the fourth person who came to look at the room was really nice and likeable. She said that she's interested in renting the room, which means that we now have found our new flat mate! I'm really happy that this worked out so well and that we didn't have to wait for too long for someone nice to want to move in with us. She's from Germany, so now we have a really international flat: a German/Italian/Austrian flat.

It looks like we'll have elections in September in Austria. Not even two years ago in October (I think), the last elections were held and the legislative period would be 4 years, but it seems our politicians can't work together anymore. I'm frustrated and annoyed by the political landscape right now and honestly, I don't know who I should vote for if we had elections on Sunday. I take my civic duty seriously, therefore not voting is not an option to me. However, none of the 5 parties in Austria impress me with their manifestos. I can easily rule out three of the five parties, leaving two with whom I partly agree. Right now, I would just love to show my irritation and lack of respect for them by voting invalidate. If enough voters did that, then the politicians might get the message. But I'm not sure that they care. So, this is a frustrating situation for me, because not much has happened in the two years since the last election and until we have a new administration, nothing will happen. No new laws will be passed and this inactivity bothers me. One of my favourite quotes about politics, by Winston Churchill:

Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.

'Nuff said.

Congratulations to Thomas Beatie and his wife Nancy, who became parents of a little baby girl two weeks ago! I wish them all the luck in the world and that their child does not have to face all the discrimination they had to face. Just because it might be hard to wrap the idea of a pregnant man around our collective head, doesn't make it wrong.

Congratulations also to Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, who also welcomed a little baby girl into this world today. The girl is called Sunday Rose Kidman Urban and was born in Nashville this morning. (People magazine reports)

My Weekend Crush

I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Dorothy Surrenders, whose weekend crush this special Pride weekend is: Maria Bello. Yummy, mhm... can't ... form ... sentences. Hmh. I'm in a happy place right now. Seriously, I think Maria should have been on my top ten list!

When I saw this video of Ellen and Portia in Italy, I had an urge to hop onto a train and go down to Italy to catch a glimpse of them IRL. However, I'm not a paparazzi and therefore would not be able to find out where they are so I fought the urge and remained where I am. I love Ellen so much, she really is my hero. When Ellen came out in 1997, I was 9 years old and had no idea who she is. But, as I came out and tried to live my life as a lesbian, she was one of the people I "turned" to for advice. And she gave great advice. Not only through her show "Ellen", but also through living a proud and full live and entertaining me and millions of people with her great sense of humor. Personally, I think Ellen came out for herself. I know what it's like to hide a part of yourself and I feel that she must have probably felt like she was dying inside a little by not being honest. Ellen is a great role model and she definitely fought hard for our community, dealing with not finding work for three whole years. I can't even imagine what that must have been like for her. Ellen seems very smart, nice, genuine and a great soul and she really is my hero, a person I can look up to and strive to be like. There's so much I could say about Ellen, but no matter how many words I use, no words will really express how I feel about her.

This summer, Ellen will marry Portia, "her right piece". I wish them both all the luck in the world and when I see videos and pictures of them together, I fell like they already have that!

Pictures from Ellen-DeGeneres.com

Sorry that this was late, I haven't really felt like writing lately. I promise to post more next week!

Vacations at home

On Friday, I finally went home for 5 days. It’s been way too long, nearly a month since I had been at home last and I really needed this short “vacation”. My mum’s birthday was on Saturday, as well as the birthday of a dear friend of mine, Ms. M. My mum didn’t really celebrate her birthday but in the evening, friends came over to play cards, something they do about once a month. So, nothing special, but it was still nice to be at home for her birthday. We did, however, celebrate my friend’s birthday. A friend and I had organised a surprise for her. First, we watched “Fucking amal” in the theatre and then we visited an exhibition in the catacombs of Linz. The theatre was performed by a group of teenage actors who did a great job and I really enjoyed it, especially because I’d never seen the movie. The exhibition was interesting, the theme was “memories and forgetting”. There were a few pieces about WW2 and a few about Alzheimer and so on. The catacombs were build during WW2, in the end mostly by prisoners from Mauthausen. I had been down there before with my class, so I knew a few things about the history, but the art really worked amazingly well with the catacombs. Inside, it’s about 12 degrees Celsius and a humidity of approx. 80%. In the parts where you can walk around freely the height is about 4 meters, but there are parts where it’s just under 2 meters. You can even walk from one side of the Danube to the other under the water, but only with a guide. We had a lengthy discussion about the fact that when Linz was bombarded in WW2 (mainly the factories), the inhabitants actually lived down there for days in a row and that we can’t imagine living like that. Luckily, we don’t have to fear being bombarded by anyone or having to flee our country or living in a war zone.

The other days, I mainly did absolutely nothing. I spent most time in front of my computer, either reading fanfics or watching videos on youtube. I felt like I really needed that time off because I needed to recharge my batteries. Tomorrow, I’ll – finally!! – have the last class at university this term. We have to present our project and talk for 10 minutes, which will be interesting. I have prepared everything and met with my colleagues today to finish the presentation and I really hope that everything will be satisfactory to our teacher.

I’ve been wanting to write about this movie, but I always forgot: Two weeks ago, I watched “Heartbreak Hotel” with a friend at our local cinema. We had a blast, the movie was so funny at times and so sad at others and just great!! I felt like this was the realistic version of “Sex and the city”. There are two main characters in this movie who meet and start to spend time together. Both are in their 40s and single and just struggle with life sometimes. So, if you want to laugh and maybe even cry for two hours, this is a great way to spend an evening with friends!