thinking carefully about my compulsive need to take care of others and how deeply this is tied to my sense of self and self-worth..

direct line with vladimir putin

posted a question on the official website for the annual Q&A:

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

This question comes to you from Canada, and I hope that you find it important enough to answer. You insist that all people are treated equally in Russia, but you know that the general population does not tolerate "non-traditional relationships." While Russian children may be taught in school to accept all kinds of people, certain differences--especially those that are unfamiliar or misunderstood--sometimes need to be defined and described. Is the specific topic of sexual diversity covered in the Russian school curriculum? If not, do you think it should be?

[many, many thanks to mom/dad for the translation and research]

Уважаемый Владимир Владимирович

Этот вопрос приходит к вам из Канады, и я надеюсь что вы найдете это достаточно важным, чтобы ответить. Вы настаиваете что все люди имеют равные права в России, но вы знаете что население в целом не терпит "нетрадиционные отношения". В то время как российских детей обучают в школах быть терпимыми к людям разного рода, на практике этого не происходит. Рассматривается ли конкретная тема сексуального разнообразие в рамках школьной программы? Если нет, то должна ли она рассматриваться?

spent some time with my mother tongue this morning in the hope that it would help me finish a piece of writing that's been stagnating for years.

i'm not sure what that's done, really, except exacerbate my feelings of stupidity and uselessness and infuse them with an air of nostalgia

In school, I hated poetry—those skinny,
Malnourished poems that professors love;
The bad grammar and dirty words that catch
In the mouth like fishhooks, tear holes in speech.
Pablo, your words are rain I run through,
Grass I sleep in.

-- To Pablo, George Elliott Clarke

amazing, amazing typo of the day: self-depreciating humour