Rally for Trans Kids in Hastings

I went to the Rally for Trans Kids in Hastings today, in response to the bigoted hate poured out on Hastings school board member Kelsey Waits and her family by a ‘concerned parents’ group in the community. The group outed Waits’ 8-year-old trans child and has created an environment so hostile the family doesn’t feel safe and had to move.

Waits said it best in an MPR interview:

“Transgender kids are the most at-risk kids in our schools for suicide. Almost 50 percent of transgender students will attempt suicide, and that’s in Minnesota and nationwide. And what research is starting to show is that by supporting these kids, you decrease their risk of suicide. You’re saving their lives.”

Continue reading Rally for Trans Kids in Hastings

Spotify Wrapped: My Year in Music

So Spotify does this clever thing where they look at your listening stats and spit out a bunch of fun data. Unfortunately, they do it in this goofy app experience that’s pretty awful. But I pulled out the fun bits…

I listened to 43,344 minutes of music (more than 90% of users), accounting for 2,358 different artists, and 166 different genres.

Supposedly my top five genres are indie pop, ska, stomp and holler, bubble grunge, permanent wave. (I don’t know what half those words mean.)

Continue reading Spotify Wrapped: My Year in Music

Dressember: Help Fight Human Trafficking

I’m dressing up every day in December to fight human trafficking as a part of Dressember. Please consider making a donation to support my efforts.

It’s dumb that slavery is something we still have to talk about in 2021. But it impacts something like 45 million people worldwide, and disproportionately impacts children, women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and foster kids—basically the vulnerable.

That’s hard to stomach. The whole topic of human trafficking is pretty gruesome. It’s a lot easier to look away and ignore it.

That’s why Dressember uses what seems like a silly style challenge to raise awareness and attention for this difficult issue. So far they’ve raised over $13 million and counting to help trafficking survivors around the world. That’s pretty great.

Continue reading Dressember: Help Fight Human Trafficking