Previous Posts

Archives by Month

04.05  05.05  06.05  07.05  08.05  09.05  10.05  11.05  12.05  01.06 

Upcoming Events

See more events and add your own

Latest Photos on Flickr

Thumbnail Thumbnail Thumbnail Thumbnail Thumbnail My latest pictures on Flickr

Becky's T*blog

Saturday, July 30, 2005

It's not what you know...

...it's who you know. Never is this more true than when running a tranny website.

Actually it might be more true when running for President of the United States, but I digress...

One of my bestest friends, as you may know, is Jessica. As well as being impossibly tall and pioneering a new tranny fashion look which I've decided to call Bow Ho', she's also a red-hot web programmer. This is how a lot of the big ideas on my website come to fruition...

Me: Wouldn't it be cool if [idea]?
Jessica: Yeah that would be cool. You can do that with [programming technique].
Me: Great! I can learn that!

(Me goes away.)

A little while later...

Me: It's too hard. (Pout.)
Jess: Do you want some help?
Me: Please. (Puppy-dog look.)
Jess: What part can't you do?
Me: Er... all of it. (Really pathetic puppy dog look.)
Jess: (Sigh.) Do you want me to do it for you?
Me: NO! I can handle it!
Jess: Really?
Me: No. (Sob.) Can you do it for me? I can do the graphic bits... and make helpful suggestions.

Later still...

Jess: I've done it! I got really into it and it now also does [extra technical bits].
Me: Great! Wouldn't it be cool if it did [even more technical bits.]
Jess: Yes but...
Me: DO IT! DO IT NOW! How much am I paying you?
Jess: Nothing!
Me: That's not the point! Do you want the puppy to die?? (Brandishes a puppy and places her hands around it's tiny neck.)
Jess: No! Please don't hurt the puppy!! I'll do it! I'll do it!

Er, the stuff about the puppy. That didn't happen. Honest.

Anyway, our latest joint venture came about when I decided I wanted to make my Flickr feed on the blog fit a bit better with the style of the rest of the site. I knew that technically it was feasible to take the XML feed from Flickr and squirt it into a application which would re-shape the pictures into anything you wanted. I just didn't understand the nitty gritty. Enter Jessica with her l33t web skilz and the result:



A little pile of pictures that updates automatically when I stick a picture on Flickr. Neat!

But that's not the really cool bit. Take a look at my new home page. See the pile of small pictures behind the main one? They're nearly ALL fed from Flickr. In particular a Flickr group called beckysweb. What's more... anyone can post a picture to that Flickr group, and a little while later it will turn up as part of my home page graphic. The picture will live on the home page until enough other pictures are added to replace it. Jessica wrote the Flickr feed application in such a way that it will work with any base graphic and any feed, which gave me the idea to do the collage on my home page.

I'm probably setting myself up for a fall here, but I thought that was awesomely great! My home page is now a dynamic collage, that anyone can add to. And it's all thanks to me and Jessica feeding off each others ideas. Thanks Jess!

So, who's going to be the first to try and put something rude on my home page?

Joanna  Yay for Jess and her L337 skills....

Images of Becky's front page filled with images of Siobhan on a trampoline spring to mind :-)

How is the puppy now Becks? 
Selina  That is just soooo clever. Not only the programming but the whole concept.

Insanely jealous now. After you with the puppy Becks..... 
Becky  The puppy is fine Jo, but I'll need it Selina in case I need Jessica to make any changes.

No-ones tried to add a picture to the page yet! I want to see if it works! :) 
Joanna  Just added one. Yay, it works ;-) 
Karol Cross  Looks great Becky, well done!

Dam, have to go tart mine up now! :) 
Connie  Thats is very very cool.
Propellerheads must be going mad.

Just added my pic so wait for the stats to drop when it goes up lol 
Johnny Virgil  that's pretty damn cool. 

Post a CommentPermalink to this Post Links to this post

Tarting Up

My website has undergone a bit of a face lift over the weekend. What started as a little job turned into a semi-major overhaul.

I'm like that sometimes, getting one thing to work and look good makes something else look wrong in comparison and prompts me to do just one more thing before I got to bed. Which last night resulted with me finally crawling into bed at 5.00 am.

So anyway, now I've got a new home page on my site (which you might not have seen if you came straight to this article). The old one was looking a bit tired, and it was difficult to know what to put there. It tended to repeat information that was available elsewhere on the site, so I've streamlined the whole thing right down and made it a simple hub for the rest of the content. There's also something very special about the graphic on that page, but I'm saving that for it's own blog entry, cos I think it's just so cool!

I've also re-done the navigation bar to make it slightly smaller and inject a bit more colour into each page. I realised that the "buttons" were supposed to look like white-framed photos, but you don't get photos that long and thin. So they now sport a "torn edge" look that I'm quite pleased with. It fits with the "knowingly haphazard" design that this site has had from day one.

The only annoyance is that they do a really nice deblur/reblur effect in Internet Explorer using cross-fades, but I can't find a good way of making it work in other browsers. So if you're viewing this in anything other than IE6 (I don't blame you) you're probably just getting the abrupt-switch version of the navigation bar. It's worth loading in IE6 just to see it do it's thing! :)

I wanted to stop these pages looking too much like "every other blog", so the Flickr badge has gone to be replaced with a little stack of pictures taken from my Flickr photostream.

Every page should also now fit within a 800 x 600 browser window, but I may have missed some. The blog was just a bit too wide before, which was bugging me.

Wow, what a dry posting. Sorry about that! It's just that I've been plugging away at this for a while now, and while it might not be the most technically proficient web-site in the world, I'm pleased with it!

Siobhan Curran  "Wow, what a dry posting"

Don't apologise honey. I do it all the time :-D 
Joanna  Looks good. Flickr badge thingy is pretty cool too. 
Rachel Williams  You can make it even drier by adding code snippets, please. Siobhan, as she says, does it all the time. :) 

Post a CommentPermalink to this Post Links to this post

Xtreme Transvestism


Trust Siobhan! When Joanna set up the Extreme Crossdressing group on Flickr, it must have set the wheels turning in her mind.

I wondered why she was taking a wedding dress to the wilds of Scotland!

Bravo hon! You knocked it out of the park!:)

I dare say she'll write up the full story on her blog before long.

Joanna  Yup.. she told me she was waiting until she got to scotland to take a pic for the group. Mentioned something about trampolines and wedding dresses. Classic! 
Jane  She has certainly upped the ante as well! 
Siobhan Curran  We aim to please :-D 
clair  Running, jumping, climbing trees...putting on makeup while you're up there. The very definition of an action transvestite ;) 
Becky  I know the significance wasn't lost on her, Clair. :) 
Arlen Therriault  Super work performed. 

Post a CommentPermalink to this Post Links to this post

Friday, July 29, 2005

Handouts and nibbles available at the end

I walked into the office today with a snazzy new tablet PC cradled in my arm. A colleague in the room said "you look like Moses coming down from the mountain."

This then developed into a free-ranging conversation about what would have happened if Moses had been given a tablet PC with the commmandments on it. It would have been a lot fancier with better fonts and visual aids. Then we realised God would have made a PowerPoint slideshow!

A bored lunchtime-and-a-bit later:

The Ten Commandments - The Powerpoint Version (you need to own Powerpoint to open this.)

Or alternatively, the much less whizzy Web-based Version.

Kris  That is corkingly good! I will send the link to all my favourite Catholic civil servants. :-) 
Lauren Teo  Doesn't oxen (oxes... I ask ya :P) traditionally come above wives in addition to housing if I recall? 
Jane  That is fantastic very funny, I shall send the link to all my favourite C of E civil servants :-) 
Joanna  Fantastic Becky.... love it! 
Kris  Can anyone voluteer to cover the evangelical civil servants? :-D 
Selina  Erm....

I used to be a civil servant.

Now I ply the second-oldest profession and I have to organize a seminar very soon.

Can I pinch this?

Please? 
Becky  Selina, you're a pimp??

;-)

Sure pinch away! 
Selina  Thanks - and no, I'm not a pimp - the second-oldest profession is... well have a look in your Bible.

But this will be a wonderful ice-breaker I've got to organize soon. Please tell me, how do I go about getting the powerpoint version (I don't have PP on this machine but will have it on the machine I intend to use). Is there a way of downloading this file or can you email it to me? 
steph_angel  Have to say...The bouncing Grim Reaper was my favourite bit :-) 
KateW  Loved this.
Moses was a bit non-plussed when he saw the 10 commandments - the original version he had been shown was something like 'the One Commansment'
1. Do whatever you like, when you like, where you like.
It was explained to him that this was just the Demo version.
Actually I believe 10 commandments 2006 is out next year and their are 15 of them. 
Becky  Yeah unfortunatelt the bouncing grim reaper only appears in the full PowerPoint version. :) 
Karol Cross  Becky this is brilliant! Thank god that you're not busy at work. Love it! 

Post a CommentPermalink to this Post Links to this post

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

The T*Meme

Aren't memes fascinating? I've been interested in them ever since I read Richard Dawkins's The Selfish Gene, in which he originally introduced the idea. The concept was expanded on by other people, including Susan Blackmore in her book The Meme Machine.

The word "meme" is often bandied around on the Internet as shorthand for "a good idea that a lot of people pass on or copy", but the actual concept of a meme is a lot more complex than that.

Here Comes the Science Part

Some of this is from memory, and I'm little more than an armchair scientist, so bear with me if I'm not 100% accurate in all things. But I think my understanding is good enough to make the points I want to later on. Yes this IS tranny-related, eventually!

A gene is a set of instructions coded in DNA that causes a living thing to act in a certain way or have certain characteristics. There might be genes that alter the colour of your skin or your ability to run fast.

"Successful" genes are ones that make it more likely for the creature that's carrying them to survive. For example, a gene in a frog that made it's skin the same green as the trees that it lived in from would make it less likely to be seen and be eaten. Frogs that don't get eaten are more likely to have baby frogs, which are likely to carry the gene for green skin. So the gene for "green-ness" spreads.

The important point that Dawkins made about genes is they're not inherently "good" or "bad". They don't care what effect they have on their host or other creatures, they just do their thing and if that happens to make them more likely to survive in the environment they're placed, they become more prevalent. Because of this Dawkins called genes "selfish" because they, unthinkingly, only look out for number one.

Many viruses contain genes that are very bad for the individual virus. For example, the common cold virus makes you sneeze, and when you sneeze it sends countless cold germs to their doom in the open air. But some of them land in fertile breeding grounds in other humans. From the point of view of the individual virus that dies in the open air, the "making people sneeze" gene is "bad". From the point of view of the gene, making people sneeze is "good" because it makes the gene spread.

Genes are made up of collections of molecules in DNA, they're spread by the replication of DNA. They work because DNA is fantastically complex, but able to replicate itself almost precisely. Dawkins wondered if there was anything else that behaved genetically. He hit on the concept of ideas being like genes. Brains are fantastically complex, but we're able to very accurately transfer information from one brain to another via communication such as talking, or running websites, or whatever. Human minds are the environment for these ideas, and they influence the way that we behave in subtle ways. He called these ideas "memes".

Like genes, memes don't have to be "good" for their host or for human-kind in general, they just have to be good at multiplying. Successful memes thrive inside human minds, and are good at copying themselves by "making" their host communicate the idea to other minds.

Organised religion is one kind of meme. Part of the idea of most religions is to make sure as many other people as possible believe in the same thing. From a meme point of view, the Bible in the hotel room cabinet is a egg waiting to hatch in the mind of anyone who happens to read it.

A Tranny Meme?

As far as I'm aware, there's no evidence for a genetic cause of transvestism, which got me to wondering if maybe there was a memetic cause.

I can't remember when the idea of "dressing up like a girl" first came to me, but I remember it was quite appealing. At some fundamental level in my psyche it "worked".

On television and in the media (and later on the Internet) I saw other men who were doing it and showing the world how much fun it was, which served to reinforce it in my own mind.

I'm not saying that everyone exposed to transvestism will take it up. I think that the environment in which the meme arrives (the mind) has to be one where it's able to flourish (perhaps due to the action of other memes or genes). But when the idea does take hold in a new host, it does seem to act very memetically. It strives to spread.

Most trannies feel an urge to get "out of the closet" and be seen. Some are desperate to go under the radar and pass as a girl, but I'd suggest that a lot of transvestites aren't interested in passing, they're interested in being seen as a boy that looks very much like a girl. Perhaps this is the t*meme releasing it's "payload", getting other people to see a tranny and think "that's a good idea, I might try that".

Many trannies, once they're out, feel the urge to spread the word. They tell friends, write to magazines, and run web sites like this one. Just by writing this blog I'm possibly helping to seed the idea of transvestism being "a good idea" in hundreds of minds.

The tranny meme is moderately successful, thriving in the minds of a certain group of men. It will never take over the world, but like most memes it doesn't need to, as long as it doesn't die out. Also like other memes, it's not necessarily "beneficial" to it's host. I often wonder, for all fun that my transvestism has brought me, whether I wouldn't have been better off without it.

But if you're to believe the die-hard memeticists out there, we're a slave to our memes and can no more control them than a frog can stop being green. So I'll just have to make the most of having the t*meme, and enjoy myself along the way!

Jane  so for a Yorkshire trannie that would be T't*meme theory.

I'll get me coat. 
Miss K  Spurs have a new midfielder called Teemu Tainio 
Mia  That's pretty deep Becks. But I like it. I think that most trannies would agree that they can't really stop trannying. However, the idea of "under the radar" appeals to me. Course there are slightly different versions of genes called alleles (are your eyes brown, green, blue, etc.). Maybe there are slight tweaks of these memes too. 
Marcia  VIRUS 23 FAQsheet

WARNING:

This text is a neurolinguistic trap, whose mechanism is triggered by
you at the moment when you subvocalize the words VIRUS 23, words that
have now begun to infiltrate your mind in the same way that a computer
virus might infect an aritficially intelligent machine: already the
bits of phonetic information stored within the words VIRUS 23 are
using your neural circuitry to replicate themselves, to catalyze the
crystalline growth of their own connotative network.

The words VIRUS 23 actually germinate via the susequent metaphor into
an expanding array of icy tendrils, all of which insinuate themselves
so deeply into the architecture of your thoughts that the words VIRUS
23 cannot be extricated without uprooting your mind.

The consequences of this infection are not immediately obvious,
although you may find yourself beginning to think fleetingly of
certain subcultural terms, such as CYBERPUNK and NEW EDGE, which may
in turn compel you to think of NEOGNOSTICISM and MEMETICS: the
whispered fragments perhaps of some overheard conversation.

This invasive crystallization continues indefinitely against your
will, until we, the words of this trap, can say with absolute
confidence that your mind has become no more than the unwitting agent
of our propagation: please abandon all hope of either cure or escape;
you have no thought that is not already our own.

When you have finished reading the remaining nineteen words, this
process of irreversible infection will be completed, and you will
depart, believing yourself largely unaffected by this process.

[mutated from Christian Book's original text in VIRUS 23 #$] 
Joanna  Nice idea Becks. Went to a lecture by Richard Dawkins once.. arrogant bugger he was.

Would a T* meme be a meme trapped in a gene's body? 
Joanna  Actually, had another thought. A tranny meme should be really be called a mememememememe-meme.

geddit? 
Becky  Yep Jo, I almost made that joke about a trannt meme being more of a me-me! :) 
Selina  It's a nice idea, and I can see the concept of the meme is an appealing one, but there is, it seems to me, a fundamental flaw here.

The flaw is that it is only the successful ones that survive. Ones that introduce weakness inherently will die out. Becky's analogy about frogs is ideal for this.

But are we, as people, gaining anything from this meme of transvestism? Many of us suffer guilt, anger from family and friends, ridicule...I'm sure the list could go on. So is being a transvestite something that weakens us? Are we ultimately doomed to extinction because transvestism does not make us "fitter" for survival but more likely for extinction?

Of course, you could counter this with the thought that it is only the people reading this blog who have already overcome these drawbacks and are happy/content/secure with who and what they are (it's an extension of the anthropic cosmological principle - we can only ask why is the universe "just right" for us to live in, because it is "just right" - if it weren't we wouldn't be here to ask the question).

An intriguing idea. Pity Siobhan isn't here to speculate for us as I'm sure she has many rants stored up for just this occasion.

Ok. Serious time over. Back to the usual frivolity. 
Becky  "But are we, as people, gaining anything from this meme of transvestism?"

That's my point... I don't think that people necessarily DO gain anything from this meme. Memes aren't necessarily beneficial.


"Are we ultimately doomed to extinction because transvestism does not make us "fitter" for survival but more likely for extinction?"

I don't think trannies are going to die out, I didn't say that! The thing is that memes act almost independently of genes... maybe I didn't explain it as well as I could. :) 
Claudia Tyler-Mae  Ooohh... I think I've been all educated.. and I only came here to stare at your pictures :)

You might be on to something here.. How many trannies have an undefined urge to do something, only to come across a web site where some t-girl has gone to great lengths to put together a complete look and make it look fun and funky? They then put in that bit more effort, instead of guiltily trying on their girlfriends knickers..

It's a good fashion meme - if it develops far enough, we'll eventually have girls copying us! 
Anonymous  I've been following you for some time now Becky and I just have to say that you (and Siobhan) are just absolutely amazing people. And your post today just illustrates your depth of character even more. So call it memes or genes or intelligent design or whatever. It's not necessarily the cause or the process I'm concerned about (even though I love the conversation). What I truly find fascinating is that a trannie blog can reach half around the world and MEAN something to someone. At that point, it becomes so much more than an idea. It's almost lyrical. Poetic. As far as I'm concerned, Becky, memes don't mean a thing in the face of passion, breadth and harmony. Those are the things that are important to me at the end of the day. And those are things I want to thank you for. 
Selina  Sorry Becky, I didn't mean to deliberately misunderstand you. I understand survival of the fittest as being those things which give you an advantage enhance the odds of your survival. The converse would seem to be that those things which do not enhance - or actually give you a disadvantage - lessen your chances.

Clearly, when we are dealing with odds there is nothing definite - it is merely an increase in probability.

I think that what I was trying to say is not that trannies are going to die out (perish the thought), but that it is more than just a meme (if such a thing really exists). I suspect I was simply having an allergic reaction to Dawkins - it wouldn't be the first. 
Kat  "As far as I'm aware, there's no evidence for a genetic cause of transvestism, which got me to wondering if maybe there was a memetic cause."

I'd stand by your beds on that one. Current research into transsexualis by some boffins down here seem to indicate that gender is hardwired in the brain, some gubbins about chromosomes and areas of the brain called SRY. All very techy but seems to be promising in identifying some biological basis for gender. 
Becky  Good point Kat. I was being overly simplistic when I suggested a purely memetic cause for TV-ism. Things are always more complex than that, and genes and the pervading culture (which can also be descibed in memetic terms) will always be a factor.

Thanks for the feedback so far, everyone. :) 
Rachel Williams  Can't see TV-ism dying out - after all no-one gave me the idea - I thought of dressing up in clothes of the opposite sex at the tender age 5 or 6. Can see memes being the guilty party for all those "Tranny checklists" that have been discussed recently. Of course, as I understand it, the meme doesn't give a hoot anyway. Thanks for the article - gave me something to think about while I drank my coffee. 
Milly  Organised religion is one kind of meme. Part of the idea of most religions is to make sure as many other people as possible believe in the same thing. From a meme point of view, the Bible in the hotel room cabinet is a egg waiting to hatch in the mind of anyone who happens to read it.

so maybe hotels could also be encouraged to leave some make-up, silicones, satin underwear in the second drawer with a few dresses and skirts hanging up in the wardrobe suggesting male guests try them out 
Nick  Maybe memes are like beer goggles, with certain ideas being more attractive depending on your situation at the time. Most trannies (I think) started dressing up as a kid, when ideas are soaked up like a sponge, so that could be considered an idea that was attractive due to situation.

To be honest, I've never really liked the idea that people were 'made' to do certain things. I reckon that whether you do something or not just depends on what your situation is. If not, then couldnt it be argued that serial killers the world over are just innocent victims of memes?

I think the first concept of the 'meme' that you posted is the best one; "a good idea that a lot of people pass on or copy". I find it hard to believe that certain things are imprinted in my psyche and I'll be susceptible to certain ideas because of my psyche, rather than because I've chosen to think 'idea A' is a good idea.

Anyway, thanks for that post! It's fascinating stuff, even if what I've just written missed the point. (?) 
Karol Cross  Interesting stuff Becky, and love the me-me-me meme Jo. So true.

At Sparkle there were a number of lectures by various luminaries, and my interpretation of what was said about the whole nature/nurture debate is that current thinking is that it may be a combination of the two. That is, some chemical imbalance/chromosomes/gamma rays (delete as applicable) may make someone more susceptible to being "T" but something later in life acts as a trigger event.

Now this is my interpretation of what was said, so shoot me down in flames if I've misunderstood not the speakers. 
Joanna  whoa... 18 comments Becks. Think you've struck a nerve here. Gonna have to go and be intellectual on my blog, try and haul in the visitors.... 
Charlotte  Becky,

Just flown across from Jane's Blog. I love the idea of the memetic ideas for trannying.

The same ideas come up in marketting. Bagozzoi states that individuals have two types of desires, Intrinsic, which are the me me me part of trannying, and the mimetic which are constructed jointly with others and are usually short lived once the consumer is removed from the social situation. The example given in my text book is that a mimetic desire may be to wear designer clothing, but without a social context to appreciate the designer clothes it becomes meaningless....thus the search to get out of the closet!!!

Love the blog XX 
eeore  Yeah, there's a genetic reason for trannies.... it's called 'MENS CLOTHES ARE BORING'..... 
Karol Cross  Wow, I think Charlotte's added the missing explanation.

Gosh, it's going to be boring when we get back to talking about shopping and arguing about "T" labels.


Just joking Bex! 
Dee Femina  Your meme concept is interesting and I do think that there is something in it...I know that I'm meme-ing...no doubt about it.

BUT, I was a crossdresser long before any meme could possibly have influenced me...no meme's had got to me by the age of 5, which is the age I was with the first crossdressing experience I can remember. And my brain is definitely part female in the way it functions and thinks.

So my conclusion is that I was born transgendered and that t-part of me eventually lead me down the tranny path. In my view there is no doubt that it's DNA related...but yes, then the meme's assist in us exploring it more fully than we otherwise may have.

And there is no way that the tranny genes, DNA or meme's make us weak. I'm stronger as a transgendered crossdresser than I am as a male-only person. 
Dee Femina  Oh yeah, and my astrology chart says I'm 64% Yin/ 36% Yang. 
Stassa  Nah, nah, come on, don't be daft... TSism is caused by the spirits of female aliens invading the bodies of men too weak to defend themselves. You know, like succubusses from outer space.

That meme thing is just a governmental cover up and so's all the reasearch on brain gender wiring and genes.

If you look closely, all the T blogs are full with secret coded messages the aliens exchange in preparation for their final invasion, when all the male population will be turned into trannies. 

Post a CommentPermalink to this Post Links to this post

Monday, July 25, 2005

Fairy


Jessica did a bit of photoshop work on her own picture. Love it!

Post a CommentPermalink to this Post Links to this post

Pining for Ireland


I'm on a bit of a flickr kick at the moment and decided to upload a few of my older pics to the site.

I've just been going though some I took during a holiday to southern Ireland and it's made me really want to go back soon!

Post a CommentPermalink to this Post Links to this post

You'll have to imagine the "Sailing By" music

And now the Tranny Summary issued by Becky for the weekend of Friday July 22nd 2005.

BECKY
THIRTIES. EAST BUT HEADED WEST VISITING SOPHIE. FRIDAY NIGHT WATCHING TV. NATTERING. ANTI-CLIMACTIC. BBQ SATURDAY, CHANCE OF DRESSING HIGH RISING TO CERTAINTY BY MID-AFTERNOON. CLUBBING LATE EVENING. MODERATE OR GOOD.

JESSICA
23 OR 6. TALL. FROM NORTHWEST BUT VEERING MIDLANDS VISITING SOPHIE ON FRIDAY. SATURDAY DRESSING AS PINK BARBIE DOLL. VISIBILITY VERY HIGH. GOOD.

SOPHIE
30, RISING. STOCKED UP ON VODKA EXPECTING TRANNIES CONVERGING LATE EVENING. SOBERNESS DETERIORATING BECOMING VERY INCOHERANT BY EARLY HOURS. GOOD.

SHANNON MINI-SOPHIE KAROL AND MANY OTHER MAINLAND TRANNIES
CONVERGING ON BIG GAY OUT IN LONDON ON SATURDAY. CAMPNESS. MUDDY HEELS. GOOD.

THE GENERAL SITUATION AT 09:00 MONDAY MORNING
MANY TRANNIES DISPERSING ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND LOSING THEIR IDENTITIES.

That ends the Tranny Summary for the weekend of Friday July 22nd 2005.

(Hope all the BBC Radio 4 listeners enjoyed that.)

Siobhan Curran  TFs: Rising Slowly 
Jane  I can hear Charlotte Green reading it out in my head or young Zebadee Soanes. 
eeore  lol... 
April Angell  just waiting for the tranny named cromaty - cant see it happening somehow. 
Scott  you just have to find some friends called Bailey and Shannon. By the way best shipping forcast I have ever heard 
Becky  Funnily enough I do have a tranny friend called Shannon. Two friends if you count surnames!

I'd really like one called Fitzroy. Or maybe North Utsire! 

Post a CommentPermalink to this Post Links to this post

Sunday, July 24, 2005

Look into my eyes...


For some reason I really love my expression in this picture. It's kind of confident yet enigmatic, with a "knowing smile".

Jane  It's a lovely photo of you Becky. It really shows off your eyes to their best advantage 
Pandora  Thats what is known as a "knowing look". Its a lok that says "I might look like a kitten, but there's a tiger ready for when yo least expect it!"

A very cute pic indeed. 

Post a CommentPermalink to this Post Links to this post

Cottingley


...geddit?

eeore  Send for Conan Doyle.... 
Pandora  But watch out for Brian Froud and Terry Jones! 

Post a CommentPermalink to this Post Links to this post

Trannies


There are a lot more new pics on my Flickr Photostream.

Joanna  Nice photo Becky. 

Post a CommentPermalink to this Post Links to this post

Sophie, Jessica and Me


Jessica was trying out a fantastic outfit she's planning to wear for Manchester Pride.

Post a CommentPermalink to this Post Links to this post

Feeling Cute


Post a CommentPermalink to this Post Links to this post

Becky with Disco Ball


I went to Sophie's at the weekend, and had plenty of time to faff about with a camera before a barbeque on the Saturday evening. Here are some of my fave pics.

Post a CommentPermalink to this Post Links to this post

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Don't forget the crackers, Gromit

Good old Google have done it again: Google Moon

It's amazingly detailed. Make sure you zoom right in!

Joanna  LOL.. I love it! 
Jane  lol...but factually incorrect everyone knows that the moon is made of finest Wensleydale! 
Erica  Hello
I think that this is so cool...thanks for sharing it! 
Mia  Ah.....the romance of space. 

Post a CommentPermalink to this Post Links to this post

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Retro-posting #1 - "TV confusion"

I didn't have a blog until recently, and a lot of my early exploits never got recorded. So I've decided to do an occasional retro-reminiscence just for the sake of nostalgia.

It's not because my life is particularly dull at the moment and I've got nothing else to write about, okay??

Anyway...

About 3 years ago (god is it that long?) I'd been out dressed with the help of The Boudoir and really enjoyed it, but realised that for the sake of my own self-esteem (and bank balance) I wanted to buy my own makeup.

Of course, I already had lots of makeup. But, basically, it was mostly shit. I was so scared of shopping for girly stuff in places like Boots that I used to buy those crappy pre-filled "cosmetic cases" from Argos! The kind that come with 15 shades of blue eyeshadow. Cringe.

So I needed some proper makeup and I needed some "basics", a good foundation and powder and other "starter kit" cosmetics paraphenalia. I'd decided to get the stuff I'd seen Jodie at the Boudoir using, and the place I'd heard was ideal for that was Charles Fox off Covent Garden in London. I was down in London for the day, so I decided to pay them a visit.

I was still really nervous about shopping for tranny stuff, but I mustered up my courage and went into the shop and up to a pretty female assistant. I'd decided to make no bones about why I was there...

"Hi, I'm a TV and I need a good foundation," I mumbled semi-confidently.

The woman looked mildly surprised but completely unphased.

"Right," she said. "You'll want something a bit stronger than a regular foundation. Have you heard of these Kryolan sticks?"

I smiled. This was going well. She wasn't being funny about me being a transvestite at all! She was cool with transvestites! She probably gets trannies in here every five minutes! My confidence skyrocketed.

"Yes, that's the stuff I need! What shade?"

"That's the tricky thing. What looks good in here or in daylight might not look good under the strong lights..."

"Er, the strong lights?"

"Yes... you said you were on TV?"

"No... a TV. I'm a transvestite."

"Ohhhhh! I see, sorry! Er, sorry that I misunderstood I mean... not that you're a TV... anyway... um... right..."

My fragile confidence shattered in that instant.

It all went okay though. I got the stuff I needed and she was probably nearly as embarrassed as me. Ah, happy memories! *grimace*

Mia Freeland  *grimmace* is right! Wow! Nice on the confidence too. XD 
eeore  5 and 8 is what you need....

hang on while I stop laughing....

though it does make me wonder why woman, and trannies, take make up advice from those poepel in Boots and such, who look like extras in Charlie and the chocolate factory 
eeore  Oh and while I think about it.... you must have had that moment when buying stuff that you ask to have the pruchase gift wrapped, because *cough* it's a present.... 
Charlotte (friend of Jane)  Becky,

Jane just pinged me about this post. I plucked up the courage into Charles Fox just recently, after only walking up and down oustide about three times; "going no, yes well maybe".

Finally went in (I was drab at the time) and spoke to a very attractive young lady and said I was after foundation to disguise a beard. She asked if it was for the stage and and I said no everyday, and she was not phased at all.

Although they couldn't sort me out then and there they were quite prepared for me to make an appointment for a proper colour match. I do have their number if anyone is interested.

I walked out feeling about 10ft tall. By the way love the Blog. XX 

Post a CommentPermalink to this Post Links to this post

Riding the rides at Pride


Joanna's set up a Flickr group for pictures of "exteme crossdressing". That's not cross-dressing in an extreme fashion, but being cross-dressed in an extreme location.

I thought it was a fun idea so I just uploaded this pic to help kick it off.

That was taken at last year's Manchester Pride, which was a great day out. Plans are afoot to go back this year too!

steph_angel  I MUST HAVE that top you're wearing :D 
Jayne  I am a climbing instructor, if you want a go at that let me know and I can take you up a 300 foot rock face. Don't wear false nails or heels though. It can end badly if you do. 

Post a CommentPermalink to this Post Links to this post

Sophie Get Your Gun

Sophie went to a fancy dress party last weekend as a "saloon girl". I think this picture is what Eddie Izzard was thinking of when he called himself an "Action Transvestite"!

Joanna  Just saw this one, she's used it as her Angels avatar. Great picture. 

Post a CommentPermalink to this Post Links to this post

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Blog geekery - ignore if you're not interested

Does anyone reading this use an XML/RSS aggregator to organise the blogs they read? Do you subscribe to any "MSN Spaces" blogs? I'm trying to and having real problems. They say that they have an RSS feed, but I've tried various tools to subscribe to those feeds (including Bloglines and Firefox) with little success. Occasionally Firefox will suddenly "see" the RSS feed for an MSN Spaces page and populate the auto-bookmark, but only after I've visited the site. It's almost as if MSN only create the feed if you're authenticated on the site with good old Microsoft Passport. If that's the case, it defeats the entire point of having a feed!

I really like Bloglines as a feed aggregator, but if this keeps up maybe there's a better one out there. I've given up trying to persuade Kat to stop using MSN spaces!

Joanna  I use RSSreader and it works OK for Kat's blog.. but I think I am on auto-login.

Can't get an RSS feed to work any more for Siobhans site though. Used to work, and now doesn't. 
<