[JeniSkunk]

Pamela, I also read it as being aimed at transsexuals and not transgender in general.
The way I read the Sweedish use of the term Gender Marker, is as an equivalent to the sex marker on birth certificates, but unlike the sex marker, the gender marker is based on the current gender appearance of the person.
The group, I feel, that this Sweedish legislation will most help are non-op transsexuals. That is transsexuals for whom GRS is not able to be pursued.

Jenifur Charne

[JeniSkunk]

I haven’t looked for NATIO in store for quite a while. Back around 2000, when I used their loose powder, theirs was one of the more expensive ones on the market at the department stores. Those department store prices were above the chemists prices for the major cosmetics brands. So despite how good NATIO were, I simply could not afford their prices.
Have the prices for their products come down to earth, or are they still sky high?

Jenifur Charne

[JeniSkunk]

Bambi, there was a third article on Politics.co.uk regarding Lucy Meadows.
http://www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2013/03/22/comment-how-the-press-hounded-lucy-meadows
Not only were the UK press baying for Lucy’s blood, but also, any local who dared support Lucy in their comments made to the press, were turned away by the press.

Jenifur Charne

[JeniSkunk]

Amanda, your idea of having this as a topic for the breakout discussion is an excellent one, as it’s a subject I suspect that all TG are impacted by. The other spot in the schedule where this topic would also be a very worthwhile discussion subject is Workshop 4A: Exploring Transgender Issues.

Jenifur Charne

[JeniSkunk]

In discussions in the chatroom for venue ideas for an informal pre-TF dinner for Thursday night, the plan was worked out to go to the Canton Palace, 246 Katoomba St, Katoomba.
So far there’s 5 interested in going. Myself, Caroline and her wife, and Helen and amander.

Jenifur Charne

[JeniSkunk]

Quote:

All it needs is a volunteer to scribble things down.

And transcribe what was recorded to the Forum.
The biggest problem with ‘scribble things down’ at such a workshop or discusson, is knowing who is saying what. Having a video recording would make the job easier, as the person doing the recording could check the video to see who was speaking, when the notes are tidied up for distribution.
I am somewhat familiar with the job from having been the Minutes Secretary for my community housing group for the past 8 years.

Quote:

BTW I know that some people have saved for the last year to be at TransFormal again…

Quote:

Preferably someone who plans to be there !!!!

Started saving for TransFormal 2013 after buying my tickets for TransFormal 2012.
My tickets for TransFormal 2013 are already bought and paid for in full.
I’ve already started saving for TransFormal 2014.

Jenifur Charne

[JeniSkunk]

Quote:

I would love to come and attend the discussions at Katoombe but I am still unfortunately in an extremely cash strapped self inflicted position, so any travel is totally inaccessible to me.
Perhaps Amanda could arrange for a live video feed for those of us trapped at home??

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After the knee jerk reaction I got from a few about having a camera at TransFormal last year

Guilty as charged.

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you can be sure that I won’t be setting up a live uncensored video feed for the armchair audience.

A video feed of all the Events at TransFormal would be a problem to manage, and would raise the question:
“Should those who want a comprehensive video feed of TransFormal pay for the video feed?”

Quote:

Anyhow I think most of those who may entertain and inform us by being on the panel are unlikely to see themselves as budding media personalities. We can all have more fun if we know we aren’t being watched

If not a video feed of the discussion, then at least perhaps a transcript or info pages of what was discussed, for the Forum?
I do recall asking about transcripts or info pages for some of the workshops from the 2011 TransFormal which I could not afford to attend.

Jenifur Charne

[JeniSkunk]

Helen, forcing them to watch question time in parliament would only serve to educate them in being more effective DH.
Parliament seems to be a breeding and training ground for DH, unfortunately.

Jenifur Charne

[JeniSkunk]

On Topic:
If the compilation of the Digests is an automated task of the Forum software only showing Forum posts, then could be a regular once a week News and Upcoming Events mailout?

Off topic:

Quote:

I think this has wandered a long way from Kristyana’s idea for a news feed. But to close the tangential stuff….

My first post in this thread is what seems to have forked the discussion.

The post was about improving the content of the Digests, via the amount of post text shown in the Digests, but somehow the post forked the thread into bug fixing the Digests.

Jenifur Charne

[JeniSkunk]

Amanda, as I DO know that Yahoo does mis-identify emails, sometimes classifying legit emails as spam, I always manually check the spam folder before disposing of its contents. At least once a week, I find legit emails having been delivered to the spam box of my Yahoo account instead of the actual Inbox.
So maybe a reminder of that issue, sent to any members using a Yahoo email account, might be of use in reducing the unread Digests matter.

Jenifur Charne

[JeniSkunk]

Quote:

Thanks Jenifur for the lovely recap of your weekend. It was a pleasure to see you so obviously enjoying yourself!

But……

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Dinner on Sunday night started with a mix-up. Amanda was playing billards when she should have been at Champagne Charlies gathering up the bulk of our number.

Oh.. poor Amanda –
not allowed to go off duty –
even if the only thing she promised in the program was a place to meet up for a casual meal!!!

In the Registration Pack the meeting point for Sunday night’s dinner was supposed to have been the Carrington Bar, which to most of us meant Champagne Charlies.
Where the group I was a part of comprehensively failed was none of us tried to seek you out to find out where we would be going for dinner. We very foolishly just assumed that you were running late in getting to Champagne Charlies. 😳

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After helping everyone from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon I felt I’d done my bit… and as many know I don’t like large group meals.
I was glad to see that everyone found a meal and no one was left looking for company. And I enjoyed a nice quiet conversation with Liz!

Great to hear you had a fine Sunday dinner. Our larger table did as well. Your point about the size of the table I was at, has me thinking ahead, should there be another TransFormal. A few tables of 8 at the Old City Bank for the Sunday night.

Jenifur Charne

[JeniSkunk]

This year was the second TransFormal I attended, and I feel it massively surpassed last years. The Carrington was brilliant. I caught up with friends form last year, and met some new ones.
Thursday night’s pre-TransFormal dinner went well. Canton Palace was a great venue. Thanks to Caroline and her wife Annette, amander, and Helen for attending.
Friday afternoon’s art gallery and cultural Centre visit was a great idea Amanda. Thanks for coming up with it. I want to go there again.
The Wine and Cheese Tasting was a great success. I found a currently made wine that bought back memories of a wine from my childhood. On the way out, I bought some dark chocolate and nougat.
The fun game devised by Amanda starting Friday night’s proceedings was great to play. The tasty dinner and great chatting which followed was a good slow down form the humour of the game. Then to finish the evening with the serious videos. This whole combination effortlessly beat the Reception from last year. Thanks very much Amanda.
More workshops, some following on from the videos, made the Saturday daytime more busy and lively. The 2 serious workshops I attended needed another hour a piece at minimum. Thanks to Tanya from BFS for putting up with my questions and quibbles in finding my new forms. Ophelia’s workshop wasn’t what I was expecting, but was definitely fun.
A choice of meals at the Formal was a big improvement on last year. A brilliant band, which didn’t deafen anyone, had most folks up on the dance floor. I don’t think anyone wanted to go outside to Champagne Charlies to chat this year.
The Sunday morning photo was fun, the birdie is just so cute! The shopping was fun, but just too short, it should have started earlier. I scored a great set of jewelry on it, so I finished it very happy.
The Grand High Tea on Sunday afternoon was a gracious way to wind down from the excitement of the weekend. As I said last year, it’s worth going to in its own right. I wore my new jewelry to the tea.
Dinner on Sunday night started with a mix-up. Amanda was playing billards when she should have been at Champagne Charlies gathering up the bulk of our number. Her small group departed for the Old City Bank without letting those of us waiting at Champagne Charlies know what was going on. Our larger group went first to the Avalon Restaurant to see if she was there, no luck, then we broke up in to 2 groups, the smaller one which stayed at the Avalon, while the rest of us went to the Old City Bank, where we found Amanda. The staff at the Old City Bank handled our sudden influx with smooth aplomb, easily coping with our large party. I found a new pizza to enjoy, had a wonderful time chatting, and utterly lost track of time.
Monday morning, though, was an unexpected surprise. Due to the Sydney Writers Festival, the Dining Room was closed and breakfast had been moved to the Ballroom. It meant I couldn’t get a group photo of us having the breakfast which makrs the end of TransFormal.
After Breakfast, Karron offered me a lift down to Faulconbridge to collect my new ugg boots. I gladly accepted the offer and another surprise awaited me. Karron was first going to Echo Point, which I’d not had a chance to do last year. We took plenty of photos of the place, though with the wind, I quckly felt the biting chill. After the photos, we had an early lunch and swapped contact info, then drove down to Faulconbridge chatting all the way. At faulconbridge, Karron liked my new ugg boots so much she had to get a pair of her own. 😆 We then drove to the nearest station I knew would be staffed, Penrith, which was also on Karron’s route. More chatting filled in that part of the drive. Thanks very much Karron, for the lift and for going to Echo Point.

Jenifur Charne

[JeniSkunk]

One item I noticed that was missing from the Essential Packing List section of the Registration pack is coathangers.
From reviews of the Carrington, and my own experience there last year, the small number of coathangers in each room is a nuisance. So bringing your own coathangers is important.

Jenifur Charne

Moderator

Quote:

Good point! I’ve updated it

[JeniSkunk]

Quote:

Photography
A disc containing photos of the whole evening will be mailed after the event to those who deposit $10 and their address in an envelope in a BOX which will be located on the Transformal Central wing (1st floor hotel) from Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon .

Is it possible to pay that $10 in advance, via TrannyTix, and email the address info to Connie?

Jenifur Charne

[JeniSkunk]

Amanda, how quickly are the tickets for the Grand High Tea selling this year?

Jenifur Charne

Moderator

Quote:

Depends what you mean by quickly – but I don’t have any idea how fast they sold in previous years. And sales in the first week are never an indication of long term sales rates. So no answer.

If you have a personal reason for needing to know the number of tickets remaining them email me please and take this off forum

Amanda