Archive for the ‘All’ Category
Prejean? Postjean!
I've seen a bit more of the latest Carrie-Prejean hilarity than I really needed to read about; her bench just didn't have the depth for a nine-inning game. (Sorry; my sports metaphors probably suck because, well, because I know nothing about sports.) One does wonder, though, how a person could forget having made a video […]
In: All, Current Events, Reflections
An American Original
I haven't entirely decided — well, haven't come very close to deciding, actually — exactly what I want to be when I grow up. Lately, though, I've been thinking that maybe I'd like to be an "American original". I admit, I'm not entirely sure what "an American original" is, but I tend to like the […]
Mini Gardening
Today was a very nice day here, sunny and warmish for this time of year. We celebrated with a short burst of gardening. (We rarely do long bursts; life keeps being busy and our backs get sore too quickly.) We did a little bit yesterday, in fact, making a symbolic start on our new daylily […]
The Kids at Camp
While we were away in Rome, the kids (i.e., our greyhounds Azalea & Grant) went to "camp", as Isaac referred to their sojourn at the house of friends Deanna & Brian — and their three greyhounds Wren, Symbra, and Blitz. What a great camp, too: beds and sofas everywhere, a doggie door for going in […]
Flying Can Be Trying
Perhaps it would be more accurate for me to say: not flying can be trying. We did make it home from Rome in some comfort this weekend, but our itinerary held a few surprises. Our original plan was simple: we were scheduled to leave Rome/Fiumicino last Friday morning about 9:30. Consequently we hired a taxi […]
Feeling a Little Behind
I've been around here where you can't see me, not so much busy really as suffering a bit lately from constrained time availability. Over the past two weeks our musical-theatre troupe did its fall production, "Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know" (a telling review), a light, inconsequential, but diverting musical review. Although I avoided weeks […]
Julian Bond at National Equality March 2009
No people of good will should oppose marriage equality. We have some real and serious problems in this country; same-sex marriage is not one of them. Since when did we believe that trust, loyalty, and love are bad things? –Julian Bond, Chairman, NAACP, speaking on 11 October 2009 to the National Equality March in Washington, […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize
When I awoke this morning I thought I was hearing unusual sounds coming from outside the house, sounds I couldn't quite identify. Now I realize it must have been the sounds of conservatives' heads exploding. I have to admit that I didn't really expect this news this morning. It does make me try to remember […]
In: All, Current Events, Raised Eyebrows Dept.
The March Toward "Justice for All"
I’ve seen thousands of people naked. I have inspected their insides and outsides, felt their pain and sometimes their souls, and after all that, I can see we all are pretty much the same. That equality in human essence makes it impossible for me to see why gay people are not allowed the right of […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Olympic Gloat
I'm sure you've heard before of the ironically named "Americans for Prosperity", a so-called "grass-roots" organization funded by oil & gas magnate and David Koch, the Americans who love America so much that they reflexively oppose everything president Obama does and infamously applaud and cheer the news that Chicago "lost" the Olympics. The "members" are […]
In: All, Faaabulosity, Feeling Peevish
Got Marriage?
"It's about love and commitment." — Lennie, who has been with her partner, Pearl, for 43 years. Billboard from Triad Equality Alliance, in Greensboro, NC. Fox 8 News, Greensboro, reports "Gay Marriage Billboard in Greensboro Stirs Emotions" (short video).
Prayer: Not Just for Straight People
Today, Jeremy at Good As You ("We're don't want to ruin your days, Linds. We also don't want you to ruin our marriages/truths/families/rights/protections") brought us the touching but inspiring story of one Lindsey Douthit, a concerned woman for America, who lives right here in the bowels of the liberal menace, Washington, DC. As the story […]
In: All, Faaabulosity, Laughing Matters
Read a Banned Book
Every year at this time we pour out a tall glass of apple cider and celebrate us some good reading, thanks to "Banned Book Week" and the American Library Association. Of course, it's not the attempts at book banning that we celebrate, but, as the ALA puts it, we are "celebrating the freedom to read". […]
One Visible Gay Marine, a Thousand in Shadows
I felt that it was important to put this image right here, in my blog, on the internet, where it would be easily visible. It needs to be seen — it will be seen. Pictured is Tim Smith, a former US Marine, "honorably discharged after a military minister outed him." (source) Last week, as one […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Friday Soirée VII: More Light Comedy
I enjoyed the humor so much last week that I thought we'd have a bit more tonight, not just because I had so many leftovers. Besides, the tone tonight is a wee bit different, although I'd be hard-pressed to say just how. P.Q.D. Bach: Iphigenia in Brooklyn (Cantata, S. 53162) If there is someone reading […]
In: All, Friday Soirée, Music & Art
65% Still Favor Government-Run Health Insurance
So: "57. Would you favor or oppose the government offering everyone a government administered health insurance plan – something like the Medicare coverage that people 65 and older get – that would compete with private health insurance plans?" Despite all the propaganda that has eroded this figure since Obama has been in office, 65% still […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Current Events
Friday Soirée VI: Something Lighter
Tonight I decided I needed a bit of levity, so humor (and "humour") is the theme. We have two very special guests to spend some time with: Anna Russell and Sir David Attenborough. Anna Russell Analyzes Wagner's Ring (Part 1) I expect I first found Anna Russell in my college days, thanks to friend and […]
In: All, Friday Soirée, Laughing Matters, Music & Art, Notes to Richard
Pelosi on Milk & Pride
The occasion was the dedication of a building in San Francisco to Harvey Milk. The video below is a short speech by Nanci Pelosi that I enjoyed listening to, and not only for the part that I transcribe here (blame me for any mistakes, please): I always say to my members of congress and to […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Who Are the People's Lobbyists?
Here's another gloss on the corrupting power of money from large corporations, in this instance health-care insurance companies — not to mention the silly, antidemocratic notion of "corporate personhood" that recognizes campaign "contributions" from such corporations as political "speech" protected by the First Amendment. First, note the observation the the health insurance and HMO corporations […]
In: All, Current Events, Raised Eyebrows Dept.
Don't "Build to a Crescendo"
While I'm feeling a little peevish about things publishable, I want to talk for a moment to all those authors who want to be dramatic and write that something "built to a crescendo" — and those editors who edit them. Don't write it. Ask your musician friends first what this musical term means. The "crescendo" […]
In: All, Feeling Peevish, Writing