Archive for the ‘All’ Category
NPR Poll: Upsets Ahead?
On NPR this morning, Mara Liasson reported on a "Morning Edition" poll "…done in the 50 competitive House races where, in fact, control of the House of Representatives will be decided." Forty (i.e., 80%) of the seats in those districts are currently held by Republicans. In 2004 these districts voted Republican by a 12-point margin; […]
May Days are Gay Days (NPG IV)
Oh, I forgot about this fascinating bit of Americana until I looked at the notes I keep in my pocket. Again it was something seen at the National Portrait Gallery, this time in a exhibit of "Folk Art". The displayed work was a year's worth of pages taken from a large-format promotional calendar (the year […]
John Marin on Good Art (NPG III)
John Marin (1870-1953) rivals John Singer Sargent on my short list of favorite artists. He painted almost-but-not-quite abstract scenes in watercolor with an amazing vitality, not to mention his eye for color and line.# I have been thinking of Marin for a couple of reasons. As I mentioned before, we recently visited the Delaware Art […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Music & Art
Halifax Gay Pride with Police
Isn't this a delightfully cheery headline to see in a Canadian newspaper: Police force joins gay pride parade Just imagine seeing that in a US newspaper! This happened in Halifax, Nova Scotia, known hotbed of gay rights activists. (Remember those two Mounties who were to be married this summer?) As reported by the Chronicle Herald* […]
Sojourner Truth on Fundraising (NPG II)
A little while back, when we were in Delaware visiting our friends Tom & James, we made an outing to the Delaware Art Museum. One thing that caught my attention there — I was reminded of this because I saw another example of it at the National Portrait Gallery this past weekend — was a […]
In: All, The Art of Conversation
National Portrait Gallery I
This past Saturday Isaac and I found ourselves in need of a cultural outing, so we made a spontaneous visit to the newly reopened National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. They share the same historic building, which has been closed for several years, just reopened on 1 July. We saw many things […]
In: All, Music & Art, Reflections
The Rapture as Self-Abuse
In a moment of weakness I was thinking a little about Pre-Millenial Dispensationalism — you know, that wacko, non-Biblical concept about the end-times, The Rapture, does Jesus some pre-Trib or post-Trib thing invented in the late 19th century, when it struck me that the whole thing is a fantastic sublimation of sexual desire, both by […]
Park on Flakes & Snowflakes
Bob Park on Bush's "historic" veto: STEM CELLS: PRESIDENT BUSH CHOOSES SUPERSTITION OVER SCIENCE. On Wednesday, Mr. Bush vetoed the "Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act." The first veto of his presidency was exercised to protect surplus embryonic stem cells in fertility clinics from research, thus preserving their "dignity" so they can be put out with […]
Beard of the Week XIV
We happened to be in Rome this time during the World Cup Soccer playoffs, which created several curious memories. The championship was being hosted in Germany. We flew to Europe and back on Lufthansa — entirely pleasant flighs, by the way — which had a severe case of World-Cup fever itself. The noses of many […]
Waxman Reports: Bush Abortion Misguidance
This is the latest update from Rep. Henry Waxman's office's keeping an eye on the Bush Administration's shenanigans in manipulating science to suit their own policy agenda. A new study released by Rep. Henry A. Waxman finds that federally funded pregnancy resource centers often mislead pregnant teens about the medical risks of abortion, telling investigators […]
Gay Games & Cho
A government that would deny a gay man the right to a bridal registry is a fascist state. [Mararet Cho in her film "Notorious Cho"; quoted in Jason Anderson's July 2002 review of the film for Toronto Eye; reminded by: Sarah in her interesting piece about the opening of this year's Gay Games,* "Lois Lane'ing […]
Singing Sand Dunes
From Physics News Update,* I found this item (given entire below) of interest, no doubt because it touches on several sub-disciplines of physics that used to attract my research interest. DUNE TUNES. For centuries, world travelers have known of sand dunes that issue loud sounds, sometimes of great tonal quality. In the 12th century Marco […]
In: All, It's Only Rocket Science
Economic Growth: A Spectator Sport
Paul Krugman: Here’s what happened in 2004. The U.S. economy grew 4.2 percent, a very good number. Yet last August the Census Bureau reported that real median family income — the purchasing power of the typical family — actually fell. Meanwhile, poverty increased, as did the number of Americans without health insurance. So where did […]
Beard of the Week XIII
The rather tardy BoW this week belongs to your truly. In this shot I am caught eating a sardine in — naturally — a Sardinian restaurant called "La Tana Sarda" (in the San Lorenzo section of Rome, Via Tiburtina, 134). It was thought of as "Jeff's Favorite Restaurant", but that was only because Isaac and […]
Three New Things
Three items in this week's issue of "What's New", by Bob Park,* amused me enough to share. That I found these amusing may tell you more about me than anything.# 1. ABC PRIMETIME: WAKE UP ABC, IT'S THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY! Here's the scene: Adam Dreamhealer is a normal 19 year-old, who wears an earring, has […]
In: All, It's Only Rocket Science, Laughing Matters
A Mind of its Own
I recently finished reading A Mind of Its Own: A Cultural History of the Penis, by David Friedman.* I enjoyed it and I can recommend it, too. Before you get the wrong idea, this is no nudge-nudge-wink-wink volumne, nor is it weighted down with academic weightiness; instead, it's a relaxed examination of the history of […]
In: All, Books, The Art of Conversation
Talk Show Host Rejects Homophobia
Not that this furthers our understanding any of incomprehensible "gay Republicans", but it is good to know that homophobia is not always treated as just another opinion in the name of "journalistic balance": [In North Carolina, KZL radio's “Murphy in the Morning Show"] host Jack Murphy stated [to a notoriously homophobic Republican guest], “To compare […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Splenetics
It Is Hatred
Several years ago, I was asked to do the funeral of a gay man who had been beaten to death in a hate crime. At that time, I had never thought deeply about the danger many gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people face in this culture. That week as I worked on the service, I […]
Conservative Government = Bad Government
If government is necessary, bad government, at least for conservatives, is inevitable, and conservatives have been exceptionally good at showing just how bad it can be. Hence the truth revealed by the Bush years: Bad government — indeed, bloated, inefficient, corrupt, and unfair government — is the only kind of conservative government there is. Conservatives […]
Presidential Crap
Fascinating. (From Wayne Madsen Report.) July 4, 2006 — Even Bush's crap is classified top secret. According to our Austrian sources, Austrian newspapers are currently abuzz with special security details of George W. Bush's recent trip to Vienna. Although the heavy-handed Gestapo-like security measures meted out to Viennese home owners, business proprietors, and pedestrians by […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Curious Stuff