Archive for the ‘All’ Category
Old Fartdom
So, I read about this poll about "profanity": …the AP-Ipsos poll on attitudes about profanity. The results are taken from a poll of 1,001 adults…* Not surprisingly, Two-thirds said they think people use profanity more now than they did 20 years ago. Of course, there's the relativity of what it is that people think is […]
Bill Moyers on Corruption
We are witnessing a marked turn of events for a nation whose DNA contains the inherent promise of an equal opportunity at “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” We were not supposed to be a country where the winners take all. The great progressive struggles in our history were waged to make sure ordinary […]
Bush: Being There
Suddenly I'm put in mind of Chauncy Gardener*, the main character in Jerzy Kosinksi's Being There: Bush is a man who has never been anywhere and never done anything, and yet he has been flattered and cajoled into being president of the United States through his connections, all of whom thought they could use him […]
In: All, Books, Common-Place Book
The Hysterical Fundamentalist Agenda
Some years back there used to be much more rhetoric from the fundamentalist reactionaries about the "homosexual agenda", a big part of which was that we (i.e., the perverts) were planning to take over the US government. How, I wondered at the, could anyone possibly believe that? After all, who would want the government, and […]
In: All, Reflections, The Art of Conversation
New Hampshire Still Sane
Pockets of sanity still exist in the midst of fundamentalist hysteria: CONCORD, N.H. –The New Hampshire House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday against a proposed amendment to the state constitution to ban gay marriage. The late afternoon vote was 207-125. [Associated Press, "House votes down proposed amendment to ban gay marriage", Boston Globe, 21 March 2006.]
Four Treasure Frog
Although the english-language descriptions of the menu selections at our favorite Chinese restaurant (that would be Grace's Fortune, in gracious downtown Bowie, Maryland, USA) are generally idomatic and non-poetic in the way that some creatively translated menus can be, it does have it's moments. Our favorite describes a unique and delicious dish called "Tibetan Lamb", […]
In: All, Food Stuff, Laughing Matters
Feeling Green
Ahh, St. Patrick's Day, when everyone is Irish — except, of coure, gay people. Fortunately, the Hibernians have kept the annual St. Pat's Day Parade in New York City pure and safe for straight-only Irish people. Phew. Could have been trouble, too, since, as the parade chairman pointed out, gays are just as dangerous as […]
Garrison Keillor on Liberal Conservatism
The Republican Revolution has gone the way of all flesh. It took over Congress and the White House, horns blew, church bells rang, sailors kissed each other, and what happened? The Republicans led us into a reckless foreign war and steered the economy toward receivership and wielded power as if there were no rules. Democrats […]
Odd Job Descriptions
Slightly related to the posting a few back about the unusual job title, this tale concerns me and an odd job description. I don't usually toy with job recruiters — at least not intentionally — but sometimes it comes out that way, although I don't talk to them all that frequently these days. More often […]
Noir Politics
It's been awhile* since I've managed to read Deb Price's column in the Detroit News; shame on me. This latest piece, "Dems treat gays to 'Throwback Mountain' " (Detroit News, 13 March 2006) is a useful reminder of one of those things we know but sometimes forget in the heat of the political campaigns: that […]
In: All, Plus Ca Change..., Splenetics
Unusual Job Titles
Today I saw a job announcement for a position with the following job title: Malicious Logic Specialist There are times when I feel fully qualified for such a position.
Uphold Which?
Then Jamie Raskin, professor of law at American University, testified [on 1 March 2006, at hearings in the state legislature of Maryland] as to why the amendment [denying marriage equality to gays and lesbians in Maryland] should not be passed. At the end of his testimony, one of Maryland's most insane ultra-far-rightwingers, republican Senator Nancy […]
P.D. James on European Legal Philosophy
I found this exchange in P.D. Jame's The Lighthouse (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2005) amusing as well as a useful summary of European legal philosophy. Miss Holcombe is about to be questioned by the police at her cottage. She and her butler, Roughtwood, are just finishing their Saturday-morning Scrabble game. She has a surfeit […]
In: All, Books, The Art of Conversation
Absurd Theatre
For some reason I don't remember, someone* pointed out this column, "Which Theatre Is the Absurd One?", written by Edward Albee and published in the New York Times on 25 February 1962. The column is apparently a defense of the creativity and vitality of the modern "avant-garde theatre", but it wanders and never quite makes […]
You've Mistaken Me for a Bigot
Isaac and I, when we're out [if you'll pardon the expression] in public, obviously miss some of the best, cross-cultural moments, probably because you can tell that we're two men together just by looking at us. People assume what they assume and it's mostly true, although no one can tell by looking "who's the woman" […]
But It's Not the Same!
Most of us who are gay are well aware of the truism that the loudest, cruelest homophobes are most usually the most deeply closeted, self-hating homosexuals. It seems to be the mental dichotomy that arises from the harsh disapprobation one gets from society, frequently at the hands of over moralizing fundamentalists. This, of course, is […]
Pile o' Primes
Some things just don't need words, and some things leave one speechless. Thanks to the ever resourceful Elayne Riggs: The Prime Number Shitting Bear.
Abso-Bork-ly Amazing
Via Josh Rosenau ("Respect for Dissent"), we find that Robert Bork can still say the most amazing and alarming things. Quoting others quoting Bork writing in the National Review: Liberty in America can be enhanced by reinstating, legislatively, restraints upon the direction of our culture and morality. Censorship as an enhancement of liberty may seem […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Raised Eyebrows Dept.
Whither Democracy
Some days I expect I'll soon wake up and discover that the only democracies left are in Latin America. [Avedon Carol, "It's busting out all over", The Sideshow, 4 March 2006.]
Calling George Grosz
As I mentioned a few posts back, Isaac and I spent last Saturday afternoon at the National Gallery of Art celebrating a friend's birthday. After we saw the "Cézanne in Provence" exhibition, our stated goal for the afternoon, we went to the East Wing to the the Dada Exhibit. It was a good, comprehensive and […]
In: All, Plus Ca Change..., Reflections