Archive for the ‘Faaabulosity’ Category
Yumm! Peppermint!
This weekend Isaac and I did a bit of after-Christmas shopping. We didn't find much but we did see a few things. One of the more extraordinary was on the mark-down shelf at Target. Now, while I understood what the product was and what it was used for, I was caught off guard by the […]
In: All, Faaabulosity, Food Stuff, Raised Eyebrows Dept.
Perhaps Not This Year
What Obama and his folks maybe didn't realize is that this is not the year to antagonize gay people. [Mario Ruiz, "The Wind Is Out of My Sails", Huffington Post, 24 December 2008.]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Faaabulosity
That Warren+Obama Thing
Since the news broke that president-elect Obama asked evangelical Rick Warren, notorious for various anti-gay remarks he has made in very public ways, not to mention his vocal support for the anti-marriage-equality proposition 8 in California, to give the invocation at Obama's inauguration, I've been on the side of the incensed gays and pro-choice and […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Protecting Marriage
So, here's the deal. There are some 36,000 people married (in pairs) in California since this past summer whose marriages some religious fanatics would like to annul* in the name of "protecting marriage". Unfortunately, these people tend to have no sense of irony at all. (Keep in mind that it's generally the same crowd who […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Separate is Never Equal
This morning the New Jersey Civil Union Review Commission published its final report, in which they recommend that New Jersey move expeditiously towards creating law that grants the right to marry to same-sex couples. The report (available here) makes compelling reading; it's also refreshingly concise for a government report! Nevertheless, I marked out some quotations […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Mine! Mine! Mine!
In case your eyes are as old as mine, the caption reads: "Territoriality: Peeing on it doesn't make it yours." The sentiment is useful, the idea behind it is illuminating. This comes from the article "Territoriality: Peeing on It Doesn't Make it Yours — Staking Out Territory by Appropriating Cultural, Political Institutions", by Austin Cline […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity, Feeling Peevish
Fundamentalist Innumeracy II
Now, a very brief follow-up to yesterday's bit ("Leaving the Lifestyle, Baby!") about innumeracy among fundamentalist christians. As Pam Spaulding tells the story ("Daddy D's hissy fit over WaPo conservative columnist Kathleen Parker"), James Dobson, of the so-called "Focus on the Family" organization, was upset when Ms. Parker wrote in the Washington Post that the […]
In: All, Faaabulosity, Laughing Matters
Leaving the Lifestyle, Baby!
The one trait that religious fundamentalists share, that I notice the most, is innumeracy. They have no sense of the size of numbers, or the place of numbers in the world, and it makes them look silly. Their problem starts, of course, with numbers in the bible. Once upon a time, say 2500 years ago […]
In: All, Faaabulosity, Laughing Matters
Roger Ebert is Openly Heterosexual
Roger Ebert loved Sean Penn in Gus van Sant's new movie "Milk", about the legendary Harvey Milk.* Not only that, Ebert comes out as straight and makes a useful point: In 1977, Harvey Milk became the first openly gay man elected to public office in the United States. Yes, but I have become so weary […]
In: All, Faaabulosity, Music & Art
Recognizing Marriage
I no longer recognize marriage. It's a new thing I'm trying. Turns out it's fun. Yesterday I called a woman's spouse her boyfriend. She says, correcting me, "He's my husband," "Oh," I say, "I no longer recognize marriage." The impact is obvious. I tried it on a man who has been in a relationship for […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Faaabulosity
Lifestyle Warning
Humor–particularly mockery–can be very effective. WARNING: This area may contain homosexuals, which are known by the State of California to be harmful to the sanctity of heterosexual marriage. — A sign seen on the door of Kim Light/Lightbox Gallery in Culver City, California [Christopher Knight, "Prop. 8 push-back in Culver City", Los Angeles Times, 11 […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity, Laughing Matters
What Could They Have Been Thinking?
Gosh, this story about the LDS (i.e., Mormon Church) and their opposition to California's proposition 8 — you remember, the one to strip same-sex couples of their already established right to marry — just keeps getting more interesting. I'm not sure I need to fill you in on the details since protests have been breaking […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Has One Life Been Made Better?
I can say with certainty that my attitude about members – and especially leaders – of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has changed dramatically in the past six months. And not for the better. I’ve not seen one individual – within or without the church – whose life has been made […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Causing Trouble
The TimesOnline [UK] reported on a meeting between then presidential candidate Barack Obama and now-familiar Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson ("Barack Obama asked gay bishop Gene Robinson what it was like to be 'first'", 6 November 2008). Many things were discussed, but I was most amused by the reported first words exchanged: Obama: "Well you’re certainly […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Faaabulosity
Californians to Vote on Ellen's Divorce…
…not to mention George Takai's, not also to mention that of several tens of thousands of same-sex couples now married. You may recall that on the next voting day in California, residents of that state get to vote on "Proposition 8", a proposed constitutional amendment intended to remove the established right of same-sex couples to […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Beard of the Week LIV: Waters of Thirst
This week's beard belongs to British writer Adam Mars-Jones (b. 1954); I haven't yet identified the terrier (despite the fact that they seem to be always depicted together / photo source). Mars-Jones has a large literary reputation for an author with — until now — a surprisingly small output of fiction. I know him for […]
In: All, Beard of the Week, Books, Faaabulosity
National Coming Out Day 2008
As I now tend to say every year in this space, today, October 11, is celebrated annually by more and more people as "National Coming Out Day"; despite its name, people in many countries celebrate NCOD. First observed in 1988, NCOD marks the anniversary of the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay […]
In: All, Faaabulosity, Reflections
Marriage Equality Arrives in Connecticut
Congratulations to Connecticut, one of the few states in the US I've lived in. I feel equality coming closer. Same-sex couples won the right to marry in Connecticut in an historic ruling by the Supreme Court today. Citing the equal protection clause of the state constitution, the justices ruled that civil unions were discriminatory. In […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
One Voice Among Many
Fred wrote: All is not well. You are conspicuous in not blogging about the rise of Islam worldwide, and its threat to the sort of liberal democracy you champion. I wonder what your thoughts are, and if you are willing to do anything about the threat. To the extent that I see Islam as a […]
In: All, Faaabulosity, Reflections
Marriage Equality Diminishes No One
As you may be aware, at the next election Californians will be voting on "Proposition 8": "ELIMINATES RIGHT OF SAME–SEX COUPLES TO MARRY. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT" (from California's Official Voter Information Guide). I liked the beginning of this editorial opposing the proposition. In one of the most famous American defenses of religious freedom, Thomas Jefferson […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity