What's the big deal

Adam Lambert kissed a guy last week. He did it on television.

He's gay, why would he not kiss another guy?

I don't get it. He didn't advocate wiping all Republican's off the face of the earth,(hmmm) He didn't tear up a picture of the pope (not that there's anything wrong with that) He didn't kill anyone, nor advocate killing anyone, and yet here we are, Americans freaking out because someone publicly demonstrated their sexuality.

It's not 1984, it's 1954. Jesus people, get over it.

I used to have this bf who loudly proclaimed his outness to us all. He berated us for not being out at work, for not telling one and all we met that we are gay.

Then came his time to stand up.

We were standing in my front yard as he was leaving one day and I felt like kissing him, so I turned around and did. He stopped cold, looked around as though someone might see, and said, "S***!"

Not quite as out as he wants to think he is.

So now that we can finally see the difference between, Paul Lynde and Anderson Cooper, and Ellen Degeneres, and Madame Flowers, let's see if we can understand how numb we get to the homogenization.

Why must we all be the same? Why must we live the theme to The Patty Duke Show? You know, "They laugh alike, they walk alike,at times they even talk alike."

Why must we all get married, move to the suburbs, have 2.1 kids and a dog and buy a fucking Subaru? Why can't we want to live in the country and have horses and make pottery and teach a little, and spend Sabatticals in the South of France, and teach workshops in South America? Or must we live the alternative, which is to hide in our homes, ashamed of who we are and how we love because we offend the delicate sensibilities of conservative America?

How much have we actually progressed if I'm still writing these words some 30 years from where I started?

Last week we were informed yet again how much we are valued as human beings. Adam Lambert's appearence was cancelled on GMA and I defy you to guess who was his replacement?

Wait for it!

Convicted felon Chris Brown, of beating of Rhianna fame!

Now do you finally see where we are? Do you finally understand how little we are valued? Do you finally realize how much we are 'tolerated" because they're ruled by their religion? They do what they're told instead of what they know is right.

I guarantee you that if you're out, and a straight person at work gets mad at you, "that fucking faggot" is the phrase I always make book on. In other words, I wonder how many minutes, usually less than 5, does it take before the straight person says it. I promise you it gets said.

There was an interestingly truthful episode of NYPD some years ago, and a guy who was closeted was giving John the show's token gay character hell about tolerating straight people and he said "...they say terrible things about you behind your back."

He was right, they do.

It may be my job to forgive them, but I DO NOT have to remake myself in their image.

"My hypocrisy goes only so far." Doc Holliday, Tombstone

And so it goes:

Love

A tribute to what passes for news nowadays

Reprinted from CNN.com-

Until Tiger Woods addresses questions surrounding car accident, speculation will continue

By Gary Van Sickle, Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated
Published: November 28, 2009



There is one thing — and only one thing — that we know for certain: It was not a happy Thanksgiving for Tiger Woods.

When Woods was involved in a late-night, one-car accident near the driveway of his home in the wealthy gated community of Isleworth in Windermere, Fla., it took 13 hours for news of it to become public. But when the news did break, it proved that there is no such thing as a "minor accident" (as Tiger's official website described it) when you are arguably the most famous sportsman on the planet. The incident promptly snowballed into a you-know-what-storm, fueled by the twenty-first century dynamic duo of the Internet and 24-hour cable news networks.

Woods, 33, is famous for zealously guarding his privacy. Associates who break the code of silence are exiled from Camp Tiger, a list that includes former friends and his first caddie. He even named his big-honking yacht "Privacy" in honor of the one thing he values most. Some of his barriers are holding firm, for now. His wife's parents, reached in Sweden by the Associated Press, declined to comment on the incident. But not even Woods can hide from this news cycle, whether his accident turns out to be a mere fender-bending embarrassment or a larger image-denting, marriage-threatening scandal.

One little traffic accident may cause his carefully constructed circle of privacy to crumble like the Berlin Wall.

The timing couldn't be much worse. The fact that it happened on a holiday weekend is inconsequential. In a few days Woods is scheduled to host his own post-season tournament in southern California, the Chevron World Challenge, which raises money for his charitable foundation. Can he blow off his own event and avoid the inevitable media frenzy? Perhaps, but he can't dodge it indefinitely.

Stonewalling is a bad option. Roger Clemens and Alex Rodriguez can testify to that. What Woods should do is take control of the story and explain what happened — good, bad or otherwise. Get it over with and let the ever-impatient news cycle find its fresh meat elsewhere. The alternative is weeks spent picking away at the many unexplained details of his crash. At best, the incident will be a minor glitch that is quickly forgotten. At worst, it could damage his carefully crafted public image.

Almost daily we see the dark side of the New Age Media, from Octo-Mom to Balloon Boy to Jon and Kate and everything Britney. Now it may be Tiger's turn, even if this turns out to be just a simple traffic mishap. You know things are spinning out of control when the jokes are already starting to bubble up. I heard this one Saturday morning from a fellow golf writer: What's the difference between Tiger Woods hitting a wedge shot and Tiger Woods driving a Cadillac Escalade? Tiger can back up a wedge shot with no problem.

Team Tiger likes being in control. That's why they sued an artist who was selling paintings of Tiger, saying they owned his image. That's why they sued (and won) when an Irish magazine published faked nude photos of his wife, Elin. That's why they sued (again, successfully) his yacht builder for using Tiger's name and photos of his boat in promotional material. But this latest episode isn't contained to little-read Irish tabloids or brochures from boat builders. In the age of blogging and Twitter, innuendo can make its way around the world before Tiger's lawyers pull their spikes on. The story is already threatening to race well beyond their control.

So what's the big deal about a little car crash? A one-car accident in the middle of the night often raises eyebrows, if only among the neighbors. In this high-profile case, local cops said quickly that they didn't believe alcohol was involved and that it was being treated as a traffic crash, not a domestic issue. The problem for Team Tiger is that there remain plenty of tantalizing questions, and precious few answers.

Where was Tiger going in his car at 2:25 in the morning? On a diaper run? To 7-Eleven for a Slurpee? The drive-through window at Wendy's? And why did he crash? Most accidents occur within 25 miles of home, but Tiger's was within 50 feet of his driveway. What caused him to go off-road so quickly and lose a game of pinball to a fire hydrant first and then a tree? We don't know.

How badly was he really injured? Initial reports listed him in serious condition, but that is standard procedure for any patient who is hospitalized. Woods, who was reportedly unconscious for up to six minutes after the accident, was treated and released with nothing more serious reported than facial lacerations. Was he wearing a seat belt? We don't know.

Why did Elin allegedly smash the back window of the SUV with a golf club to help her husband get out? Initial reports stated that she heard the crash from inside the house and went outside to see what happened. Wouldn't it have been easier to grab a spare key or remote-entry device to unlock the doors, or at least smash in a smaller passenger side window? What was said in the 911 call to report the accident? We don't know that, either, but we soon will. Authorities plan to release those tapes, perhaps as early as Sunday.

And what about the rumors? A National Enquirer story leaked two days before the accident linked Woods to a New York hostess and reported that she was in Melbourne with him (and allegedly staying at the same hotel) while he played in the Australian Masters two weeks ago. The Associated Press took the claim seriously enough to contact the woman, Rachel Uchitel, who strenuously denied that she has been having an affair with Woods.

It's this salacious side story that has fuelled much of the coverage. At least one major entertainment website claims Elin Woods gave different versions of the accident to the Windemere Police and the Florida Highway Patrol. In a second version, told to FHP officers, the website cites an anonymous police source claiming that Elin caused Tiger's facial injuries during an argument (apparently about the alleged affair) and that she chased him with the golf club as he attempted to drive away, striking the vehicle with the club and distracting her husband seconds before the crash. The website also reported that there was no trace of blood on the steering wheel or dashboard, suggesting that Woods did not suffer his injuries in the collision.

Until the police interview Woods and determine the facts — or until Woods decides to talk publicly himself — his fans will be left to ponder for themselves possible answers to these many questions. And that leaves many of them getting their information from media that specialize in entertainment, not news gathering, outlets like the National Enquirer and the many celebrity websites. Even legitimate news organizations have joined in past rushes to judgment that went very wrong, notably the Olympic bombing in Atlanta and the Duke lacrosse rape story. But as long as Team Tiger remains silent on what happened, the playing field is being turned over to gossip-focused media that often publish first and apologize (in very small print) later.

More than 24 hours into the news cycle, we still don't know what really happened to Tiger Woods. All we know is that his Thanksgiving weekend was not good. Not good at all.-

Ed.-I don't suppose it matters at all that this is none of our business, does it. Is there ever going to be a return to actual news gathering? I doubt it.

HGF

The list

I haven't done a list in a couple of years to be sure I acknowledge the things I'm thankful for so I've decided it's time this year.

It's cold as hell here at night in NM. 15 last night(brr), but it's supposed to get better by 1 or 2. I hope so, I hate hiking in the bitter cold and we're going out around then. The dogs are like "Are you out of your fucking minds? I'm not staying out here! I pee'd now let me back in!"

So here all comfy cozy in our little cabin I'll say my thanks.

And I am grateful for:

My friends worldwide, who think of me, communicate with me, and support me always.

The remainder of my "family" that wishes to include me and keeps me close.

The knowledge that I've created a family of my own that cares about me and I them.

The benefits my education has brought me. The job at the University is far from perfect, but it's going to reap benefits in the end, and that's a good thing.

Being a teacher.

My health. I always mention it and as long as it hangs in there I will continue to do so.

My home. I'm lucky to have a place I am comfortable in and in which I can stay a long time if I choose to.

Being a potter. I've had some pretty great breakthroughs this year and that makes me happy. I should thank Keith D. Smith for bringing that to me many years ago. I put it down for a while but it kept coming back to me and I'm glad I heeded it's insistence.

Knowing horses. I learn something from them every day.

Being gay. That I think has taught me that I am part of something larger, and I am duty-bound to pay back what I've been given. It's a gift we shouldn't overlook.

Being loved. That's a very lucky thing indeed. I did my best to prevent it for a long time.

Finally understanding that to be something, or to claim something you simply have to start doing it.

Living now. This time, this moment, this era.

So be Safe, be healthy, be happy...and be grateful for what you have.

And so it goes:

Love

It is tomorrow isn't it?

Well the cold from hell is still here. I've been doing it all wrong and repeatedly so I guess I shouldn't be surprised I'm still suffering from this. Force fluids, no dairy, don't over do, all the things I've not been doing and will now observe.

Last night late it hit me again, achy, sore, chilled...shit!

But I feel a little better this morning. Let's hope this will subside soon. I know I'm run-down, but damn.

I also know I'm 52 so...fuck.

But I have nothing to do today so I'll rest a lot and maybe hike a little and probably sleep a lot. That should do the trick, and it truly is what I need.

The university decided it had a minor crisis yesterday that they needed to call me about, which I couldn't help them with. But it seemed to make them feel better so I was glad I could do what I did. Don't they know it's a holiday?

Anyway, I'm vacating, there's nothing much to tell.

Oh! the Vatican has learned, form it's own report that there is no "causal connection between homosexual identity and the sexual abuse of minors" (payor)
They haven't commented. You gotta admire the consistency of their hypocrisy.

Congress is still debating whether and how to create jobs. I'd need to research it but I'm sure the New Deal in the 1930's was killed by the Supremes for some constitutional reason, but damn if it didn't put millions to work. With all the things we need that can and should be done at the federal level I'd think there'd be a way to make that happen if they'd out their minds to it instead of introducing resolutions to commemorate Confucious'2560th birthday. Or to fight health care reform. Stone age thinking.

And so it goes:

Love

All that stuff

Bert Chapman is a dick.

Bert Chapman is a homophobe, and a bigot and should be exiled.

I hate him and I've never met him.

Bert Chapman has every right to express his views.

And I will stand right next to him and defend his right to do so.

Bert Chapman stands for everything I hate.

He's religious, He's conservative, He's a bigot, He's a homophobe, He's ill-informed,and he manipulates facts to make his weak-ass case to discriminate against gays because it costs too much.

Even though he's a librarian he's a huge part of the problem with the education system. It should not matter what education costs. It should be our primary concern.

But right now, being the fools we apparently are, we're all getting bogged down in a debate about whether Bert has the right to say these things and keep his job.

Let's pose the question: "Would you like someone to come along and tell you that you cannot express your views publicly because they're an embarrassment to your employer, therefore you do not have the right to do so?"

Personally I'd go ape-shit.

I'd likely throw my academic career right out the fucking window and then devote the remainder of my days to preventing that from happening to anyone else.

Bert Chapman is a dick.

Bert Chapman can say whatever the fuck he wants.

Cause when it's my turn I'm gonna say whatever the fuck I want and no one is gonna stop me.

No one should be afraid of losing their job because they express their personal views.

Richard Rothstein at Proceed At Your own Risk makes the case that if Chapman would substitute the word homosexual with the word Negro, and the acronym AIDS for Cardio-vascular disease, he'd be out on his librariatic ass the day he posted it.

Sadly, he's probably right. But doesn't that make the case that we're censoring what we don't like and giving tacit approval to what we agree with to avoid having confrontations of our own?

The best part of these debates is that we get to refine the rules as we go.

No we shouldn't be allowing discrimination against anyone, gay, straight, black, white, green, bigot, liberal, librarian, illiterate. Doesn't matter.

But this is about a larger matter all of a sudden. The right to say it.

I'm recently had a debate with a student over free speech and interpretation.

We were analyzing A Doll's House, by Henrik Ibsen. I asked what the predominate religious influence in Norway was in 1890, and the answer was, Christian. I said,
"So the Norwegians had bought into the Christianity thing and it figured heavily into their social and political attitudes."

She muttered from the back of the room, "What's THAT supposed to mean?"

I said, "What's what supposed to mean?"

"They bought into the whole Christianity thing." she replied.

"Is religion not a choice?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" she asked, now not sure she wants to have this debate with me.

"Does one not choose to be a Lutheran, a Methodist, an Episcopalian, a Catholic, a Baptist, or even a Buddhist?" I asked.

"Well, yes." She replied even more quietly than before.

"Then does it not follow that Christianity, of whatever variety, is a choice and one invests in it in many ways?" I asked.

"Sure." Was the plaintive response.

"Then let's not develop a chip on our shoulder every time someone mentions religion. It figures heavily into almost all of our history, right or wrong." I said.

"Yeah, but it doesn't have to be insulting." A challenge. It's like dueling with an unarmed man.

"What's insulting about mentioning a society's investment in a religious belief?" I asked.

"Well, nothing, but it sounded like you were saying it was a bad thing." She said.

"How so?"

"...i don't know, never mind."

Unfortunately she hasn't been back to class since that encounter. but instead of defending my right to say what she perceives as a slam against Christianity, and Gods know I censor myself ALL THE TIME in that regard in class, she chooses to not participate in the class any longer. This doesn't hurt me, it hurts her, and it hurts the process of free speech. If she'd stand up and state her beliefs she'd get heard, but running away from a challenge is the new apathy. So in an argument that never existed censorship wins. And it's wrong.

This brings me back to my old wheeze that our education system does not impress upon it's students their responsibility to defend the Constitution. That, in all likelihood most of them don't even understand the constitution. And sadly after 4th grade history never look at the document again.

Bert Chapman has the right to spew his bigotry and hate. And we have the responsibility to stand up to him.

And so it goes:

Love

No rest for the wicked

I'm in this really expansive, reflective, pensive, talkative mood, and the whole fucking day is packed.

I've got two meetings, a chiropractor appt, 6 hrs at the grocery, and three hrs of teaching. How I managed to schedule all this I'll never know.

Alas there it is.

I want to do a post about loss, and people who cost us heavily just to let them pass through our lives, and about thanks and all the things I have to be thankful for right now, and about possibilities, and new beginnings.

I hope I don't forget it all by the time I have the chance to do it tomorrow.

I'm off to try to conquer this stupid schedule I made.

And so it goes:

These guys are only kinda hot, but the picture is titled "those were the days" and I couldn't resist cause even if they weren't on days like today I'm sure they were.
Love

Runner 1

Runner 1, originally uploaded by iantoharkness.

just testing the flickr feature and i thought this was a great way to start.

The cold from hell

This damn cold will NOT go away!

I am worse than whiney about it, I'm just plain mean.

I was crabby as shit yesterday at work, and today I have to go do a presentation with one of my students who I KNOW is not ready. though it's an honors section for an undergrad I expect way more better work than what she has produced. And today the world gets to see what she's done. Yippee.

So I approach the end of the work week with this wonerful wonerful attitude. Ain't she lucky?

I can't even stand being around myself so I truly pity everyone else.

I should go back to bed and not subject the world tome today, alas, I'm committed to this mess. I'm gonna try to keep my mouth shut. (stop laughing)

Enough bitching! The weekend s here. I'll rest this will get better and I can take a much needed vacation. Then there's the quiet time of the holidays. Ah there, that's better. The frantic pace is near an end. That makes me feel recovered already.

And so it goes:






Love

Thanksgiving is when????

A week? Yeah!!!

Come Tuesday morning after my class, I'm the hell outta here. Eagle Nest here I come. It shouldn't be too crowded, there's hardly any snow. Fine by me, I'm not much of a skier anyway. Bunny slopes are more my speed. And sometimes THEY'RE too fast.

So I'll lay about and read and hike, and sleep, and oh yes, eat.

Still high on Zack Greinke's win of the Cy Young yesterday. It's such a rarity to hear of any good news from that organization that I revel in any I can get.

Jacque Pennyea is fussing about sending me a new credit card. Well, fuck I lost the last one. I'm senile give me a fucking break. It's likely somewhere in this apartment, but damned if I can find it. There's no change in the balance so no one actually has it, and if they do they're the dumbest damn criminal ever, it's not getting used.

Gotta renew this domain today before I forget it again. Do NOT want to lose this outlet.

Speaking of losing outlets. There are like two classes that have made so far for next semester in the entire dept at the university. Very dismal. Two of them are mine, thank Gods. And I'm looking in to the notion that directing and Tech directing are two different positions and I should get paid for both. That would make 4 (count 'em) 4 adjunct positions from there alone, plus the two from the college and I'd be good to go.

Still suffering from this damn cold, but at least today there's no sore throat. Did a long and painful netti pot last night which seemed to do the trick in that area. But today the headful is localized. lovin' it. (snort)

Oh! Spoke with Missouri this morning and they're processing my birth certificate amendment as we speak and should have it out next week. Which means the first of December since next week is Thanksgiving. But still...yeah!

Glazed a bunch of pots yesterday, and now I have to go and make some more of the latest order I got.

Everyone's poor this year so it already appears that they're gonna get all warm and fuzzy this Christmas since they can't buy anybody anything...well, ok. I warn you every year that it'll happen here and sooner or later I'm gonna be right.

It's probably time to do another of those "what should I be thankful for" lists that are so popular on the net nowadays. Well maybe next week from NM, for now I got work to do.

And so it goes:

Love

Shame on me

Here I was this morning all talking about me and my shit and I forgot THE most important thing that happened ALL FUCKING DAY!!!!

Zack Greinke won the Cy fucking Young award!!!

To borrow a phrase from a fellow blogger who also loves baseball.

"Can I get a WOOT!?!?!?"

Seriously the Royals are fucking losers of the first waters, and yet they have the best pitcher in baseball in their midst.

Speaking of which:

or:

This kid can fucking PITCH!

Sometimes it gets better...

Thankfully, this cold is improving. I was sooo miserable Monday and Tuesday I hardly got through the days. Luckily the classes I subbed yesterday were back to back, so I was through in record time and headed home where I stayed. This morning it's a bit of a sore throat but other than that I'm pretty much back to normal.

And it's a good thing too! This morning I have to meet with a guy about my office furniture, look at an honor students presentation for Friday and give her suggestions on it. Go to pottery class and glaze a bunch of stuff, make six little pie tins and a pitcher, grade some papers, and teach from 6-9. Piece of cake.

The house is a wreck from my laying around being sickly, and there's no time to fix it until maybe Friday.

The killer of Jorge Stephen Lopez Mercado says he was in a gay panic when he killed. Oh, please. When will people figure out that such a thing doesn't exist? How much do you want to bet that Mercado was a skinny little twink who this big guy cold easily have taken in a fight. But he got scared when he saw a hard penis instead of a vagina. Really? We're so fucked up about sexual matters that we'll believe anything.

Speaking of which have I mentioned how that several members of one of my classes went ape-shit upon discovering the content of RENT. They displayed unconscionable manners when laying their own morality on the material. There was a brief but unpleasant diatribe by their professor about how we're not here for THAT SHIT. We're here to discuss the theatricality of the piece, not the morality the audience is imposing on it. One of the students gave me a critique that said something to the effect of "I can't review the whole thing cause I left half way through." I gave it back with a "c" and a note. "I paid you the same courtesy you paid these actors, I left halfway through." What do you want to bet I hear from the Dean.
THAT discussion I'm ready for.

See! Feeling better already.

And so it goes.


Love

Sick and crabby-er...than normal

Due to my complete lack of an ability to say no, I am today, in a situation I really hate.

I picked up a bug over the weekend and I'm down with a cold. Yesterday I got through the morning class though I was all sweaty and I was not that interested in what they were doing. Then I went home for lunch and took a bunch of cold medicine. I fell asleep. I woke up about ten minutes before the next class was to begin and I called the Dean's office to have them let the students know. Apparently they didn't and the students called my boss who is in Texas to ask where I was.

I was not happy nor pleasant when he called me. Of course, he's the one who gave his students his phone number, so that's his problem not mine.

So, today I woke with a sore throat, and I'm still achy, and I'm still going in to teach the two classes I agreed to teach. SHIT!

I called the grocery to tell them I wouldn't be in, and they were pissed. I'm overwhelmed by the concern for my well-being.

Perhaps my mood is affected by the razor-blade feeling I get every time I swallow. Which wouldn't be often if I had a choice. It looks like video teaching today folks!

I see the big brains in education have managed to hire a guy in Georgia who is willing to hire people to kill gay students, not to mention the fact that he'd been recently arrested for making terrorist threats.

"Let's hire that heterosexual terrorist who wants to kill gay kids instead of the fag who wants them to actually learn something." Sounds about how the conversation probably went to me.

The new hate crimes law is apparently going to be tested in the wilds of Puerto Rico. As I posted yesterday in the sidebar, Jorge Stephen Lopez Mercado was beheaded, dismembered, and burned over the weekend, and the local constabulary told the press 'that he deserved what he got because of the "type of lifestyle" he was leading.' (towleroad)

Well, now the FBI is involved, (not that that consoles me much)and they say the guy they've got in custody will be prosecuted if it can be proven he killed Mercado, and that he did it because Mercado was gay. Nice sentiment.

Of course, the likelihood that they will find a way to make a hate crimes charge stick since not many people would stick around to listen to what someone was saying while they were hacking somebody up is slim. So, if this guy did it and they can prove it, he will likely only be sent to prison for the murder. Not really enough for me, but I'll take what I can get. Enough of us are getting killed for existing.

So, with this light-hearted mood I head forth to scour the library for a video on Global theatre, which I'm teaching today, and then hopefully the voice students will be game for the exercise they've been given.

Then I can go back to bed.

Oh! It snowed last night and it's 28 degrees. I CAN'T WAIT to get out there!

And so it goes:

Love

no no NO

I just thought it'd be nice to hear myself say it at least once.

No time for anything today. I'm off to a meeting at the University, then subbing at the college until 2, then the chiropractor, then teaching my own class 6-9. Damn why can't I say no to people?

And so it goes:

Love

Out of the mouths of babes... HGF too!

Out of the mouths of babes...
"Something that you say when a small child says something that surprises you because it shows an adult's wisdom and understanding of a situation"-freedictionary.com

Would that adults had any understanding of the situation:

Will Phillips isn't like other boys his age.
For one thing, he's smart. Scary smart. A student in the West Fork School District in Washington County, he skipped a grade this year, going directly from the third to the fifth. When his family goes for a drive, discussions are much more apt to be about Teddy Roosevelt and terraforming Mars than they are about Spongebob Squarepants and what's playing on Radio Disney.
It was during one of those drives that the discussion turned to the pledge of allegiance and what it means. Laura Phillips is Will's mother. “Yes, my son is 10,” she said. “But he's probably more aware of the meaning of the pledge than a lot of adults. He's not just doing it rote recitation. We raised him to be aware of what's right, what's wrong, and what's fair.”
Will's family has a number of gay friends. In recent years, Laura Phillips said, they've been trying to be a straight ally to the gay community, going to the pride parades and standing up for the rights of their gay and lesbian neighbors. They've been especially dismayed by the effort to take away the rights of homosexuals – the right to marry, and the right to adopt. Given that, Will immediately saw a problem with the pledge of allegiance.
“I've always tried to analyze things because I want to be lawyer,” Will said. “I really don't feel that there's currently liberty and justice for all.”
After asking his parents whether it was against the law not to stand for the pledge, Will decided to do something. On Monday, Oct. 5, when the other kids in his class stood up to recite the pledge of allegiance, he remained sitting down. The class had a substitute teacher that week, a retired educator from the district, who knew Will's mother and grandmother. Though the substitute tried to make him stand up, he respectfully refused. He did it again the next day, and the next day. Each day, the substitute got a little more cross with him. On Thursday, it finally came to a head. The teacher, Will said, told him that she knew his mother and grandmother, and they would want him to stand and say the pledge.
“She got a lot more angry and raised her voice and brought my mom and my grandma up,” Will said. “I was fuming and was too furious to really pay attention to what she was saying. After a few minutes, I said, ‘With all due respect, ma'am, you can go jump off a bridge.' ”
Will was sent to the office, where he was given an assignment to look up information about the flag and what it represents. Meanwhile, the principal called his mother.
“She said we have to talk about Will, because he told a sub to jump off a bridge,” Laura Phillips said. “My first response was: Why? He's not just going to say this because he doesn't want to do his math work.”
Eventually, Phillips said, the principal told her that the altercation was over Will's refusal to stand for the pledge of allegiance, and admitted that it was Will's right not to stand. Given that, Laura Phillips asked the principal when they could expect an apology from the teacher. “She said, ‘Well I don't think that's necessary at this point,' ” Phillips said.
After Phillips put a post on the instant-blogging site twitter.com about the incident, several of her friends got angry and alerted the news media. Meanwhile, Will Phillips still refuses to stand during the pledge of allegiance. Though many of his friends at school have told him they support his decision, those who don't have been unkind, and louder.
“They [the kids who don't support him] are much more crazy, and out of control and vocal about it than supporters are.”
Given that his protest is over the rights of gays and lesbians, the taunts have taken a predictable bent. “In the lunchroom and in the hallway, they've been making comments and doing pranks, and calling me gay,” he said. “It's always the same people, walking up and calling me a gaywad.”
Even so, Will said that he can't foresee anything in the near future that will make him stand for the pledge. To help him deal with the peer pressure, his parents have printed off posts in his support on blogs and websites. “We've told him that people here might not support you, but we've shown him there are people all over that support you,” Phillips said. “It's really frustrating to him that people are being so immature.”
At the end of our interview, I ask young Will a question that might be a civics test nightmare for your average 10-year-old. Will's answer, though, is good enough — simple enough, true enough — to give me a little rush of goose pimples. What does being an American mean?
“Freedom of speech,” Will says, without even stopping to think. “The freedom to disagree. That's what I think pretty much being an American represents.”
Somewhere, Thomas Jefferson smiles.

Don't think the irony of his being from the very county in which I resided while attending grad school is lost on me. Nut shame on that sub, she owes Will an apology, a very public one. Of course, knowing the Washington County Arkansas School system as I do I guarantee you it never occurred to any of them to do so.

Happy Friday the 13th. Embrace it, it's the only way if you're inclined to the superstitious-ness.

Martini's with the ex this evening. We converse so well it should be fun. Dogs, Gin, good conversation, and a hot tub. I soo need a relaxing evening I can't wait.

Lots to do this weekend, but thankfully nothing with a deadline.

And so it goes:






Love

inconsiderate

Well consider yourselves forgotten.

I've been trimming pots all morning, and I completely forgot to post.

That's the trouble with having mornings off, one gets out of the routine.

The world is still spinning, though there are new fears that homosexuality is on it's way to being re-criminalized. I kinda doubt that will happen,yet it is a scary thought.

I'm currently more concerned with getting a full time job, bu hey we all ahve our priorities.

I've noticed these past few days that I'm a LOT more in tune with the men around me that I have been in a longtime. No idea why bu I do like it. For instance I met a guy named Edgar yesterday. Edgar was exactly the kind of guy I follow around like a puppy dog. Little, Dark, smiley, and talkative. Not to mention hot. We were fast friends in my book, he likely doesn't remember meeting me. The other was a ridiculously young man who was walking in the grocery store parking lot. I was mesmerized by his good looks and he acknowledged my appreciation very kindly. One of those fun moments when you both know nothing will come of it. Kinda fun to flirt for the first time in a long time.

Well off to throw myself on the mercy of the local library. Everything I have out is late. Such a surprise.

And so it goes:

Love

More prestidigitation

Am I the only one who doesn't entirely trust the Mormon Church?

Yesterday the Salt Lake City Council passed a GLBT rights ordinance immediately after some guy from the RLDS showed up and told them it was ok. Seriously, that's whathappened.

This guy stands up and makes a statement saying that the RLDS Church is not against gay rights just gay maraiage, and the ordinance gets a unanimous vote.

Is that not THE most effective support of my argument that religion runs this country?

It has to stop. We're headed for witch hunts and burnings at the stake. Justice Scalia would approve them if asked I'm sure.

I know there are radical gay groups extant that exist solely for the purpose of directly challenging these ridiculous narrow-minded interpretations of the Constitution, but as with all our leadership it's ineffectual.

There seems no way to release these rights from the clutches of those who'd rather see us dead than to diretly and physically challenge.

However there is! Non-violence is perhaps one of the smartest ways of making a point and making the opposition the bad guy. Let them drag you off to jail a few times to make your point and I bet the tide starts to turn. It'll be slow going, but it'll work.

With all the focus on violence and acts of force this past decade it's easy for Americans to forget the tactics of some of the most effective protests in history.

Thoreau, Gandhi, King. All advocates of non-violent resistance. And very successfully I might add. Thoreau said it's our duty. He was right.

I'm using the widely discredited Wikipedia here, but it does address Thoreau's essay's on non-violence and in paraphrasing one of them- "It argues that people should not permit governments to overrule or atrophy their consciences, and that people have a duty to avoid allowing such acquiescence to enable the government to make them the agents of injustice."

Tell me honestly that anyone with a conscience wouldn't readily admit that allowing religion to run the government and therefore to rule the country is not wrong, and that theocracy is systematically denying Constitutional rights to our gay citizens.

Just a few days ago I published a quote from Jon Stewart of the Daily Show: -”Religion is far more of a choice than homosexuality. And the protections that we have for religion — we protect religion. And talk about a lifestyle choice — that is absolutely a choice… It’s a travesty that people have forced someone who is gay to have to make their case that they deserve the same basic rights as someone else…”

It is a travesty, and we must take action to reverse this destructive course. The question is; Will we get smart and take the non-violent course of action, or will we repeat the mistakes of the last decade and continue to be the most violent nation on earth?

And so it goes:

Love

Things change...

It's funny how my blog reading/writing goes through cycles.

I started off all angry politico and ready to join the masses, then gradually cooled off to a point of hardly reading at all, and then back at it.

Now it seems I'm in one of those periods where I need to care for my own garden and let another generation take the reins. I did, after all do my share, back in the day.

I also went through a period of needing to join the blogosphere. Dying to be on others blogrolls and getting noticed by those whose blogs I felt were of interest. I noticed that this has waned again just a while ago when I looked for the first time in a LONG time at the blogroll of a VERY popular site and noticed I wasn't on it.

I've seen most, if not all the blogs on that roll, and other than Pam's House Blend, and Good as You, and some other notables who one couldn't hope to measure up to without blogging full time, I can hold my own. I just don't really care enough about it right now.

Not that I don't love blogging, I do. I feel neglectful if I post some diary thing and don't address larger issues than me, but sometimes that's the beauty of the blogosphere. I don't have to defend my posts, nor do I have to defend my position. it's democratic, and hopefully will stay that way. Though I do see subtle changes here and there.

Well, my horoscope says I have plenty of time for everything I want to do today and I can take on anything I want. But I think I'll refrain from tempting the time Gods today.

Be well, have a good Tuesday.

And so it goes:


Love

Morning!

It's oddly gray here after out stellar weekend weather-wise. I didn't expect this.

I think I overscheduled this day. Oops!

University, college, chiropractor, at some point I the to go help my brother with health insurance choices, copy scripts, meet with a guy about use of the theatre (funny story there) and some household things I didn't get done this weekend.

I may have to move something to Wednesday since I'm not going back to the University this week cause of Veteran's day Wednesday.

Oh! I need to take some $ to a friends house for Friday's dinner. I forgot to get cash before I went over there.

Well on with it all.

And so it goes:

Love

Yawn!

The Yankees won the series. You'd think that would get boring for them.

oh! I found a source to corroborate the comment I published last week about Pat Robertson and the Halloween Candy is full of demons story.

Here:

(ChattahBox)—Oh my! According to Evangelicals, miniature snickers and milky ways are cursed by witches and demons. Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network website posted quite the bizarre little Evangelical manifesto against the satanic dangers of Halloween. CBN contributor Kimberly Daniels, a self described “recognized prophetic voice,” wrote an unhinged rant against Halloween claiming, “most of the candy sold during this season has been dedicated and prayed over by witches.”
Daniels also warned of sex with demons and revel nights. And that witches on brooms, mummies, werewolves and Dracula “actually exist.”
Soon after the wacky piece entitled, “The Danger of Celebrating Halloween,” appeared on the CBN website it mysteriously disappeared, no doubt from mass mockery, but it remains cached and it has been re-posted on another site, thank goodness.
Read the insanity below for your Halloween Eve enjoyment:
“During Halloween, time-released curses are always loosed. A time-released curse is a period that has been set aside to release demonic activity and to ensnare souls in great measure … During this period demons are assigned against those who participate in the rituals and festivities. These demons are automatically drawn to the fetishes that open doors for them to come into the lives of human beings. For example, most of the candy sold during this season has been dedicated and prayed over by witches.
I do not buy candy during the Halloween season. Curses are sent through the tricks and treats of the innocent whether they get it by going door to door or by purchasing it from the local grocery store. The demons cannot tell the difference.
Even the colors of Halloween (orange, brown and dark red) are dedicated. These colors are connected to the fall equinox, which is around the 20th or 21st of September each year and is sometimes called “Mabon.” During this season witches are celebrating the changing of the seasons from summer to fall. They give praise to the gods for the demonic harvest. They pray to the gods of the elements (air, fire, water and earth).
Mother earth is highly celebrated during the fall demonic harvest. Witches praise mother earth by bringing her fruits, nuts and herbs. Demons are loosed during these acts of worship. When nice church folk lay out their pumpkins on the church lawn, fill their baskets with nuts and herbs, and fire up their bonfires, the demons get busy. They have no respect for the church grounds. They respect only the sacrifice and do not care if it comes from believers or non-believers.
…
Halloween is much more than a holiday filled with fun and tricks or treats. It is a time for the gathering of evil that masquerades behind the fictitious characters of Dracula, werewolves, mummies and witches on brooms. The truth is that these demons that have been presented as scary cartoons actually exist. I have prayed for witches who are addicted to drinking blood and howling at the moon.
While the lukewarm and ignorant think of these customs as “just harmless fun,” the vortexes of hell are releasing new assignments against souls. Witches take pride in laughing at the ignorance of natural men (those who ignore the spirit realm).
Decorating buildings with Halloween scenes, dressing up for parties, going door-to-door for candy, standing around bonfires and highlighting pumpkin patches are all acts rooted in entertaining familiar spirits. All these activities are demonic and have occult roots.
The word “occult” means “secret.” The danger of Halloween is not in the scary things we see but in the secret, wicked, cruel activities that go on behind the scenes. These activities include:
* Sex with demons
* Orgies between animals and humans
* Animal and human sacrifices
* Sacrificing babies to shed innocent blood
* Rape and molestation of adults, children and babies
* Revel nights
* Conjuring of demons and casting of spells
* Release of “time-released” curses against the innocent and the ignorant.”

If ever I need a laugh I'll look back at this post.

Well, finally a calm weekend in store!!!

I plan to read plays so I can decide which one I want to direct. Perhaps one with a demonic theme so I can conjure up idiots like Pat Robertson who believe that shit.

I found out yesterday that I have a place to stay in Ireland. I am sooo going. perhaps it's my birthday present next year

Yesterday I sent off the last of the requested papers for the name change to get finalized on the birth certificate. Let's hope that Missouri doesn't come up with more shit they want before this is all done.

Have a lovely and a safe one. Oh! Last weeks feature was Paul Rudd. I'd have never guessed.

And so it goes:




Love

Ain't it ironical?

Ain't it ironical that the first African American President of the United States doesn't see the need for immediate and total recognizing of the rights we ALL are guaranteed by the constitution?

Ain't it ironical that there are those who would sit around with their rights firmly in place and remind those of us who are systematically denied our own that we must be patient?

Ain't ironical that on one hand the Obama administration is telling us that we need to wait until the right moment to get what we already have, yet they don't repeal DADT, campaign for ENDA, and waited how long(?)for the Hate Crimes bill to come to his desk?

Ain't it ironical that on top of all this irony The Obama justice department is now telling the courts they don't believe that just because a state has the right to decide who they marry that they can't then in turn demand that the federal government provide those self-same couples their federal rights? Oh, they can provide anything they want out of their own coffers, but federally, we ain't gonna give 'em a nickel.

Ain't it ironical that a complete and total lack of information doesn't stop the completely uninformed among us from babbling on about what they think others need to do?

Ain't it ironicalthat Jon Stewart, who started out as pretty much a tool in my book when he was on MTV, has become my hero. I found this quote from Jon on View on Superior, a blog I read daily

-”Religion is far more of a choice than homosexuality. And the protections that we have for religion — we protect religion. And talk about a lifestyle choice — that is absolutely a choice… It’s a travesty that people have forced someone who is gay to have to make their case that they deserve the same basic rights as someone else…”

-Jon Stewart

Ain't it ironical that the religious, who are becoming increasingly vocal about what their God "says we should do" don't ever seem to get the full facts, they assign their own morality, rather the morality their preachers and ministers tell them to have, to whatever situation they think they understand. Sadly they think Pat Robertson, Bill O'Reilly, and Anderson Cooper are THE source of news they can rely on. They haven't even paid enough attention to know that there is no source of NEWS anymore that isn't influenced by the corporation that owns the network they're watching. It's pathetic.

Ain't it ironical that last night I had to tell my students, yet again, that I am not the least bit interested in their morality. That we are not in that classroom to assign their version of events to what happens in this world, that we are there to objectively look at the part of the work we have been studying in this class and if they don't know what that is, what have they been doing this past 12 weeks?

Ain't it ironical that this world is increasingly influenced by religion, and it is not being told that they should follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, it is being told to hate, to exclude, to segregate, to ignore the truth and only use the facts to support it's unsupportable position. It is being told to ignore knowledge, even to turn it's back on knowledge.

Ain't it ironical that there's going to have to be another Crusade? This time though, it's not the religious who're going to set out to impose their ignorance on the rest of the world, it's those who actually understand that blind trust in being a lemming to some religion is NOT the answer. We've managed to eradicate education, I'm sure we can, if we set our minds to it, eradicate religion.


Ain't it ironical that yesterday I informed them that the next play they'd be seeing involved kidnapping, rape and torture and if hey had a problem with it they needed to tell me BEFORHAND so we can avoid people not doing the assignment they're given.
To my complete lack of surprise not one of them had a problem with kidnapping, rape, and torture. Ignorance abounds.

Ain't it ironical that I've wasted so much time on them today?

On another note, has anyone noticed that the United states Postal Service is crying the blues over a lack of business these days?

On the 23rd of October I bought something on Ebay.

On the 28th I asked the seller where the hell it was, since they're located about three hours from me. They told me they'd ship the next day.

Since the 29th the USPS website has said this:


"Class: Package Services
Service(s): Delivery Confirmation™/Insured > $X00
Status: Electronic Shipping Info Received

The U.S. Postal Service was electronically notified by the shipper on October 29, 2009 to expect your package for mailing. This does not indicate receipt by the USPS or the actual mailing date. Delivery status information will be provided if / when available. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later."

Ain't it ironical that the organization responsible for delivering my package has no idea where it actually is? This complete lack of utilization of easily accessed electronic info tells me nothing of where my package is! It wouldn't take the USPS 5 minutes to make this info available to me. Yet they seem bent on their own undoing by ignoring the wishes of their customers. I hate privatization, but I'm beginning to think that the arrogance of the USPS might be well served by them getting replaced by a private organization.

And so it goes:


Love

What, me worry?

Replacement for the donkey...this is much more accurate.

I'm compelled to wonder exactly when it's time to worry about getting burned at the stake.

Yesterday, the democrats proved once again that they're not a viable party anymore, they lack the organization,and they lack the moxey to keep their people motivated.

The Democrat's problem, (and thank God I saw the light and am no longer one of those losers) is that they can't keep their shit together. Ministers and Preachers, and Gods know those champions of hate, Catholic Priests got out in droves and told their faithful lemmings to get out and vote for Obama!!! Which, of course, since they're so uninformed and can barely make it through a trip to the grocery store without incident they did.

Now apathy has returned to their lives, and the paralysis sets in.

They're worried about the economy, about jobs, about their mani-pedi, just not the rest of the world.

We, as Americans carry such a large responsibility, yet we're kept so fucking stupid by our worthless educational system that we neglect it at every turn. I said it not long ago and I'll say it again and again. Apathy will be our undoing.

We've chosen and continue to support completely ineffective leadership in key roles, and we seem to think w can do nothing to change that.

It'll take an administration much more committed to change than this one actually is before we ever see real and valuable work in that area.

Of course, it'll take us waking up too. And with the deep and troubled sleep we spend most of our time reveling in, that's not likely.

And so it goes:

How can you vote no to love?
Love

More reasons to love people

Sitting right in front of me, mocking me, making me wish I'd chosen a career in forestry, is my first assignment from a student that I'm positive has been plagiarized.

I am so pissed.

I can't decide what to do! I certainly can't let it go, and I certainly can't confront the student until and unless I have some proof, but they had two assignments to hand in last week and this students papers are in very different voices. One is obviously hers, the other is...well, someone else.

So now I have to turn to my boss for advice, which let's this particular cat out of the bag and I'm sure involves me in a whole scenario I am loathe to have anything to do with.

Damn it!!!

On a lighter note I'll be directing the next show at the University. I don't know what show yet, but I agreed to do it yesterday and I'm sooo happy about it! Yeah!!!

Of course, it has to be a small cast,mostly women, blah blah blah all the educational theatre requirements that I hate. But at least I'm directing for the first time in three years, so it'll be fun.

I may have mentioned that my teaching schedule appears to be precluding the need to run a cash register next semester. Also Yeah!!! AND I'm pretty sure I'll make enough $ this semester to take the ENTIRE summer off!!! I will be a-horseback at the earliest possible moment and then in the studio the res of the day. And I may spend quite a bit of time in Cimmaron Canyon in Northern New Mexico, talk about cool!

Pots are progressing, I made this one the other day:


I'm thinking it's part of a series. The glaze was supposed to have more of a matte finish,but I can live with the one I got. I stippled it with brown (which was gloss) and that may have made the difference. I bought some porcelain the other day so I'll be trying this series with that. I think I have a market for small porcelain vases at the grocery, so I'm gonna exploit the hell outta that.

One thing that bothers me of late about my schedule is that I'm not exercising. That is not wise in a man of my advanced years. So I have to figure out something to do about that particularly since winter is coming on fast.

Need to keep after my health, I'm paranoid enough about it, I don't need to give myself reason to invent shit. (Not that I already don't, you know, that spot on my ear is skin cancer, I peed four times last night therefore I have prostate cancer, that burning in my chest is esophageal cancer, or heart disease, I can't decide which. I'm going blind, deaf, senile, etc.) So actually neglecting my health is not the answer to this particular neurosis. I'll be exercising regular soon.


My work on the car has apparently exacerbated a little shimmy in the front end so I'm hoping tire rotation which I hope to complete this evening will fix the issue. Being the paranoid I am I became convinced yesterday that it was a loose bolt I had forgotten to tighten on Sunday so there I was laying on the ground at home checking the tightness of all the bolts,they were fine. I love those tires I hope they're not going to start being problematic after only a year.

Well I saw a "making of..." short the other day about "The Changeling" and now I have to see it.

Registered for classes yesterday and I'm going to have to beg the dean to let me back in the pottery class AGAIN! I'm certain she doesn't want to do it since I've been taking the class forever, but it's the only way I can get better and I need the advice Tom gives me, so I'm hoping she'll acquiesce again...and again...and again.

And so it goes:


Love

Starting the week in light

This was one of those weekends you need to have over so you can rest.

I had planned to winterize the car. Brakes,plugs, oil, tire rotation, and I did get it all done(except the rotation) barely.

My brother called me as I was about to leave for his house where I can use the garage, and asked me that since his wife had broken a tooth and was in pain,could I take her to the emergency dentist instead. I did of course, but that put me hours off my plan. So I did everything I could to the car, then headed home.

I got there just in time to get the pot roast in the oven before my guests arrived for the evening. We proceeded to have a grand time of Halloween.

Were you aware that certain ghourds can not be carved...unless you own a reciprocating saw? Owning a pitcher of martini's helps too.

So there was jack-o-lanterns, martini's pot roast dry ice, fog, wine, inducing more fog,canasta, and general hangover producing merriment. The holidays are apparently upon us once again. Yeah!

What I did forget however, was my meeting to fix my website! Spaced it out completely! Until I got home that is, and checked my email. There I found not one but two emails from the woman who's helping me begging MY forgiveness for HER forgetting the meeting. So although I was a thoughtless dick, at least I wasn't guilty of making her sit and wait for me while I didn't show up. Instead I apologized to her and asked that we try it again, after all she is helping for free. She found my senility amusing. I guess I'm always entertaining,if nothing else.

This week I have to convince a couple of my students that school is indeed in session and they'd better get on the stick right soon. Kids!

Doncha' just love 'em?

And so it goes:

I pilfered this picture from a blog I read every day. He titled it "I could go back to sleep" yeah right as if...

Love