honor

Do we even know what honor is anymore? In a country where someone else is always responsible, where we look immediately to assign blame, where we think first and foremost of ourselves is there such a thing as honor?

Yes I want to think so, as do you, but take a look around. The question begs to be answered. And the answers we have aren't promising.

Is there honor in giving your life for your country? I would think that there is, but perhaps the honor of being that committed to an idea is what we should revere.

If you're committed to the idea of democracy, freedom, The United States of America, Christianity, heterosexuality, and white people, you can feel free to speak up in this country.

If you're committed to the idea of spirituality, honesty, responsibility, adventure, free expression of your sexual orientation, or the notion that the Christian American idea of God isn't the only viable option regarding that particular mythical creature, then you can just keep your mouth shut.

Anyone notice a bit of a dichotomy there?

I've decided I like the notion of Rand Paul. First, he's got this impossibly WASP name, and second, and perhaps most importantly he's the ultimate representation of what the country club set really thinks.

He does make it a little more difficult for them to operate under the radar though.

His rantings about the civil rights act of 1964, his wonderfully whimsical statements that we shouldn't criticize business, are priceless. I can only imagine the headaches he's causing at the RNC.

But the purpose of this holiday isn't to nitpick others ideology, I can do that anytime. Nor is it to go to the lake or have a picnic, which most of will do anyway. It's to honor those who've given their lives in service to this country.

One of the things we might be overlooking is that not all of them were wearing uniforms when they did so.

And so it goes:

HGF

Have a Happy and safe holiday weekend!

And so it goes:

Who's screwing who?

Last night at my birthday dinner I got into an argument with my nephew about the state of health care in the United States.

I'll try to keep this story brief if I can.

35 years ago I worked briefly in a nursing home.  Since I come from a particularly affluent area I got a job in an area comparable to my life experience, so the patients were somewhat secure financially, and therefore pretty well cared for. (just like justice, the best health care money can buy)

This was also a time of great health care for employees throughout the U.S. so not many of us were worried.  But back in the day, as it were, there were communication problems.  A patient would come in with special needs from a hospital and NO ONE would tell the staff of those needs, and NO ONE would think to ask.  So sometimes a patient would do without until it became a problem, hopefully one that could be solved before it was too late.

That was in 1975.

Last year my adoptive father was hospitalized for some reason or another and though he was recovering and no longer in need of hospitalization, he still needed care.  So my siblings made arrangements for him to go ACROSS THE PARKING LOT to the skilled nursing facility associated with the hospital.

Three days later there was a crisis.  His legs had swollen to nearly twice their normal size. Now, this problem is easily recognized by members of my family because Dad is not the most compiant about his diet and his CHF, so my brother says, "What kind of diet is he on?"  The nurse says, "Regular, of course."  My brother says, "He has to be on a low sodium diet because of his CHF."  Problem solved, a little extra lasix and low salt diet and two days later he was bitching up a storm about being confined to a nursing home,i.e. he was fine.

But the point is this.  The little communication problems that existed in medicine 35 years ago have not been solved.  Communication has not improved e.g. care has not improved.  Admittedly the nurses involved here were probably graduates of the Nursing program at Avila university in Kansas city, so that explains their ineptness as medical professionals, that school is terrible.   graduates from that school can polish a chart and know it inside and out, yet they wouldn't recognize a patient if they came to the desk to ask for help, they have terrible patient care skills, always have. 

But the problem i believe is not confined to one school or one hospital.  I believe it's system wide, and medicine is no longer about taking care of people.  Therein lies the problem.


We the people are getting screwed from both the top meaning the insurance lobby, and the bottom, meaning the people scamming he system  whether from medicare medicaid or insurance fraud, or the apparently growing issue of illegals coming to the country to get free health care from our system.

Point being, we are doing this to ourselves.  We are chasing the almighty dollar to our own ruin.  We don't care about health care unless it's for us or ours, and we don't care about the price of oil until it goes in our car, and we don't care about  illegals nor how they get here because we continue to hire and harbor them.

It's the old adage, "Either you're a part of the solution or a part of the problem."

The following two articles say it far better than i ever could.

We'll know within a day or two whether BP's efforts to plug the massive gusher have worked. It will take far longer for experts to agree on just how big this spill is and how it compares to previous disasters, but NPR senior news analyst Daniel Schorr thinks it will have a place in the history books for another reason.
DANIEL SCHORR: Superpower America, which once regarded itself as well-nigh invulnerable, now enters a new stage of vulnerability with a gigantic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Terrorist acts notwithstanding, another threat lies with Mother Nature. From floods to earthquakes to fires, we have been at the mercy of the elements. And with Hurricane Katrina, we were left to criticize the inadequate response of government and the inadequate levees in New Orleans, but for the most part, the damage was beyond our control.
The Gulf spill is different in that it's manmade in its origin. In a large sense, this disaster is something we did to ourselves, and that being so, it has generated a carnival of finger pointing between government agencies and the companies involved in the drilling operation, which have spent untold sums on public relations to fend off a chorus of criticism.
BP has taken out full-page newspaper ads promising to do everything in its power to minimize the impact of the spreading oil and to pay for the cleanup. Some officials say on television shows that they're keeping a boot on the oil company's neck, while others in government say that drilling companies know the technology and are making a good effort.
Clearly, we will live with the effects of this disaster for many years to come. And it doesn't help much to observe that they, we, did it to ourselves, a vulnerability rooted in our desperate search for oil.
This is Daniel Schorr


 I hope Daniel Schorr lives forever, he's one of the last voices of reason in the world.


And another thing!


San Diego, California (CNN) -- Don't be surprised if, any day now, you read that the People's Republic of Arizona is in the market for nuclear warheads to put an end, once and for all, to illegal immigration on its southern border. After all, it's the next logical step for the rogue state.


This week, to advance the narrative that Arizona has no choice but to do its own immigration enforcement because the federal government is asleep at the switch, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer called for air support. Brewer requested helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles from the White House to patrol the border region with Mexico.


In a letter to President Obama, Brewer asked that the National Guard reallocate reconnaissance helicopters and robotic surveillance craft to the "border states" to prevent illegal immigration. The governor also requested the deployment of unmanned drones, including possibly the Predator drones used in Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, in her letter, Brewer even mentioned those foreign wars as examples of where the drones have been effective.


What's the matter with Arizona? Isn't it a little early in the year for the folks in the desert to be suffering from sunstroke?


I guess this is par for the course. Brewer just signed SB 1070, a disgraceful anti-immigration and pro-racial-profiling law, to give local and state cops throughout the state the chance to suit up and play border patrol agent. Why shouldn't she get the chance to suit up and play general?


After all, like the United States, Arizona is currently involved in two wars. There's the hypocritical war against the very illegal immigrants that the state has spent the past 15 years providing with gainful employment by allowing them to do jobs that Arizonans wouldn't do. And then there's the rhetorical war with the Obama administration, which Arizona wants to portray as negligent in stopping illegal immigration, which forced Arizonans to take matters into their own hands.


The argument that the federal government isn't actively engaged in border enforcement is both dishonest and reckless.


It is dishonest because it's not true. I've visited the U.S.-Mexico border a dozen times in the past 10 years: in Texas, Arizona and California. I've interviewed countless border patrol agents and supervisors. I've also been up in a Border Patrol helicopter flying above the border, which offers a unique perspective on border security.


So I can tell you what the border patrol agents on the ground would tell you: The U.S.-Mexico border has never been more fortified. There are now more than 20,000 border patrol agents on the federal payroll. That's more agents than any other federal enforcement agency, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Those agents apprehend people and deport them at a feverish clip. In fact, it was recently announced that the Obama administration deported more people last year than the Bush administration during its final year in office.


It is reckless because -- when this law is hauled before a federal judge, as it will be -- opponents will argue that the measure violates the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution by usurping federal authority to enforce immigration law. And that's the very thing that proponents seem to be admitting in their bravado. In fact, it might not be a bad idea for Arizona officials to pipe down and stop bragging about how they're doing the job of the federal government in terms of immigration enforcement, since that's a no-no under the Constitution.


If the federal government does take border enforcement seriously, critics might ask: Why are there still people trying to enter the United States illegally? Simple. We can dig a moat, deploy an army, build walls or call in an airstrike, but desperate people will always find a way to go around, under or over any impediment in their path to a better life.


This isn't to condone illegal immigration. My views -- in support of deportations, workplace raids, giving more resources to the Border Patrol etc. -- are well known. I'm just telling you what Border Patrol agents tell me: that it doesn't make any sense to focus all our attention at the border while turning a blind eye to employers in the interior. That's like trying to fill a bucket with teaspoons of water without first plugging the hole at the bottom.


Now Obama has fallen into that same trap. He is reportedly ready to announce that he is sending 1,200 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to help control illegal immigration and quell some of the violence. That's a far cry from the 6,000 troops that Arizona Sen. John McCain had requested, and congressional Republicans seem miffed that Obama stole their thunder.


Still, as long as the troops follow the protocol laid out in 2006 when George W. Bush launched Operation Jumpstart -- that they're unarmed and act only in a support capacity to the Border Patrol by fixing vehicles, monitoring surveillance equipment, repairing fences -- I think sending the National Guard is a fine idea. It's just not the magic bullet that the most enthusiastic proponents of the idea would have us believe.


There's only one of those. It involves fining, arresting and prosecuting the employers of illegal immigrants, including people who are, this election year, streaming into fundraisers for McCain, Brewer and other tough-talking Republicans vowing to solve a problem that many of their backers helped create.

We truly are doing this to ourselves and until and unless we can learn to care for each other, and not be afraid it's communism if we do, then we're doomed. 

And so it goes:

Happy Birthday me!

It's my birthday, I still have the rhinovirus from hell, but I do feel better than yesterday.  perhaps the patient will live. 

I'm going outside to play today, it's nice and it's my birfday. Cold be damned.

anti-gay forces are now so desperate that they'll say anything that comes to mind to make people afraid.

The latest was some guy from that bastion of accurate facts the American Family Association, telling the world that Hitler was gay and surrounded himself with gay men because he couldn't get straight men to be as savage and brutal and vicious as he wanted them to be so he got the gays to do it.

If THIS is the ideal of the American Family, then  I'll pass, thanks anyway.

<pre>Happy Birthday!

26 May 1957

Your date of conception was on or about 2 September 1956 which was a Sunday.

You were born on a Sunday

under the astrological sign Gemini.

Your Life path number is 8.

Your fortune cookie reads:

Look for new outlets for your own creative abilities.

Life Path Compatibility:

You are most compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 2, 4, 8, 11 &amp; 22.

You should get along well with those with the Life Path number 6.

You may or may not get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 1 &amp; 5.

You are least compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 3, 7 &amp; 9.

The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2435984.5.

The golden number for 1957 is 1.

The epact number for 1957 is -1.

The year 1957 was not a leap year.

Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 1/31/1957 and ending 2/17/1958.

You were born in the Chinese year of the Rooster.

Your Native American Zodiac sign is Elk; your plant is Mullein.

You were born in the Egyptian month of Mesore, the fourth month of the season of Shomu (Harvest).

Your date of birth on the Hebrew calendar is 25 Iyyar 5717.

Or if you were born after sundown then the date is 26 Iyyar 5717.

The Mayan Calendar long count date of your birthday is 12.17.3.11.0 which is

12 baktun 17 katun 3 tun 11 uinal 0 kin

The Hijra (Islamic Calendar) date of your birth is Sunday, 26 Shavval 1376 (1376-10-26).

The date of Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 21 April 1957.

The date of Orthodox Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 21 April 1957.

The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) on your birth year was Wednesday 6 March 1957.

The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 9 June 1957.

The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 16 June 1957.

The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Tuesday, 24 September 1957.

The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Sunday, 14 April 1957.

The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 5 March 1957.

As of 5/26/2010 10:58:08 AM EDT

You are 53 years old.

You are 636 months old.

You are 2,765 weeks old.

You are 19,358 days old.

You are 464,602 hours old.

You are 27,876,178 minutes old.

You are 1,672,570,688 seconds old.

Celebrities who share your birthday:

Lenny Kravitz (1964) Sally Ride (1951) Pam Grier (1949)

Philip Michael Thomas (1949) Hank Williams, Jr. (1949) Stevie Nicks (1948)

Brent Musburger (1939) James Arness (1923) Peggy Lee (1920)

Jay Silverheels (1919) Frankie Manning (1914) Peter Cushing (1913)

Robert Morley (1908) John Wayne (1907) Al Jolson (1886)

Top songs of 1957

All Shook Up by Elvis Presley Love Letters In the Sand by Pat Boone

Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley Teddy Bear by Elvis Presley

April Love by Pat Boone Young Love by Tab Hunter

Tammy by Debbie Reynolds Honeycomb by Jimmie Rodgers

Wake Up Little Susie by Everly Brothers You Send Me by Sam Cooke

Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 7.57651663405088 years old. (You old hound dog, you!)

Your lucky day is Wednesday.

Your lucky number is 5.

Your ruling planet(s) is Mercury.

Your lucky dates are 5th, 14th, 23rd.

Your opposition sign is Sagittarious.

Your opposition number(s) is 3.

Today is not one of your lucky days!

There are 365 days till your next birthday

on which your cake will have 54 candles.

Those 54 candles produce 54 BTUs,

or 13,608 calories of heat (that's only 13.6080 food Calories!) .

You can boil 6.17 US ounces of water with that many candles.

In 1957 there were approximately 4.0 million births in the US.

In 1957 the US population was approximately 150,697,361 people, 50.7 persons per square mile.

In 1957 in the US there were approximately 1,667,231 marriages (11.1%) and 385,144 divorces (2.6%)

In 1957 in the US there were approximately 1,452,000 deaths (9.6 per 1000)

In the US a new person is born approximately every 8 seconds.

In the US one person dies approximately every 12 seconds.

In 1957 the population of Australia was approximately 9,744,087.

In 1957 there were approximately 220,358 births in Australia.

In 1957 in Australia there were approximately 73,696 marriages and 6,298 divorces.

In 1957 in Australia there were approximately 84,953 deaths.

Your birth flower is LILY

Your birthstone is Emerald

The Mystical properties of Emerald

Though not meant to replace traditional medical treatment, Emerald is used for physical and emotional healing.

Some lists consider these stones to be your birthstone. (Birthstone lists come from Jewelers, Tibet, Ayurvedic Indian medicine, and other sources)

Agate, Chrysoprase

Your birth tree is

Ash Tree, the Ambition

Uncommonly attractive, vivacious, impulsive, demanding, does not care for criticism, ambitious, intelligent, talented, likes to play with its fate, can be egoistic, very reliable and trustworthy, faithful and prudent lover, sometimes brains rule over heart, but takes partnership very serious.

There are 213 days till Christmas 2010!

There are 226 days till Orthodox Christmas!

The moon's phase on the day you were

born was waning crescent.&nbsp;</pre>

<pre>&nbsp;</pre>

<pre>You entered:

There are 17 letters in your name.

Those 17 letters total to 65

There are 7 vowels and 10 consonants in your name.

What your first name means:

Irish Male Irish variant of : God is gracious; gift from God.

Your number is: 11

The characteristics of #11 are: High spiritual plane, intuitive, illumination, idealist, a dreamer.

The expression or destiny for #11:

Your Expression number is 11. The number 11 is the first of the master numbers. It is associated with idealistic concepts and rather spiritual issues. Accordingly, it is a number with potentials that are somewhat more difficult to live up to. You have the capacity to be inspirational, and the ability to lead merely by your own example. An inborn inner strength and awareness can make you an excellent teacher, social worker, philosopher, or advisor. No matter what area of work you pursue, you are very aware and sensitive to the highest sense of your environment. Your intuition is very strong; in fact, many psychic people and those involved in occult studies have the number 11 expression. You possess a good mind with keen analytical ability. Because of this you can probably succeed in most lines of work, however, you will do better and be happier outside of the business world. Oddly enough, even here you generally succeed, owing to your often original and unusual approach. Nonetheless, you are more content working with your ideals, rather than dollars and cents.

The positive aspect of the number 11 expression is an always idealistic attitude. Your thinking is long term, and you are able to grasp the far-reaching effects of actions and plans. You are disappointed by the shortsighted views of many of your contemporaries. You are deeply concerned and supportive of art, music, or of beauty in any form.

The negative attitudes associated with the number 11 expression include a continuous sense of nervous tension; you may be too sensitive and temperamental. You tend to dream a lot and may be more of a dreamer than a doer. Fantasy and reality sometimes become intermingled and you are sometimes very impractical. You tend to want to spread the illumination of your knowledge to others irrespective of their desire or need.

Your Soul Urge number is: 5

A Soul Urge number of 5 means:

The 5 soul urge or motivation would like to follow a life of freedom, excitement, adventure and unexpected happening. The idea of travel and freedom to roam intrigues you. You are very much the adventurer at heart. Not particularly concerned about your future or about getting ahead, you can seem superficial and unmotivated.

In a positive sense, the energies of the number 5 make you very adaptable and versatile. You have a natural resourcefulness and enthusiasm that may mark you as a progressive with a good mind and active imagination. You seem to have a natural inclination to be a pace-setter. You are attracted to the unusual and the fast paced.

You may be overly restless and impatient at times. You may dislike the routine work that you are engaged in, and tend to jump from activity to activity, without ever finishing anything. You may have difficulty with responsibility. You don't want to be tied down to a relationship, and it may be hard to commit to one person.

Your Inner Dream number is: 6

An Inner Dream number of 6 means:

You dream of guiding and fostering the perfect family in the perfect home. You crave the devotion from offspring and a loving spouse. You picture yourself in the center of a successful domestic unit. </pre>

And so it goes:

Bitchfight at Sharon and Ozzy's!! Well, almost.

Not up to snuff today.  A co-worker graciously shared their cold with me.  Would that homicide were legal.

Though we're engaged in fights on several fronts, for employment rights, for marriage rights, for civil rights, we're still not past the petty little shittiness that so easily earns us the title drama queen. 

Dustin Black, and Perez Hilton are still at odds over the Black sex pics Hilton published a while back. 

First of all what kind of idiot who aspires to the public eye would allow a naked photo be taken of them knowing how this culture reacts? Should Black have immediately come out at the time and said, "Yeah someone I had intimate relations with at some point took pictures of me. yeah the turned out not to be a very nice person and they released them to the public.  Why should that be a big deal?"  Instead he says "oops forgot my raincoat sorry, you should do better though." 


But no Black ran and hid in the closet like a quivering little queen and hence it's a THING.  Hilton, ( now there's a case for lynching if ever I saw one) gets the scoop and no challenge so he wins.

Stupid bitchfight between two men, at least one of whom should know better.

And the rest of us get to live with it.   

Thanks guys.

I am reminded of the remark that reportedly brought about the demise of Truman Capote's relationship with
Lee Radziwell.

Wikipedia-
Her break with Truman Capote was dramatic. Lee refused to testify on Truman's behalf when Gore Vidal sued him for libel (Truman had repeated a story Lee told him about Gore in an interview in "Playgirl," and Gore took offense).
Truman asked Liz Smith to convince Lee to testify in his behalf; Liz contacted Lee, who said "does it matter Liz? They're just a pair of fags."
Pissed off, Truman when on The Stanley Siegel show drunk and repeated all of the stories Lee had told him about her previous boyfriends. They never spoke again. 

Well the birfday social whirl has started, illness notwithstanding.

Today it's a lunch with friends, tomorrow dinner with the ex, wednesday dinner at the nephews, thursday lunch at the museum, friday it's horses and a picnic, then saturday it's a barbecue. 

Such a butterfly. 

And so it goes:

Happy Birthday K

Try to cheer up.

Maybe this will help:

A lack of surprise

There were no election surprises actually.  It appears that the old bloc is on it's way out and the new is coming in. Whether that means a return to conservative politics is still a matter for some debate.  The Tea Party thing scares me but only slightly.  I assume the voters will come to their senses and make sure that the Tea party fanatics don't get hold in congress.  That would be a mess.  Funny, but a mess.

The pundits are predicting gloom and doom for the current administration, and maybe they're right.  I never expected that our first black president would be more than a one term thing. 

But things were accomplished, and maybe there will  be more, maybe not too. This time there doesn't seem to be an abundance of Preachers ministers and priests out there telling their faithful how to vote, so it's not as interesting when you don't see people vote their religious beliefs. Maybe they are who knows, organized religion is so insidious.

All in all, yawn, was my reaction to yesterday's  results..  "If you can't fix it, ya gotta stand it." 

Setting off tomorrow for a little jaunt to buy some pottery supplies.  The  store is 40 miles away and I don't go very often, but I need clay for the summer business I hope to have.  So a little lunch and a little drive is in order, I think I'll invite the ex.  Maybe we can spend some time together and see what's what.

I wish it'd stop raining.  I want to go outside and play. Gotta go and put out some buckets to catch the rain water for pots.

And so it goes:

CRO it is

Yesterday I went through a harowing ordeal that took almost the entire afternoon.

I went to the DMV.

I'd finally gotten Chrysler financial to understand the finer points of changing my name and filling out the necessary forms, so armed with what I was convinced was a proper arsenal of paperwork I undertook the process of paying the state their annual extortion to have a license plate on my car.  The letters on the plate are CRO.

I found that amusing since I have to eat more and more crow as I get older it seems fitting. 

The latest attempt at "efficiency" for our beloved DMV is that you enter on a touch screen, your phone number and they text you periodically to update you on your "status" or place in line.  Thechnology lies to us all.

They told me I would have a 44 minute wait.

62 minutes later a slightly perturbed me approached the designated counter  at which point I was informed that to accomplish my task they'd need my license plate too.

This was the time for apoplexy.  I complied.

So I went outside and retrieved the plate, while they "held" a place for me in line. Paid them the ransom and off I went.



A while back I dissed Colin Farrell pretty good and got quite a bit of hate mail as a result.   Not that I mind, hate mail is at least an indication that I make someone think. Which in this day and age is a rare occurrence.

However, last weekend I saw Crazy Heart.  It was good, and Bridges was wonderful, though I still don't get the hype about the movie, it was a nice character study, but not all that.  The surprise for me though was Colin Farrel's presence.  I was unaware he was in the film when I sat down to watch.

He was pretty fuckin good!

Maybe sobriety and a new wife have had the desired effect. That's be nice.  The guy has had his share of flops, now he needs to start really acting and making us want more.

At this point I do.

Thanks Colin:

And we think we're so progressive...

Cuba, that little third world country to our south that's been thumbing it's nose at us for more than half a century seems to get it on more levels than we ever will.  So does our neighbor to the north, but that's another story.

Mariela Castro's lesbianism probably has a lot to do with the relatively newfound Cuban pride movement, or at least their outness to the world, but it's unique in a country such as Cuba.  Hell it's unique in a country such as the U.S.

Nonetheless, I applaud not only their courage, but their obvious delight on the parade route for Gay Rights on the International Day against Homophobia.  The parade was reportedly violence free.  

The parade in Belarus, conversely, lasted ten minutes and was ended by riot police. Belarus is off the list of places to live.

I've been involved with the ex for a few days. frankly it's been interesting that I've been involved with a very different person the past few days than I was several years ago. I'm still not convinced that either of us can actually have a relationship with anyone, but I still have hope. Not rushing into anything there.  

Perhaps my generation is one of the last, hopefully, that has to drag into relationships societies disapproval of our existence.  Maybe if we weren't told throughout our lives that we weren't worthy of love then we'd be able to accept some of  it.  Our families don't really approve of our sexual orientation, and they disguise it...barely, from us, but in truth not at all from each other, and in our heart of hearts I think we know that.

 I think we know too that this impairs us, from an early age, to be able to actually have a loving and intimate relationship with another man.  I think straight people know that too, and they love having such an effective tool. 

Reminds me of Geoffrey's line in Lion in Winter..." I know. You know I know. I know you know I know. We know Henry knows, and Henry knows we know it."

So we drag this disapproval from relationship to relationship like Pig Pen's cloud of dust, and think that all we're really good for is one night stands or brief flings that mean very little, and we're not, we're worthy of so much more.  If we just had the  (Courage? Wherewithal? Intelligence?  Opportunity?) to celebrate our difference and live open, relaxed, loving lives, we'd win.  Probably never the approval of those too stymied in their intellectual and emotional development to think we're actual human beings, but the right to a life of our own without the interference of anyone. 

Yes there are places in which we can do that but we shouldn't have to leave our homes and go exile ourselves to have happiness, it's our right.  Remember Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness?  It says nowhere in that document that you can have that only if you're white christian and heterosexual..nowhere. If this is truly the melting pot, then let it be so.   

It shouldn't be necessary to have these:

Though they're wonderful and I'd participate in a second. I still think we should have more of these:

And these:

And Gods yes these!

So that these:

will go away. (Not that I subscribe to that whole God thing)

The unfortunate and unconscionable influence that the heteronormative world wields against the psyche of the rest of us is unforgivable and the only way to rid ourselves of it is to defy it and walk down the street with our chosen partners with our head held high.  Let the judgment of their Gods fall on them as it should.

All of which reminds me of Geoffrey's next line in Lion in Winter:

"Rot."

And so it goes:

Ah yes, hot guy, no shirt, and a Camaro, what more could I ask.

Where to begin...

You people have to be straightened out  so often and on so many issues that I can hardly keep up sometimes. 

Today I've got a whole post about the folly of supporting a pope who was apparently one of the principals in a massive cover-up that went on over decades. In an effort to pretend, which Catholics are good at, that  children weren't being molested by priests, and that "this would all go away" we were encouraged to stick our heads in the sand, like good little ostriches.  Nice try, but as with all dirty little secrets, it came back and bit 'em.

Can I indulge the little problem known as the catholic church and the ignorance of it's faithful? No!

This morning I have to talk about acting, actors, critics, and (Gods forbid) Glee.

Let's be clear, I've never seen Glee, but I get the premise. Don't understand it, but I get it.

I've been ignoring the  hubub created by Ramin Setoodeh's Newsweek article in which he said that gay actors can't play straight.  But I have to step into the fray, I can't help myself.

First question, how does one play straight?  It's not actable! I suppose to understand that statement one needs to be able to talk to actors and understand their language, but in the end you really don't.  We've all seen their work, good and bad, and we get what they're doing most of the time, knowing how it gets there isn't really the province of the masses, nor should it need to be.

I use a technological metaphor when talking to young actors.  I ask them if they've got a computer, which they all do nowdays. Then I ask if they've heard the term that a program is "running in the background."  They have, (thank gods) then I inform them that THAT is where all that acting talk should be.  "No one is coming to see you act, I tell them.  They want to see the story, they want to be entertained, they want to be moved in some way.  They do not give a shit about you and your acting.  So make it run in the background." 

Therefore, an actor whether gay, straight, trans, black, white, yellow, red, brown or purple with orange spots, should be cast in a role which they're capable of performing.  The sensibilities of the audience, whether it's a "sophisticated" New york audience, or one in Petosi, aren't, and can't be the consideration.  We as professionals (I hope) are attempting to do the best job with what we have.  Thinking about how the audience is going to react, or what they're going to think of the slightly fey actor as husband is NOT something I consider when casting.  To that kind of thinking by the audience and/or the director I say Fuck you, you should know better than that. 

As far as Satoodeh is concerned, though I contend he of all people as a gay theatre critic in New York should not only know better, but in the event he doesn't, at least  be smart enough to keep his mouth shut about it.  Alas,  he apparently wasn't was he? Was he being homophobic? No I don't really think so, and I am almost always the first one to cast that stone, but more to the point he was just being ignorant.

This is not a discussion we should even be having.  Virtually everyone knows there are gay actors.  In fact we're all suspected of being gay the second we acknowledge that we teach, act, direct, or attend theatre.  I can't imagine what it's like for my straight friends in theatre when they meet someone and tell them that they teach theatre at a college or university.

The discussions we should be having are about why an organization that has essentially been nothing more that a massive child-molestation ring for decades, probably centuries, is not only allowed to continue to exist, but to wield as much power as the Catholics do.  Why we not only allow but send to Washington time and again people who would vote to marginalize our existence by denying us such things as Tim Pawlenty's veto, over the weekend, of a bill that would have allowed GLBT citizens of Minnesota the simple right to determine the disposition of their partners remains after their death.  Why we even have to talk about the courage it takes for someone to sign a piece of paper and then hold up their right hand and swear an oath that they will fight to the death to protect this country, and the cowardice it takes to make them hide themselves while doing such a brave thing.

Don't boycott Newsweek, Aaron Sorkin is right, it' s one of the absolutely last places we can get actual  news.  Boycott ignorance.

That's our true enemy.

And so it goes:

A bit of freedom

School's OUT!!!  So I think I'm going to have to get away for a bit.  Sometime around my birfday I'm outta here for a few days. Me and a horse, and a trail and that's it for three or four days. 

Recently I've been lazy and blogging pictures for HGf directly from flickr, (the world's best source of photography) and I'm learning my lesson the hard way.  I have noticed holes in my blog. 

SO! Starting today we're uploading directly.  This missing photo thing is unacceptable.  Sorry, I should have known the internet would do me dirty given the chance.

And so it goes:

Ethnic studies out in arizona (why does that not surprise me?)

The Arizona legislature has outlawed Ethnic studies classes in public schools that "promote resentment" of other ethnic groups.

Who outlawed this kind of thing? Why the ethnic groups that were being resented that's who!

That kind of thing is reserved for the clubhouse at the golf course thank you very much.

Fat old Republican men with golf clubs in the back of their Navigators do not like being eyeballed by the wetbacks who cut the grass at the club. So how do they deal with it?

Why they change the rules, that's how.

It's how bullies have worked for centuries. They don't know that the truth will set them free.

Yes, I admit I am sitting here smack in the middle of white America exploiting my fat over-educatedness for everything it's worth, but I can't help but know in the back of my mind that that shit ain't right yo. BTW my whiteness ain't gettin' me much either anymore.

How long do you suppose it'll take someone to haul their asses into court and challenge that stupid law? Not long I think, unless of course they're pulled over on the way to the courthouse and profiled into the hoosegow.

Ethnic groups, (read Mexicans) forget that this is the land of the free and the home of the brave, especially if you're white, republican, and a member of the club.

The Constitution of the United states has been co-opted by rich white folks since it was written to be used to our advantage, and I hope I'm not around to see what happens when we get our comeuppance.


I'd move to Montreal but I know shit about Hockey and it seems necessary to survive there.  Besides it's cold as fuck.

Then there's the strange case of Dr. George Rekers.  Dr. Rekers has long been one of the most outspoken advocates of denying GLBT  applicants the right to adopt.  One of his many faulty contentions is that this environment would place undue stress on a child who already has many stressors.  hmmm...

Well, as one of those children who was adopted into a heterosexual home I would like Georgy-boy to know that had I been adopted into a gay home where I was not only loved, but told the truth, I likely wouldn't have had any of the acting out behaviors I had as an adolescent.  I likely wouldn't have stolen, lied, whored myself (which was kinda fun actually) attempted suicide, nor become a drug addict had I known the truth and not been driven by a nagging sense that my life somehow was a complete lie. In the end the truth set me free.

But George's faulty posits aside  he's been exposed as a self-loathing mo who has an aversion of his own, mostly to himself. He apparently hired "Lucien" from the website rentboy.com to accompany him on a European trip to provide "meditation and massage" I assume.  He asserts it was so Lucien could carry his luggage.  Well I hear tell some men have bags that sag as they get older so maybe he wasn't far off the truth.

He resigned his position with  the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) effective immediately after the news of "Lucien" broke.  The truth will set you free George, trust me I know.

BTW My post yesterday regarding the mysterious Midnight Train to Georgia cover by House, Chase, and Foreman at a karaoke bar turned out to be prophetic in light of this story.  Long story short, they treated a guy who had some affliction  (as do all patients on House) that no one could decipher and   in the investigation it was discovered that not only was the guy gay but he'd voluntarily undergone aversion therapy and hence lost both the girl and the guy who loved him.  The truth shall set you free.


And so it goes:

can someone please explain this?

I rarely watch prime time tv (unless it involves Tim Olyphant) so I have no context for this video.

How ya' gonna keep 'em down on the farm

As if I needed further proof that were a third world country I heard an interview the other day regarding a couple trying to reach each other after the husband was rescued from the Deepwater Horizon. 


She said in the interview that she took a taxi, (which she'd never been in) and then rode in an airplane (she was terrified but determined to reach her husband) on her journey.  

This is a woman who lives in the United States in the 21st Century, not a third world country! Well, admittedly she does live in Houston...but still. It's an apt demonstration of how backward most of the residents of most countries in the world are.  Which means we have yet another poster child for my campaign against modern education.


I've been reading recently that there are legions of new teachers graduating this month who won't find jobs because most municipalities are slashing the budgets of their school districts in response to the ongoing economic crisis.  And we're still going to graduate people who are terrified to ride in a taxi the first time as adults.


Yes, personally I want to eschew all the taxi riding and city livin', but I have the choice!  I can take it or leave it.  I've done it.  How many will never go more than 50 miles from their home in their lives?


And so it goes:

knowing better

you'd think that someone who has moved as many times as I would know that poorly planned moves do not go well. Such is the case with the move of this blog. I may abandon the whole damn process.

The blog downloaded, but the sidebars didn't. The template didn't either, and then there's the matter of the layout. I'm having to reconstruct the whole damn thing and the only thing that gets moved apparently is the content.

One gets what one pays for, I suppose.

I made the colossal mistake of questioning the IRS about my '09 return. All hell has broken loose. All I can say is it's a mess. They do manage to cash my checks in a timely fashion I will say that in their defense.

It appears to be a tech year in the educational jobs world. The only places hiring for people who do what I do are places I won't go. (there are like 3 in the whole country)

I could choose to get all down and dejected about all this, BUT it is after all out of my control. All I can really do is plug away at it all until it reaches some sort of a conclusion, satisfactory or otherwise.

Held my last acting class of the semester last night. They chose to do their final scenes in the class period so they didn't have to come back for the final on Monday. I have to be there in any case, and most of them should have rehearsed one more day at least. But there's not much likelihood they'd have improved. So I took what I got. We all lost so much momentum when I had to go teach the day classes in March that we never really recovered.

Alas, it's all blood under the bridge at this point.

I need a vacation.

My birthday is coming the end of the month, perhaps a getaway is in order. Nothing grand (can't afford it anymore) a camping trip with a horse perhaps.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

And so it goes:

Trying something new

I think I moved the blog. I think this because after all my years of fussing over needing and wanting to I figured out that it was possible.

SO!

let's give this a shot.

go here

http://morecoyotetales.blogspot.com/

and let's see what happens.  I'll post on both blogs for a while to see how it goes, and hopefully eventually I'll get wileykyote.com to  send everyone automatically to the other blog.

It appears to be tidbit day on coyote Tales.

Hate crime victim wins civil lawsuit (this, of course is in Canada)

May 05, 2010

Paul Morse

The Hamilton Spectator
(May 5, 2010)
A Hamilton businessman who was severely injured in what police described as a hate crime has won a civil lawsuit against his attacker.
Ronn Mattai was slashed numerous times in the face with a broken bottle by 19-year-old Michael Cordeiro in a Hamilton bar on Feb. 21, 2004. The injuries were so extreme that surgeons had to put more than 200 stitches into Mattai's face to close the wounds. Cordeiro was sentenced to two years in jail for his attack on the gay businessman.
Yesterday, Superior Court Justice Richard Lococo ruled that Cordeiro must pay Mattai just over $73,000 in damages and legal costs for assaulting the former co-owner of the Junction Cafe.
Mattai's lawyer Devon Kinch said his client did not want to speak publicly about the lawsuit. Kinch said the judge awarded his assessment of damages after oral arguments and that Cordeiro had chosen not to contest the lawsuit.
Cordeiro pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in late 2004. Court at the time heard that Mattai had left his Junction Cafe that night and stopped off for a drink with friends at the Absinthe bar on King Street East.
According to prosecutors, Mattai was lured into a coat check room by someone crying for help. Cordeiro grabbed Mattai and slashed him repeatedly in the face with a broken drink glass.
The trial heard that Cordeiro made homophobic comments after the attack.
In a simple handwritten decision yesterday, Lococo wrote: "For oral reasons given today, judgment is entered in favour of Mr. Ronn Mattai against Mr. Michael Cordeiro in the amount of $65,117.73. Mr. Mattai's costs on a partial indemnity basis are fixed at $8,000 ... payable by Mr. Cordeiro forthwith."
Mattai had also sued the owners of Absinthe. Yesterday, the bar's lawyer Harvey Klein said his client had long ago resolved the matter.

 

ESPN polled MLB players for their reactions, on a scale of 1 to 10, about having an openly gay teammate: "The average was a right-down-the-middle 5.1, but the individual responses were not. Some were cool with it. 'there’d be a few outliers who would have a strong reaction, maybe a few homophobes,' one AL pitcher says. 'But overall, not a big deal — I’d say a 2 or a 3.' An AL outfielder agrees. “I wonder how much it would really change anything. There’s already a lot of funny stuff that goes on with some of my teammates in the clubhouse that makes you wonder.( I don't wonder, I just wish they'd win once in a while)

"I abhor the military's discriminatory recruitment policy." It is, she said, "a profound wrong -- a moral injustice of the first order."- SCOTUS nominee Kagan on DADT.-(there's some hope here, but still a conservative majority on the Supreme court)

And Lena Horne has died at 92.  Talk about a life well lived.  re-invented herself in her 60's.  There is hope for a long time yet.  

Thinking that the employment dilemma might be alleviated this summer if I made and sold $15-20 pots at farmers markets. 

And so it goes:

IMG_5484

IMG_5484, originally uploaded by omid.sori.

IMG_5483

IMG_5483, originally uploaded by omid.sori.

tg003_46f

tg003_46f, originally uploaded by joshuacollins1795.

Beach

Beach, originally uploaded by tickleboy89.

127

127, originally uploaded by adam1913.

DSC_0050

DSC_0050, originally uploaded by JoeInQueens.

hgf

yes i realize that

I'm a senior citizen I know, and I come from another era I know that too.  And I try to understand the needs and intentions of people as they relate in our "new world" but sometimes I'm puzzled.

Like this for instance, it confuses me why this would be an issue:

Students Kicked Off Campus for Wearing American Flag Tees

KNTV Videos

By George Kiriyama

NBCBayArea.com

updated 36 minutes ago

On any other day at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, Daniel Galli and his four friends would not even be noticed for wearing T-shirts with the American flag. But Cinco de Mayo is not any typical day especially on a campus with a large Mexican American student population.

Galli says he and his friends were sitting at a table during brunch break when the vice principal asked two of the boys to remove American flag bandannas that they wearing on their heads and for the others to turn their American flag T-shirts inside out. When they refused, the boys were ordered to go to the principal's office.

"They said we could wear it on any other day," Daniel Galli said, "but today is sensitive to Mexican-Americans because it's supposed to be their holiday so we were not allowed to wear it today."

---

The boys said the administrators called their T-shirts "incendiary" that would lead to fights on campus.

"They said if we tried to go back to class with our shirts not taken off, they said it was defiance and we would get suspended," Dominic Maciel, Galli's friend, said.

The boys really had no choice, and went home to avoid suspension. They say they're angry they were not allowed to express their American pride. Their parents are just as upset, calling what happened to their children, "total nonsense."

"I think it's absolutely ridiculous," Julie Fagerstrom, Maciel's mom, said. "All they were doing was displaying their patriotic nature. They're expressing their individuality."

But to many Mexican-American students at Live Oak, this was a big deal. They say they were offended by the five boys and others for wearing American colors on a Mexican holiday.

"I think they should apologize cause it is a Mexican Heritage Day," Annicia Nunez, a Live Oak High student, said. "We don't deserve to be get disrespected like that. We wouldn't do that on Fourth of July."

As for an apology, the boys and their families say, "fat chance."

"I'm not going to apologize. I did nothing wrong," Galli said. "I went along with my normal day. I might have worn an American flag, but I'm an American and I'm proud to be an American."

The five boys and their families met with a Morgan Hill Unified School District official Wednesday night. The district released a statement saying it does not agree with how Live Oak High School administrators handled this incident.

The boys will not be suspended and they were told they can go back to school Thursday. They may even wear their red, white, and blue colors again, but this time, the day after Cinco de Mayo, there will be no controversy.

I don't get it, why problems yesterday and not today?  I suppose there's the whole America/Mexico thing to consider, but this isn't Mexico, and I doubt they'd be very interested if I were to wear my American flag (not that I own one) t-shirt in Mexico on July4.  So why should Mexican Americans care if someone wears their American Flag-wear on Cinco de mayo?   Who's being insensitive here?  Like I said, another era I guess.

Last night i was given a rare treat:

The evening Star has apparently come to visit this year.  It was a lovely evening on my deck.  

When I was a student we were encouraged to speak our minds, not become sheep to be herded about. Mind you beards and mustaches were discouraged, as was long hair, but it was a private school and  we knew little else.  And our parents were on the side of the administration so we shaved and cut our hair, stupid I know, but it's the reality we lived then.  

But today no one is allowed to do or say anything that might upset others,  they are to be completely considerate of each others sensibilities.  We all know they're not, we know that this fosters ill-will and makes those who are perceived to be different more appealing targets than they were in the first place.  You can't legislate behavior and anyone with any sense knows that.  

During grade and high school I was the object of quite a bit of ridicule because I was (correctly) perceived as gay. (let's see, skinny, intelligent, uncircumcised, homosexual. not very well socialized, bad at sports, and a loner. yes I was an easy target)  I was harassed for my lack of ability at sports, I was made fun of, in general grade school was quite a bit of misery. And at the time I'd have sided with the administration if they tried to legislate that behavior, but they couldn't and they knew it. In fact the grocery is in the very neighborhood where I grew up and one of the worst of my antagonists is still there.  He's apparently living with his elderly mother and looking for work.  He's also apparently not a very good guy.  I told them that 40 years ago.  Amusingly enough he's trying to be my friend when he comes in.  I'm civil and I speak when he does, and several people have warned me about what a wretch he is.  I laugh.   

I very nearly got myself in a silly struggle with a student over that very issue a month or two ago.  He's very immature and he acts out in ways I wouldn't expect a college student to.  He is however in a community college, and some of that shit  is to be expected.  He did what he wanted and though there will be consequences from me he got what he wanted.  I don't have to approve, and I don't have to give him more opportunity to do it to me again. But to get into some struggle over who did what to whom and how it felt is a complete waste of time.  Let him be who he is, and move on without him. That's when he'll get the message.

Still very much in the get out of here mode. The other countries look better and better.  Though the unemployment rates are scary right now.  

Very little of these "things" need to be dragged around the world.  Stuff'll show up in my experience.  Furniture is everywhere.  There's a laptop, a few keepsakes a mantel clock, a flat screen, a bike, and some art work.  Other than clothes that's about it as far as I'm concerned. The rest can go.  Maybe being more mobile will help my mental process of letting go of the here where I live. 

On the other hand I have an income and a nice place to live and I get to look at the evening star when I come home.  

And so it goes:

The other day I used the title "Miss Otis regrets..." and  since then I've come to realize that one of the many stories about Cole Porter can't be easily found on the internet.  This one regards the title of this particular song.  it goes like this:  One afternoon he was apparently making advances on one of the staff of the hotel where he was staying and the young man simply named denominations that it would cost Porter to perform a particular daliance.  Porter became increasingly frustrated walked over to his desk wrote the young man a check for 5K dropped it in his lap and said "Miss Otis regrets she's unable to lunch today."