Monday, December 26, 2011
In the thick of things
I keep thinking I should take some of these gift cards I got for Christmas and go shopping for things for the house...and yet...There are people out there, lots of them.
So it appears I'll be staying in for the day enjoying my new house and working on small projects. Like correcting the huge mistake I made Saturday when I discovered that the caulk gun I bought last week doesn't fit the tubes of caulk I bought at the same time.
I used expand-o-foam instead.
Now where's that exacto knife.
It worked quite well, but what a hellish mess it made. I will say it made the blind stay in place in that window though. Permanently.
First project when I get to the home improvement store...my bathroom. All the faucets are dripping, and I desperately need a light over the vanity. Not to mention the bright yellow paint needs to go. That along with the adipose colored bedroom need my attention. Waking to that particular color makes me queasy.
And my favorite (and only) staff member "needs" to take up my carpet and refinish the floors. He's twitching he wants it so bad. And I agree, it does need to be done.
But to illustrate the progress made in the past three weeks here are a few pics:
And in true wiley kyote tradition:
And so it goes.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Ignorance is not bliss
In yet another example of the rampant and destructive stupidity of Americans the Great Expressions Dental Center has harassed and terminated an employee who was diagnosed with HIV.
It would seem unconscionable in this day and age that someone, anyone, could be treated with such callous disregard except America is yet again celebrating their ignorance and hatred of everything they refuse to understand. Not to mention the egregious disregard for the law.
This simply cannot stand. Too many people have been discriminated against, too many have been harassed, too many have died alone and rejected to allow this to continue. The brainwashing that we endured for the past decade that living in fear and ignorance is good will take a very long time to reverse, if it ever can be. But we need to educate and that won't be easy given the state of education today. It's not only our learning institutions that have failed, but out grassroots methods have failed as well. We have to redesign and retool our educational methods in order to reach our new audience. Being a member of academia I well understand how difficult, yet how important this will be to the future of our nation.
Tyrannical despots wielding too much power, grasping at straws to keep what they've got, and using their power to eliminate anyone who dares to stand up to them is the state of the current system, and it must be changed. If tenure must be eliminated because of the many many abuses it has caused then so be it.
If saner minds must take control of grassroots teachings then so be it.
Because THIS must never be allowed to stand:
After
being diagnosed with HIV, James White was banned from touching
doorknobs, was followed around by coworkers with bottles of Lysol, and
subjected to sudden and abrupt schedule changes. After complying with
the schedule changes, he was written up for "unexcused absences."
After seven months of enduring this vitriolic, unjustified discrimination, White fell ill and was hospitalized for a week. Great Expressions Dental called to terminate his employment the day before he was scheduled to return back to work.
White's lawyer, Nicole Thompson, has received the "right to sue" letter from the EEOC and is currently in the process of filing a lawsuit demanding compensatory and punitive damages of $140,000 and $45,000, respectively, and requiring the company to post notice of the agreement as well as providing training on HIV/AIDS and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
This extreme case of HIV discrimination and gross violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act is absolutely unacceptable. Every reputable medical establishment in the U.S., including the United States Centers for Disease Control, agrees that HIV/AIDS is not transmitted by casual contact.
It would seem unconscionable in this day and age that someone, anyone, could be treated with such callous disregard except America is yet again celebrating their ignorance and hatred of everything they refuse to understand. Not to mention the egregious disregard for the law.
This simply cannot stand. Too many people have been discriminated against, too many have been harassed, too many have died alone and rejected to allow this to continue. The brainwashing that we endured for the past decade that living in fear and ignorance is good will take a very long time to reverse, if it ever can be. But we need to educate and that won't be easy given the state of education today. It's not only our learning institutions that have failed, but out grassroots methods have failed as well. We have to redesign and retool our educational methods in order to reach our new audience. Being a member of academia I well understand how difficult, yet how important this will be to the future of our nation.
Tyrannical despots wielding too much power, grasping at straws to keep what they've got, and using their power to eliminate anyone who dares to stand up to them is the state of the current system, and it must be changed. If tenure must be eliminated because of the many many abuses it has caused then so be it.
If saner minds must take control of grassroots teachings then so be it.
Because THIS must never be allowed to stand:
Detroit Dental Worker Pursued with Lysol, Banned from Touching Doorknobs, Fired from Job After HIV Diagnosis
A Change.org petition calling for the resignation of the regional director of Great Expressions Dental in Detroit for discriminatory tactics and hindrance of employment equal opportunity has been signed by more than 35,000 people following reports of the treatment of a former employee of the company after he was diagnosed with HIV:After
being diagnosed with HIV, James White was banned from touching
doorknobs, was followed around by coworkers with bottles of Lysol, and
subjected to sudden and abrupt schedule changes. After complying with
the schedule changes, he was written up for "unexcused absences."After seven months of enduring this vitriolic, unjustified discrimination, White fell ill and was hospitalized for a week. Great Expressions Dental called to terminate his employment the day before he was scheduled to return back to work.
White's lawyer, Nicole Thompson, has received the "right to sue" letter from the EEOC and is currently in the process of filing a lawsuit demanding compensatory and punitive damages of $140,000 and $45,000, respectively, and requiring the company to post notice of the agreement as well as providing training on HIV/AIDS and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
This extreme case of HIV discrimination and gross violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act is absolutely unacceptable. Every reputable medical establishment in the U.S., including the United States Centers for Disease Control, agrees that HIV/AIDS is not transmitted by casual contact.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
It's over..all over!
The semester from hell has finally mercifully ended. Likely taking with it my teaching job. About which I have mixed feelings.
I love teaching, it's that job I'd do for free, and nearly did for four years, the pay being what it is. So, financial issues aside it seems I'll be looking for a new one. It's possible that my remaining class could make without anyone's assistance and that would be fine, but I say the tyrant I've worked for this past few years will see to it that it doesn't. C'est la vie. I won't miss the constant concern that he'll go indiscriminately crazy on me over nothing. Which in itself will be a relief.
It's time to turn my attention to the things that mean the most to me. My new house, my personal life, and finding new opportunities with my pottery. All of which bring me great joy. So such things as defining myself by what I do become less and less important.
The Presidential election is coming sooner than we think, the OWS folks are starting to really make noise, which is good and necessary, and the battle for civil rights for all people seems never to end. So my talents and abilities can still be put to good use.
Today the concerns are small, to make the kitchen sink finally work in the house. I've been remiss in getting to it and things are getting dependent on it so I'll be doing that in a few minutes. Then it's getting things unpacked and pictures hung and readying the house for my annual holiday dinner this Saturday.
Thanks go to my students who, though mostly unprepared for last nights final, i.e. very few of them had their lines memorized, were game and used their nerves to make their work in class the best they could do. The goal of the class is to give them a taste of what it's like for us as actors and directors to make an audition piece and a production come together, and I think they not only came to an understanding of that process but enjoyed the class as well.
Blogging has been and will continue to be spotty until things settle down after the holidays but I'll try my best to keep up.
And so it goes.
I love teaching, it's that job I'd do for free, and nearly did for four years, the pay being what it is. So, financial issues aside it seems I'll be looking for a new one. It's possible that my remaining class could make without anyone's assistance and that would be fine, but I say the tyrant I've worked for this past few years will see to it that it doesn't. C'est la vie. I won't miss the constant concern that he'll go indiscriminately crazy on me over nothing. Which in itself will be a relief.
It's time to turn my attention to the things that mean the most to me. My new house, my personal life, and finding new opportunities with my pottery. All of which bring me great joy. So such things as defining myself by what I do become less and less important.
The Presidential election is coming sooner than we think, the OWS folks are starting to really make noise, which is good and necessary, and the battle for civil rights for all people seems never to end. So my talents and abilities can still be put to good use.
Today the concerns are small, to make the kitchen sink finally work in the house. I've been remiss in getting to it and things are getting dependent on it so I'll be doing that in a few minutes. Then it's getting things unpacked and pictures hung and readying the house for my annual holiday dinner this Saturday.
Thanks go to my students who, though mostly unprepared for last nights final, i.e. very few of them had their lines memorized, were game and used their nerves to make their work in class the best they could do. The goal of the class is to give them a taste of what it's like for us as actors and directors to make an audition piece and a production come together, and I think they not only came to an understanding of that process but enjoyed the class as well.
Blogging has been and will continue to be spotty until things settle down after the holidays but I'll try my best to keep up.
And so it goes.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
sensationalism
We've bought the notion that if it's unusual or something we don't understand it's bad.
We've been conditioned by years of insisting that those that tell us of our existence and how it should be will tell us in terms that we easily understand, and always assuredly do it by comforting us, telling us that the way things are is the way they should be.
That's not necessarily so. But we also play into that silly notion too. Apparently someone in Leesburg, VA (go figure) put up a skeleton Santa on the lawn of the Loudon county couruthouse and got the reaction I'm sure they were after.
But the real problem is that athiests are almost always portrayed in our media as raving nutbags who want to nail skeleton santa's to a cross and put them on the courthouse lawn.
I'm an athiest, and i have no such wish. I'm an athiest and I want to be able to believe what I believe without anyone tellin me I'm wrong or crazy or invalid. But I intend to give them the same accomodation, not such outrageousness as this:
The skeleton in a Santa suit didn't survive for long outside the Loudoun County courthouse lawn, but it generated plenty of controversy in Leesburg, Va.
The skeleton was nailed to a cross on Monday by a mother and son associated with an atheist group, one of the nine approved displays for the Christmas season. But the macabre Kris Kringle was not standing for long. Someone tore the skeleton down, sparking a debate about free speech.
It's not a new argument. In 2009, Christmas displays on the courthouse lawn were banned after the constitutionality of a Nativity scene was questioned. Last year that decision was overturned, and 10 displays were allowed on the lawn based on a first-come, first-served basis.
Leesburg council member Ken Reid spoke out strongly against the skeletal Christmas display. "I think that it's just extremely, extremely sad," he said, "that somebody in this county who would try to basically debase Christmas like this. This really crossed the line."
After laying face down in the grass for several hours, the Santa-suited skull and bones was taken away on Monday night.
"The message to me at least," said Jonathan Weintraub, of the group NOVA Atheists, "is that the meaning of Christmas, which is about faith and family, is dead and has been replaced by commercialism."
According Julie Withrow, a Loudoun County administrator, the display belonged to Middleburg resident, Jeff Heflin Jr.
She told the Loudon Times that Heflin described the display in his application as an “art work of Santa on a cross to depict society’s materialistic obsessions and addictions and how it is killing the peace, love, joy and kindness that is supposed to be prevalent during the holiday season.” Heflin was not part of any organization and sponsored the display himself, the newspaper reported.
The display was discussed Monday night at a Loudoun County Board of Supervisors meeting, where it was labeled "provocative" and "obscene." In the meeting, some suggested a complete ban of public displays in front of the courthouse.
County officials are still meeting to decide on what to do with the displays.
When we can recognize that ideas other than what we have chosen to accept are valid and not always held by raving lunatics then, and only then will there be peace on earth...good luck with that.
And so it goes.
We've been conditioned by years of insisting that those that tell us of our existence and how it should be will tell us in terms that we easily understand, and always assuredly do it by comforting us, telling us that the way things are is the way they should be.
That's not necessarily so. But we also play into that silly notion too. Apparently someone in Leesburg, VA (go figure) put up a skeleton Santa on the lawn of the Loudon county couruthouse and got the reaction I'm sure they were after.
But the real problem is that athiests are almost always portrayed in our media as raving nutbags who want to nail skeleton santa's to a cross and put them on the courthouse lawn.
I'm an athiest, and i have no such wish. I'm an athiest and I want to be able to believe what I believe without anyone tellin me I'm wrong or crazy or invalid. But I intend to give them the same accomodation, not such outrageousness as this:
The skeleton in a Santa suit didn't survive for long outside the Loudoun County courthouse lawn, but it generated plenty of controversy in Leesburg, Va.
The skeleton was nailed to a cross on Monday by a mother and son associated with an atheist group, one of the nine approved displays for the Christmas season. But the macabre Kris Kringle was not standing for long. Someone tore the skeleton down, sparking a debate about free speech.
It's not a new argument. In 2009, Christmas displays on the courthouse lawn were banned after the constitutionality of a Nativity scene was questioned. Last year that decision was overturned, and 10 displays were allowed on the lawn based on a first-come, first-served basis.
Leesburg council member Ken Reid spoke out strongly against the skeletal Christmas display. "I think that it's just extremely, extremely sad," he said, "that somebody in this county who would try to basically debase Christmas like this. This really crossed the line."
After laying face down in the grass for several hours, the Santa-suited skull and bones was taken away on Monday night.
"The message to me at least," said Jonathan Weintraub, of the group NOVA Atheists, "is that the meaning of Christmas, which is about faith and family, is dead and has been replaced by commercialism."
According Julie Withrow, a Loudoun County administrator, the display belonged to Middleburg resident, Jeff Heflin Jr.
She told the Loudon Times that Heflin described the display in his application as an “art work of Santa on a cross to depict society’s materialistic obsessions and addictions and how it is killing the peace, love, joy and kindness that is supposed to be prevalent during the holiday season.” Heflin was not part of any organization and sponsored the display himself, the newspaper reported.
The display was discussed Monday night at a Loudoun County Board of Supervisors meeting, where it was labeled "provocative" and "obscene." In the meeting, some suggested a complete ban of public displays in front of the courthouse.
County officials are still meeting to decide on what to do with the displays.
When we can recognize that ideas other than what we have chosen to accept are valid and not always held by raving lunatics then, and only then will there be peace on earth...good luck with that.
And so it goes.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Inspiration comes in surprising forms sometimes...and hgf
This is a long post, but it's totally worth your time. It's so gratifying to see that the efforts of many many decades are showing young gay men and women the life we should have always had available to us.
Marine takes his bf to the Ball
Marine takes his bf to the Ball
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