updated 53 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Wells Fargo & Co., which received $25 billion in taxpayer bailout money, is planning a series of corporate junkets to Las Vegas casinos this month.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28999671/
(I just felt like sharing. events like this always make me feel all warm and runny inside.)
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Not Hate Mail
A little something to warm you up on this cold cold morning. That hat and that fuzz'd warm me up right quick I assure you.
I get to write my first email to the White House today that isn't hate mail in almost a decade. I'm sorta thrilled.
Sorta because though I get to correspond with a White House that I believe will read my emails and not run a surveillance check on me later, but also because I have to wonder how much they'll actually pay attention to.
I find it a bit amusing that my gay brothers and sisters are ever watchful and ever hopeful that this particular administration will acknowledge our existence with at least SOME legitimacy. Not that I don't want to be legitimate, which would be a novelty for me, but that I don't think all those pie in the sky promises we got during the campaign will come to pass.
I don't see anybody out there in the streets demonstrating to remind the new Prez that we're not going away just because he's a nice guy. No we're staying in the streets until we get what we're after...lol. It's a bit cold out there and no one really has much interest in marching in the middle of the winter. Such is the commitment to gay civil rights.
I'm writing to tell him all that stuff, but also to tell him to step on these oil companies. A 45 billion dollar profit in the worst quarter for our entire economy in almost a century? As always I ask; Am I the only one who thinks this strange?
Oil keeps going down and gas keeps creeping back up. And at a time we can least afford to support their rich asses. The oil companies have had to be slapped down in the past, I think it's time to smack 'em around a little more.
I've come to the conclusion that I can actually make all these dreams of mine come to pass AND pay my student loans off...eventually. If I get to stay here and dont' lose my job I'll retire at 62, which is only 9 years away, and in the meantime I'll buy 5 or 10 acres and build my house. I'll also go ahead and buy my horse, and really start pushing myself to make progress as a potter, and when I get to 62 I can take my retirement,my savings, and my Social Security and go do the things I want. Should I get some money from old moneybags (i.e. daddy dearest) when and if someone finally drives a stake through his heart, I'll just use that to do all the traveling I want to do. I've no real interest in Asia, but South America, Northern Europe, and parts of Africa hold great interest. I'd also like to start making an annual pilgrimage to the Caribbean during the winter. Not anyplace too exotic mind you, just Puerto Rico, which keeps me in the states technically, yet gets me some of the advantages that place holds.
See what a little hope can do? I get good news at work one day, and the next I'm planning the next 20 years.
Amazing thing that hope.
Love
Monday, February 2, 2009
Cranky Monday
I got in the car cranky today. No reason, other than I have lots to do, little time to do it, and I was feeling dissed.
When I got to work I spent 15 minutes looking for a parking place. When they closed the lot we used to park in cause it was falling down and God forbid they should actually fix it, we were relegated to either the municipal lot across the street, if available, or street parking, which is problematic, since you wind up moving your car every two hours. So I wasn't happy when I walked in here feeling like a stepchild, since the municipal lot was blocked off.
Completely ready to hide in my office and be cranky all day, I went to tell someone that I would be leaving to take care of a personal errand when I had to move my car in two hrs. She ruined my crankiness.
She informed me that I would be, as of the 15th the official trainer for the organization, that I would also be assuming duties related to all our video production, and that these things would be starting by the end of next week, since I had to start training a group then.
I'd be mad that I can't be cranky if the news weren't so great.
AND the weekend was lovely!
I didn't rest enough, but that's alright. I had such a good time!
Friday I went to dinner with a friend and then to see a play at a local venue I hadn't been to in quite a while. They've done an expansion, and this show was in the new space so I got to see it in use. The whole evening was totally enjoyable and everyone was so charming, I had an incredible time.
Then Saturday I went and rode horses all day since it was so warm here. As soon as I arrived home I got a phone call from an old friend from AZ who was passing through town. We spent a while over dinner visiting and catching up and I got to meet her new BF. It was a lovely evening.
Sunday I had to cram all the bill paying, laundry, car washing, cleaners, grocery, paper grading stuff into three hours in the morning so I could then go riding horses again. It was too nice to pass up the day, and I figure my weather karma will run out any day now, after all it's February in the Midwest.
So here I am, not rested, a bit cranky, but less so now that I know there are plans afoot to keep me from going permanently to reverse gear in this job, and very happy I had such a nice weekend.
I hope yours was a good one too.
Love
When I got to work I spent 15 minutes looking for a parking place. When they closed the lot we used to park in cause it was falling down and God forbid they should actually fix it, we were relegated to either the municipal lot across the street, if available, or street parking, which is problematic, since you wind up moving your car every two hours. So I wasn't happy when I walked in here feeling like a stepchild, since the municipal lot was blocked off.
Completely ready to hide in my office and be cranky all day, I went to tell someone that I would be leaving to take care of a personal errand when I had to move my car in two hrs. She ruined my crankiness.
She informed me that I would be, as of the 15th the official trainer for the organization, that I would also be assuming duties related to all our video production, and that these things would be starting by the end of next week, since I had to start training a group then.
I'd be mad that I can't be cranky if the news weren't so great.
AND the weekend was lovely!
I didn't rest enough, but that's alright. I had such a good time!
Friday I went to dinner with a friend and then to see a play at a local venue I hadn't been to in quite a while. They've done an expansion, and this show was in the new space so I got to see it in use. The whole evening was totally enjoyable and everyone was so charming, I had an incredible time.
Then Saturday I went and rode horses all day since it was so warm here. As soon as I arrived home I got a phone call from an old friend from AZ who was passing through town. We spent a while over dinner visiting and catching up and I got to meet her new BF. It was a lovely evening.
Sunday I had to cram all the bill paying, laundry, car washing, cleaners, grocery, paper grading stuff into three hours in the morning so I could then go riding horses again. It was too nice to pass up the day, and I figure my weather karma will run out any day now, after all it's February in the Midwest.
So here I am, not rested, a bit cranky, but less so now that I know there are plans afoot to keep me from going permanently to reverse gear in this job, and very happy I had such a nice weekend.
I hope yours was a good one too.
Love
Friday, January 30, 2009
People! Ya know I love 'em!
''We shouldn't make policy decisions based on human rights and legal advocacy groups,'' retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Kurt Lippold said in a telephone interview.
he was talking about closing Gitmo prison.
Yeah we wouldn't want those kinds of things happening.
he was talking about closing Gitmo prison.
Yeah we wouldn't want those kinds of things happening.
How can you not be pissed?
HOUSTON – Exxon Mobil Corp. on Friday reported a profit of $45.2 billion for 2008, breaking its own record for a U.S. company, even as its fourth-quarter earnings fell 33 percent from a year ago.
The previous record for annual profit was $40.6 billion, which the world's largest publicly traded oil company set in 2007.
By JOHN PORRETTO, AP Energy Writer
Seriously? Everyone and everything is tanking but a Texas based oil company is making record breaking profits. BTW their exploration budget hasn't changed in 20 years. So don't let them sell you that bill of goods anymore.
And don't ask, "Well, what do you want me to do?"
DO something! Make some noise. Otherwise it'll just keep going and going until they bleed us dry and want more.
The previous record for annual profit was $40.6 billion, which the world's largest publicly traded oil company set in 2007.
By JOHN PORRETTO, AP Energy Writer
Seriously? Everyone and everything is tanking but a Texas based oil company is making record breaking profits. BTW their exploration budget hasn't changed in 20 years. So don't let them sell you that bill of goods anymore.
And don't ask, "Well, what do you want me to do?"
DO something! Make some noise. Otherwise it'll just keep going and going until they bleed us dry and want more.
Hot Guy Friday!
Thomas Jane is one of those guys who is so hot he simply can't be believed. He's a good enough actor, but I think those looks get in the way of his success. He's (thank God) not bashful about taking off hsi clothes either, and that's gonna be necessary I think. As I understand it he's about to star in an HBO series called HUNG. A title that leaves me speechless.
So here's Tom:
(he's so rockin that pornstache)
Love
So here's Tom:
(he's so rockin that pornstache)
Love
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The winds of change are a blowin'
Not that I'm unusual, but I hate change. Let me amend that. I hate change I do not instigate. I hate change that effects me, in which I have no input. That change I hate.
I may have mentioned that we keep getting memos from the director at my job telling us how dire the economic circumstances are and that we can expect changes. I am friendly with a woman who is administratively in the know, and a couple of weeks ago I alluded to the impending changes and she said, "Oh, have they already talked to you about that?" It wasn't my intention to make her spill the beans, but I was glad she did.
The problem is that this job, since it's inception,when I managed to piss off the current director, has only had reverse gear. I keep attempting to move into other things, perhaps something with a creative bent, and I keep getting either passed over, or moved backwards ever so slightly. I think the days of ever so slightly are over, or at least on the wane.
During the time it took,(forever) to create my full time position here I managed to let the asst director, who is now the director, know that I am someone who not only is pro-active, but someone who thinks for themselves.
She is not fond of this particular predilection.
So ever after I've been in the admin doghouse. When I applied for a position as Public Relations Coordinator I was not interviewed, and a young white woman from within the organization was hired. When I applied for a position as Humanities Specialist, one for which I would think my Masters in Fine Arts would qualify me, I wasn't interviewed and a young white woman from the same department as the first was hired for it. When I applied for a volunteer position as a storyteller, I wasn't interviewed, and an old white woman from the SAME department was selected. That particular program subsequently bombed and was discontinued.
Now, I'm getting emails asking me how long it takes to do this, and then how long it takes to do that, etc. The winds of change are making me nervous.
What I think makes me most unhappy is that I find myself in a position that I promised myself I'd never be in. Here I am, car payments, credit cards, and I'm likely to lose my job. I could just kick myself for believing.
So, I have to wonder if the automatic assumption that my particular position is so readily adaptable is because I'm a middle-aged white guy with a Master's degree, or if it's because men here are only allowed to do technical stuff and to lift and tote.
In any case I'll be looking at options. It may be time for me to look at that move I've been putting off for several years. It may just be time to find myself that place to settle and get myself setup to spend the rest of my life in some form of simplicity. Those who know me know that simplicity is not a hallmark I have exactly lived by all these years, but it sure sound good about now.
Perhaps it really is time to trade that damn car in on a truck, get a trailer to haul my horse in and head, literally for the hills. You suppose I could make a living making pottery and riding horses? It's been done by others I'm sure. I'll never be rich, but knowing I am in charge of change would be nice...for a change.
Maybe that's all the security one can ask for in this life.
I may have mentioned that we keep getting memos from the director at my job telling us how dire the economic circumstances are and that we can expect changes. I am friendly with a woman who is administratively in the know, and a couple of weeks ago I alluded to the impending changes and she said, "Oh, have they already talked to you about that?" It wasn't my intention to make her spill the beans, but I was glad she did.
The problem is that this job, since it's inception,when I managed to piss off the current director, has only had reverse gear. I keep attempting to move into other things, perhaps something with a creative bent, and I keep getting either passed over, or moved backwards ever so slightly. I think the days of ever so slightly are over, or at least on the wane.
During the time it took,(forever) to create my full time position here I managed to let the asst director, who is now the director, know that I am someone who not only is pro-active, but someone who thinks for themselves.
She is not fond of this particular predilection.
So ever after I've been in the admin doghouse. When I applied for a position as Public Relations Coordinator I was not interviewed, and a young white woman from within the organization was hired. When I applied for a position as Humanities Specialist, one for which I would think my Masters in Fine Arts would qualify me, I wasn't interviewed and a young white woman from the same department as the first was hired for it. When I applied for a volunteer position as a storyteller, I wasn't interviewed, and an old white woman from the SAME department was selected. That particular program subsequently bombed and was discontinued.
Now, I'm getting emails asking me how long it takes to do this, and then how long it takes to do that, etc. The winds of change are making me nervous.
What I think makes me most unhappy is that I find myself in a position that I promised myself I'd never be in. Here I am, car payments, credit cards, and I'm likely to lose my job. I could just kick myself for believing.
So, I have to wonder if the automatic assumption that my particular position is so readily adaptable is because I'm a middle-aged white guy with a Master's degree, or if it's because men here are only allowed to do technical stuff and to lift and tote.
In any case I'll be looking at options. It may be time for me to look at that move I've been putting off for several years. It may just be time to find myself that place to settle and get myself setup to spend the rest of my life in some form of simplicity. Those who know me know that simplicity is not a hallmark I have exactly lived by all these years, but it sure sound good about now.
Perhaps it really is time to trade that damn car in on a truck, get a trailer to haul my horse in and head, literally for the hills. You suppose I could make a living making pottery and riding horses? It's been done by others I'm sure. I'll never be rich, but knowing I am in charge of change would be nice...for a change.
Maybe that's all the security one can ask for in this life.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Do I care?
Do I care about Ted Haggard? Honestly, is Ted worthy of my time in any way?
He's a hypocrite who lied to himself his church his wife and everyone else he came in contact with.
He's decried the church's ability to "straighten" him. He's acknowledged that not only did he hire guys for sex, but that he solicited it within his own congregation.
Perhaps most heinous, he's loosed the likes of Mike Jones on the media, who lap up every senseless morsel that comes out of his mouth, and then share it with us
I do not care about this guy nor his ilk. I do not want to hear about his "human" foibles. Nor his denial of himself and his willingness to exploit it, and therefore us,in an effort to win...what? Acceptance? Notoriety?
Probably money.
Somehow, someway, somebody is probably paying him big bucks to keep this whole thing very public. He's a buffoon, and someone keeps listening to it.
Stop!
Please!
Yesterday a California court told a Los Angeles (Riverside county) school that it was ok to expell two young girls who professed to be lesbians because the school isn't a business and therefore doesn't have to follow the state statute that governs such.
I think perhaps my favorite quote is this:
"The school's attorney claimed the court was right in determining '[the school's purpose was to] teach Christian values in a Christian setting pursuant to a Christian code of conduct."
Great! So Christians, who hate are now legal in California. They're legal everywhere else,they may as well be in CA too.
I can't help but think that one day, if they're right, these good old Christians are going to find themselves at that long professed day of reckoning, and if their God is really as just as they profess him to be, they're going to have a whole lotta shit to answer for.
Let the games begin I say.
Ted Haggard can stand at the front of the line.
He's a hypocrite who lied to himself his church his wife and everyone else he came in contact with.
He's decried the church's ability to "straighten" him. He's acknowledged that not only did he hire guys for sex, but that he solicited it within his own congregation.
Perhaps most heinous, he's loosed the likes of Mike Jones on the media, who lap up every senseless morsel that comes out of his mouth, and then share it with us
I do not care about this guy nor his ilk. I do not want to hear about his "human" foibles. Nor his denial of himself and his willingness to exploit it, and therefore us,in an effort to win...what? Acceptance? Notoriety?
Probably money.
Somehow, someway, somebody is probably paying him big bucks to keep this whole thing very public. He's a buffoon, and someone keeps listening to it.
Stop!
Please!
Yesterday a California court told a Los Angeles (Riverside county) school that it was ok to expell two young girls who professed to be lesbians because the school isn't a business and therefore doesn't have to follow the state statute that governs such.
I think perhaps my favorite quote is this:
"The school's attorney claimed the court was right in determining '[the school's purpose was to] teach Christian values in a Christian setting pursuant to a Christian code of conduct."
Great! So Christians, who hate are now legal in California. They're legal everywhere else,they may as well be in CA too.
I can't help but think that one day, if they're right, these good old Christians are going to find themselves at that long professed day of reckoning, and if their God is really as just as they profess him to be, they're going to have a whole lotta shit to answer for.
Let the games begin I say.
Ted Haggard can stand at the front of the line.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Showing my age
I just ran across an article over at Towleroad.com about a guy who introduced his fiance on Wheel of Fortune. The fiance, of course was male. And I'm not sure how I feel about this.
Of course, my immediate thought is "oh, you old fool, you're just showing all that training you've been given by straight people these many centuries that tells you to hide who you are and not offend by getting in anyone's face."
The pragmatist in me says that I'm not so offended by my straight people training as that it happened on Wheel of Fortune with Pat and Vanna in attendance, while the contestant was buying vowels.
Yeah I think it's the tacky factor that bothers me most.
On the other hand I'm ready to go toe to toe with most Chicagoans over the appointment of the very capable and certainly most adorable Ron Huberman to head Chicago's schools. Some concern has been voiced over the fact that he doesn't have a lot of experience in a classroom. An issue that doesn't seem to bother them when hiring people to work IN those classrooms. But bothers them when the Administrator who will never be standing in front of a class to teach isn't a tenured prof. Seriously?
It seems that no one even understands how education SHOULD work, let alone understand how it DOES work and what is wrong with it.
Now, Ron Huberman is gay, and god knows he's drop dead cute, but let's let the guy do his job awhile before tarring and feathering him.
Which of course brings me back to Wheel of Fortune.
Yeah, it's the tacky Wheel factor. I loved that some guy told the world he's engaged to another guy on national television. Why couldn't it have been on Charlie Rose, or something smart.
Wheel of Fortune...FUCK!
And btw the price of oil went down another .45 yesterday. Gas went up .07. Enjoy.
Love
Of course, my immediate thought is "oh, you old fool, you're just showing all that training you've been given by straight people these many centuries that tells you to hide who you are and not offend by getting in anyone's face."
The pragmatist in me says that I'm not so offended by my straight people training as that it happened on Wheel of Fortune with Pat and Vanna in attendance, while the contestant was buying vowels.
Yeah I think it's the tacky factor that bothers me most.
On the other hand I'm ready to go toe to toe with most Chicagoans over the appointment of the very capable and certainly most adorable Ron Huberman to head Chicago's schools. Some concern has been voiced over the fact that he doesn't have a lot of experience in a classroom. An issue that doesn't seem to bother them when hiring people to work IN those classrooms. But bothers them when the Administrator who will never be standing in front of a class to teach isn't a tenured prof. Seriously?
It seems that no one even understands how education SHOULD work, let alone understand how it DOES work and what is wrong with it.
Now, Ron Huberman is gay, and god knows he's drop dead cute, but let's let the guy do his job awhile before tarring and feathering him.
Which of course brings me back to Wheel of Fortune.
Yeah, it's the tacky Wheel factor. I loved that some guy told the world he's engaged to another guy on national television. Why couldn't it have been on Charlie Rose, or something smart.
Wheel of Fortune...FUCK!
And btw the price of oil went down another .45 yesterday. Gas went up .07. Enjoy.
Love
Monday, January 26, 2009
And so it goes...
Urban living is so interesting. Last week the city decided that due to back taxes that hadn't been paid and the need to clean up the oh so attractive urban area where I work that they would raze the building next door to us.
When I arrived for work this morning it was on fire.
How coincidental.
There were cars and motorcycles in the basement, at least one of which I could have used I'm sure. But alas, they chose to burn everything up. The front of th building has already fallen in and the entire street is covered with ice from the amount of water they've poured on it so far.
Tonight I finally get to meet my acting class. The poor things are scheduled on Monday, and the first Monday of the semester was enrollment, the second was the Martin Luther King holiday, so today they start class. Then they have class for three weeks and are interrupted for President's day! They'll be getting huge consideration due to all this. Of course, they have Spring Break in mid-March so they get classus interruptus yet again.
Makes continuity tough.
It seems that everyplace is laying off everyone. I'm hoping I can hang on. It'd be truly disappointing to find out that the smoke and mirrors economy that George and Co built was going to swallow me up too. I'm wondering if I'd give up then. If it might just be time to say "Hey, can't pay you..EVER! Sorry."
I'd hate that. But one must eat first and have a roof, everything else waits if necessary.
Well, it's Monday, we're dealing with enough, no point dwelling on the possibilities.
For somer eason Ken Olin came to mind this morning. What a cutie he is/was. I havent' found any stills of him when he was really fine, but this one with Cybill Shepard is the best I can do for Monday Morning. Maybe Ken will get featured on Friday, that might be fun.
When I arrived for work this morning it was on fire.
How coincidental.
There were cars and motorcycles in the basement, at least one of which I could have used I'm sure. But alas, they chose to burn everything up. The front of th building has already fallen in and the entire street is covered with ice from the amount of water they've poured on it so far.
Tonight I finally get to meet my acting class. The poor things are scheduled on Monday, and the first Monday of the semester was enrollment, the second was the Martin Luther King holiday, so today they start class. Then they have class for three weeks and are interrupted for President's day! They'll be getting huge consideration due to all this. Of course, they have Spring Break in mid-March so they get classus interruptus yet again.
Makes continuity tough.
It seems that everyplace is laying off everyone. I'm hoping I can hang on. It'd be truly disappointing to find out that the smoke and mirrors economy that George and Co built was going to swallow me up too. I'm wondering if I'd give up then. If it might just be time to say "Hey, can't pay you..EVER! Sorry."
I'd hate that. But one must eat first and have a roof, everything else waits if necessary.
Well, it's Monday, we're dealing with enough, no point dwelling on the possibilities.
For somer eason Ken Olin came to mind this morning. What a cutie he is/was. I havent' found any stills of him when he was really fine, but this one with Cybill Shepard is the best I can do for Monday Morning. Maybe Ken will get featured on Friday, that might be fun.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Hot Guy Friday!
Let's not kid ourselves about my inclination to be attracted to men of an Asian persuasion. I considered the eye candy of living in San Francisco one of the great pleasures of my time there.
In that spirit I give you images of one Archie Kao. Don't tell me you've somehow managed to overlook that really hot Asian guy on CSI (the original, not one of the imitations) who is often relegated to short little scenes in the dark lab where he can display his genius, but little of his hot-ness.
I thought I'd remedy this oversight on the producers part and bring Archie to your attention.
Enjoy.
In that spirit I give you images of one Archie Kao. Don't tell me you've somehow managed to overlook that really hot Asian guy on CSI (the original, not one of the imitations) who is often relegated to short little scenes in the dark lab where he can display his genius, but little of his hot-ness.
I thought I'd remedy this oversight on the producers part and bring Archie to your attention.
Enjoy.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Other People!?!?!
This day is about everyone else! Way too much going on to get anything done completely. I hate that.
Well tomorrow is HGF and we all love that. Don't we?
PLUS! Teaching tonight! I can't wait! Especially since I got the book this morning and have no time to sit and read the chapter they're supposed to be quizzed on.
Won't I be a good teacher today?
Shit.
Oh well, Archie! Archie! Archie!
Curious now aren't you?
Well tomorrow is HGF and we all love that. Don't we?
PLUS! Teaching tonight! I can't wait! Especially since I got the book this morning and have no time to sit and read the chapter they're supposed to be quizzed on.
Won't I be a good teacher today?
Shit.
Oh well, Archie! Archie! Archie!
Curious now aren't you?
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Maybe Dr. King was right
He said that the moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.
hmm let's make a little comparison today.
I have to wonder why one made me think of the other.
For some reason I feel safer today.
hmm let's make a little comparison today.
I have to wonder why one made me think of the other.
For some reason I feel safer today.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Are These The Front LInes?
There has been, for some time now, another civil war going on in this country. We all know it, we all realize it's been many years since its inception, and we also realize that there is no resolution in sight.
This one is no less important than the last. It is no less urgent than the war fought for the rights of Americans who had been relegated to sub-human status. It is an assault on the rights of all of us.
The argument that America is for some and not all is invalid. It holds no greater promise than for those who are oppressed. Than for those who seek its promise. Than for those who wish to know the sweet taste of true freedom.
And, as we know, we are none of us free when others are oppressed.
Today we must put all that aside. We must come together as one united citizenry. As a people, of all colors, all faiths, all orientations, and demonstrate to not only the rest of the world, but to ourselves most importantly, that we are a nation that meets its challenges head on, that though we may have faltered these past few years, we are still strong, and determined to lead. We are more capable and willing than ever to take the world by the hand and lead it into the light that is everyones, by the simple right of their birth.
I hope we are capable of such a feat.
Shortly after President Obama finished his inaugural speech I passed the African American custodian in the hallway. I knew he'd watched the inauguration as I had in my office.
He gave me the thumbs up. I looked at him and crossed my fingers.
He smiled and nodded.
"Amen brother", he said.
"Amen"
This one is no less important than the last. It is no less urgent than the war fought for the rights of Americans who had been relegated to sub-human status. It is an assault on the rights of all of us.
The argument that America is for some and not all is invalid. It holds no greater promise than for those who are oppressed. Than for those who seek its promise. Than for those who wish to know the sweet taste of true freedom.
And, as we know, we are none of us free when others are oppressed.
Today we must put all that aside. We must come together as one united citizenry. As a people, of all colors, all faiths, all orientations, and demonstrate to not only the rest of the world, but to ourselves most importantly, that we are a nation that meets its challenges head on, that though we may have faltered these past few years, we are still strong, and determined to lead. We are more capable and willing than ever to take the world by the hand and lead it into the light that is everyones, by the simple right of their birth.
I hope we are capable of such a feat.
Shortly after President Obama finished his inaugural speech I passed the African American custodian in the hallway. I knew he'd watched the inauguration as I had in my office.
He gave me the thumbs up. I looked at him and crossed my fingers.
He smiled and nodded.
"Amen brother", he said.
"Amen"
Monday, January 19, 2009
A lack of verbosity
I'm not feeling very chatty today. Just stuff going on, and with the holiday from work I've gotten a late start.
I missed Gene Robinson's prayer yesterday, but I've read the text, and I've seen the youtube. I found some comments on a episcopal website denigrating the prayer as depressing. Myself I thought it was rather Catholic. They were all i thought of while Robinson was talking. It seemed a glass half empty prayer, and though I'm sure Robinson meant well, and that most people didn't notice, he came off as not very hopeful.
Myself I'm reserving judgement about our new President until he actually does something and hopefully before it's too late. I can't see that anyone really gets how dire our economic circumstances are.
George Bush and Co through their audacious and selfish behaviors have weakened this country to the point that it is more vulnerable than ever before. And I hope the history books see that. If this thing goes to hell I hope that it is noted that he alone is responsible.
Mr. Bush, on this the eve of your long awaited departure from office may I offer you this heartfelt wish for your future.
Rot.
I missed Gene Robinson's prayer yesterday, but I've read the text, and I've seen the youtube. I found some comments on a episcopal website denigrating the prayer as depressing. Myself I thought it was rather Catholic. They were all i thought of while Robinson was talking. It seemed a glass half empty prayer, and though I'm sure Robinson meant well, and that most people didn't notice, he came off as not very hopeful.
Myself I'm reserving judgement about our new President until he actually does something and hopefully before it's too late. I can't see that anyone really gets how dire our economic circumstances are.
George Bush and Co through their audacious and selfish behaviors have weakened this country to the point that it is more vulnerable than ever before. And I hope the history books see that. If this thing goes to hell I hope that it is noted that he alone is responsible.
Mr. Bush, on this the eve of your long awaited departure from office may I offer you this heartfelt wish for your future.
Rot.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Here we go again. Plus Hot Guy Friday!
Yesterday a human being did an incredible thing. He met a challenge he had prepared for and trained for all his professional life. In so doing he saved hundreds of lives. Yes, I'm talking about Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III of Danville, CA, who landed a US Airways plane in the Hudson without killing anyone.
Sully did what he was trained as a pilot to do, he not only did it incredibly well, he was the last person to leave the plane.
And the poor guy can't get a break. He's been upstaged by God.
IT'S A MIRACLE!!!!!! Screams everyone on the tv and in the few remaining newspapers we still read.
No it's not you fucking idiots. It's a guy doing a good thing! Give the poor bastard some props will ya?
Like God had something to do with it. It just pisses me off that all you good Christians can't give credit where credit is due, you just gotta give it to some mythical being, cause humans can never do anything that well.
Which kind of thinking is exactly the reason we're in the mess we're in. No one thinks people can cut it. The American Disease of not accepting responsibility extends to robbing those responsible of credit where credit is seriously due.
I knew no one on that plane, I haven't flown US Air in years, I do not know Sully Sullenberger.
But on behalf of all those ungrateful sons of bitches who won't give you the proper credit Sully, I'd like to say thank you.
Thank you for being a master at what you do, and thank you for believing in integrity and staying with your plane until all the passengers were out. You're truly a man of honor in my estimation. Thank you again.
And Anrew Wyeth died yesterday. The following excerpt from the AP article on Wyeth today explains why I love his art:
-"The world has lost one of the greatest artists of all time," George A. Weymouth, a friend of Wyeth's who is chairman of the board of the Brandywine Conservancy, said in a statement.
A Wyeth retrospective at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2006 drew more than 175,000 visitors in 15 1/2 weeks, the highest-ever attendance at the museum for a living artist. The Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford, a converted 19th-century grist mill, includes hundreds of works by three generations of Wyeths.
It was in Maine that Wyeth found the subject for "Christina's World," his best-known painting. And it was in Pennsylvania that he met Helga Testorf, a neighbor in his native Chadds Ford who became the subject of the intimate portraits that brought him millions of dollars and a wave of public attention in 1986.
The "Helga" paintings, many of them full-figure nudes, came with a whiff of scandal: Wyeth said he had not even told his wife, Betsy, about the more than 200 paintings and sketches until he had completed them in 1985.
Wyeth's world was as limited in scale, and as rich in associations, as "Christina's World," which shows a disabled woman looking up a grassy rise toward her farm home, her face tantalizingly unseen.
"Really, I think one's art goes only as far and as deep as your love goes," Wyeth said in a Life magazine interview in 1965.
"I don't paint these hills around Chadds Ford because they're better than the hills somewhere else. It's that I was born here, lived here — things have a meaning for me."
Paradoxically, he said, he loved Maine "in spite of its scenery. There's a lot of cornball in that state you have to go through — boats at docks, old fishermen, and shacks with swayback roofs. I hate all that."
Wyeth was a secretive man who spent hours tramping the countryside alone. He painted many portraits, working several times with favorite subjects, but said he disliked having someone else watching him paint.
Much of Wyeth's work had a melancholy feel — aging people and brown, dead plants — but he chose to describe his work as "thoughtful."
"I do an awful lot of thinking and dreaming about things in the past and the future — the timelessness of the rocks and the hills — all the people who have existed there," he once said. "I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure in the landscape — the loneliness of it — the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it; the whole story doesn't show.
"I think anything like that — which is contemplative, silent, shows a person alone — people always feel is sad. Is it because we've lost the art of being alone?"
Wyeth remained active in recent years and President George W. Bush presented him with a National Medal of the Arts in 2007.
Wyeth remained active in his 90s, but his granddaughter, Victoria Wyeth, told The Associated Press in 2008 that he no longer gave interviews. "He says, 'Vic, everything I have to say is on the walls,'" she said.-
This guy knew me, I swear.
Farewell Andrew, I'll think of you this weekend while I'm at the gallery looking at your work.
And now for something you'll really like.
This week I thought I'd do a little sports feature since Tom Brady was out this season after his little incident locally, and the opportunities to gawk at him were few. And since I'm having serious baseball withdrawal I'm combining David DeJesus and Tom Brady into one glorious HGF post.
A little side note on David, last summer I was working at the grocery and this really cute hispanic guy comes up to me and starts asking me questions about where to find stuff and of course I was more than happy to help. So while I was finishing up I asked him for his card that the store ostensibly uses to dispense discounts, but actually uses to track marketing trends, and when I scanned it the name popped up on my screen David DeJesus. I was near to swooning to realize I'd been talking to my idle for several minutes without realizing it. Luckily I managed not to gush. I figured he didn't really want to be recognized, and I didn't really want to look like a goofy fan with a crush. I smiled and nodded. He smiled and blushed. It was a near perfect moment.
So Happy HGF! Enjoy your weekend I'm riding horses in the cold and snow and then I'm looking at Andrew Wyeth paintings.
Love
Sully did what he was trained as a pilot to do, he not only did it incredibly well, he was the last person to leave the plane.
And the poor guy can't get a break. He's been upstaged by God.
IT'S A MIRACLE!!!!!! Screams everyone on the tv and in the few remaining newspapers we still read.
No it's not you fucking idiots. It's a guy doing a good thing! Give the poor bastard some props will ya?
Like God had something to do with it. It just pisses me off that all you good Christians can't give credit where credit is due, you just gotta give it to some mythical being, cause humans can never do anything that well.
Which kind of thinking is exactly the reason we're in the mess we're in. No one thinks people can cut it. The American Disease of not accepting responsibility extends to robbing those responsible of credit where credit is seriously due.
I knew no one on that plane, I haven't flown US Air in years, I do not know Sully Sullenberger.
But on behalf of all those ungrateful sons of bitches who won't give you the proper credit Sully, I'd like to say thank you.
Thank you for being a master at what you do, and thank you for believing in integrity and staying with your plane until all the passengers were out. You're truly a man of honor in my estimation. Thank you again.
And Anrew Wyeth died yesterday. The following excerpt from the AP article on Wyeth today explains why I love his art:
-"The world has lost one of the greatest artists of all time," George A. Weymouth, a friend of Wyeth's who is chairman of the board of the Brandywine Conservancy, said in a statement.
A Wyeth retrospective at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2006 drew more than 175,000 visitors in 15 1/2 weeks, the highest-ever attendance at the museum for a living artist. The Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford, a converted 19th-century grist mill, includes hundreds of works by three generations of Wyeths.
It was in Maine that Wyeth found the subject for "Christina's World," his best-known painting. And it was in Pennsylvania that he met Helga Testorf, a neighbor in his native Chadds Ford who became the subject of the intimate portraits that brought him millions of dollars and a wave of public attention in 1986.
The "Helga" paintings, many of them full-figure nudes, came with a whiff of scandal: Wyeth said he had not even told his wife, Betsy, about the more than 200 paintings and sketches until he had completed them in 1985.
Wyeth's world was as limited in scale, and as rich in associations, as "Christina's World," which shows a disabled woman looking up a grassy rise toward her farm home, her face tantalizingly unseen.
"Really, I think one's art goes only as far and as deep as your love goes," Wyeth said in a Life magazine interview in 1965.
"I don't paint these hills around Chadds Ford because they're better than the hills somewhere else. It's that I was born here, lived here — things have a meaning for me."
Paradoxically, he said, he loved Maine "in spite of its scenery. There's a lot of cornball in that state you have to go through — boats at docks, old fishermen, and shacks with swayback roofs. I hate all that."
Wyeth was a secretive man who spent hours tramping the countryside alone. He painted many portraits, working several times with favorite subjects, but said he disliked having someone else watching him paint.
Much of Wyeth's work had a melancholy feel — aging people and brown, dead plants — but he chose to describe his work as "thoughtful."
"I do an awful lot of thinking and dreaming about things in the past and the future — the timelessness of the rocks and the hills — all the people who have existed there," he once said. "I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure in the landscape — the loneliness of it — the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it; the whole story doesn't show.
"I think anything like that — which is contemplative, silent, shows a person alone — people always feel is sad. Is it because we've lost the art of being alone?"
Wyeth remained active in recent years and President George W. Bush presented him with a National Medal of the Arts in 2007.
Wyeth remained active in his 90s, but his granddaughter, Victoria Wyeth, told The Associated Press in 2008 that he no longer gave interviews. "He says, 'Vic, everything I have to say is on the walls,'" she said.-
This guy knew me, I swear.
Farewell Andrew, I'll think of you this weekend while I'm at the gallery looking at your work.
And now for something you'll really like.
This week I thought I'd do a little sports feature since Tom Brady was out this season after his little incident locally, and the opportunities to gawk at him were few. And since I'm having serious baseball withdrawal I'm combining David DeJesus and Tom Brady into one glorious HGF post.
A little side note on David, last summer I was working at the grocery and this really cute hispanic guy comes up to me and starts asking me questions about where to find stuff and of course I was more than happy to help. So while I was finishing up I asked him for his card that the store ostensibly uses to dispense discounts, but actually uses to track marketing trends, and when I scanned it the name popped up on my screen David DeJesus. I was near to swooning to realize I'd been talking to my idle for several minutes without realizing it. Luckily I managed not to gush. I figured he didn't really want to be recognized, and I didn't really want to look like a goofy fan with a crush. I smiled and nodded. He smiled and blushed. It was a near perfect moment.
So Happy HGF! Enjoy your weekend I'm riding horses in the cold and snow and then I'm looking at Andrew Wyeth paintings.
Love
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Repent!
It's the end I tell you! Well, maybe not exactly the end, maybe the end of an era, I doubt it's the end of days. I was looking around yesterday about that phrase, and it seems everyone has a take on it. Being human and having everything end, we just seem to need to put an expiration date on everything.
Let's take a look at some of my ending dates:
6/11 the expiration date on the first credit card I pulled out of my wallet this morning.
5/11/09 last day of classes this semester
5/26/1997 the last day I was an official smoker
but there doesn't seem to be exact dates for other stuff, like the demise of civilizations.
Let's take a look at a microcosm, the street where I work.
Here it is in 1957, year o' my birth:
and five minutes ago:
Now I ask you when exactly was the expiration date on this place?
I assure you if someone had known they'd have sought to extend it.
Yesterday oil prices went down another 5%
Gas went up 6%
AGAIN!
When do we put a stop to this? WHen do we say enough? When do we stand up and say:
No more!
You've screwed us enough! You've taken and taken and we not only cannot, we will not give anymore. We truly have no more to give.
Is your income going up exponentially? Does the massive increase in your income compensate for the massive increases in your expenditures to meet your daily needs?
I have three jobs. Well, ok, five, but we don't count the free one, nor the one that's not paying its own way right now, so make it three.
I'm single and a senior citizen by all accounts. Unless you know lots of 102 year old men. How long can I be expected to keep up such a pace before I just fall over?
Enough I say!
I'm not interested in who's to blame. I am only interested in making it stop.
Let's take a look at some of my ending dates:
6/11 the expiration date on the first credit card I pulled out of my wallet this morning.
5/11/09 last day of classes this semester
5/26/1997 the last day I was an official smoker
but there doesn't seem to be exact dates for other stuff, like the demise of civilizations.
Let's take a look at a microcosm, the street where I work.
Here it is in 1957, year o' my birth:
and five minutes ago:
Now I ask you when exactly was the expiration date on this place?
I assure you if someone had known they'd have sought to extend it.
Yesterday oil prices went down another 5%
Gas went up 6%
AGAIN!
When do we put a stop to this? WHen do we say enough? When do we stand up and say:
No more!
You've screwed us enough! You've taken and taken and we not only cannot, we will not give anymore. We truly have no more to give.
Is your income going up exponentially? Does the massive increase in your income compensate for the massive increases in your expenditures to meet your daily needs?
I have three jobs. Well, ok, five, but we don't count the free one, nor the one that's not paying its own way right now, so make it three.
I'm single and a senior citizen by all accounts. Unless you know lots of 102 year old men. How long can I be expected to keep up such a pace before I just fall over?
Enough I say!
I'm not interested in who's to blame. I am only interested in making it stop.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
What is going on???
The very words I used this weekend while watching the latest Hayden Christensen vehicle, Jumper.
Rachel Bilson is fine, I like her, and Samuel L Jackson can do anything and I'll watch. Which I proved when I watched Snakes On a Plane. That's a movie during which one does not ask what is going on, rather one asks, Why is this happening right in front of me?
But Jumper, true to its title, Jumped around from one subject to the next without ever actually finishing a thought. It was quite like teaching college in fact. He's here, he's there, he acquires a sidekick, he kills sidekick,(I think.)
Either the director didn't know how to finish a thought, or the writers (there were three of them, not counting the author of the book. Does THAT tell you anything?)weren't sure where to go from anywhere.
I think the idea was interesting, though it seemed very much like it had all been done before on tv with Jerry O'Connell. But in the movies the hero could do bad stuff too. Like rob banks at 15.
Christensen, Bilson, Jackson, et al, plundered through many many pages of whatever the fuck it was that they were doing, valiantly though. Diane Lane, a woman I loathe since she gets Josh Brolin regularly, worked for maybe a whole day on her two scenes. Just goes to show, if ya got good actors you can do anything.
Hayden could have disrobed a couple of times, THAT would at least have provided something interesting to look at. Besides three second clips of travelogue.
And if you think they were cold on top of Everest in Jumper, you should be here.
Rachel Bilson is fine, I like her, and Samuel L Jackson can do anything and I'll watch. Which I proved when I watched Snakes On a Plane. That's a movie during which one does not ask what is going on, rather one asks, Why is this happening right in front of me?
But Jumper, true to its title, Jumped around from one subject to the next without ever actually finishing a thought. It was quite like teaching college in fact. He's here, he's there, he acquires a sidekick, he kills sidekick,(I think.)
Either the director didn't know how to finish a thought, or the writers (there were three of them, not counting the author of the book. Does THAT tell you anything?)weren't sure where to go from anywhere.
I think the idea was interesting, though it seemed very much like it had all been done before on tv with Jerry O'Connell. But in the movies the hero could do bad stuff too. Like rob banks at 15.
Christensen, Bilson, Jackson, et al, plundered through many many pages of whatever the fuck it was that they were doing, valiantly though. Diane Lane, a woman I loathe since she gets Josh Brolin regularly, worked for maybe a whole day on her two scenes. Just goes to show, if ya got good actors you can do anything.
Hayden could have disrobed a couple of times, THAT would at least have provided something interesting to look at. Besides three second clips of travelogue.
And if you think they were cold on top of Everest in Jumper, you should be here.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Table for 10% please
It is said, depending on which pundit you're prone to listen to, that as much as 10% of the population is homosexual.
Rick Warren says it's 2%, but he's got an agenda so I think he might be using figures for his own purposes. Kinda like he's using Melissa Etheridge.
We'll stick with the old standard 10% for the sake of today's discussion.
If 10% of the American Public is gay where are they? Why aren't they standing up and raising hell like they should be? Does isolation really work that well? Is the fear of violence, retaliation, discrimination etc, really that effective?
Can "the man" keep us down by the mere threat of reducing us all to clerks at Macy's? Providing, that is, that Macy's still exists after the George Bush economy is done running down everyone and everything.
I've long said that we're not going to get a place at the table unless we demand it. Unless we stand up and vociferously force the hand of those who would keep us from making progress.
In God knows how many years of trying we still haven't succeeded in getting anti-discrimination legislation passed on the federal level. Why?
Are our enemies that formidable? Are our adversaries willing to go the distance to keep up from sitting across the table from them? Is Christianity so firmly entrenched in the outdated, outmoded, outrageous idea that we're so evil as to need to be kept at bay and away from decent people?
I don't think they are?
I think we're poorly represented. I think those who would champion our cause aren't that committed to our cause.
It seems we're on a laundry list of to do's.
1.) Negotiate with OPEC to control the price of oil
2.) Negotiate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas (again)
3.) Negotiate a deal to save the American Economy from itself.
4.) Negotiate the demise of the labor union
5.) Negotiate a middle-of-the-road Cabinet through the selection process
6.) Negotiate the price of laundry services
7.) Negotiate the social calendar of the residents of the White House
8.) Throw the fags a few crumbs.
Surely that's moving the issue way up on the agenda.
We're not going to get anything near what we want from this or any other administration until and unless we insist. Until we find a way to stall something they really want immediately and force them to take us seriously.
I say let's intervene in the Middle East peace process, it's a sure bet since it's a never-ending show, and get Hamas to agree that there'll be no cease fire unless we get our rights as Americans.
That'll show 'em.
Rick Warren says it's 2%, but he's got an agenda so I think he might be using figures for his own purposes. Kinda like he's using Melissa Etheridge.
We'll stick with the old standard 10% for the sake of today's discussion.
If 10% of the American Public is gay where are they? Why aren't they standing up and raising hell like they should be? Does isolation really work that well? Is the fear of violence, retaliation, discrimination etc, really that effective?
Can "the man" keep us down by the mere threat of reducing us all to clerks at Macy's? Providing, that is, that Macy's still exists after the George Bush economy is done running down everyone and everything.
I've long said that we're not going to get a place at the table unless we demand it. Unless we stand up and vociferously force the hand of those who would keep us from making progress.
In God knows how many years of trying we still haven't succeeded in getting anti-discrimination legislation passed on the federal level. Why?
Are our enemies that formidable? Are our adversaries willing to go the distance to keep up from sitting across the table from them? Is Christianity so firmly entrenched in the outdated, outmoded, outrageous idea that we're so evil as to need to be kept at bay and away from decent people?
I don't think they are?
I think we're poorly represented. I think those who would champion our cause aren't that committed to our cause.
It seems we're on a laundry list of to do's.
1.) Negotiate with OPEC to control the price of oil
2.) Negotiate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas (again)
3.) Negotiate a deal to save the American Economy from itself.
4.) Negotiate the demise of the labor union
5.) Negotiate a middle-of-the-road Cabinet through the selection process
6.) Negotiate the price of laundry services
7.) Negotiate the social calendar of the residents of the White House
8.) Throw the fags a few crumbs.
Surely that's moving the issue way up on the agenda.
We're not going to get anything near what we want from this or any other administration until and unless we insist. Until we find a way to stall something they really want immediately and force them to take us seriously.
I say let's intervene in the Middle East peace process, it's a sure bet since it's a never-ending show, and get Hamas to agree that there'll be no cease fire unless we get our rights as Americans.
That'll show 'em.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)