June 2004 Archives

     I was amused to hear an interesting error while listening to Morning Sedition on America Left (XM). They were advertising a travel bag and the woman said something like, "This travel bag is a great way to secrete your belongings while you're on the road." Secrete? I think she meant secure. How indecent!

[update: Just out of curiousity I checked Merriam-Webster out and there is a definition of "secrete" that reads as follows: "to deposit or conceal in a hiding place." Well, you learn something new every day. So next time a customer wants me to hide something from their children who may be shopping with them, I'll just ask if they want me to secrete it for them. That'll go over well.]

   Label on package reads: "WARNING: shoots flaming balls and reports." I had no idea what this meant until tonight. I saw flaming, crackling and sparkling balls. Yep. went to a fireworks store. Quite interesting. You'd think that you were buying condoms or something with the names of the fireworks. "Maximizer" "Defender" "Conqueror" And reports? I told Jon I see enough reports at work. I don't need a report on how the firecracker went off. Apparently that's actually the part where it explodes in the air. Didn't get many reporting ones, but we got lots of flaming balls. That and the ones that just shoot sparks everywhere. But we won't set them off in Ohio.

   The day after seeing Fahrenheit 9/11 in a packed theater I think I've processed through most of it. The documentary itself is not difficult to understand, but it does cover a lot of ground. Of course it begins with the Supreme Court handing Bush the presidency. It was interesting to see (and remember) the controversy and the protests even leading up to his inauguration. Moore delves deep into Bush's past with his several failed oil companies, and goes into the relationship with the Saudi family, the Bin Ladens. There is a lot of information there that, if true, is quite damning.
   Moore also discusses the Patriot Act which codifies the relinquishing of some of our rights that we have taken for granted since the beginning of our country. Things like due process for search and seizure, surveillance, etc.. Also was discussed the fact that our President has exercised his power to create "enemy combatants" who have no rights and can be held without charge indefinitely. Moore's related examples weren't as related as they could have been, but when one man told of the FBI coming to his door it horrified me to think of the KGB or secret police in South American countries. If the FBI showed up at my door to question me, I think I'd be scared. It shouldn't be that way in this country.
   Of course the movie also discussed the reasons for our involvement in Afganistan and Iraq. The reasons given by our government didn't quite make sense to me back then, and now they make even less sense. The pipeline in Afganistan was news to me. And the war in Iraq has always bothered me to no end, and now it seems even more senseless and horrible. It's interesting that the American public hasn't seen the footage on the news that was in the movie. But that's the liberal media for ya, right?
   Overall it was very well worth seeing. It was eye opening and satisfied my desire to see something that spoke to me instead of those on the right. Fahrenheit 9/11 may not be an unbiased documentary, but it certainly was a different point of view than the one we're used to seeing on the 6 o'clock news every day.

   Just watched Bush's new campaign ad. Umm.. first of all, that Hitler ad was not released by MoveOn.org. It was contributed to MoveOn.org which did not officially release it. Secondly, although Bush's ad claims that it's not a time for rage and anger, I think that it is; I mean we were led to war under false pretenses. I think that gives the American public the right to be angry. And last, what's with the calm, peaceful music at the end? Is that to pacify us into voting for Bush? As if to say, don't be angry, vote for Bush. Whatever.. if anything it made me want to go vote Bush out of office right now.
   Add to that I just saw Fahrenheit 9/11. I'm too tired to process through the whole thing right now so I'll post about it later. There's just so much in that movie - where to start? For now I'll just say two things. It's been a long time since I've been to a movie where the audience applauded at the end. And the true measure of Moore's latest creation won't be how many awards it wins, but what actions people take having seen it. Although I know it's biased, leftist, and has it's own agenda, if only half of it were true it would be quite damning. It certainly makes me want to go out and do something.

   So I guess my last customer of the evening thought she was Dick Cheney and cursed at me because she lost her receipt. First she just stared at me with her mouth gaping open for an extraordinary amount of time. I thought for a moment she had gone into some sort of shock, and then I was horrified that a small insect might fly in there. Then she used the F word on me. She apparently did not care that there was a small child just a few feet away. I'm usually very nice at work - pretty easy to get along with. And most of the time I'll go out of my way to help people. I understand that people get upset with my employer sometimes, but when people swear at me. That's it, friendly is out the door. (and often they follow soon after) I told this woman to watch her mouth, and that there were still kids in the store. Know what she said? "Oh.. whatever." I know it's just a little four letter word, but if you have nothing better to say then perhaps it's time to increase your vocabulary.
   And about Dick Cheney... Again, let's examine his vocabulary. I'm sure it's not the first time someone has cursed in the Capitol building, but this is just so indicative of the Bush/Cheney people. If you don't agree with them then they have two words for you. F.U. is not the abbreviation for Florida University. Let's examine some of the other FUs the Bush administration has provided:
Don't believe us about WMDs? FU, we're goin' in anyway.
Are you an American opposed to the war? FU, you're unpatriotic anyway.
Have a disease like Alzheimer's? FU, we don't need stem cell research.
Gay or lesbian? FU, you're a nobody that we can exploit for political gain.
Are you a veteran who needs health insurance? FU, we're decreasing veterans' benefits.
Lost your afterschool program for your kids? FU, millionaires are getting tax cuts.
Didn't vote for Bush last time? FU, now we can hack the election.
   Frankly, I'm tired of the foul language for the evening. But since our top politicians are bringing it into style, maybe I'll use it more often. But I doubt I'll keep my job.
(source: Cheney Says He Has No Regrets for Cursing Leahy)

   Sign seen on the side of the road:

   Is that like when someone has a meth lab in their house?

   Just had quite a storm blow through here a couple hours ago. They issued a tornado warning just a few miles south of here so we were all in the basement watching the news. Even Lucy got a bit freaked out. The power never went completely out, but it flickered a few times. In about 25 minutes we got over an inch of rain (and hail). 1.10in. total. The hail that came down wasn't too big - about dime size. Our little pond overflowed, and the rivers formed on either side of the house.
   Afterwards we drove around town to see how things held up. Mostly everything was ok, but just about a mile south of us there were a lot of limbs down, and in one case a tree had come down covering Akron Rd. A transformer had also been snapped off of the pole and was laying on the ground. Don't know if it was live or not, but I wasn't going to find out. There was a good samaritan in his red pickup on the road there signaling oncoming cars of the danger of the tree over the road. Apparently someone didn't believe him and drove right into the tree.
   I put some of the photos up that I took around here after the storm.

Yep, that's how much it will cost to fix my broken sunroof. I've had the car just three months... If I had that much laying around I would have just fixed up my old car.

My sunroof is stuck in the open position. Thank goodness it didn't rain today. It's going in tomorrow for service since I can't very well have an open sunroof all the time. Can't wait to see what that bill is going to look like.

   Wow, my little blog has passed the 30,000 visits mark (since July '03). Of course that's not many in the grand scheme of things, but kinda exciting for little ol' me. When I first started this blog in November of 2001, I think I was getting a max of 200 visits a month. I figured no one was reading anything I wrote, but it was fun to write anyway. It's still fun to write here, and I hope this blog adds something interesting to the blogging community. So if you're reading this, thank you and stop by again.

   A 50-page document was just released by the White House that shows that Rumsfeld authorized "aggressive interrogations" against suspected terrorists in Guantanamo. These included such things as "forcing a detainee to stand up for up four hours, forced isolation for up to 30 days, deprivation of light, use of 20-hour interrogations, removal of clothing, forced shaving of facial hair, 'inducing stress by use of detainee's fears (e.g., dogs)'" and use of mild physical contact that did not cause injury." Sound familiar? If he ordered it once, why not twice? Then again, why not a third time?
   He later rescinded those orders citing a new policy where each "aggressive" questioning had to be approved by him. But why did he un-authorize those procedures? Was it because they were wrong? It should be interesting over the next few days to see how Rumsfeld answers questions without admitting any wrong-doing.
   Ironically, a Pentagon lawyer said that any offenses by the military against the detainees had been punished. He said that there was an incident "in which a female interrogator took off her blouse, kept her T-shirt on, sat on a detainee's lap 'as part of her interrogation technique' and ran her hands through his hair. She was suspended from duties for 30 days." Something tells me we're pursuing the wrong offenses, and I think most straight men and lesbians would agree.
(sources: U.S. Approved Use of Dogs Against Prisoners, Bush Claimed Right to Waive Torture Laws)

   Since February of 2002, my computers have processed over 500 SETI@home work units. While my computer was not being used for email, blogging, or surfing, it was processing info from radio telescopes trying to find evidence of intelligent life. If only we could turn those telescopes back on the White House. But I digress... 6658hrs later still no life on Mars, but there's always hope there's other intelligent life out there somewhere. Heck, maybe someone out there is reading my blog.

   Jack (playing on Showtime) is a movie about a 15 year old whose parents are divorcing. Add to that he finds out his father is gay and his mother seems clinically depressed. He watches his family fall apart, then his best friend's family falls apart too. The effects on a young man are obvious. He just wants a "normal" life, although he begins to question what really is normal. In the end he realizes that he is not simply a product of his family, he is his own man and the product of his own choices. I liked the message that ultimately, you are responsible for your own life. Blaming your parents, society, etc don't make up for the choices that you make for yourself. There was also a good line towards the end of the movie about expectations:

The thing about people is that they're human. As obvious as that is, you have to remember it. People are who they are, and once you realize that you'll end up less disappointed. And sometimes they'll surprise you.

   While a movie with a good message and good acting (Stockard Channing is always wonderful), it was a bit annoying as it was told more from the perspective of a 15 teenager who percieves that everything in life is all about him. While that may be accuate, I lost count of how many times I wanted to slap him. Had I ever spoken to my parents the way he did or let my mouth get that carried away at that age, my parents would have let me know in no uncertain terms. (and rightfully/thankfully so) I have to wonder where this kid gets away with calling his father every derogatory name he can come up with.
   Otherwise an insighful look into the life of a teen coming of age, and the effects of family issues in general. Not a laugh a minute kind of movie, but you might come away with something. (although it won't be a warm fuzzy feeling)

This is the Fashion of Pride, taken at the Cleveland Pride Parade.

See the photos here.

   Jon and I went to Cleveland Pride on Saturday. The parade was fun. It was the first time I've ever actually watched the parade; I'm usually in it. When I was president of Akron's group we'd march in the parade with our big banner. We always had such a good time - and I usually lost my voice. This year I took a lot of pictures. Certainly was a different experience. We waited at St. John's Roman Catholic Church on E. 9th St. for the parade to come by. Ironically, a (hetero) wedding was going on at the church. So the doors to the church open, out comes the wedding party, and here comes the gay Pride parade. It was a moment of irony to be cherished.
   We followed the parade down E. 9th to Lake Erie where the rally and festival were being held. There were a few good speeches by Dick Feagler and Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell (kudos to her for being there). Then we turned to go into the festival where The Pride Center had a table set up. I didn't figure we'd be there long as we planned on meeting my parents later that afternoon. As we went in the people organizing the event were shouting that there was a "suggested donation" of $5. No big deal right - they've always asked for donations at the gate and I've always donated something no matter if I could only give a dollar. This time it was very congested up there, and I just wanted to get through to go see if my friends at the table were doing ok, etc. The woman yelled at me to see if I had a wristband thing on. I didn't and she said, "They'll kick your ass out if you don't have one." Excuse me? At a free event they're going to kick my ass out for not paying a "suggested donation?" That's a ticket. So we paid our donation dues and were getting our wristbands from the woman who thought we lied about paying. I asked her if it was true that they'd kick us out without the wristband. She said yes, they would. What is up with Cleveland Pride this year?
   I'm more than happy and eager to support the people and organizations that support the community. I've done it with my dollars and my own energy since high school. But taking a free event and haggling people as they enter with confusion about what a ticket vs. donation is? C'mon... And "kick[ing] your ass out"? Please...
   Once inside we found our table then walked around for a few minutes. I saw the HRC booth and thought I'd stop by. I've always been proud of HRC for the work they do. But Saturday I was annoyed. First of all you should know I was proudly wearing my HRC ball cap. Well, the guy at the booth said "Have you heard of HRC or are you familiar with the group?" I paused a moment then pointed to my hat with a smile. He then launched immediately into a schpiel about how now is the time to give money to HRC. I told him I had renewed my membership and would do so again in the future. That wasn't good enough. He said I should do so right away. Umm.. I'll renew when I renew. I don't have money coming out of my ears otherwise I just might. But then a woman next to him chimed in with the fact that they needed the money right away to fight the FMA. I stared at them for a moment, then pleasantly thanked them for coming to Cleveland's festival.
   We left shortly thereafter. I'm not sure if it was all the bullshit about "gimme money" around each turn we made at the festival or if I'm just burned out, but it wasn't like I remembered it. Even 2 years ago at Columbus it was so exciting, empowering and fun! This year just didn't do it for me. I still firmly believe that Pride events are good events - they provide the community with something that isn't there all year around - a true sense of the community and pride in who you are instead of the crap that gets thrown at us day in and day out. When I was younger it was part of the reason I became involved with the community. But this year was just not the same experience. I wish next weekend I could go to Columbus to make up for this weekend's disappointment. And not that I'm saying it was all the festival that was disappointing, but the tugging at my wallet was a little distracting.

   Just for fun we're taking a look at how some people find my site. Always interesting.

Referring searches (in order of frequency)-
1 & 16. gay cartoons - don't have that many here but you'll find at least one.
3, 7, 11, & 18. Pepto Bismol Commercial - there are searches for it in many forms, all found here. It's not a shrine to the pink stuff, but it's here.
6. how to make methamphetamines - still not here
13. tips for coming out - do it at your own pace, be careful, and knock down the closet door with force
15. Chronophobia - I don't have it myself, but you'll find a picture here that might give it to ya.
19. anim*l pics - umm.. no.

Internal Queries (in no particular order)-
1. be*stiality, she*p s*x - again, um... no.
2. code brown - unfortunately I have a story
3. poop - see #2
4. pepto - see 3,7,11, & 18 above
5. 'Abu Ghraib photos' - none here. They're posted elsewhere if you really want to see them
6. "oh this is great" - a post about the valium I ordered from Ann Coulter

[update 6/28/04: I added the astericks (*) because this post is causing my website to show up as #13 on Excite's search for be*stiality. Removing a few letters ought to throw the search robots off. There is no anim*l sex here]

   The government established commission to investigate the 9/11 attack reports that "We have no credible evidence that Iraq and al Qaeda cooperated on attacks against the United States." But Bush and Cheney are insistent that while that may be true, there were numerous contacts between Iraq and Al Qaeda. Of course the commission also reports that there was no evidence to suggest that there was a "collaborative relationship" between Iraq and Al Qaeda despite the contacts. OK, so what's the point then of the rhetoric of the Bush administration? No wait, let's ask bush the reason he keeps repeating that statement.

"The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and al Qaeda is because there was a relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda,"

   Am I missing something here? Is this like the evidence of the WMDs? And I suppose the reason he knew they were there was because they were there... Really, if the president can't add any insight to the national conversation about this he ought to keep his trap shut. This is so indicative of this administration. No real answers, no real reasons. Just empty rhetoric that when analysed doesn't mean much except political lipflapping. Then again, maybe my little diatribe doesn't mean much either. But if I start talking in circles too much, someone please let me know.

(sources: Bush Insists on Iraq-Al Qaeda Links Despite Report; Panel Says No Signs Iraq Aided Qaeda Plots on US; USA Today - Bush repeats there was an Iraq, al-Qaeda alliance)

   Sometimes religious stuff irritates me. Not always, but sometimes it's just too in my face. Kinda like when the Pope decries the thought of my partner and I having civil rights like everyone else. You know - just little things. So last night I was looking for some X10 stuff online. (if you don't know, X10 is home automation stuff - turns your lights on and off, etc. - yes, I know I'm a dork!) So I'm looking through a few online shops, comparing prices, when I stumble upon a link for something I just have to click on. I'm thinking, oh cool, new X10 module. Umm.. no.
   It was all about Jesus and how I need to believe for my life to be beautiful and holy. Now I'm all for beautiful and holy, but what does Jesus have to do with X10? I mean, it's not like there's a new Jesus module that you can plug in. Yeah, just say a prayer and your lights come on! Pray the rosary and your whole house lights up! No really, it was just another in my face.

   I had this dream this morning just before I woke up. I was at Pres. Reagan's funeral. This is slightly odd as despite the media blitz last week I didn't pay much attention. Reagan was president before I paid much attention to politics or even thought on my own much. So I'm at the funeral and of course Nancy is there, and she's so upset. She's just crying and frail and I wanted to hug her, but I knew I couldn't. Know why? Because she's a Republican. So I'm desperately trying to figure out a way that I can go over and hug her without the Republicans and the Democrats both getting nasty with me. Then my alarm goes off, but I'm thinking, the funeral isn't over yet. So I hit my snooze button so that the funeral could go on. My twisted mind...

Four years today since Jon and I met. We played pool which turned into dinner which turned into a date. Some people think relationships get worse with time. Not so in this case. My mom asked me once if I was as happy as I was when he and I first met. I said, "No, even happier."

   "You cannot live on hope alone... but without it life is not worth living" - Harvey Milk
   Last night I watched The Times of Harvey Milk. At first I thought it might be a boring documentary, but as it turns out, I feel like I've learned something about history - something that relates to me very directly. It's not like watching something about the ancient Mayans - which as facinating as they may be, you weren't there, issues were diferent, you find it hard to relate. No, this movie was about the struggle for human rights 30 years ago, and it's about the struggle that still goes on today. I don't want to recount the whole movie to you here, but suffice it to say that Harvey Milk was like the MLK Jr. of gay people in many ways. He changed the course of many people's lives and may well have altered history.
   He went about it in a way that affected all people. When he spoke about gay rights, he spoke about everyone's rights. It wasn't just that they wanted to fire gay people with Proposition 6, it was the principle that they could fire any minority just because they didn't like them. He made it into something I've thought all along - it's not about my rights, it's about your rights. It's not about gay rights, it's about human rights. If they can fire me, they can fire you. If they can deny my relationship, they can deny yours.
   It's facinating that while I know we've come so far since Stonewall and in the past 35 years, anti-gay folks are still spouting the same bullshit that they were back then - lies, fear, mistruths, hate... Lord only knows why, but the Anita Bryants of yesterday are the Pat Robertsons of today. Yesterday's John Briggs is today's Marilyn Musgrave. We could be so pessimistic, but we really have come a long way.
   It's so easy to get frustrated in the gay community. When my rights seem as plain as day to me, but someone else wants to take them away I get very angry. When someone speaks a lie about the gay community, I want to spit fire. When George W. Bush speaks about his compassion for gays I just want to vomit. For all the wins there are so many losses, and it's draining. Life is still much more difficult for LGBT people than it should be.
   But we have to have hope. I have to have hope, and I need not forget that. Harvey Milk said that over and over again. For progress to be made, we have to be able to see it. Pessimism is a blinder that stops time and change. We have to be able to dream about better days. To do that, to keep up the fight, we must have hope. And while the religious right spouts fear and destruction of society, we have the truth and hope. There is no better side of history to be on.
   So for all those to come after us we must keep up the hope that Harvey Milk had. We must pass it along to each other so that we can all continue down this road. Always remember, "you gotta give 'em hope!"

Follow this link to hear it in his own voice.

   Were you aware that our nation's churches need a "safe harbor?" From what I'm not sure, but Rep. Hastert thinks they need some help. He's tacked on an amendment to the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (HB 4520) called "Safe Harbor for Churches." It allows churches to become political by endorsing or opposing political candidates. It allows them 3 "unintentional" incidents, and even then they won't lose their tax exempt status. Seriously, this is wrong.
   First of all, I object to the way that this was done. This bill was supposed to be about American Jobs right? Now it's about a fundamental principle about church and state. The bill was hijacked. Whether or not the bill was good or not to begin with is a moot point - there's stuff in it that people may/do object to that could kill the entire thing regardless of the original intent. And we wonder why things don't get done in our government sometimes.
   Secondly, this defies the separation of church and state that our country was founded on. Why do churches need to become components of the political landscape? They don't - not in America. If religious leaders want to have a say in government, simply go to the Middle East and have a blast. Maybe they can work on letting women go outside without fear of being stoned.
   Third, each incident carries a tax penalty, but churches with a lot of money may be able to afford those penalties better than smaller churches. That's unfair to the "minority" churches isn't it? The first penalty is one weeks worth of taxation. The second is 50% of a years income. The 3rd is taxation of a full years revenue. What happens after the 3rd incident? And who cares? All it takes is one mention of political endorsement to get the word out about who god wants to have elected.
   Can I also request that bills not read like a rocket launch manual?
   I don't think there is any valid reason that we should begin to associate religion, spirituality, or god with politics. Bush and Kerry need to run on their own without the help of religious leaders. Those priests, rabbis, ministers, etc.... perhaps should tend to the needs of their own flocks instead of attempting to influence law in our country. That would begin a short, slippery road that ends with theocracy. If the message of the church is so well founded and meaningful, the congregation should be allowed to come to their own conclusions, and be motivated to action by their own free will. That's how it works in America, that's democracy.

(Sources: Text of HB 4520; Oppose Politicizing Houses of Worship)

   I appreciate my dear friend Doug allowing me to pontificate upon his personal space.

   As were many, I was saddened to hear the news of the recent passing of Ray Charles.

   Doug, Jon and I spent a wonderful evening together two years ago at a Ray Charles concert in Wichita, Kansas (proof of attendance attached).

   As a retired, old, dried-up, disillusioned rock jock here's a fave story of mine, and I promise you every word is true!

   In 1967 I was doing the all-night show on KGMB in Honolulu. (The main claim to fame of this station is that it was the one the Japanese pilots homed in on to find their way to the island of Oahu on December 7th, 1941. They really liked to get their money's worth out of their jocks, so after I got off at 5:30AM, I was required to hang around to 7 or 8 and be the producer/sidekick on the morning show with J. Akuhead Pupule. What an honor it was to work with this guy. For those who don't know, he was a true legend, and one of the greats of the business. I learned a lot from that sweet man!

   (But I digress) Ray Charles had been scheduled to come by the station the previous evening, but was a no-show due to travel problems leaving Australia. So, I'm doing the all-nighter when, at 3AM, down the hall to the studio comes the great Ray Charles (himself) and the promoter to do the interview. Needless to say, I was thrilled as well as a bit nervous having Ray on my show. Well my nerves were quickly put at ease by Ray Charles who was totally cool and quite the gentleman. He was a very personable and likeable guy and gave a fine interview. Rather than just doing 15-20 minutes with me and then leaving... HE STAYED for the rest of my show. We'd chat on the air for a while, then I'd play a record, and that's how it went for 2 hours. I was playing "Ode To Billy Joe" by Bobbie Gentry which was a huge hit at the time. Ray mentioned to me that he really dug that song, 'cuz it told a story he could visualize. He said he could picture that family sitting 'round the supper table in his mind. I told Ray (jeez, we're on a first-name basis by now) that we'd just received Bobby Gentry's first LP. Ray asked me if there was a photo of her on the cover. When I replied in the affirmative, he became very serious and said (and I quote exactly here....I'll NEVER forget it, EVER) "Tell me about her tits" So there I was, a young man in Honolulu, in the middle of the night, describing Bobbie Gentry's tits to the great Ray Charles.

   God is good!

   Gotta love tech support. My friend Dan told me this evening that he called for his satellite connection. When the techie answered he asked what kind of connection he had. Dan responded that it was a satellite connection. Then the techie asked if it was a wireless connection. Dan would have loved to say that no, it was a wired one with a 22,000 miles cable and that once a plane hit it and it snapped, fell into the yard, and struck the dog. He also quipped that it's a good thing the satellite is geosynchronous otherwise he'd need a longer cable.
   Gotta love waiting in line at the grocery store - you get to see what everyone else is buying. The couple behind me today had a whole cart full of snack foods. Without exaggerating, they had at least 5 boxes of Twinkies, several boxes of cookies and other miscellaneous stuff. Along with all that they had diet Mountain Dew. Why??
   Gotta love my new birthday. On my Giant Eagle receipt it says that my date of birth is June 10, 1950. I wondered why I kept getting so many aches and pains...

Although this is almost late, here is my Landscape photo.

   A great line from MythBusters, applicable in more than one situation.:
I refute your reality and substitute my own.

   Another great line (from somewhere?) especially for those who deal with the general public:
If I wanted to hear an asshole I'd just fart.

   A few months ago I saw (and wrote about) this Pepto Bismol Commercial that I thought was rather funny. It was this line-up of office workers doing what we'll call the Pepto Dance (grab your neck, clutch your chest, rub your stomach, grab your sides, grab your butt, then shimmy all around). I about fell out of my chair when I saw it, and from the searches both to find this site and on the site I wasn't the only one. So when it came on tonight I grabbed my iPaq and recorded the little jingle. So here, for your listening (and dancing pleasure if you'd like) is the Pepto Dance.

   I'm a big fan of Six Feet Under and can't wait for the new season to start. The last season was so good! We've been seeing these really cool promos on HBO where the cast is in a supermarket. As they lip synch a song metaphors play out about their lives. Just great production value. Just saw a link from another blog with some very cool and original billboard advertising. Check it out - see if you get it before reading the explanation.
Advertising To Die For

   I've just read that a certain cable network is going to have a show called American Candidate that will have contestants competing for prizes. They have to campaign as if they were running for president, but the goal is to get as many people to a campaign rally as possible. Few reality TV shows have interested me. I missed the Survivor hype and the Apprentice excitement. Restaurants, airplanes, and a dream home - none have really gotten my attention. But I will say it would be interesting if they did a real presidential reality show. I would be tickled to see George Bush on a reality TV show where nothing is scripted.
   I did, however, watch the last game of the Stanley Cup. Well, up until the 3rd quarter when I involuntarily passed out. Guess the game got pretty heated with Calgary really getting aggressive, but alas it was not enough. Tampa Bay won.
   Mr. Reagan has passed away and I've said nothing about it. I think I'll just leave it at that.

Pope Meets Bush, Denounces Gay Marriage - From 365Gay.com
This article is about The Pope and Bush who agreed about the abomination of gay marriage. How lovely... It occurs to me that the whole of the opposition to same-sex marriage often seems based on a 2000 year old, translated line of text that is only several lines away from others that basically condemns just about every person to some sinfulness. What about shaving, working on a Sunday, or using god's name in vain? Makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. What about "Ye shall not therefore oppress one another..." (Lev. 25:17)

   Today I saw a protest at a McDonald's. I thought that was a bit odd and wondered what they could be protesting. I know their food isn't the best but... Turns out they were protesting something serious that I didn't know about. Apparently an award-winning restaurant manager was fired for being HIV+. Apparently McDonald's still has no public policy about HIV/AIDS discrimination, but for those who work there it is apparent that they don't want HIV+ employees. This is age old discrimination based on fear and ignorance. It should be pretty easy for me to help with the McD's boycott since I don't eat there much. But if I did I would think twice before spending my dollars there. You can learn more at McVerdict.org.

   Internet is finally back up and running. Our cable modem went out earlier in the week so now we have a new one. A few tense days in there though...
   A woman called me at work yesterday to tell me she had left some of her purchases at the register the other day. She said she forgot them because she was so worried about getting wet in the rain. It was just a few things so I told her she could come in and get them the next time she was in. This was unacceptable for her. She thought it was ridiculous that she had to drive back to the store. Ummm.. you forgot your stuff lady. Then she wanted me to hold it for her so I asked her when she'd be in to pick it up. She said sometime in the Fall.
   On another note, our store hired some new managers. So today I was working before the store opened and I walked by one of the new managers in training. She looked at me and handed me an empty cup. She said, "Would you throw this away for me?" Sure thing... can I throw your big head away too?
   I was doing some painting this evening and was using a clear coat polyurethane to protect my little creation against the weather. I happened to read the directions on the back where the warning was in bold letters... something to the effect of prolonged exposure would cause permanent nervous system and brain damage. Who knew arts and crafts could be deadly?
   Speaking of brain damage, I think by the time November comes around I'm going to be so sick of presidential election politics I'll vote for anarchy. Bush gave the Pope a medal, what? While I was out in KS, Jim and I were discussing the election process and how sometimes you have to vote for one person just so the other gets voted out. We decided that there should be a "No" vote on the ballot. Just so if you don't like any of the people who are running you can just vote "No." As in, they all are about the same, they stink, and I don't want any of them to win. If the "No" votes prevail then there will be another election, but none of the people who ran previously can run again. But then the election process would go on again, and certainly prolonged exposure can be hazardous to your health.

[update 6/5/04 - Found this fun article at The Onion - Poll: Many Americans Still Unsure Whom To Vote Against]

   I think perhaps he should promote a Constitutional amendment banning faulty umbrellas. That would be a good use of time eh? This photo could be such a metaphor. Perhaps it means when relying on something faulty you'll end up getting wet. What do you think it means? (source: It's not working! (AFP/T. Sloan))

   While I was on vacation I saw this article, but I was attempting to relax by trying to stay away from the news a bit. I revisited some of the news articles recently and this one about the Salvation Army still ticks me off. They are threatening to leave the city of New York if it requires any entity doing business with the city to offer health benefits to partners of GLBT staffers. Now this is faith-based bullshit...
   I've had a discussion with someone recently about having beliefs forced on other people. I don't think it's right to force anyone to believe anything. I do have a problem with what the Salvation Army is doing, however, as it affects people who need help.
   First of all, I don't think anyone is being asked to recognize gay marriages here. No has said that the Salvation Army must perform gay marriages or even go to one. That's not the issue here - equal rights are the issue. It's about the fact that one group of people are being offered benefits for someone they care about while another group is being systematically denied those benefits. Clear and simple to me. But the SA says that they cannot treat their emplyees equally "because it goes against one of the organization's core beliefs - that same-sex marriage is immoral." Wouldn't leaving thousands of people who need and depend on the Salvation Army be immoral also?
   In addition, the Salvation Army is functioning not only on private donations, but also $250 million of public tax dollars in NYC. So now they're going to take my money and then discriminate against me? If it was all private money I'd still be ticked, but with public money that pisses me the hell off.
   One of the Salvation Army's visions is stated as:We believe that all people have a God-given capacity to love, to belong together, to change, and to have hope. Also that the life of God is active in the whole world and not only within congregations of believers, but that people become aware of the healing grace of God through the influence of loving relationships So that's really, all people except gay ones. And the life of God is active with everyone except gay people. My suggestion is to just go ahead and change the vision so it's a bit more clear.
   I seem to recall something like this happening in San Francisco awhile back. Now that it's happening again, from this point forward I will not support, donate, or advocate for The Salvation Army. If they don't really care about helping people, then I really don't care to have them around.

(sources: Salvation Army Uses Homeless To Fight Gay Benefits
; salvationarmy.org )

Majority Of Americans Support Gay Couples Poll Shows - From 365Gay.com
I take the polls and survey info worth a grain of sand sometimes. The numbers change so drastically sometimes it's hard to make heads or tails of it. Depends on who's taking the poll, how questions are worded, etc. But I've never seen this result from a poll: (italics mine)
"Fifty-sex percent of likely say they could vote for someone who disagrees with their position on same-sex marriage..."
Good for them! (bad for the editor though)