Shame on you, California

I am reminded recently of a quote from one of my favorite movies, Men in Black…

Edwards: “People are smart. They can handle it.”

Kay: “A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow.”

I have to agree. People are dumb, panicky and dangerous. They demonstrated this on November 4^th.

As most of my family and friends know, I voted for the Libertarian, Bob Barr. The country voted Obama into presidency. Do I think that was stupid? Nope. He says he’s an agent of change, and boy does this country need change! We’ll see what he can do. So what am I talking about? Read on…

In California, voters picked Obama as well, by a better than 3-2 margin. He got a 61% vote! How did this happen? Exit polls show that there was a larger than average turnout of black voters, and that made a very large difference in the results. I don’t know the statistics, but it was covered by several of the stations I watched. What floors me is what this group of people also did.

Another issue on the ballots in California was Proposition 8, a measure that proposed putting a ban on gay marriages in the Constitution. Specifically, it adds these words to the California Constitution: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

And it passed!

The exit polls showed that while white people voted No by a small margin, and Latinos and Asians were split, blacks voted Yes on Prop 8 by a large margin. It was this large margin that tipped the scales enough to pass this discriminatory, bigoted, and outrageous Proposition.

So… why am I bringing race up in this topic? Quite simple – this is an issue of discrimination, and the group of people whom you would think would be against such outrageous injustices are the very people who outlawed gay marriage.

Those who support Prop 8 have this to say in their ads (among other things):

1. Making gay marriage legal would force schools to teach our children about gay marriage
2. Churches will be required to marry gay couples
3. Adoption agencies will be required to allow gay couples to adopt children
4. Marriage is a sacred institution, for procreation and ensuring the continuation of the species.

The ads are not really about these issues. The ads are meant to scare people, and they did their job. But those points are bullshit. Here’s my take on it – if you agree or disagree, please feel free to leave me a comment.

Making gay marriage legal would force schools to teach our children about gay marriage

This just isn’t true. The pundits for the Proposition like to cite an example where a teacher in Massachusetts (where gay marriage is legal) read a story about two princes to her second grade class. Parents complained and were told that they had no right to know beforehand that this was being taught in the class. This would not happen in California, because there are currently laws in place protecting parents’ rights in the classroom. Proposition 8 does not have anything to do with school teaching.

Churches will be required to marry gay couples

No. Churches are not currently required to marry anyone – they can, and DO, turn couples away all of the time, because of many reasons. That wouldn’t change, and if a certain church did not want to marry a same-sex couple, they wouldn’t have to. The Proposition mentions NOTHING about churches.

Adoption agencies will be required to allow gay couples to adopt children.

What? First of all, denying Proposition 8 would have changed nothing. It would not have added anything to the Constitution, it simply would have been “business as usual.” Are adoption agencies currently required to allow gay couples to adopt? Nothing would change. Second of all… SO WHAT? My brother was raised by my mother and her partner for his entire life. He is a wonderful, well-rounded, and quite masculine individual. He was raised with good moral values, and he is just an all-around awesome guy. Children are raised by gay couples all the time, and they don’t turn out any more messed up than children raised by “traditional” families.

I would think that we should worry about children growing up in families where the parents are abusive, do drugs, drink too much, or getting divorced. Rapists, murderers and child molesters have every right to get married and have children of their own… why are people not protesting this?Single mothers and fathers are celebrated for their ability to raise their children. Why should it be different if there happens to be two women, or two men raising the child? This argument is not about “the children.” It is about gay discrimination, and homophobia.

Marriage is a sacred institution, for procreation and ensuring the continuation of the species

Really? How many marriages end in divorce? How many children are born OUT of wedlock? How many deadbeat dads and moms are there? Don’t tell me marriage is sacred, and that gay marriage is where you are going to draw the line. Are we really on the edge of extinction, where allowing gay people to marry will tip the scales to our doom? Yes, perhaps we should force these gay folks to marry the opposite sex, and raise children in a loveless relationship while they have adulterous sex behind their spouses back. Because marriage is sacred, dammit. Oh… and all of you people who are infertile, either by choice or by nature are out of luck. You’ll need to divorce, and live a life of solitude from now on. Marriage is all about procreation and continuation of the species, not about love, commitment, and partnership.

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Hey, I’m not saying I’m perfect, of course. I have sinned enough in my lifetime. But I seriously do not believe that I have any right to tell someone else who they are allowed to love and marry. And in this country of ours, where we pride ourselves on being the “land of the free,” it is appalling to think that we would pass a law that takes away a basic human right.

Just imagine this: Less than 100 years ago, we could have easily passed laws stating “Only marriage between a same-colored man and woman is valid or recognized in [your state].” We recognize that to be wrong now. Why can’t we recognize how wrong it is to discriminate against gay people?

It’s wrong, plain and simple. You Californians who passed this measure should be ashamed of yourselves, and for those of you fighting to repeal it, bless you and good luck!

An Ugly Proposition

In my home state of California, they are still tallying the results from voting last night. One of the ballot entries was Proposition 8, a horrible attempt to ban gay marriage in California.

The race is very close. It saddens me, not as a California native, but as an American, to think that half of the people of California, a state known for its progressive thinking, might pass a law legalizing discrimination. The supporters of Proposition 8 are using lies and misdirection in their ads to dupe people into passing a law that is, quite frankly, a religious issue.

I hope and pray that Prop 8 is not passed. California needs to send a message to the rest of the country – we will not tolerate discrimination in any form!

Cake Wrecks!!!

Kelly and I were walking through the Anderson Kroger (who have been kind enough to give me other blog fodder as well!), and found these wonderful cakes. I say wonderful, because they are wrecktacular!

Of course, I sent them over to our good friends over at Cake Wrecks... I hope they post them! Without further ado, I give you... "Skeleton dancing on what?":



(shudder)

And here is... "I want my mummy...":



Are those fingers??? I am not even going to guess what the white frosting is supposed to be...

If you find wonderful wrecks like these, be sure to send them over to our friends at Cake Wrecks!

UPDATE: Yes! Jen posted my cake wreck on her site today, on Halloween! Not only that, but she posted that it was the "best" (worst?) of today's wrecks... woo hoo!

Check it out!

Behind the 8-Ball

Wow. What a weird week! Where do I begin?...

I took Kelly to Indianapolis with me, so that she could sit around for hours and watch me play pool in the regional tournament. Hey, why not? I need to feed my ego somehow, and as long as she was willing...

It was a good tournament. I didn't think I was going to get to play 9-ball, because they were pushing back 9-ball matches until March. However, for my handicap level, we got to play. I started with an 8-ball match, which I won. The guy I played was very good, and it was a close match. He wasn't happy with his shooting, but nobody is happy with their shooting when they lose.

As soon as I turned the score sheet in, they immediately put me up for a 9-ball match. This was to be the pattern all day; in 6 hours of pool, I got absolutely no time to rest and recharge. It was an endurance test, and I didn't pass.

As it turns out, I met the same guy in my 9-ball match. He was out for revenge, and he got it -- he beat me by 5 points. It was a great match again, and I thoroughly enjoyed playing him. He was a very good sport.

This went on for 4 more matches, alternating between 8-ball and 9-ball. I survived for 3 matches each. I was tired by the end, but all in all it was a good time. Kelly got to meet many of my friends, and we had fun.

Monday morning, I woke up incredibly dizzy and nauseous. I stayed home, losing a day of pay (I have been working as a consultant). It turns out it might be some sort of inner ear infection, but I will need to wait until I have full medical coverage when I am hired full time at DAV before I can get it checked out. More on that in a moment...

On Thursday, I hit a pothole driving in to work. I slammed it so hard, it blew out my tire. Fortunately, I was pulling off the highway into a parking lot when it happened, so I was able to just pull over to change the tire. Of course, I discovered that the spare (which I never used for 11 years) was not a solid rubber tire, but inflatable--and it was flat! I was a block away from a gas station, though, so I figured I'd be ok until I could get there and put air in the tire. I did so, and fortunately the air held!

I was able to get the tire replaced at Tire Discounters in a matter of minutes later that morning, so all's well in that department. Now, if I can just get the state to fix that pothole... wish me luck; I don't have a lot of confidence in our government at the moment...

Another strange thing happened Thursday... I received a notification that a new person was following me on twitter, by the name of heatherschmid. Great. I have received these before, where some person follows me, expecting me to see who they are, and follow some link to their porn site. I followed her link (hey, it's porn, why not???), and discovered that she is not a pornstar wannabe, but a recording artist. Ok... using twitter to promote herself? That's cool, I guess.

I wondered if she would talk to me... so I followed her back, and sent her a private tweet (go to twitter.com if you'd like to learn what it's about). She responded to me! We had a short conversation, during which I visited her site and listened to her music. I especially liked Molihua, and I LOVED her cover of "It's Been a While." Go to her site -- you can listen to all of her music on the website. She informed me that her music has been nominated for a Grammy as well, so of course now I am going to watch for it...

I am not a fan of spam, and of course I get tired of the "come visit my webcam" requests. However, it was quite refreshing to have an up and coming pop/rock star take the time to talk to me on Twitter one on one. She has gained herself a True Fan.

Update: Today, I found out that they are going to push my hire date back one week. I was supposed to start Monday, but since it's a holiday, I have to wait a week before they will start me. Of course, this means I don't get paid for Columbus day. Yay. At least DAV has offered to allow me to work extra hours for the week so I don't lose pay, and I still get a three day weekend. Plus, Robert Half (my consulting company) has offered to take me to lunch Monday. So, I guess that worked out ok...

I'm really looking forward to working here at DAV full time. It's a great organization, and the people here are wonderful. I am happy to (almost) be a part of the family. I can see myself being here for a very long time. It's almost like I've arrived home after a long, tiring trip. Ok, ok, that sounds cheesy, but what can I say? I love cheese!

Best. Costume. Ever.

I have a favorite event that I enjoy this time of year. Yes, my birthday is in August, and that is fun, but that's not it. Halloween is coming in a month, but that's not it either... I am talking, of course, about the Renaissance Festival!

Every year, we get to step back in time to a more simple period. A period of sword fighting, of jousting, huge tankards of mead in one hand and a large turkey leg in the other. How fun to walk around and admire the people dressed in period clothing: large-bosomed women showing off their ample endowments, and men in chain mail, leather, and capes. Swordsmen and princesses, jesters and wenches.

Of course, I am reminded many times that I know nothing about the Renaissance. I had assumed that the Renaissance was a cultural movement resulting in fundamental changes in art and mathematics. The only math and art I saw, however, was a sign on which all of the $5 items had been changed to $6 with a blue pen. $6 for a bowl of soup? Not very Renaissancey if you ask me...

But I digress.

What I apparently did not know was the amazingly wide variety of couture available during that time. Some of my favorite recreations included:

1. A Wizard. Dressed in full regalia, complete with Gandolfish hat. I wasn't sure if he was from the Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter Renaissance eras, though. it was tough to tell. He did have a very cool looking pipe...


2. A large group of girls in Capri pants, t-shirts, tennis shoes, and of course, duchess hats.


3. Many different guys wearing boots, jeans, some sort of death-metal t-shirt, and a cape. I seriously had no idea that death metal originated during the Renaissance, but we are discovering of course that I know very little...


4. A young man had a couple of newly created Samurai swords. Again, forgive my lack of Renaissance knowledge, but...
   
   
   
   1. Um... Samurai swords? In a recreation of an English Renaissance village?
   2. The handle and sheaths seemed to be made of pine. Plain pine. No decorations.
   3. Aren't you supposed to go through rigorous training and be ready to kill yourself for your cause before you are given a Samurai sword? He had TWO!!
   
   
5. Not one single person dressed as Robin Hood. NOT ONE! I was so disappointed


6. It was Pirate weekend. Ok, sure... pirates existed at the same time... but so did Pilgrims, and I didn't see a single person dressed as a pilgrim! But, I did see...


7. ... a pirate werewolf!!! Yes, people, it is true. They DO exist. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a picture, but rest assured, although it looked like a bad werewolf mask and gloves, with bare arms and legs, shorts, t-shirt, and tennis shoes, I assure you it was a pirate werewolf! The pirate hat was the giveaway.

Ok, sure, Kelly and I had a good time. No turkey leg or mead for me this time, and there is the arrow-shooting incident that I do NOT want to talk about, but I did get my Master Marksman certifications in the axe-throwing and ninja-star throwing competitions. Yes, apparently lumberjacks and ninjas were also a part of the Renaissance.

I really need to take a History class.

Reflection

I am incredibly fortunate to have landed a job recently at the Disabled American Veterans headquarters in Cold Spring, KY. I am finally working for an organization with a mission statement I can stand behind, a company devoted to the welfare of my fellow veterans who have been injured while serving their country. I am honored to be here.

We have a small museum here, with many memorabilia from many different wars over the years. However, there is one item on display that is not from a war, which does not honor veterans. It is a flag, upon which is written the names of every known victim of the terrorist attacks on 9/11. It is quite moving to sit and read some of the names, almost as though one is allowing those names to mean something more than just a marker to keep their place in our history.

An email was sent out yesterday within our organization, reminding people to take a moment to remember the victims, and encouraging us to wear black. Here is what part of the email said:

As we remember the September 11, 2001, attacks on our Nation this Patriot Day, let us reaffirm the vows made in the earliest hours of our grief and anger. As liberty's home and defender, America will not tire, will not falter, and will not fail in fighting for the safety and security of the American people and a nation free from terrorism. Let us continue to bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to them.

Please take a moment to remember our fallen brothers and sisters today.

Life is like a box of chocolates...

... you never know when it's going to bend you over and kick you in the nuts. Or something like that. Fuck it, I don't give a shit.

Ok... Most of you people reading this know me pretty well. You know that I am all about integrity. Honesty. Trust. They are very important things to me, things I value above almost everything else -- even cheese. So, why is it that I always seem to end up with people who pay lip service to these values, but don't practice them?

How does someone tell me that they are on the verge of falling in love with me one day, and then break up with me the next day after a disagreement? How can she tell me so many wonderful things that she loves about me, and how much she wants to see me, then tell me our relationship is over the very next day? Did I mention that it was less than 24 hours??? I am sure I read and heard the words "I'm not going anywhere" several times in the last week.

Yes, I can be pretty intense at times, but this is the real me. Take it or leave it. I am real, I don't play games, and I never pretend to be someone I am not. I am honest, I wear my heart on my sleeve, and you know what? Sometimes we will get into an argument. Sometimes we won't see eye to eye on things. It's called a relationship. They take work.

In hindsight, I see where the descent began... It was a week and a half ago, on Labor Day. There was this look in her eyes she had when I was leaving, like she was glad to see me go. We experienced a wonderful weekend together, quite blissful, then within a 30 minute period, I was practically pushed out the door to my 5 hour drive home. Next weekend, she didn't want to talk to me for 3 days straight ("stress"). Emails that used to come to me 10 a day trickled down to 1 or 2 per day. She told me NUMEROUS times that she thought I'd be happier with someone local. Why oh why didn't I read the signs? I suppose I did... I knew it was coming, and pretty much told her that I saw them. She denied them. She told me she wasn't going anywhere. I was being silly. She was just focused that day on Labor Day. She was tired. Stressed. Job had her down. Focused on her charities. Fuck... why can't anyone just come out and say "I don't see this relationship going anywhere?" Why lead me on?

Well. She was right. She didn't go anywhere. She stayed right where she was, and told me on the phone last night that she was done, and didn't want me to come around any more. No discussion. I get no say. Just like I got no say about when I could see her -- I had to fit into her schedule somehow. Just like I got no say about whether she was going to not call me for 3 days. "Sorry Michael, sucks for you... we're done, have a good life, go fuck yourself."

Just perfect.

My new resolutions:

1. Stick with a local woman.
2. Find someone who doesn't have to fit you in to a schedule a soccer mom/girlscout leader would cringe at.
3. Date women who actually know how to feel passion, and who aren't afraid of a man in touch with his emotions.
4. Find someone who believes that trust, honesty, communication, and respect actually mean something.

Failing that, I'll join a monastery. At least there I won't have to deal with communication issues.