Objectionable Material

Nordic Noir

2012-01-23T17:05:00.000-08:00

One of the benefits of my addictive personality is that sometimes I land on some type of thing that is so interesting that obsession is warranted and rewarding. One such thing is a recent indulgence in a lot of Nordic Noir.

It started with the Stieg Larson Millennium trilogy and is most recently working itself out in my enjoyment of the Danish original The Killing TV series (kiss-kiss, Van). I've recently made a long list of popular Swedish thrillers - many of which are series focused on one detective - and I cannot wait to find the time to read more.

Here are some of the characteristics I love best in this genre:

A heroine to the story (though not always, as in the mediocre The Hypnotist - more on that later) who kicks ass (Lisbeth Salander, Sarah Lund/Linden, Smilla) and has had absolutely all she can stand of misogyny and bullshit. She has generally gotten the shit end of at least one kind of stick, and she ain't gonna take it any more
A mystery that needs some serious solving
Characters who are the very best at what they do, but who are overlooked by most people because they don't comply with social norms
Some kind of social injustice that the heroine (except in the mediocre, etc, etc) is absolutely livid about

Here are my recommendations if you enjoyed The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo or the AMC version of The Killing and are interested in more:

Read Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow. It's the grandmammy of the genre and is outstanding. This book is one of Sly B's all-time favorites and she's been trying to get me to read it for ages. Why did I wait so long?
There's a Julia Ormond movie called Smilla's Sense of Snow that's also wonderful
Read all three Stieg Larson books - they are fantastic. Then watch the Swedish films - they are fantastic. Then see the US film - it was pretty damn good.
Watch the AMC version of The Killing - so great. A Nordic Noir story set in Seattle. Fans FREAKED OUT about the S1 ending because it wasn't all Hollywood-tied-in-a-bow. Haha
Watch the BBC version (it's Danish, but they dubbed into English) of The Killing - it's the original and the story is so dark and thrilling
Do not, not matter what, pick up The Hypnotist, even though the cover says it's "methadone for those in withdrawal from Stieg Larson novels." First of all, really marketing people? Classy. Because heroin addiction is EXACTLY like loving some books. Second of all, it was a good mystery, but I hated the main character, his wife, his son, and everyone he knew. Seriously it was a 4 out of 10 nipples and doesn't belong in this class

You have your homework.

The Fires of Heaven

2012-01-15T09:40:00.000-08:00

I finished this volume a few weeks ago. A LOT happened in this one, despite Perrin's POV being absent.

Lews Therin has emerged as the voice in Rand's head. He's a nutter, too, so Rand is stuck listening to his weeping/ranting/homicidal ideas.
Lanfear had her eyes on the Sun Throne - I missed that on the first read.
Matt's medallion is proven out as a protection against channeling.
Min and Elaine come to terms with the fact that they both love Rand. Meanwhile, Rand plays between the sheets with Avienda.
Forsaken body count: Lanfear (?), Ravin, Asmodean. Moghedien is also captured by Nynaeve.
The rebel Aes Sedai have set up camp in Salidar, and Nynave, Min, and Elaine are there with them.
Biggest thing to happen: Moraine is presumed dead after taking Lanfear out through the mysterious doorway.

Next up: Lord of Chaos

The Shadow Rising

2011-12-11T14:55:00.000-08:00

Book 4, The Shadow Rising, is (so far) the longest in the series at 1001 pages. This read for me was via audio-book and was 40.5 hours of bookiness. I think that in writing this volume, RJ must have decided: "Fuck it" and gone all in with the detail, scope, and length of the series. This one represents a real turning point in what would happen in the series and how many characters would be integral to the story. Whew, a biggun. Here are my thoughts in no particular order:

Major plot points in this volume: The Tower is broken; Nynaeve proves that she is strong as hell, and can overcome a Foresaken; Rand is He Who Comes With The Dawn without a doubt; Rand captures Asmodean and now has a teacher and proves that he is unwilling to kill a woman; Egwene begins learning to be a dreamer; Perrin becomes a "lord" and marries Faile

Min is more important to the plot of the series than I thought and I'm paying more attention to her role

Siuan and Leane are hilarious

Is Rand's breaking the Aiel bigger than his telling their historical secret?

Next up, The Fires of Heaven

The Sacred Band

2011-12-08T16:41:00.000-08:00

I recently had the pleasure of finishing The Sacred Band, the conclusion to the Acacia trilogy by David Anthony Durham. Book 1 is Acacia; Book 2 is The Other Lands. Rather than do a plot summary here, because I really do believe you should read this one for yourself, I'll just talk about what I loved about this final novel.

First, the entire series is incredibly refreshing. Epic Fantasy is generally "conservative" in metaphor at many levels. The hero (and there usually is just one) is typically male, white, heterosexual, etc, etc, etc; the bad guys are typically of color, not Euro-ish, effeminate even sometimes. In Acacia, the heroes are varied in race, home, sex, motives. It takes many of them a long time, and a lot of mistakes to get to the point of doing "right."

Next, the conclusion of the series isn't a nice, tidy fix by a savior. It's just a hope of something better. I LOVE that.

Finally, Durham knows how to finish a series. Who finishes a trilogy in four years? Who finishes a trilogy in three books? LOVE THAT. Of course, I love the torture that is SOIAF and WOT too . . .

I'm going to read Pride of Carthage just because I know this dude can write. And he's on my must pre-order list from now on. Ten out of ten and the best book I read this year.

'bout got 'er licked

2011-11-18T15:11:00.000-08:00

Sly B and I visited Big Beaver Brewing Co. in Loveland last week. Coincidentally, we'd just read a review of the brewery that claimed, and I paraphrase, that "unless you're a feminist or someone who hates fun you'll love this place." So two feminists walk into a bar. Aside from my being hit on by a biker, I'd say our man-hating, joyless, politically ridiculous feminism remains completely intact.

Just kidding, obviously. The review in question was silly. The brewery is stupendously unique as a spot - wonderfully home-made tables; friendly bartender; friendly patrons (especially that biker). It had a great vibe all the way around. The joke in the logo and name and tagline is continued in the brews:

-Beaver Stubble Stout (appreciated by a buddy)

-Bust-A-Nut Brown

-Potent Peter IPA

-Screw The Pooch Ale (my favorite)

-Whiskey Dick Stout

and so on. Feminists can laugh at that. We're proof.

I predict that in ten years, this is going to be a big, festival winning brewery. They've got the right stuff, no doubt. The beers are each unique and robust and true to style.

If you're in Northern Colorado and can, check this joint out. It's fantastic.

The Dragon Reborn

2011-11-05T05:48:00.000-07:00

My thoughts on book 3:

Matt never accepts his fate. He always wants to leave, but he really doesn't want to go back to Emond's Field.

Nynaeve is driven because she sees herself as the protector of the Emond's Fielders. She is also driven by hatred of Moiraine.

The Dragon Reborn was very light on Rand; the focus was on moving all the main characters to Tear.

ALL of Min's viewings come true. Never doubt what she sees.

Rand always thinks that he's defeated Shai'tan in the early books!

The Forsaken body count: Aginor, Be'lal, Ishamael/Ba'alzaomon.

We now know who The People Of The Dragon are. In that, the legends of the various peoples start to bleed together.

Moiraine's role is really becoming more to remind the ta'veren who they are than to guide them.

This is among my favorites of the books - a lot of great focus on the "girls" perspective and a lot of fantastic character development. Faile is an annoying character, IMO, and we meet her here, but otherwise this was a fun re-read and a fantastic story.

Next up, The Shadow Rising

WoT Read, Read, Read

2011-10-26T16:24:00.000-07:00

Sly B and I are both re-reading the massive Wheel of Time series in anticipation of the final installment in March. I thought it might be fun to do a series of posts that are just thoughts on each book. Not reviews, just thoughts. My review is this: I fucking love these books.

I've read the first 10 books in the series at least twice - some more than that. The latest books and the prequel I've only read once, so this is very exciting.

So I am currently rounding the corner to the end of book #3 The Dragon Reborn. Sly B is on book #8 already. She may or may not participate in this - I haven't even asked her yet.

Here are my initial thoughts on the first two books: I've read The Eye of the World the most of all of these novels and love the book. It introduces us to our core characters and gives us the messianic tropes, the fantasy usual suspects, and just a short quick peek into how vast this world is going to be. It shows us that not only is Rand critical to this story, but Perrin and Matt and Egwene and Nynaeve are also crucial.

The Great Hunt, I think, is my favorite of the series. I love how this novel pulls in the other crucial pieces of this world - the Whitecloaks, the Aiel, the Seanchan, the Foresaken, Darkfriends. I LOVE this book.

I know a lot of my buddies, and my brother-in-law, also love these books. It's just been SO ENJOYABLE to re-read this series so far. And, I'd better hurry up or I'm not going to finish by March.

Book Review - A Dance With Dragons

2011-10-16T14:54:00.000-07:00

I finally finished A Dance With Dragons two or three weeks ago. I'll start by saying that you can find better and more comprehensive reviews and discussions of the book all over the place. My recommendation for the best is at Topless Robot and you should check it out. It's spoilery, as will be what I say below.

A few things I would like to say:

Really, G.R.R.? Did you really have to do that to us right at the end? I don't believe that Jon Snow is a goner, me.
I am fascinated and surprised by the directions a few pivotal female characters were taken in the addition to the story: Dani has been a bit muted, and with the addition of Aegon things are totally up in the air now regarding her agency; Arya is just in a weird space - man what is going to happen with her now? My guess: she'll become the assassin she prays for each night and take out her list; Cersei: humbled? Um, not likely.
The scariest character in a long time in fiction: Ramsay Bolton. The shit he does to people, specifically Theon, is so horrible. The only one scarier than him is his dear old dad Roose. Skin-crawley.
Even if we have to wait until 2016 for more, I loved it.

Five outta five from me.

Randomness

2011-08-20T06:33:00.000-07:00

I have an iPhone and am in the stage of looking at it all the time. I'm annoying even myself.

I'm still reading Dance With Dragons - only about 350 pages in. Both Sly B and her mama have already finished. I'm usually much quicker through these beloved books, but life has gotten in the way. So far, I'm loving it.

Evil Inc., bleh, but I realize that it's time to stop caring SO MUCH.

We've seen tons of great TV this year. Standouts (some of which may be repeats but are just THAT good): Nurse Jackie, Treme, The Killing, Torchwood

Remembered

2011-08-06T05:15:00.001-07:00

Steven Curtis Verwolf
April 9, 1965 - August 6, 2008

Ancestors

2011-07-28T03:04:00.000-07:00

I am extremely fortunate in so many ways. One of these fortunes is that I have a large family, my family members contact me for assistance, and that I've grown up knowing my grandparents and other family members of my grandparents' generation. The result is that I get to hear wonderful stories from these amazing people.

This week, my 84 year old, maternal Grandma visited her 102 year old Aunt in South Dakota. They both look very much alike - like my great, great Grandma. As Grandma was trying to leave, and Auntie was trying to keep her from leaving, having enjoyed their visit too much for it to end, Auntie kept giving her more hugs and kisses. Finally, giving her one last kiss, Auntie took Grandma's hands and told her, "You look just like my mommy". Auntie may be 102 years old, but she has all of her faculties - she does not allow people to push her wheelchair - insisting on pushing it herself AND refusing to ride in one of those electric contraptions. Auntie still eats like a 70 year old and goes to exercise class every day to stay spry. Auntie happens to be a nun. She lives in an assisted living hall in the convent and feels like it's passed her time to move on to the next great adventure. Every time one of the nuns who was in their 80s or 90s passes away, she calls my grandma and complains, "I don't know why the young ones are dying, but I'm still here".

Squee!

2011-07-12T18:13:00.001-07:00

Wowie! 1,016 pages of goodness.

Finales and New Seasons

2011-06-21T05:31:00.000-07:00

Two shows that Sly B and I watched religiously for their first seasons ended on Sunday: The Killing and Game of Thrones.

The Killing ended with a twist that's gotten a lot of bad press. I liked it. Holder is one of my favorite characters on the show, and I like that he's not just a recovering addict who doesn't have much agency. It was refreshing to learn that he's more complex than the nice, humble guy we thought he was and that he's up to something. The Salon.com editor argues that these two are the worst police ever -- I don't think I agree. Their investigation was obviously riddled with misinformation, and someone is using them to take down a powerful politician. I love this show. I love how, as B pointed out early on, it focuses on the grief of the family. I also just love the damaged Linden. What a great TV character.

Game of Thrones ended just the way B said it would as we began the episode. Really, she should be a TV writer and we should live in a big house and I shouldn't have to work. She always knows who did it and what will happen. I enjoyed the first season of GoT. I think that HBO did a great job of translating a very detailed universe into an easily digestible show while not losing the complexity of all of the players. I think that the casting of the Dothraki could have been truer to the book, with darker-skinned people -- that was my biggest disappointment. I also think turning a mid-important character into a gay character was puzzling, but I'm all for the gay, so I live with it. What I DO love: the visual of the wall and especially the tunnel through the wall - AMAZING; the casting of Dani; the actress who plays Arya. I'll keep watching, definitely. It's pretty good!

What I'm most excited about now is that the next Song of Ice and Fire comes out in about a month. Of course, I've got it pre-ordered and cannot wait. Also, Nurse Jackie has become one of my favorite shows. It ended last night, I think, but we haven't watched the episode yet.

Summer watching will include: True Blood (the latest Sookie book is out and in the queue for both of us as well), The Big C (love Laura Linney), Torchwood, Falling Skies, Rescue Me if we can tolerate what's become of this beloved show for another season, and a rewatch of Deadwood on our newly acquired bluray DVDs.

Not A Unique Game of Thrones Thought

2011-06-17T17:16:00.000-07:00

Note: Topless Robot beat me to this, and as you should know is a much better blog. Even so, I'm going to post this as I've been thinking it for a few days.

Spoilers herein:

I am really enjoying the mass freak-out over Eddard Stark's beheading. Non-readers, welcome to our world. The world of us who've read these books for AGES, waiting impatiently for the next installment; hoping that our favorite character isn't the next one to bite it; realizing that he/she IS the next one to bite it and finding a new favorite character. This is how G.R.R. Martin does it. If you're mad now, JUST WAIT!

Bye-bye, Ned. B-uh-b-uh.

Bwahahahahahaha . . . uh . . . ha . . . cough.

Seriously, the show is good. I'm not ga-ga over it like I am over The Killing or Nurse Jackie or Treme, but it's good. Well done, again, HBO.

The Wire Rewatch - Accomplished!

2011-06-09T17:26:00.001-07:00

I finished my second complete watch of The Wire this morning at a very early hour. I enjoyed every minute of watching, and only found my mind wandering a bit during Season 1 episodes that I've seen many, many times.

A few thoughts as I digest:

The series is very like a Shakespearean tragedy in structure and resolution. Our heroes - actually EVERYONE in the piece - are flawed and capable of both good and evil; nothing lasts; the mighty and the wicked fall, but there's always someone in line to take their place; etc. This is not news, and lots been written about this.

My next re-watch of the series in a few years will focus on the mothers in the series. In late Season 3 I realized that there might be some subtext about the power of the mother in the show, but I'm not sure. So far, here's what I think: a lot of the worst characters are the moms. D'Angelo's mom, Nayman's mom, Michael's mom, Dukie's mom, Nick's mom, maybe more . . .

Favorite character: Kima tied with Omar tied with Bunk tied with Bubbles. But mostly Kima.

Someone needs to do a re-watch podcast with each episode being a podcast episode. Maybe a roundtable type of thing. No douchebags, though. Anyone interested? Maybe 2 years down the road, I'm thinkin'.

So now I shift my attention to Battlestar Galactica. Same level of goodness, different kind of thing. Stay tuned . . .

Hate Em

2011-06-08T18:31:00.001-07:00

I've been an on-again, off-again reader of Slate for a long time. I always read for awhile and then stop for long stretches. I've realized why I just can't commit.

Slate is like the hot girl in grad school who thought she was so fucking smart, but really she was just condescending and snooty. That girl is interesting for about five minutes, and then everybody starts yawning.

What's worse than their snide, self-referential, political reporting is the A&E stuff. GOD, if I have to read a review of another TV show or book that the reviewer hasn't even fully watched read! For example, look for the recent review of The Killing, "Can Grief Make Good Television?". BLEH. Note that I haven't linked up to it.

Bookmarks, deleted. Podcasts, unsubscribed. Hate em.

On Second Thought . . .

2011-06-02T18:41:00.000-07:00

I've been re-watching The Wire this year and I'm almost finished with Season 4. I've been thinking a lot about the show and really wanting to have some conversations about it. Yes, it's a heart-wrenching look at Baltimore. Yes, it's a glimpse at real issues that are the result of corruption, the "war on drugs," and racism. But also, it's just amazing writing and acting.

I thought maybe a good starting point for a conversation about the craft of the show is this question: What is your favorite scene?

Mine is this one. Chris and Snoop snag Bug's father intent on taking him into the vacant that has become a tomb for their ritual one-to-the-head. Chris, however, becomes so enraged, he beats him to death in a brutal moment.

This scene comes after Michael spending days mustering the courage to ask Marlowe's crew for help with Bug's father. He tries so hard to ask for help at school and from his friends, but he decides that he can only turn to people who will handle the issue in the way it must be handled for the sake of Bug.

I watched this episode, A New Day, this morning before going to an incredibly horrible work day. In the background of the shit happening at Evil, I thought about two things. One, Chris' tenderness when he decides to help Michael (in an earlier scene to this linked scene), and two, how much happens in the beating of Bug's father without any dialogue. Snoop just watches, open-mouthed and understanding fully what's going on, what must have happened to Chris when he was Michael's or Bug's age. It's a wonderful thing that happens in this brutal, bloody scene.

So, what's your favorite scene?

Random Dis, Random Dat

2011-04-10T09:27:00.000-07:00

I've finally finished The Pillars of the Earth and LOVED it. Sly B and I are going to check out the mini-series now. It's a great epic story, and great historical fiction. Check it out if you like either.

Speaking of epic, Game of Thrones premiers next Sunday. ZOMG.

There has been some excellent TV this season. Among my favorites: Shameless was AMAZING; also amazing, and doing the source material justice, was The Walking Dead. So freaking good.

Just a Start

2011-03-14T20:50:00.000-07:00

1) Friends are critical.

2) This is it; don't wait.

3) Sometimes we should be afraid of the things that go bump in the night.

Quiet, Please

2011-02-26T14:04:00.000-08:00

I do this thing for work every year. It's killer exhausting, which I could expound upon, but just take my word for it. I just got home after 8 days on the road, and am relishing in what will be short-lived quiet with Sly B and her mom. Despite significant aches and pains and lots I could complain about, I thought I'd start something I've been thinking about for quite a while now.

I've found that as I age and mature, it's the simple things that ring true. I'd like to begin compiling a list of things that I know for sure. I'm in no condition to think of something so reasonable at the moment, but this is my new project.

Feel free to add items for the list in comments, and I'll get going on the list soon.

For now, shhhh.

Random New Year

2011-01-10T18:04:00.000-08:00

I'm watching UHF for Deadpan Winter Palooza. Oh, my . . . how did I miss this one?

We found a wonderful vet for our aging cat. If you have an old pet, get them a heating pad. It's incredible how much better she is.

The Pillars of the Earth is just great. I am really loving this book. Thanks, Bunny!

We saw Black Swan on Saturday. We both really dug the flick, while finding it super disturbing. For me, the film redeemed Natalie Portman. I think that in a lot of eyes (including mine) she had been dismissed because of the Star Wars mess. She was fantastic in Black Swan.

Tomorrow is my beloved niece's 5th birthday. We've met her twice, and love her +1000.

Random Goodness

2010-12-31T06:33:00.000-08:00

We saw Harry Potter yesterday and loved it!

We finally have significant snow and love it! (because we don't have to go anywhere)

I finished Towers of Midnight and WOW. I really wasn't expecting to be blown away, but I really was. This series is so wonderful. Five outta five nipples.

I just started reading Follett's The Pillars of the Earth, a gift I received from a Deadpan friend last Christmas.

Happy New Year!!

Again and again

2010-12-10T05:33:00.000-08:00

'Tis the season to think about family, so this one goes out to my kid brother:

I am done with the heartbreak of hoping that you extract your head from your ass. I am done hoping that you stop treating mom & dad the way that you do.

I love you. I am so hurt that Sly B and I can't get to know your girls, but we have to let it go.

Ah, Friday

2010-11-19T17:10:00.000-08:00

It's been a challenging year, work-wise, world-wise. Today really feels like Friday, and I'm offering a big EXHALE.

Evil, Inc. remains evil, but there are moments. Today wasn't the worst day. I was able to get a little something extra for my peeps, and that makes me happy.

The Event is so boring. Deleted from my list and my DVR.

I'm reading Towers of Midnight. I just thought about it, and I've been reading this series for 11 years. Love it, don't care how long it takes.

I just tried the annual Fade to Black offering from Left Hand. It's just as wonderful as last years, and gets 4 out of 5 nipples from me. I don't love that much smoke, but otherwise, MWAH!

Sly B and I kill at Beatles Rock Band. You all should see her on the drums, yo, and I can play the bass JUST LIKE Paul. Ish.

An Anti-Bullying Message From the NOH8 Campaign

2010-11-12T14:06:00.000-08:00

Colorado Elections Notes

2010-11-01T18:04:00.000-07:00

Ken Buck is polling ahead of Michael Bennet. Please go vote for Bennet tomorrow.

Tom Tancredo is probably not going to pull it out over Hickenlooper. We hope.

Betsy Markey is in a tough race. She has our vote.

Sarah Palin, who today recorded a robo-call for Tancredo, predicts a political earthquake tomorrow.

On the eve of this election, DADT has been extended indefinitely.

Please vote no on egg-as-a-person, aka 63. Aside from Buck and Tancredo, it's the scariest thing we're facing this go-round.

Random Random

2010-10-25T17:37:00.000-07:00

We voted for all the lessers of all the evils, and mailed our ballots today. There are some scary names this time around. I canceled my 10-year newspaper subscription today because of their endorsements.

Cool weather is finally here. It's a bit of a relief.

That's all I've got . . .

Hello, Dr. West

2010-10-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

Joel Burns tells gay teens "it gets better" www.joelburns.com

2010-10-18T17:41:00.000-07:00

Quoting Dan Savage

2010-10-14T16:49:00.000-07:00

October 12, 2010

COLUMNS

Savage Love

In Your Image

by DAN SAVAGE

I heard an interview with you about your It Gets Better campaign. I was saddened and frustrated with your comments regarding people of faith and their perpetuation of bullying. As someone who loves the Lord and does not support gay marriage, I can honestly say I was heartbroken to hear about the young man who took his own life.

If your message is that we should not judge people based on their sexual preference, how do you justify judging entire groups of people for any other reason (including their faith)? There is no part of me that took any pleasure in what happened to that young man.

To that end, to imply that I would somehow encourage my children to mock, hurt, or intimidate another person for any reason is completely unfounded and offensive. Being a follower of Christ is, above all things, a recognition that we are all imperfect, fallible, and in desperate need of a savior. We cannot believe that we are better or more worthy than other people.

Please consider your viewpoint, and please be more careful with your words in the future.

L.R.

I'm sorry your feelings were hurt by my comments.

No, wait. I'm not. Gay kids are dying. So let's try to keep things in perspective: Fuck your feelings.

A question: Do you "support" atheist marriage? Interfaith marriage? Divorce and remarriage? All are legal, all go against Christian and/or traditional ideas about marriage, and yet there's no "Christian" movement to deny marriage rights to atheists or people marrying outside their respective faiths or people divorcing and remarrying. Why the hell not?

Sorry, L.R., but so long as you support the denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples, it's clear that you do believe that some people—straight people—are "better or more worthy" than others.

And—sorry—but you are partly responsible for the bullying and physical violence being visited on vulnerable LGBT children. The kids of people who see gay people as sinful or damaged or disordered and unworthy of full civil equality—even if those people strive to express their bigotry in the politest possible way (at least when they happen to be addressing a gay person)—learn to see gay people as sinful, damaged, disordered, and unworthy. And while there may not be any gay adults or couples where you live, or at your church, or in your workplace, I promise you that there are gay and lesbian children in your schools. And while you can only attack gays and lesbians at the ballot box, nice and impersonally, your children have the option of attacking actual gays and lesbians, in person, in real time.

Real gay and lesbian children. Not political abstractions, not "sinners." Gay and lesbian children.

Try to keep up: The dehumanizing bigotries that fall from the lips of "faithful Christians," and the lies about us that vomit out from the pulpits of churches that "faithful Christians" drag their kids to on Sundays, give your children license to verbally abuse, humiliate, and condemn the gay children they encounter at school. And many of your children—having listened to Mom and Dad talk about how gay marriage is a threat to family and how gay sex makes their magic sky friend Jesus cry—feel justified in physically abusing the LGBT children they encounter in their schools. You don't have to explicitly "encourage [your] children to mock, hurt, or intimidate" queer kids. Your encouragement—along with your hatred and fear—is implicit. It's here, it's clear, and we're seeing the fruits of it: dead children.

Oh, and those same dehumanizing bigotries that fill your straight children with hate? They fill your gay children with suicidal despair. And you have the nerve to ask me to be more careful with my words?

Did that hurt to hear? Good. But it couldn't have hurt nearly as much as what was said and done to Asher Brown and Justin Aaberg and Billy Lucas and Cody Barker and Seth Walsh—day in, day out for years—at schools filled with bigoted little monsters created not in the image of a loving God, but in the image of the hateful and false "followers of Christ" they call Mom and Dad.

mail@savagelove.net

Bachelor Night Nonsense

2010-10-11T17:32:00.000-07:00

Holy shit, Tavis Smiley and Cornel West have a new radio show. It is the best thing I've heard in ages. Check it out. Dr. West is the most brilliant mind of this generation, and I feel a lot of hope every time I hear/read him.

I finished the Millennium trilogy, and loved it. Lisbeth Salander might be the new Buffy.

We had a GREAT week off last week. Lots of together time, lots of projects accomplished, and lots of DVDs watched. Great: Kick Ass, Crazy Heart, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Mystic River; Good: The Runaways, Date Night.

I am stunned by the general lack of outrage about all the gay teen suicides among my immediate circle of people, except a few wonderful exceptions. This is not my issue - this is a cultural issue that should be affecting all of us. If you are a parent, this should scare the shit out of you. If you are the friend of a parent, this should scare the shit out of you. I am too broken hearted to say much more at this moment, but I think that might change.

September 29th

2010-09-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, B

Scent Memory

2010-09-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

The wildfire raging miles away from my workplace has the entire city filled with smoke. The interesting thing is that the smoke concentration is worse indoors. The 3-story building in which I work reeks with smoke.

This morning I headed to the bathroom, freshly cleaned by our fabulous custodial staff. The sharp scent of cleaning solution mixed with smoke brought a childhood memory back as clear as if it were happening right then. I used to spend a lot of time with my aunt and cousin when I was a kid. My aunt cleaned the social services office. This was in the late 70s early 80s when smoking was allowed in the workplace. When I accompanied my aunt to work one of my jobs was cleaning the ash trays. I would dump them and wash them with a blue solution in a spray bottle. It smelled exactly like the bathroom this morning. It made me feel really happy. I loved going with my aunt to her cleaning jobs. There's something otherworldly about wandering around an empty building after the sun's gone down.

Those People

2010-09-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

I work at a university and work closely with students. The fall 2010 semester just began and students are talking about the classes they like and those that are really going to suck. One of my student assistants (I'll call her Tiffany) told me some horrific stuff this week and I thought I'd blog about it.

Tiffany is majoring in Anthropology. She is taking an African Cultures class this semester and she LOVES it! She tells me all about how amazing her teacher is every day. She wants to be just like him. She came back from class beaming on Tuesday.

Before going to much further, I need to offer some context. Tiffany is a 19-year old white woman. She has Irish heritage and has the tattoos on her feet in Gaelic to prove it. This summer she helped me teach my Upward Bound course. The students in our class are recruited from reservations across the country. The two Nations with the biggest population in my class are Dine from New Mexico and Lumbee from North Carolina. During orientation for the program, Tiffany came to the epiphany that she is an Indian. It's the typical my-great-great-grandmother was a Cherokee-princess fantasy heritage. Since then any mention of Indians makes her giddy. Now back to my story.

Tiffany was so excited that her African Cultures professor had worked on the Pine Ridge reservation for a year. (We have students from Pine Ridge in our Upward Bound course, so she was excited that she new of the reservation of which he was speaking.) Tiffany went on to explain that the professor said it was so much easier to get to know people in African villages than it was to know the people of Pine Ridge. He told the class that all the people on the Pine Ridge reservation lie about everything. He said every single thing they ever told him was a lie. It was impossible to really get to know anyone because they were all liars.

I asked Tiffany whether the professor discussed why First Nations people might not tell outsiders the truth. She said that he didn't. He went on to talk about how much more honest and friendly people in African tribes are.

I'm not at all surprised at this. Not even these post-racial times when Ethnic Studies programs are no longer needed because civil rights in the '60s fixed everything and we have a Black president. When I was Tiffany's age and in my sophomore year of college at a prestigious Jesuit college, one of my professors explained that "Hispanic" women prefer to be oppressed by their men because of the machismo Hispanic culture. As a social worker, one must learn to accept different cultures have differences we might not understand. So when a Hispanic client is being beaten by her husband it is because she likes it - it's her culture.

Tiffany was an Honors student all through high school and took AP classes that put her ahead of many once she started college. She'll no doubt go to grad school and perhaps even earn her PhD working for the amazing African Cultures professor. She'll teach at a university and propagate the same disgusting anthropological view of the "Other" that she will be lauded for learning and regurgitating in her years at university. Perhaps Tiffany will take an Ethnic Studies class and learn some alternative perspectives. One can only hope.

Back to Bachelor Nights

2010-08-30T17:50:00.000-07:00

Boo. Summer, it ends.

We're currently into:

Grateful Dead Rock Band track packs
Lego games on the PS3
Popsicles - especially the Dannon real fruit blueberry ones
Fresh tomatoes and goat cheese
Canning produce from our garden

I'm currently into:

Reading, reading, reading, and reading - current obsessions = The Girl novels (just started the third), Sword of Truth series, and dozens of others
Glucosamine-chondroiton

Anamnesis

2010-08-06T04:39:00.000-07:00

Steven Curtis Verwolf
April 9, 1965 - August 6, 2008

Where Do We Find The Time??

2010-07-27T05:15:00.000-07:00

I just updated the What We're Watching list to the right. Who can watch all that TV?

The truth is that we mostly just record those shows and play Harry Potter Lego on PS3. Also, The Real L Word is so horrible.

Point

2010-07-11T16:57:00.000-07:00

Things have been mighty stressful around our house for the past year or so, beginning with my mom's first of two major spine-related surgeries last July. Sly B and I are not perfect people. We have tons of flaws. I believe that our biggest shared flaw is that we always -- ALWAYS -- think of ourselves second, if not last. For the most part, this flaw has resulted in lots of joy and love in our lives. Sometimes, though, it reaches back and bites us right in the ass.

Here's the thing: we are not an endless font. Breaking point, meet us.

I'm not sure what this means, but I'm kinda done not putting us first for a bit.

Book Mini Pre-review: Wizards First Rule

2010-07-06T17:17:00.000-07:00

I'm about halfway through the first book in the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. I don't love it. I don't hate it. I think it is moving pretty slowly, and I keep comparing it to my other beloved Fantasy series. The jury is out about whether I'll continue the series after this long one.

Friday Night Random

2010-06-25T16:41:00.000-07:00

I haven't been here for awhile. Here are a few thoughts:

Sweet peas eaten minutes after picking are like nothing else on Earth.

Buffy Season 8 continues to deliver. Man that's a great series.

I almost drank a wasp this morning (Sly B, I know I'm stretching that one, but I'm still traumatized).

Work is kind of stressful right now. When I say "kind of" I mean "fucking incredibly."

A workmate I hadn't met before approached me the other day and told me she LOVED my car because it was the coolest car at work, and that she loves Ani DiFranco and Firefly too.

We had the BEST time at Sly B's family reunion a few weeks ago. Nieces and nephews are grand. Especially when they let you play Rock Band, and genuinely like hanging out with you.

Good weekend!

Random Gratitude

2010-05-27T19:04:00.000-07:00

Sly B made fruit salad tonight

Tomorrow is Friday

Coffee is delicious

That's all I got. Long week over here.

The End

2010-05-24T19:37:00.000-07:00

I liked it. I'm still thinking, but I really liked it.

Unfriended?

2010-05-19T17:45:00.000-07:00

Recently I was considering "unfriending" an acquaintance on Facebook, that insipid time-suck. This person and I are obviously on opposing sides of everything important to me - civility, politics, drugs, social justice - everything. I discussed this with a new friend, who advised me without really giving me an opinion not to do it. He cited an article that discussed the demoralizing effect of "unfriending" and didn't say much more. I decided not to do it.

Yesterday, through a series of time-suck-related events, I discovered that someone I was very, very close to at one point had "unfriended" me. Without getting too far into things, I'll say that it was indeed demoralizing. It was hurtful, cruel, personal, even a little heartbreaking. I sent new unfriend a message that consisted only of the word "Unfriended?". I received a longish reply a little while later that just ground the cigarette butt of the injury home. In my eye.

From this experience I've learned a few things:

I have awesome friends who always have my back.
Co-dependent friendships cannot survive a healthy party.
I am fucking glad I didn't "unfriend" aforementioned dumb acquaintance. I think he's a douche, but he has feelings that aren't mine to throttle.
Facebook might be a rotten place to spend a lot of time.

Thanks for listenin'.

Squee!

2010-04-17T19:35:00.001-07:00

Love this:

Summer TV is almost better than Spring TV. When did that happen?

Sad

2010-03-08T18:04:00.000-08:00

Brother, my heart is even a little more broken.

Here's a recap of what you've missed over the last 12 months:

Sly B and I celebrated 10 years together in May.
Mom turned 60 in June.
Mom had surgery repairing two discs in her neck in July. It was big.
Baba turned 80 in November.
Mom had very major back surgery in December. It was ginormous - and still is.
We had a very fun holiday with mom & dad.
Dad turned 60 a few weeks ago. We just had a big party with the entire family. It was so much fun, and your absence was palpable.

I miss you. Our parents and cousins and aunts and uncles miss you. Life is passing, bro.

On Not Being A Dick

2010-02-20T12:18:00.000-08:00

This week's lesson, kids, is civility.

Life is hard. People are difficult. Everyone has an opinion.

I have come around to the belief that, no matter how revolting I find someone, it's my responsibility to treat them like a fellow member of the human race. I stopped trying to make everyone like me a long time ago, but I'm not talking about being liked here. I'm talking about using my time on this rock as a member of a community.

Don't get me wrong, there are some people who turn my stomach. I don't need to bring those guys home -- they would probably take a dump on my couch if I did. But I don't need to flay them for entertainment, either. Everyone has shit to deal with.

New rule: don't be a dick, or go away.

Mini-review - The Other Lands

2010-01-01T13:28:00.000-08:00

I just finished The Other Lands, Book 2 of the Acacia Trilogy by David Anthony Durham. I LOVED this book, and love this series. Book 3 can't come soon enough!

In Book 2, we meet the peoples on the other side of the world of the series, and learn what they do with the quota and why. We also see what has become of the surviving Akaran children, and how they have grown into adults. I won't spoil anything for anyone, because it's a lot more fun to experience the story on your own.

I highly recommend both this novel, and the 1st book in the series, Acacia, to anyone who likes Fantasy. Check these out.

Ten +++ out of ten.

Putting My Mouth Where My Money Is

2009-12-01T18:06:00.000-08:00

Today, Sly B and I ate some shit. The amazing thing is that Evil, Inc. offers same-sex benefits. The awful thing is that we had to submit an affidavit about our relationship. The awful thing is that my benefits covering Sly B are paid for after tax, unlike my straight married co-workers. The awful thing is that the benefit in question was a life insurance policy, purchased because I know how strained I would be if B died.

We struggled for days about whether to do this. I am still not sure we did the right thing.

More later.

Dan Savage on Marriage

2009-11-14T06:45:00.000-08:00

Defeat Only Makes Me Meaner

2009-11-04T15:57:00.000-08:00

The election results are very disheartening.

Locally, the whacko faction now dominates Longmont City Council and the Mayor's office. I don't look forward to more Walmarts and Sam's Clubs, or more dominance by the New Life Church crowd. Don't Boulderize Longmont is the dumbest fucking political slogan of all time, and it worked.

Nationally, the gay marriage defeat hits hard where it hurts. I am wholly offended that my right to wed or not is up for a vote. It's a shameful chapter in this country's history, and it's time to change up the strategy.

I'm going to have to regroup a bit. Objectionable Materials might just become a political blog out of necessity. Stay tuned.

Sunday Night Randomness

2009-10-25T15:59:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure that Sly B and I have just suffered through H1N1. It was not H1Nfun. I almost feel good enough now to remember what feeling human is like. *cough*

I had a dream about my kid brother Friday night that left me missing him a lot. That makes me really mad at him. If you're reading this, you little turkey, pull your head out of your ass before it's too late.

I'm reading Blood Engines by T. A. Pratt, and enjoying it. It's book 1 in her Urban Fantasy series. So far, my review is: not bad.

We watched Wolverine last night and enjoyed it. Good origins story for someone who hasn't read ALL the X-Men or Wolverine comics. I've only read the Whedon X-Men stuff personally.

This past Friday's Dollhouse episode was excellent. I'm disappointed that this show will most likely be canceled in December, but I will admit that it hasn't been consistent or strong. There have been some wonderful episodes, and the themes in the show are deep, but I don't know if TV wants deep.

Back to my coughing corner . . .

Yep, Gay

2009-10-11T18:28:00.000-07:00

Happy National Coming Out Day

Get A Life

2009-09-26T07:48:00.000-07:00

I just updated the What We're Watching list to the right . . . I might have a problem.

Random on Vacation

2009-09-19T05:08:00.000-07:00

I have been so lax about blogging. Life is just crazy. BUT, I am ON VACATION!

A few thoughts about TV:

What the hell happened to LL Cool J?

Nurse Jackie was the best summer series, and I can't wait for it to come back.

We enjoy The Big Bang Theory, which we've caught up on via DVD. It's cute.

Warehouse 13 could have been a lot better. Eureka has gotten pretty lame.

We love True Blood. I think that the character of Sophie was mis-cast, but we'll see next season.

Being Human was very nice. I thought it was a nice, compact, complete series.

Torchwood and Dr. Who specials this summer were fabulous. We are totally hooked, and Sly B has a Tardis to prove it.

Whew.

36!

2009-08-27T04:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Sly B!!

Denied Parole

2009-08-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

While Squeaky Fromme and the Lockerbee Bomber are released, Leonard must now wait until 2024 for another parole hearing.

This is 100% political, and 100% wrong.

I Don't Get It

2009-08-12T18:22:00.000-07:00

I LOVE John Waters. I have been a big fan for decades. His film Pecker is one of my all time favorites. I was disappointed when I listened to an interview with him on Fresh Air the other day, and then read his blog on The Huffington Post. Both were about his new book, Role Models, in which he dedicates a chapter to the parole of Leslie Van Houten (convicted Manson family murderer).

What gets me most about the recent media tour John Waters is not that he supports Van Houten. I don't have much of a position on her case. What I don't get is why celebrities aren't screaming their bloody heads off right now about Leonard Peltier's parole. This man has been a political prisoner in this country since the 70s for a crime even the Feds admit he did not commit. It is time for him to be allowed to go home.

Read more about Leonard's case here. Call the White House.

Fangasm

2009-08-08T11:02:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe how much I loved Torchwood: Children of Men. I have a lot of friends who haven't watched it yet, so I'm going to avoid big spoilers, here, but I just had to say that this is exactly why I like scifi.

This 5-episode mini-series really allowed us to watch as Karma kicked Captain Jack in the balls over and over again. You can't escape your past, so don't do horrible shit.

I read yesterday that John Barrowman is going to become a Desperate Housewife (get it, he's GAY - hahahaha . . . erm . . . ha . . . cough), and that a series 4 is is serious question at this point. While I'd love to see more and more and more Torchwood, I would be completely satisfied with this as the end of the show. Without Jack, I'm not sure the series can survive (even though I am completely in love with Gwen Cooper).

Whew. Poor review, I know. I give this one 10 out of 10 nipples, and recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

Remembering

2009-08-05T18:40:00.000-07:00

Steve Verwolf
4/9/65 - 8/6/08

She had some horses.

She had horses who were bodies of sand.
She had horses who were maps drawn of blood.
She had horses who were skins of ocean water.
She had horses who were the blue air of sky.
She had horses who were fur and teeth.
She had horses who were clay and would break.
She had horses who were splintered red cliff.

She had some horses.

She had horses with long, pointed breasts.
She had horses with full, brown thighs.
She had horses who laughed too much.
She had horses who threw rocks at glass houses.
She had horses who licked razor blades.

She had some horses.

She had horses who danced in their mothers' arms.
She had horses who thought they were the sun and their bodies shone and burned like stars.
She had horses who waltzed nightly on the moon.
She had horses who were much too shy, and kept quiet in stalls of their own making.

She had some horses.

She had horses who liked Creek Stomp Dance songs.
She had horses who cried in their beer.
She had horses who spit at male queens who made them afraid of themselves.
She had horses who said they weren't afraid.
She had horses who lied.
She had horses who told the truth, who were stripped bare of their tongues.

She had some horses.

She had horses who called themselves, "horse."
She had horses who called themselves, "spirit." and kept their voices secret and to themselves.
She had horses who had no names.
She had horses who had books of names.

She had some horses.

She had horses who whispered in the dark, who were afraid to speak.
She had horses who screamed out of fear of the silence, who carried knives to protect themselves from ghosts.
She had horses who waited for destruction.
She had horses who waited for resurrection.

She had some horses.

She had horses who got down on their knees for any savior.
She had horses who thought their high price had saved them.
She had horses who tried to save her, who climbed in her bed at night and prayed as they raped her.

She had some horses.

She had some horses she loved.
She had some horses she hated.

These were the same horses.

Still Reeling

2009-07-11T11:43:00.000-07:00

Every time I return from a work trip, I feel like I've been beaten up. I guess every time, I kinda am. Among my list of woes this time is an ankle, previously healed, once again swollen to about 3 times its normal size.

Why does this job - take away all of the factors I bring to the table - have to be so stressful? I've worked at a lot of places, but nowhere as long as Evil, Inc. I wonder if all companies like this one are similar in dysfunction and employee behavior. I tend to assume that they are, but damn, the backbiting and sniping in my group is pretty astounding.

I resolve to take a big step back from work people. Another big step back, that is -- this isn't my first clue to things. I can't be friends with everyone I work with, which makes my job less enjoyable but my mental health a little more tolerable.

Books and Birthday Hauls

2009-07-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

I haven't had great luck with books lately.

I picked up and put in a concerted effort (150 pages) to get into The Etched City by K.J. Bishop. I just wasn't feeling it. It could be me, so I just put it aside and may pick it up again some day.
I'm listening to a Dan Brown novel (abridged, thank god) called Digital Fortress. It's like he's never met a woman. I only have 50 minutes left, so I'm gonna power through.

For my birthday, I got tons of gifts -- more than I needed to receive x the power of n. I have survived these 38 years, and am working on a 39th as I type this.

Sly B surprised me with a wonderful collection of Tank Girl omnibuses, the first of which I'm totally into at the moment. She also got me the film on DVD, a few other DVDs . . . cough . . . , and a t-shirt with a pinata and the caption "I'd Hit That." She took me to Boulder on Sunday for lunch, let me pick out a neoprene condom for my MacBook, and a pick-your-own 6-pack of microbrews at the best liquor store in Boulder County. She also made me lazagna, which, ahem, does it for me. I have a rant cookin' about the employees of the Boulder Apple Store - watch for that.
My parents came to visit last Saturday night as well. B had bought my mom a huge amount of king crab legs for her birthday, and we gorged out on them. My folks gave me a new crock pot, Seasons 4 and 5 of The Wire on DVD, two pair of underpants (their older, ok?), and a really neat embroidered tunic. My mom called the other day to say she'd also gotten me and B lunch boxes.
2Rays hooked me up with some iTunes, with which we rented a few movies Saturday night (Inkheart, which we watched and liked okay and Role Models, which we haven't seen yet). I also picked up some Michael Jackson songs.
A work friend gave me a Starbucks gift card.
IronicPink sent me Trueblood Season 1 DVDs. Rumor has it she also knitted me a hat.

So, to recap, sometimes books aren't great and I am spoiled.

Quick TV Post

2009-06-24T06:09:00.000-07:00

We LOVE Nurse Jackie. We are meh about HawthoRNe after one episode, but like the diversity of the cast. We are sick of Weeds.

Audiobooks Curiosity

2009-06-17T05:56:00.001-07:00

Sly B and I (and Sly B's mother) are big consumers of audiobooks. It started, I think, with the Harry Potter books, which in the U.S. at least are read by Jim Dale. Dale does voices and really makes the books a lot of fun. We were hooked immediately. Since then, we have accounts at audible.com and always have a bunch of books in the queue. (Also among my favorites are the James Lee Burke Dave Robicheaux books narrated by Will Patton - great, great listening experiences.)

I am usually reading one book the old fashioned way, and listening to another. Currently, I am reading The Etched City by K.J. Bishop, and am listening to Feast of Crows Book 4 of The Song of Ice & Fire by George R. R. Martin (which is a re-read for me).

What I wonder today is this: why, when there is a series of books (like the Martin series), would the audiobook reader change? I have spent HOURS listening to the first 3 books and really loved the reader. Now, in book 4, I have to get used to a whole new voice (this guy is a very stage-actor type) who pronounces the names differently. Ugh. I don't like it.

That's More Like It

2009-06-15T05:41:00.000-07:00

The issue with our neighbor was happily resolved yesterday. As I noisily SLAMMED the cans that had been chucked over the fence all week into a steel ash bucket at around 7 a.m. yesterday, the man o' the house came over to apologize for the mess. He told me his son had thrown them over (a story we're not sure we believe, given the tininess of the boy and the tallness of the fence) and that he had tried to come and clean them up but found our gate locked (uh, yeah it's effing locked).

I'm not sure that this won't happen again, and I still don't enjoy living next door to him, but I do feel a little better after he came by.

That's Not Very Neighborly

2009-06-10T17:16:00.000-07:00

Sly B and I have lived in our house for nearly seven years now. We think we've improved the curb appeal significantly, are friendly to everyone we see around here (except the suspicious foot traffic headed to the neighbor dealer), and mind our own business. Even so, our neighbors to the West are awful.

They are racists, they throw loud parties in their back yard that go on often until 3 a.m., they have built their own "fire pit" which sits about 5 feet from our cedar fence that consists of a charcoal grill with the legs cut off, they mistreat each other and their 2 year old son, they smoke pot all day long with their son at home and possibly meth also, they HAD a chicken in the back yard for a few weeks before the bird got wise and flew the coop, they have explosive screaming matches on a daily basis, they are pigs - Sly B saw the man o' the house dump a pot of spaghetti over the edge of their deck when he was apparently doing dishes one day, and I could go on. Of late, they have started tossing their beer cans over the fence. Tonight when I got home, there was a BAG of cans tossed over the fence.

Now I'm a good sport. I can get along with a lot of different kinds of people most of the time. I think I'm tolerant of others and not expectant of anything special in return. But I have absolutely had it with this situation.

Sly B has a good plan to handle the conversation about the cans. She is going to ask if they've seen any kids around because we have a new batch of trash over the fence daily. All I can say is this - I envy her grace because I'm more of a mind to march over there and start cussing.

Dr. Who

2009-06-02T18:27:00.000-07:00

We fell in love with Dr. Who last weekend.

I Hate Being Disappointed

2009-05-24T07:13:00.000-07:00

Back in the day, when I was a student and very engaged in academia and intellectual pursuits, I really appreciated the work of sexpert/educator Susie Bright. I thought that she brought tons of great stuff to feminist studies, and provided an alternative to all of the anti-sex junk that's out there.

I was really excited to learn that Susie B. was doing a podcast, called "In Bed With Susie Bright." I thought that it would be fun and thoughtful. The podcast is not free, but I had some extra audible credits, so subscribed. What the heck, right?

I was not impressed with the first few episodes. I found them a little dry and boring, but thought it was okay. Then, the third episode I listened to turned me off forever. Susie interviewed a man who wrote a book called (I think - her website wasn't easily navigated, so I couldn't find it) "Everybody Must Get Stoned" about sex & drugs in rock & roll. Sounded like an interesting bio book about the exploits of Iggy Pop, Mick Jagger, etc.

What really turned my stomach was the direction Susie took the interview. She and the author wanted to talk about how fantastic drugs like heroin, crack, and meth are when used as sexual aides. And that we've all been damaged by drug abstinance education in school -- using heroin recreationally does not an addict make. And how Amy Winehouse might look like a burn-out, but she's probably a tiger in the sack because of all the coke.

I can appreciate, in theory, the wild shit we do when we're under the influence. I think it makes for great stories. I can also find a book about the wild shit rock stars do under the influence interesting. What I don't find amusing is the advice like: attend "drug & sex" parties just to try it, and "try heroin" at least once, and "crack really makes you horny - try it."

I'm getting pissed just thinking about it. Unsub, stat.

You Eat What You Are

2009-05-23T05:55:00.000-07:00

EssBee and I are no where near model-thin. Yeah, i'm that bitch that takes up two seats on "your" airlplane ride. I'm always tickled by the assumptions made about what author, professor, Indian chief, Greg Sarris, would call "powerful" women (aka fat chicks).

One of the college students who works for me (she is 5 foot nothing and weighs about 90 pounds - runs marathons for fun) asked me what EssBee and I would be doing this weekend. I informed her we'd be completing the planting of our garden. She asked, "What will you plant." I listed the majority of items for her - tomatoes, chilies, cucumbers, brussel sprouts, kale... She looked at me like she couldn't believe those things ever pass my lips. The look on her face made me think she was expecting the list to be more like this: Dortito bushes, bacon trees, and hybrid hostess cupcake vines. Mmmm...cupcakes.

Where Are Our Priorities??

2009-05-19T15:14:00.000-07:00

I work at a research 1 university in a NASA sponsored program in a college of engineering. We are focused on space - the final frontier. Our students work on space hardware missions ranging in complexity from balloon payloads (launched on weather balloons) to sounding rocket payloads, all the way up to low earth orbiting satellites. Most of the students who come through our program are interested in working at NASA or supporting industries. Nevertheless, many are recruited into the defense industry. We are a tiny program that works on a budget of approximately $1M (which is huge compared to other departmental programs in the humanities, but tiny in the engineering world). We write grants and beg for funds constantly, and yes, we ask defense corporations for money to support student programs all the time. For the most part, I try and forget that we have direct ties to the defense industry by focusing on the inner-city, low-income K-12 programs I oversee and our alumni who now work at NASA centers around the country. Today I played "Token" at a meeting at one of the leading defense companies in the U.S., where we traveled to beg money to support students. I've been to defense industry buildings before, but never to as massive a campus as I was at today.

It was HUGE. Countless buildings, people everywhere, very strict security to gain access. As I was sitting in a meeting (the only woman and person of color surrounded by 20 white guys - most over the age of 45) I grew more and more sad as I listened to intelligent people talk about doing good things, with the knowledge that they would all go back to their offices and do their part to make killing people (mostly brown, poor people) be done more efficiently and effectively. Also, knowing that I'm doing my part to get the next generation of folks in their ranks. (Ward Churchill's "little Eichmann" kept running through my mind - as I am one.) All I kept thinking about was that if we threw this much money and resources at ANYTHING, we'd be really good at it. What if I was in a huge campus of buildings and thinkers who were working to eradicate poverty, or to find a cure for AIDS, or even to figure out how to make sure all people on Earth started on a level playing field, or how to stop the ice caps from thawing... In fact, several of the men around the table are amazing humans. I've known some of them many years now. I'd be willing to bet that 90% of the people working on that campus would rather be working outside the defense industry, but that's where they work for the money. Some of them probably even enjoy the challenges they face when they're working to solve problems and design innovative solutions. Imagine how much more satisfying it would be to put that same effort and expertise toward benefiting humanity instead of contributing to the killing machine. (Honestly, although I consider myself a space geek and love science, I even question spending so much on space initiatives when there are other things that could use the money we're spending to get humans back on the moon.)

I talked about this with an office mate when I got back to the university campus. She said, "People spend money on the craziest things." All I could think was that I spend money on defense as a U.S. taxpayer. I spend a hell of a lot of money on defense. What is wrong with us!? Why are we so obsessed with "defense"? I don't think it's a new thing - I think it's been around for a long time. And it's not just a U.S. obsession (although we're working hard to perfect it).

I am a radical feminist of color who does what I can to make the world a better place and to contribute to change, but being surrounded by the collection of wealth and expertise working toward "defense" today, I wondered how we can ever change the direction the machine is headed with minuscule grassroots efforts? I know this feeling will pass, but it is sure strong today.

Random Random

2009-05-05T19:29:00.000-07:00

I love Spring.

I bought a MacBook and am converted. How did I live these 38 years?

Evil, Inc. just banned a little more joy for its employees.

Sly B and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary. We've been tattooed and everything to mark the occasion. I'm not entirely sure what I've done to deserve this, or why she puts up with me, but I'm going with it. Here's to 10 more, love. Speaking of this anniversary, there isn't an official date for the occasion, as some people have asked, because we are not gay-married. Even though we don't plan on marching down a same-sex aisle any time soon, or ever, we applaud CT, MA, IA, and VT. Lots of queers want to get married and I say, go for it Mary!

Long Time, No Random

2009-04-28T19:11:00.000-07:00

We bought and watched BSG: Caprica. I LOVED it. I would recommend it as a nice stand-alone prequel to BSG, or even a stand-alone movie. It reveals the origin on the Cylon, and explains why they do what they do. I look forward to the series. Also, I love Esai Morales.

Despite the smartest chicks I know telling me to watch Grey Gardens (the HBO movie), I haven't done it yet. We will catch it this weekend when my mom-out-law is here.

Evil, Inc. is so very evil.

CUNY Staten Island tried to censor a production of Holly Hughes' play The Well of Horniness. What year is it?

Music Review - The Soundstage Sessions

2009-04-22T19:14:00.001-07:00

***Note: Today has been an extremely emotional and draining day. I have lots to say about the Angie Zapata verdict, but not today.

I recently -- okay, on the day it was released, which was last Tuesday -- picked up the new Stevie Nicks album . . .

. . . oh, who am I kidding. I am a fanatic, and am not going to review Stevie. Even if she sounds a lot older, and even if her voice ain't what it once was, and even if the songs are a little slower, I HEART Stevie. Sycophantic? Maybe. I don't care. The song, "If Anyone Falls" is wonderful on this compilation. The cover of Dave Matthews' "Crash" is also wonderful.

15 out of 10 nipples. Best thing ever. Love this.

TV Round-up

2009-04-14T05:47:00.000-07:00

I have been watching A LOT of TV this Spring. Here's a round-up in brief:

Battlestar Galactica still makes my top ten shows list, even after THAT ending. Why, I ask you, does it always have to be God? Setting the last 5 minutes of the finale aside, it was such a beautiful series.

Life on Mars (U.S.) was a fun series, and I was sad that it was canceled so soon. I like the concept behind how they resolved the series, and thought it was kind of smart to take the stolen British series title literally in this imagining. But it seemed rushed and thrown together (and probably was, given the show was suddenly canceled). I agree with one critique (from Slice of SciFi's Crazy Joe) that asked, if Gene Hunt was Sam's father, who the hell was the father in the 70's?!

I just binged on Jericho Season 1 on DVD and Season 2 on Netflix Online. What a great show, and a left-wing parable. "It's not a country, it's a company."

Life was one of our favorite series, and we were really sad that 1) NBC decided to cancel it, and 2) that Sarah Shahi was left out of most of the second half of this season because of her pregnancy. Still, we love the character of Charlie Crews and enjoyed the resolution (though were maybe a bit confused by parts of the plot -- again, it was probably rushed because of cancellation). This will probably be one we'll have to get on DVD when we see a good sale.

Despite my distaste for most of what I know about the work of Diablo Cody, we really enjoyed Season 1 of United States of Tara. We will be tuning in again for Season 2. I really like the family, even though Tara's sister reminds me of a yukky work person.

I am still enjoying mightily: Dollhouse, 30 Rock, The Sarah Connor Chronicles (which has ended - I'm just behind), LOST, and Fringe. We are getting into The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency now and enjoying it, and I am already two episodes behind on the new season of The Tudors. The Law & Order shows are always enjoyable.

I have tried to watch Kings, but find the writing way too heavy-handed when held up against all the good stuff out there. I have recorded The Unusuals, partly to catch the last minute of LOST that my DVR tries to deprive me of, and partly out of interest - haven't watched it yet. Heroes has lost me.

I Remember Joe

2009-03-31T15:57:00.000-07:00

April 1st is the day when a lot of people, me included, remember Joe Murphy. He brought a great deal of light to the world, and for that, I say brilliant.

Tomorrow, more than most days, I will strive to complain less, to laugh more, and to cherish those I love.

If I was smarter, I would syndicate a wonderful podcast dedicated to Joe here. Alas, I'm not, so instead offer this link which will take you to Tee Morris' website where you can download or stream the show. It's worth a listen.

And, hey, if you have a few extra bucks to donate to cancer (specifically lyomyosarcoma) research, this would be a good day to do it.

Rootbeers all around.

Dear Everyone Redux

2009-03-16T18:20:00.000-07:00

Since I'm in a piss-poor mood today, after a piss-poor day at work, I might as well launch into a topic that I've been marinating for a week. If you follow any SciFi/Fantasy writers' blogs, you have probably seen at least a reference to what is being called RaceFail '09. I won't do a good job of summarizing what all has happened, so I'll direct you here instead.

I am not going to comment directly on RaceFail. I am not a writer, and I don't know enough about the genre to make any informed comment about the representation of the Other as a whole within it. What I would like to talk about briefly - at least tonight - is the yucky feeling I get in my gut when I see white liberals shut down a discussion about race using all the textbook tactics that white privilege allows us.

About a year ago, I write a post about white privilege, and I think it's time to revisit the topic.

White people:

1) Discussions about race are not always personal, nor a comment about your unique story. Talk less, listen more.

2) John Scalzi posted this bingo card recently, which I've seen lots of, and find helpful. Keep a copy of this. Before you enter a conversation about race (which you should do, without fear), study the cells on the card. If you go any of these places, you might want to give yourself credit for being able to go a little deeper, and try it out.

3) We live in a racist society. To claim we aren't the products of said society is disingenuous.

4) We are stopping the race conversation. Over and over and over again, we stop it. We have got to have this conversation.

I might come back to this. Right now I'm exhausted.

Gratitude

2009-03-16T16:16:00.000-07:00

A list of my grateful things is especially important today.

Watchmen was a pretty sweet flick. Sly B and I both agreed that it was excessive - in that it didn't need to be made at all. But even so, it was well done. I wasn't put off by Dr. Manhattan's big blue junk, and I didn't find the film soft-core porn -- both things I was warned about prior to going. I loved Laurie in the film - she kicked a fair amount of ass.

The weather is amazing right now. There is snow on the peaks, and tulips are starting to peek out.

Battlestar Galactica is amazing. I am so in love with this show. Big Love is also choice. In fact, TV is excellent all the way around right now.

Sly B and I are just weeks away from our 10th anniversary. Tattooed rings are being designed. I'm feeling ready to make a commitment (kidding). Truly, I don't know what I did to deserve this amount of happiness. I am not worthy, but will take all I can get.

I am reading (via audiobook) Crusader's Cross by James Lee Burke. His Dave Robicheaux series is so wonderful! I highly recommend this book, and all of them, to anyone. If you have audible, or access to a good library with a healthy audiobook collection, the audio version is incredible. The Robicheaux books are read by the actor Will Patton, and his voice and accent are soothing, poetic, and perfect for the books.

Galactica Penult

2009-03-11T18:12:00.000-07:00

I won't spoil anything for anyone who might be reading this, but isn't caught up yet.

Battlestar Galactica has been phenomenal. It definitely ranks in my top 5 favorite TV shows. I am going to miss the show when it ends in a week and a half, but I absolutely cannot wait to find out how it ends. I am certain that I am going to be disappointed in some of the resolution for the series, but I'm even looking forward to that.

This, like Joss Whedon's shows and the great genre books and graphic novels that I am growing to love, is my favorite kind of story. Ordinary people, when faced with extraordinary circumstances, can be exceptional. That's what this story is about, no matter what happens on the next two Fridays. Love it.

Drive-by Random

2009-03-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

The L Word is over - finally. Groundbreaking, yes. Compelling, no.

In The Electric Mist was a fairly okay interpretation of a James Lee Burke book. Worth checking out, but the books are so much better.

I love The Dresden Files novels. I'm reading #4 now, and so enjoying it.

Sly B and I had a great weekend. We are both fully appreciative of the time we are being allowed to spend with the elders in both of our families.

Gratitude

2009-03-01T06:41:00.000-08:00

I woke up with a screaming headache this morning, so decided to follow Sly B's lead and think about a few things for which I am grateful at this moment.

Sly B rocks.

Sly B and I slept last night! Slept in! I think we got 9 hours in. It was light outside when we got up!

Today marks 9 years at Evil, Inc., and while I bitch and moan a lot about the company and the bosses there, I feel very fortunate to have this good-paying job. It allows us to, for instance, be able to call someone to come and fix our broken pellet stove tomorrow.

We have eggs in the fridge, so don't have to go anywhere before breakfast.

I have a brand new Wander Radio episode downloaded on my iPod!

WWJ(oss)D?

2009-02-25T18:51:00.000-08:00

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of the greatest things ever, in my opinion. I got a surprise package at my office today. Sly B sent me the soundtrack for The Musical Episode from Season 6, "Once More With Feeling." I can't even describe how happy I am listening to this album.

I've been in full-on Joss Whedon mode lately, and this just tops it.

I have a longer, serious-er post coming about his new series Dollhouse, but for now, squee!

Burning Rant

2009-02-23T19:06:00.000-08:00

Sly B and I try to be as green at home as we can. Toward that end, we bought a pellet stove about two years ago. It took us a while to get used to the back of the house being cold, considering that's where we sleep and shower, but we made it work. Now we LOVE the stove, and hate it when we have to turn on the furnace.

Somewhere around the holidays, we bought a ton of pellets, and I am here to warn all who read this not to make the same mistake we did. The brand: Confluence. The results: an hour cleaning session to get the resin chipped out of the stove yesterday. My mood: pissed off.

Confluence sells pellets made from the beetle kill pine in the Colorado mountains. The bags claim that the pellets are all-wood, but my wrists that ache from scraping and chipping beg to differ. These are jalopy pellets. Do not buy them

The story has a happy ending. We burned the last of that ton (and they burned damn fast - they lasted 3 months) on Friday, and are now the happy owners of a ton of Rocky Mountain pellets. My new best friend and pellet dealer assures me that I won't be unhappy.

Sicko

2009-02-18T09:20:00.000-08:00

I've been doing this thing lately where I think about something I'm grateful for everyday. It jus came about when I noticed that during the times I start feeling grumpy or put-upon, if I think about something fantastic in my life, I feel much better. Oddly enough, thinking of things to be thankful for is quite simple for me. I'm convinced they are infinite and if I started a list, I'd run out of ink before I ran out of things. This thing-to-be-thankful-for takes no thinking on my part, but it does warrant a blog post, just to get it out there in the ether and swirling around with the shadow particles (yeah, I just finished reading His Dark Materials again).

For the last five days I've been fighting a terrible cold, or virus, or flu, or evil spirit...whatever it was, it was bad. I hadn't been that sick in years. I'll save you the details. Suffice it to say, I could not lay flat, so attempted sleep in the recliner for five days. As I emerge from the fog of illness I am thankful for: #1, as always - EssBee. She took such good care of me. In the midst of it, she even posted that I'm the girl of her dreams. I don't know what I did do deserve her, but I am so much the better because of her - in every way. Secondly, I feel beyond privileged to have a job in the first place with the economy tanking all around us. But I also have a job where I can take 4 sick days, get paid for them and not worry about losing my job. I've have jobs where neither of these were true.

Gods Damn, I'm the luckiest girl in the world. (...even if it outs me as the world's sappiest, musical lover...) Somewhere in my youth, or childhood. I must have done something good.

Deep Breath

2009-02-14T06:01:00.000-08:00

Life has been pretty chaotic for the past several months -- maybe since October. Evil, Inc. is awful right now, the country is in big trouble financially-speaking, people I love are struggling with health issues, etc., etc.

This morning, though, I feel good. Shit happens. Maybe it's the 3-day weekend I just stepped into. Maybe it's the fact that Joss Whedon has a new show on TV, and all seems right with the world. Maybe it's because Sly B is the girl of my dreams and is right here, right now. Whatever it is, I'll take it.

Quick & Random

2009-02-12T18:40:00.000-08:00

I feel guilty for not posting here more. I will try to get better.

The sunset as I drove home tonight was, dare I say it, celestial. I wish I could have taken a photo and posted it here.

Please do not forget to watch Dollhouse tomorrow night on FOX. It has the EssBee assurance of quality.

We really love Life, and I am really digging Fringe.

Putting the FUN in Funeral

2009-02-06T10:56:00.000-08:00

I had my usual daily chat with my mom yesterday. She was stressing because she has so much debt and no job (cuz she cares for her elderly mama and could get paid if she was a stranger, but cuz she's a relative - no pay...that's a different blog post). On more piece of information you need, dear reader, is that my mom is vehemently anti-funeral. She does not believe in them and therefore does not ever attend a funeral. She is adamant that her children do not have a funeral for her when she heads out to the next great adventure. Back to the story...

Mom was saying that she felt really bad because her chidlren were going to be left with so much debt when she dies. I told her not to worry about it, but she was in a worrying state. I suggested that instead of a funeral, we should hold a fundraiser. This way, people can do whatever they need to to find closure and she will be at peace cuz we'll raise money to cover her debts. She was ok with the idea and inspired by a recent friend's attendance at a fundraiser in Denver, she agreed that her official FUNeral/fundraiser is going to be a drag show. Make no mistake. She will still not be in attendance.

More Gratitude

2009-02-04T19:06:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I forget how good my life is. Life is good. Thanks for that, Sly B.

I am loving TV again. Whew! I thought I had lost you, obsession. Great right now: BSG which is the best show on TV right now, Fringe, Law & Order w/ Anthony Anderson, LOST, and Life. Dollhouse, the new Whedon show, starts up next Friday also. And the HBO and Showtime shows are great right now too. Well, The L Word isn't "great," but we watch.

I am reading Unbowed by Wangari Maathai. I highly recommend it to anyone.

I am thankful to have reconnected with an old friend - the oldest - again. Boy, did I miss her.

Deadpan is the way.

Reasons I'm Grateful Tonight

2009-01-26T18:10:00.000-08:00

My parents and Sly B's parents didn't inundate us with fundamentalist stuff when we came out. We watched a movie called Prayers for Bobby last night that was just heartbreaking. Thanks, mom and dad.

We have a new President.

Sly B. loves me.

We can afford to keep the home fires burnin'. I know so many people who are unemployed right now. Times are tough.

Uhhh.

2009-01-24T06:56:00.000-08:00

News You Can Use

2009-01-24T05:30:00.000-08:00

2Rays dad is home from the hospital!

I have some great friends.

Battlestar Galactica is the best show on television right now. I'm not going to post any spoilers here, but damn it's exciting.

LOST is pretty damn good too. I have watched the S5 premier and am impressed. I didn't love the whiner Neil, but that was short-lived thankfully.

All Over the Place

2009-01-17T11:21:00.000-08:00

As excited as I am about the Inauguration on Tuesday, I am so sad about and wounded by the selection of Rick Warren to give the invocation.

I am glad and grateful that 2Rays daddy is okay.

I will miss my friend Doug who died on Thursday night. It'd been too long since we met, brother.

BSG is back! I forgot how much I love that show! "Sometimes I live in the country. Sometimes I live in the town. Sometimes I get a great notion. To jump in the river and drown."

Happy Birthday Jack!

2009-01-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

This is your year, I can feel it!

Mmmm..What is that secret ingredient?

2009-01-08T11:02:00.000-08:00

I recently spent three glorious days visting family down in rural southern Colorado. That area makes my whole being sing for so many reasons, but this blog is to document a great recipe my mom made.

Mom made tostadas for my grandma, me, and her for dinner. She decided that she wanted to make some pico de gallo since she had some jalapenos she needed to use up. While she chopped and mixed, I was sharing stories with her from a visit I had had that morning with my 98 year old great, great aunt (seriously, she's really great). My mom and I were laughing and laughing and all of a sudden a deluge of vavas (english translation: drool) fell out of my mom's mouth and into the bowl of pico she was mixing. This made us laugh all the more and I swore not to tell my grandma. The pico really was amazing. Grandma thought it was the oregano, but I think it might have been something else.

Mom asked me not to tell EssBee for fear that then EssBee wouldn't want to eat anything she cooked. I warned her I would have to share the story.

And...my mom is a bit dangerous when laughing. Many years back, she was playing a board game with my younger brother and I and we were all drinking giant cups of tea. She took a drink of tea and my brother said something crazy and all of a sudden he and I were sopping wet with what had a moment earlier been in her mouth. Perhaps the lesson is to make sure you sit well back from her and that she is not cooking if there is even a slight chance of laughter.

7 Things About Me That Have Nothing To Do With Piloting The Deathstar

2009-01-01T16:12:00.000-08:00

I was wondering if I would be tagged for this game, and I was. Here are 7 things about me that you might not know (even though I tend to go on and on at times):

1) My senior class in high school had only 17 people in it. It seemed big enough when I was there, but now seems almost unbelievable.

2) I love basketball. I was a very active player until a terrible ankle injury permanently benched me. I still enjoy watching, but not my old games. My dad pulled out a videotape of a high school game over Christmas, and it was not my favorite film of the season.

3) I am a neat freak. I try very hard to control it, but hate messes. Sometimes I catch myself following people around and picking up after them.

4) My broken glasses are super-glued together. I am fortunate to have medical insurance through my job, and have purchased an additional vision plan. I couldn't get new glasses through that plan until 2009, so out came the superglue.

5) I don't look like myself in pictures. I hate having my picture taken, and think that every camera has it out for me.

6) I can flip 6 eggs without a spatula. I worked in kitchens for 12 years. I wouldn't say that I'm a great cook, but I put myself through college -- and supported myself during a mini-freakout away from college -- by working in hotel and full-menu restaurants.

7) I followed Sly B around for years before I convinced her to date me. I can't decide if I'm too subtle, or too shy, but it took me a long time to convince her that I was serious.

The Rules of the Meme

1. Link your original tagger (mine was Amy Bowen) and list these rules in your post.
2. Share seven facts about yourself in the post.
3. Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they've been tagged.

I tag the following people:

1. Justa JOe
2. Ironic Pink
3. Sly B
4. Jack Jaffee
5. Jaundice James
6. kapo1257
7. marlodianne

Milk

2008-12-23T04:01:00.000-08:00

Sly B and I are on vacation and enjoying ourselves so, so much. I am sorry that I've been absent here, but just haven't had anything to say.

Yesterday, we saw Milk, the Harvey Milk biopic. Milk was the San Francisco city supervisor who was assassinated along with the city's mayor 30 years ago.

I first heard about Harvey Milk when I was very young, very scared, and just coming out. The idea that an out gay man could have, in the 70s, been elected to major office in a large city was incredible to me. He was the figurehead of the (mostly white, male) national gay rights movement that sprung up around fighting anti-gay ballot initiatives around the country that are very similar to those we are battling now. Milk was an inspiration -- middle-aged men today tell the story of how, as teenagers, they saw Milk in the newspaper and decided not to suicide. The film depicts two stories about that very thing - one in a phone call Milk received from a boy in Minnesota. That was probably my favorite moment of the film because I knew a man in Pueblo who told me an almost identical story.

The film was wonderful. Sean Penn channeled Milk, and the other actors obviously also did their homework. There is a lot of material out there to compare these performances to. If you haven't seen the great documentary The Times of Harvey Milk, I would recommend that first, and this film second. I think that this year's film is impressive especially in comparison to the footage of the real political figure.

10 out of 10 Christmas nipples.

Be Still My Heart

2008-12-08T18:37:00.001-08:00

Instead Of Calling In Gay

2008-12-08T18:14:00.001-08:00

To the right, I have the logo for the action called A Day Without A Gay. The idea is for GLBT and allies to call in gay this Wednesday and spend the day being of service and keeping our wallets shut.

I have thought about this action a lot. I was sure that I would participate on Friday. Now, I'm sure I won't. For one thing, it's classist. People who work hourly jobs and don't get sick time are penalized for participating, or simply cannot. I'm sick of upper class white queer people dictating how things go and what the media follows. For another, my job at Evil, Inc. is horrendous. If I'm gone for a day in the middle of the week, I'll have hell to pay.

Instead of participating in the gay out, I'm going to send a postcard to Obama's transition office (about which Sly B. and I know a secret, btw, but can't tell you) urging the President Elect to keep his promises about repealing DOMA and DODT, and supporting other measures that treat GLBT people like citizens of this country. This isn't my idea - Dan Savage made me do it. If you wanna join me, here's the address:

President-elect Barack Obama

Presidential Transition Office

Kluczynski Federal Building

230 S Dearborn St, 38th Floor

Chicago, IL 60604

Prop 8 The Musical

2008-12-04T11:18:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Funny or Die for this hilarity.

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Random

2008-12-01T17:05:00.000-08:00

Sly B. and I are very happy to be home from holiday travels. Whew, it was a lot of family time.

We saw these films over the extra long holiday weekend: Kung Fu Panda, Get Smart, Hulk 2, Fantastic Four 2 - Rise of the Silver Surfer, Wall-E. The best by far was Wall-E. All of them, though, were good.

We watched the first half of Season 1 of Life. I really love that show. We also watched the first half of Season 1 of Jericho. That show was not bad.

Tonight, I'm catching up on my DVR'd shows. Earlier, Brotherhood. Now, Dexter. Later, The Shield.

True Blood

2008-11-25T18:37:00.000-08:00

I am always really critical of my favorite books turned into film or TV, but boy did I enjoy Season 1 of HBO's True Blood. I will definitely be adding the DVDs to my wish list, and can't wait for Season 2. Leave it to Alan Ball to get something as queer as the Sookie series just right. I love his take on Lafayette, and really love what he did with Tara.

For Season 2, I hope that Pam gets more of a role in the story, and that we see more of Bill's progeny - she's funny.

I wish there were a few more episodes left!

Random

2008-11-19T18:05:00.000-08:00

Steven Raichlen is an awesome grillmaster, but his show Primal Grill is a little sad. We still watch it. His food is amazing, but he might be better at writing cookbooks than starring in cooking shows.

I'm reading a new graphic novel, Bad Habits, which Sly B surprised me with last week. It's an autobiographical story by Cristy Road about addiction and getting clean, and sexuality and figuring out who you are. I'm about half-way through, and it's awesome.

We watched The Darjeeling Limited last weekend and loved it. Pick it up if you are in the mood for a quirky, smart film. It's the story of three bizarre brothers who are damaged by their relationships with each other and their parents. It's about making the choice to live your life.

I have another month-old blog called Volunteer for Freedom. It's something I'm working on.