BLOGGING: 201st, and maybe last, post

I am temporarily de-blogging here.

I am starting a new project.

I'll tell you when I'm back.

PERSONAL: Seeing him...

...made me feel pity. I feel bad for what's become of him.

I have to believe that I'm making a difference for someone in the world, because I know I've left him behind, like so many others. I have to believe that I'm moving forward and doing better.

Because I don't want to end up like that.

I'm sorry I didn't say hello to you.

(200th blog -- many apologies at my lack of blogging lately.... I have been hella busy)

CINCY GAY SCENE: Left Behind

Am I foolish to feel this way?

RELIGION: Faith

This space reserved for a rant that's been building all day regarding faith and the pagan fertility festival known as "Easter."

GAY STUFF: Asexuality

I mean more power to them, but I think I am assuredly not asexual.

There's a whole politics of identity discussion to have there...

From an article in the NYTimes..



I am really really sad he's asexual.

I mean, whatever. Love who thou wilt. :-) But let me enjoy my decadence -- HA! Which, I think, is part of their point!!!!

ELECTION 2008: Race Speech

This almost made me a Barack supporter. I'm still with my girl, but I'll say this now: WOW. As Jon Stewart pointed out, he spoke to the country as adults.

I now have no problem with him as president.



It seems we're in the mode of "getting to know our candidates," as Hillary took the chance to say some touching words as well.

What does this say about race vs. sex in this country?

Simple: that women have come further. Please note that the offending rhetoric is racial in nature, not engendered.

OHIO/CINNKY: Transportation history

Found this map randomly on Google Maps today -- it's a map of all the existing (as we know it) and theoretically subway tunnels here in Cincinnati. In fact, there seems to be some unknown amongst it as there is nothing definite for the most part.

So I kept going on a link and found the Cincinnati Transit website, which details a transportation history for the entire region including some really cool pictures and graphics:


Oops! Construction found the Deer Creek Tunnel on Eden Park Drive! It was the first time anyone had written news about it in 35 years.



A picture of the abandoned CL&N RR line over modern day I-71 and what one of the tunnels on that line looks like.





pre I-75.


The Liberty Street Viaduct (1912-1929) -- called by the website owner a "dubious affair."


The old Ludlow Viaduct -- torn down in 1991 and replaced with that horrendous thing we walk over for gay pride every year.


One of the famous inclines in Cincy.



I did not know this was still in operation... the Anderson Ferry (20 bucks there's a queen somewhere that calls herself the Anderson Fairy)

PERSONAL: 48 hours in a row...

As I'm pulling one of my famous "let's work for 48 hours in a row" sets, I am feeling myself grow further from my friends... as their own lives are slowly deconstructing around me... relationships, work, etc etc etc...

And, you know what, i'm starting to thing that's ok.

So long as mine doesn't go with theirs.

POP CULTURE: Ola Brunkert

In one of the most horrendous celebrity death stories I have ever heard, Ola Brunkert, the drummer from ABBA, died today by falling through a glass door and having the broken remains slice his throat. I'm kinda sickened by the method.

That's really awful.

I love ABBA -- ha! We used to dance to them in theatre class. And I stil play them at full volume in my car.

RIP Ola Brunkert

PERSONAL: Private note

I hate it when bloggers are passive aggressive and bitch on their blogs to an unknown person.

But who cares. I'm going to do it anyways...

...when all this is said and done, I have chosen the people around me and they will still be with me. You will be nothing more than another person that was a part of my decadence, another generic face in the "there were so many," another nothing in my life... and your issues, which you tried so desperately to place on me, will be gone and you'll have you to face in the morning.

Because I will have forgotten you, in the mass of a mess of my life. And the only people that will matter will still be around me.

POLITICS: David Paterson

Congratulations, David Paterson, on your recent swearing into the NY Governorship. You bring with great experience and you break tremendous ground (only the third black governor since reconstruction and only the second legally blind governor ever). Thank you for bringing balance back to the office, and we wish you well.



PS--> Can he be our VP candidate?

ELECTION 2008: Under Barack Obama

I love MadTV. I think this is the funniest shit I have EVER seen (please, for the moment, ignore the racist and sexist overtones):



And because I love this clip and it's REALLY funny too, here's another funny thing with Ms. Swan (apparently we're on racial stereotyping on YouTube today):

PERSONAL: Where I've been

View Larger Map

Upon suggestion of the UrbanCincy blog. The green spots is where I've lived. The blue is where I've been.

OHIO/CINNKY: Union Terminal vs. Hall of Justice

From the Cincinnati Revisited Blog...










I never noticed. But this is the second question about connections between cartoons and the city on this blog.

GAY STUFF: SALLY KERN

I've been waiting for an interesting SOMETHING to post about Sally Kern's rant (posted as the second video). Dr. Seuss style rhyming is perfect:

PERSONAL: Cost of raising Children

It is an old article, but it's ringing true today.

In all honesty, I'm just really pissed that my Oatmeal Cream Pies are eaten.

OHIO/CINNKY: Mt. Echo Park

Mt. Echo Park at sunset

GAY STUFF: Stuff White People Like

From one of my new favorite blogs -- Stuff White People Like...

#88 -- Having Gay Friends
If white people could draft friends the way that the NFL drafts prospects it would go like this: black friends, gay friends, and then all other minorities would be drafted based on need and rarity to the region.

When choosing gay friends, white people like to base their decision on their own needs and requirements. Younger white people tend to prefer young, social gay people-this is their all important ticket into nightclubs and parties.

When a straight person goes to a gay night club, they are reminded of how progressive and tolerant they are. If they are hit on by a member of the same sex, it provides them with a valuable story that they can use to prove to their other friends that they are more progressive and tolerant. “This guy/girl hit on me, I said I was ’straight but not narrow,’ and it was totally chill. Oh, you went to an Irish bar this weekend? That’s cool, I guess. “

Older white people prefer to be friends with gay parents because it enables their children to experience much needed diversity with people who are, for all intents and purposes, exactly the same as them.

It is also worth noting that a gay friendship of any sort allows white people to feel as though they are a part of the gay rights movement. While white people love being a part of any movement, the gay movement is especially important to them because they can blend in at rallies and protests and spend an afternoon feeling the sting of oppression.

Gay friends are an essential part of a white person’s all-star diversity roster. But they are always on the lookout for the ultimate friend; a gay minority.

It is generally accepted that a gay black friend with a child is considered a once in a lifetime opportunity - like a quarterback who can pass, run, kick, and play linebacker. White people will crawl over each other for the opportunity to claim this person as a friend and add them to their roster of diversity.

Other minorities are also highly prized and assigned a ranking based on the level of intolerance in they face from their respective cultures and family members.

Once a white person has told you about their gay friends, it is recommended that you say “I wish more people were like you,” every few months. This will allow them to feel good about their progressive choice of friends and remind them that they are better than other white people.

If you follow this simple rule, you should be able to maximize all benefits of white friendship including assistance in moving and free drinks.

ELECTION 2008: From Obama's website

From Obama's website (via the ElectionGeek blog)

Obama acknowledges, with no small irony, that he benefits from his race.

If he were white, he once bluntly noted, he would simply be one of nine freshmen senators, almost certainly without a multimillion-dollar book deal and a shred of celebrity. Or would he have been elected at all?

Sounds like Geraldine Ferraro's comments doesn't it? What does it say about race in America?

PERSONAL: A student again

Just a personal note.

I got accepted to The Christ College of Nursing today.

I'm going to nursing school in the fall :-)

Yea me.

BLOGGING: New Cincy Blogs?

So I finally started exploring Technorati today ... I've been at work since 10pm last night and my brain is about fried. (Let's go drinking tomorrow -- anyone going to be out and where???)

There are a lot of regularly updated Cincinnati blogs.

I'll be posting them in the next few days. I think it's time we started supporting all of them ... not just the big ones :-) (and, mainly, because I want more linkages into the blogosphere!!!! -- link via Neatorama)

POP CULTURE: Touch My Body

Has Mariah Carey lost her damn mind?

OHIO/CINNKY: IKEA

Another thing I don't understand. (Is this Confuse-a-Queer day?)

IKEA. It came, it was built, and there's a blog about it.

In fact, two blogs about it. (Well, there were two blogs about it...)

12000+ people before 2pm on the day it opened?

Um... k. (Except for the fact that it offers inexpensive furniture -- there's a great class argument there -- that's actually stylish and doesn't look in expensive **COUGHCOUGHWALMARTCOUGHCOUGH***).

And, of course, it's a Developing Story Alert on the local news.

POLITICS: Immigration

And while I'm on the subject of things I don't understand: I don't get the immigration "problem."

What problem???

Someone explained this one to me in relation to my chosen profession -- "But, they are burdening (enter government sponsored healthcare program -- Medicaid/Medicare/Hamilton County Discount/etc.) by not paying into it and then expecting something in return."

A) Most of the people are actually paying into it -- there are still taxes being paid when they "cross the border" and work in hotels, fast food joints, etc. or any other menial job that we feel liek they should have.

B) Um. There are a LOT of people who are not working and taking advantage of those programs. And they aren't all old or disabled, folks. I work in an ER and get to ask really personal questions about finance/jobs/etc. Trust me, some of them are 22 years old... no job... a lot of time, not necessarily even with children.... perfectly healthy... reaping the benefits.

In continuation of the apparent racist tone I'm taking these days... are our xenophobia and race guilt so great that we found a convenient red herring for an attack on poor (black) folk?

Immigration is a red herring for people displeasure with the economy. . .

. . . and if it weren't, you'd be working in a hotel or fast food joint and starting a union for higher pay.

ELECTION 2008: Geraldine Ferraro

For Michi (and, by extension, your professor)

By the way, I'm usually in the loop on these things and I usually get it really quick... and maybe I'm a better feminist than I am a critical race theorist (I almost wrote "racist")...

...but I don't get it.

I just had someone explain it to me... and I still don't get it.

This is the comment that she made: “If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.”

The explanation was thus: It says that the only reason he is where he is is because he's black and he has nothing else good about him. A) I'm not entirely sure she's wrong on the fact that there's not much there in terms of what he either has done or will do. B) The race thing...

God. Is anyone surprised? Come on guys, he's the winning candidate. He's black.

There is a nail to push into the coffin here for Clinton's campaign. Did you think that, maybe, just maybe, somone wouldn't try this ... playing Clinton's campaign off as racist???

Remember, there was a few weeks ago when we tried to throw Clinton under the bus because she cried. It was too... feminine.

This, at this point, is just mudslinging. Let's call a spade a spade.

What's really funny is the commentators on the news that are like: Um, yea, I know we really attack Clinton a lot, and we feel kinda bad for it, but we're going to do it again.

PS Also, this is the comment I left over at the Every man is guilty... blog

I still don't get it.

I think we WANT this to be about race and gender. We WANTED this to happen. We were looking for SOMETHING. We were grasping for it. We were begging for it. How many times have you found yourself drooling and holding your breath before one of them speaks...

...waiting for b**** or n***** to fly out of one of their mouths???

GENERAL STUFF: Hanlon's Razor (part 2)

Other related laws.

Clark's Third Law

1. When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
2. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
3. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic

Prakinson's Law

...work expands to fill the time available

(And Floore's Law: expenditures rise at an exponential rate; salary at a geometrical one. IE: Your purchases grow faster than your salary.)

Gray's Law

Any sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice.

GENERAL STUFF: St. Benedict the Black

Why does this make me giggle??? The good natured, wise, older black man who cooks? Didn't I see this stereotype somewhere. Oh yea...



I think the patron saint of Latinos in America should be the father of many, running a small Mexican restaurant outside of Dallas... hard working, troubled, but with a great love of his family.

I've spent the last couple minutes reading up on my Saints. Seriously, guys?

Seriously?

GENERAL STUFF: Hanlon's Razor

Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

. . .

GENERAL STUFF: Tropes

This is perhaps the most interesting website I have ever seen.

Years ago, the Evil Overlord Listwent around the internet, listing off those things you should not do if you should ever become an evil overlord. Some examples:

3. My noble half-brother whose throne I usurped will be killed, not kept anonymously imprisoned in a forgotten cell of my dungeon.

6. I will not gloat over my enemies' predicament before killing them.

26. No matter how attractive certain members of the rebellion are, there is probably someone just as attractive who is not desperate to kill me. Therefore, I will think twice before ordering a prisoner sent to my bedchamber.

56. My Legions of Terror will be trained in basic marksmanship. Any who cannot learn to hit a man-sized target at 10 meters will be used for target practice

65. If I must have computer systems with publicly available terminals, the maps they display of my complex will have a room clearly marked as the Main Control Room. That room will be the Execution Chamber. The actual main control room will be marked as Sewage Overflow Containment.

88. If a group of henchmen fail miserably at a task, I will not berate them for incompetence then send the same group out to try the task again.

95.My dungeon will have its own qualified medical staff complete with bodyguards. That way if a prisoner becomes sick and his cellmate tells the guard it's an emergency, the guard will fetch a trauma team instead of opening up the cell for a look.

What's fun is that this actually provides a basic framework for a project I almost did -- that is, archetypes of fantasy (including methods of magical delivery, source of magic, and three basic fantastical story lines). In fact, it's a really well written and documented list.

The list expanded to three list, and they now have this whole webpage to archetypes in TV and media.

It's probably the coolest thing I've read in a really really long time.

WRITING: Tension

I know what you mean when you press against me.
I wonder if you think about me when you are with your wife.
Would I be too forward to say that I think about you?

Later update... an old old postcard from Postsecret that I thought was applicable here.

GAY STUFF: OUT Magazine

BTW---> Got the April 2008 issue of OUT magazine -- the TRANSGRESSION issue.

Why am I surprised that there is almost nothing of value? (This is not a commentary on the trans movement, just on the magazine) There's a lot of pretty boys though.

Also: Why did I get it delivered? Mom, did you do this???

ELECTION 2008: By my calculations (part 2)

So my original post with numbers here were from the US Election Atlas website.

I just wasted 45 minutes of my life doing this fabulous spreadsheet of all the results... this is what I came up with:

RESULTS WITHOUT FLORIDA OR MICHIGAN:

Obama: 12,634,375 (49.32%)
Clinton: 11,990,219 (46.81%)
Other: 991,945 (3.87%)

Obama over Clinton: 644,156

RESULTS WITH FLORIDA AND MICHIGAN:

Obama: 13,203,416 (47.26%)
Clinton: 13,175,578 (47.16%)
Other: 1,556,646 (5.57%)

Obama over Clinton: 27,838

I don't know why this matters or why i did this, but oh well.

12634375

PERSONAL: Cats

Anyone who knows my cats how amazing this picture is.

LAW: Prostitution

Why is prostitution illegal? asks a post on Slate.com.

Interesting question... I am not against prostitution. Rather, I think criminalizing prostitution is actually more damaging to women than allowing it to happen. After all, it unfairly targets women as criminals. (What's interesting: it's really, really hard to find crime statistics on prostitution.) I will bet you: the grand majority of female felons have "prostitution" and/or some other form of it on their files.

Men? Doubt it even appears on 10%. In fact, I'd be surprised if it appears on 5%.

I like Sweden's law: decriminalize the sale, criminalize the purchase. There, it's hugely cut into prostitution and allowed for the creation of safer streets. (Note, this is opposite of what I believe should be done about drugs: criminalize the sale, decriminalize the purchase.)

Regardless, there is an excellent website -- ProstitutionProCon.org -- that goes over in detail the pro's and con's of legalization and/or decriminalization. (It's where the pictures to the left and at the bottom come from, btw). The website also has some crime statistics, but no info on the sex of the offendee.

What is the value, ultimately? Nevada seems to be doing fine, as does Amsterdam. *shrug* I say protect the victims -- if, indeed, prostitution is mostly the result of drug use and poverty (not the high class whores that Eliot Spitzer were purchasing), then we are protecting them by decriminalizing them.

...I wonder if Swedish gals have found the loophole: purchasing a ticket INTO a brothel or INTO a room, rather than paying for the sex, you're paying for the right to be in the building, not for the sex.

POLITICS: Seven Deadly Sins

First caught this on the CNN homepage, then found it again on FOX, then saw it on Neatorama, and then on ABC News... so! I thought I might finally post it.

The Vatican, in all his wonderfulness, has released a list of the NEW Seven Deadly sins in addition to the original, which were written out by Dante -- lust, sloth, gluttony, greed, wrath, envy and pride.

The new ones are (although I'm getting some differences on some of these from different sources):

1) Genetic Modification (AHN), Genetic Manipulation (CNN), Genetic Engineering (ABC & FOX)
2) Human Experimentation (AHN), "Morally Dubious" experiments such as stem cell research (Neatorama)
3) Polluting the Environment (AHN & FOX & CNN & Neatorama)
4) Social Injustice (AHN), Causing Social Injustice (FOX), Contributing to the Widening divide between rich and poor (Neatorama)
5) Causing Poverty (AHN & Neatorama), Inequality of Wealth (ABC),
6) Financial Gluttony (AHN), Inequality of Wealth (ABC), Being Obscenely Rich (FOX), Excessive Wealth (Neatorama)
7) Taking Drugs (AHN), Drug Abuse (ABC & Neatorama), Drug Dealing (FOX)
( 8) Abortion (FOX))
( 9) Pedophilia (FOX))
( 10) Bioethical violations such as birth control (Neatorama))

HA! Read the ABC article linked above and the slight about Eliot Spitzer.

And, no, really. FOX lists two more that no one else does, and skips over human experimentation and causing poverty. And Neatorama adds one more.

In fact, the only thing that every source agrees on.. polluting is bad. So I do what I always do... go to the source.

The Official Website for the Catholic Church
Which, ironically, has nothing about it.

How about...

The Holy See -- After all, it is their paper, L'Osservatore Romano, that everyone was talking about.
Also, ironically, nothing on that, either.

In fact, it took the Associated Press article to shed light. It will be listed in the upcoming L'Osservatore Romano, and the one available currently is last weeks.

This is the entire AP article, and what every other story is based off of:

--------

A Vatican official has listed drugs, pollution, genetic manipulation and social and economic injustices as new areas of sinful behavior.

Sins increasingly manifest themselves as behavior that damages society as a whole, Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti said in an interview published Sunday by the Vatican's daily newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano.

"While sin used to concern mostly the individual, today it has mainly a social resonance, due to the phenomenon of globalization," said Girotti, who heads the Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican body that issues decisions on matters of conscience and grants absolutions.

Catholic teaching distinguishes between lesser venial sins and mortal sins.

Listing the new areas of sinful behavior, Girotti denounced "certain violations of the fundamental rights of human nature through experiments, genetic manipulations."

He also mentioned drugs — which "weaken the mind and obscure intelligence" — pollution, and the widening social and economic differences between the rich and the poor.

Girotti said the Catholic Church continued to be concerned by other sinful acts, including abortion and pedophilia.

He said Church authorities had reacted with "rigorous measures" to child abuse scandals within the clergy, but he also claimed that the issue had been excessively emphasized by the media.

------

I'll update you as soon as the actual stuff comes out

UPDATE: Why is this under politics? Because they all have extremely political implications. And why do they all seem to be directed at the US, specifically?

BLOGGING: Testing

Strange. There should be a blog right before this one.

I'm posting this in hopes of "shaking up" the programming and making it appear.

WRITING: Inspired

Inspired.

"Not every fag is a happy fag."
"And you...?"
"Are not meant to be a happy fag."

Who needs guns. We kill ourselves.

ELECTION 2008: By my calculations...

The popular vote, at this point, for the Democratic nomination..


Barack Obama -- 13,912,994

Hillary Clinton -- 13,913,010


Two things:

1) Hillary's still ahead. (Remember, Barack is pushing for the superdelegates to vote the vote of the people.)

2) She's ahead by 16 votes. One of those votes is mine.

Very very unusual. This is official a dead tie.

Update-->Vinyl Polis checked my numbers of the CNN count -- and, I quote "popular vote ONLY, no caucuses, excluding MI but not Florida... Obama leads Clinton by about 81700 votes, which is fucking close (out of a total of 25.6 MILLION---so roughly 3 percent of the total votes are what separates these two idiots)." And, of course, he adds that not all states are 100% reported yet.

GENERAL STUFF: A Brief History of Lies

There has been a rash of publishing "memoirs" that turn out to be not true. Let's go over this, shall we?

Love and Consequences, by Margaret Seltzer, aka "Margaret B. Jones"
A "hood" story, written by a white suburban girl.

A Million Little Pieces, by James Frey
All about drug addiction and recovery. To be fair, it is labelled and sold as a work of fiction.

Sarah, by Laura Albert, aka "J.T. Le Roy"
All about a young boy who was forced into a world of cross-dressing prostitution by his mother.

The Blood Runs like a River Through My Dreams, by Tim Barrus, aka "Nasdijj"
"Navajo" author about how a child dies of a seizure disorder -- to quote, a "rez-to-riches" story.

Misha, by Misha Defonseca
A young girl avoids the holocaust by living with wolves. (And, TY/VP --> It is about penguins, btw. It was published by Penguin. LOL... you weren't completely wrong.)

The LA Times has an interesting analysis of the situation, right after Seltzer's book came out. And the NYTimes has an interesting quote from the author of Misha:

She fetched a heavy sigh. “If you didn’t have an amazing story, you didn’t
survive.”

Hm. Maybe we just really like to believe that there's a great real life story out there. As we become separated from genuine experience -- thank you, postmodernism -- we need to find what we classify as real life, and not just real life, but really tough life to believe that it exists. It helps us identify with ourselves, finding emotions in others that we can then plant in ourselves and feel like we understand.

Of course, it's all fake and images and mirrors.

We don't really experience them, and I think the fact that so many are producing stories that do not reflect their own real life is telling... It's a convenient lie, and we're all happy until it comes out as not true, and then we all get to be offended by it, but, in the end, maybe we still think we felt something then.

Because, in the end, silence and melancholy -- much like in Shopgirl -- doesn't sell as many books.

GENERAL STUFF: Regular Everyday Normal Guy

(via the Kanye West blog)

This is some funny shit, and provides an interesting (if unexpected) critique of hip-hop.



Hey, I'm good at making paper airplanes too!

And the follow up, from Will Ferrel's site, www.funnyordie.com (warning: I don't like Will Ferrel), tagged as "He's back... and he's mildly upset!"



Jon LaJoie has a website. Warning: the site is neat to look at but, like the old TMBG site, it's annoying to navigate.

WRITING: A preview

I don't know, but I'm working on a piece that ends like this:

"But what if I love you now?"
"Then you will write some really good poetry about unrequited love. Just
remember to dedicate your first collection to me." I turned and walked away, and
left him there in the snow.

Blah. It's melodramatic.

Maybe it should be a movie.

OHIO/CINNKY: Hell yea Price Hill!!!

I don't know if you've picked up on it at all, but I'm a Price Hill resident -- East Price Hill to be exact.

As a commentary, I'd like to point out the interesting distinction growing in the PH: Lower Price Hill versus East Price Hill (including the sub-neighborhood of the "Incline District"). See, "LPH" is bad and dark and scary -- i.e., it's filled with Mexican immigrants, people from Appalachia, and prostitutes. "EPH," meanwhile, is setting itself up as the new, cool, hip neighborhood in town -- with the Incline District as its central motivator. I have always said Price Hill is the next to develop, as it's the only hill in town that you can buy an overlook of downtown for under $100,000 (my friend bought a condo with a porch off his master bedroom overlooking downtown for a measly $66,000 -- not joking). I was very excited when Sibcy-Cline once put up a sign in out neighborhood that said "Priceless views. Priced Less. Price Hill." Honestly, is there another part of the city that you can see all of the city from that doesn't cost $500,000+? Nope!

On the bright side, it's better than my neighbor's joke -- that we live in "North Villa Hills" (a somewhat affluent Kentucky neighborhood that's immediately south of us across the river).

Imagine my glee when CINCINNATI REVISITED (a new blog on the left side of your screen -- a Cincy history blog; mom, read it, you'll like it) directed me to the link about a brand new spanking $50m development in EPH.



City Lights Development is planning on turning Queen City Towers into a new hot spot, including a newly revamped neighborhood around it, that includes a night club (whoohoo!), a gourmet pizza parlor (what?), a steakhouse, and a new park. The image is kinda crappy, but it's right there in the middle.

IE: along with Kroger's plan for new building, right next to the old one (which, btw, was built right next to the old one that became a Family Dollar -- pictures to come), things may be looking better. (HA! Although, having four Kroger's -- near Walmart, on Glenway, at Race Street, and in PH -- may be a little egregious.)

Invest now, wait out the housing crisis, and then hope the value of my house goes through the roof.

OHIO/CINNKY: Random inappropriate comments about the snow...

(No names are used as not implicate the people I love.)

"I heard 12 inches were coming and I thought I'd give you a call."

----

"That don't look like 12 inches to me."
"Oh, honey, how many times has someone told you they were bringing 12 only to have five or six show up at your door?"

----

And from the front page of the Cincinnati Enquirer:
"It was how deep?

"Whether you got 9 inches or 15, it was still fun out there"

GAY STUFF: America's Favorite Cities (part deux)

DUH. I didn't even see the "Gay Friendliness" Category until the very end of the last blog. I feel like it is important to post the list in toto, I don't think there are many suprises:

1) San Francisco -- 4.82 (out of 5)
2) New Orleans -- 4.60
3) Portland, OR -- 4.51
4) Seattle -- 4.45
5) Minneapolis/St. Paul -- 4.42
6) Austin -- 4.39 SURPRISE 1
7) New York -- 4.37 SURPRISE 2
8) Miami -- 4.34
9) Chicago -- 4.22
10) Santa Fe -- 4.21
11) Philadelphia -- 4.21 SURPRISE 3
12) Los Angeles -- 4.18 SURPRISE 2
13) Washington, DC -- 4.08
14) Boston -- 4.05 SURPRISE 2
15) San Diego -- 4.05
16) Denver -- 3.97
17) Atlanta -- 3.95
18) Honolulu -- 3.85
19) Orland -- 3.81
20) Las Vegas -- 3.80
21) Charleston -- 3.69
22) San Antonio -- 3.57
23) Phoenix/Scottsdale -- 3.27
24) Dallas/Fort Worth -- 3.26 -- SURPRISE 1
25) Nashville -- 3.19

SURPRISE 1 -- I'm shocked by the Austin/DFW placement because I had always heard that Dallas was tres gay, and Austin, being the capital, leaned more conservative. I would have thought the two were reversed.

SURPRISE 2 -- New York, Boston, and LA -- I just would have thought they would have been right under San Fran. NYC because it is where the gay right's movement began (see next surprise, also), Boston because Massachusetts is the only state where same-sex marriage is legal, and LA because ... well, come on, it's Hollywood. (But, I suppose, there are a lot to these cities that we don't see... LA has a huge immigrant population, and NYC has, well, the Bronx.)

SURPRISE 3 -- Did people confuse this with Pittsburgh -- the setting of Queer as Folk? *Shrug* But it was the site of the first gay protest ever (a caveat: this event, with 40 conservatively dressed gays and lesbians outside Independence Hall will probably be downplayed in history, and seems to be so online, with people preferring to remember Stonewall in a more friendly manner... but I thought I'd at least post a picture as it seems to be nameless and, therefore, difficult to find information on)

OHIO/CINNKY: America's Favorite Cities

Having put that as the category, you'll notice that Ohio and Cincinnati fall no where on this map.



However, my hometown (Charleston) does appear on it. You know, every year, residents of Charleston would hear that we were rated the friendliest city in the country. Well, here are the 2007 results that again turn over the honor from Travel and Leisure Magazine (and the opportunity for you to vote for the 2008 results).

Anyways, I'm not really worried about it, but here are some highlights:

Best Overall Cityscape: Portland (1), Seattle (2)
Worst Overall Cityscape: Dallas-Fort Worth (24), Los Angeles (25)

Most Attractive People: Miami (1), San Diego (2), Charleston (3)
Least Attractive People: Dallas-Fort Worth (23), Washington DC (24), Philadelphia (25)

Most Fun People: New Orleans (1), Austin (2 -- yes, Texas), Honolulu (3)
Least Fun People: Phoenix-Scottsdale (23 -- btw, Scottsdale is where they get a LOT of reality show contestants, not kidding, go check out the cast list for some of these... that name just pops up a lot), Dallas Fort-Worth (24), Washington DC (25)

Best Overall Nightlife: New Orleans (1), Las Vegas (2), New York (3)
Worst Overall Nightlife: Phoenix-Scottsdale (23), Dallas-Fort Worth (24), Santa Fe (25)

Hrm, I'm looking and Phoenix and DFW seem to appear low on a lot of lists. In fact, Phoenix's highest rating is #6 in the Most Relaxing Retreat Category, but ranks in the bottom five in 35 of the categories. DFW's highest is #4 for Best Barbeque, but ranks in the bottom five in 44 of the categories.

Meanwhile, Charleston is number one in Friendliest, and only ranks in the bottom five in five categories (Clubbing -- 24, Gay-friendliness -- 21, Diverse - 20, Sport's Fan Vacation -- 24, Wild Weekend -- 21).

PS I also wrote in that Cincinnati should be included next year... I mean, something more than just Minneapolis-St. Paul in this area (like Atlanta, Chicago I think is "outside the region" as it's an international city with a midwestern flair). Columbus? Indy? Ann Arbor? St. Louis? Something? Ha. Well, at least I'm not in the great Western blah that's on the map -- Salt Lake City?

LAW: OJ Simpson

Apparently, OJ Simpson's lawyers are trying to hold up the jury selection process in his new trial by saying a) blocking the mention of his PREVIOUS more famous trial, and b) asking potential jurers whether or not they think he's a murderer.

Oh goodness. This will take forever.

Let's just say this: OJ Simpson is a creepy creepy man.

Get him out of the news.

HIV/AIDS: Gay Porn Industry Scandal

AS sent me this link from the BBC -- he's one of my dear straight friends, so it's an unusual source for a gay story.

There is a scandal going down in the gay porn industry in Britain about the barebacking movement, which, according to the article, makes up 60% of all sales these days.

Most heterosexual pornography has never featured condoms. But showing unprotected sex became taboo in gay porn after HIV and Aids emerged in the 1980s...

Some health officials believe this is a sign of a wider complacency in society about the risks of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases which is mirrored in rising statistics for new infections.

Ceri Evans, Senior Sexual Health Adviser at West London Centre for Sexual Health, told Newsnight: "I think that there is a possibility of something being called condom fatigue.

"We have been talking about condoms so long that people are bored or think they know it all. Education in schools is not what it could be, for anybody, for heterosexual but particularly if you are gay."

Thank god someone is finally doing something about this. Barebacking vids on all sorts of websites, all the time. There's a problem there.

Thank you to Ms. Evans for calling the lack of sexual education for LGBT youth. Thank to Chi Chi LaRue and directors like Sean Cody and Rob Navarro who continue to pointedly use condoms in their films.

Well, most of them, at least.

(I am not researching the names of the films, or actors, or anything else about the films because I do not want to be the one to make them famous. Especially the one that, reportedly, shows the point at which someone became infected.)

GENERAL STUFF: Penis Enlargement -- take two

Following up with this blog here about the CEO of Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals being taken down for a couple of things, not the least of which being making false claims on the "Smiling Bob" commercials.

...

I just saw a Smiling Bob commercial.

And the Enzyte website is still up.

I mean, it has these disclaimers:

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Enzyte should be taken as part of a healthy lifestyle and individual results may vary. The individuals shown are paid models, and not necessarily Enzyte customers.

But those probably have always been up.

Hrm. Here's the thinking: I'm going to jail, but I'm still going to make millions when I go down!!!!

Oh, and the "proprietarty ingredients" list:


Let's break down the ingredients ... never mind, I was boring myself. I can't imagine WHAT you would be feeling. But there were two that got me:

1) "Horny Goat Weed" -- which some of you will recognize as a weed (see pic below) but apparently has been proven to stimulate rabbit penile tissue...?



2) Swedish flower pollen extract -- which freaking flower??? I'm sure there's lots in Sweden. Those wonderful "vitamin" sites say that it restores vim and vigor. Um. So there's some guy in Sweden running around with a bottle, collecting pollen and thinking "Fucking idiots."

And that's all I'm saying.

Actually: all I'm saying now is that I'm disappointed I don't yet have a "penis" tag.

ELECTION 2008: Bush and McCain make each other go crazy

No, no really:

John McCain endorsing George W. Bush:


George W. Bush right before endorsing John McCain:


Republicans are so CRAZY.

ADVENTURES OF: The Jewish Troll

I'm going to be taking pictures of the snow as it comes down on top of my THE TROLL, which is happily (probably not) letting the snow fall down upon it. I'll be updating you hourly with what she looks like!!! (And, yes, she's missing a shoe. I am a cruel, cruel bitch. She pissed me off. And now she will be cold. LOL)

820am:













920am:














1020am (She fell over, and, because we're all for fair journalism here that shows what the world is REALLY like here on the ground... I left her there. I am a cruel bitch.):











1120am:










1220pm:









0120pm (where did she go???):












I think I'm going to turn on a movie. It's coming down as mostly ice now. :-) I'll be back, I promise.

220p











0350a (the next morning, on my way to work)











0620p (36 hours later)














And, it's done. Easy come, easy go.