There is one thing I just do not like about living in northern Michigan, well, make that Michigan in general. This place reminds you in nasty ways that it’s still the middle of fucking winter here and it will be until May! Another foot of snow fell up here today in the northwoods. Pretty quickly too. When I went to bed last night, this mess was supposed to fall south and east of here. Well the storm changed directions and dumped a shit ton of snow on us all day today and tonight and another 5″ again expected tomorrow. 12-18″ of snow in 48 hours is a bit much for any rational person to deal with on a regular basis but yet, somehow we all manage to live here without going nuts. Oh well, summers do make up for it but I could really do without this sort of thing.
Found a video on the net tonight I thought I would post. I got this from a web site called wimp.com although this clip is all over youtube too. You should check that web site out if you have high speed Internet (and are not at work). Its a REALLY random collection of videos from around the Internet, many of them really funny, some of them really random, and some of them even educational. This reminds me of my old cat Pooh who used to sit in the window and do this to birds.
It amazes me how the concept of personal space eludes some people. There is nothing that bothers me more than someone getting right up in my face (whether being nice or angry) because it just feels so violating, especially when you don’t know that person. Twice today at work one man and a woman got a little too close for comfort. Neither was doing so due to aggression or anger, they simply had no concept of personal space. I have a bubble around me, you may come inside ONLY if you are invited. Otherwise STAY THE FUCK OUT OF IT!!! Oh well.
Today it became official. I will not be attending the 20 year reunion of my graduating class at the American Boychoir School in March. My assistant at work will be heading off to do a new store set and thus I am not permitted to use any vacation days in her absence. It seems my employer truly believes the sky will fall if both me and my assistant are gone at the same time. I can’t fight it, I can’t change it, I simply have to accept it and move on. It is the difference between what has become a comfortable income and the possibility of no income at all. In these economic times, I think I need to choose the safe option.
There is always year 25 or 30 or 50 or whatever. With the advent of Facebook, email, and other social networking avenues, people from the past are not really that far away. Those who truly have an interest in maintaining contact will do so even when the thrill of Facebook is gone. Those who don’t, will simply go on living their lives in their own normal ways. ABS will always be a significant part of my past but it does not define my being, nor should it. To any of my classmates that might read this, Se a Vida e (That’s the way life is).
Now then, I’ve been a slacker in writing in this blog lately. I’ve been very busy, what can I say. I’ll write a little more tomorrow about my adventures this past week. For now, here is a pretty picture for you to enjoy. I think I’m about 14 or 15 in this, Sarah, thinking you are 11 or 12?? This was taken at the condo Aunt Joan and Uncle Lou rented at Sugarloaf a long time ago…
Well today I start yet another week and it looks like it’s going to be a slow one. Time is starting to drag endlessly right now, we still have at least another 6-8 weeks of winter but at least now the sun is shining more often. That usually means it’s been bitter cold and the lakes have frozen in key areas where lake effect snow is generated meaning we get less of it. I shouldn’t bitch about the weather, after all, this sort of thing is to be expected up here in the north woods.
This week should start out with a bang though. This is Instant Profit Sharing week at work. I’m due for a pretty big chunk of change this year and even after they take out the massive sum for taxes, I should be able to buy a few things for myself as well as take care of a big chunk of bills and other obligations. This past weekend I broke down and purchased an Xbox 360 which I have now discovered is very addicting. I spent most of the weekend playing Tiger Woods PGA Tour perfecting my digital golf swing. In all, not a bad purchase mainly because the Xbox has other uses besides gaming. I can use it like my TiVo which means I can get rid of my subscription with TiVo and save a little money each month. The other major purchase I hope to make is on a new TV but that has to come after the rest of the obligations are taken care of. We’ll see what I have left.
I’ve been using Google Analytics to track visits to this web site over the past several months and I’ve discovered that whenever I write about politics, my page views jump significantly. I suppose that isn’t unusual since most of those posts have links to external web sites and contain tags that help search engines find them. So, while this web site is still mostly seen by family (my primary intent), others are starting to find their way here. Last time I wrote about this I had a whopping 18 unique visitors. Now I have 38 effectively doubling in 2 months.
Not much other news from the north woods. It’s all in all pretty quiet up here this time of year. I have a new set of photographs on leelanauphotography.com and I’m working on a secret project using my photos that will be available in April of this year. Once I’m done with that I’ll write about it here.
Have a good week. I’ll write again when I have time!
Having grown up with a science teacher for a father, and, while not having done the greatest academically myself in science, I have always been a strong proponent of scientific theory and eduction overall. That only 39% of people believe in the concept of evolution is not where I’m having a hard time. It’s that 36% DON’T HAVE AN OPINION either way meaning that they simply don’t care, don’t know, or don’t understand the concept. The Gallup poll data is an interesting read.
The idea of evolution is very simple. All species evolved over time from a common ancestor. I don’t take this to mean that humans evolved from frogs. I do however take it to mean that humans may have evolved from earlier primates. I really don’t think that’s a huge leap to make. The Christianist theories when put in context of their belief structures don’t even begin to make sense, when you start to purport that the world is only thousands of years old when the fossil record proves the existence of species MILLIONS of years ago, it sort of makes that perspective just a bit illogical.
Theories aside, the fact that there is a sizable portion of people who have no opinion on this is significant because it is more reflective of a bigger problem when it comes to science education and understanding. The world as we understand it today would not exist without science. The critical thinking skills alone are crucial to the development of the mind and I dare say of the soul. I find it troubling that such a sizable portion of people don’t have much interest in science. Sadly, as we continue into the future, a huge number of jobs will be science based (from health care to technology, to space travel).
It behoves all of us who have at least a minimal background in science to help people understand the importance of scientific concepts and how they really do relate to real life.
Now, if only someone could do that for me when it comes to Algebra.
This will be my last post on this issue. The ‘blogosphere’ erupted when reports started coming in about the airing of the Silencing Christians program put out by the American Family Association. As would be expected, Traverse City is apparently exempt from the rest of the world but down in Grand Rapids, TV8 managed to scrub their scheduled broadcast due to overwhelming response. It’s been nice to see some of the reaction to this trash from other bloggers.
As I expected, no response to my email to TV 7&4 here in Traverse City. Grand Rapids was also subjected to this program and Pam Spalding (Pam’s House Blend) has written some comments on her blog about it. It seems she has the propaganda that the AFA sent to WOOD TV8 in Grand Rapids. She has some good comments on her blog, I will be curious to see if the gay community counters this assault in some way or another once more areas of the country have been exposed to it. These folks at the AFA are grasping for straws at this point. Their existence is threatened, their lies are being uncovered, and people are simply fed up with a propaganda war they seem to want to fight but nobody really wants to hear what they have to say. It amazes me how ignorance feeds upon itself. There is so much good that a “community focused” organization might do for the world, it’s a shame the AFA and other “family” groups tend to waste all their money and time going out of their way to stigmatize gay people. Sorry folks, pick your battles if you want, we gays have already won the war.
Below is the email I just sent to TV 7&4, the local Traverse City NBC Affiliate. If I receive a response (and I doubt I will) I will post it here.
Dear Program Manager,
I am writing to express my concern over your choice to air the “Silencing Christians” propaganda piece from the American Family Association shown on your network Saturday 2/7/09 at 7PM. I am well aware that it was a paid advertisement for which your station received monetary compensation and while you offered your station’s general disclaimer prior to the program disassociating your station from the message and content, I feel your station has made a serious error in judgment with your decision to air the program. The piece was filled from the start with carefully crafted speech designed to sound professional and appeal to as wide an audience as possible but it was in reality nothing short of a poor reflection on your network for the following reasons: There was very little in the way of factual information presented in the piece and it strongly relied on material that is significantly dated and historically and factually inaccurate. The material was derived from “professionals” whose work has been thoroughly discredited by every major public health organization in the country as well as by many media organizations who concern themselves with social issues such as the one presented. A media organization such as your own, certainly understands the importance of fact, not fiction, as critical in delivering a message to your viewers. This program contained very little in the way of journalistic honesty and even less in the way of facts.
The small town of Traverse City has had it’s share of problems with poor media relations and coverage of LBGT issues and causes however in general it has always done a decent job of reporting factual and honest information in at least a mildly neutral tone. Your affiliate in Grand Rapids (where I am originally from) would not receive the same compliment from me. I do hope that your station will consider the real impact these types of programs have on the entirety of the community you serve and that you will consider using better judgment in the future when deciding which paid advertising to air on your network.
As a gay citizen of this small town and of this country, I have come to expect certain marginalized treatment from a variety of sources throughout this area including media outlets however, having lived and worked here now for 5 years with no intention of leaving, this is the first time I have truly been impressed enough to take the time to write an email expressing my concerns.
Thank you for the opportunity to share my viewpoint with you and I would like to extend my hope that further evaluation of any future programing will be done by your station prior to making a decision to air a program.
Well, the wing-nuts have lost it entirely. Tonight this country was subjected for an hour to the American Family Association’s propaganda piece on “Silencing Christians”, devoted entirely to gay bashing from a “Christian” perspective. This has aired on NBC at 7pm on Saturday night. This is considered prime time and these folks purchased the entire hour to nationally syndicate this program. 10 minutes into it I had to turn it off. It’s a sad testament of their inability to accept change and the reality of the world around them. They are so deathly afraid that gays are TAKING OVER THE WORLD this is very obviously a last ditch effort to somehow try and stem the tide of acceptance that these folks can’t and won’t understand. They are infuriated by a more liberal White House and they keep shooting themselves in the foot with every attempt they make to try and counter actual FACTS. I won’t write further about this little piece of shit on the TV however my NBC affiliate will certainly get an email. If you want to watch this you can go HERE. Visit at your own risk.
I know I tend to preach to the choir here but here is a nice video that was released today by the Courage Campaign as they work to fight the effects of Prop 8 in California. As an update, the CA Supreme Court will hear the a case challenging Prop 8 in early March and will be asked to determine 2 things. The significance is that in CA, once oral arguments are heard, the court then has 90 days to rule. A fast process compared to other courts.
The California Supreme Court announced today that it will hear oral arguments on Thursday, March 5, 2009 in the Proposition 8 legal challenge. The National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, and the ACLU-with support from civil rights groups, religious organizations, labor unions, and legal scholars-argue that Proposition 8 is invalid because the people of California have established strict safeguards that prohibit the underlying principles of the California Constitution from being changed by a simple majority vote. By taking away a right only from one group, Proposition 8 violates the most basic principle of our government: that all people are entitled to equal treatment under the law.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown is also asking the Court to invalidate Proposition 8 on the ground that certain fundamental rights, including the right to marry, are inalienable and can not be put up for a popular vote. On November 10, 2008, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stated that he hoped the Court would overturn Proposition 8. On CNN, he said of Proposition 8’s passage, “It’s unfortunate, obviously, but it’s not the end, I think that we will again maybe undo that, if the court is willing to do that, and then move forward from there and again lead in that area.”
You might ask why I give a shit about what’s going on in California? As a matter of history, California tends to set the rules by which other states tend to follow. They are the trend setters, we are the trend followers. As a state, they are also the 5th largest economy in the world. When California speaks, people tend to listen. Like it or not, California has huge influence not just in economics but also in the shaping of public policy which hits all corners of this country. The past year has mobilized the gay community in ways that I’ve not seen since I came out in High School nearly 16 years ago. Back then, it was Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell that kept Gay’s in the closet in the military and it was a really hot button issue with all the same sorts of wing-nut claims and the general spewing of hatred and intolerance. Now, that policy is all but over with the Obama administration having answered the question just like this:
Reporter: Will Don’t ask Don’t tell be repealed during the Obama administration?
Spokesperson for Obama: Yes.
A one word answer and a definitive statement. The next 8 years and likely the next 20 will bring major advancements (and setbacks) in the culture wars. It’s a fascinating time to live.
The video is a little long but it’s worth watching.
I finally got a decent day off today from work and after an afternoon at the cottage, I decided I would take the dog and head over to the big lake and see what I could find. I’ve uploaded a new gallery called Deep Freeze 2009 at leelanauphotography.com that you should check out. There is a picture from that gallery below. Not much going on with me right now. Work has been fairly quiet although there have been some rather strange people around lately shopping not to mention several people who like to steal. We see this more often when the economy is in the tank and wow, people are bold. I don’t generally like to make too many judgments about people but as I’ve said before, I can see the entire scope of humanity within just a few short hours. I swear if I was not entirely amused by what I see every day I think I would go back to a desk job…no not likely. There are advantages to sitting in a cubical all day but I don’t particularly like any of them. As much as I tend to dislike people, I’m fairly lost without them.
The trip to New Jersey for the ABS reunion is still up in the air right now. I won’t be able to make a firm decision for at least another 2 weeks. If my assistant ends up going off to open a new store for 3 weeks, I’ll be unable to attend since it will require me to be at work during her absence which happens to fall right in the middle of this. My company is a little weird like that, they don’t put much faith in anyone other than the managers and really seem to think that things will just fall apart if both me and my assistant happen to be gone for a couple of days at the same time. Oh well, it’s not my company and they pay my bills so I guess I don’t get to choose what rules to follow and what rules to ignore. For my own self serving reasons, I hope she is not picked to go because I really want to go to this reunion, on the other hand, part of my job is to get her to a promotable level and the intense experience of setting up a new store and having the opportunity to train a new team is an important step for her to be able to take at some point. One of my goals this year is to get at least one person in my department promoted or moved to a new store somewhere in the company. I’ve got a couple who are nearly ready, including my assistant, its simply a matter of convincing them to take that next jump.
