First off, check out The Old Spice Guy helping someone propose:
Have you seen the periodic table of meat? Bacon rightfully is in the first position, being a Noble Meat:
I really don’t have anything to add to the title of this post, except of course a couple of expletives. So, I’ll just say, Stay Classy, Catholic Church.
Speaking of The Catholic Church, for anyone following the Fr. Mark Gruber case, he is now suing.
And don’t forget, if you live in California, to vote to protect traditional marriage:
I have a couple blogs that I read all the time, and way too many that I occasionally pop in on. The ones I read all the time are the ones who not only have great content, but a writing style that I enjoy reading.
One such blog is Waking Up Now. I consider myself lucky enough to have actually e-mailed a few times with Rob back and forth, and he is absolutely amazing! His videos and commentary are top-notch, level headed, and really a huge community service. But for whatever reason, I never read his “about” page. Maybe I never noticed it up at the top, who knows (I just wrote a post for The Great and Secret Show, so please excuse me if I’m rambling, or talking too much about communication type things), so I was a little floored and then cautious about some of what he wrote:
It worked on the job, too. Be the go-to guy everyone enjoys working with. Be nice to everyone and everyone will be nice to you. You smother a lot of yourself in the process, but it’s safer, isn’t it?
That’s pretty close to how I’ve worked at the Boy Scouts, although I added my own little twist. If I was going to be employed by a company that hates the gays so much, then I was going to prove them wrong about the fact that we shouldn’t be treated as people. I am going to be the best damn employee they have. Then maybe some of them will get it, will understand that it doesn’t matter who you love and care for and who you are attracted to.
So I keep that in the back of my mind, pushing myself. And I’m not the best, although I think I’m probably the second or third best member of the support staff, it is very hard to keep up. It is a constant struggle to work for an organization that wouldn’t even have me as a member if I was honest about everything.
Keeping that balance is tough. And it is very draining. I keep myself going thinking that I’ll be able to change some minds in the future, but that’s not a given, it’s not certain. That’s one of the big reasons I started this section of writing, to keep myself going, to have some sort of an outlet for all these conflicting ideas and thoughts. It’s strange, I’ve stopped writing this paragraph at least half a dozen times, because I keep forgetting where I’m going, if that doesn’t tell me my mind needs some sort of release I don’t know what does, as I’ve been told that my natural state of being is multitasking.
Thanks for reading, and I’ll keep plowing forward, both in work and in my writing, I have more of a story to tell yet.
First, the idea that no matter what we are experiencing, we are framing it for others consumption. I find myself doing that a lot, and especially how I choose my words (although I think that is me being more of a writer than a speaker, so I constantly rewrite as I think about speaking, but anyway):
but I now find myself shaping experience according to how I might present that experience in public: finding the words, deciding what might be interesting in the experience to someone other than me. Blogging has given the public yet more of a grip on the shape of my private experience.
He continues:
Is that good? I dunno. I don’t even know if it’s generally true. I’ve worried before that the little homunculus in my brain that is always scribbling away is a personal mental disorder. (Shut up, homunculus! I don’t care what you say, I’m posting this anyway!)
in the age of broadcast, we fashioned experience so that we were stars of an imaginary broadcast; in the age of the Web, we fashion experience so that we are bloggers with a non-massive, semi-social, potentially interactive readership. Under this fact-free analysis, the Web’s fashioning of our experience should be understand in _contrast_ to the celebrity-based stories we made of our lives during the Age of Broadcast.
Hey everybody, quick update. I thought I had some more links with me, but I guess they are still floating out in the tubes somewhere. I’ll also have a few things for The Great and Secret Show that I’ll be posting in a little bit, so be sure to look for that.
First up, a federal judge has declared DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) unconstitutional on two grounds. This was unexpected, but welcomed. However, I have a sneaking suspicion it won’t stay. But it’s interesting to watch, especially as the Perry trial is awaiting their verdict as well. Also fun is that one idea was looking at it from the fifth amendment (I think) which guarantees equal protections, the other, the tenth, which gives states their rights (and is a favorite of social conservatives as well). Exciting (and confusing legalese)!
The Stranger also came out with a great “New Column” which I’ll post:
Ok, one more piece from The Stranger, this time, in the form of a follow up letter about an internship:
Hey Lindy! I sent an email a while back to the old address of yours I have saved in my account. Since I hadn’t gotten anything back, I figured that either you took that account out of commission OR YOU ARE A BAD PERSON. To account for both options, I wrote a few responses in a “choose your own adventure” style of correspondence.
If your account is inactive/my e-mail exploded, go to page 1. If you ignored/fiendishly deleted the e-mail, go to page 2. To run down the cave on the left, go to page 73.
I haven’t posted any music (or any media for that matter) here yet. Music is very important to me, I find it very personal, especially to a wide variety of people at once, but for all different reasons, hence the power. Anyway, this is Daughtry’s new single, that I’m currently loving:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQJXdzg8Kbk
How the time passed away? All the trouble that we gave And all those days we spent out by the lake Has it all gone to waste? All the promises we made One by one they vanish just the same
Of all the things I still remember Summer’s never looked the same The years go by and time just seems to fly by But the memories remain
In the middle of September we’d still play out in the rain Nothing to lose but everything to gain Reflecting now on how things could’ve been It was worth it in the end
Now it all seems so clear, there’s nothing left to fear So we made our way by finding what was real Now the days are so long that summer’s moving on We reach for something that’s already gone
Of all the things I still remember Summer’s never looked the same The years go by and time just seems to fly by But the memories remain
In the middle of September we’d still play out in the rain Nothing to lose but everything to gain Reflecting now on how things could’ve been It was worth it in the end
We knew we had to leave this town But we never knew when and we never knew how We would end up here the way we are Yeah we knew we had to leave this town But we never knew when and we never knew how
Of all the things I still remember Summer’s never looked the same The years go by and time just seems to fly by But the memories remain
In the middle of September we’d still play out in the rain Nothing to lose but everything to gain Reflecting now on how things could’ve been It was worth it in the end
Note: Guess we’ll see if the video link still works…
I’m also excited about the new Zelda (Skyward Sword), Kirby’s Epic Yarn, and Metroid: Other M. I’m somewhat excited for the new Goldeneye, and I think it’s an awesome throwback, but I was never really good at the first one, but I can see the nostalgia and potential.
I’m not a huge fan of the new art style for Zelda, although I can appreciate that it was inspired by Monet (no, really), I think I just need to get used to it:
And here’s the trailer for Kirby:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK4gKc9OuTk
Also, how awesome is this orange(ish) 3DS:
The new Donkey Kong Country looks great, but again, not one that I’ll pick up, but here’s some info in case you’re interested.
The new Professor Layton looks awesome, although I still have to play the second in the series:
And likewise, I’m not if I’ll pick up Mario Sports mix, but it does look interesting, if a mini-game fest:
Ok, nerd mode is now off. How about some fun news:
It’s been a while, a lot has been bouncing around in my head. I’m taking a short break from writing my last post, it’s big and unwieldy, and I’m going to need some serious editing time to make it coherent. Ed note: if it’s what I’m thinking, it’s still a giant work in progress that will probably never see the light of day. Probably better that way.
But I found a little bit of hope at work, and I wanted to write it down before I forgot it.
Sometimes I have to remind myself, that even though the organization is hateful and bigoted, a lot of the volunteers (and even some co-workers) are more sensible, and more often than not, just don’t care what’s going on between my ears (that’s a little bit of a reference to Savage Love).
Case in point, one of my favorite volunteers (and I do have a lot of favorites, actually) and I were talking about a man I used to work with at summer camp. We reconnected on Facebook and I saw the pictures he posted of him and his boyfriend traveling across the country. The volunteer was even closer with him, as he was very involved in a project together and they worked on it for years, forming a mentoring relationship. The volunteer refereed to him as one of his “Chiefs” and they stayed close after his term was done, the volunteer even co-signing a car loan for the Chief.
And so I’m reminded that people really are awesome. That volunteer didn’t have to co-sign for that car. He was in no way obligated. But he did, because he cared about this young man, because he knew he was a positive force in his life, and because together, we all work together and make good things happen.
So back to the conversation. I mentioned that I had just reconnected with him on Facebook (the Chief had moved out of state for med school and residency and that whole process that I don’t understand), and the volunteer recounted when he told him he was gay:
“I don’t understand it at all, but I knew that I wanted him to be happy. And he told me, and I asked him, I said, ‘[Chief], are you happy?”
No judgment, just honesty, and concern. And a wish to be happy.
You know what will make you feel better after all that depressing news, fun movies about the Arenas! First off, this awesome tribute, set to music from The Chronicles of Narnia:
And now, a time-lapse of the building of the Consol Center:
And also to make you feel better: just remember, you could be at home (or the DLLCC) playing the Furry Card Game. I kid you not. Click over if you dare, and have some mind bleach on hand.
Here’s my first part about Star Wars: Did you know when The Empire Strikes Back was coming out, there was a special 1-800 line you could call to get “hidden” messages from the characters?! And that it was so popular it broke AT&T?! Now you can listen to them, and I suggest you do!
I can’t believe I’m about to write this sentence: but I think I’ve found something that was made worse by the addition of lightsabers! I know, hard to believe, but why mess with what is perfect already:
Have you met Gary and Elaine? They live in a catalog. Go check it out!
Andrew Sullivan links to an awesome quote from tinfoiler:
“When my son Hunter asked me why it was okay for Bristol Palin to have a baby before she was married, I told him that God has special rules for special people. God knew that Bristol could become very rich from having a baby, so He granted her a pregnancy. Since she is the daughter of Sarah Palin, and the name Bristol Palin can be rearranged to spell “Orbit Plans” she is pretty much an angel, at least by the official bible definition. And that pretty much makes her son like a Jesus, technically speaking. This is just more proof that the blessed Palin family has wonderful and holy plans for true Americans. After explaining this to my son, he told me that he wanted to be sex-educated at a public school so that he could have a Jesus baby too. I smacked him in the mouth and told him that sex education is only for liberals and atheists. As good Christians, we should be ashamed of sexuality and our bodies, unless you are chosen by God, like Bristol Palin,”
Woot! was bought by Amazon, and as amazing as that it, it pales in comparison to the letter sent to the Woot! employees, I really think that this actually went out. Knowing Woot! it just seems to fit. Here are some of my favorite quotes:
Other than that, we plan to continue to run Woot the way we have always run Woot – with a wall of ideas and a dartboard. From a practical point of view, it will be as if we are simply adding one person to the organizational hierarchy, except that one person will just happen to be a billion-dollar company that could buy and sell each and every one of you like you were office furniture.
Q: Where can I get one of those vuvuzelas? A: Are you even paying attention?
They’re not looking to have their folks come in and run Woot unless we ask them to, which incidentally you can do by turning off the bathroom lights and saying the word “Kindle” three times; a helpful Amazon employee will appear in the mirror.
Q: Is Snapster leaving? A: Are you kidding? He’s out the door about ten seconds after that check clea- that is to say, Snapster will continue as Woot.com CEO, just like before, and the rest of our staff’s not going anywhere either. Woot and all ourvarious sites will continue to be an independently operated company full of horrible, useless products and an untalented jerkface writing staff, same as it ever was.
And finally today, I would just like to brag a bit. Ginny over at That’s Church asked for a motivational poster, and I happened to have a few free minutes (I was off of work that day), so I quickly threw one together and sent it over. If you don’t read her blog, you really should ,nothing else makes me laugh on such a consistent basis, and she cares so much for Pittsburgh it hurts sometimes (why we love her!). I of course, complain that I wish I had more time, things I would change, but as my friend said, “shush!” Here’s the post, and here’s my work:
This could probably also be posted on “The Great and Secret Show” but for now, I’ll leave it here on Warhol’s Phone.
The City Paper is reporting that the ACLU is looking into the almost arrest of Green party activists at Point State Park. Apparently, it is against DCNR regulations to distribute anything political in their parks without getting prior permission. This line of the article made me laugh a lot:
Turns out the regs have been in place for nearly 40 years … but even the ACLU never noticed them:
Some things just go unnoticed.
It’s tough, I guess that I don’t know enough about the review process, and even if there will still be any kind of process in this whole mess. Of course I think we need to protect our first amendment rights, but we also need to protect our natural resources, which is ultimately what the DCNR does.
How much of a bother are groups passing out literature or holding rallies in parks? I guess that too, depends on the person.
So at the moment, I have a whole lot of nothing to add to this conversation, but that’s okay too, I just wanted to bring he matter to everyone’s attention.
Quick update for everyone, I should be back either later today or tomorrow with more.
I just left D’s from watching the World Cup game. I’m very sad that Ghana lost, one, because they were my team in the poll, but also because they were the last African team. However, the last few minutes really showed that they did deserve to win that game. Not that Uruguay did, but Ghana just seemed to fall apart a lot. I”m excited for The Netherlands upset of Brasil, so I’ll either be rooting for them or Uruguay (yes, because their abbreviation is URU) in the finals.
First off, let us not forget this amazing portrait of the CEO of BP:
And of course, the time their Twitter account got interviewed by ABC:
If you’re a regular reader of Savage Love, be sure to check out this awesome parody that was published a while ago.
Like I said, real short, but I’ll be back with a lot more real soon, I promise!
