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Thursday, October 31, 2002
Only 6 more days... ... if you count today, until I get back to posting only trivial stuff about my life. A bunch of y'all have weighed in on my increasingly politics-filled web site. Some like it, and others... well, not so much. Bear with me. Like Golisano's annoying television commercials, my political posts, too shall pass... ... at least until this time next year. :-) | private feedback | (0) public comments I'm with Michael Moore... Has the NRA no shame? ... and how about Charlton Heston? Wednesday, the NRA and Mr. Heston decided to go ahead with a pro-gun rally at Tucson Convention Center, about four miles from the University of Arizona's nursing school, where Monday's shootings took place!!! Most politicians (including the republican candidate for Governor) have forgone campaigning in the area out of respect for the victims... but not Charlton Heston and his NRA minions. This absolutely disgusts me. And its not the first time that the NRA has done something similar. Michael Moore sent a letter yesterday, adressed to Mr. Heston, saying the following: 'When you showed up in Denver to hold your pro-gun rally just days after the massacre at nearby Columbine High School, the nation was shocked at your incredible insensitivity to those who had just lost loved ones. 'When you came to Flint to hold another rally in the months after a 6-year old boy shot a 6-year old girl at a nearby elementary school, the community was stunned by your desire to rub its face in its grief. 'But your announcement that you are on your way to Tucson today, just 48 hours after a student at the University of Arizona shot and killed three professors and then himself, to hold ANOTHER big pro-gun celebration -- this time to get out the vote for the NRA-backed Republican running for Congress -- well, sir, I have to ask you: Have you no shame?' One of the republican candidates actually defended the rally by saying, 'This rally is about self-defense against violent predators such as the murderer who killed three innocent professors.' Huh!? What kind of self-defense can one have when someone ambushes you and guns you down? I highly doubt that if any of those three professors had concealed weapons on them that the tragic events would have turned out any differently. What a ridiculous statement by any individual, let alone a candidate for office. Which brings me to my final point in my disgustedness over gun violence. Mike Sigler (running against Barbara Lifton for State Assembly) has been endorsed and given an 'A' rating by the shameful NRA Political Victory Fund. Please consider this heavily when you vote next Tuesday. | private feedback | (0) public comments Unpleasant surprise Last night I went to look up a phone number in my Handspring Visor... and it wouldn't turn on. I assumed it was dead batteries so I opened the battery compartment and saw the nasty corrosive mess that the Duracell company had unleashed upon my Handspring. Damn batteries. There is nothing I can do to get it working again... so I have to send it in to Duracell for them to either fix and/or replace. I don't use it as consistently as I used to... so maybe I should hope for a check and be done with it. | private feedback | (0) public comments I bought my coffee from a cowboy this morning That can only mean one thing... Happy Halloween! | private feedback | (0) public comments Tuesday, October 29, 2002 One of the treats... ... of reading the Sunday New York Times is the New York Times Magazine. In it are two columns, one called 'On Language' by William Sapphire that discusses issues surrounding words and their uses... and one called 'The Ethicist' by Randy Cohen discussing moral and ethical issues of everyday folks. Both columns were very good this week (I just got around to reading them today on lunch). 'On Language' dissected the term 'sprezzatura' -- an italian word loosely meaning 'studied carelessness.' Isn't that just one of the most beautiful definitions? That definition ranks sprezzatura right up there with my other favorite words (because of their definitions), serendipity -- a fortunate accident, and limerance -- to be in the first stage of love. and 'The Ethicist' ended on a unique romantic note this week... From the column: 'I have been dating a wonderful woman for the past year and a half, and your column has been a central part of our relationship. We eagerly await Sunday mornings, when we can lounge in bed or at brunch and debate your readers' weekly moral quandaries. We occasionally disagree with your responses, but we nearly always agree with eachother's, which I think, is a good sign. After all, you're only around once a week, and we don't have to share a bathroom with you. My question is this: "Will you marry me?" (And it's for Victoria, of course, not you.) -- Justin, San Francisco' | private feedback | (0) public comments Ithaca is growing up... THIS building could take the place of a hopelessly run-down, ugly building at the corner of Tioga and Seneca (currently the temporary Democratic Party Headquarters). I admit, its not very architecturally inspired... but its a step in the right direction... 
| private feedback | (0) public comments French women are fierce... Catherine Deneuve just may be the most beautiful woman walking the face of the earth. This was confirmed for me last night when I saw, '8 Women' at Fall Creek. A French movie, once you get past the subtitles... (I always have to adjust to 'reading' a movie, especially when what I *really* want to see are the faces of the actresses as they say their lines)... its really cute and fluffy. The musical numbers (yes, each of the 8 women have one) are nothing short of bizarre. They're just plain campy. (In the first song... imagine Catherine Denueve as a back-up dancer for a teeny bopper singing a bouncy song called 'Daddy, you ain't with it.' That was by far my favorite one.) The entire plot revolves around a murder mystery... with all 8 women as suspects... The women are trapped in the house with the deceased, and as the movie goes on we learn all the sordid secrets these women carry around with them as they try to figure out who murdered Marcel. Its worth seeing once. Probably not twice... even *with* Catherine Deneuve.  Monday, October 28, 2002 I *knew* there was a reason I liked Rochester... The Poughkeepsie Journal, Middletown Times Herald Record, and Buffalo News all endorsed Pataki. Blech. But the Democrat and Chronicle endorses... McCall. From PoliticsNY.com: Saying that State Comptroller H. Carl McCall offers the best chance at Albany reform and a vision for the future, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle endorsed McCall's candidacy for governor on Sunday. The Democrat and Chronicle was highly critical of Governor George Pataki, stating that while he ran "against the backroom-dealing, book-cooking Capitol culture of Gov. Mario Cuomo," he broke his promise and has "become the foremost practitioner of the clubby, closed-door politics that he once professed to disdain." The newspaper also criticized him for his failure to address the economic problems that have beset Upstate communities. "In his two terms, Pataki has done nothing to open state government, to bring sanity to Albany's dysfunction junction. Instead, he's pushed the process ever deeper into the musty inner sanctums. Rank-and-file lawmakers are out of the loop; the public is fed either nothing or pablum," writes the Democrat and Chronicle. The Democrat and Chronicle wrote that they like Independence Party candidate B. Thomas Golisano's common sense and good business sense, but what is good for Paychex, "do not come readily to the legislative realm in Albany." The newspaper urges Golisano to apply his reform agenda is his Rochester-area hometown. The Democrat and Chronicle wrote that a vote for Governor Pataki is a vote for the status quo. "Albany's secret government. A struggling upstate. Cheap politics wedded to policy. New Yorkers deserve better -- H. Carl McCall." | private feedback | (0) public comments Bowling is fun... The Harlem Pin Divas took 3 of 4 points yesterday! I was a bit more consistent this week... bowling above my average overall (but I can't remember what my individual scores were). We had jumped up one in the rankings last week so we're now #11 of 13 teams. We *still* have not been ranked last, thankfully. And, since rankings are based on points we probably won't slip any for next week. This week, my average came up one whole pin, to 122. Yahoo! Mikey and Shane's Night 'O Fun... Mikey and I hung out after bowling... shopped at Weggies for some dinner and then watched a movie. The dinner... eh... you get out of your food what you put into it. And since I was super hungry and super lazy, I bought those Birds-Eye pasta secrets things. You know, 8 minutes in a saucepan kind of thing. Ick. Thank god for half-moon cookies (Wegheads makes some of the best) and ice cream sandwiches. Mmmmmmm. And then we watched 'Life or Something Like it' with Angelina Jolie and Edward Norton. I'm not really sure what made me want to see this movie in the first place... probably 'cause I knew it had some kind of romantic theme. (I'm a sap, its true.) For how cheesy it was, it still was pretty good. It won't become one of my favorites... but it was a seize-the-day, if-you-really-want-something-bad-enough-you-can-change-your-own-fate, feel-good kinda movie. (And I just gotta say, a blonde Angelina Jolie does absolutely nothing for me... but neither does a brunette Angelina Jolie. Ok, so maybe it's just Angelina Jolie herself. Or maybe those lips. I am *not* a fan. I told Mike during the movie... 'She's so ugly, she's pretty.') | private feedback | (0) public comments Sunday, October 27, 2002 Newspaper endorsements are in... Journal News endorses... Pataki... Newsday endorses...Pataki... although they call him the 'Good-enough Governor' which can't be stellar praise. New York Times endorses.... Pataki.... Gee, I wonder who the New York Post will endorse... | private feedback | (0) public comments Saturday, October 26, 2002 What a crazy 24 hours its been... Yesterday afternoon I was reading an online biography of Paul Wellstone, ultra-Liberal US Senator from Minnesota. And just as most Republicans are said to 'get up every morning thinking about how they're going to screw the poor' Paul Wellstone must have gotten up every morning thinking about how he was going to best advocate for the poor. As far as I can tell, as a recent politics convert, he was a rare man... and even if you didn't agree with him you knew that he meant every word he said. Within a half-hour of reading this profile, I visited 'Google.com news' where I saw the breaking story that Senator Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash on his way to a funeral in Minnesota. I couldn't believe that I had just learned about this man... and he was taken from us. How tragic. This topic was all anyone could talk about at Barbara Lifton's fundraiser later that night. The event had a great turnout, hosted by Moosewood. The music, the food, the silent auction... all went off without a hitch. I was there until shortly before midnight helping to do any necessary clean-up. And this morning... I'm happily reading along in the New York Times... and I see some stuff about who might possibly replace Wellstone in the Senate race (so soon?)... and I see that the NY Governor's race has broken the record for a non-presidential campaign... and oh, lookee here... the Empire State Pride Agenda *will* endorse Governor Pataki! WHAT!?!? ESPA trades endorsement for vote on SONDA Let me sum up the article for you. (Here it is if you don't want my biased opinion...) After 7-1/2 years of not doing anything to promote the SONDA legislation, after 7-1/2 years of completely putrid funding and budget priorities for the gay/lesbian community, after 7-1/2 years of not doing much outreach to the gay/lesbian community at all... Pataki will pick up the endorsement of the state's largest gay-rights advocacy group. That's right, for doing nothing. (Apparently a lot of folks endorse Pataki for doing nothing.) Basically, everyone quoted in the article has all but admitted that this was in response to Pataki's and Senate Majority Leader Bruno's promise to vote on SONDA after the election. Sort of a 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours' endorsement. Which absolutely disgusts me. Part of the funniest thing... is that ESPA already has their voters guide online. I read through their endorsement for the Governor's race... and at the end of their praise for the Governor they say, 'Critics have disagreed with some of his funding priorities. Others have said that SONDA should have been passed much sooner in the Governor's eight-year term and that he has not done enough outreach to the LGBT community. He has also marched in Manhattan's non-inclusive St. Patrick's Day parade.' McCall also has a long supportive paragraph in their voting guide... with *no* 'Critics have disagreed...' statement following. I think that's very telling that they couldn't find anything negative to say about McCall but still didn't endorse him. New York Times endorsement for sale... sort of As a prank, someone posted the sale of the New York Times' endorsement in the NY Governor's race on ebay... at a cool $26 Million. View the Ebay auction, taken down shortly after it was discovered, here. | private feedback | (0) public comments Friday, October 25, 2002 My newest favorite bumper sticker... 'Don't get so close. I'm not that kind of car.' | private feedback | (0) public comments ... I guess I will say *something* about the Sheriff's Debate afterall What was clear last night... and the reason why I'm voting for Pete Meyers (Green Party) instead of Peter Meskill (Democrat) is that there are two completely different mindsets, philosophies, and approaches to the criminal justice system being represented by these two candidates. While experience is crucial in a lot of campaigns. I think that topic is basically negated in this race... after all, just four short years ago, Peter Meskill was a real estate agent... and had absolutely no law enforcement experience. Of course, today, he can *appear* to speak more intelligently about what's going on at the jail... he is there all the time. But as I said, this is about a philosophy and putting a county's jail and criminal justice system in the hands of someone who is sensitive to victims' issues, the root causes of crime, and REAL rehabilitation of offenders... It is a completely different approach than what is currently happening. While Meskill says that the decision to build a new jail is *not his,* he still concedes that he has input into and influence on the process. Well, input is not quite enough. As Pete Meyers says, not only should one give input... but one should be an advocate. I agree. Point of view and beliefs are just as important as experience to me, and I would *much* rather have a social worker running our criminal justice system than a real estate agent turned Sheriff. | private feedback | (0) public comments Blogger down... Yeah, it was down all morning so I couldn't post. I'm almost not in the mood since first thing in the morning is when I'm all fired up to write about what happened the night before... but I'll try. :-) Another Q&A Forum... Last night the League of Women Voters hosted a forum including the candidates for Assembly and Sherrif to answer questions submitted by the audience. Lori couldn't go, she was sick (hope you're feeling better, hon) but Mike went with me. I'm glad or else I wouldn't have had anyone to roll my eyes at everytime the Republican spoke. Let's see... I guess since the Ithaca Journal did a write up that you can read online... I'll just share my favorite two moments from the Lifton/Sigler conversation. When Mike Sigler was asked how we could stop gridlock in Albany, his response was, 'Elect more republicans!' to which my gut response was, 'Yeah, right!' (And I probably said it a little louder than I should have.) And when he was asked about how we could get a budget passed on time in New York he said, 'The republicans have a 6-point plan for getting this done.' Really!? Gee, so even though the republicans control 2/3 of the process now... they STILL can't get it done? Amazing. Oh, wait... I just thought of a third... When Mike Sigler was talking about how he's cavassed among every community in the 125th district and attended all kinds of forums. His quote was, 'I haven't turned a blind eye to *any* community.' To which I elbowed Mike and said, 'Except the gay community,' referring to his snubbing the Task Force's forum the night before. Endorsements Still waiting on Pride Agenda endorsement for Governor... Good ideas... Yesterday morning around 11:00 when they announced the arrests in the sniper case... the Ithaca Journal had already sent around an 'Extra' edition of the paper announcing it. I was amazed at the fast distribution of a newspaper. I mean... they have to get the news or write it, lay it out, print it, and distribute it all over town... all in a matter of hours. Its sort of awe-inspiring to me. So I was thinking... 'Gee, if I ever ran for office I would totally just print up an insert and have it sent around in the Journal.' And wouldn't you know it... Sheriff Meskill thought of it before me... his flyer was in the Journal today. Tonight, tonight... Hopefully, I'll get in a nap after work and then I'm volunteering at Barbara Lifton's fundraiser from 8-11. | private feedback | (0) public comments Thursday, October 24, 2002 Amazing Race 3... After being hung up on multiple times 'calling to ask a few short questions about the upcoming election,' and then going to the poor-turnout candidate's forum... I got home just in time to catch the second-half of the Amazing Race. Now, I said from the beginning that I had wanted the three gay-inclusive teams to make it as far as possible in the race. I think that would have been super cool. And we've already lost one... the father (conservative)/son (gay cheerleader) team... and last night up until the last minute... I thought we'd lose the 'Will & Grace' team, Aaron and Arianne, because of some bad luck at a soccer field. A&A ended up arriving at the pit stop in last place, but because the first-place team didn't follow instructions correctly they got penalized 30 minutes which cost them that leg of the race. Heather & Eve, law school roommates, got eliminated. | private feedback | (0) public comments I *love* Dan Savage... Probably the only thing I say more often than 'I hate the Common Ground' (*smirk*) is that I love Dan Savage. A quote from this week's advice column... 'Are gay bathhouses even necessary these days? Websites like Gay.com have basically turned every gay man's apartment into a virtual/potential gay bathhouse, so do we really need to go to the real thing anymore? Why eat out when you can order in?)' Read the rest... Dan Savage is currently on a book tour to promote 'Skipping Towards Gomorrah: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Pursuit of Happiness in America,' which I am currently reading. It's Fab! | private feedback | (0) public comments I just can't hide it... I'm so excited... '8 Women' opens Friday at Fall Creek. | private feedback | (0) public comments Hoosier Review... I got a very small mention at HoosierReview.com, a site billed as 'Indiana University’s premier site for political news and opinion.' The mention...? 'And this one's for Steve -- if you're ever really bored, you can check out 'Happily Stuck in Ithaca.' (Apparently, Steve is a frequent writer for the Hoosier Review and has recently moved to Ithaca for Law School.) Hopefully, Steve gets really bored. ;-) Hey, I'll take what I can get. | private feedback | (0) public comments Sometimes we forget... While its true that Ithaca, in general, is an extraordinarily liberal place (in comparison with say, many other cities in Upstate NY)... I find it hard to believe that people that live here... especially in the gay and lesbian community... are so apathetic to politics and activism. And maybe that's erroneous... most may be sure of their party affiliation and don't need to attend something like, say, a Meet The Candidate Forum hosted by the Ithaca Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Transgender Task Force. Last night's attendance at the forum was so poor I was actually embarrassed for a moment, for our community. (And I wasn't the only person to say this... just in case someone wanted to accuse me of climbing up on a soapbox.) Besides Lori and I, there were maybe four or five folks who attended. There were almost as many candidates there to answer questions. Was a forum like this important? Absolutely. Not only did it show that some candidates don't think the gay and lesbian community is important (Mike Sigler not only didn't show up but didn't respond to numerous requests for an appearance)... but there are many issues right now on the plate that desperately need to be addressed at a local and statewide level. Hate crimes and restorative justice/victim's rights for those the subject of hate crimes, Non-Discrimination in housing and the workplace, and potentially an uphill battle for any recognition of gay/lesbian couples as in Vermont. But I think one only needs to read the Ithaca Journal for a bolt of reality. One of the biggest issues in the Ithaca City School district these days is the presentation of a play... about tolerance and bias towards a boy coming out at school. The play is called 'Josh Keenan Comes Out' and most of the noise is being made not necessarily about the fact that a boy comes out as gay, but that a character in the play says, 'My Dad says, 'God hates gays.' Ministers and Pastors have spoken at the School Board meetings asking that the play not be shown because it makes inflammatory statements about religion and characterizes religion in a poor light. The fact of the matter is that there *are* folks out there, some of them fathers, who say 'God hates gays.' (Do I need to point people to a web site, godhatesfags.com?) Not only does that statement not condemn an entire religion it actually prompts individuals seeing the play to give some thought to their own discomfort at hearing those words and figure out *why* people make comments like that. So of course I'm all about that play being shown. And kudos to the School Board and Administration who knows that this is an important message. I wanted to share a quote... from an opinion piece in today's Journal as proof that there is much work to be done... Mark Broderick, who is the Pastor at the West Groton/East Lansing Church had this to say, 'Josh needs friends accepting him as homosexual as much as alcoholics need people to buy them drinks. What Josh really needs are loving Christians who will share with him the compassion of God depicted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please come out Josh -- come out of the lifestyle and into a personal relationship with the living God.' Ok, so maybe Mark Broderick doesnt *hate* fags. He just doesn't *accept* them... but I bet he votes. | private feedback | (0) public comments Even though I can't stand Pataki... ... I would *never* stand next to him with a picket sign saying he's a liar. From an article in the NY Daily News: 'Yesterday, Team Pataki launched a six-city strike against Golisano upstate and crashed two of his events in Brooklyn and Westchester. Holding signs proclaiming, "Golisano is a liar," Pataki volunteers surrounded the Independence Party candidate.' Team Pataki is so lame. George W. Bush an excellent campaigner... ... for the democrats? From a speech given by Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic national chairman, 'We hope George Bush goes to all our highly contested races,' adding that after Mr. Bush's recent trip to Minnesota, Senator Paul Wellstone, the Democrat, climbed two points in the polls. | private feedback | (0) public comments Wednesday, October 23, 2002 SONDA will get a vote!! In more last-minute campaign finangling, Pataki has finally convinced the Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno to allow a vote on the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act. Why now? Why hasn't Pataki put the same kind of pressure on Mr. Bruno for the last 7-1/2 years of his administration? Pataki is drooling at the chance to be endorsed by yet another typically Democratic-leaning constituency... the Empire State Pride Agenda. He'd like it to be one of the last nails in McCall's coffin. (We'll see if Empire State Pride Agenda is as cheap an endorsement as many of the Labor Unions that have backed Pataki... ESPA should announce their endorsement for Governor by the end of this week, and I'll be very disappointed if its not for Carl McCall.) On the up-side, SONDA going to a vote is really great news for gays and lesbians in New York State. The bill would add two words — sexual orientation — to an existing human rights law banning discrimination in housing, credit, education or employment on the basis of age, race, religion, color, national origin, sex, disability or marital status. Most predict that if it is voted on, it will pass. Great news, but suspect timing. Carl McCall, immediately denounced the Senate Republicans' move as a cynical election-year ploy, accusing them of having no principles. Mr. Silver, the Democrat who leads the Assembly, also questioned the timing, "It is outrageous that after all its years of neglect, the Senate now promises to act in order to deliver an election-year gift to the governor." | private feedback | (0) public comments Sometimes you need a break... By the end of the day yesterday, I had a nasty cramp in my neck... I was exhausted... I was starving... basically I was in no mood to go volunteer at the Democratic Headquarters. The only way I could get out of it was to promise I'd go today instead. I needed a quiet evening. I left the office a little after 6. (Mostly because I had found that I could watch a streaming video of Sunday's Governor's 'Debate' at cspan.org. I started watching that a little after 5. Staring at a pixellated 1-1/2 inch square moving image for an hour really didn't help my eyes, I'm sure. 'Wait, was *that* Tom Golisano!?') Then I did a load of laundry... and ended up curling up on the couch to watch the Florida Governor's debate with a 'New York' magazine crossword puzzle in my lap. (I don't know how I stand all the fun.) Then a really great two-hour phone conversation... (I didn't even care that I missed 'Real World.' That speaks volumes.) ... and it was off to bed. My schedule is full this evening, Leslyn had also called yesterday to ask if I would be willing to do some phone calling for Carl McCall. ('For McCall!? Anything!', was my response.) I've recruited Lori to come with me... so... right after work I go to the Democratic Headquarters to put together literature for the Dems... at 6:30 I switch over to making phone calls for McCall and then at 7:30 I walk over to the Unitarian Church for the 'Meet the Candidates Forum' hosted by the Ithaca Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Task Force. I was telling Lori this on the phone today and she said, 'And where is dinner scheduled among all this?' I hadn't really thought abou that. What a sweetheart, she's going to bring me dinner while I'm volunteering. I love my Lori. A few thoughts about 'debates' and debates Last night, Florida's Governor's Debate was moderated by Tim Russert (He also moderated Hillary Clinton and Rick Lazio's Senate Debate in 2000). Tim Russert is just about the coolest host ever because he actually asks hard-hitting questions. On his television show (Meet the Press) he badgers guests about facts, and he's always got visual aids and copies of articles and quotes to back his questions up. He's not afraid to point out to candidates that they may have changed their positions on certain things. I love it. Last night, the debate he hosted was very much like his show. It was not a timed response forum, but very much a free-flowing discussion in which both candidates got to state their sides and then have rebuttals and even sometimes just open exchange between the two of them. And once in a while Tim would interject. 'Ok, so how are you going to pay for that?' or 'What taxes will you raise?' And if the candidate didn't really answer the question, Tim Russert would say that. 'Well, that doesn't really answer my question. Where does the money come from?' Basically, he lets politicians get away with much less double-talk and sound bites. So I'm watching this... as a New Yorker. And feeling pretty damned shortchanged about the discussion that's happening between our candidates for Governor... It's really a pity. | private feedback | (0) public comments Tuesday, October 22, 2002 WOW How would you like your presence on an airplane to be referred to as, 'an unprecedented set of extremely unfortunate circumstances.' Woman squashed by plane passenger @ CNN.com Yikes! | private feedback | (0) public comments One of my favorite phrases... 'I'm only responsible for my own incompetence.' Its a close second to... 'Spiritually, I did all that I could.' *smirk* | private feedback | (0) public comments Well... I was wrong. I'll be the first to admit it... it was not VoiceStream's joining with T-Mobile and any resulting poor network that caused my terrible phone problems. It was not the college students coming back and overwhelming our cell phone towers... My cell phone's microphone had gone kaput. I put this hypothesis to the test initially by using my hands-free throughout the weekend... with none of the 'I can't hear you!!' responses that were becoming more and more common. Of course, I could hear them fine, what was the friggin problem? I got my new phone today... same model (even though they had warned me it might not be). It works perfectly and has the added bonus of having AIM installed on it. How cool is that? I can't ever see myself typing long sentences on that tiny little keyboard, but, hey... you never know. I'm back in business. :-) | private feedback | (0) public comments Its mind boggling... ... that someone with the worst fashion sense for themselves has picked out some of my favorite shirts. | private feedback | (0) public comments Daddy and Papa Last night was the Ithaca/Cornell debut of 'Daddy and Papa: A Story About Gay Fathers in America'. First of all, I didn't know quite what to expect from a documentary about gay fathers. I was pretty sure it was going to be supportive, but I wasn't sure if it would be one of those flat, unentertaining, mostly educational documentaries. I was pleasantly surprised. The auditorium in Kennedy Hall was *filled* with folks... Mike and Donna and I had gotten there early and it was difficult to find three seats together. The program began with a student introducing the film and talking about why it was so important to him. He had originally seen the film at the Sundance Film Festival... The films message resonated with him because his mother, like many mothers upon hearing her son is gay, had immediately mourned the loss of potential grandchildren and seeing her son as a father. So this movie not only gave him hope... but showed him examples of successful gay parenting, warts and all. It did the same for me. I guess I won't write any more specifics about the movie... (its going to be shown next June on PBS, so then you'll get a chance to see it yourself.) One of the interesting issues that the movie brought up, though, is the dichotomy between straight folks who just 'screw' and get a baby... and potential gay parents who have to go through the scrutiny of the adoption/foster family procedure (home visits, a million questions, CPR training, inspections, among other things). Gay men who want to become fathers tend to really, really want to have a baby... as opposed to the 'oops' babies some straights have. The movie also touched on the legal status of gay adoption (it is banned in three states) even though the empirical data tends to show no harm to children raised by gay and lesbian parents... and even some benefits. See, I shouldn't have started talking about the movie... now I don't want to stop... I haven't even started talking about the race issues since most gay men tend to adopt 'unwanted' minority children. *sigh* I'm gonna stop there... The movie is really an amazing starting point for a lot of good discussion. The movie really confirmed for me, that someday I want to have a family... (although it also confirmed that I *will* wait until I have a partner to do it with). So many of the things I fear about being a gay father were the same things that the men in this documentary feared, which was amazingly comforting. At some point, the gay men in this documentary wanted to commit their lives to something amazing like raising kids. I hope I don't miss out on that. | private feedback | (0) public comments Monday, October 21, 2002 Seeking reliable sources... In a new twist in the George Eastman as homosexual saga... Lori spoke with a mutual friend of ours (a photographer) who used to work at the Eastman House. She said there has been frequent speculation about George Eastman's sexuality among the employees of the museum... but there is nothing concrete, just hunches. If anyone comes across my Web site and has any more information... or even a passing interest in this topic... drop me a line. :-) The 'election countdown' is on... In honor of the upcoming election... I've rearranged a few things (as you've probably noticed). VOTE, November 5th! | private feedback | (0) public comments Sunday, October 20, 2002 HEADLINES Oh man! I miss all the good ones! Golisano and McCall both ripped into Pataki at today's debate. And... after the debate, two top aides to Pataki and Golisano got into an obscenity-laced shouting match that had to be broken up by a police officer. Carl McCall wants more DNC Money. | private feedback | (0) public comments So back to George Eastman being gay... To make a long story short -- went back to the George Eastman House... (it was pouring rain so we passed on going to Kodak Park)... the study center was closed so we could not ask after George Eastman's suicide note or documentation of his sexual preference... but a security guard was nice enough to tell us that George Eastman shot himself in his bedroom.. which is still open to visitors on the second floor (though just filled with folding chairs, *not* authentic furniture). So, Lori and I have a little research to do... and maybe we'll find out that the father of photography was, in fact, gay. I'll keep you posted. Syracuse Mikey, Rodney and I went to Syracuse Saturday night. We ran into Josh and Dan and basically every other gay guy from Ithaca. I had a blast dancing... and Rodney was being scandalous. I don't feel too bad writing about it since he was bragging about it today at bowling. Bowling... What a day!! It was certainly the return of the fierce 'Harlem Pin Divas.' We *all* bowled above our averages over the three games. I got a 137... a 144... and then a 99 (I always have an off game). My average is currently a 121. Our team of 'divas' took 3 of 4 points which should help our ranking (currently 12th of 13 teams). Drag queens and more drag queens... Hair... make-up... fierce shoes... and attitude? Must be a drag show. I have been whining for weeks that I haven't seen any drag shows in a long time. I got more than my fair share this weekend. In Rochester... Brett, Jamie, and I hit the 'Salad Bar Revue' hosted by Ambrosia at Muther's. (It was Brett and Jamie's two-year anniversary -- Congratulations guys!!!) And then tonight at the Common Ground was a benefit drag show for Southen Tier AIDS Project hosted by Miss Bianca.... who I've known since *before* she did drag, and who recently was crowned 'Miss Southern Tier.' First of all... the Central New York queens have *nothing* on the Rochester queens. Ambrosia Salad, Darienne Lake, and Aggie Dune (who wasn't at the show) rock! And Lexxus, who performs at Tilt... if she was a real woman... would turn me straight. (Perhaps the only exception is Miss Bianca who surprised the hell out of me tonight. She looks *good.*) Now... don't judge me... but I've dated a few drag queens. One of them turned into a queen *after* we dated for months... one of them surprised me by showing up on our second date *in* drag... and the third I didn't know did drag until *tonight.* Actually, the one that showed up in drag on our second date... *that's* a funny story. We met and had a great first date. I was so enamored with him... the guy was adorable. And then we had our second date... he prefaced it on the phone by saying... 'I have someone I want you to meet.' So I show up thinking he's going to bring his fag hag along... we were supposed to meet at the Common Ground... and I'm looking around and I don't see him. I went half the night before this TALL drag queen walked up to me and said, 'Shane!! It's me!!!' My shock and horror must have been completely obvious. When I was in full control of my faculties again, my first thought was, 'Well, at least he's a *good* drag queen.' I subsequently tried pretending that he was just an actor playing a part and that it wasn't a big deal. But when he confessed that his life's ambition was becoming a professional drag queen, we parted ways. And then tonight... I saw this queen who looked awfully familiar. I squinted and about dropped my drink when I found out it was someone I dated for a few weeks back in the spring. If my luck continues, I'll be able to host a 'Drag Revue,' starring a line-up of my exes, by New Year's. | private feedback | (0) public comments This morning... I woke up at 10:30... I looked at the clock. I remember thinking, 'The 'debate' is going to be on in a half hour.' I rolled over just to rest my eyes until 11:00. A full hour-and-a-half later I woke up and caught a closing rebuttal from George Pataki. The 'debate' was over! I missed the second and most-likely last NY Governor's Debate. From what I could tell only 6 candidates participated this time (must be the right-to-lifer guy had church obligations or something)... but it was also only an hour long. I guess I'll have to read about it... and if I find any good articles I'll post them up here, as usual. 'Where have you been?' I haven't posted anything here since Thursday. Mostly because I've been on the go and enjoying life non-stop since then. Thursday right after work, Lori and I went to a meeting hosted by my board representative, and friend, Leslyn McBean. It was a very enlightening discussion. Tompkins county is currently facing a 22% tax hike if the budget passes as recommended. The county board is attempting to shrink that a little, but mostly on the backs of the human service agencies. Initially, I thought, 'Shane, why do you care? You don't own a home. You don't pay county taxes.' But I think I was a little naive. My landlord will undoubtedly pass on some or all of the tax increase in my rent. So this is truly an issue that affects everyone... And not just on the amount of taxes paid. The board is going to have to walk a thin line between the amount of taxes we pay and the effectiveness of our human services agencies in Tompkins County. After a quick check-in at Pete Meyers' campaign, Lori and I got on the road. I took Friday off work, and Lori had a training in Rochester Friday afternoon. So we decided to spend another weekend in the big city. :-) Everyone was up and out before me Friday morning... I spent the morning chatting online because I was bored... on Gay.com. *hangs head in shame* I figured since it wasn't the Central State room I could avoid the petty drama of people who *think* they know me. And I did. It wasn't unpleasant. I even ran into a few folks that I knew a while back... who have ended up and/or stayed in Rochester. So that was cool. But I was pleasantly surprised by Lori calling and telling me that she was going to skip out on the afternoon portion of her training so that we could hang out. We decided to go to the George Eastman House... George Eastman House The George Eastman House is *the* photography museum. For those who don't know... George Eastman was the guy that started Kodak. The best part about going to the museum was going with Lori. She was like a little girl looking at the photographs and reading the names of the photographers. I have to say, seeing some original photographs there of photos that I've seen in the National Geographic or on posters was pretty intense. Its amazing how many photographs have just become part of our history... and how single pictures represent events like 9/11 or the depression. Pictures we've probably all seen but don't give much thought to them. Over the course of the tour of the Eastman residence, a few things stuck out. George Eastman was never married... he lived with his mother, going so far as to build her an entire suite on the second floor of the house... he was so into gardening and animal husbandry that his friends bought him lace curtains for his barn... he was a very 'private' man and liked to get away from it all by going to a cabin in North Carolina frequently... he was very into music (he employed an organ player for each morning's breakfast and often constructed special stages and screening areas for plays and operas in his house)... and finally, a picture of him draped over a leather sofa prompted Lori to say, 'I bet George Eastman was gay!' (I'm laughing hysterically typing that...) So by the end of our trip... we were sure that we needed to do some research into our theory and find out if George Eastman, was in fact, a homosexual. We went to Borders book store afterwards (can you believe that they didn't have a single biography of George Eastman in the place?). We ended up meeting Brett and Jamie at the Borders Cafe. Lori put down her Mac magazine long enough to say, 'OK, so is George Eastman gay?' Brett said, 'That's the rumor.' So he totally fueled our obesession. In between Borders and going out to Muthers for the drag show that night... Lori and I did some reasearch. And boy did we find out tons about George Eastman. :-) Doing a Google search for 'Gay' and 'Homosexual George Eastman' didn't return any matches. So this was an unchartered territory we were negotiating. On our tour, we had entirely missed the plaque that talked about George Eastman's later years... he developed a spinal disorder... and he was a major philanthropist, giving money to all sorts of organizations, and creating dental clinics... he believed so strongly that the strength of his company depended upon the vitality of his workers that he was a pioneer in the field of stock options for employees and early forms of 'profit sharing.' (He was a Republican... but I think that was back in the day when being a republican was a good thing. ;-) And perhaps the most shocking to us was that one day, in 1932, George Eastman assembled a bunch of his friends in his house to disperse financial affairs... and then left the room and wrote a simple note, 'Dear Friends, My work is done. Why wait?' and shot himself through the heart. So now, we had a much more clearly defined mission for Saturday. We were going to go back to the study center at the Eastman House (which we had been to briefly Friday) and request to see his suicide note... ask the lady which room he shot himself in... ask her if she knew anything about him being gay... and go to his grave site at Kodak Park... Damnit, I gotta go bowling... I'll finish this later... | private feedback | (0) public comments Thursday, October 17, 2002 MEET THE CANDIDATES FORUM The Ithaca Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Task Force is sponsoring a "Meet the Candidates" forum. The Date: Wednesday October, 23, 2002 The Time: 7:30 - 8:30 The Place: The First Unitarian Church (corner of Aurora and Buffalo Streets, Ithaca) They have invited all the candidates running in races of interest to the local community. So far, Barbara Lifton, Peter Meskill and Peter Meyers have responded that they are planning on attending. Others may choose to join us for this event. Bring your questions and show that the LGBT community is interested in the people who seek to serve us in elected office. Refreshments will be served. | private feedback | (0) public comments Amazing Race 3 A pretty uneventful episode last night. I was very sad to see that the gay-boi-21-year-old cheerleader and his dad got eliminated. I was hoping all the gay-inclusive teams would make it to the end. Oh well. And that Twins/Models team seems to be a little more slippery than I originally gave them credit for. I was highly entertained by the fact that they're carrying a tanning sheet with them... god forbid they lose any color during their scramble around the world. | private feedback | (0) public comments Race, Power & Privilege One of the best classes I took at Cornell was 'Race, Power, and Privilege' through the Africana Studies Department. It was the most eye-opening revelation for me, to examine systematic, institutional discrimination against minorities... and how this has been/is perpetuated. One of the required readings was an essay by Peggy McIntosh, 'White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack' Randomly, I came across the full text of that essay today on the web... and I thought I'd share the link. It was very important to my personal development, as I grew up with some very ignorant family members when it came to issues of race. | private feedback | (0) public comments HEADLINES Pataki Ducks and Dodges With the Best of Them New Poll: Pataki back in double-digit lead | private feedback | (0) public comments Wednesday, October 16, 2002 Random thought of the day... I find it rude, on rainy days, for people to put their sopping wet umbrellas on the seat next to them on the bus... leaving a puddly mess behind when they get to their stops. What's wrong with the floor? | private feedback | (0) public comments Eureka!! I don't know if you remember that post a *while* back about a particular client that was trying to make us pay for another vendor's mistakes... Well... after a month of dealing with this, frustrating the hell out of everyone... the client asked for a meeting with all parties tomorrow afternoon. In preparation for the meeting, our CEO is looking at the print job this poor excuse for a printer tried to pass off... He busts out with a magnifying glass and compares the acceptable version with the unacceptable one... and he screams 'A-ha! We've got our smoking gun.' Seems you can tell by the dot size that the printer didn't prepare the line screens right for the type of paper we were using. Then, they tried to blame *us* for why the images looked flat. (They looked flat because when you print on uncoated paper you have to take into account dot gain, which they didn't do. They printed as though it were going on coated paper.) Our CEO called me over to take a look for myself. It was completely obvious under the magnifying glass what the problem was. I said 'Wow! This is *so* Crime Scene Investigator.' I am much more optimistic of our prospects at tomorrow's meeting. | private feedback | (0) public comments New Music... Every day I get home from work, I check the mailbox for a package from BMG... hoping to get the new CDs that I will obsessively listen to every morning while I'm in the shower... until I get sick of them. The sad part is I could only remember *one* of the three CDs I ordered... it was Angie Stone's newest, 'Mahogany Soul.' The reason I was so excited about this particular CD? I *love* the Nic Mercy Anthem Mix of 'I Wish I Didn't Miss You.' It took a while for the song to grow on me... but now, I listen to the MP3 for hours on repeat at the office. When Mikey said, 'The album is full of diva, don't-fuck-with-me songs' I *knew* I had to have it. The CD came yesterday... along with the Moulin Rouge Soundtrack (I *finally* broke down and bought it) and Cheap Trick's Greatest Hits (there is no way in hell I ordered that one). I haven't had a chance to listen to Angie yet since I was hanging with a friend until late last night. I'm getting ancy reading the names of the songs... 'Pissed Off,' 'Soul Insurance,' 'Mad Issues,' and 'Time Of The Month.' I brought the CD to work just hoping I'll have some time alone in the office when I can pop it in my iMac. | private feedback | (0) public comments LETS HAVE A *REAL* DEBATE... Email Governor Pataki and tell him that as NY citizens and voters, we deserve to see a *real* debate between the three candidates for the Governor's job. A *real* debate would include Golisano, Pataki, and McCall and allow an exchange of ideas we have not yet seen. Pataki is hoping that he can ride a train of inertia into a third term without having to address the lack of leadership his administration has shown. McCall and Golisano are already hoping to organize such an event. (Read the article here.) But as voters, we can support them by emailing the Governor and telling him his debate-dodging tactics aren't fooling anyone. Let's have a serious evaluation of his performance as Governor in the form of a *real* debate. He's managed to shirk his responsibilities until now. We deserve better than that. Pataki's E-mail: gov.pataki@chamber.state.ny.us P.S. And if he refuses, send an email to McCall and Golisano making sure they follow through on their threat of putting an empty chair on the stage that says 'Pataki Refused to Debate.' I think that would send a clear message to the voters of New York. | private feedback | (0) public comments Tuesday, October 15, 2002 I played darts with Barbara Lifton!! Ok, so it was only one round... I was talking with her at the Common Ground fundraiser and my turn at the board came up. I said, 'Would you take my turn for me?' She said, 'Sure! I'm pretty good at darts.' I said, 'Great, cause I'm not doin' so hot.' How cool is that!? She also spoke about her committment to human and civil rights for all New Yorkers. Every time I hear Barbara Lifton speak, I am more and more convinced that she is the absolute right choice to replace Marty Luster and to carry on his progressive agenda in Albany. Visit her web site to see what she's all about, and then VOTE FOR HER!! | private feedback | (0) public comments Struck me funny From the Ithaca Journal article about Barbara Lifton's Affordable Education Plan... In reference to Sigler's plan to revitalize the 125th district: '[Sigler's plan] picked up support from 30 upstate business owners, including Jim Ray, owner of Jim Ray Mobile Homes.' Surely, someone made this up, right? | private feedback | (0) public comments MORE HEADLINES Pataki Prodded to Enter One-on-One Debate McCall: I'd Appoint Financier as Adviser Barbara Lifton Unveils Plan for Affordable Education | private feedback | (0) public comments What's a 'player'? I was talking with Mike yesterday and I realized that we have different impressions of what a 'player' is... I've always imagined a player as someone who leads people to think that something more meaningful or long-lasting will come out of the relationship when really the only thing they're interested in is casual dating/sex. They have no intention of getting serious and actually mislead individuals about their intentions. Mike says its someone who works on getting and/or maintains the attention of multiple people at the same time... whether its being a huge flirt with those folks or having less serious relationships with all of them... i.e., having more than one iron in the fire at the same time. And now that I type it out... I think Mike's definition is right. But then what's the word that goes with *my* definition? | private feedback | (0) public comments HEADLINES Kmart's got a new logo. (If you want to see a clearer picture of it, check out the Marketplace section of today's Wall Street Journal.) | private feedback | (0) public comments Monday, October 14, 2002 My nephew, in pictures It does not get any cuter than my nephew, Jason Bradley. Lori and I went to Rochester for Jason's birthday party this past weekend. He turned 2. After a little playtime in grandma's shoes, we were able to get him dressed for the party. He was a little more interested in standing on his presents than opening them. (Just in case you're wondering... since its pretty obvious... Its still a mystery how he got the shiner on his eye.) A quick break to eat... and snack... and he finally got the hang of unwrapping those presents. Mom, Lori and I had gotten him pieces of the Thomas the Tank Engine wooden train set (highly mobile, with handles) Someone else got him the funny-lookin' raincoat. (It has a pocket in the back... so very accessible to a child *in* the jacket.) And some random pics... of my mom and Jason... and a picture of mom that would have been great had it been a little more clear. | private feedback | (0) public comments HEADLINES Gov. Pataki demanded the everybody-in-the-pool format of yesterday's gubernatorial debate. After the 90-minute talk-a-thon, it was clear why. More >> New poll has Pataki ahead by 17%. Read the poll from Siena Research Institute. | private feedback | (0) public comments Sunday, October 13, 2002 NY Governor's Race 'Q&A' Session  Seven, that's right, seven candidates for Governor of New York lined up on stage for 90 minutes of questions this morning. Three of the candidates, as far as I could tell have basically one-issue campaigns who had no right to be in the 'debate' in the first place. Once you get positions on the many diverse issues that face New York, then you should be allowed to be on the 'debates' and not sooner.
The worst example was the Libertarian candidate, Scott Jeffrey who basically read his position statements every time he was asked a question... and the position statements oftentimes had VERY LITTLE to do with the actual question asked. Sorry, but that's a waste of time. And sorry, Marijuana Reform Party candidate... (who I don't even remember your name and I can't even find it on your party's web site)... growing hemp as a cash crop might have the potential to be a booming new industry for New York... but it will NOT solve all the problems we face. And the Right To Life candidate... well, there wasn't much that he said in between saying 'hi' to his catholic school students worth repeating. Now, let me clarify before people jump on my case about democracy and the right to include third-party candidates... I am glad that there are seven folks who are making a stand for the Governorship in NY. Clearly, however, as summarized in their closing statements... these three above-mentioned parties are only interested in getting the requisite 50,000 votes to get their parties recognized as official 'ballot parties.' These parties are running 'candidates' (who admit they're not in this to *win*) only to get those crucial votes. So, why shouldn't we now have a REAL debate between the four candidates that actually could have a shot at winning the Governor's Mansion... The Democrat, Republican, Independence, and Green candidates. Before I get any further... do you know what part of the debate makes me the most furious? The fact that a few of the third party candidates actually thanked GEORGE PATAKI for 'allowing' them to be on the stage with him!! *Allowing* them!?!? He doesn't pick who gets on stage. Let's remember that this is the man that refused to debate with the third party candidates on stage with him in previous elections because it suited his ploy to get out of debating altogether. The moderators made a point of saying this is the FIRST Governor's debate in NY since 1990(!)... thanks in VERY large part to George Pataki and his debate-dodging tactics. This 'debate' left no doubt in my mind who the best candidate for Governor is. Without a doubt, it is Carl McCall. The man is eloquent, he has positions on issues, and he has some valid criticisms of the past 8 years under Pataki. George Pataki basically sang 'America The Beautiful' every opportunity he got and praised himself. I think I heard 'I'm proud of my record...' about a million times without backing himself up with any actual facts or plans for the future. The man is a lump. George Pataki, why didn't you push the SONDA bill through the legislature like you promised? Why didn't you push Campaign Finance Reform like you promised? Why do you change your tune about debating every chance you get? Why did you believe in term limits until you had a good shot of winning a third term? Why do you go around handing out state grants with money you don't have just before an election? You refuse to answer all these questions... and you refused to answer them again today. That's a shame. And I honestly hope that today's 'debate' shed some light on your duplicity. As for the other two candidates who have a shot for the Governor's Mansion... (I say they 'have a shot' because they actually have fleshed-out campaigns about a multitude of issues that affect New Yorkers.) I was pleasantly surprised with Tom Golisano's performance in today's debate as well as the Green party candidate Stanley Aronowitz. They have platforms and issues and they were able to lay them on the table. And while I don't agree with all their issues or positions, I think it's fantastic that there are politicians outside the two-party system that can present themselves in a competent manner. Why do I keep putting 'debate' in quotes throughout my entire post? Because a debate means a meaningful exchange of ideas... it means rebuttal of points brought up by other candidates. It means one candidate looking another in the eyes and saying, 'I don't agree with you and here's why.' There was no opportunity for this today. If you divide the number of minutes (90) by the number of candidates that spoke and figure in the reporters' questions... each candidate probably got to spend about 10-12 minutes talking at most. They went down the line asking and answering questions and no candidate was really able to highlight meaningful differences (with the exception of Carl McCall who *really* attempted to show where the Pataki leadership has failed). Today's Q&A was *not* a debate. The voters of one of the country's largest states deserves better than that. | private feedback | (0) public comments Friday, October 11, 2002 Rottenchester... Right after work, Lori and I are headin' Rochester-way... to spend the weekend with my nephew. It's his 2nd birthday tomorrow (Woohoo!) and we're having a little party! I can't wait... and we get to shop for presents with Mom tomorrow. I'll take tons of cool pics... watch for those early next week. Have a great weekend! | private feedback | (0) public comments Black sheep... I don't even know where to start typing about last night. It's all a comedic blur... It really *was* more funny than this... I just can't capture the essence of the evening in this already too long post. Last night was the Annual CDRC Dinner. This year, they celebrated the five-year anniversary of the opening of the Schuyler and Chemung offices. I had RSVP'd weeks ago and so I knew plenty of time ahead that I'd be going. I also knew Lori was coming to pick me up from work... so don't ask me why I wore jeans to the office yesterday. I thought, 'No biggie. I won't be the *only* one in jeans.' (I realize you've never seen most of the volunteers at the center, but take my word. They're not fashion plates.) We get back to Lori's office, it turns out we're carpooling with some of the other CDRC staffers. We're already leaving Ithaca about a half hour later than planned. Dinner starts at 6:30 and is being held in Elmira, a little less than an hour away from Ithaca. So we're thinking that we'll hit the road just in time that we'll slide into the parking lot at precisely the moment social hour ends and dinner is served. Turns out traffic is backed up on Route 13. We're stuck for what seems like a half-hour. We use the time constructively... we bond over road rage... Marianne is screaming obscenities from the back seat and even Lori is flailing arms around. We finally get through this mess and sail to Elmira... until such point as we need to use the directions. 'Take Exit 51.' Seemingly clear directions until you realize that there are TWO exits numbered 51... an A and a B. We take A, as does every other person coming from Ithaca... which takes us in the complete opposite direction. We finally figure out our mistake, swing back, circle a few times and find the building... no thanks to the unlit signs. It *was* getting dark by this time. I made Lori walk into the hall first... she's the best dressed of all of us. Luckily everyone was too busy eating to notice us. I look around the hall... all shirts and ties and jackets. I look down at myself again. (Yup, still in jeans.) We see Dar Dar waiting for us at a table in the corner (practically in the kitchen). She's waving us over. We grab some food and before I can finish the cake, I realize that the program is starting... The entire table is shooing me to get up front to take pictures. I mumbled something like, 'Make sure my cake is still here when I get back, godammit,' and I slink up to the front to scout out a good place to crouch, out of the way, to get some pictures. I take maybe five... and my batteries go dead. I absolutely hate drawing attention to myself, but I force myself to shuffle through the seated audience to the back where my camera case is and I grab my extra set of batteries AND a set from Lori. I get all the way back to the front before I test them and realize that they too... have only about half a charge in them. Lori's didn't work AT ALL. Luckily, it was the last person speaking, so I snap two pictures before I get up and walk in front of all the people, yet again. This time, I get back to the table and just as I'm sitting down (cause I'm *so* through taking pictures) I hear Paula, from the Chemung office saying my name over the speakers. I give the people at my table this confused look and they all say, 'Go up there!' It turns out I was being honored for five-year's volunteering as a mediator at the center. Awwwwwwww... I honestly had no idea 'cause I thought my five-year anniversary was in 2003. Anyway, so now I'm standing up in front of everyone to get my award... in my jeans. I'm completely embarrassed. Paula hands everyone their award (I think there were 6 of us altoghter). Its this really cool clipboard/portfolio thingy with their names and the date in gold lettering. She hands me mine. I look at it... It has peices of masking tape on it... with my name and the date scribbled in ballpoint pen on the masking tape. So at this point I'm even more confused... Everyone else's had THEIR name on it. Did they just do this to embarrass me, or what? Turns out they overlooked me until that morning and so my award is still 'being made.' There was not much socializing to be done after this... it was getting late. We all had a good laugh on the way home about office politics and strange coworkers. (Much of which I can't type here or else I'd have to enter the witness protection program, no doubt.) Bascially, Marianne had us in stitches... a regular one woman SNL skit. :-) I was bummed when I realized I had missed Must-see TV. So I cut my losses... took off my jeans... and went to bed early. | private feedback | (0) public comments My new favorite country music lyric... If he's anything like his memory, he'll be back. | private feedback | (0) public comments HEADLINES Republican Senate candidate in Montana drops out of race after Democrats air 'smear' ad that he says 'questions his sexuality.' (NY Times) | private feedback | (0) public comments Thursday, October 10, 2002 All I ever needed to know I learned from the Wall Street Journal... From an article today about how scandal-plagued employees can take steps to reclaim their 'reputations'... Good advice for some of us... that could have just as easily come from a self-help book. 'Your reputation is your most fragile asset.' 'Half of you will get more than you deserve in life because you're lucky. Half of you will get less, because you're unlucky and people won't be able to disentangle your actions from the environment you're working in.' 'To reclaim a reputation, follow a focused regimen: Accept that obstacles are put in your way to test your faith. Find a physical activity that will relieve stress. Be aware of how your behavior "looks" to others. And cut back on self-pity.' 'Asking, 'Why me?' is self-defeating. It doesn't matter why you. Life's not fair. So why *not* you?' | private feedback | (0) public comments Election Round-up City Teacher's Union Endorses Pataki Despite Parents' Campaign to Stay Neutral Poll: McCall Slips Into 3rd Place Upstate More Last Minute Maneuvering by Pataki to Make Voters *Think* He's Doing His Job | private feedback | (0) public comments Wednesday, October 09, 2002 Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) Dennis, this is super cool! Thanks! | private feedback | (0) public comments The guy with the bumper sticker across his ass... Yup, that's just Shane, showing support for his favorite 2002 candidates. Lori called me today to tell me she got me a local candidate's bumper sticker. 'That's super cool!' I said. 'I guess I'll just wear that sticker across my ass!' (*Aside to said candidate* I don't own a car... my mode of transportation is my feet... so it follows that the only thing I have analagous to a bumper would be... Well, I guess I've already given away the punchline.) Anything I can do to help. :-) | private feedback | (0) public comments Golden Rule Lesson Of The Day When you say something that another person thinks is inappropriate... instead of digging your heels in the ground and making a bigger deal out of it, or making excuses for it... just say 'I'm Sorry.' and move on. Regardless of how one intends something... or their malice or lack-of malice behind it... it *is* crucial how your comment is received... Even when the inflicted pain or offense wasn't *intended* that doesn't make it OK or less than valid. Case in point: Last night on the Real World. Frank makes a comment about one of the other castmembers being a 'black bitch' (or he says, 'bitchy black girl' I can't remember which) Of course he didn't mean it in a derogatory manner... and meant nothing by it... In fact, he said he was joking around with his friends back home. But when his housemate overheard him she took complete offense. She told him it offended her and he apologized. All was well in the 'Real World.' | private feedback | (0) public comments HEADLINES Man sues Elizabeth Dole's campaign for receiving 8 unsolicited emails. Price to settle? $80. Hmmmmm.... | private feedback | (0) public comments Thanks! ... to everyone who's helped pushed the count of visits to my site beyond the 19,000 mark. I like that type 'o thing. ;-) | private feedback | (0) public comments Gold-star Envelope Stuffer Last night I spent two hours at the Democratic Party Headquarters stuffing envelopes with a letter to newly registered Democrat and Independent voters. I was moving at such break-neck speed that the cramps in my shoulder from the repetitive motions didn't catch up with me until this morning. In the midst of all the comings and goings, I met Mike (Coordinated Campaign Manager for Tompkins County), along with Irene Stein (Chair of the Tompkins County Democratic Committee and author of the letter I was stuffing), Loren (Barbara Lifton's Campaign Manager), Barbara Lifton herself, and Dan Lamb (who challenged Barbara Lifton in the primary). AND I ran into an old acquaintance of mine from the mediation center who's working on the Lifton campaign now... VERY cool. So... I'll have a volunteer slot now each week until the election. And, hopefully I can give more evenings as my calendar permits. VOTE NOVEMBER 5th! ;-) | private feedback | (0) public comments Baseball cards... On the top shelf of my closet are three boxes and a binder full of baseball cards. About every six months or so I think, 'Gee, I really oughtta get rid of those.' ... because every inch of storage space in my apartment is priceless. About eight months ago I even bought a pricing guide thinking that I could one day catalog them and then get rid of them for a few bucks. I know what you're thinking. I'm the last person in the world you'd peg as owning baseball cards. I can't stand most sports. Partly you can chalk this up to my being a follower and partly to my competitive nature. When my brother was 11 (I was 13) he started collecting baseball cards. I, of course, didn't want to be left out... and had to have the *best* baseball card collection of the two of us. And, since we didn't know the value of baseball cards... the *best* meant the *most.* So we'd spend our evenings and weekends scrounging for change so that we could go and buy 50-cent decks of Donruss '91 baseball cards. EVERY penny we found went towards our obsession. There were days we'd go to the grocery store 3 and 4 separate times (it was just up the street) to buy baseball cards because we'd find another quarter in the cushions of the sofa or another dime behind some boxes in the garage. This is probably the ONLY point at which my parents had some hope that I might not be gay. (Or maybe they weren't thinking about that when I was 13... who knows.) Somehow, my straight brother lost interest in baseball cards before I did... I inherited his stash. And, they have followed me around for years... from apartment to apartment. I don't have the heart to just throw them away and I figure its going to take some time to go through them. Last night, I was watching television... and my standard practice is to do something mindless while watching television so that I'm still productive... oh... for example, roll pennies. But for some reason, last night my mind drifted up to those baseball cards. I pulled them down and I sorted an entire box by year and did a count. I took out my pricing guide and looked up a few that were older... The whole box...by my estimations... and I *am* using conservative numbers... is worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $5.00. *laughing* I spent $5.95 plus tax on the pricing guide, so I'm already in the hole. Hopefully, I can make it up with the rest of the boxes. Another hidden treasure that I had completely forgot about while sorting through the boxes were 'Simpsons' trading cards from that same time when the TV show was in its early years. Maybe *they're* worth something? I'll have to do some web searching today. Anyway... Just thought I'd share. :-) | private feedback | (0) public comments Tuesday, October 08, 2002 Every little bit helps... I'm stopping by the Democratic Party Headquarters after work tonight to help stuff envelopes... Wanna get involved? Stop by the headquarters at the corner of Tioga and Seneca (you can't miss it) or call 607-272-2501. IMPORTANT: LIFTON FUNDRAISER Sunday, October 13th: The Common Ground is hosting a special fundraiser during 'Open Mike Night' for Democratic Candidate for NY State Assembly, Barbara Lifton. Don't miss this opportunity to meet our next Assemblywoman and voice your concerns in a relaxed, informal setting. Barbara Lifton brings a wealth of experience to this race for Assembly. Not only has she been Marty Luster's Chief of Staff for fourteen years, she also brings a long history of activism & concern for our community. She is the founder of The Democratic Response Group, the Coalition for Community Unity and a member of the Ithaca Health Care Network. She was also a High School English teacher for 8 years. Lifton has been endorsed by many local & statewide organizations, including the Empire State Pride Agenda and the National Organization for Women. Donations will be accepted for the Lifton Campaign Fund during 'Open Mike Night.' For more information or questions regarding the Lifton Campaign, please contact Tish Pearlman at 607-592-8683. | private feedback | (0) public comments Who'd-a-thought? Apparently, even if you answer the questions by saying you have a penis... you can *still* have a bun in the oven. 
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