How Evil Are You?

Damn -- I feel insulted that I scored this low!

You Are 58% Evil

You are evil, but you haven't yet mastered the dark side.Fear not though - you are on your way to world domination.

How Evil Are You?

February Recess

Yep, that's what it's called -- February Recess. We went down on Sunday to get Vanessa and have had her all week. We spent Saturday with Bob and Wanda -- his cabinet-making sure paid off. It's too bad he's laid up for a while now, because their kitchen isn't complete yet. But look at how beautiful these cabinets are!














Monday I had a follow-up at the sleep clinic, so Vanessa accompanied me there (and took her knitting). After that we went to Joann's, and then grocery shopping. We had a good time in Joann's, and I picked up some yarn (chenille) to make Le a scarf.

Tuesday was our planned "turd" day. We watched Shark Tales (very cute), and knitted all day. I finished Le's scarf:













Yesterday we went to see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Admittedly, I thought I was going to be bored to tears for this one, but I found that I enjoyed it quite a bit. It was a great children's movie and, even for the "war" when the two armies clashed, you didn't see a single drop of blood, nor did you hear a single curse word throughout the entirety of the movie. Just good family entertainment. I found (at least in my opinion) that the young man who played Peter (William Mosely) resembled Heath Ledger enough that he could be his kid brother. The creatures were magnificent, too! Centaurs, unicorns, boggles, fauns, ettins, gnomes and hags -- they were very well done. I'm guessing they're mostly CGI (computer generated images). Aslan, the Lion, was the most magnificent of all. His size, his demeanor, even his kind and gentle voice make you fall in love with him, while at the same time you are in awe of his presence. I really did enjoy it!

Today we're going to watch the first two installments of Lord of the Rings -- Vanessa's never seen them. Then this afternoon, we're going to start tearing moldings off the walls and prepping the walls to be painted. Lisa and I are both VERY psyched about that. I have to remember to take before and after pictures.

Tomorrow Lisa is taking the day off to stay home and play with us. We're very likely going to go to the Strong Museum where the Toy Hall of Fame and other displays are. Should be fun!

Best to all!

No More Pencils, No More Books

...no more faculty's dirty looks!

I'm free!

For ten days, I'm free!

It's February recess, and I've had all the fun I can take.

I've been so bogged down with backlog, I can't even think straight. Today, I reached my fracture point and sent the division VP a memo that will either get me more help, or get me fired. Either way, I won't be working alone in that office any more. It matters not to me, one way or the other, how that comes about.

I came home, and slammed two very large glasses of Chianti. Lisa is watching The Quiet Man and I'm sitting here trying to convert a pattern from 8 strips of 7 blocks, to one big hunka knitting. Perhaps this isn't the best time, what with the Irish music in the background, the Duke wooing Maureen O'Hara, Maureen O'Hara overdramatizing her role, and the pleasant buzz of too much red wine. But what the hell, why not?

We've decided not to go down to Le's house tomorrow. We'll go down to Bob and Wanda's later in the day, spend the night, and go to Le's on Sunday, but the weather tomorrow morning is supposed to be ridiculous.

I woke up at 2:30 this morning, drenched in sweat. I mean, literally drenched. I thought that either the water bed had sprung a leak, or my bladder had. It was 62 degrees outside, and 73 degrees inside. Given my menopausal life in the past few years, 73 in the bedroom is WAYYYY too warm! Even Lisa thrashed about, too hot to sleep under the covers but too cold to sleep without them. Finally I turned on the window fan (we STILL have the bedroom window open) and we covered up, and dropped off peacefully to sleep after more than an hour of thrashing around. By the time we woke up at 6:30, it was 39 degrees out, and the temperature was dropping even more. We had winds of 40 mph with gusts up to 60 forecasted. Getting to work was quite the task, just trying to keep my RAV4 on the road with such high winds. I no sooner got to work, and the lake effect snow started. It blew and blustered all day long. A woman was killed when a tree fell on her car due to the high winds. Power lines were knocked out, traffic lights were on flash...it was a stressful drive in.

We're both pretty burned out tonight. It's been a long week at work, and just knowing that this weekend AND next were tied up with traveling to the southern tier made us both even that much more tired.

So, we'll sleep in tomorrow morning. And we'll do whatever the day dictates.

So, here's my bitch for the day...

Why do educated women, articulate and intelligent women, insist on using "grrl" in the place of "girl?" I can sort of understand "womyn" as opposed to "women" but "grrl?" It looks like an angry female word. Like the word is being growled.

And then there's "gurl." Fuht the whuck is up with that? We pride ourselves on our independence, our intelligence, our unity, and we refuse to spell what we are correctly? Even women with post-doctorate degrees are using either "grrl" or "gurl."

And we want to be taken seriously?

Get a clue, ladies.

We're GIRLS. Not GRRLS or GURLS, or GURLZ, we're GIRLS.

There. I feel better now.

Now that Valentine's Day is over and there's no risk that Lisa will see anything she shouldn't see on my blog, I'll tell you what I got her.

A beautiful .25 carat teardrop-shaped, bezel-set diamond pendant. The diamond itself is round, and set in a very plain, simple, beautiful teardrop setting. Lisa has never owned a diamond before -- other than the little microscopic critters that can be found in a couple of her rings.

Lisa is no girly girl. She has delightfully feminine tastes, somtimes moreso than my own, but she's still a woman, she still has that XX chromosome. One of those two X's contains a love for diamonds, I'm sure.

She loved her necklace, but at first I don't think she thought the diamond was real. Once she realized it was real, her face got really red, and she just put her arms around me and hugged me really tight.

Normally, per agreement, we don't usually get each other anything for Valentine's Day. We sort of think that, if the relationship is good, every day is Valentine's Day. But, Lisa's never had a relationship last past 5 years and, since this is the year of our 5th anniversary of being together, I wanted her to look back on that 5th year with a huge, shit-eating grin on her face, rather than the end of yet another relationship. I told her last night that I'd like to shoot for 5 DECADES together. It'll be a real trick for me, as I need to live to 95, but what the hey, I'll give 'er a shot!


My father is likely going to jail -- having his bail revoked.

He continues to harass Le, via other people. He's had my asshole nephew and/or his wife drive by Le's place and write down license numbers of vehicles that are there. Given the resources my father has developed over the years he repossessed vehicles, running license plates through DMV is an easy task for him.

He called me yesterday, and asked me who the guy was that was living with Le. I told him I was unaware of anyone living with her and he told me about the cars and license tags.

He also told me he was mailing me a form from Progressive Insurance and I needed to get Le to fill it out and sign it, so he could cancel the car insurance.

I reported all this to Le, who sent an email to the Crime Victims Advocate. He called me this morning, asked specific questions about my conversation with my father yesterday, and asked me to write a statement and have it notarized. No problem, I told him.

Next Wednesday, when my father appears in court again, the DA is going to ask to have my father's bail revoked for violating the order of protection.

I'm very concerned that my father will find out my role in all of this, too. He is a mean, spiteful, vindictive man without any conscience. If he wants to get at someone, he'll do so, even at his own expense. I'm going to ask the DA down there about a "stay-away/no-contact" order for me, too.

I've had enough. My father continues to make poor choices without regard for the consequences of his actions. Perhaps it's best if he sits in the county jail for a while -- a long while, until his trial date.


I'm taking the week off next week. It's the February break, and boy do I need it! I've been flying solo here since April of last year, with student aide assistance that amounts to less than 10 hours a week. Needless to say, I'm stressed daily with all the work, and often am backlogged. Backlogs stress me out in ways that I cannot truly articulate. In July last summer, ONE job came into my office for the entire MONTH. I've had 118 so far this month, and it's only midway through it. Next week, things will slow to an almost halt, and then they'll heat back up after the break. Hopefully the break will give me a clear head.

If there's any such thing to be found inside of me....

I once put this up because I was trying out the technology. Today, I'd like it to be up there as a tribute to Lisa. I wish I had the words to tell the world just how much I love her.

Last night she gave me a small Valentine's gift -- a round globe that held an inner metallic holder for a tea-light. The inner holder had hearts cut out of it and, when the tea-light was lit, and the inner holder placed inside the globe, you could see the hearts lit up on the globe -- and when the flame flickered, the hearts danced and throbbed. She thought she was a dork for buying it for me.

A dork? I think not.

I'll Still Love You More

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Health Care Proxy

Everyone needs a Health Care Proxy. If you don't have one, get one. You would have had to be living under a rock last year if you don't know the tragic story of Terri Schiavo and the battle her parents waged to keep her alive while her husband battled to let her die, according to her wishes, he claimed.

But, what happens if you're in a bad automobile accident and rendered unconscious and you need some type of surgery? If you're married, your spouse can give consent to that surgery but, if you're not married (or your marriage isn't recognized by your state or local government) who gives that consent? What if having that surgery is time sensitive, but risky at the same time?

What happens if you have a stroke that renders you incapable of making decisions for yourself, and the long-term health care facility you are in isn't treating you with the correct medications or therapies? Who has the right to advocate for you without a health care proxy?

Lisa and I have mutual health care proxies drawn up. I provided my gynecologist, my chiropractor, my neurologist, my dentist, and my primary care physician with copies of my health care proxies.

Our next-door neighbor Mary, after watching her mother die under nursing home "care" decided that she didn't want to die with the same indignities that her mother did. Mary's mother had Alzheimer's and the oldest daughter had general power of attorney and therefore stripped Mary of her health care proxy authority with the stroke of a pen, and so Mary couldn't make any decisions for her mother. She knew, for example, that her mother's foot/ankle was broken, but the staff insisted that her mother just wouldn't stand on it out of laziness. Mary fought and fought and fought with the staff and her sister (who only listened to the nursing home staff), but couldn't get her mother treated properly. She had to get a lawyer just to get her mother's foot x-rayed and, when it was x-rayed, it was determined that she had several fractures in the foot -- a result of her foot dragging on the ground while they just pushed her around in her wheelchair, blissfully unaware that the woman's foot was caught underneath.

Mary drew up a health care proxy, giving Lisa and I authority to make medical decisions on her behalf. Her two daughters have nothing to do with her, and basically Mary is alone. I spoke about her in an earlier post last year.

So, anyway, I got an envelope in the mail yesterday from the Veteran's Affairs office in Steuben County. It seems that my father has given me sole Health Care Proxy regarding his medical care and treatment. My Aunt Wanda is an alternate agent if I can't act as agent. This came as a complete and total surprise.

I'm surprised, but I'm not, I guess. My brother and nephew have both done a lot of sucking up lately, when they couldn't be bothered with him before he had his stroke. But then again, they both think they're going to get a vehicle from my father, too, so that explains that. I thought my father was closer to my brother, since he lived down there and my brother has been stepping and fetching for him for more than 2 months now. My father may be a lot of things, but he's smart enough to know that my brother or nephew would not make decisions for my father based on his best interests, only theirs. They'd pull the plug in a heartbeat, if it meant they'd get those vehicles. At the same time, he's still legally married to Le, and he probably is pretty confident that, not only would she pull the plug, but she'd be likely to ask for him to be injected with something lethal.

At the same time, I feel burdened with this new information. Of all the people my father could have chosen, he chose me. He has two sons and three daughters. My brother, I've already mentioned. My half-brother sees my father only occasionally. I have two half-sisters (whom I've never met), who have nothing to do with him, either. He has two sisters with whom he is very close. He has a half-brother. He has a step-daughter with whom he has remained very close over the years. He has two grandchildren who live very near to him (my nephew and my daughter). I don't know if "burdened" is the right word for what I feel, but I know that I also feel honored to know that, of all these people, and even with his knowledge of my support of Le and my cooperation with the investigation, he still trusts ME to make his health care decisions for him.

It makes me sad for him, in a way.

===========================================

We finally made some decisions this weekend. We've been talking and talking and talking about what we were going to do with the entryway, and over the past three years or so we've picked up samples of floor tiles, but never really did much. We made decisions, bought paint, and have chosen a floor tile based on our painting scheme. We've decided we want our entryway to be an extension of our gardens (front AND back) so that when you come into the house, regardless of where you come in from, you can still have that garden feel. We decided on a very, very light sage color for the walls -- almost white. We will paint the doors a medium sage, and the mouldings will come off and be replaced with dark sage. The floor tile is a creamy white with small "splashes" of sage.

We won't be able to get started this weekend, as we're going to the southern tier to spend some time with Le, and make some much-needed repairs in her trailer. We'll spend the night with Wanda and Bob, then go back to Le's on Sunday, finish up with the repairs, then we'll bring Vanessa home with us, where she'll spend the week next week with me.

Perhaps I'll put a paint brush in her hands, too....

We're planning to actually do some stuff while Vanessa is up with us. There's the National Toy Hall of Fame and, at the same museum, there's all these exhibits. As inquisitive as Vanessa's mind is, we're thinking this could be a real fun day. At the Strasenburgh Planetarium for that week, they've got a dinosaur exhibit from 13,000 years ago. They also have a really great show called The Tenth Planet which looks really interesting. The museum has exhibits about Frederick Douglass, a time capsule from 1873, and other interesting exhibits.

This summer, we want to take her to the Cave and Underground Boat tour. She's great to take places, because she has such a desire to learn.

Of course, we'll sit and knit, too. She's had a couple of months to practice knitting, and now it's time for her to learn the purl stitch, so that she can start making motifs and different patterns.

You know those things that you put on the arms of your chairs to protect the fabric? And then there's the one that goes behind the head, to protect the fabric from oils in people's hair? Well, I made one of those ones for the head, since Lisa tried to iron the existing one and burnt the shit out of the fabric. I cranked it out in one day and we're so pleased with it, I'm going to do the armrest thingies now, too.

I tore out every stitch I'd knitted so far for little Brandon's blanket. I've decided that I'm not going to do it in strips -- too much of an ass-ache to put it together. So, I've ordered 36" circular needles so I can cast on 300 stitches and knit the whole thing as one. I think, in the long run, it will be easier and go faster.

The little guy had a birthday last week. He turned 3! I talked to him on the phone -- what a little jabber-jockey he is! Just like his mother.

Joe has a woman. Her name is Taylor, and I really, really like this girl. She's very personable, engages easily, and doesn't take any "male" shit from him. I told him the other day that I really like Taylor, and that I like her for him. He simply said, in a sort of surprised tone, "Well, thank you." I think he and the little woman have been talking about co-habitation because he's been dropping little hints about going out on his own. Last night he said something about moving out this summer -- sort of jokingly, but not. He's going to be 23 in June, and yes, he's plenty old enough, and more than ready and capable of making his own way. *I* am not ready, though. Joe and I have always been so close, that it will be very hard for me to let go.

*sigh*
I've finished four blocks now for the new baby's blanket. I've done a yellow duckie, a yellow pear, a blue fish, and a blue sailboat. I'm currently working on a purple dragonfly. I'm having a ball doing these blocks, and I can usually crank one out about every 2-3 days, depending on how late I sit down for the evening, and what time I need to go to bed.

I discovered this past weekend that I've got about 40 skeins of yarn that I've bought for various projects.

I'd call it a draw!

What kind of candy are you?

discover what candy you are @ quiz me

Oh No!

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

brokeback mountain


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Click to play the movie trailer.

(WARNING: This blog entry contains spoilers! If you do not want to know about the movie’s content or ending, do not read this entry.)
We finally went to see Brokeback Mountain Saturday afternoon. We went to the 1:00 matinee figuring there wouldn’t be any hecklers or assholes there at that time of day. I was very pleased that, once the movie started, I was unaware of anyone else in the theater. It was that quiet.

In all, there were about 20 people in the theater, and we were pleased to see the mix of people in that theater watching that movie. Surely everyone knows what it’s about, right? We saw older (50ish) heterosexual couples there. We saw female friends (but didn’t seem like “family”). We saw lone viewers, male and female alike. And we saw same-sex couples, too.

Brokeback Mountain is not a movie about gay cowboys. Oh, sure, if you want to encapsulate the theme of the movie in five words or less you could use the term “gay cowboys,” but only if you don’t understand the intent behind the story.

Brokeback Mountain is more than a movie about two gay cowboys. It is a story about internalized homophobia, living a lie, and living your life with the love of your life just out of reach. It is about fear, anger, love, passion, and longing. It is about denying who you really are. It is about conforming to societal molds. It is about a love so deep that, while denied, it can never be lost.

Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) are two broke and out-of-work cowboys who get a job tending sheep during one summer in the mid-1960s. Their instructions are that one of them will sleep in the field (in a pup tent) with the sheep, while the other maintains the base camp (cooking, keeping up supplies, etc.). Jack is the one who has to sleep in the pup tent, and Ennis maintains the base camp. Jack comes in for meals and, while they eat, they sip from a bottle of whiskey, and chat.

At some point, after Jack complains about being out in the field, Ennis volunteers to go out, while Jack stays at base camp. One morning Ennis comes out of the pup tent to find a layer of freshly fallen snow. Later, at the base camp, he and Jack drink too much whiskey and Ennis struggles with getting up to go back to the sheep. He decides to sleep right there on the ground near the fire. Jack tells him that, if he stays there, he’ll freeze to death after the fire dies down. Later, Jack is awakened by Ennis’ whimpering in the cold. He tells Ennis to come into the tent with him, and Ennis grabs his blanket and drunkenly staggers into the tent with Jack. They fall asleep.

In what seems to be a sleepy haze, Jack reaches back and grabs Ennis’ hand and pulls Ennis’ arm over himself. For a brief moment, they lay there like that, and then both seem to realize the position they’re in and they abruptly sit up and face each other, surprised and somewhat horrified at the same time to realize the position they’d been in. Then Jack grabs Ennis’ head and they kiss, passionately. They tear at each others’ clothes and suddenly Ennis flips Jack over, and enters him. (Notably, this will be the only sex scene you will see between the two of them throughout the movie.)

The next morning, Ennis mounts his horse to return to the sheep, looks at Jack and, without a word, rides off. Ennis discovers that one of the sheep had been killed by a predator and, as he surveys the scene, he begins to struggle within himself. He’d left the sheep and one had been killed, but he’d also done something unspeakable.

Later, at base camp for dinner, Jack and Ennis talk:

Ennis Del Mar: I figure we got a one-shot deal going on here.
Jack Twist: It's nobody's business but ours.
Ennis Del Mar: You know I ain't queer.
Jack Twist: Neither am I.

Ennis Del Mar: I tell ya there... there were these two old guys
ranched up together, down home. Earl and Rich. They were pretty tough ol' birds.
Anyway they... they found Earl dead in an irrigation ditch. Took a tire iron to
'im. Spurred him up, drug him 'round by his dick 'till it pulled off.
Jack Twist: You seen this?
Ennis Del Mar: I wasn't... nine years old. My daddy, he made sure me and brother seen it. Hell for all I know, he done the job.

Their relationship continues through the rest of the summer, but neither of them routinely sleeps in the field with the sheep anymore. At one point, Ennis tells Jack that he and Alma (Michelle Williams) will be married in November. We see a scene with them frolicking shirtless at the base camp, falling into each other, and kissing. Unbeknownst to them, their employer (Randy Quaid) is witnessing this from afar, through binoculars. Soon they discover that their herd has mingled with another herd, and they struggle to separate their own sheep from those of the other herd.

As summer ends, they receive word to bring the sheep down the mountain. Their last night on the mountain, they argue. Jack punches Ennis, giving him a nosebleed, and Ennis punches Jack, leaving him with a bruise under his eye. Ennis wipes the blood from his nose on the sleeve of his shirt.

Later, as they watch the sheep enter the corral and are counted, the employer says “Some of these sheep didn’t go up there with you.” He looks knowingly at the two cowboys. They stare guiltily at the ground.

Later, there is nothing more to do than to say goodbye. Jack briefly mentions getting a ranch together, having a life together, but Ennis really doesn’t want to hear it. There is no kiss. No hug. Just a look of longing, and they go their separate ways. In his rearview mirror, Jack sees Ennis fade into the horizon.

Ennis marries Alma, they settle in Wyoming, and they have two daughters. They struggle to make ends meet. Jack marries Lureen (Anne Hathaway), the daughter of a wealthy Texas man. They have a son and Jack’s father-in-law employs Jack at his business, selling large farm equipment.

Four years later, Jack sends Ennis a postcard, saying that he’ll be through that way on a certain day, and was he up for a visit? Thrilled by the postcard, Ennis sends a postcard back to Jack that simply says “You bet.”

When Jack arrives, they embrace in the parking lot of Ennis’ apartment building. When Jack seems to want to get a little friendlier, Ennis pulls him out of public view and they kiss, passionately, urgently. Unfortunately, Alma sees this from the kitchen window. She is shocked beyond words –says nothing.

Jack and Ennis go into the mountains together for a few days. But, when it’s time to go back:

Jack Twist: Swear I didn't know we were gonna get into this again. Hell, yes I did, redlined it all the way, couldn't get here fast enough.
Ennis Del Mar: We can get together once in a while, away in the mountains somewhere. Jack Twist: Once in a while? Every four fuckin' years?

But, the reality is, they’re married, they have lives, and while Jack seems ready to embrace who he is, Ennis is unwilling to slip out of the societal mold that he lives in.

The years go by, and they meet occasionally in the mountains. While with each other, they know peace, contentment, love, fulfillment, happiness. All that they do not have in their daily lives.

Eventually, Alma tells Ennis what she knows about him and Jack, and they divorce. Jack shows up at Ennis’ place one day, but Ennis has his two teenage daughters in the truck – it’s his weekend with them. Jack goes away hurt and disappointed, and heads south for home. But, he bypasses home and heads into Mexico, where he picks up a male prostitute. This becomes something that Jack does frequently, in order to satisfy his needs. As more years go by, Jack is more and more frustrated with their relationship, needing, wanting more from it than the few fleeting days they spend together each year. He lets it slip to Ennis that he’s been going into Mexico.

Ennis Del Mar: I'm gonna tell you this one time, Jack fuckin' Twist, an' I ain't foolin'. What I don't know - all them things I don't know - could get you killed if I come to know them. I mean it.
Jack Twist: Yeah well try this one, and I'll say it just once!
Ennis Del Mar: Go ahead!
Jack Twist: Tell you what, we coulda had a good life together! Fuckin' real good life! Had us a place of our own. But you didn't want it, Ennis! So what we got now is Brokeback Mountain! Everything's built on that! That's all we got, boy, fuckin' all. So I hope you know that, even if you don't never know the rest! You count the damn few times we have been together in nearly twenty years and you measure the short fucking leash you keep me on - and then you ask me about Mexico and tell me you'll kill me for needing somethin' I don't hardly never get. You have no idea how bad it gets! I'm not you... I can't make it on a coupla high-altitude fucks once or twice a year! You are too much for me Ennis, you sonofawhoreson bitch! I wish I knew how to quit you.
Ennis Del Mar: [crying] Well, why don't you? Why don't you just let me be? It's because of you that I'm like this! I ain't got nothing... I ain't nowhere... Get the fuck off me! I can't stand being like this no more, Jack.

And finally, Ennis tells Jack:

Ennis Del Mar: Bottom line is... we're around each other an'... this thing, it grabs hold of us again... at the wrong place... at the wrong time...we're dead.


I won’t ruin the ending for you.

Brokeback Mountain is a tender, painful, and brilliant portrayal of the journey between the first suspicion that a person has about their sexuality, and finally accepting it. While some may argue that it brilliantly portrays the fact that sexuality is a choice, based on the fact that the two of them live married lives separately from each other, I think the point is that, while they live married lives separate from each other, their lives are lies, and it makes them miserable.

I had an affair with a married woman once. In fact, it was my “transitional” relationship – I was 44 and she was 39. She had been raised by parents with deeply held, Bible-based beliefs and, while our short times together were passionate, happy, and fulfilling, there was also a sadness about our relationship. She struggled with the adultery as well as her sexuality and what to do about it. It was more than she could bear. Like Jack Twist in Brokeback Mountain, I wanted more – more than she was willing to give. It wasn’t that she couldn’t give more, it was that she wouldn’t. She had a shitty marriage. She and her husband lived like roommates, each with their own bedroom. But, she was afraid to step out of the mold that society had insisted she live in. She was afraid of her family finding out and turning their backs on her. She was afraid that her daughter, whom she loved dearly, would find out and reject her. She believed her job would be in peril.

But, like Jack and Ennis, our times together were not the real world. They were a fantasy that we knew we could never live. Our relationship was turbulent because of my need for more, and her unwillingness to embrace who she was, and to step out of her comfort zone. I knew, deep inside, that she would never let herself be happy. And, as much as I wanted to “quit her,” I couldn’t.

Like Jack and Ennis after their first summer together, she and I parted ways, bloodied and hurt, stinging from the effects of our relationship.

But, unlike Jack and Ennis, I was determined to live my life with integrity and, eventually, I found Lisa and we now live a happy, fulfilled life, full of love, promise, and excellent companionship. Of course, it’s 40 years later than the time in the movie and “out” same-sex relationships are more common these days.

I thought about that “ex” of mine that night. I wondered if she has ever allowed herself to be happy; if she’s ever fully embraced who she is. Will she live the rest of her life like Ennis, harboring the guilt of a forbidden love?

I hope that the straight people who saw this movie truly understand what it’s about – the struggles and fears and doubts and sadness and denial that homosexuals experience in their early relationships.

This is an important movie, I think. Not just for the GLBT community, but for all of America. If it can change the minds of just a handful of people with preconceived (and incorrect) ideas of homosexuality, then it has accomplished a tremendous amount.

This is a must see film. It should be required for everyone.

Superbowl XL

The Pittsburgh Steelers are this year's "world" champions. They became only the third team ever to win five Superbowls. Also, we knew it was time to park "The Bus," and we're happy that he's going out a champion. But more than anything else, we're so very happy that Bill Cowher's perseverance and excellent coaching finally netted him the top reward. You couldn't help but have a small lump in your throat last night watching him tearfully kiss his wife and kids.

As a whole, the game wasn't all that exciting but the one moment, for me, that stands out is Randle El's 43 yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward. Lisa and I were, during the game, trying to decide who WE thought should be the MVP and we kept coming up with Hines Ward -- mainly because he was the only one on the Steelers team who had any notable numbers. He deserved the MVP award.

Other than that, I'd have to say that the commercials were more entertaining than the game itself.

I'd have to say that my favorite comedic one was "the streaker" -- Anheuser-Busch always has the best commercials, I think.



Honorable mention has to go to "touch football" though.



For technology or orchestration, I'd have to give it to Anheuser-Busch again for "the wave."



In the "really stupid yet funny" category I'd have to go with Sprint's "theft deterrent" commercial.



And finally, in the "absolutely stupid, not funny, just a waste of money" category is "kickass scarecrow" from the makers of Coca-Cola.



Well -- now that football season is over, I guess it's time to get some stuff done in the house. Please, may I have yet another stressor?

Dance Like Snoopy!

You are Snoopy!

Which Peanuts Character are You?

Which Superhero Are You?

Your results:
You are Spider-Man

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Fascism Lives

What the hell, Bush and his boys don't believe in the Constitution anyway, so why not?

Activist Cindy Sheehan Arrested at Capitol (from Yahoo!)

WASHINGTON - Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a fallen soldier in Iraq who reinvigorated the anti-war movement, was arrested and removed from the House gallery Tuesday night just before President Bush's State of the Union address, a police spokeswoman said.

Sheehan, who was invited to attend the speech by Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., was charged with demonstrating in the Capitol building, said Capitol Police Sgt. Kimberly Schneider. The charge was later changed to unlawful conduct, Schneider said. Both charges are misdemeanors.

Sheehan was taken in handcuffs from the Capitol to police headquarters a few blocks away. Her case was processed as Bush spoke.

Schneider said Sheehan had worn a T-shirt with an anti-war slogan to the speech and covered it up until she took her seat. Police warned her that such displays were not allowed, but she did not respond, the spokeswoman said.

Police handcuffed Sheehan and removed her from the gallery before Bush arrived. Sheehan was to be released on her own recognizance, Schneider said.

"I'm proud that Cindy's my guest tonight," Woolsey said in an interview before the speech. "She has made a difference in the debate to bring our troops home from Iraq."

Woolsey offered Sheehan a ticket to the speech — Gallery 5, seat 7, row A — earlier Tuesday while Sheehan was attending an "alternative state of the union" press conference by CODEPINK, a group pushing for an end to the Iraq war.

Sheehan, wrapped in a bright pink scarf against the cold, protested outside the White House with a handful of others before heading to the Capitol Tuesday evening. There were no cameras around, but the small band faced the executive mansion and repeatedly shouted, "You're evicted! Get out of our house!"

Sheehan was arrested in September with about 300 other anti-war activists in front of the White House after a weekend of protests against the war in Iraq. In August, she spent 26 days camped near Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, where he was spending a working vacation.

From Reuters:

A Reuters photographer said Sheehan entered the House gallery a few minutes before Bush was to speak and was directed to her seat. She had been seated for less than a minute when a plainclothes agent took her by the arm, said, "You've got to leave," and rushed her from the gallery.

From CNN:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Peace activist Cindy Sheehan was arrested Tuesday in the House gallery after refusing to cover up a T-shirt bearing an anti-war slogan before President Bush's State of the Union address.

According to a blog post on Michael Moore's Web site attributed to Sheehan, the T-shirt said, "2,245 Dead. How many more?" -- a reference to the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq.

"She was asked to cover it up. She did not," said Sgt. Kimberly Schneider, U.S. Capitol Police spokeswoman.

Schneider said Sheehan was arrested around 8:30 p.m. on charges of unlawful conduct, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail.

She was handcuffed and held in the Capitol building until she was driven to the Capitol Police headquarters for booking. According to her blog, she was released about four hours after being arrested.