"He's Alive!" by Dolly Parton -- Happy Easter!

Although I'm an atheist, I do recognize good music and an amazing performance. This is one of my favorite Dolly tunes. This is from one of those country music awards shows in 1989. I remember seeing this live on TV and also remember seeing the shots of the audience after the song giving a prolonged standing ovation and close-ups of audience members wiping away tears. This version cuts off at the beginning of the ovation. I have to admit that the song gives me goosebumps. It is very theatrical.

Happy Easter!

Raining in Baltimore by Counting Crows

I love this song and I couldn't find an official video, but I did find this that someone made with black and white photos that provides a very literal interpretation of the lyrics. It is a rainy, gloomy day in DC, but at least it is a Saturday and a day off. I hope this doesn't make you too depressed.

7 pm Update: Since I posted this, the sky cleared up and the sun came out. It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon!

"Who Will Love Me As I Am?" from Side Show

I didn't get to see the Broadway version of Side Show in 1997. I saw a Signature Theater production in 2000, which was amazing. Signature Theater is a local theater in Arlington, VA, which has put on some high-quality musical theater.

Side Show tells the true story of the conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton who made their living appearing in circus freak shows. They also starred in the movies Freaks! This is a photo of the pair from that movie.

If you want to read about their later years and death, follow this link.

What I love about this song featured in the show is how it relates to anyone who feels like an outcast. I didn't come out until I was in my 30s. I was afraid of not being accepted by the people I loved. I think lots of gays can relate to this song. Anyway... I like it.

The clip above is from The Rosie O'Donnell Show and features Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner. This clip is another that is always featured on my sidebar in favorite Broadway Shows. There are clips from all my favorites.

Washington Post Style Invitational Week 812: Rx-Rated Humor

If you hiccup, blink and urinate at the same time,

your bellybutton will switch from an innie to an outie.

This week's Washington Post Style Invitational challenge is to come up some "false medical or physiological fact," like the example above by Andrea Kelly. The artwork is by Bob Staake.

As always, the winner gets the Inker, the official Style Invitational trophy. Second place winner gets "a fabulous book of paper dolls of 'George H. Bush and His Family,' dated 1990 and featuring pictures of many family members, including a youthful-looking George W. and little-girl granddaughters Jenna and Barbara." It goes on to describe W. wearing only a T-shirt and his tighty whiteys. Ewwww.

Go to the link above for specific on entering. If I come up with something, I'll post it here. Let me know if you have any ideas too.

Chicken Keeping Too Complicated? There's a Magazine for That!

We went to the Barnes and Noble recently and took a gander at the magazine rack. Good Lord! It looks like everyone who has lost their jobs in the bad economy has decided to start a magazine. There are magazines on any and everything. I would imagine that Hobby Farm magazine isn't exactly flying off the shelf in the DC metropolitan area, but I could see where it might have some appeal nationwide.

Flying Disc magazine, on the other hand, seems to be quite a niche market. I would love to sit in on their editorial meetings and listen to them pitch ideas for articles. How about another article on disc golf? Jeez, we covered that in the last six issues. Do we have any more photos of dogs catching discs?

Now, there are lots of magazines related to horses. This one was the oddest I saw. I guess there is a sport that centers around shooting things while on a horse. I would think this would scare the bejesus out of the horse, but I suppose they get used to it. I'm sure they have lots of confused readers that must think that the horse is doing the shooting, which explains the cover photo. Another thing, doesn't that horse look a little lopsided?

This is my nomination for the most boring magazine ever. Oh Joy! My new issue of Watch Time is finally here. Don't these people know about porn?

We're Not Talking Raindrops On Roses or Whiskers on Kittens

I realize it is a bit self-indulgent to do a blog entry on your favorite things. I'm not Oprah after all. Who cares what my favorite things are, but this is my blog and it is all about me. Basically, just having a blog is self-indulgent, so why not go the whole 9 yards?

I'll start with food. I love cinnamon! For breakfast this morning I had Post Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal with Cinnamon Clusters.

I had it everyday this week in fact. I love this cereal. There is just something about cinnamon that floats my boat. I remember as a child making cinnamon toast, which consists of regular toast with butter covered in a sugar/cinnamon mixture. It is awesome. I need to make that again and soon. My favorite candy is Hot Tamales. When I have a big box, I will eat them until I am sick. I cannot stop. It seems I love anything with cinnamon, but the best thing is French toast. Actually, I love almost any food that is red -- and by red, I don't mean apples or tomatoes, but things with red dye, such a fruit punch-flavored sodas and cherry or strawberry-flavored candies. This includes any red jelly bean, Starbursts, Twizzlers, etc. I could live on artificially red thing and die a happy man.

If Iowa Can Do It, Why Not Here In DC?

What with all the news about Vermont yesterday and Iowa last week, I totally missed the big news in my own backyard. The D.C. Council voted to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Of course yesterday's vote did not make it so. The council is expected to take a final vote on the legislation next month and it has to be approved by Congress, under Home Rule. It seems to me that Congress could be the big stumbling block here.

The council voted unanimously on the measure yesterday to recognize marriages performed outside of D.C. I'd be quite surprised it is approved by Congress. Even our progressive President says he is against same-sex marriage, so it is hard to see how Congress will approve such a law. The U.S. Congress isn't exactly as forward thinking as Sweden (or Vermont or even Iowa).

The article in today's Washington Post adds that D.C. Councilman David Catania plans on submitting legislation soon to legalize same-sex marriage for the District. Currently, D.C. does recognize domestic partnerships, but perhaps soon I could be a legally married man.

Interestingly, Shane and I haven't taken advantage of becoming domestic partners yet. We have wills and other legal documents that give us many of the rights that DP offers, but we haven't taken the time to get a DP yet. Maybe we'll be able to skip that step and just get married soon, if he'll have me.

Thank the VT Legislators that Voted for Equality

The Human Rights Campagin (HRC) is asking we thank the Vermont leaders that supported equality!

Vermont has become the first state in the country to enact marriage equality through its legislature! Not only that – it passed with a two-thirds majority!

The HRC is also warning that right-wing groups are about to slam the leaders who made this victory possible, in the hopes that they can intimidate legislators everywhere into opposing marriage equality.

All of us, across the country, must show our support. Send a thank-you note to the courageous leaders of the Vermont Legislature that made marriage equality possible – make sure they know, beyond a doubt, that they did the right thing. You can do just that by clicking here.

Horray for Love!! Horray for Iowa and Vermont!!

What could be gayer than Barbra and Judy singing a medley of songs about love? This is in honor of Iowa and Vermont passage of same-sex marriage. Horray for them!

Pass the Granola! Vermont Overides Veto!!!

By a vote of 100-49 the Vermont House of Representatives has overridden Gov. Jerk Douglas' veto! Marriage equality comes to Vermont! Vermont is the fourth state to approve same-sex marriage!!!! Vermont joins Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Iowa as the four states that permit marriage for everyone.

Of course, marriage and the basic rights that come with it are still not recognized or permitted on a Federal level, even in these four states, but let's not poo poo this important victory.

When states like Iowa start seeing the light, we can only hope the rest of the country will come to their senses.

Way to go Vermont!!!

Take Action! Contact These VT Legislators Now!

The vote to override the Vermont veto of same-sex marriage occurs today. Contact these Democrats that voted AGAINST S.115 (We need their support to override the veto) We just need to convince a few more Democrats to do the right thing.

Kenneth Atkins, D-Winooski kwa138@aol.com (802) 655-1280

Sonny Audette, D-South Burl. (802) 862-4236

Clem Bissonnette, D-Winooski clembi@comcast.net (802) 655-9527

Cynthia Browning, D-Arlington cynthiab@sover.net (802) 375-9019

Tim Corcoran, D-Bennington tcorcoran@leg.state.vt.us (802) 447-0929

Michel Consejo, D-Sheldon mconsejo@wildblue.net (802) 524-0305

Debbie Evans, D-Essex ekevans@aol.com (802) 878-4317

Richard Howrigan, D-Fairfield (802) 827-6513

David Potter, D-Clarendon shadmtn@msn.com (802) 438-5385

Robert South, D-St. Johnsbury vtrepsouth@gmail.com (802) 748-0873

Jeff Young, D-St. Albans City jeffeyoung@yahoo.com (802) 524-5284

The vote is today! Take action now!

Getting Angry Baby?

I love this movie! It is Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. This clip and others from my list of favorite movies are located on the side of my blog, along with favorite Broadway shows, TV series and books (I don't have clips from the books though). Each movie listed has a clip -- either a scene from the film or the preview. I don't usually like watching movies multiple times, but this is one that I can watch over and over. This is by far Taylor's best performance and even more amazing considering she was in her early 30s when she played Martha.

Gun Owners Most Likely to Die from Suicide

The recent shootings at a civic center in Binghamton, NY, the police killings in Pittsburgh, and the father that killed his five kids in Washington state got me to thinking that maybe the U.S. has too many guns. I went over to the Nation Rifle Association (NRA) website to get some consolation. I was shocked to find people advocating for less restrictive gun laws. That didn’t seem to make any sense. Are they crazy? It turns out that yes, they are in fact, crazy.

I was amazed to find that one of the arguments for less gun control by the NRA included a story about the recent mass murders in Australia (where there is tight gun control). Their point was that the Australian mass murderers didn’t use guns to kill lots of people, but fire. Because some crazy people set massive fires, the NRA crazy people thought that justified not imposing gun controls because murderers will still kill people. And who wouldn’t want to be shot to death rather than burned to death? You have to love their logic.

But what are the facts? The statistics below are from the Brady Campaign website.

Gun Deaths and Injury - The United States Leads the World in Firearm Violence

In 2005, 30,694 people in the United States died from firearm-related deaths – 12,352 were murdered; 17,002 killed themselves; 789 were accidents; 330 died by police intervention, and in 221, the intent was unknown.

An additional 71,417 people were shot and survived their injuries -- 52,748 people injured in an attack; 3,190 people injured in a suicide attempt; 14,678 people shot accidentally, and 801 people shot in a police intervention.

In 2004, firearms were used to murder 56 people in Australia (not including the 173 people that died in the bushfires who would have preferred to have been shot, according to the NRA), 184 people in Canada, 73 people in England and Wales, 5 people in New Zealand, and 37 people in Sweden. In comparison, firearms were used to murder 11,344 in the United States (the number of bushfire murders is not know at this time in the U.S.).

In 2006, there were only 154 justifiable homicides by private citizens using handguns in the United States.

We have this argument in my very own house regularly. Shane wants to have a gun for protection, and I know that one night when I can’t sleep and I’m wondering around the house in the dark, he will wake up and shoot me thinking I’m a prowler. We don’t have a gun and we will not be getting one.

If I had just a nickle for every dead body that resulted from guns each year in the U.S., in 2005 I would've had $1,534.70. That's a lot of nickles.

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #188

Remember folks, it's a goldfish bar, so don't be koi.

This is the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest cartoon for this week. Click on the link to enter. That's my entry under the cartoon. Let me know if you come up with any captions also.

The Beloved Sing the Sun Rising -- Another Great Running Song

Here's another one of my favorite songs to listen to while running.  The beat on this one is infectious. 

Style Invitational Week 811 -- Rock-Bottom Lines

This week's challenge at the Washington Post Style Invitational is to come up with a sign that would indicate that the economy couldn't get worse.

The example they came up with is this: McMansions still lie vacant, but crowds gather at the grand opening of HooverVillas on the Potomac.  (Get it?  I guess you have to be familiar with Hoovervilles from the Depression.)

Winner gets the Inker, the official Style Invitational trophy. Second place receives a Nunchuck, which is not one half of a pair of nunchucks but a junky little toy consisting of a trigger-activated thing that "catapults nuns up to 15 feet!" -- the nuns being four tiny nun-shaped objects with their hands in the air. Warning: The package specifies that it is "not suitable for children under 3 years"; presumably it's okay for children 3 and older to shoot toy nuns.

For more information on entering, click on the link above.

Here's one idea from me:

Suze Orman's new book is a how-to guide on suicide. 

Let me know if you have any ideas.

Life is Wonderful by Jason Mraz

You may have noticed I'm a big fan of Jason Mraz.  This is a great song to run with.  

Cherry Blossoms Galore! Dragging My Mom Around the DC Tidal Basin

My mom came down on the train for the weekend, so I dragged her down to the Tidal Basin to see the Cherry Blossoms.  It was a crazy windy day.  Also, my mom is 71 years old with bad knees and hips.  We walked all the way around the Tidal Basin, which is about a 2 mile walk in my estimation.  Here are a few photos and a short video from the trek taken with my new camera. 

Sweden Approves Same-Sex Marriage Legislation!

Yesterday, the Swedish parliament approved legislation that will make that country the seventh in the world to grant full marriage equality rights to all citizens, including same-sex couples. The other six countries that have same-sex marriage are South Africa, Canada, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and Belgium. The new legislation is to take effect as of May 1, and replaces the legislation approved in 1995 that allows same-sex couples to form a union in Sweden via registered partnership.

At least there are some countries in the world enlightened enough to do what the United States cannot -- provide equal rights to all their citizens. It is ironic that one of the reasons this country was founded was for religious freedom and now religion is the main reason a large population are denied basic civil rights.

Shane and I went to Stockholm a few years back and in reading up on the country we found it very interesting that they don't really have that many bars just for the gays. There's a crazy concept. The gays and the straights go to the same bars and nobody cares. It isn't a big deal. Can you imagine? Try that concept in Buttcrack, Alabama.

We Haven't Given Up On Florida

We are still looking for a bargain deal to buy a house in Florida.
For instance, I found this one on-line that includes this pool. It is
a 3-bedroom, 2 bath home in Port Charlotte that is listed for
$109,000. I'm not sure I want a house with a pool though. I would
imagine it would be a pain to keep up, especially if we aren't there
that much. On the other hand, it would be nice to have a private
pool. It might be worth a look. $109K seems crazy low.