We’re doing some redecorating at my parents’ house, & I’m just using this space to put some gallery layouts down.

I think we’re going to go with the last one in the 2nd row. I like the consistency of the similar frames (all being black), but it’s not too matchy or rigid. The black frames would go w/ their wall clock, and the black frame around their tv.

Unfortunately, I just bought them a digital photo frame, and it’s got a brown frame. Wah-wa! Oh well. It’s dark brown, maybe we can paint the frame or something.

The last one (the clock) is an idea I have for my own home 1 day. That way, I always know what time it is in India & Phoenix (where I have family that I call all the time). The beauty being that those 2 locales don’t observe daylight savings time, so the # of hours difference changes, and I won’t need to change the clocks!

Sometimes I am directed to stuff on Craigslist, and it’s good stuff. Stuff I want to share, but since so many have already linked to it, & the poster is likely being inundated w/ emails, they take it down. So, here a screenshot of the latest.

I know he says “strictly platonic”, & I reckon he means it. He’s very focused on his song.

But it got me thinking. What if you were really into something? Like reeeeally into something, & you were looking for a mate, & it’d be awesome if that mate was really into it too? This would be a great way to put out something specific you’re looking for, without a commitment or “dating” game stuff, and just see if organically evolved into something more.

Also, I’m wondering if I could go to the Sly Fox on Karaoke nights to see if his dream ever came to fruition. But alas, I simply don’t have the time for that. So, if someone wants to report back, that’d be awesome!

Today, I got an email today from my President. I thought I’d share it here, b/c it made me feel like I may not be living in time-space continuum anymore.

Dhruva –

Today, I was asked a direct question and gave a direct answer:

I believe that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.

I hope you’ll take a moment to watch the conversation, consider it, and weigh in yourself on behalf of marriage equality:

http://my.barackobama.com/Marriage

I’ve always believed that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally. I was reluctant to use the term marriage because of the very powerful traditions it evokes. And I thought civil union laws that conferred legal rights upon gay and lesbian couples were a solution.

But over the course of several years I’ve talked to friends and family about this. I’ve thought about members of my staff in long-term, committed, same-sex relationships who are raising kids together. Through our efforts to end the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, I’ve gotten to know some of the gay and lesbian troops who are serving our country with honor and distinction.

What I’ve come to realize is that for loving, same-sex couples, the denial of marriage equality means that, in their eyes and the eyes of their children, they are still considered less than full citizens.

Even at my own dinner table, when I look at Sasha and Malia, who have friends whose parents are same-sex couples, I know it wouldn’t dawn on them that their friends’ parents should be treated differently.

So I decided it was time to affirm my personal belief that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.

I respect the beliefs of others, and the right of religious institutions to act in accordance with their own doctrines. But I believe that in the eyes of the law, all Americans should be treated equally. And where states enact same-sex marriage, no federal act should invalidate them.

If you agree, you can stand up with me here.

Thank you,

Barack

Here’s my old post from November 2008 (seriously? I’ve been complaining about this that long?!): I didn’t realize it was still 1960

Gallup poll on acceptance of marriage (sigh… same-sex marriage, since I think we’re still calling it that for now).

Ha ha ha!

There are no Polar Bears in Antarctica, and no penguins in the Arctic Circle!!!

It was a trick riddle! Polar Bears & penguins would never meet in this world to be able to talk to each other. heehee.

They should just be called North Polar bears or something like that. Actually, no land animals live in Antarctica.

The 2 poles are as diff as can be. The Arctic Circle is primarily an ocean, where the Antarctic is a land mass (hence it being an actual continent), covered in ice.

Despite being a huge land mass (1.5 times the size of entire US), Antarctica is ruled by a 1959 Treaty that made it a shared demilitarized zone only used for peaceful interaction & scientific research; thus it has no countries, and is not part of any country. Antarctica is land, yet has no land animals. Only marine life resides there – whales, seals, & penguins (& about a dozen bird species).

Where the Arctic is an ice-covered ocean, ironically, with land animals. Among them are the Arctic hare, fox, wolf, lemming, muskox, wolverines, ermines, Arctic ground squirrels, and caribou. And of course, polar bears! The Arctic also has many, many different birds; and marine mammals such as seals, walrus, whales, narwhals, killer whales, & belugas. The Arctic also has an indigenous population, where there are no known native humans to Antarctica.

So, I guess if a polar bear ever did see a penguin, he’d totally be like “Dude! Where’d you come from?!!?”

———————————————————–

This whole post came about because I saw this piece made by little lion designs. She’s a friend of mine & makes art from re-purposed fabric. I also saw this real life picture shot of a mama & baby polar bear. Please note that polar bears may look cute, but are vicious, vicious creatures WHO WILL CUT YOU! I think that’s part of what makes this piece PERFECT for baby nurseries, or kid’s rooms. B/c most moms come across as sweet & normal, but if you mess w/ their baby, they will turn vicious to protect their own!

I saw it, & started wondering about polar bears & googled & one led to another & I learned a bunch about the Arctic & Antarctic.

this picture links to little lion designs "nursery art" photo album

So, a couple friends of mine posted this video. It’s full of humanity, & is actually a lovely, lovely statement on how to live.

I do like the video and its message. Don’t get me wrong. I just can’t seem to shut off my inner critic. I notice things. Minute things. Things that just don’t add up, & I don’t like inconsistency/discrepancies. So, even though this is a lovely video, & you should appreciate it as such, I thought I’d at least get out of my system the things I noticed on 1st watch.

At 0:45 – the young boy puts down his skateboard to help the lil ole lady. After crossing the street, he then crosses the other street, going even further away from his stuff. He just left his skateboard there?

At 1:30 – the old lady gives a woman change for the parking meter.
2 things – a. she was holding change in her hand the whole time? Maybe that’s why she was struggling w/ her bags. Why didn’t she just put the change away in her cross-body purse? And b. – why is the girl putting change in a meter where there’s no car? There’s no car in either of those 2 parking spots!

At 2:10 – what the heck is in that luggage that makes it that heavy?!?! I mean, I know I sometimes have a morbid mind, but the only thing I can think of is that it’s a dead body in there. It’s gotta be over 100# by the way they’re lugging it!

It’s a great message to put out into the world. And I can appreciate that. I just can’t shut off my cynical mind.

I saw this & liked it. Had to share…

Every rose has its thorn
Just like every night has its dawn
Just like every cowboy sings a sad, sad song
Every rose has its thorn

I heard this song on the radio tonight, so I thought we’d discuss it. I never noticed it before, but it’s inconsistent.

The format of the song goes like this:
For every postive, there’s a negative.
So, every ROSE (the positive) has its THORN (negative)
Cowboy is a positive, singin the sad, sad song (negative)

But every night has it’s dawn doesn’t make sense. B/c dawn is light; light is automatically a positive. Night = darkness = negative.

So it doesn’t follow the pattern. I guess unless you consider that they’re lying in bed together in the dead of night, & dawn brings their separation. But that’s really reaching b/c they’re already separated, just being tortured in each other’s company in the sadness of the night. So the night’s still a bittersweet negative.

“… we must keep in mind that when it comes to the safety of children, there can be no margin of error, no hesitation to act.”

~ PA Gov. Tom Corbett

 

I once wrote about how great Joe Pa was. I have to retract that now. Just like I had to retract my admiration of John Galiano once.

Are there no more heroes left in our world today?

It pains me that a 10-year old had to go through sexual assault, while someone witnessed it & did nothing about it. It seems to me that being an eye-witness to something like that, one would act. Like step in physically & stop what was happening. At that time, the campus police would show up, call the city police, and worrying about telling your daddy would be the last thing on your mind.

But Mike McQueary (email address mjm229@psu.edu & feel free to copy the Penn State Board of Trustees at bot@psu.edu) did just that. He walked away, told his daddy, and never brought it up again. It was a 10-yr old boy.

Has this type of sexually abuse…. sorry, and why are we using that term now? B/c rape sounds bad? Or has a stronger connotation? Well, let it have a stronger connotation. It’s a heinous act!

But has this type of rape become so accepted by certain societies that it’s 2nd nature to try to sweep it under the rug instead of calling an authority figure out on it?

Priests. Scout leaders. Politicians.

It takes a village to raise a child. The children are our future. They are OUR children. They are to be protected by ALL OF US.

So far, Joe Paterno, Penn State President, and Athletic Director have been fired. No, I don’t think Joe Pa should be allowed to finish the season. No, I don’t care that there are only 4 games left. It’s football. What I care about is that a 10-year old lost his childhood. A decade ago. And I don’t know how many others have lost theirs since then b/c these guys were worried about throwing a pigskin around.

Penn State Football brings in a lot of money to the University? Well, to those involved, how much money is about to be lost from donors due to this cover-up?

You didn’t want to tarnish the school? Well, it’s tarnished way worse now.

It is up to us. All of us. To PROTECT THE CHILDREN. If you see something wrong, DO SOMETHING! Actions speak louder than words.

So, I found out yesterday that UPS will take your foam packing peanuts.

You know how you order something online, and then it comes & you are so excited & you open the box only to find…. foam packing peanuts!!! What a buzzkill.

I put out a post on the fb to try to freecycle a bag of them. Figured they’re going to be on this Earth forever, we might as well use them, & let them see the world. Instead of just sitting in a landfill for eternity, maybe to have a bird choke on them.

But a friend of mine said that UPS will take them. You just drop them off & they’ll re-use them! Very cool.

Are you ppl kidding me?  You want to basically arrange a marriage for elementary kids? In 2011?

What happened to freedom of choice. Was there ever anything romantic b/t Bert & Ernie that made any of you think that they were in love, like that?!?

Is it so impossible for you ppl to believe that 2 folks of the same gender can be life-long friends? I’m not sure what their jobs are, or how much their income is, but rent for a 1-bedroom can be pricey.

Especially on a happenin street like Sesame Street. OMG, ppl are always hanging out there! That’s totally prime real estate!

If you are one of the folks forcing this marriage, it’s simply b/c you want the union. YOU are going to get something out of it. Just like when girls of kings were married off to gain land for the kingdom. You are trying to gain some “celebrity support” for your cause, or justify your beliefs.

I am fine w/ same-sex marriage. But I’m not fine w/ folks marrying off 2 friends, simply b/c the idea of a life-long, almost “soul-mate” type friendship seems impossible to them. I almost feel sorry for these ppl, b/c I think it must be that they don’t have this type of friendship in their lives.

I have 2 girlfriends in my life that I truly believe are my “soul-mates” in friends. One, I get in horrible fights w/, as we tend to think so alike almost all the time, then clash so aggressively at other points! The other, I can call the Bert to my Ernie. We’ve always been calm, singing songs, usually hanging out w/ the other. Never fought. Just friends for 2 decades. We did live together for so long at points in time. Why is something so normal in real-life, so unbelievable (almost unacceptable) in a make-believe world?

sidenote: Did any of you seriously think they were gay? I’ve never seen any gay man dress so plainly in my life!

Also, love this article in the Time Magazine Blogs:
This Is Actual News: Sesame Street Declares Bert & Ernie Will Not Gay-Marry