Interesting Column

Brian Kinchen, a sports commentator for ESPN, was fired for misusing a slang phrase. The phrase in question is one heard practically everywhere, in one form or another: "That's kind of gay." Folks on blogs and on the air have commented about whether or not its okay to say such a thing. Straight folks tend not to get it as readily as gay folks.

Perhaps some folks might better understand why using the phrase can be felt as very demeaning. Most gay folks see the correlation used by the user when others liken a situation that is dumb, stupid, unusual, or weird to the word 'gay'. Imagine how a person would respond, if instead of using gay, they used the word 'Jew' or 'Asian' or 'Mexican'.

Still, the commentator didn't sound as if he was being mean when he said it. Admittedly I only read about it but even in print, it sure doesn't sound like he meant to be demeaning. And yet, even accidently, our words can have powerful connotations.

Here is an article from the DesMoines Register that explains what I am getting at.

Super Size Me

This morning, I may be the last person I know to have watched Super Size Me. The movie is about an experiment where one man eats nothing but McDonald's fast food 3 times a day for 30 days. Prior to the start of this experiment, he went to 3 doctors for a physical and remained in contact with them throughout the experiment. At the end, he took a final physical exam. The results are astounding!

Here is the opening clip of the movie.

And now for something completely different...

See other deceiving pics here.

Finally, he admits it!

Haggard admits to having had gay sex.

The striking line in his admission are these words, "There's a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring against it for all of my adult life."

And warring against the rest of us is one of the ways in which he justified his own sexuality. Time and again we see those who wage the greatest fights against all things gay because deep down they have cannot reconcile their own homosexuality. We see it when a kid beats another kid with a baseball bat or ties one to a fence to die. We see it in our politicians and now, once again, in religious leaders.

Just think how much greater the acceptance of gay and lesbians could be if these same kids, politicians, and religious leaders spent their energies reaching out to us with openness, warmth, and acceptance. Perhaps we'd live in a country where all relationships are honored and where men did not spend their time cruising for sex with hustlers. Instead they could date, court, and be encouraged to make their relationships work in the same way politicians and religious leaders care for the relationships of heterosexuals.

The next time we hear from a religious person or anyone else rant against the evils of homosexuality, let us first ask ourselves, "I wonder why he is so concerned about it? Maybe he is warring against something inside himself."

Honestly, with what has happened with Haggard really makes me wonder what Fred Phelps' motivation is against all things gay. Phelps, as you know, heads up the God Hates Fags campaign.

Daaaaaaaaaaaang, that was quick

Haggard's been permenately removed from his pastoral office. An independant investigative board of his New Life Church met and acted swiftly. Here is the story:

The Rev. Ted Haggard agreed to resign as leader of the New Life Church after its independent investigative board recommended removal, saying he was guilty "of sexually immoral conduct."

"We, the Overseer Board of New Life Church, have concluded our deliberations concerning the moral failings of Pastor Ted Haggard," a statement from the church said. "Our investigation and Pastor Haggard's public statements have proven without a doubt that he has committed sexually immoral conduct."

Haggard was "informed of this decision," the statement said, and he "agreed as well that he should be dismissed."

A man describing himself as an escort told news media this week that Haggard, who also has resigned as president of the influential National Asssociation of Evangelicals, had been paying him for sex for three years.

Haggard immediately denied the allegations, but later acknowledged having paid the man for a massage and to provide methamphetamine.

The church's statement said the investigation would continue to determine how extensive Haggard's misconduct was.

The Rev. Ross Parsley will lead the church until a permanent replacement for Haggard is chosen, something that should happen by the end of the year, the statement said. A letter explaining Haggard's removal and an apology from Haggard will be read at Sunday services.

"The language of our church bylaws state that as Overseers we must decide in cases where the Senior Pastor has 'demonstrated immoral conduct' whether we must 'remove the pastor from his position or discipline him in anyway they deem necessary,"' the statement said.

"In consultation with leading evangelical and experts familiar with the type of behavior Pastor Haggard has demonstrated, we have decided that the most positive and productive direction for our church is his dismissal and removal," it continued.

James Groesbeck, a church elder, said he was glad the investigative board acted quickly.

"I'm saddened by what came out, but I think they've done their job," Groesbeck said by telephone. Church members are drawing strength from one another and are caught up in the activity, but that likely will change, he said.

"I think it's going to be really difficult in a week or two," Groesbeck said.

Go here to read the whole story from the Associated Press.

Haggard Update

I just returned from playing an afternoon of pretty good golf. It was chilly to say the least but I shot a decent round. I've played golf only twice this year and this time was by far better than my last.

Upon getting home, I checked the news to discover that ol' Haggard has admitted to getting massages from Mike Jones, the gay hustler, but didn't have sex. He also admitted to purchasing the meth through the hustler just to "see what it was like" but didn't ever actually take it, opting instead to throw it away. It sure sounds like he's nervous--admitting and yet not admitting to things. If it can be proven that he took the meth, I am sure we'll hear a different story out of him.

I guess I was sort of right in my previous post. My guess is that Haggard won't admit to doing anything that cannot be proved. Jones has recorded voicemails to prove Haggard was interested in the meth drug but there is no actually proof he took it. There is proof that he called several times looking for it and the voicemail implication is that he has indeed partaken.

His relationship with Jones remains a guessing game. As time goes on, I am sure we'll read that Haggard did more than received a massage. I mean, if he was just looking for a massage in general, he could have gone to the local mall or to a doctor recommended therapist, right? I mean, pursing a gay hustler to get a massage seems very suspect. And I am not the only one who thinks so. James Dobson, President of Focus on the Family doesn't sound like he is buying any of it either. In his reply about Haggard, he issued this statement,

"All of us at Focus on the Family are heartsick over the allegation, not yet confirmed, that Ted has had a private life with a homosexual for several years. We will await the outcome of this story, but the possibility that an illicit relationship has occurred is alarming to us and to millions of others. Ted has been my close friend and colleague for many years. He has been used mightily to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Colorado Springs and around the world. He will continue to be my friend, even if the worst allegations prove accurate. Nevertheless, sexual sin, whether homosexual or heterosexual, has serious consequences and we are extremely concerned for Ted, his family and his church." (Italics mine)

According to what Dobson says, it sure doesn't sound like he is believing Haggard's story while at the same times waiting to see what can or cannot be proven. Once the dust clears and the evidence is presented, we're sure to read to what extend Dobson and his allies will say and do with Haggard.

And I doubt that we'll have to wait long. I am guessing the revelations will begin to pour out as the days pass.

And all of this just days before the gay marriage vote will happen in Colorado. Hmm.. I wish it'd happened a few weeks ago--to give folks time to think more about the reality that gay folks are everywhere even in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

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Go here to read a transcript of the hustler being interviewed on MSNBC.

Another One Bites the Bullet

This week while sitting in my office preparing for the weekend services, I received an email from a friend that said,"You're not going to believe this!" And he sent me a link to a story about Ted Haggard, pastor of the 14,000 megachurch in Colorado Springs and President of the National Association of Evangelicals, in which a hustler had outed him as both a 'behind everyone's back closeted gay something-or-other' and a meth drug user. Time Magazine also has a story about it.

He had, up until yesterday, denied the accusation. On Wednesday, he said, "I did not have a homosexual relationship with a man in Denver." But then, reading that statement, one wonders if he was being just a bit too exact in his reply. By saying that he did not have a relationship with a man in 'Denver', could he have meant, "at least not in Denver proper, per say." With some evangelicals, one needs to pay close attention to the words they choose.

Admittedly, I responded to my friend that surely it's too soon to tell. Accusations are accusations, I thought, and in this year of political wrangling, surely this was just a ploy. And then, yesterday I read where Haggard had stepped down just moments before his National Association of Evangelicals was to stand together and support him. They decided against it when Haggart resigned. And now, this morning I read where Haggard has now admitted to "some of the allegations" while not specifying which ones. I'd guess he'll say he's a drug user before admitting to having had paid for gay sex with a hustler for over 3 years. The former he can attribute to stress, enter a drug clinic, and come out as a shining example that even ministers can get overwhelmed to the point of a drug addiction. I mean, it worked for Rush Limbaugh, right? And, several ministers I have heard about have indeed developed a drug addiction during their ministry. It is a serious issue that needs serious attention.

The gay sex part though would never be forgiven by his constituents. Especially since Haggard is a well-known anti-gay marriage and anti-gay personna.

Isn't it amazing when a man of the cloth wages war against the very vice that consumes him? If proven true, this will be yet another example when those who protest too much have a good reason to do so--when they do it, you can bet they haven't reconciled themselves with their own faith and homosexual passion.

Old Friends and a Great Time

Last week I attended a conference at one of New York City's most famous churches, The Riverside Church for their Fosdick Convocation. Named after its founding pastor, Henry Emerson Fosdick, the conference features the nations leading preachers, social justice advocates, and a few prophets thrown in for good measure.

And besides the great lectures and meetings, I ran into many colleagues and friends from seminary. I enjoyed sitting with them as we learned together ways in which to make our faith a contemporary presence in modern social and political settings. We also prayed and worshipped together. And we ate together too!

All in all, I had a wonderful week of enrichment, getting reacquainted with old friends, and well as being inspired by the Good News.

I've Been Away

Sorry for the no posts of the last week, I've been away at a conference in NYC. I am back now and ready to put something on here. Unfortunately at this very second, I don't know what that should be. ;)

A Soldier's Lament

After Pat's Birthday

By Kevin Tillman

Editor’s note: Kevin Tillman joined the Army with his brother Pat in 2002, and they served together in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pat was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. Kevin, who was discharged in 2005, has written a powerful, must-read document.

It is Pat’s birthday on November 6, and elections are the day after. It gets me thinking about a conversation I had with Pat before we joined the military. He spoke about the risks with signing the papers. How once we committed, we were at the mercy of the American leadership and the American people. How we could be thrown in a direction not of our volition. How fighting as a soldier would leave us without a voice… until we got out.

Much has happened since we handed over our voice:

Somehow we were sent to invade a nation because it was a direct threat to the American people, or to the world, or harbored terrorists, or was involved in the September 11 attacks, or received weapons-grade uranium from Niger, or had mobile weapons labs, or WMD, or had a need to be liberated, or we needed to establish a democracy, or stop an insurgency, or stop a civil war we created that can’t be called a civil war even though it is. Something like that.

Somehow our elected leaders were subverting international law and humanity by setting up secret prisons around the world, secretly kidnapping people, secretly holding them indefinitely, secretly not charging them with anything, secretly torturing them. Somehow that overt policy of torture became the fault of a few “bad apples” in the military.

Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet. It’s interesting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle 50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat.

Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes.

Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.

Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.

Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.

Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.

Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.

Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.

Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.

Somehow torture is tolerated.

Somehow lying is tolerated.

Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense.

Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.

Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.

Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.

Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in the world.

Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by apathy through active ignorance.

Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country.

Somehow this is tolerated.

Somehow nobody is accountable for this.

In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people. So don’t be shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the nation, to the world and to humanity. Most likely, they will come to know that “somehow” was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the country vulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites.

Luckily this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People still can take action. It can start after Pat’s birthday.

I found this at Truthdig.com. You can read the story and the responses to this story by going here.

Running with Scissors

Here is the trailer to the movie based on Augusten Burrough's book, Running with Scissors. And, it looks great!!

Balancing and Doing What You Gotta Do

I found these pics over at this site and after you see these pics, check others out over there. There are some amazing feats of logistic balance at work here.

Not Very Patriotic but Understandable

Here is a post from a Iraq war veteran about the Post Tramatic Stress Syndrome he's facing and how he's been coping with it since his return to America.

An Online Game You Simply Must Play

Okay, so that was a little strongly worded title. Still, the online game is fun to play and is said to be used by students at the Air Force Academy (but who knows, right?).

Go here to play the game. The object of the game is to keep the red square from touching the blue squares that begin to come at you, the moment you click and hold your left mouse button over the red square.

This Explains Everything

Wal-Mart is at it again

This time the employees are taking matters into their own hands. It seems that Wal-Mart is cutting hours from 40 to 32 a week, using a computer to decide when they'll work, and then forcing part-time workers to be on call 24 hours a day, even if they are not scheduled to work. It is very inhuman and the article is worth the read.

Go here to read it.

The Addictive Toll of Gaming

I found a post that talks about the addiction to gaming, the online world where you become particular characters and play against or with other ones. It is sort of like Dungeons and Dragons, the board game version of yesteryear (I am sure people still play it but I haven't heard anyone ever mention it in years).

The post I am linking you to is from the experience of one former player who "got out" while he could. This is one incredible story of the power of addiction. It could easily sound like the story of someone addicted to crack or gambling. But it is also easy to see what such online games are such a pull for those looking for an escape or an identity away from the one they foster in real life- in the World of Warcraft, you can become the superhero and wonderful person that you cannot be in real life.

Here is the post.

One Man's Stonehenge

Here is an interesting video how one man is trying (and succeeding) in building his very own Stonehenge and proving how it can be done without using modern tools.

Jon Stewart's Crisis in the Nation's Pants

Jon Steward is sooooooooooo hilarious. Sure, the behavior of Mark Foley isn't a laughing matter but the circus that has arisen may very well be. Hear Stewart's take on the crazed craziness on the continued aftermath and the political 'he said, she said' finger pointing:

Gay Animal Exhibit Angers Conservative Christians

This post comes in from 365gay.com, a news source dedicated to the lgbt community. It makes you wonder if these same conservative Christians also block out the National Geographic channel when it's mating season. (grin)

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(Oslo) Oslo's internationally acclaimed Natural History Museum is being assailed by Norwegian church groups over an exhibit called "Against Nature" which shows same-sex animal pairs.

The exhibit documents homosexuality among penguins, parrots, giraffes, whales and other animals and insects. A translation from Norwegian into English of a statement at the exhibit says

"We may have opinions on a lot of things, but one thing is clear — homosexuality is found throughout the animal kingdom, it is not against nature."

The exhibit opened Thursday features a photograph that attracted considerable attention of two sexually aroused whales rubbing together. Another shows two male giraffe's engaged in sex.

"The sexual urge is strong in all animals. … It's a part of life, it's fun to have sex," exhibit organizer Geir Soeli told the Reuters news agency.

But conservative Christian groups are accusing the museum of displaying pornography. One evangelical pastor said museum directors should burn in hell.

The exhibit was partially funded by the government and church groups are demanding an investigation into how the grant was made.

Here is the link to the story.

It's a Crying Shame

For many of us raised in Oklahoma and who have now left there, we often come to the realization that there were some things that we took way too seriously. Football, for example, is one such thing. Now mind you, I still have friends and family in Oklahoma who continue to take it 'way too seriously' but then, there are times when it is necessary to do so.

Whenever Oklahoma plays Texas is one such necessary time. Being taught from a young age to value such confrontations, it isn't difficult to understand how easily it is for our emotions to get carried away and we collapse in a fit of utter hopelessness at the mere idea of Oklahoma losing to Texas. So you can sympathize with this kid when it actually happened. If you've actually seen the video of this kid crying his heart out, it's enough to affect you even more.

Barney Frank on LGBT History

Barney Frank, the representive democrat from Massachusettes, writes an eloquent article about the gains, struggles, and challenges of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender folks. He recounts our struggles, while also reminding us of our victories. It is a nice article that begins with an insightful quote from George Orwell.

"While serving as an ambulance driver during the Spanish Civil War, George Orwell was shot in the neck. When people congratulated him on his good luck at having recovered from this, he very sensibly replied that he believed that people who had never been shot in the neck in the first place were even luckier than he. "

That quote sets up Frank as he explains that one of our greatest challenges is getting folks who have no idea what our discrimination is like to actually understand why we LGBT folks need laws to protect us.

You can read the whole article here.

Unmitigated Chaos?!

Here are words of caution if I've ever heard them:

WASHINGTON - Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, a member ofSaddam Hussein's defense team, predicted on Thursday that a bloodbath would follow should an Iraqi court trying the former president have him executed.

At a news conference, Clark said he feared that should Saddam and the others be hanged, "catastrophic violence" would follow that would lead to "the end of civilization as we know it in the birthplace of civilization, Mesopotamia. Total, unmitigated chaos."

Everyone knows Clark has been totally against the war in Iraq for quite sometime. Follow this link for that story.

And, seeing how he is representing Saddam at trial, one cannot help but ask if his concern is his own hype or based on a very real threat. I don't know the answer but his words are strong.

Read the whole story here.

The Trouble with Sex

A friend of mine's mother is a wonderfully gift writer. She has often written just the right thing in just the right way. I am jealous of people who are very articulate and at the same time am fortunate to have a blog where I can put their words out there for all you to read.

Here is an email from this mighty fine woman who sums up the Mark Foley scandal and how many Republicans are responding to it. She sent it to her kids. I am copying and pasting the email verbatim.

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Hi All,

It's just too good. The anti-sex Republicans are bringing themselves down over the obscenity of one of their members.  Not the obscenity of allowing the US to torture, not the obscenity of thousands of Iraqis killed every week, not the obscenity of wire-tapping without a warrant, not the obscenity of a war with no purpose or end, not the obscenity of lying, lying, lying.

No, it's sex that gets the Republicans juices going every time and it's sex that will bring them down. Don't tell me there isn't some sort of divine retribution, if not divine, then just perfect:

      "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." (Matthew 7:2)

Have a great day.

Love, Mom

Foley and the Results of a Don't Ask, Don't Tell Environment

Here is a brilliant article about the Foley scandal from the Boston Globe:

"Being in the closet is hard to pull off without help, and for years Foley was eagerly abetted by his Republican brethren, whose willful blindness is at the heart of the current tragedy. Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, majority leader John Boehner, and others in the House leadership are still under the impression that the closet, like Tinkerbell, will continue to live as long as we all believe. And believe, they do -- against all the evidence.

But the number of people who believe in the closet is declining day by day and generation by generation. Hastert and the rest of his cronies are their own victims. The political turmoil they caused for themselves is only just."

You can read the whole article here.

Living in an environment of Don't Ask, Don't Tell sets up situations for moral failures for a variety of reasons. Reasons that we're going to be reading about in the days ahead. One reason that I believe is important is that when you have such an ideology of secrecy, you do not have a situation of accountability. If folks are allowed to be secretive, then they open themselves up to trouble in a way that can only bring disasterous consequences.

With Foley, we see an example where some people have little accountability when it comes to how they engage themselves in their professional lives regardless of their sexual orientation. While most open-minded folks are trying to let others do as they see fit, we forget that everyone needs some form of accountability. I guess it's like the old addage, "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely." Or, it might be like my new addage, "Power makes you think you can get away with anything."

In the White House, there is a lot of power and a lot of powerful people. In an environment with so much wattage going on, I makes me wonder if Foley was allowed to continue being pervy with all those kids because there are others who are doing similar immoral things. What if there are Senators and Congresspersons who are stealing, lying, cheating, and having sex with staffers, young and old? What if there is a whole collapse of morality in the White House and what we see with Foley is only one part of a much larger whole. That might explain why so many people knew what Foley was up to and did nothing. Heck, to condemn him would in effect, be condemning themselves- the pot can't call the kettle black, right?

What Foley has done highlights the reality that everyone needs accountability and allowing anyone to do as they please only creates opportunities for trouble. We had better set up a system whereby no one is unaccountable or we're going to see situations appear that pale in comparison to Foley's immorality.

Ultimate iPod Accessory

Yeah, I know, I am such the geek having bought an iPod. They really are amazing mp3 players. I had to buy one (notice the imperative "had") after my former mp3 player bit the dust. It was only a 5 gigabyte player and the battery that came with it just couldn't keep up with me. The battery in it finally went Kapoot.

The newer iPod, the 30 gigabyte video player was the cheapest new iPod they were selling and that is what I bought. It has been wonderful and I've had hardly no problems in the 8 or 9 months that I've had it.

Well, by hardly I mean, that I haven't had any problems with the unit, per say (heh heh.. I said, "unit"), but I am trapped in the vortex of having to acquire all the fancy smancy accessories that you can purchase with it. So far, I have bought:

* an arm band iPod holder to use at the gym. Honestly, this has been the best investment (note the imperative "investment") so far because now I can stay on the treadmill or that other thing I can't remember the name of where you think you're cross country skiing while having a heart attack.

* an iHome player that I have at work that lets me slide my iPod into the player to play my songs. It doesn't have a remote control though; that was something I should have thought about but didn't.

* iPod sleeves (both the rubber and of the sock variety) that I thought would be handy but aren't because you have to take it out of either the silly rubber sleeves to "dock it" into any iPod player. And the sock versions are too slippery and the iPod easily falls out of one's hand.

* a really cool iPod carrying case (its almost like the one in this link, except that it's brown with a white stripe down the middle) that I use when I go into New York City. Nowadays, you have to hide your iPod when you're on the subway lest some freak tries to steal it from you as they dart from the train car.

* an iPod power adapter when you're away from home and need to recharge the iPod internal battery.

* iPod splitter cables that connect my iPod to my Bose Wave Radio. I found this to be a cheaper option that buying another iHome player for my living room.

See, this is nuts and addictive.

Well, now I have found the ultimate accessory for any iPod enthusiast. Unfortunately, I don't see myself purchasing it (honestly mom, I won't buy it!). Still, I found it to be both hilarious and kind of cool at the same time.

Fluff vs. Deep Stuff

Bad rhyming aside, I am posting more and more over on my church's weblog than I am posting here. And what I end up putting here tends to be a bit more fluff than deeper and serious stuff. Be sure to check out my church's blog if you want more meat to eat. (Okay, I'll stop the bad rhyming now.)

My church's blog.

Great Light Saber Sequence

Bigotry Isn't a Moral Virtue

Wayne Besen's article this week denounces those who want political correctness erased from speech and be allowed to say whatever they want about whoever they want. More specifically he's aiming his ire against religious leaders and few Republicans. Besen explains,

It seems that a decade of conservative rule has eroded basic rules of civility. What used to be called mutual respect is now derisively dismissed as “political correctness.” Social conservatives now feel unrestrained and increasingly believe they are entitled to say whatever they want, no matter how obnoxious, hurtful or offensive.

While many of us know outstandingly moral and kind Republicans, there are some who see their bigotry as a moral strength. Just read about the NARTH spokespersons who think we did the slaves a favor "rescuing them from Africa" or about a Georgia minister who sounds more like Fred Phelps.

To read Besen's article, go here.

Banned Books

Yahoo news has a report of the Top 25 most challenged books of the last decade. By challenged, these books contain themes, ideas, and words that result in either books being pulled from local library shelves or books that are forbidden to be read in the classrooms.

Banning books is a tricky thing. Sure, we want to protect folks from ideas that harm and yet, there is also a good justification for reading those ideas so that we can know what we're either for or against. And, it's also a great non-confrontational way to hear opinions that are different fromwhat we already hold. This way we can weight the necessary ideas and find ourselves grappling or rejecting beliefs that challenge us. And, we might just find ourselves learning in the process.

Here are the Top 25 challenged books:

1. "Harry Potter" (Series) (J.K. Rowling)
2. "To Kill a Mockingbird" (Harper Lee)
3. "The Color Purple" (Alice Walker)
4. "The Outsiders" (S.E. Hinton)
5. "Lord of the Flies" (William Golding)
6. "Of Mice and Men" (John Steinbeck)
7. "Goosebumps" (Series) (R.L. Stine)
8. "How to Eat Fried Worms" (Thomas Rockwell)
9. "The Catcher in the Rye" (J.D. Salinger)
10. "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (Mark Twain)
11. "The Giver" (Lois Lowry)
12. "Brave New World" (Aldous Huxley)
13. "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (Mark Twain)
14. "Captain Underpants" (Dav Pilkey)
15. "The Anarchist Cookbook" (William Powell)
16. "Carrie" (Stephen King)
17. "Flowers for Algernon" (Daniel Keyes)
18. "The Dead Zone" (Stephen King)
19. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" (Maya Angelou)
20. "Go Ask Alice" (anonymous)
21. "American Psycho" (Bret Easton Ellis)
22. "The Chocolate War" (Robert Cormier)
23. "James and the Giant Peach" (Roald Dahl)
24. "The Pigman" (Paul Zindel)
25. "A Wrinkle in Time" (Madeleine L'Engle)

You can read the Top 100 challenged books here.

Logo Online

Logo, the national LGBT television network is hosting another 'best of' series. The last one focused on the 100 best LGBT movies and it was wildly popular. This time, they are showing the best LGBT movie shorts. These shorts are movies that are approx 15-20 minutes in length and are being voted on by the viewers. Once the results are tallied, Logo will present the finalists on their station. You can watch these movie shorts at www.logoonline.com.

While there are some great movies to watch, this one is my favorite so far. Go here to view Fairies. And then select Watch It!

Weird Al Song

Okay, sure, Weird Al is just that.. kinda weird, but does remind me of all those skits I did when I was in my church youth group as a kid; only his stuff is better and funnier.

He has a new song, "Don't Download this Song" that is funny while addressing the issue of downloading pirated music. It's good music too.

Fantastic Dominos!

Bingo Night

I tell you, I had a great birthday. First, I woke up and I wasn't dead. Turning 41 can be a scary thing but alas, I was feeling as good as the night before I went to sleep.

On Tuesday, my birthday, I practically did what my mom always did on my birthday. Normally during my school days, mom let me stay home from school. When I was even younger, she and I would often go to the zoo or do something fun together. This past Tuesday, I relived my youth and stayed in bed until about 10:00am. And for the rest of the morning and early afternoon, I watched tv and basically did nothing until the guilt finally set in.

Once my guilt set in, I went and visited a church member undergoing physical therapy and stopped in at the office for a few hours. But checking my clock, I didn't stay long. I had to get to my bowling league. My teammates and I have named ourselves the 'Pin Flamingos'. We were going to call ourselves the Pink Flamingos but decided Pin Flamingos sounded more funny and tied in with our bowling.

After bowling some decent scores, I left and made it to my usual Bingo game hosted by the Fabulous Big Blanche. Bingo is only every other week, so I have to wait two weeks in between games. The last time I played I won a DVD player (I think I blogged about that already). On Tuesday, I won this ice cooler! Is that hilarious or what? Everyone just groaned when I hollered out the loudest Bingo! you've ever heard. I tell you, sometimes I can be such a dork. A good natured dork, but a dork nonetheless.

Here is my new bowling ball

Tuesday night I bowled with my new bowling ball. I am now an official New Joisey redneck on a bowling league. Sure, it's a gay bowling league; however, much as we might look redneck, we are all truly fabulous at heart.

Fancy Smancy Birthday Present

My eldest brother bought and sent to me this incredible new 19" LCD monitor for my birthday. The specs are: Acer AL1906AB / 19" / 8ms / 500:1 / SXGA 1280 x 1024 / Black / LCD Monitor. It only cost $159 after rebate and let me tell you, it is soooooooooooooo nice! And big! You just gotta love TigerDirect.com, right? Go here for the monitor if you're interested in it.

Daaaaaaaaaang!

Blogger's been down for ages! And, I haven't been able to upload any pics or videos since their last update. It is for this reason, that I a) put that funny but tasteless joke up (or so says mom) and b) that I haven't posted anything of significance of late. That'll all change now that everything on blogspot is up and running.

The Tree Hugger

While walking through the Boulder Colorado woods a man came upon another man hugging a tree with his ear firmly against the tree.

Seeing this he inquired, "Just out of curiosity, what the heck are you doing?"

"I'm listening to the music of the tree," the other man replied.

"You gotta be kiddin' me."

"No, would you like to give it a try?"

Understandably curious, the man says, "Well, OK..." So he wrapped his arms around the tree and pressed his ear up against it.

With this the other guy, slapped a pair of handcuffs on him, took his wallet, jewelry, car keys, then stripped him naked and left.

Two hours later another nature lover strolled by, saw this guy handcuffed to the tree stark naked, and asked, "What the hell happened to you?"

He told the guy the whole terrible story about how he got there.

When he finished telling his story, the other guy shook his head in sympathy, walked around behind him, kissed him gently behind the ear and said, "Man, this just ain't gonna be your day, cupcake..."

Happy Birthday to Me

Okay, sure, it's a bit self-congratulatory, but hey, I am 41 years old. After 40, I figure I now have an excuse to do so.

An Interesting Study in NYC

An article appeared in the journal of The Annals of Internal Medicine (no jokes please) that relayed an interesting finding. The article said,

A study published in the [The Annals of Internal Medicine] found that a survey of 4,193 men conducted by the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene found that 10% of the men who identified themselves as heterosexual, 69 percent of them who reported having had sex with other men were married. (You'll need to scroll down toward the middle of the report under the heading, Results, Male Survery Participants. Or, you can go here to read Yahoo's news summary of the article.)

Many admitted they had not used a condom and had not been tested for HIV.

"Doctors need to ask patients about specific sexual practices instead of relying on self-reported sexual orientation to assess risk for unsafe sexual practices and risk for sexually transmitted diseases," said Preeti Pathela, who led the study.

"Public health prevention messages should target risky sexual activities, such as unprotected receptive anal sex, and should not be framed to appeal solely to gay-identified men."

(The bolding and italics are mine, which I added for emphasis.)

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Now, I don't know why these particular men were interviewed by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in the first place or the particular sampling method used, but the findings are more than interesting.

To suggest that such a high number of married men (10%) have had gay sex within the past year with at least one partner is rather shocking, right? I mean, had the number been closer to 2% we could strug our heads and say, "Eh, people do as people do, you can't expect anyone to figure in that small percentage into the equation of HIV transmission, education, or public service announcements." But when the figure is almost 10%, is says, "Heyyy!!! Is anyone paying attention here?! This is important!"

Sure, those living in New York City are living in a city with perhaps the most lax sexual mores and those living in NYC are not like the typical American city- but it makes me wonder how men in other towns, smaller cities, or in the country would report. I remember a friend of mine who lived in Oklahoma. I asked him how many men in his small town (of Davis, OK) did he think were gay. He said I was asking the wrong question. He said, "Are you asking how many men have sex with men, regardless of whether they are married or not?" I said, "Eh, sure." He said at least 50% of the guys he knew, whether married or not, have had sex with other men.

We need to get past the mindset that says, 'If we don't talk about it, people aren't doing it." Or, to realize the addage that if we DO talk about it, more people will do it. Heck, more people already ARE doing it and we need to keep this little tidbit in mind when we think of public policy, AIDS awareness, and societal expectations.

Woo-hoo! The Painters Are Done!

Finally! The painting inside and outside of the parsonage is complete. The painters came today and finished the bathrooms, painting the window sills on the back porch and the front pillars on my front porch. While it only took them two days to paint, the time from when they first began to the time when they came back to finish the job was excruciatingly long. But now, it's all done!

Now, there are only two things left to be done for the update to the parsonage to be complete:
1. A shower door for my downstairs bathroom
2. New wall-to-wall carpeting. The carpeting is at least 25 years old (from what I am told) and upstairs there is actually shag carpeting that must be a whole heck of a lot older than 25 years.

Anyways, my place is looking so nice. I am so thrilled at the generosity of the church to help make the parsonage look so nice.

Very Funny Ads

Last night while watching TBS's presentation of Kill Bill, Vol. 1, there was an advertisement for a website called, www.veryfunnyads.com. This site hosts the worlds funniest commercial ads. And, without any tired commentary (like in shows such as America's Funny Home Videos), it has a lot of commericials as they are, including this one.

The Dutch are the World's Tallest People

According to a news report, the Dutch are the tallest people in the world. And as it is, I happen to be Dutch too, so that explains a whole heck of a lot. I have been meaning to go to Amsterdam and just walked around among giants. I have a couple of friends from there and they all say that not only would I love it there, I'd be among fellow tall people.

While I do enjoy my height, it has some disadvantages. Since I am not extremely outgoing, I tend to enjoy just 'blending in the crowd,' which is something I can't do unless I am sitting down. So, when I go out, I tend to sit down a lot. But if I were to go to Amsterdam, I could stand up all the time. (smile) Yeah, my next overseas travel expedition will be to Amsterdam.

Political or Religious Post?

Okay, so my first venture into writing a blog post of some measure of rant, contains something to do with Bush and something to do with religion and a lot of how we interpret religion in light of politics. Was that a post for this blog or the church blog? I am having my doubts already. Hmm...

Coffee Maker Extraordinare

Just when you thought you didn't have enough gadgets and needs one thing more, along comes a coffee maker that gives you the weather report as your pouring either your first cup of coffee for the day. And, it'll grind your beans before you brew them. That's a nice feature too. You can read more about the coffee maker here and here.

Wouldn't THIS be cool?!

It is a treehouse called the Scallywag Sloop Treehouse and it can be yours (or your kid's) for only $20,000. You can read the story here and it'll provide links to the company that makes this treehouse as well as others (most of them start around $8000).



Man I tell you, this would be fantastic if it were bigger and made for a guy 6ft 9in tall. I'd totally move out there.

another blog..

As it happens, the church where I serve has agreed to allow me to put up a blog on the church's website hosted by blogspot (nothing says "Let's do it!" like something that also says 'free!'

So I will be experimenting with what it'll be like, what I'll say, and throw a rant or two in there for good measure. As for this blog, I'll keep it and continue to post my thoughts and opinions- there will only be less specifically religious or spiritual things here. I'll save my political rants for here.

If you'd like to check out my new church blog, go here: http://cresskillucc.blogspot.com

Hard Drive Turns 50

Here is an amazing history of the computer hard drive. I was not only amazed how fast technology has developed in such a short time, when compared to other inventions, but also how small our technology has become. When the hard drive was first introduced it was the size of two refrigerators with the storage capacity of only 5 megabytes, roughly equivelant to one or two mp3 songs.

Go here to read the story.

Life Expectancy Linked to Where You Live

Here is an interesting article about life expectancy based on U.S. geography, race, gender, and other factors. It is very interesting, esp when in the article, the statistics show each state's average life expectancy.

Go here to read the article.

Bleu for You

The Bethesda Fountain

This is one of my favorite places in New York City, the Bethesda Fountain. Surrounding the fountain is an arched walkway; behind it a small stream where row boats drift lazily by. I found this particular picture a couple of days ago and have since made it my desktop wallpaper on my laptop and my computer at work.

The fountain itself was dedicated in the mid 1800's as NYC's new aquaduct brought clean drinking water down from upstate New York into a city that so needed it. The sculptor was the sister of one of the park designers and over a hundred and fifty years later, this is said to be one of the world's most famous fountains.

You can click the picture for a larger version.

Heartburn like No Other

Daaaaang, you eat too many of these things and you'll really have to fight off that heartburn. I found a package of these in the church icebox after a meeting tonight. Once I started eating them, I couldn't stop- or rather, I couldn't stop until the heartburn started.

Keebler must put a secret addictive-like ingrediant in these things. I'll be it's opium. That would definately explain the good nature of those little elves.

Speaks for Itself

Spend, spend, buy, buy, buy

I think one of the reasons I buy so much 'stuff' is that I am exposed to all the stuff 'out there' via the internet. Take this printer for example, it is a monochrome laser printer for under $64. That has got to be the cheapest laser printer I've ever heard of! And, it's a Brother printer, one of the finest printer makers out there.

I checked the toner capacity, it'll print 2,500 pages per cartridge. Cartridges are $42 a piece which is cheaper than inkjet cartridges which generally run about $25 for 600 pages per cartridge. You can immediately see the reason why folks would go with a laser printer from the cost of cartridges alone. I mean, you'll need to purchase 4 inkjet cartridges to equal one cartride of this laser printer. Or, in 'Grandma speak' (she's the one in the family that saves money like no one else), that equals $100 in inkjet ink as compared to $42 for a laser cartridge.

For my printer at home, it would simply make sense in the long run; heck after I bought the printer and one additional ink cartridge, I could pay for the machine with what I'd spend in toner cartridges alone with my regular system.

You see, it is examples like this that make me want to 'spend, spend' and 'buy, buy, buy.'

3-D Sidewalk Chalk Drawings

I found a link to a site of 3-D sidewalk chalk drawings. They are amazing pictures that trick the eye in ways I've never seen before.

Keep in mind though, that these drawings are only meant to be seen from one viewpoint only; at any other angle, and you completely miss the picture.

Click on any picture to see a large version of it.

Amazing Things to Do on a Treadmill

I found this post over on Andrew Sullivan's blog and it is a YouTube video. And it's a riot!

Bowling Update

Oh my goodness, what a wonderful time I had last night (Tuesday) bowling. I met some great men and womyn (the blowling guidelines actually has women spelled that way, which is fine and cool and I totally honor and accept it).

I didn't play particularly well but I did get better as the evening progressed. Since it's been 30 years since I was on a bowling league (yup, that'd make me 10 years old), I had to remember what those dots are for at the beginning of the lane and find a decent weighted ball to throw. Once I found and had the courage to throw the pink ball, I found my accuracy. And, bowling in a gay league, the other bowlers were actually jealous that I found a pink ball to play with. I am telling you, I love the men and womyn already.

Okay, just so you know, by enrolling on a Tuesday night bowling league, I am exchanging one Tuesday night activity for another. Normally I go play Bingo or participate in karoke on Tuesday nights. They alternate each week. One week, Big Blanche calls the balls in Bingo and another week, Jeff and Kimberly lead in the karoke. Blanche is the drag queen that hosts the bingo game at Feathers, the local gay bar and dance club near me. However, seeing how it was 11:30pm after I got out of bowling, I decided to drop by and see Blanche and join in a few last minute Bingo games.

I did and guess what?! I won a DVD player. The last game of the night is the one with the bigger prizes (than just t-shirts, ball caps, and free drinks). The last game of bingo entails filling up the entire board. Whoever shouts Bingo! first, is the winner (assuming all the numbers were ticked off).

So my Tuesday night was pretty cool.

Bowling

Tonight is my first league game of bowling. I joined a bowling league last week and am poised to become New Jersey's new bowling sensation. [end of wittiness] Actually, I did join the bowling league and beginning tonight at 9:00pm, I will gather with countless other amateur and not-so amateur bowlers for an evening of fabulous revelry. Oh.. did I mention I joined a gay and lesbian bowling league?

It seems the bowling alley I will be playing at hosts New Jersey's Gay and Lesbian Bowling League, where men and women and myn and womyn (or other such unidentifiable gender expressions) meet each week from September through May. The entire bowling alley, all 50 lanes, is for the NJGLB Association. I am pretty excited about it.

Actually I am hoping to meet more lesbians. I was pondering the other day that while I know several lesbians, I am not as close to many of them as I would like. I mean, I think every man needs to know someone who knows how to operate power tools safely, can stand up for you if situations appear scary, or someone who can rightfully put you in your place when you get to big for your britches.

And, I think that since Rosie is now on The View, today should be an annual event for everyone to Find Their Own Lesbian. I'd take dibs on Rosie, but I am sure she's already called for by half of the Chelsea boys in New York.

[Author's Note: It was not my intention to defame or insult any or all lesbians with the writing of this post. Actually I hold them (or you) in the highest regard and think it's dang well time that men everywhere (gay and straight alike) affirm and thank you for your valuable contribution to any and all things. So please don't read this post and decide to go and kick my butt. Thank you.]