Offline

Tonight Joe & I are leaving for a week's vacation at the beach where I do not expect to have access to a computer, so I will be 'offline' for the next week. Although I will miss blogging and reading the blogs of my blogger buddies, we will definitely enjoy a week to rest up and enjoy the beach. We'll be back on Tuesday 7/5. Hang in there!

Some random thoughts to share

1. I picked up this cool photo display board for a buck at a yard sale. The background is covered in this funky martini fabric so I decided to go through my photos and pick out ones of people with cocktails to put on the photo display board. Cool idea, right? That's what I thought. Oh my god... I took a serious trip down memory lane. There were photos of our cat Pouncer when he was a tiny kitten, there were photos of mine & Joe's first Christmas tree, there were photos of every Thanksgiving (hosted at our house) for the last 9 years, there were photos of us fixing up our first house 8 1/2 years ago, and there were photos of various vacations. THEN I got to the box with the really old photos, like my high school graduation (23 years ago), photos of school trips, photos of "Dominants" performances... it was too much! I had forgotten how fun it can be to look back at old photos.

2. Can I say just how SICK I am of hearing about that damn Natalie Holloway from Alabama, who disappeared while on a school trip to Aruba? You'd think they were looking for Osama Bin Laden with all the searchers and press coverage. And why her? I'm sure there are hundreds if not thousands of kids who go missing every day. Why so much attention on this one girl? Why have thousands of people searching for this one girl, when they should be assigned to some of the other 'missing kids' cases out there. I just don't get it.

3. When did it happen? When did parents stop being in control and the children take over? Why do kids have so many choices now? While standing in line at a self-serve ice cream machine, I was tormented by the following conversation:
Mom: Dylan, do you want it in a cup or on a cone?
Dylan ignores her and continues to dance and sing.
Mom: Dylan, do you want your ice cream in a cup or on a cone?
Dylan continues ignoring her, so she repeats this 2 or 3 more times. Finally Dylan says a cup.
Mom: Do you want cookie crumbles on top?
Dylan is now on verse two of his song.
Mom: Dylan, do you want cookie crumbles on top?
Dylan still isn't paying attention, so she asks him several more times. All the while, the line is not moving because this mother is attempting to cater to a kid who just doesn't care. I was tempted to tell the woman that perhaps she should come back to the ice cream machine after she'd collected Dylan's full order, but decided against it since Dylan was getting to the end of his song.

Then, another time I overheard a parent "negotiating" with a 3 year old.
Mom: Now, if I give you a cookie, are you going to get in your booster seat? Do you want the chocolate chip cookie or the peanut butter cookie? No, I'm sorry, I don't have any candy bars, just cookies. Now, if I give you a cookie, will you get in your booster seat?
You can't negotiate with a 3 year old. They don't understand that. You are the parent so it is your job to make decisions for your child. It's no wonder lots of kids don't know what to do when they graduate from high school. They can't make a decision because they're already exhausted from all the decisions they've had to make while trying to grow up!

Then there was Shannon and her mom in the booth across from us. About 700 times the mom said "Shannon, turn around and eat your chicken." I noticed she always called the little girl Shannon, and never Sweetie, Pumpkin, or any other affectionate term. It's like she was babysitting someone else's child, only this was her child. (She referred to herself as "Mommy" to Shannon once.) It was weird how disconnected this mother was from her daughter.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love kids... especially with hot fudge! ;-)

4. Happy birthday to my blogger buddy Billy! Keep saying "I love you"!!!

5. June is Gay Pride month. Happy gay pride everybody.

Perfection...

...is how I would describe Saturday's weather. Pure perfection.

Joe & I were at the beach this past weekend and had the pleasure of enjoying the mild temperature, gentle breeze, sunny skies, and zero humidity. It was one of those days that was so gorgeous you actually stopped to notice how beautiful it was and you savored it, knowing that in a few weeks things will be much different.

We saw several dolphins not far from shore in the Cape Henlopen State Park beach, as Joe sat in his beach chair listening to CDs with his headphones, while I read page after page of the 'Letters from Camp Rehoboth' magazine. Occasionally I'd look up to see the dolphins, or the other 'scenary' walking by.

Although the water a bit on the 'chilly' side, I decided to get in anyway. It was fun and exhilerating! Oh, okay - I had to pee, too.

I thought to myself 'Its gorgeous enough for two days today', which was a good thing, since Sunday it was mostly overcast and about 5 degrees cooler. But it was a great weekend to be at the beach.

To be filed under "Not Surprised"...

Well, last week the verdict was read in the Michael Jackson child molestation case. Not guilty on all 10 charges. I was not surprised. This doesn't mean I think he's innocent. It means I wasn't surprised that he was acquitted.

The reports claim that the young accuser and his mother were not convincing, sometimes contradicted themselves, and generally appeared unreliable and unbelievable as witnesses. In this great country of ours (insert big sarcastic grin here) a person is innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt. Apparently the witnesses against Michael Jackson left some doubt in the jury's mind. And that is how our judicial system works. It may not be great, it certainly isn't fool-proof, but its better than a lot of other places we don't want to live.

I feel like a rock star!

One of my blogger buddies, Billy, having nothing better to do with his time, has been reading past episodes of my blog. He apparently enjoyed one of my early posts where I introduce Joe and talk about our life together, and wrote about it in his blog. I couldn't believe I was written about in someone else's blog! I feel like a rock star!!!

Thanks for noticing (and reading) my blog Billy, and thanks for letting me know - I appreciate it. And if any of you want to check out Billy's blog, go to http://www.cuteyoboy.blogspot.com/ I like Billy's blog because he often asks thought-provoking questions and solicits input from his band of faithful and adoring readers.

Speaking of input, I would like to encourage anyone who reads my blog to feel free and leave me a comment. Then maybe I'll feel even more like a rock star!

Crash!

I've mentioned our friends Michael & Jamie several times in this blog. Jamie asked us last weekend if we wanted to go see 'Star Wars' with him. I paused, saying nothing for a few seconds, and Joe said "Sure". I didn't really want to say that I had no interest in it.

I noticed Jamie did not say "see it with US", but rather "with me". Jamie then explained that Michael wasn't interested in seeing it, and that he didn't want to go to the movies alone. Joe agreed to go with him, and they made a date for Friday night.

Then Thursday Michael IMs me at work and asks me if I want to go to the movies with him on Friday night. "I need to see Crash" he explained. "You NEED to see Crash?" I repeated for clarification. Michael said he's in charge of teaching this diversity class at his office, and the 'Train the Trainer' person recommended that he see Crash before teaching the class.

'Oh' I thought. "What's it about?" I asked. Its amazing how sometimes I can be so clued-in while others times being so clueless. "It's about racism" he said.

'Oh now THAT sounds like a fun Friday night movie' I thought to myself. Then he pasted a synopsis of the movie into the IM and I became intrigued.

Issues of race and gender cause a group of strangers in Los Angeles to physically and emotionally collide in this drama from director and screenwriter Paul Haggis. Graham (Don Cheadle) is a police detective whose brother is a street criminal, and it hurts him to know his mother cares more about his ne'er-do-well brother than him. Graham's partner is Ria (Jennifer Esposito), who is also his girlfriend, though she has begun to bristle at his emotional distance, as well as his occasional insensitivity over the fact he's African-American and she's Hispanic. Rick (Brendan Fraser) is an L.A. district attorney whose wife, Jean (Sandra Bullock), makes little secret of her fear and hatred of people unlike herself. Jean's worst imaginings about people of color are confirmed when her SUV is carjacked by two African-American men -- Anthony (Chris Bridges, aka Ludacris), who dislikes white people as much as Jean hates blacks, and Peter (Larenz Tate), who is more open minded. Cameron (Terrence Howard) is a well-to-do African-American television producer with a beautiful wife, Christine (Thandie Newton). While coming home from a party, Cameron and Christine are pulled over by Officer Ryan (Matt Dillon), who subjects them to a humiliating interrogation (and her to an inappropriate search) while his new partner, Officer Hansen (Ryan Phillippe), looks on. Daniel (Michael Pena) is a hard-working locksmith and dedicated father who discovers that his looks don't lead many of his customers to trust him. And Farhad (Shaun Toub) is a Middle Eastern shopkeeper who is so constantly threatened in the wake of the 9/11 attacks that he decided he needs a gun to defend his family. Crash was the first directorial project for award-winning television and film writer Haggis. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

"Okay - sounds interesting" I wrote back. "Let's do it."

Fortunately a nearby theatre had both Star Wars and Crash beginning within 5 minutes of each other, so it worked out perfectly. And being the thrifty little buggers they are, M&J had coupons worth $3. off each movie ticket! Gotta love these boys!

I have just three words to say about Crash: Fabulous - loved it.

This is a movie I think everyone should see, whether you're about to teach a diversity class or not. Its just plain good for you. Really makes you think. Four thumbs up (both of mine and both of Michael's).

Jamie and Joe enjoyed Star Wars too, so it was a great night. All four of us got to see something we liked without having to suffer through something else we didn't like.

Jamie & Michael invited back to their place and we enjoyed a late night nosh on their top floor balcony. It was special.

"Do you know the Mullet Man..."

When I first saw it, I thought I was hallucinating. It couldn't be! I blinked my eyes repeatedly, thinking that suddenly my vision would correct itself and a logical explanation would become apparent for what I had thought I'd seen. But then the harsh reality seemed to slap me in the face. Yes, it was true... that man DOES have a mullet.

I thought to myself 'Hasn't anyone told him that the mullet went out of style with Billy Ray Cyrus in 1992?' It just didn't make sense. Here we are in a professional, white collar, high-tech area, and this guy's sporting a mullet.

And this was no accidental mullet. No, no - he wasn't just a few weeks overdue for a haircut. This is an intentional mullet! The sides of his hair were neatly trimmed. You could easily see his entire ear. The front of his hair was neatly brushed toward the back of his head. But then, there it was - on the back of his head, this long, curly mullet. I tried not to stair but I couldn't help it. Kind of like trying to drive past an auto accident along the side of the road without looking. Its practically impossible.

My mind kept searching and searching, trying to come up with some kind of a logical explanation for why this man had a mullet. 'Oh, I bet he's not from around here' I thought. 'He's probably from some rural area in one of those south/central states, just here on business'. After all, he was wearing black Jazz shoes and pleated slacks. Yes, yes that had to be it. Nobody from around here has a mullet and dresses like that. Finally, I was relieved to have figured out the mystery and could get on with eating my lunch.

A few weeks passed and as I was minding my own business eating a 6" turkey on wheat at Subway, who walks in? The Mullet Man! Once again I can't stop looking at him as he stands in that seemingly endless line, waiting to order his sub in the slowest Subway in the free world. But once again I calm myself by reminding myself that 'he's not from around here'. Then I imagine what it must be like for New Yorkers who constantly see rural, out-of-style tourists on a daily basis. I bet somebody's blogging about it as I take a bite of my turkey sub.

But then the unthinkable happens. As he walks away from the counter with his lunch and moves towards the tables I see his work ID clipped to his pleated slacks. He works for a tech firm just up the street! 'Oh my god' I think. 'He IS from around here!'

At this point I can hardly finish my sandwich, I'm so distraught. How could this be? Why haven't any of his co-workers confronted him about his hair? I strain for answers. Maybe no one in his office likes him, so they don't care that he's walking around in his Jazz shoes and pleated slacks with that terrible mullet. On the other hand, maybe he's such a sweet and likeable guy that no one has the heart to tell him he needs to 'fashion forward' about 15 years.

Then the most terrifying of all thoughts hits me like a ton of bricks: Maybe it will be ME that finally tells him the truth. Maybe its my destiny to correct fashion faux pas I encounter. Maybe it is my civic duty to right the fashion wrongs in my community. Maybe he'll thank me for my honesty. Maybe he'll become stylish, we'll become friends, and will look back on this day and chuckle.

Nah... I think I'd rather just blog about him.

A Great Weekend!

We had a great weekend!

Saturday morning we went to a huge neighborhood yard sale that was 6 blocks long. They have it every year and we have gone to it several times. We weren't really looking for anything in particular, but we're always open to finding an unexpected bargain. In past years I've found bargains like a 6' ficus tree for $7., and place settings for 8 (dishes) for $20. This year Joe found a floor cleaner he had been looking at in stores for $169. but this one was marked $35. and he asked its owner if she'd accept $20. and she said yes. The weather was gorgeous so that added to the enjoyment of the sale.

Then we stopped at the monthly flea market and looked around. There was a LOT of cute stuff there, but we didn't buy anything.

Then we went to a local diner that has a large, covered patio area. Since the weather was so nice, we really enjoyed having brunch outside.

Then we came home and cleaned our house. Since we'd been out of town the last 3 weekends in a row, and since we have a dog and a cat, our house was in serious need of cleaning. But we felt really good after getting our place back in shape.

We both had a shower and then went for a ride in the convertible. It was a perfect day for it! Then we headed over to Joe's mom's house to see if she wanted to have dinner with us at Red Hot & Blue. She was home and up for dinner there, so we went. We ate too much, but it was delicious. Then we stopped by Joe's sister's house and sat with them on their back deck, talking about this and that. Finally at 8:45 we took Joe's mom home and headed home. We watched some TV and went to bed.

Sunday morning we 'took it easy' by sleeping in and then watching TV until 11. Then we ran some errands, had lunch, and drove around looking for open houses. We only went in two. We're not thinking of moving, but after watching 'Property Ladder' the night before, we both starting thinking about 'flipping' a property. 'Flipping' a term that refers to buying a property in need of updating or renovating, doing the work to make it pretty and desirable, and selling the property for a profit within a short period of time. We've got a lot on our plates at the moment, but it was fun to check out the two places anyway.

When we came home Joe started taking an online Continuing Education course for credits to renew his therapy license, while I started letting my creative juices flow. I got out 3 large canvases and several buckets of left-over wall paint and began creating 'art' again. I am very happy with the results! Unlike the first 3 canvases I did for my office which were very geometric, these 3 are more abstract with more movement. I let them dry as I showered and Joe & I went to dinner. When we got home I hung them in the recently painted office/library, above the bookshelves. They look fabulous!

Yesterday it was so gorgeous, but today it was downright hot! Especially the upstairs of our house - it just got unbearable and we knew we wouldn't be able to sleep, so at 8:30 I turned on the air conditioning. I just saw that the high temperature today was 86 degrees. Every year when we get a day in the mid to upper 80s we say to each other "It's so hot upstairs, do you think we should turn on the a/c?" and the other responds "I'm not sure - what do you think?" Trying not to rush into "air conditioner season" we have tried to decide just when we should stick it out and wait for the hot day to pass and when to break down and turn on the a/c. But I just saw that it is going to be in the upper 80s (and humid) all week so I think turning on the a/c was a wise choice.

Reel Affirmations Pride Films

As you know from reading my blog, I am a fan of independent films. A GAY independent film nearly makes me squeal with delight! So, it was with much excitement that I planned to attend the Reel Affirmations Pride films this past Thursday and Friday nights.

I asked Michael and Jamie if they were interested and they said yes, so all four of us got passes for all 4 films.

Here is the synopsis of the films I saw, followed by my critique:

Cote d'Azur For summer vacation, Marc take his wife Beatrix and their two children to the seaside house of his youth. The Mediterranean wind blows, the sea churns, and the heat of summer stokes their desires. Their daughter Laura has a rendezvous with her biker boyfriend, and their son Charly roams with his best friend Martin, who is in love with him. When Beatrix's lover Mathieu shows up, and Marc's old flame appears, complications escalate and the vacation collapses into hilarious chaos. In French w/English subtitles.
I liked this film for several reasons. They spoke French, which I find to be a beautiful language to hear. The main character, Marc, was quite handsome. The scenery was gorgeous. The plot was smart and funny. Michael and Jamie liked this too.

Naked Fame At the age of 40, wildly successful gay adult film star Colton Ford decides to leave porn behind and to pursue his dream: music. Naked Fame is a fascinating look at the porn world and music industry from the initial conception of Ford's first single to its recording and release. The movie explores the intimate inner-workings of the music industry, capturing the intense emotional drama and struggles involved in the pursuit of stardom against the stigma of a porn star past.
Although not meant to be a comedy, we all found ourselves laughing only 3 minutes into this film. The interviews with Colton Ford's parents were hilarious, although I don't believe they were intended to be. Why is it that people in the porn business are always surrounded by drama? None of us thought very highly of this film, but Jamie and I both found it fascinating to see how differently these people think.

Summer Storm Winner of the Best Feature Audience Award, Munich 2004 and the Best Feature Audience Choice, Melbourne 2005. Best friends Tobi and Achim have helped their team win several rowing cups and are now looking forward to the important regatta in the countryside. As Achim's relationship with his girlfriend grows more serious, Tobi becomes confused and increasingly left out. As the tension grows, Tobi, Achim and the others head towards a confrontation as fierce and liberating as the summer storm gathering over the lake. In German w/English subtitles.
This was by far the group's favorite of the 4 films. It was cute, sometimes serious, but always intriguing. We were impressed by the acting abilities of several of these young people. And, of course the arms, shoulders, and chests of these rowers didn't hurt either!

Producing Adults Finland's official entry for the 2005 Academy Awards Best Foreign Film category.Venla works as a psychologist at a fertility clinic, deciding who should receive artificial insemination. Meanwhile, she dreams of motherhood, a desire not shared by her boyfriend who secretly undergoes a vasectomy. With her baby-making options reduced, Venla can't help but think of her workplace and the opportunities it provides. As Venla and her female colleague Satu plot their baby-making scheme, they find their feelings for each other become deeper than mere friendship. Will Venla finally become a mother? And with whom would she co-parent? In Finnish w/English subtitles.
Michael and Jamie didn't care for this film, but Joe and I both liked it. We all agreed, however, that it seemed too long. This film had a 'dark' appearance, not because of the subject matter, but because of the lighting, and I think this had a lot to do with Michael and Jamie's discontent with it. Also, this film followed 'Summer Storm' which was their favorite, so that didn't help. What I liked about this film was that it wasn't predictable, and things didn't "all work out" in this film, much like in real life. Gosh - Finnish is even worse than German to listen to!

So I thoroughly enjoyed my Pride film experience, thanks to One In Ten (www.oneinten.org) and its corporate and private sponsors. Think I'll have to send them a little donation one of these days to show my appreciation for their work in finding and screening the films and putting on the film festival.