Will NH be # 5?

NH Senate votes for gay marriage

The New Hampshire Senate on Wednesday passed legislation that would make the state the fifth in the nation to grant marriage equality.

The 13-11 vote came despite a recommendation last week by the Senate Judiciary Committee that it be rejected.

The chair of the committee, Sen. Deborah Reynolds (D) was one of those who recommended voting against the bill, but on Wednesday she voted for it, saying since the committee meeting she had heard from a large number of constituents who favored the bill.

Last month the bill passed the House on a 186-179 vote, but the House will need to vote on this bill again, since it was amended by the Senate.

If it passes the House a second time, it will head to the desk of Gov. Gov. John Lynch who has said he believes the current civil union law works fine, but has not said if he would veto the bill.

Read the entire article here.

What I love about this is that NH already has civil unions, but a majority of the voters and legislators feel that separate is not equal, so they are choosing marriage equality. Hurray!!!

Crush du Jour: Alex Torino

Thought-provoking

If you have sex with a prostitute against her will, is it considered rape or shoplifting?

Can you cry under water?

How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?

Why do you have to 'put your two cents in', but it's only a 'penny for your thoughts'? Where's that extra penny going to?

Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

What disease did cured ham actually have?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why is it that people say they 'slept like a baby' when babies wake up like every two hours?

If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?

Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway.

Why is 'bra' singular and 'panties' plural?

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?

Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane?

If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?

Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs, right?

If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just buy dinner?

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?

Why do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?

Why did you just try singing the two songs above?

Why do they call it an asteroid when it's outside the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it's in your butt?

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

Crush du Jour: Dave Salmoni

Mental Feng Shui

Whether or not you subscribe to the whole 'Feng Shui' philosophy or not, I think there is some rather helpful advice/life tips in the following, which I received from a friend. I hope you agree. So, here's a little mental feng shui:

1. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
2. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
3. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have, or sleep all you want.
4. When you say, 'I love you,' mean it.
5. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.
6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
7. Believe in love at first sight.
8. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
11. Don't judge people by their relatives.
12. Talk slowly but think quickly.
13. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask them 'Why do you want to know?'
14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
15. Say gesundheit when you hear someone sneeze.
16. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
17. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.
18. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
19. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
20. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
21. Spend some time alone.

Crush du Jour: Christopher Gartin

Summer in April

I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention to the weather forecast, because this weekend's incredibly warm weather caught me by surprise.

Earlier in the week it was rainy and quite cool, only in the 50s. On Fri the sun shined brightly and the temperature warmed up to 60, which is where it normally is in April for this area. I was thankful that the rain had stopped and that I didn't need a jacket to walk the dog on Fri.

But then Sat it got up to 87 degrees, almost a 30 degree difference from the day before, and more than a 30 degree difference from 2 days before.

As if that wasn't shocking enough, on Sun it got up to 94 degrees!

But I ain't complainin'. I'll take 'very warm and sunny' over 'chilly and rainy' anytime.

What an optimal weekend for my cousin Nez and her husband Steve to visit! We walked all over our little historic hamlet and they absolutely loved it. Nez & Steve live in a stone house built in 1793, so they really identified with the historic homes and feeling of our little town.

We also drove them around to several places where they could see, smell, and feel the beach. They are both beach lovers, as Spouse & I are, so we went for a walk and even took off our shoes and got our feet wet. There were hundreds of people in the swimsuits, laying on towels and sitting in beach chairs, enjoying the beautiful weather and catching some rays. We also saw a wedding party taking photos on the beach.

We ate, drank, talked, laughed, and reminisced. It was a lovely weekend, made even more lovely by the unexpectedly warm weather.

Crush du Jour: Gilles Marini

Faking it

Gay “conversion” scientists made it up??

The New York Times’ John Tierney reports on his blog today that a new book questions whether Masters & Johnson faked the conversion of gays and lesbians into happy heterosexuals. Ex-gay groups, like Exodous International, often use the Masters & Johnson study to say that the ability to turn gays into ex-gays has a scientific basis.

Book author Thomas Maier reports his findings in Scientific American:
“When the clinic’s top associate, Robert Kolodny, asked to see the files and to hear the tape-recordings of these “storybook” cases, Masters refused to show them to him. Kolodny—who had never seen any conversion cases himself—began to suspect some, if not all, of the conversion cases were not entirely true. When he pressed Masters, it became ever clearer to him that these were at best composite case studies made into single ideal narratives, and at worst they were fabricated.”

Does anyone really believe those homo-to-hetero conversion claims? The 'spokesmen' used in their media ads seem just as gay, if not gayer, than most of my friends! The more honest of the 'success stories' have admitted when pressed that their conversion is more about successfully suppressing their homo feelings, rather than converting them into hetero feelings. Do regular old straight people actually believe conversion is possible, or is it 'wishful thinking' on their part?

Crush du Jour: Matt Alber

Friday fragments

Company
My cousin Inez (we call her Nez) and her husband Steve are coming to visit this weekend. I'm embarrassed I can't even remember when the last time was that we saw each other. Maybe 4-5 years ago? We've talked on the phone and IM'd since then though. Nez & I are less than a year apart in age and spent a lot of time together when we were kids and teenagers. I'm looking forward to their visit!

Commando
The other day I went 'commando' for a few hours. I had on flannel pajama pants (without underwear) and a t-shirt, but realized I needed to walk the dog. Rather than putting on underwear for a 20 minute walk around the neighborhood, I just slipped off the pjs and put on jeans, sans underwear. I felt a little 'naughty', knowing I was walking around town with no underwear. I kinda liked it.

Ted Haggard
Speaking of naughty, a friend sent me this (obviously doctored) photo of Ted Haggard, which I just had to share. As usual, click to enlarge.

Vintage vs. Retro

Vintage is when something is from a past decade. Retro is when something modern is made to look like its from a past decade. Your grandparents wedding photo is vintage. The photos you took yesterday using black and white film are retro. Just because they're black and white doesn't make them vintage.

Toolboxes

Have you ever noticed how toolboxes smell like vomit? Growing up, my dad had a metal toolbox that smelled like vomit. Many years ago our lesbian housemates had a big plastic toolbox that smelled like vomit. We have a small plastic toolbox that smells like vomit. What's up with that?

Not the same
You may have read earlier this week that Nevada is trying to implement a domestic partner registry that will grant most of the rights of marriage but without the term 'marriage'. Then on Wed I had yet another discussion with some gays who feel that 'as long as we get the rights, who cares what they call it'. I had to remind them, as I have many others, that separate is never equal. We will not have equal rights if we are granted separate rights from our hetero counterparts. I swear, sometimes I get weary from trying to help people understand this. Then I read the following on Facebook, written by a hetero woman, and had to share it:
"There are lots of differences between a 'committed relationship' and legal marriage. The ability to represent my spouse is very convenient… at the bank, in court, applying for a loan, discussions with creditors, medical professionals, even changing the cable package. These are mundane things that most take for granted. What about the stuff that really matters? Medical emergencies? Right of survivorship? Benefits earned as a part of your pay? To claim your spouse's dependent as your dependent? To co-parent adopted children? Marital privilege in a court of law? None of those issues have to do with sex or lifestyle; granting these benefits to all adults does not diminish the sanctity nor deplete the rights of hetero marriages. Those who oppose equal rights are guilty of tyranny." This momentarily restored my hope.

Obama

While conservatives may like this because it appears to be making fun of Obama by ridiculously comparing him to Jesus, I find this hilarious, and not that far off the mark! Then there's this Obama float...What is the blond girl holding onto???

Big Ella
It seems Spouse has become obsessed with protecting Big Ella. You'd think it would be me, since she's my girl. Whenever we go somewhere in her and I park, he always has to give me suggestions about where to park that will have the least potential for someone damaging her, as if I hadn't already thought of that. Then there's his latest: he now wants us to pay $120./month to store her at a public storage facility. I said that if we were approaching winter, I'd consider it, but since it is spring, I didn't see the need. Knowing we did not yet have a garage, we agreed we'd keep a car cover on Big Ella after she was repainted to protect her from dirt, sun damage, pollution, bird poop, etc. I believe that is sufficient.

Salad and chocolate
I have noticed that whenever I eat salad as a meal, I always crave chocolate afterward. I wonder what the connection is? Its as if my dark side is saying "You think you're being healthy by eating that salad, eh? Well now I'm gonna make you crave something fattening! Muah-ha-ha-ha!!!"

Happy Friday everyone!

Crush du Jour: Freddie Guerrero

Thursday giggles

Some of these cracked me up! All may be clicked to enlarge. Enjoy!

Crush du Jour: Jay Harrington

Earth Day

Sorry for the abbreviated posts yesterday and today. Work has been busier than usual and I didn't have any entries started for either day that I could simply put the finishing touches on and post.

But, happy Earth Day!
Now, go plant a tree and resolve to recycle more and reduce your consumption.

Crush du Jour: Matthew Davis

Quote of the Day

"I think the President has acknowledged that there are several ways in which a civil union between same-sex couples does not accomplish the protections that marriage would...I think that people of religious beliefs, many, feel that the sacred relationship between a man and a woman is the only threshold for marriage, and I respect that point of view. However, we are living in a society of civil law. We separate church and state. And I don't understand why people who profess equal love to what those of us who are heterosexual are engaged in when we get married, why they aren't allowed to do the same thing. And that's why I introduced the bill."
--NY Governor David Patterson

I blatantly copied this from Bob's blog because I support this statement whole-heartedly. Let's hope it resonates with others as well. Check Bob's blog regularly for everything related to politics and the GLBT community. Bob is a fierce advocate for marriage equality, rather than civil unions, like me!

Crush du Jour: Scott McGillivray

Satisfying Saturday

I certainly enjoyed a satisfying Saturday.

Spouse & I slept in until about 9, had coffee and talked about our day. We decided to have a late breakfast out, which is sort of unusual for us, but enjoyable none-the-less. After so much crappy weather lately, it was a welcome relief to find the sun shining brilliantly and the temperature significantly warmer. So, down went the convertible top and up went my spirits!

After breakfast we ran a few errands, then came home and did a little housecleaning. Spouse took a nap and I went to the gym for an hour: 30 minutes of cardio on the treadmill followed by 30 minutes of arms, chest, and abs. Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and remember what I used to see and think to myself "Hey, you're getting there!" Other times, like on Sat, I see guys at the gym with nice big arms and pecs that stretch their t-shirts tight and I think about myself "Boy, you've got a long way to go".

Working out has become infinitely more enjoyable since the purchase of my mp3 player. I'm likely the last gay on earth to buy one, but whatever: I'm a late adopter. An hour goes by lickity split when I'm jammin' to Miss Jackson's nasty grooves. (FYI - 'Rhythm Nation' is great for the treadmill.) I also lip-synched along to RuPaul and 80s disco hits. I have to remind myself to only lip-synch and never sing out loud while listening to my mp3 player. Although I have a good singing voice, no one wants to hear a queen singing while pumping iron. Upon returning home I shuffled my music and reloaded the mp3 player for next time, then hit the shower. When I got out of the shower I noticed in the mirror that my face was a little pink from being in the bright sunshine with no sunscreen. I didn't care.

It was so gorgeous I tried to think of any reason to be outside. I took the dog for a walk. I considered pulling some weeds or trimming some of the neglected landscaping but decided against this since I'd just showered. Instead, I took Big Ella out for a little exercise. As usual, I received multiple high-fives, thumbs up, compliments, and questions about Big Ella's birth year. She never fails to make an impression.

Then Spouse & I walked to a local Mexican restaurant to meet up with our buddies Doug & Jim. The restaurant is tiny, with only 6 tables for 4 and 4 tables for 2, so when we arrived at 7:00 Doug told us the wait would be 90 minutes. I thought he was joking, but he confirmed he was not. Normally Spouse & I wouldn't wait even 1/2 that long, but since Doug & Jim invited us to dinner and had picked the place, we just decided to go with it. We sat at the bar and ordered margaritas, which were fabulous, and then ordered chips and salsa and the guacamole sampler, which was also fabulous. The sampler contained 3 varieties of guac: shrimp and garlic, tomato and onion, and goat cheese and pine nuts. Dee-lish! It took every single one of those 90 minutes before our table was ready, but the time flew by since we were eating and drinking and talking with our buddies. We all enjoyed our meals, too.

After 2 large, potent margaritas I was glad we'd walked instead of driven to the restaurant, because I was certainly not fit to drive. Spouse, me, and my tequila buzz watched TV for a little while and then went to bed.

A very satisfying Saturday, indeed.

Crush du Jour: Fred Goudon

Kids

I think its high time for another addition of "Kids Say the Darndest Things!"

She was in the bathroom, putting on her makeup, under the watchful eyes of her young granddaughter as she'd done many times before. After she applied her lipstick and started to leave, the little one said, "But Gramma, you forgot to kiss the toilet paper good-bye!"

My young grandson called the other day to wish me Happy Birthday. He asked me how old I was, a nd I told him, "62." He was quiet for a moment, and then he asked, "Did you start at 1?"

After putting her grandchildren to bed, a grandmother changed into old slacks and a droopy blouse and proceeded to wash her hair. As she heard the children getting more and more rambunctious, her patience grew thin. Finally, she threw a towel around her head and stormed into their room, putting them back to bed with stern warnings. As she left the room, she heard the three-year-old say with a trembling voice, "Who was THAT?"

A grandmother was telling her little granddaughter what her own childhood was like: "We used to skate outside on a pond. I had a swing made from a tire; it hung from a tree in our front yard. We rode our pony. We picked wild raspberries in the woods." The little girl was wide-eyed, taking this all in. At last she said, "I sure wish I'd gotten to know you sooner!"

My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, "Grandma, do you know how you and God are alike?" I mentally polished my halo while I asked, "No, how are we alike?" "You're both old," he replied.

A llittle girl was diligently pounding away on her grandfather's word processor. She told him she was writing a story. "What's it about?" he asked. "I don't know," she replied. "I can't read."

I didn't know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet, so I decided to test her. I would point out something and ask what color it was. She would tell me and was always correct. It was fun for me, so I continued. At last she headed for the door, saying sagely, "Grandma, I think you should try to figure out some of these yourself!"

When my grandson Billy and I entered our vacation cabin, we kept the lights off until we were inside to keep from attracting pesky insects. Still, a few fireflies followed us in. Noticing them before I did, Billy whispered, "It's no use, Grandpa. The mosquitoes are coming after us with flashlights."

When my grandson asked me how old I was, I teasingly replied, "I'm not sure." "Look in your underwear, Grandpa," he advised. "mine says I'm four to six."

A second grader came home from school and said to her grandmother, "Grandma, guess what? We learned how to make babies today." The grandmother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep her cool. "That's interesting," she said, "how do you make babies?" "It's simple," replied the girl. "You just change 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'."

Children's Logic: "Give me a sentence about a public servant," said a teacher. The small boy wrote: "The fireman came down the ladder pregnant." The teacher took the lad aside to correct him. "Don't you know what pregnant means?" she asked. "Sure," said the young boy confidently. "It means carrying a child."

A nursery school teacher was delivering a station wagon full of kids home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children started discussing the dog's duties. "They use him to keep crowds back," said one child. "No," said another, "he's just for good luck." A third child brought the argument to a close. "They use the dogs," she said firmly, "to find the fire hydrants."

Crush du Jour: Juan Diego Flores

Friday fragments

Condoms
Remember a few weeks ago when the Pope decided to go from being a religious leader to being a public health specialist? He said 'condoms worsen the AIDS epidemic'?? Well Patrick Boivin came up with a very clever, very funny response! The tag at the end reads "Don't be stupid. Use condoms." Perhaps subliminally, I read "Don't be stupid. Don't listen to the Pope." Don't you love creative people?

Winner
Speaking of creative, not to toot my own horn, but I won Kevin's "Caption This!" contest on his blog The Lisp. Don't believe me? Click here and see it for yourself.

Amazon scandal
Did you smell the big stink over Amazon.com's alleged removal of gay books from its rankings? Gay romance author Mark R. Probst noticed that days ago the sales rankings disappeared from two newly-released, high profile gay romance books on Amazon.com. The next day hundreds of GLBT books simultaneously lost their sales rankings, prompting many to wonder if Amazon was attempting to suppress the visibility of gay books. Probst learned that Amazon excludes “adult” material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, "adult" materials must also be excluded. Amazon.com responded that it was a glitch and is fixing it. Life lesson: Don't mess with a queen's sh*t!!!

Adidas
Just in case you haven't seen the homo-erotic Adidas ad yet, click here. I have no idea what they're selling, but I'm pretty sure I need one.


Matt Alber
My friend John sent me this video, which I fell in love with! I'm not sure why, but it just speaks to me. I've never heard of the artist, Matt Alber. His voice reminds me of Rufus Wainright and his face (after the shave) reminds me of a very young Bruce Willis. Watch/listen to this video and try NOT to be affected.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Crush du Jour: Denis Ciplenkov

Marriage news

Will NY be the next state to institute marriage equality?

Gov. Paterson to introduce gay marriage bill to NY state legislature this week

ALBANY - Gov. Paterson will introduce a bill to legalize gay marriage Thursday despite strong opposition in the state Senate.

"I think it is - as some other states are showing - the only ethical way to treat the people who want to live together in peace under the civil law," Paterson said on Long Island Tuesday.

The measure revives legislation that died in 2007.

Despite a slim Democratic majority in the Senate, the bill faces an uphill battle. Republicans and several Democrats oppose it.

Paterson told upstate radio stations last week that he wanted the Senate to vote on the gay marriage bill regardless of whether it had the votes to pass.

Read the entire article here.

In other marriage news, have you heard about the 16-year old British girl, Miss Quinn, whose parents paid about $200,000. (US) for her over-the-top wedding? I have not been able to substantiate this story other than here (which appears to be the British online equivalent to the Inquirer or Star) and a few blogs, but its just too precious not to share.

Apparently Missy has dreamt of a big wedding since she can remember, which might not be a lot given the fact that she stopped going to school when she was 9 years old and never had to memorize stuff like the rest of us. The couple met when she was 13 and he was 14, but wanting to do the right thing, they waited until 6 days after her 16th birthday to get married.

Apparently her father, a driveway paver who lives in a trailer, said yes to all of Missy's wedding dreams, including this $32,000. (US) Swarovski crystal encrusted wedding 'gown'. Notice that her navel ring matches her earrings. Now that's classy!
The train of her wedding 'gown' was 10 feet wide, requiring several people to assist in getting Missy and her 'gown' out of the Rolls-Royce Phantom limo that brought her to the church. In the photo below you can see Missy's mom on the left, helping her out of the limo. She appears to be wearing a shimmery mermaid skirt with matching bikini top. Like I said, this is one classy family!

And aren't these bridesmaids simply a vision??? And in the photo below, that's not just your average run-of-the-mill bridal bouquet she's holding. Oh no, not for classy Missy. Its a 'faux-quet' (I made that word up - ya like it?) made up of crystals which cost $100,000. (US). That's right, $100,000. (US) for a crystal bouquet she'll hold for a couple of hours on one day.

To put it into perspective, the bride's parents gave them a $36,000. (US) trailer as a wedding gift, to live in once they were married, but spent $200,000. (US) on the wedding. Apparently you just can't put a price tag on foolish.

Who wants to bet me they'll be separated or divorced within 2 years?

And finally, thanks to Bob for sharing this terrific video that reveals the lies and the truth regarding gay marriage and religious freedom. This makes so much sense, so pass it on!

Crush du Jour: Jay Brannan

Sordid Lives: The Series

If you're like me, you really enjoyed watching season 1 of "Sordid Lives: The Series" last summer on Logo, and have been wondering where season 2 is.
Thanks to social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, I knew that Logo had ordered season 2 and that its creator, Del Shores, had been busy writing it. But that was months ago.

Today I received an update from Del, explaining the situation, which ain't pretty. Here's Del's official statement.

So, it appears we're not going to see season 2 because the production company hasn't paid the writer or actors their residuals.

What a shame!

It would seem that the production company would be in breach of contract, doesn't it? Wouldn't the writer and actors have a clause in their contract requiring payment for their work? I'm sure its more complicated than that.

"Sordid Lives: The Series" was a fun show and I really hope the production company does the right thing and pays the residuals so these folks can be compensated for their work.

Maybe Del can find another production company so the brilliance of Brother Boy can live on!

Crush du Jour: Matt Stone

Fantastic Ts

I pretty much got nuthin' today, folks. Its raining, I've got a fair amount of work I should be doing, and I can't think of anything interesting to say.

So I'll give you these fantastic Ts. I would definitely buy these and wear 'em if I could!

And for my favorite:

Crush du Jour: Tom Sturridge