Learned a New Term I Wish I Didn't Know

Today I learned a new gay slur from supposed gay-positive punk rocker and part-time lefty radio pundit Johnny Angel Wendell, who, in asserting that Michele Bachmann may be a lesbian on facebook, used the term "daggery." A trip to urbanurbandictionary.com provides a lot of scatological associations that I really could have done without.

Now, I know the standard defense of this behavior, which runs something like this: "It's not actually homophobia, it's meant to be a calling-out of that particular homophobe's hypocrisy, by using their own homophobia against them."

That argument would make a lot more sense to me if I hadn't just been schooled in a new homophobic term by someone who is supposedly anti-homophobe. I singled out Wendell, because he's the latest repugnant example, but this behavior is rampant across the lefty bloggoshpere. If you suspect someone on the right of being a self-loathing gay, poke him or her with sarcastic mock-homophobia.

In my opinion, this does nothing to break down homophobia. It doesn't encourage the supposedly closeted person to open the door, it just sends more hate their way. You are not making an ally, you are not helping that person in any way. Ancillary to that, you put anyone who doesn't know you're being ironic or sarcastic on the defensive as well. There is no positive value in making slurs against any TLGB person, out or closeted, that I can divine. All it does is drive the wedge of hatred and division in deeper.

Vlog for 3/12/11 Thoreau on Spring

Yep, I'm way late posting this, sorry. I actually recorded it in plenty of time to put it up on schedule, got busy, and also went through a little spate of disliking this vid. A week later it's not making me cringe too much, so I decided to post it after all. Enjoy, the next one should come along in better time.

Screed

I am feeling more than a bit cynical this morning. It looks to me like, instead of using this lame duck session to put through as much of a rational, forward-looking social agenda as possible before the end of the session, or at least fighting for some of the changes we need, the Democrats in congress and the administration are going to spend this valuable time compromising with a majority in one of two houses in congress that isn’t even seated yet. This galls me. I am beginning to think some very cynical things. Here are the two main points:

1.) If voting changed anything, they’d make it illegal.
2.) The Democratic Party is the sucker wing of the Corporate Oligarchy.

If the Dems were a serious party looking towards the future, it is my belief that they would be fighting tooth and nail for certain specific things:

1.) Making sure that the world will not be an ecological nightmare when our grandchildren are our age
2.) Finding ways to end America’s status as the world’s leading incarcerator of its own citizens
3.) Changing the tax structure so that we are not in debt and so that we are able to maintain and improve out crumbling infrastructure.
4.) Creating a British-style National Health Service
5.) Reducing our military to rational levels. We have been on “war footing” since World War 2 and we can’t afford it any more. We cannot afford any more foreign adventures that cost in lives and resources to the extent our two current ones do.
6.) Dismantle the TSA. NO POLICE STATE!!!

We do all of things my above list opposes for the benefit of the corporatocracy. We do not support our people, we support the rich. The Democrats talk a mediocre game and deliver basically in the range of weak tea to absolutely nothing.

A committed left would not tolerate being represented by lackeys.

top ten words I've used in Facebook statuses in 2009.

1) today - used 49 times
2) work - used 33 times
3) more - used 30 times
4) new - used 29 times
5) boxes - used 29 times
6) think - used 28 times
7) thinking - used 28 times
8) good - used 26 times
9) really - used 25 times
10) tonight - used 24 times

As a short, ungrammatical paragraph:

Today, work. More new boxes think. Thinking good, really, tonight.

New Xtranormal series.

Meet Barb and Ambrose.

I Can't Believe It!!!

Paul Blart: Mall Cop is still in the top 5 movies, after 8 weeks in release, and has earned an estimated domestic gross of about $135 million. That Kevin James must be really HI-LARIOUS! I've always thought Kevin James is to Jim Belushi as Jim Belushi is to John Belushi, so I guess what this really means is that we really need John Belushi right about now...

All I Can Say Is...

poopy time fun shapes.

Does Anybody Know...

Of music, art, film, etc. made by youthful (say, in their twenties) artists currently that is vital, well made, sincere, not celebrity-obsessed, not status-quo upholding, fun, positive, meaningful, poetic, subversive...

In other words, are the youth of today making art? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. I'm kind of despairing at the moment. Everything I'm seeing seems like recycled fashion magazine fodder. No new ideas. No thought for the future. No imagining of anything that doesn't already exist.

Show me something, please. I need to know it's out there.

Jux

Jessica Simpson -- Two Tracks From Do You Know

I am a cheesehead.

I admit that from the start. I love Abba. I love Will Smith movies. I like Dixie Chicks, especially Home.

But I am not into celebutards. Oh, no. Not me. Except that a couple of 'em might be growing up to be kinda cool. I loved that Paris Hilton for President video.

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

I also have to admit I am loving the two tracks I've heard from Jessica Simpson's "new country" album. I am afraid to buy the whole thing, but maybe over time, I'll grab some more, because the two I've got are pretty great. I first downloaded Sipping on History, because I loved the title and because it was the least popular track. I figured if I was going to like anything on the record, that would be my best bet. The preview was very nice, having kinda a six-eight swing and some very cool guitar sounds, and really tasty pedal steel. Hearing the whole track was slightly less satisfying. At the start of verse one she compares herself to June Carter Cash. I thought that a little bit presumptuous, especially as written, but as the track progressed, I found it to be an engaging enough song for me to try a second track. I picked the most popular track, Come On Over. More of a stomper, this one echoes all those seventies chanteuses like Loretta and Lynn. So far, the public is right, this one is definitely a keeper.

Saucerful of Secrets

I'm listening to SOS and thinking about how much I love it. It's my favorite Richard Wright record. It has his song "Remember a Day" on it, which is my favorite Floyd tune. They were breaking in a new guitarist (who aquitted himself very well, thank you) but because he was the new guy, this was a chance for Wright to fill a lot of space, and he absolutely rises to the occasion. I love the organ sound in "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun". The whole album is wonderful.

I don't know many stories about Pink Floyd. I can give impressions, things I thought about them at various phases in their career. The first album is cool. I love all the Syd Barrett stuff. But I think they got better after Syd left. The whole period before they got stupid famous is to varying degrees wonderful, odd, humorous, freaky, spooky, and fun. I loved their sense of melody, and I loved the way Roger Waters played bass. One of the big distinctions of early Floyd is that Waters played a lot more than he did on the later records.

I think Dark Side of the Moon is their absolute worst album (in large part because it's so soporific) and I'm no fan of The Wall, either. But Obscured by Clouds, which is the first album in their later, more morose style, is actually a great record, imo.

But I count Saucerful both Wright's finest moment and Floyd's best record.

Damn it! John McCain took my advice!

Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska, originally uploaded by J Medkeff.

That guy is such a "maverick".

Edit: If McCain gets elected & dies in office, this is who he expects to be able to run this country.

Say yer prayers, folks.

Edit 2: Did you notice that the Palin pin is bigger than the sparkly flag pin? Do you think that means anything?

Latest Bad Political Idea

I think Barack should pick Jaime Pressly as his running mate.



Sorry, no explanation is forthcoming. It just seems like the last 10 minutes where you could possibly suggest that obscure but brilliant name no one else is thinking.

Randi Rhodes Detroit Speech

This speech is a pretty good condensation of our political situation. It builds as it goes, and I think is very well written. I agree with pretty much all of it.

carpet

carpet, originally uploaded by mattduanegriffin.

This carpet was on the floor of my office at work. It's gone now. I came back after a Doctor's appointment last Thursday and over half the room was flooded with grey sewage. The room had too much stuff in it. There are things we have to have on the floor, there's just nowhere else to put them! So we chose fairly well, I think, and we're pretty much in tact, having lost a bit of software, but nothing too horrible.

This week I've had my own office because of it. Kinda cool, actually.

But I better not get used to it, I'm going back to the dungeon (what we call the basement room I work in) next Thursday.

UPDATE: Thursday is over and we didn't move. How long will we wait? January? Thanksgiving? meantime I have a window to look out of at work. Ah, amenities...

Kerry says and does nothing, nor does anyone else

I've seen a bit of press on this in the mainstream media, but most everyhting I've seen makes this guy look like a troublemaker and a malcontent. But you know what? He had every right to ask his questions, and the police acted illegally and in the most ugly fascistic way possible.

And John Kerry, that unforgiveable wimp, as well as that whole crowd of 100 or so supposedly politically aware people, sat by and did nothing.

How shameful.

Minneapolis

The rot is coming around. When are we gonna stop lying to ourselves? To be a Republican today, you absolutely have to be lying to yourself, imo.

I think we need to get out of Iraq and raise taxes. And we have to find a way to limit corporations' power, too.

My prediction -- the presidential tickets

This is 'way early, I know, but looking at the poll numbers at pollster.com, I would predict that the likely nominees for the Dems and the GOD GOP at this moment are Edwards and Romney. The overall numbers show Clinton and Giuliani, but the Iowa & New Hampshire #s favor the other 2 candidates. The one caveat I have at this point is that Gore is still saying he won't run. If you look at the national numbers for the Dems, you will see that all 3 major Dem candidates are trending downwards in the polls, but that Gore's numbers are going significantly up, in hopes of a possible candidacy. If he changes his mind somewhere down the road & does jump in (it will depend on this groundswell continuing to tumesce) it will, for the second time in history, be Al Gore's race to lose.



Can he do it, folks?