Posts Tagged ‘Barack Obama’

Lights Out!

Sunday, March 29th, 2009

Nothing like a nice Sunday evening dinner. Even though it’s what eat almost every Sunday, tonight’s pasta and chicken tasted quite good. Very filling, enough so, that I might take a walk after I write this tonight to walk it off. (not in slippers! 7:47PM)

Right now, Bill is behind me watching NCAA basketball, talking about the Tar Heels and how Barack Obama played a pick up game last year with the Tar Heels. Bill was just getting excited about the team going all the way and of course being the champions, invited to the White House to meet you know who.

I spent some time visiting Myrna Loy and William Powell this afternoon. Obviously not their real names, as both Loy and Powell have shuffled off this mortal coil sometime ago. Casey and the missus. Very pleasant time hanging out with the two of them.

Casey actually obtained a patent for something he invented which I won’t talk about here, but since you, the reader, is more than likely sitting in front of a computer screen, it could be of use to you, somewhere down the line. It was exciting to hear about it.

Casey made some chicken chili which I had a little bit of. It was good, hit the spot, but I had my own chicken at home. They came home to roost you see.

I watched the DVD Patti Smith: Dream of Life today. It was ok. I like her, met her a few times when I worked at Arista. It was my job to travel over to the studio where the Patti Smith Group were recording and give them their $1000 per diem.

That made them very happy to see me and got me a big hug from Patti herself. I also helped JD Daugherty win a lawsuit with a cartage company over a drum kit that was lost or destroyed. But I didn’t bring that up then.

The movie took ten years to make, but I thought it was disjointed, going from concert to interview to reminiscing to visits with her Mom and Dad down in South Jersey. Sam Shepard is in it, playing guitar with Patti. They used to live together in the Chelsea Hotel way back when. I did enjoy it more than What Just Happened.

Last night I threw in Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Still a hilarious movie. I threw it in for the Lenten season since Saturday Night Live was a repeat. Bill didn’t stay up for the end, but he sort of knew how it ended. I went to bed soon after.

Woke up to rain which it was supposed to do all day, but it didn’t. Still there was the threat, gray clouds and an overall dampness.

Last night wasn’t all about sitting in front of a screen. I did turn out the lights at 8:30. Actually before 8:30 and walked over to the river to see which lights would be turned off. Empire State Building and the old Met Life building on 23rd Street went dark, as well as the Chrysler building.

Didn’t notice much in the way of lights out throughout the rest of the Manhattan skyline, or in Hoboken. Here are some pictures though.

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Crocodile Rock

Monday, January 19th, 2009

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It’s a Monday, it’s Martin Luther King day and it’s a federal holiday. It’s been a pretty good day overall. A lazy day at that. A festive vibe is in the air, mainly from the inauguration of Barack Obama tomorrow.

I watched the HBO broadcast of the inaugural concert last night and I was entertained. Most everyone was good. Garth Brooks is a major hot dog though. Can’t say I ever liked him. He did appear to hang to the right which was a bit impressive. So that’s one aspect of Garth Brooks that I didn’t mind.

Bruce was great of course and Pete Seeger is a national treasure. A wonderful version of This Land is Your Land with Pete, Bruce and Pete’s son in law.

James Taylor was pretty good too. Renee Fleming singing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ hit all the right notes.

U2 rocked it with a two song set. They seemed very happy to be there, except for Larry Mullen who you can never tell if he’s ever happy. Too bad he’s the best looking member of the group.

There was a to-do about the omission of Gene Robinson and the invocation before the concert. HBO said it wasn’t their fault and that it was the Presidential Inaugural Committee’s decision not to include it in the broadcast. It was also reported that the speakers were turned off during the invocation.

Not that I care for the invocation or the magic words but Gene Robinson, the first openly gay, non celibate bishop of the episcopal church was supposed to be a salve for those of us that are STILL rankled by the choice of pRick Warren.

So perhaps there a few people in the inaugural committee who just aren’t down with gay people. I just hope this has no bearing on policy decisions down the line. I am trying to get into the swing of things, I am entitled to it. Especially after the money I donated and the time I spent working on the campaign.

Bill came over this afternoon and we watched the concert together as well as other reports from Washington DC. That’s all that’s been on TV all day today making me wish that I was down there. Of course it’s much too late for that and much too crowded for me and much too cold for Bill.

We’d stay with Billie in any event and probably would watch it from his house in the southwest part of the district. I guess I’ll watch it somehow at work. I’m sure the conservatives with the flat screen TV will be watching it and making snarky comments.

It was good being with Bill for a few hours. He definitely is a whole lot better that he was when I saw him last night. Still he wanted to take a two hour nap in our bed. I decided to take a nap alongside him but only lasted about 10 minutes when I was awoke by the sounds of a buzz saw a few doors down.

I watched Barack and Michelle Obama meeting an auditorium of volunteers at a high school in DC. That was really heartwarming. Heartwarming enough to last since I hadn’t read anything about pRick Warren in a few hours.

Here are some pics of the latest snowfall in Hoboken as well as some shots from the bus stop with Bill.
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and with pleasure, a final posting of this…

Bring Me Closer

Sunday, January 18th, 2009

It’s a Sunday and if you’ve been keeping score you probably knew that already. That means last night was Saturday and I’ll tell you what I did. Basically watched TV. Watched the DVR of the second half of last week’s Saturday Night Live which was ok, also The Office which was somewhat sad for Andy.

The showdown between Dwight and Andy for Angela’s had (or body) came to a head. I think Andy won the duel from driving under 5 miles per hour in his Prius and pinning Dwight’s legs to the shrubbery.

30 Rock was good though not one of their best, but of course the scenes with Alec Baldwin and Salma Hayek were the funniest.

I channel surfed and wound up on Back Beat, the 1994 movie about the Beatles in Hamburg with Stephen Dorff as Stu Sutcliffe and Sheryl Lee as Astrid Kirscherr and Ian Hart as John Lennon. The guy who played Paul McCartney was too tall, a few inches taller than Lennon but only trainspotters like myself would know or care about something like that. It was an enjoyable way to kill an hour or so, despite the movie being hokey at best.

After that I watched Saturday Night Live which had Rosario Dawson hosting and Fleet Foxes as the musical guests. I read about Fleet Foxes a lot lately in Mojo and Uncut, so apparently they’re big in England and only starting to make a splash here in the states, despite coming from Seattle.

I thought they were ok, a bit like Crosby, Still and Nash which if you like CSN you would probably like them. Me, I am fairly indifferent towards them. A bit twee as Lennon supposedly remarked when CSN tried to sign with Apple Records back in the day. Rosario Dawson was good but overall the show lacked.

Right now Jamie Foxx is doing an impersonation of Barack Obama on the HBO rebroadcast of the Inaugural concert this afternoon. Jamie Foxx is the new Vaughn Meade?

Betteye Levette is doing a duet with Jon Bon Jovi of Sam Cooke’s A Change is Gonna Come. I’m sorry but I don’t think Jon Bon Jovi should ever sing this song at all. Either in a duet or solo. It’s hard to imagine Jon Bon Jovi being oppressed and denied his civil rights.

Betteye should have kicked his butt off the stage. Nothing against Jon. I’ve met him, he’s a nice guy and I’m friends with his cousin.

This afternoon I made it into the city again, stopped by Farfetched and saw Harpy, this time working with Susan. Good to see Susan, both she and Lois are going through the stages of grief over the loss of their business. It’s a sad thing.

Have to get Susan a job somehow, as well as Harpy, Billie, Rita, Steve and various other friends who are presently out of work. Bill is still sick but a little bit better than he was yesterday.

I picked up 2 quarts (a half gallon) of chicken soup as well as a hero from Subway for Bill and walked over to Stuyvesant Town and dropped them off. I sat with Bill for a little while, then headed out and decided to finish the last of my La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero cigars which should make Harpy happy since I don’t think

I’ll be writing about them again any time soon. It was a difficult cigar, not an easy draw and I’ll stick to my Padron cigars from now on. Since I was smoking a cigar I decided to walk from 14th street and Avenue C to 32nd Street and Broadway and it was a good walk, listening to D’Angelo.

Got a seat on the Path train back to Hoboken where I ran into (or was almost run into) by Julio, Stine and Alexander. They were driving to Jersey City to see if they could see the US Air airbus in the Hudson River. Stine and I walked over to the river’s edge while Julio and Alexander stayed in the car. Couldn’t see much but I think I got one workable picture.

A little fuzzy but the US AIR airbus is right in the middle

A little fuzzy but the US AIR airbus is right in the middle

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Came back and took some more pictures of Alexander and Stine took a picture of Alexander and myself. Now I’m just watching the rebroadcast of the inauguration which was good, but still I’m glad to watch it here though I wish Bill were here to watch it with me.

I’m trying to get into the swing of the inaugural spirit but I can’t. The pRick Warren debacle just tarnished Obama in my eyes. I can’t help but feel spurned after the work I did for the campaign. And more and more bad news about pRick Warren keeps seeping out.

How the work against AIDS in Africa that Warren has done mainly consists of meeting up with anti-gay religious nut jobs who’s work counted on faith based initiatives and abstinence only programs that don’t do anything but offer the damaged hope that people just won’t have sex until they’re married as well as pRick Warren actively participating in the demonstration of setting condoms on fire which certainly doesn’t prevent the spread of HIV.

This seems to be the thinking that that is what the sky god from the iron age wants them to do. And I can’t omit the video of the Saddleback Church 25th anniversary celebration from 2005 where pRick Warren implores his followers to be like the followers of Hitler with their devotion to pRick Warren’s plan for the next 25 years of Saddleback douche baggery.

It seems that each time I inch closer to how I felt on November 5 some more news about pRick Warren emerges.

He’s a dangerous man and I still feel he is the wrong choice to deliver the invocation for the inauguration of Barack Obama, but then again I feel religion should have no place at all in the inauguration (or government) and we know that will never happen as long as the belief in an iron age sky god exists.

Old subway cars being sent off shore to be deposited into the ocean and hopefully create man made reefs.

Old subway cars being sent off shore to be deposited into the ocean and hopefully create man made reefs.

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this little guy makes everything worthwhile again....

this little guy makes everything worthwhile again....

Cindy Tells Me

Monday, December 22nd, 2008

It’s brutally cold out. No, really, it is. Last night it started to drop, the temperature that is. I watched Into the Wild last night.

It was directed by Sean Penn and starred Emile Hirsch, Catherine Keener and Hal Holbrook with William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden as the parents. It was very good and a few times I had to rewind it and watch due to being distracted.

I like Emile Hirsch, he was quite good as Cleve Jones in Gus Van Sant’s film, Milk. It has a sad ending though. A few characters in the movie seem to know where Chris/Alexander (played by Emile Hirsch) is going to end up.

Those were quite touching scenes, especially with Hal Holbrook. It’s recommended if you feel like being bummed out, which I try not to be. I wasn’t expecting a laugh riot though, I sort of knew what I was getting myself into.

Though if I didn’t already see Milk, I probably wouldn’t have made it a point to see Into the Wild.

After that I watched the last hour of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars on VH1 Classics. Not my favorite Bowie period but he certainly put on a show. I know my brother Frank saw him at Radio City on that tour, and so did Chaz and William Charas as well as my friend Jet.

I know 3 out of 4 left that concert changed beings. For me, David Bowie was way too outré for my simple tastes then. Elton John was the one for me. More accessible, more pop.

On Keith Olbermann is a recap of the year, mainly about Obama. It is Olbermann, so it’s the election basically. I’m still upset with the Rick Warren choice, but that’s merely a bump in the road. A mistake no doubt, and a mistake he wouldn’t have made, or at least change but that ain’t gonna happen.

So he’s not the Superman I had on my t-shirt. I still have hope for him and our country. And like the great Bayard Rustin said, “When an individual is protesting society’s refusal to acknowledge his dignity as a human being, his very act of protest confers dignity on him.” And Bill and I conveyed dignity upon ourselves on Saturday night.

Listening to Obama’s speeches, he is still inspiring. A much better choice than John McCain, that’s for sure.

This morning I woke up late. Too cold to get out of bed. I knew I was going to be late as I puttered about the apartment.

I dressed in layers, which meant a suit and tie with vest. And thermal underwear. I had some rubber soled shoes all ready to go and when I tightened the laces they broke. So I had to find another pair, which weren’t as warm as I had hoped.

My little piggies were freezing when I got to the office at 9:00. No one was in yet, the cold making everyone late.

No bonus this year, no holiday luncheon and that’s fine by me. I’m glad to still have a job.

Still chilly in the apartment right now but it’s getting warmer so I’m not complaining. It would be good if Bill were here, he emits body heat.

I thought I was going to meet Ann Boyles at McSwells tonight, but now it seems like I’ll head out to Glen Ridge, maybe on Friday if that’s alright with them. Ann is supposed to be around until Sunday so that might work out just fine.

Now I have to say hello to Ann Louise Boyles Paterson for bhikkhu and Harpy.

It’s a burden, such a burden, oh what a burden, to be so relied on… That was by Brian Eno.

Times of Your Life

Friday, December 19th, 2008

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I am terribly disappointed in the choice of Rick Warren to say the invocation or the magic words at Obama’s inauguration. I too supported Obama, donated my time volunteering and donated money that I could have used for myself and my partner of 8 years.

I have stopped being a member of Obama Pride when it seems too hypocritical for gay people to continue in that Facebook group.

To have my relationship as well as millions of others relationships compared to incest, bestiality and pedophilia and then have the person as an honored member at your inauguration is really too much of a slap in the face to those of us in same sex relationships.

Obama claims we can disagree without being disagreeable, and by saying that it seems to me that the incest, bestiality and pedophilia comments are not disagreeable to him.

After years of being told by Warren and his ilk, that we are sinful in our love, not to mention his positions on a woman’s right to choose, and stem cell research as well as his attacks on atheists, to see Barack Obama embrace such a person really hurts and looks like an endorsement. It really is terrible and it hurts.

Does his team really think that an LGBT marching band will heal this open wound? Wouldn’t Rev. Peter Gomes, Harvard theologian and chaplain who did the invocation for Reagan and Bush I have been a better choice? I cannot understand how a person can unite by embracing a ‘person’ such as Rick Warren who spews nothing but hateful words about a large group of Obama supporters.

Posted at http://change.gov/page/content/GeneralDiscussion/

No. After donating my time and money to the Obama campaign, for him to turn around and embrace someone who considers same sex relationships to be evil sinful and akin to bestiality, incest and child rape, to invite him to say some magic words at his inauguration is just wrong and I withdraw any further support.
Let his new friends at Saddleback Church pick up the slack.

Posted at http://www.365gay.com/news/calif-gay-rights-leader-rejects-inauguration-invite/#

I helped build the most powerful and effective grassroots movement in America. You picked someone who considers my relationship as well as millions of others to be tantamount to incest, bestiality and child molestation to perform the invocation.

I suggest you ask the parishioners of the Saddleback Church for any more money, for you will not be getting any funds from this disillusioned supporter.

Kindly refrain from sending me any more emails regarding Barack Obama. I have donated my time and my money for his election, but I will not sacrifice the pride I have in my same sex relationship.
Good-bye.

In response to:
John –
You helped build the most powerful and effective grassroots movement in America.
Now, you’re helping to define how this movement will support President-elect Obama’s agenda and continue to bring the change we need.
BREAK
Between now and Barack’s inauguration, we’ll continue to collect your ideas and feedback.
After the inauguration, we should be able to announce a clear plan for the future of this movement — a plan determined by you.
Thanks for being a part of this journey to bring about change in the years to come,
David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, How was the play?
It’s been a pretty good day. Feeling more in the holiday spirit than I’ve been lately.

Bill came home last night, if only for an hour or so. It was just really great to have him here. I missed him, missed being able to hug and kiss him without care. He tried to set up my computer with the wireless but he couldn’t do it either.

I didn’t mind, I wasn’t upset. I have been using his Mac for so long now, a couple of weeks already that going back to the small screen almost feels like a step backward. But it’s not my computer, it is Bill’s and though he doesn’t mind, I should get back to it.

Got the presents en route to California. One gift inside was purchased before my sister Annemarie issued her edict on no presents this year. By writing this I expect to head her off at the pass so I won’t hear ‘Oh You shouldn’t have. Really…’ in her sweet dulcet tones.

No hanging with Pedro last night, no heading out to see Ann Boyles at Meghan and Jim Mastro’s house tonight. Meghan is a bit ill and it’s really ugly outside.

Rain, sleet and snow and I almost broke my neck outside walking down the street so I’m staying home. Oh well.

Rebel Waltz

Thursday, December 18th, 2008

Well I am in a much better mood, still angry with the Obama team though, and with him, himself. Today he commented on the Rick Warren pick for the invocation and one particular ting that Obama said stuck I my craw.

He mentioned that we can disagree without being disagreeable. That’s all well and good.

For me to disagree is like this, “I support same sex marriage” someone else, “I do not support same sex marriage”. To me that is how people disagree as an example.

Disagreeable could be seen as “I support same sex marriage” someone else, “I think same sex marriage is just like bestiality, child rape and incest between a brother and a sister”.

This is the reasoning that Barack Obama uses to explain why he picked Rick Warren to say the invocation for his inauguration.

Where is this atmosphere that Obama speaks of that he would like to create? What type of atmosphere could exist between a group of people that love each other and want the SAME RIGHTS THAT HETEROSEXUAL COUPLES GET, and a group that says that we are going to molest their children, we can’t be trusted to teach in schools, we spread disease (thanks Dad) and we are all going to hell.

One group advocates love and equality and another condemns and shames. What type of atmosphere will exist in such a vacuum?

It really is a sickening feeling that someone who actively courted the gay vote and dollars thinks it’s all right for Rick Warren to grace his inauguration. An inauguration that I worked towards, millions of people worked towards and donated money to. And then to hear from some ‘allies’ saying we’re making too much of a big deal out of it.

Obama’s people are claiming to be all inclusive. If that’s so, can we expect to see representatives from the Ku Klux Klan and Aryan Nation, maybe even some Black Israelites, and the Army of God up on the stage with Obama and Warren?

No we know that’s not what’s going to happen, because when you boil it down, it’s perfectly all right to treat LGBT like shit.

C’mon, it’s true. Everyone hates LGBT people, it’s the one thing christians, jews and muslims can all agree on. And atheists are hated too. I am doubly cursed!

The right wank is gloating over this of course, claiming liberals (read gays) are so intolerant of different views. I know it’s not the case, we just resent having our relationships compared to child rapists.

I ran into Casey Chasm on the bus this evening and he suggested that the whole Rick Warren fiasco is a distraction from the fact that the economy is getting worse than was originally imagined.

That may be true and it also maybe much like a Monty Python sketch where a door to door salesman is trying to get a couple interested in a home made TV show.

When the couple’s attention span is on the wane, a mollusk is tossed out described as a filthy, disgusting pansy which gets the couple riled up enough to curse and stomp on said mollusk.

So the economy is in the toilet and people are tired of hearing about it…hey, look! A homosexual! How disgusting is that? Something everyone can rally around and hate with all of their hearts and the justification of their religion to feel like that.

Much like religion was used all those years ago when it was against the law for Barack Obama’s parents to marry.

Obama’s people are saying that it’s a balance since Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery is going to deliver the benediction at the inauguration.

Dr Lowery has long been a supporter of civil rights for ALL people whereas Rick Warren, aka Falwell in a Hawaiian shirt actively works to take civil rights away from certain people.

That is the face that the Obama administration wants to present. A balanced face like Bell’s palsy. Yeah, I am still pissed off.

The day wasn’t all about being fired up though. I heard from Maurice Menares and that was a good laugh. He’s in Oregon married with a kid. He’s doing well and working for Adidas.

He suggested looking him up if I find myself on the west coast. I mentioned Arcata and a sketchy plan of perhaps going out there for my nephew’s graduation next year. A side trip to Oregon, is it possible? It all remains to be seen.

I had to run an errand to Chinatown this afternoon and I finagled that into a detour to Farfetched where I picked up a present or two for Bill and some cards for the nieces and nephews.

There was also a plan to hook up with Pedro but he backed out due to the incoming snowstorm which is expected to leave a foot of snow in Otisville making his return home that much more difficult.

I was also supposed to go visit the Mastro’s where Ann Boyles is supposed to make an appearance like Mary on a half shell but I haven’t heard anything about that. So it’s all up in the air, but at least I am home and happy.

I would be happier if Bill were here driving me up the wall, but we do have a plan to take part in a demonstration on Saturday night for Marriage Equality. That could very well turn into an anti Rick Warren/No Thanks Obama rally.

It doesn’t look like Obama is going to do a thing about it and Rick Warren has congratulated Obama for taking a stand AGAINST the people that voted him into office. A stand against the LGBT community, women, and science.

After eight fucking years of having the religious right shoved down our throats, Obama’s people decide to open the show with a nutjob with left over, reheated bull fucking shit not that different than James Dobson, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson and the shit sleaze they had to say.

Remember, according to Falwell and Robertson, 9/11 was a reckoning for LGBT people and women having the right to choose. Meet their devil spawn, Rick ‘Purpose Drivel Strife’ Warren.

Hell hath no fury like an LGBT community/women/scientific community scorned.