Somewhere Over the Rainbow

OK, which one of you Queens is right now admiring your newly adorned feet in the mirror? Judy Garland's Famed Ruby Slippers Stolen

Where Can I Get Me Somma Those?

I just had to post this. This piece is taken from an article a friend forwarded to me. I don't think there's much more to say. Well other than - I LOVE IT! Bill Moyer, 73, wears a “B.S. Protector” flap while President Bush addresses the Veterans of Foreign Wars at their 106th convention Monday in Salt Lake City. Moyer served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Veterans wearing "B.S. Protector" ear flaps sat silently in the audience of the 106th convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Monday in Salt Lake City while Bush tired to compare his failed war in Iraq to both world wars and other great conflicts of the 20th century. Applause during Bush's speech was both muted and scattered. For the full article: http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7262.shtml If anyone knows where I can get a pair of these, let me know.

On the Radio

I’ve been finding myself listening to more and more talk radio these days. I’ve rarely listened to the radio over the past several years anyway but these mostly were music stations. I just couldn’t buy into any of the crap music being shoved down our throats. A few months ago I bought a Delphi MyFi XM2Go unit and subscribed to XM Radio. I absolutely love it! I don’t even really listen to my Dell Jukebox much anymore. At first I was devouring all the music I could that I would rarely hear otherwise, Blues, Latin, Reggae, Country and even some Classical and a few Showtunes now and then. Over the past few weeks though I can’t seem to move from channel 167, Air America. I’d been listening to it from time to time streaming. Now it’s the Al Franken Show in its entirety, the Majority Report with Janeane Garafalo and Sam Seder in the afternoon. Sometimes I’ll even catch a little Jerry Springer and Randi Rhodes. It’s easy to listen on the road right now that I’ve had long commutes to and from work. It’s easy to listening at my desk while I plow through paperwork. This morning when the radio turned on in my car it was on KFI, I guess I was checking the traffic yesterday. Anyway, Rush Limbaugh was on. I decided to listen for a few minutes. It’s always good to listen from time to time to one of these idiots just to see what is being said, I think. He was talking about how divided the Democratic party was. He kept hounding on the fact that “those people” only care about one thing – hating Bush. He went on to say, Democrats fail to see that the election is over, Bush is not running for anything. Therefore, according to Rush, it is pointless to dislike what he is doing and that the party’s efforts should be concentrating on banding together and working towards a common cause. I hate to admit it, but he does have a point. I hear a lot of lies being divulged, mistakes being pointed out, cover ups being exposed and corruption, corruption, corruption talked about to death. What I don’t seem to be hearing is enough about what we should be doing about it. Yes, we should all keep ourselves up-to-date with day-to-day news. Yes, we should talk about it with each other. But beyond all of this, what is really being discussed about getting the party strong, finding good leadership and taking hold of the reigns? I once heard someone say when discussing the gay community, “Where’s our Malcolm X or Martin Luther King?” Today we need one of these for the Democratic party. Until this happens, what scares me is that the GOP is organized and I don’t see this changing unless someone steps up against them. Who is that going to be and when?

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

5 days. Five days. FIVE DAYS. There IS nothing more that warrants contemplation for me right now… …for once.

Stop! You are in Violation of the Law!

Last night while I was perusing my mail I came upon a piece from the City of Los Angeles. Inside was a bright red notice stamped “Delinquent Status”. The letter says that I have failed to satisfy parking citations AND that they have notified the DMV to withhold renewal of my vehicle registration pending resolution. The best line is the following, and I quote: “If you have delinquent citations, your vehicle may be seized.” The amount they say I owe is $110, $17 for a Collection Fee and another $93 for Fine and Penalty. This is for a parking ticket I received on June 3rd. Funny how the city is right on top of anything that is owed to them. When I got this ticket it had actually been quite a while since my last one. I believe it had been over a year since my last, which is pretty rare when living in LA. So, I specifically remember when I paid this one. The ticket said that you could now pay it online. Of course that was my first choice so I logged on and quickly found out there was a $2.00 Processing Fee. Absolutely not, will I pay this fee! Tell me, who processes the payment if you mail it in? Jesus! Next, there is an option to pay by phone. I dial the number and guess what? Yes, another $2.00 Processing Fee. Not gonna do it! It’s principle, dammit. So, I search the house for stamp. Take out my checkbook, and write out a good old fashioned check. I make sure to include the citation number on the check. Then, I place it in the envelope, which is conveniently the ticket itself! Wow, how thoughtful. It’s even pre-addressed! Lovely. The next day, off it goes, into my work “Outgoing US Mail” box. Last night I thought there was a chance it may have gotten lost in the mail. What would happen then? Damn me and my damn principles! I should have just paid the fucking two dollars! Today I look at my checking account online and there it was, check number 1074 for the amount of $45.00, negotiated on June 23rd. I place an order for a copy. The bank has a $3.00 Check Copy Fee. Fuck. Moral of the story, kiddies? When you have a choice, always pay online and get that confirmation number. This is not only going to cost me $3.00 but I now will have to go spend time and money getting this straightened out. Oh yeah, and the kicker is nowhere on the notification does it say anything about what to do if the notice was sent in error. It gives you a choice to Pay by Web, Pay by Phone, By Mail or In Person. The “In Person” option is only a cashiering office. Good luck trying to get it resolved there. In any event, I am going to make sure this gets resolved and that the DMV is notified of their error. I SHOULD get my $3.00 back that I had to pay to get the check copy. Mmm hmmm, that’s gonna happen.

Twelve Days of Escrow

Dollar Bills Y'all

I was awakened this morning by the sonic boom from the Space Shuttle re-entering the atmosphere. It was a few minutes after 5:00 AM. The two back-to-back sounds were so loud, bass-y and strong that I instantly knew it was something strange; not a gunshot, earthquake or lightening. Laura said it was the sound of the shuttle coming in. I didn’t believe her. We turned on the news and got to see the shuttle actually land live. Very dark outside still but really cool. I have to admit, for the first time in this entire episode of space mission, I was sucked in. Usually our visits to space are of interest to me. Right now though, with the war going on I just can’t justify it in my mind. We’re spending all this money on, what seems to me, unnecessary expenses. This morning on Air America, Al Franken’s show specifically, he mentioned the tax cuts that took place for that “1%” of our population. Supposedly this is the first time in World history that a government has given a tax reduction during a time of war. Doesn’t it make you wonder where all this money we're spending is coming from? Does our government even consider the debt its leaving behind to the next generations? I remember when I was a kid and was visiting my Grandparents over a summer. Their water heater died. My grandfather went into his bedroom and closed the door. Next thing you know, we’re going to the hardware store and he buys a new one – with cash. No checks, no credit cards, no in-store financing. My grandfather used to say, if you don’t have the money, you don’t buy it. Plain and simple. Wow. Can any one of us even fathom living our lives this way? I’m about to sign on the dotted line, well many, many dotted lines, and set myself back just under a quarter of a million dollars. This is the way we invest in our future these days, you see. What would my Grandfather be saying if he were here to witness this? He paid cash for the house my Dad grew up in up in Stockton, California. I seem to recall the figure of $4000 but I could be a little off on that. It was a 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house on a decent sized lot. It had a huge basement that was probably the size of the house itself. The city bought it from my Dad and his brother and sisters to build a freeway over it at some point in the late 1980’s. I believe they got around $60,000 for it. Wow, just call me Tangent Girl today. My point is money and I suppose this is all at the forefront of my mind since I’m only 18 days away from committing myself to the biggest debt I’ve ever had in my life. Someone needs to tell me I’m doing the right thing. Ugh!

Gay Marriage Speech by Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero

I can't believe I just barely saw this today and it's over a month old. It definitely deserves to be preserved in my journal. Pass it along to anyone you think should see this. GAY MARRIAGE SPEECH by Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero; July 01, 2005 [When the Spanish parliament yesterday took its historic vote legalizing both gay marriage and adoption of children by gay couples, Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero -- who put the full prestige of his office and party behind passage of the gay human rights legislation -- made one of the most remarkable speeches in favor of full equality for those with same-sex hearts ever delivered by a head of government anywhere. Here are excerpts from Zapatero's speech -- Doug Ireland] "We are not legislating, honorable members, for people far away and not known by us. We are enlarging the opportunity for happiness to our neighbors, our co-workers, our friends and, our families: at the same time we are making a more decent society, because a decent society is one that does not humiliate its members. "In the poem 'The Family,' our [gay] poet Luis Cernuda was sorry because, 'How does man live in denial in vain/by giving rules that prohibit and condemn?' Today, the Spanish society answers to a group of people who, during many years have, been humiliated, whose rights have been ignored, whose dignity has been offended, their identity denied, and their liberty oppressed. Today the Spanish society grants them the respect they deserve, recognizes their rights, restores their dignity, affirms their identity, and restores their liberty. "It is true that they are only a minority, but their triumph is everyone's triumph. It is also the triumph of those who oppose this law, even though they do not know this yet: because it is the triumph of Liberty. Their victory makes all of us (even those who oppose the law) better people, it makes our society better. Honorable members, There is no damage to marriage or to the concept of family in allowing two people of the same sex to get married. To the contrary, what happens is this class of Spanish citizens get the potential to organize their lives with the rights and privileges of marriage and family. There is no danger to the institution of marriage, but precisely the opposite: this law enhances and respects marriage. "Today, conscious that some people and institutions are in a profound disagreement with this change in our civil law, I wish to express that, like other reforms to the marriage code that preceded this one, this law will generate no evil, that its only consequence will be the avoiding of senseless suffering of decent human beings. A society that avoids senseless suffering of decent human beings is a better society. "With the approval of this Bill, our country takes another step in the path of liberty and tolerance that was begun by the democratic change of government. Our children will look at us incredulously if we tell them that many years ago, our mothers had less rights than our fathers, or if we tell them that people had to stay married against their will even though they were unable to share their lives. Today we can offer them a beautiful lesson: every right gained, each access to liberty has been the result of the struggle and sacrifice of many people that deserve our recognition and praise. "Today we demonstrate with this Bill that societies can better themselves and can cross barriers and create tolerance by putting a stop to the unhappiness and humiliation of some of our citizens. Today, for many of our countrymen, comes the day predicted by Kavafis [the great Greek gay poet] one century ago: 'Later 'twas said of the most perfect society someone else, made like me certainly will come out and act freely.'" [Thanks to valiant gay journalist Rex Wockner for providing this translation.]

War on Ignorance

Any takers for my $100 bet that we invade Iran? I’ve been asking this for some time now to no avail. Hell, at this point I’ll even go out on a limb and give it a timeframe. Hmm, let’s say by the end of this year. The bigger question is who do we have left to send over there at this point? The government is doing its best to grab bodies. The military has raised the age limit for enlisting. The Reserves and the National Guard went from 34 up to 39. Now the Pentagon wants to raise the Military enlistee age limit from 35 to 42. Women in the military are being put on the front lines. Not that I’m necessarily against this, but why all of the sudden now? Bush even proposed an increase to the current “death-gratuity” that is paid out to the families of service members killed in combat. The payment would increase from the current $12,420 to $100,000. Life insurance benefits would also increase. The proposal is written to be retroactive to the beginning of the invasion of Afghanistan. Even with all of this, enlistment is substantially down. Hmm, I wonder why. How long is it going to take until we finally wake up and accept the fact that this is not going to end, we are not going to be victors and at least the next couple of generations, assuming we last that long, will reap the hostility of the rest of the world all due to our passion for ignorance? Our entire country at this very moment should be shaking in its boots over the bullshit propaganda we’re now being fed. Either you’re afraid that Iran is going to use all their miraculous, and yet somehow just conveniently recently discovered, weaponry to reek havoc on all of us OR you’re not a fool and are just scared shitless because you see the writing on the wall: Onward Troops! To the next oil producing land! There’s a great BBC article today on the EU Iranian Trade Agreement that Iran is reviewing. Here’s an excerpt: Although there is plenty of unease, there is no clear proof of Iran's military intentions or of the danger they might represent. A recent US intelligence assessment backed away from a previous estimate of five years and now guesses it might take 10 years for Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. And then there is the question of consistency. Iran repeatedly asks why the US is prepared to improve relations with other countries, such as India and Pakistan, that have acquired nuclear weapons in flagrant disregard for international safeguards, while Iran, which it claims has abided by its obligations, is treated like a pariah. Well, that seems like a logical question to me! For the entire article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4125624.stm. If we take this one step further, what the hell ever happened to North Korea? I’ll tell you what happened. No, better yet, let me show you: Get the picture now? So the question remains… who wants to take my bet?

Chaka was CaCa

I was engulfed in the reason I live in LA last night. Setting: Stars (albeit in the smoggy sky), warm weather, a great bottle of wine, a front and center view of the Hollywood sign before my eyes and music in an oasis setting but smack dab in the surroundings of the 101 and Hollywood. Yes, I’m referring to a summer night at the Hollywood Bowl with my best friend. Chaka Khan and Gladys Knight and great bands backing them up. It’s too bad Chaka fucked up her songs. I really went there wondering why the bill was her before Gladys but left with my answer. I don’t know what she was on but she couldn’t sing her songs to save her life. She butchered them and always cut to her signature screaming. Her voice is still great but she just wasn’t really following the program. I was mad. Gladys on the other hand was a huge surprise. I knew I wanted to see her but never thought I would enjoy her show as much as I did. She said she was taking us on a musical journey, and she followed through. She’s a legend, indeed and just won the BET Lifetime Achievement Award this year. She looks great, she sounds great and she has a great stage persona. If you haven’t seen her you really should. Unfortunately the most memorable part of the night was not the music. Well at least not what was coming from the stage, that is if it can be labeled as such. For more on that, see kerouacgal ‘s entry. Ah LA, I love you. I can’t wait to move back, good and close.

Welcome to the Neighborhood

Last night I was invited to my new home by the present owners. I knew the man was a former soap actor but that was it. When I got there, they both looked familiar but I was never a big soap follower so I didn’t really think anything of it. More on that later. I get there and this instant feeling of calm overtakes me. Here is my house! MY house! And in 26 days, I will be living here. I love this place. Every time it’s been a while since I have seen it, I begin to think I may have grand delusions in my head of how great this place is. Then, I get there. Nope. Not at all. It’s the best place I looked at in all my searching. So I’m thinking I’m feeling good because I’m in my house again. That was only part of it. This couple was the other part. They both were warm and welcomed me in while apologizing for the mess (they were packing). The purpose of this invitation was to meet and discuss what I would like them to leave behind. They own a home in New York. Correction, they own a mansion in New York and are going to live in it for a while. The man got a film that he’s starting soon. Shooting is in NY. Usually he works out of LA. Anyway, they are trying to take as little as possible since their home in NY is already furnished. They have a lot of really nice things and I love the way the place is decorated. The man is also a painter and has his work all over the walls. I told him he was welcome to leave his paintings. He laughed. Oh well, I tried. Other than that, they practically gave me anything I wanted. I had to really hold back because there were a few things I knew were pretty valuable but I just didn’t feel right about keeping; especially since I had furniture of my own. For example, they have a one-of-a-kind coffee table made out of an original fixture from the Walt Disney Studio lot. (They both worked on ABC soaps.) I ended up keeping a couple of bookshelves, a grill, patio furniture, lamps, a mirror, and this cute little cabinet for keys that caught my eye the first time I walked in there. After this is settled, they decide to show me all the little quirks about the place: What to do if the sliding French door ever gets sticky, Why the hall cabinet only opens halfway and so on… Then, they tell me about all the great places there are to shop, eat, and visit within walking distance. It’s obvious they really love and are going to miss their home. They told me they decided to go with me on the recommendation of their agent, who is a friend and because of the letter I wrote when I made my offer. They really wanted someone who they felt would love the place like they did. In fact, they said that if their lives brought them back out to LA they would try to buy another unit in the co-op. There is a unit above me and I once saw an older man on his balcony. I asked them about him and the couple begins to tell me how great he and his wife are. Before I know it, they’re taking me upstairs to meet the neighbors. They were right. This older Armenian couple open the door and the women begins to cry when she see us. The neighbors have really thick accents but say that they don’t want the sellers to leave. I am introduced to them and they apologize for their behavior and welcome me to the neighborhood. We’re all invited to sit down and out of nowhere all this food appears; homemade Armenian desserts and Armenian coffee. God, this stuff melted in my mouth. Their daughter happened to be visiting with her children and she begins to translate for them. They tell me that if I ever need anything at all, to knock on their door. We stay and get to know each other for close to an hour and I hear all about life in the co-op. How the neighbors are, where the fruit trees are and when the best time to pick from them is. The neighbors have this plush Concord grapevine growing on their balcony and they tell me that if it gets to be too much below, they will cut it back. What they don’t know is that the women already has shown me the hooks she placed in the overhang above the patio below where she strings the vines and intertwines clear lights when she has her dinner parties! Before I know it what was meant to be a 30-40 minute meeting with the sellers turns out to be a 2 ½ hour introduction to the complex. After leaving the neighbor’s we return to “our” unit and the man gives me a copy of a book that’s been published on his charcoal drawings. I ask him to sign it. As I start to leave, the couple gives me their phone numbers and tells me to call them if anything at all ever comes up once I’m moved in. I give them mine too. We all hug and I leave there on an absolute high. It doesn’t occur to me until later in the evening that things actually do happen for a reason; I was meant to find this place and they didn’t know they were selling until later on this year. So, back to the familiar faces. Today I IMDB’d both of them. They were both part of the original cast of that old soap called Loving. There are only two soaps I ever really followed, Santa Barbara (I had a crush on Mary) and Loving. As soon as I find out who the man played it clicked. It was him, he’s just a little older now. The woman and he meet on that soap! Between the two of them, they pretty much made the soap circuit: Loving, Another World, All My Children, One Life to Live. Who would have known back when I was in high school that I would buy Officer Mike Donovan’s house one day!