When Did You Choose to be Straight?

Watching these straight people react to being asked a question that gay people have been asked forever is pretty delightful. If only more people were this empathetic and understanding...

This video was uploaded in 2008, 5 years ago. From the description of the video at YT:

Street interviews conducted by Travis Nuckolls and Chris Baker (ilovechrisbaker.com) in Colorado Springs prove that asking the right question can be more important than anything you can tell someone.

What more can be said?  Nuttin' honey.

And so it goes.
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For Those Readers using Blogger....

Lately, I have noticed that when I post a comment on a Blogger blog, it isn't published - at all. No moderation messages, the comment just vanishes into the ether.

I don't know if it's happening to this site, too, but I do have "moderate comments" turned on. I've tried to comment on JayinVA, anne marie in philly, Retired in Delaware, & My New Life, without success.

I've sent a note to Blogger to find out if there is a problem.  Stay tuned.

And so it goes.
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Response to a Bigot's Response to Marriage Equality

These people are dumber than a box of rocks.  No offense to the rocks. This delicious smackdown is from Delaware Liberal:

They are calling for the immediate repeal of the marriage equality law, I suppose not realizing that the 12 Senators and 23 Representatives are not going to repeal a law they fought hard to get passed. And apparently not realizing that once civil rights are expanded to new groups and classes of people, they are hardly ever rolled back. Indeed, the Hate Amendment in California is the only example I can think of, and even that attempt is about to be struck down as unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Here is a rescued comment from one Ecia. I moderated her (or his) comments on the prior Marriage Equality thread because she (or he) started spamming the thread with this drivel. But I decided to highlight this comment to reveal how bigoted and stupid the opponents of equality are.
Here is her (or his) comment:

Calling For Repeal SB75:
As The State Government has completely ignored the legitimate concerns of the People of Delaware, there is an urgent call for A Special Election to REPEAL SB75 or to do something to correct this unjust law that Desecrates God’s Word.

Let me stop you there. The General Assembly ignored your bigotry. They did not ignore the legitimate concerns of the People of Delaware. To the contrary, they addressed a very legitimate concern: equality for all. What is it with conservatives thinking they always speak for all the people of the state or country. And they loudly pronounce that they are speaking for all the people and all the people agree with them. They doth protest too much. They know their minority and bigoted views are not shared by the majority anymore and it scares the living shit out of them, so they have to scream louder that they do speak for all, I guess thinking that if you shout a lie loud enough and often enough it turns out to be true. But I digress…
Second, a special election? Did a Representative or Senator die or resign? No. So there can be no special election. But Ecia is talking about a referendum here. Thankfully, we don’t have referenda in Delaware. Not because I fear losing a referendum. In fact, the forces of good and equality would win such a vote. I just don’t think it is right to have a vote on someone’s rights. How would you like it Ecia if we voted on whether you could get married to the one you loved?

“A just law is a man-made code that squares with moral law or God’s law” If necessary, I am prepared to go to jail before complying with any law that so blatantly desecrates the most sacred gift from God, The Institute of Marriage.

Unless you are a Clerk of the Peace, as a citizen this law does nothing to you. It does not force you to comply with anything. You do not have to become gay married now. You do not have to become gay now. You even don’t have to stop hating gays now. But I guess because you are such a hateful evil bigot you are incensed that gays get to get married and live happily and be accepted in society now, and your living with that fact without doing something to stop it is “compliance” in your book. So go ahead. Do something stupid and violent. Get thrown in jail. Your incarceration will please me greatly.

Thankfully, these folks are dying off.  

Go and read the rest HERE. Some of the comments are quite funny, too.

And so it goes.

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Techie Success! Well Kinda, Sorta

I have been unable to get the (now, twice revived) PC to recognize the printer drivers, trying everything I knew to make it happen.  It's been a long time since I've been able to print anything. So today, I took a different tack.  Searched for any file remotely resembling a printer driver file and (depending on the date) deleted those most recent files.  Now, if you know MS Windows, you know that the fucking OS stores files in many places, and some are obscure, even unknown,  to the average user. Don't ask me why.

Being far from a techie geek, I made one last ditch effort to download the driver files and get the printer working again. Although the new driver is a generic one for all of this series of printers, I got it to work. I am back in the printing business and so far, no problems with the driver on my model.  No errors or bizarre characters appearing.  Just great, solid text.  That's all I wanted, anyway.

Of course, there's still the issue of the OS recognizing my programs that were functioning before the heart attack.  Stranger things have happened. So, for now, no Photoshop, Pagemaker, or Paint Shop Pro, but MS Office is working fine.  Well, of course it is,  silly - it's from Microsoft.

Have I mentioned how much I loathe Microsoft?  Oh, I did? Never mind. The only version of Windows that ran without a hiccup was Windows95. The plug and play was without a doubt the best thing about it, especially considering MS past and present. What went wrong?  Dunno and don't care.

It's time to set out on a search for a new computer as I start my 6 or 7 day work schedule next week. If this tired ol' body doesn't fall apart, I hope to put aside enough for a holiday (not enough for the Alaska cruise) and a new computer.  Probably will be a Mac. Yes, I hear the learning curve is steep, but those who make the journey never look back.  Besides, from what I hear and read, Windows 8 is a disaster and all new PCs come with 8 pre-installed. Sounds like a rerun of the MS Vista nightmare.  Oh Bitch, please!

It's been raining all day, so all the indoor chores are done - and the additional success with the printer - I am feeling pretty good.

Well, it's 5 o'clock somewhere and I smell olives. Cheers!

And so it goes.
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Delaware is Now a Marriage Equality State.

MARRIAGE EQUALITY IS THE LAW

May 7th, 2013 • Related • Filed Under

By Delaware Dem

The Delaware Senate has just passed HB 75, the Marriage Equality bill, 12 to 9. The vote went as we expected, with Senator Hall Long deciding at the last minute to vote yes. Thank you to her. I know I and others have been tough on her, and I know her vote was not needed and so she could have skipped it or not voted, but she stood up and voted to be on the right side of history. And thank you to Senators Blevins, Bushweller, Cloutier, Henry, Townsend, Peterson, Marshall, McDowell, McBride, Poore and Sokola for your votes today. We will have your back.

Just right of center, my Rep. Pete Schwarzkopf and to his left Gov. Jack Markell.

I couldn't be more proud of my state today. Pete has been an ally and friend for years and Jack threw himself into the equality debate even before running for office as governor.

And so it goes.

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No "Month of May - Pic of the Day"

A little something else, perhaps.  I've been swamped with work since the beginning of the month - what with the three-day Cinco de Mayopalooza and the crappy weather here, and all - so to make up for my tardiness, here are a few recent shots taken in the past week.  (Click to embiggen any image.) I usually have a Canon point-n-shoot camera in my bag where ever I go.  Something I learned from Ron (the dear) years ago.  Enjoy.

New construction by the lake.

On the bar while decorating for the holiday weekend.

The decorated Dining Room ready for the festivities.

Day 2 at the construction site. Lovely stone walk and some other structure going on.

After shift Martini, dontcha know!

Followed by a Grande Golden Margarita while awaiting the guys below.

Yes, Alaskan King Crab Legs - our Friday special.

Day 3 - Finished addition features a cute little pergula, I hope a bench or two will be forthcoming.

The poor little auto - covered in tree pollen.  Yes, it is a blue auto.

So, yeah, it's been quite a busy week.  The crab legs are one of my fave dishes at the restaurant. They're half-price on Fridays and I get my employee discount, so what's not to love. It's been months since I had them. Well worth the wait. The automobile shot was taken yesterday morning before work. As you can see, it had begun to drizzle leaving streaks in the coating of pollen.

Now that I've posted these shots, I just might have one myself.  No, no, the other kind. 

A Fine Way to Treat a Steinway!

I am mystified by the fact that I have to visit the site of  a British newspaper to get this kind of information. I suppose Honey-boo-boo, the latest celebrity bitch fights, Lindsey Lohan, and the marathon  bomber's wife are more important than salvaging one of America's Music Treasures. From the Daily Mail:

A white Steinway grand piano salvaged from musician Fats Domino's home after Hurricane Katrina has had its classic looks restored and will be the centerpiece of an exhibit in New Orleans' French Quarter.The piano was damaged after water poured through a broken levee during the August 2005 storm, flooding Domino's home in the Lower 9th Ward. Its restoration came through $30,000 donated to the Louisiana Museum Foundation.
The largest gift of $18,000 came from Allan Slaight, a retired music producer in Miami. Other donations came from Sir Paul McCartney, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Tipitina's Foundation.Greg Lambousy, director of collections for the Louisiana State Museum, described the restoration of Domino's piano as "painstaking" and a years-long process.‘It was in really bad shape,’ he said. ‘It had been submerged in water for weeks.’

 There are great pics at the link HERE, including a great shot of Fats in his prime, sitting at this very piano. Check it out.

And so it goes.
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Cinco de Mayo Withdrawal

At least for me it is over.  Served 256 diners at lunch yesterday and another 230 today. I am glad to be home and resting up after these last 3 days of fun and debauchery.  The restaurant broke records this year and everyone, and I mean EVERYONE was in a happy mood.

The weather was colder than expected, but a good time was had by all.  I had a great time wearing funny hats and chatting with regulars and newcomers alike.  Now my voice is shot and I am exhausted. Still, very pleased, none the less.

More later.
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Uncomfortable Caturday

Cat people can quite easily relate to this situation. Cats & boxes = perfect together. I'm still laughing.

More later.

Cinco de Mayo Weekend

Hola! The festive holiday weekend began today and I've been up to my cojones in early revelers   Believe me, they got an early start and with all the specials the locosguys threw out there, it's going to be quite a weekend.

I was pressed into service for an extra hour due to the volume of customers and those with reservations already made weeks ago. Yes, this holiday is that big. I had 8 servers on at lunch today and I could have used 2 more.  That's how coo-coo-roo-coo-coo paloma things were. They started pulling on the door a half-hour before we open. I mean, we're very visible from the windows as we vacuum and mop the floors and get the tables setup, but that didn't dissuade them one bit.  They wanted IN, period. We finally opened (when the floors were dry) 10 minutes early and it was pandemonium  from then on. I stopped taking reservations for the rest of the weekend by 1 PM today.

Unbelievable!  Really.

As I left the building at around 5:20, I toyed with the idea of having a festive cocktail at a Happy Hour someplace nearby, but quickly rethought that one when I saw the traffic on the tiny avenue. No matter where I chose to go it would not have been a relaxing, quiet environment, so I just walked home instead.  A wise decision, to be sure. Quiet here with a festive cocktail in hand as I prepare supper.  Oven fried chicken with snow peas and a salad are on the gay agenda this evening.

Before heading to work in the morning, I have to make a run for my Bombay Sapphire Gin. I am almost out and that's not acceptable in this home. Tomorrow promises to be even crazier than today, even at lunch.  I have 8 servers on again and double the kitchen staff, so all should run as smooth as glass.  But, we all know that can change in a heartbeat. I'll probably have to hang up on rude people who will be pissed that we cannot accept anymore reservations.  I'm used to that, and it's even fun sometimes. My bad.

And so it goes.
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Memories of Bloggerpalooza: A Marvelous Party

I started putting this together right after the bloggerpalooza back in March, but with the PC crashes and much electronic drama, I am only getting to post it now.  Brace yourselves.  If you don't know the original song, I feel better.  If you do, please be gentle with me.

With apologies to Sir Noel Coward. He may just strike me dead for this:

I went to a marvelous party With Cubby and Java and Spo
It was in the fresh air and we went as we were
And we stayed as we were for the show.
Jay started talking at daybreak and didn't stop talking til four.
We knew the excitement was bound not to bore
when Sassy got blind on Cosmos & more. And scratched his veneer
like a cheap common queer - I couldn't have liked it more!
I've been to a marvelous party. We played some wonderful games.
Anne Marie disappeared and returned in a hat we all had to guess "who is that".
Someone arrived wearing armour, shells and a black feather boa.
He must have been warm in that armour for soon he had opened the door.
Poor Mark wore a surrealist comb, made of bits of from St Peters in Rome
but the weight was ungodly almost ruined his photography - well I couldn't have liked it more..
I've been to a marvelous party. I must say the fun was intense.
We all had to do what the people we knew might be doing 100 years hence.
We talked of growing old gracefully and Ron, who's 70, and more out of brevity
said if you're supple you're not such a bore then before we could laugh or sneer
he swung upside down from a large chandelier - and I couldn't have liked it more..
It was the most wonderous excitement, I've never seen such carrying on
it couldn't occur anywhere but Delaware it was most peculiar.. one had to stare.
You know people's persona who's from Arizona would make you quite shocked and aghast.
So much variety watching society scampering happily past.
You know if you had any mind at all, Gibbons divine 'Decline and Fall'
well it sounds pretty flimsy no more than a whimsy by way of contrast on Saturday last.
I went to a marvelous party we didn't sit down until six.
The food was so tasty, a few got too hasty and ate til they almost felt sick. And I couldn't have liked it more..
I've been to a marvelous party -
Ron made an entrance quite Gay. With bags that were part of the play.
You'd never have guessed as he set up the rest that his brain had been whittled away.
Fred almost got fried on some wine and talked about esprit de corps.
 Everyone filled up their glasses And saluted ourselves as they clinked
We meeting this way made us all want to stay and enjoy some more talk and more drink.
We made our retreat back up to the suite enjoying great fun that would never be done
But done we were as the Cajun did stir wrenching his back and twisted his truss
he hated to go but knew that he must - HA HA! I couldn't have liked it more!

I think I hear the earth moving.  Please, Sir Noel, I meant no disrespect...

And so it goes.
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Holly Near: "I Ain't Afraid"

I slipped her "Edge" CD into the car  player yesterday, as I ran an errand before work (it's a great CD, BTW) and when this track began I had to pull over and listen.  I remember seeing Holly perform this at a conference I attended in Toronto back in July 2001, 2 months before the 911 attack. She even signed my copy of the CD. This is the cleanest video I could find on YT.  Enjoy.



And so it goes.
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