"Win, We Must…"

"For Our Cause Is Just…."    Stupid!

Have a look at this new poll, please:

37% of Mississippi GOPers Would Back Confederates in New Civil War.

A new Public Policy Polling survey found that 37 percent of Republicans who voted in the Mississippi primary runoff election between incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) and state Sen. Chris McDaniel (R) said they would back the Confederate side if there was another Civil War.

Let me hear it once more about the “new” South. Just as lost in the past as the Old South.

The rest is HERE.

And so it goes.

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Survey: Cat People are Smarter Than Dog People

I'll not say another word.  Only, pass the pop corn, this is going to be fun!  From Live Science:

SAN FRANCISCO — "Dog people" and "cat people" really do have different personalities, according to a new study.
People who said they were dog lovers in the study tended to be more lively — meaning they were more energetic and outgoing — and also tended to follow rules closely. Cat lovers, on the other hand, were more introverted, more open-minded and more sensitive than dog lovers. Cat people also tended to be non-conformists, preferring to be expedient rather than follow the rules.
And in a finding that's sure to spark rivalries among pet owners, cat lovers scored higher on intelligence than dog lovers. [Here, Kitty, Kitty: 10 Facts for Cat Lovers]
Part of the reason for the personality differences may be related to the types of environments cat or dog people prefer, said study researcher Denise Guastello, an associate professor of psychology at Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin, who presented the findings here at the annual Association for Psychological Science meeting.
"It makes sense that a dog person is going to be more lively, because they're going to want to be out there, outside, talking to people, bringing their dog," Guastello said. "Whereas, if you're more introverted, and sensitive, maybe you're more at home reading a book, and your cat doesn't need to go outside for a walk."
The researchers surveyed 600 college students, asking whether they would identify themselves as dog lovers or cat lovers, and what qualities they found most attractive in their pets. Participants also answered a slew of questions to assess their personality.

The rest is here.  Have fun.

More later.

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TMI: MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

From Sean @ Just a Jeep Guy…

1. Memorial Day is a day of remembrance but it also signifies the "Official" start of summer. What are your plans this weekend?

If the rains let up I hope to be out and about on the boardwalk people-watching and enjoying the ocean along with them.

2. What is your most and least favorite thing about summer?

Most favorite = seeing folks not seen since their holiday visit last summer.

Least favorite = Obnoxious, rude tourists. And we get plenty of them being a beach resort town.

3. What do you think of when I say "Bar-B-Que?"

Slow cooked meats, well seasoned and so tender it falls apart in your hands. Grilling is great and more common for things like burgers, steaks, corn on the cobb, shish-kabob.

4. What is your favorite summer food?

Summer produce like watermelon, fresh corn on the cob, ice cream and Italian ices. 

5. Are you is (in) swim suit shape yet?

Unfortunately, due to the meds I’m taking I have to stay off the beach and remain clothed.  A bummer for one living at the Ocean. But, I get my sunshine. The illness has cause such weight loss that I’m basically a rack of bones, anyway.

6. Given the choice, which do you prefer: ocean, lake or pool?

The Ocean is best.  Never a pool - too nasty. Lakes are way too cold for me - been there, done that - I shrivel up too quickly. No fun, that.

7. Which summer blockbuster movie are you most looking forward to seeing?

The only hot summer films around here at the big blowout super hero films. I am not interested in those.  Spandex makes me sneeze!

8. Summer reading: What? Recommendations?

I strted re-reading the dragons of Pern series again, and decided to continue reading the many others in the series. Anne McCaffrey loved her dragons and the world she created.  Great fun, and quick reading.

9. Vacation Plans? If you can't, what would you do if you could?

At this point I have to be transfused weekly which is hardly conducive to taking a break for any length of time. If I could, however, I would take an Alaskan Cruise, a restful visit to Amsterdam, and/or a trip to Northern Ireland to visit the new Titanic Museum. I not greedy!

10. Did you ever have to go to summer school?

No.

BONUS  

Sex on the beach?

Yes! The ocean and dunes between the Pines and Cherry Grove on Fire Island. I was 18 years old at the time. Ah, memories. (grin)

And so it goes.

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A Teaching Moment, or Two…

Today is the second day on the new antidepressant scrip.  The drug is a generic

version of something called Lexapro.  I Googled it. So far, it looks to have the same side effects and most others of its kind, so I’ll just have to watch myself and stop at the first sign of becoming a Stepford Wife.  Or something like that.

Spent another uneasy night followed by a morning of nausea and eventual vomiting. Showered and shaved which made me feel better, and hightailed it to the cancer center for the Lab work and the “teaching survey” related to the upcoming Chemo “Revlimid” which, it turns out I may receive before the weekend.  We shall see.

Results of today’s blood work are not bad; at least the numbers are steady and not rocking and rolling as in the past. In any event, I’m to receive one unit tomorrow morning, JIC another quick dip occurs over the weekend. I am to arrive at 7:45 am, so ought to be finished and unplugged by 11 am. Like I say, We Shall See!!!

The Revlimid must be a pretty toxic medication. Most questions and information related to straight men and women and their sexual desires. Seems Revlimid (lenalidomide) is in some way related to thalidomide, which as we all know caused thousands of birth defects 50 years ago, and which is why the sexual relationships are so important to address with the patient.  If they only knew! 

The survey was intensive and the company has a rigid followup policy. I must check in on their website on the same date every month I am taking the medication, to answer questions and bring them up to date on any possible adverse side effects that may surface down the road.

If I sound thrilled about this new drug, I’m not. As the saying goes, “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”  So what else is there to do?  Nuttin’ honey.

As I mentioned earlier, the CBC test results are steady, some even rose a tad, but from what I’ve read today Revlimid may take away that good news during the initial 2 or 3 weeks.  See why I’m not so thrilled about this whole thing?  

I guess it beats one or two of the alternatives, but only just.  I think I’ve said this before, but “We Shall See.”

And so it goes.

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Hungary Holocaust Memorial Day

Iron shoes are pictured on the bank of the Danube on January 27, 2012, marking the Holocaust in Hungary. Hundreds of Hungarian Jews had to leave their shoes on the bank before they were shot into the river by Hungarian militiamen during the World War II.

The United Nations declared in 2005 the Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27 to commemorate the 6 million Jews and other victims murdered by the Nazis.

And so it goes.

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"Never See The Likes of This Again!"

Here is the full version of that great short clip in "That's Entertainment"  featuring Eleanor Powell (the best tap dancing lady at MGM) and Fred Astaire (yes, we all know he's best) and it is truly a knock out, breathtaking dance number. And as Sinatra said in the film "it's not likely you'll see this any time soon."

Finding this video really made my day. The memories of the movie remain strong and make me very happy indeed.

Best Boardwalks In US: Rehoboth Ranks 6th.

And in some very good company, too.  The Boardwalk is only about a mile long and most of that is residential.  (Click the image to embiggen.) Only a small portion is devoted to games, rides, foods, and other entertainments. From National Geographic. Slide Show of the top 10, but with few details:

National Geographic released their top 10 list of the nation's best boardwalks on Wednesday. The choices read as a who's who (or what's what, if you will) of the country's amusement and recreation areas.

Atlantic City, not surprisingly, was named in the number one spot. It was called "the grandfather of boardwalks" by the magazine. The Associated Press notes that the boardwalk was built in 1870 as a way to keep the sand from beachgoers bodies from entering oceanfront hotels.

As if being voted one of the cleanest beaches in the country wasn't enough, this will (unfortunately) put tiny Rehoboth Beach on the tourist maps everywhere.  Oh, well.

And so it goes.
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The Magical Spo Shirt Traveling Show

The shirt arrived at my door under cover of darkness (literally)  from Ron at Retired in Delaware, on Christmas morning, and of course, we here on the Atlantic coast experienced another blizzard/nor'easter event over the next two days. And, well, if you've read the previous personal posts you know the rest.

The shirt is beautiful, comfortable, and fits perfectly, as you can see.  Funny thing, that.  Did you read that, Dr. Spo?

Received the address of the magical shirt's next stop.  It will travel from Delaware on the Atlantic coast to Oregon on the Pacific

Took the picture (click to embiggen) and plan to get the magical shirt on its way to the next destination tomorrow, which happens to be a well-deserved day off.  But, we'll see.  Yes, I am reviving the facial hair thingy, at least for a while (please be kind), and yes, those beads seem to be made for the shirt.

Truth be told, the beads were made 30 years ago by my nephew (God son) who passed away a few years ago and I cannot part with them. I usually wear them on his birthday - January 23rd - in his honor. He would love that they are part of this project. I love that I made them so.

Thanks to everyone who has already been part of this project, and to those who have yet to be touched by this insightful fund-raising idea.  Special thanks to the good Doctor for allowing me to participate in this effort.

And so it goes.
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Video: Top 10 Gay Moments of 2009

I have a few entries of my own, but this is all about popular culture, or whatever.

Granted, there were lots to celebrate, but there were also many political setbacks, so we ain't there yet. There is so much more to accomplish,then educate others, and pass along to the next generation.

They need to know what went down bef0re they arrived on the scene.
May it be so.

And so it goes.
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Do I Go For Brains or Body?

You Go For Brains and Body!

You like a guy who can make your heart melt with his smile... But he's got to have something in his head to really draw you in. You're not superficial - just honest!

Do You Go For A Guy's Brains or Body?

A Lotta good this knowledge does for me...

And so it goes.
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100 Things I Have Done, Or Not

Sent to me in an email, I am supposed to bold the things I have actually done and send it on. But this is much more fun. So, here goes.

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightning at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked – many years ago.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset – many times.
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise – (not yet)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors (not yet.)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied - didn't last long
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma – not allowed, I’m gay.
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job – more than once, the gay thing again.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person - saw it from the air once
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury - Twice
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby – um no, it’s the gay thing again.
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Ridden an elephant

Well that’s that. I didn't realize there were so many things I haven't done, or have no desire to do. I best get on with at least two of these: visit the birthplace of my ancestors, and take an Alaskan Cruise.

If you’re visiting and would like to play with this, too, feel free to copy and paste and add your own answers.

And so it goes.

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How Stereotypically Gay are You?

My Results:

You Are 38% Stereotypically Gay

 

You definitely have some stereotypically gay traits. You might set off a person's gaydar now and then. If you are not actually gay, you could be mistaken for gay from time to time. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

How Stereotypically Gay Are You?
Take More Quizzes

And so it goes.
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Me as Wine

You Are Chardonnay

Fresh, spirited, and classic - you have many facets to your personality. You can be sweet and light. Or deep and complex. You have a little bit of something to offer everyone... no wonder you're so popular. Approachable and never smug, you are easy to get to know (and love!). Deep down you are: Dependable and modest. Your partying style: Understated and polite Your company is enjoyed best with: Cold or wild meat.

What Kind of Wine Are You?

The Big Read: The Big Stupid

I thought this list had a ripe smell to it. Turns out this list isn't from the Big Read at all, just a mish-mash list compiled by whomever decided to send it out there. I wondered why the "Chronicles of Narnia" and " The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe" were listed separately and why the likes of Fahrenheit 451, Call of the Wild, and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter were omitted. Go directly to The Big Read to learn more about the program. Anyway, I spent a lotta time on this, so here it is.

The Big Read thinks the average adult has only read six of the top 100 books they’ve printed below.
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you read part of but never finished.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Strikethrough those you hope to never read again, and sometimes wish you could un-read.

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare (The Tempest, Measure for Measure, The Comedy of Errors, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, All’s Well That Ends Well, Twelfth Night / What You Will, Henry IV, part 1, Henry V, Richard III, Titus Andronicus, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Antony and Cleopatra, Cymbeline)
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Just got my new glasses, so I am ready to mark bold more of these suckers by Summer's end, but this time it will be from the BIG READ list.

And so it goes.
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A Simple Little Meme...

I’ve been tagged by Ken for this “get-to-know-you” meme. As usual there are rules and they are:

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

But since rules are meant to be broken. I shall not be following rule #3 as stated.

1) What was I doing 10 yrs ago?
Moved to the beach and found a job, began volunteer work to get involved in the community. My (then) partner stayed at his job in order to secure domestic partner benefits. He retired and moved here as well, the following year.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
1. Fill-up the car before work. (Whimper!)
2. Check for Itinerary of July trip. (Counting the days)
3. Balance checkbook.
4. Prep ingredients for slow cooker for tomorrow. (not done)
5. Try to figure out how to connect the VCR/DVD to DirecTV box. (not as easy as I thought.)

3) Snacks I enjoy: Pretzels, Cantaloupe, Grapes, peanut butter on saltines (from childhood) Cashews, Dutch licorice, and Dark Chocolate.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Set up a way to help low income senior citizens pay for whatever they need.
2. Support a local organization that supplies aid to mothers with little means and their infants.
3. Find and pay college tuition for high school seniors who otherwise would find a college education out of their grasp.
4. Take my dream cruise to Alaska and Australia, and visit Holland once more before I die.
5. Pay off my best friends debts and promote her writing.
6. Buy a townhouse in a gay-friendly community.
7. And I, like Ken, would Fund AIDS research.

5) Three of my bad habits:
1. Summer= Gin & Tonic; Winter= Perfect Manhattan
2. My snarky sense of humor.
3. Promoting the intrinsic worth of the BBC-TV series Torchwood to people who could care less. Oh, well.

6) 5 places I have lived: (in no order whatsoever…)
1. New Orleans, LA
2. NYC, NY.
3. Washington DC.
4. Greenwich, CT.
5. Flanders, NJ.

7) 5 jobs I have had: (in no order whatsoever…)
1. Radio actor.
2. Bartender.
3. Broadcast engineer.
4. Voice Actor.
5. Instructor for Fred Astaire Dance Studios. (their youngest instructor!)

5 bloggers that I wanna know more about:
There are several bloggers I would like to know more about. But since I dislike tagging I will tag only three.

Ron (Retired in Delaware – and loving it.)
Peter (home of great recipes and great information about the Netherlands.)
Mike (self absorbed, and good writer/photographer.)

There you have it, a few little factoids about boring little old me.

And so it goes.
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What Kind of Fruit are YOU?

You Are a Banana

You are mellow, easy going, and a total softie on the inside. People find it really easy to get along with you. You suit most tastes. And while you're very sweet, you're not boring or ordinary. You have an attraction to the exotic, and you could show up anywhere... doing almost anything! You are spirited, energetic, and a total kick to be around. You're also quite funny. Your sense of humor is on the goofy side, and it fits you well.

What Type of Fruit Are You?

And so it goes.
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Readability Test.

Well, that's about right for my communication needs. Make it readable for anyone and don't dumb it down.

More later.

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That Reader Survey

I find this hard to believe. By the results, one has to wonder how the five bookstores in my small town remain open. In the past year I haven't read as many books as in the previous year, but crisis, both health and life, were the culprits. I have read two of the three books I assigned myself for the summer and I've almost finished the third. I'm reading this one slowly, savoring every page.

And I wonder what "religious" books they're talking about here...would they be the wingnut "Left Behind" series, or the serious theological thought from the likes of Carter Hayward or Matthew Fox? I'm just sayin'.

AP: One in four adults say they read no books at all in the past year, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Tuesday. Of those who did read, women and seniors were most avid, and religious works and popular fiction were the top choices.

The survey reveals a nation whose book readers, on the whole, can hardly be called ravenous. The typical person claimed to have read four books in the last year -- half read more and half read fewer. Excluding those who hadn't read any, the usual number read was seven.

Read the whole thing here.
More later.
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