Who knew that the creator of “The Sifl & Olly Show” was a musical genius who has met two Beatles? Certainly not i.
Is there something wrong with me if i used to really love that show in high school but did not smoke any pot?
Bunny-Hunting
Easter does not rank amongst my preferred holidays, maybe because the Easter Bunny is not as powerful a social phenomenon as the Jackolantern or the Thanksgiving Turkey. Face it: it’s a day about the son of god coming back from the dead that is merrily glossed over with pagan egg hunts so that it’s not the religious equivalent of Thriller.
I typically spend Easter hiding from my family. This makes it, in effect, no different than any other day of the year. Past tactics have included unplugging my phone, celebrating passover instead, or having my boss invite me to her house for dinner. This year i decided that the best place to hide would be in plain view, so i invited myself, Elise, and four friends to dine at chez-krisis. The plan was that my mother would be overwhelmed by trying to chat like the merrily socially well-adjusted woman she is that i would escape largely unquestioned and unscathed. My mother, after freaking out for three weeks because she’s never had that many people in her house for an occasion not related to a funeral, seemed to take the planning of the event in stride and with only mild outbreaks of frantic chain-smoking while attempting to invoke the maternal instinct for hosting that she’s let lay dormant for all these years.
It went off nearly without a hitch. I was chastised repeatedly for serving cocktails to my guests before dinner, and told i need to seek alchohol counseling when a single drunken exploit was highlighted in conversation, but was otherwise left unquestioned about my finances, job hunt, and ever-mysterious FUTURE. It was small, as dinners go and, as is typical of such events in my family, consisted of a majority of Italian food and no turkeys, greens, hams, or yams. What wasn’t typical was that i got to enjoy the company of both my friends and my family, which made it much more festive for me.
We ended the night with copious Italian pastries and a marathon of Trading Spaces. Pretty much an ideal day.
I have to wonder what i’ve been doing with myself when i look here to see so much empty space. This is supposed to be my one true love, as much as looking in a mirror is. Right?
Ahh, but i am too tangled in this crazy race towards graduation, now a mere eight weeks away, trying so hard to escape. What is there to talk about? Met with Advisor X today, meeting Advisor Y & Z tomorrow, avoiding Advisor Q like the plague. Conducting interviews with people from China and Brazil (know any?) for two classes, designing an entire new domain for a third, and reading lots of books for a fourth. And Senior project, endlessly revising the same damn outline, trying to make my thoughts make sense in a tangible way that can be graded.
Two news songs mixed … a complete Moscow, Idaho as well as a drummed-up Bucket Seat (on which the vocals seem totally out of place).
Forthcoming: new apartment, new job, no more school.
Also via Jillmatrix: A new Pennsylvania law on adoption that carried amendments that would have eliminated domestic partner benefits for state employees was stripped of the amendments shortly before the bill was passed on to the Senate by the PA House of Representatives earlier today.
The amendments, sponsored by State Rep Jerry Birmelin (Wayne), were introduced under the guise of shoring up the state’s defense against the nation’s current rash of gay civil unions. Brief background article here. This article does a good job of explaining what the intent of the actual bill is regarding adoption.
Philadelphia City Council voted unanimously to oppose Birmelin’s amendments. This article is the most comprehensive one i have found so far. I know many people in Philadelphia who are currently covered by domestic partner benefits, though this bill will only effect state employees. It also prevents unmarried hetereosexual couples from applying for the same benefits, and states “A spousal-equivalent relationship shall not be recognized in this commonwelath.”
From the first article: Addressing the House following afternoon caucus meetings, Birmelin let his colleagues know that the topics of same-sex marriage and health benefits “will be coming back in another day, perhaps in another form.” I will endeavor to follow Representative Birmelin’s actions; if he presents similar amendments in the future it is up to voters to let their opinions be known to their local representatives so that they can oppose the bill with confidence.
It’s queer news roundup!
Have you heard about the North Carolina parents who want to transfer their daughter to a different school because her school library carried a child’s book called King & King featuring a gay prince looking for his mister right? The MetaFilter Thread on the subject links to the CNN article, which seems to be carrying the same text as all the other ones i’ve seen so far. It’s one thing to ask that your daughter not be exposed to the book, but the family has now taken it upon themselves to withhold the book from the library so that other people cannot check it out. Lovely.
But, wait, there’s more… new Bush appointee Scott Bloch slashes rights for government employed homosexuals. Apparently, sexual preference isn’t a “protected class” under the law. To be fair, the current act covers conduct “which does not adversely affect” performance; that doesn’t specifically nod to sexual preference, but its quite a stretch to suggest that it has a negative effect on a work environment (though the stretch will be made if it’s isn’t prohibited by law). Someone in the Metafilter thread amusingly points out that this means bosses are free to fire hetero workers who constantly talk about their sex lives or who have annoying pictures of them kissing their spouses displayed prominently. Heh.
Decisions on these and other queer-rights issues effect friends and family members that i love very dearly, and rulings on these and other civil rights effect everyone — not just the people who feel their immediate ramifications. Please support civil rights for all with your vote in the remaining primaries and the November election. And, remember, you can get all of your queer news fresh off the griddle from QueerDay, founded by one of my favorite people ever, JillMatrix (who is apparently blogging again!).
Addendum: Many, many congratulations are in order for JillMatrix, who is in possession of one of relatively few same-sex civil unions in the country! See her re-inaugural post on her trip to San Francisco, and some pictures of the proceedings.