what ev'

I'm really sorry if I offended anyone with my last rant. It may not have been a popular opinion, but it...well... oh fuck it. Damn my mouth, ok!

Now that I've got that off my chest... Hey y'all! What's up?

Yeah?

That's cool.

Guess what? I didn't have to fill in for anyone at work today. That means that I really get a day off to myself. Yay, me! I'm so happy, that I'm not sure what to do with my time off? I don't have any household chores, I did those over the weekend. I could invest into some serious baking time, but I have to be out of the house by 1:30 for an appointment. Wow, besides sitting in my robe, drinking tea, and watching reruns of Grace Under Fire, I don't think I have anything that's pressing to do right now.

It's pretty nice.

the great divorce

Can I put in my two cents about same-sex marriage?

Ok.

Did you know that the word marry, as in to wed, etymologically, can be traced back to the Middle Ages and referred to a common oath? It is also, from the same era, a derivation of the Virgin Mary. The word seeps in religious (specifically catholic, as in the form of Christian religion and not the church) undertones. The social concept of marriage makes sense when you consider the etic and emic purposes in governing and propagating a civilization. Also consider the social, environmental, and political conditions humans lived in during the Middle Ages. It makes sense how and why Christianity grew to power and reigned for so long. Simply, it's social hegemony.

Fast forward to now.

I feel safe to say that, at least among the people I know, we believe in the separation of church and state. As we also want Government (using the large 'g' to reflect the physical institutions) to be less involved in our lives and want our civil liberties recognized and respected. The Constitution of the US says nothing about marriage of any variety. This has always be an issue left to the states. Through my research, I'm having a hard time finding US Supreme Court opinions that directly discuss same-sex marriage (though there are other cases that mention it as an example to support or undermine another case opinion). However, I find in these cases the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, ("no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws," in case you forgot what it said) is always brought up; as it is the clause which refers to one's civil liberties.

My two cents.

The word marriage, as it is governmenatly (new word?) understood and documented, should be stricken from any and all government documents. Where marriage is written, it should be replaced with the term civil union. Barack Obama has suggested that marriage should be defined by the individual religious denominations. Therefore, if you want the civil benefits that come with legally partnering yourself with another individual, you should go down to city hall and apply for a civil union license. If you want your church to recognize the union, then, in addition to the civil union license, you should meet with your religious leader to have said union recognized religiously as a marriage.

Since the word marry comes out of religious source, it makes sense to associate that term as such and let the term civil union be associated with legal who-ha; and by who-ha I mean rights to property and probate, insurance, income tax, etc, etc. Oh, and as a reminder, those are issues that are dealt with on a state level, not a federal one.

It is not right, and morally and constitutionally against the idea of civil liberties, to give one term to homosexual couples and another to heterosexual couples. The only way to solve this issue is to abide by the separation of church and state, and not the separation of the demographics.

Two things. 1. Thank you all for reading my tirade. I know that everyone who reads my blog, and there aren't too many of you, have similar views and don't need to be preached to or informed about this issue. Sorry everyone. 2. If I have missed any points or if I seem misinformed about anything I have brought up, please let me know and help me correct my ignorance. I am trying to better myself and become more active and open about equal rights and liberties issues.

"sniff"

Damn this drastic weather change. Stupid scratchy and swollen throat. Dumb humidifier that leaks so I can't turn it on so my nose gets stuffy in the middle of the night.

Did we skip fall? It was like, in the 70's last week, and all of a sudden I'm not wearing enough layers to keep me from getting frost bite. And now I'm not doing well. Phooey. Drats! Cough. Ouch.

I just have to admit defeat and accept the fact that winter has won. I lost. I concede. Somebody throw me in the showers. Turn me over, I am done!

I'm a star

Well, not really. But I am going to get my "e-mail to the editor" published as "Letter of the Week" in the next issue of Time Out New York. I just found out this morning. Pretty nifty, huh!? I think so too.

I got on my soap box about their "Cause of the Week" segment because it talked about donating blood (a cause near and dear to my other). The article said everyone in good health can donate. As I am sure you remember, I had a not-too-recent online tirade about my feelings about gay men not being able to donate. Well, I let TONY have it, and reminded them of this oversight. And now, I'm going to be published for it.

I told you guys last time that I'd be participating in some sort of advocacy work towards overturning the ruling that bans gay men from donating. Step 1: getting the info out there. Every little bit helps. Girl's gotta start from somewhere.

dependant economics

Long story short... I'm at work, filling in for a sick co-worker.

Long whine short... Though I'm sad about not having the day off and getting some errands ran and seeing some friends earlier than expected, as I told IPJ, Christmas is coming. Momma needs a new pair of shoes (I didn't say the second part. I was just giving you an image).

So... knowing my current financial state, can I pull a pseudo-Martha Stewart in my holiday gift giving, on half of what I spent last year, in half the time, and still using my knack for homemade goodness and decoration? I'm sure as hell going to try. And part of that means that I'm going to have to try to rack up the hours and curb my 2nd cup of coffee addiction and bring my lunch to work every day. I feel like Mrs. Cratchit without my Tiny Tim.

I think, to make myself feel better and to show off to all of my friends, I'm going to begin to post journal-esque blog reports on my holiday progress.

For example...

Today, I was updating my holiday card mailing list. I have organized you and all of my other friends, co-workers, business associated, family members, et al, on a handy-dandy spreadsheet that I will mail merge soon. 1 task down, 99 more to go. Impressed? Yeah, you should be.

cause to vote

Whether you lean right or left, please, on November 4th, please vote what's in your heart, on your mind, and in your conscience.

And if you can't find in your soul which way you should vote, then, please, be sure to think of this person when you vote:

Hopefully, by remembering why this person is in the position they are in, you can do what's right for this country. Only you can stop the potential senselessness that this nation may face in the next 4 years.

awe, fuck

We are, understandably so, freaked out about the current economic climate here in the US. How soon we forget the rest of the world. Did anyone know that Iceland's on the verge of national bankruptcy? After you click on the link and read the article, you'll have to let me know if it read, kinda, oh, ida know, like it was a familiar story. At least that how I felt.

nuclear wessels

I was watching the debate tonight and I want to draw attention to the alternative energy portion of the evening. It's not my intention to be disrespectful of either presidential candidate, but every time they talked about nuclear power, I couldn't help but think of a particular scene from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.



That made me laugh.

self-medicating for seasonal depression

Growing up Margaritaville- style really prevented me from embracing the colder of the seasons. And you would think, that after almost 8 years of living north of the Mason-Dixon line, I would have a clue, any clue, about how to function in and take advantage of what autumn has to bring. I'm trying.

And to show my attempt at appreciating fall, let me share what I enjoy about the season.

-Hot apple cider
-Colorful scarves and tights
-All foods made out of pumpkin
-The pretty browns and oranges and reds on fall leaves.

If there are any things/activities/events/etc that you would file under the heading "fall experience" that you think I should love, please share. In the mean time, please excuse me, while I go out for a hot chocolate. My fingers are like ice cubes right now.

whine and cheese

What! No new cupcake post? You know who you are. We've had, like, what?... 3 cupcake episodes experienced and documented in the past 2 months or so, and you have yet to post pics or make colorful graphs. What the feck? I feel like your priorities are slipping.

We had a pack, man. You had a mission. Step up, 'cause I can't keep looking at the picture of the west-coast cupcakes you had with your family. Yeah, it's a touching story, with you first niece and her first cupcake, but I have a shot of you tonguing a big one that needs to be front-paged on that blog.

Oh, and, Camembert.