Feelings, whoa, oh, oh... pffft

Ever have one of those days, weeks, maybe even years, where you know something is out of whack and you just can’t put your finger on it?

Ever feel you should follow your intuition no matter how crazy everyone else thinks it is?

Ever have feelings that your mind refuses to allow you to shake, even when logic tells you that no one would understand your feelings but you? (But of course, someone would…)

It’s an interesting place to be, sometimes.

I don’t mean to sound morose. Not at all. I'm not having bad feelings. Feelings are a great barometer. Well followed, strong, unabashed unashamed intuition can make one a successful psychic. At the other end, survival of the species has required us to possess and maintain healthy feelings of flight or fight, fear, pain, hunger, etc... They’re very important to growth and survival.

It’s interesting to me, how many of our feelings we overlook or brush off everyday. Feelings we were made and bred to have. Some are feelings we were taught not to verbalize – both the perceived positive and negative. I mean the intuitive thoughts and impulses about ourselves and others that occur in a nanosecond that are warning us or soothing us, lifting us or dragging us. What do we with them, how do we be appropriate with them – everything from love to rancor? How do we use them fully, without them using us? How do we validate them and use them as the finest of tools? And how do we love them all?

I’m just saying…

Oh, and don’t worry. My intuition is not telling me anything about the world ending, or anything terrible like that. Just change, ya know? I feel it at this time of year more than any other. It makes me think. And I think enough as it is. In 2009 I will have to set about feeling more, and maybe thinking less. Heh. Oh, and have a lot more fun.

Various and Sundry Things Part II

Ok... I Masterminded today, as I do with my Mastermind (hereto after referred to as "MM")group just about every Wednesday. (Want to start your own? A variation on the steps we use can be found here.)Today, I was inspired with a very powerful affirmation -- no wisecracks, yeah, you'll do it anyway... something like, "I will commit to my desires and take action on them." If you've got a dirty mind that's not what I mean. I've already taken action on those desires. ;-P No, I mean auditioning for a show again. Reading fiction. Staying on the computer all night if I want. Sleeping in. It really helped me to think about how goal driven I am instead of just doing things for the joy of them. (You'd think by now I'd be rich and famous if I was so goal driven, right?) Interestingly, certain things I originally did for the joy of them have now become somewhat joyless based on being goal driven about them. That is ironic. That is also painful to realize. This pissed me off. (Prepositions are good things to end sentences with. Especially if the phrase is "pissed off.")

After MM'ing, I took action on my first desire and bought a novel on which both my MM partners have heard good buzz, called, The Shack. So how much fun is a Christian novel about about a grieving father who meets God in the form of a jolly African-American woman? But my aversive to "traditional Christianity" friends recommend it. Ok. Stay tuned. Perhaps I will post a review.

I then made my way to a VERY crowded McNeil High School to enjoy a stroll down the halls picking up pens from every college recruiter this side and that of the Mason-Dixon line. While the Sexy Beast asked the hard questions like "how much is tuition" I asked, "is this gel or ballpoint?"

And here I am.

OH! D*mnit. WHAT is the deal? I was so THRILLED to purchase new bras last week. I just love this Bali brand, this Seductive Curves bra. Woo Hoo!!! IMHO, though they're quite tailored, they're super sexy on my tatas. Especially the red one. I get 'em home, and WTF? Two of the three SQUEAK. I sound like the f*cking Tin Man. "Oil me." What, I'm supposed to put WD40 on them? I Google squeaky bra and I get nothing but bloggers just like me writing about squeaky bras. No answers. No, I didn't try them on and jog around the block in them before I bought them, I've been wearing this brand for several years, and -- if you're like me and at an age when lift really counts, you know what works and you don't need to try on these things.

Imagine the sexiness of this situation. Take for instance your Sexy Beast (this has not happened to me, ok?) reaches around you in that smooth move of unhooking your bra, with one hand even. You put your arms around your Sexy Beast's neck and suddenly it sounds like you're crossing a footbridge in an Indiana Jones movie. Damn.

Oh -- to put an end to this entry I will point out that I know who gets murdered in the first episode of The L Word... lalalala....

I'm going to go read this book now... it's a desire of mine.

p.s. tickled pink Hillary has been nominated for Secretary of State...

The L Word...

Please.

"Going Down In History?"

:-P

OK, someone dies. I just don't want another season without Helena. Ugh!

Various and Sundry Stuff

So this inspired me to blog today. Lately, not so much has inspired me to do so. I've been in a funk, really -- and not so much this week, so... ya know, here I am.

Today in Macy's... two teen girls are in the Calvin Klein/DKNY section for Women. Tall one says to short one, "Let's get out of here, these clothes are for old people."

Ugh...

In other news...

Sierra Mist Cranberry rocks.
We had a great time at my sister's for Thanksgiving.
NxNW Theatre auditions The Shadow Box in two weeks.
Sexy Beast celebrates her 40th next weekend with a trip to the coast.
The video for I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change is DONE. I'm excited.
We're on the 4th season of Battlestar Galactica, finally.

That ought to do it.

:-)

Obama, Kate, Prop 8, Jennifer

Wow. I know. I haven't posted in forever. What would get me out of hiding?

Obama's election, which is a fantastic change? Random ranting about Prop 8 in California? Texas getting pink and growing blue instead of red?

No.

Jennifer and Kate.

Wow.

Crucial Conversations

Meme stolen from Julie’s journal

1.Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 42.
3. Find the first full sentence.
4. Post the text of the next seven sentences in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.

When we (the authors) are in the middle of an on-site workshop and we suggest there are alternatives to Sucker’s Choices, someone invariably says: “Maybe you can speak honestly and still be heard in other organizations, but if you try it here, you’ll be eaten alive!” Or the flip side: “You’ve got to know when to fold if you want to survive here for another day.” Then in a hail of “I’ll say” and “Here, here!” many nod in agreement.

At first we thought that maybe there *were* places where dialogue couldn’t survive. But then we learned to ask, “Are you saying there isn’t *anyone* you know who is able to hold a high-risk conversation in a way that solves problems *and* builds relationship? There usually is.

Start with heart.


-from Crucial Conversations, Tools for Talking When The Stakes Are High

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change

We opened last night to a sold out house, but not a sold out crowd. It was FANTASTIC nonetheless. The cast had a good time, the audience had a good time, and a standing ovation was had... and I don't see those in Austin crowds very often.

I could say the usual, this cast has worked their butts off (and they have) they have given themselves over to the project (and they have) and they are ALL strong -- all capable -- all having their very important moments (scenes in fact) on stage. They were terrific. We were at high levels in rehearsal and it just went to another one last night.

And then there was the reviewer in the front row. Writing away on a pad in an intimate venue. That's ok -- really! We LOVE getting press. It's a little awkward for the cast though. Opening night enjoyment gives way to, "What was she writing there?" "what did I do and what are her notes about this time?" I'm sure that became the focus of backstage conversation last night instead of the pure joy of getting this wonderful show in front of an audience. And who was that reviewer? We had two seats set aside for the Statesman, but they went unclaimed. What if it was an ACC student doing an assignment? And if so -- I'd like to see her paper on it! This time of year lots of ACC students are given this assignment. Oh sheesh... all that energy the cast spent wondering what was going on with the reviewer -- who may have been a student doing a homework assignment.

That's a good primary lesson in not worrying about who is in the audience and just doing your best and having a good time doing it.

Their energy was outstanding, there's not a weak link in the bunch, and I am very pleased. Let's see if the reviewer enjoyed herself too. I guarantee the review won't be as bad as this. We've "done the work" Ouch. Wow.

In the meantime, I've found time to post a blog entry, lounge around the house this morning, and enjoy some quality time with the SB. NiiiIIIIce. Come see the show!

Here's the cast a few weeks ago working on a filmed scene:

THAT Really Is Love

This morning the SB and I were lounging around in bed, me sulking some because I'm not feeling too well. Sweet SB said she was more in love with me than ever --especially over the last two weeks. She said she'd just grown more deeply in love with me ever since she saw my face when the bumper of the car got ripped off in the sand at the beach.

And the way I just threw my hands in the air and stopped the car when we got stuck -- the way I looked at her and said, "Ok, Ok, YOU drive!"

She was laughing her ass off about it, well, about ME, this morning.

Come to think of it, I have to laugh now, all alone writing this post, at how she valiantly gave getting out of the sand a shot -- the wind and tires blowing sand all up in the car, me protecting my camera from the hideous dangerous grains, SB shouting, "I'm about to blow out my ENGINE!" and me saying, "Well, STOP it then!"

Driving together. There's a song about it in my next show! Come see it.

Oh, and that laughing thing with one another, THAT Really Is Love.

July Flies By

Wow! It's the 10th already. This could be the last blog I do this month! I will try to keep up, and statistically speaking, that I blog on a regular basis like, at least once a month for a few years here, makes me unique according to Business Week's latest on Internet Business.

Ok, here's WHY I can't imagine blogging a lot. So keep up:

1. I gotta go BACK to the coast tomorrow to get the car. See last post. Sucks to be me. NOT.
2. Going to direct this. Go see it.
3. GOTTA see this. Maybe you should too!
4. Gotta see this.
5. Going to see this.
6. Gotta keep working here.
7. Going to keep up momentum on this.
8. Will keep enjoying this woman:


9. Will continue to count my blessings.
10. Going to execute my plan on becoming a millionaire - in my spare time.

Stop Laughing

Ok, the SB and I enjoyed our vacation immensely! Except for this one teeny thing. About twenty minutes after we got there, after we had unloaded and embarked on our first foray onto the beach to check out the scene, er... I got us stuck in the sand. I didn't realize it, really, as the SB kept saying "you're going to get us stuck in the sand," and "don't stop!" and it was counter intuitive to keep going so I just got fed up like any half of a couple who is unhappy with being told how to drive, and said, "ok, you drive" and I stopped the car, not realizing I'd already gotten us stuck. Luckily, someone drove by and bailed us out. Unfortunately, while he was pulling us out via the rear of the car, the force of the sand pulled the bumper off the front. You can see that it fit in the trunk so we could take it to the shop the next day.


(Ok, stop laughing.) SB was driving and I was watching from a few yards away -- she looked over at me when it happened -- and said she hadn't seen that look on my face since the glass dining table fell over and broke while we were rearranging the dining area several years ago.

STOP laughing.

BTW, this is the part where I mention just how absurdly light such a piece of a vehicle can be. I lifted her entire bumper with one hand. Effortlessly. I was surprised that it didn't just blow away in the coastal breeze.

So, on the first day of our vacation we spent a couple of hours handling that.

We landed a handsome silver Chevy Silverado for the rest of our vacation -- a behemoth of a vehicle for which we must never reveal our enjoyment. We turned it in for a Pontiac Grand Prix (better on gas mileage) and drove the Pontiac home.

Uh, yeah, this means we have to go back to get the Veedub.

We think Zeta had a good time but we can't be sure. It was her first trip away from home without other furry friends, and her first visit to the beach. Do you think she enjoyed it? We think she enjoyed the truck -- a safe haven after being made to swim in the gulf.



We spent a day at The USS Lexington, as I had never visited the ship, even though I go to the coast every summer. Interesting... but not as fun as shopping. I ate french fries I hadn't tasted as good since I visited my sister in Germany. I loved those things, but I digress -- what do fried potatoes in Germany have to do with the USS Lexington, really? Nothing.



There's a great Pearl Harbor exhibit. People were so much smaller, even in the '40's, than we are now. This is a uniform donated by a tiny real live WWII soldier.


Zeta and the SB.



I surprised the SB with the necklace below before we left. FINALLY, I surprised her with a gift. She usually gets me -- but this time I am pleased to report, I trumped her in the surprise gift department. Not that you can see it above that hysterical shirt.


The trip was good. Very good.

I Want To Believe

One more month!

Into The Nightlife

Go Cyndi.

What's The Name of Your Business...

I know I just posted. But I had to share again. Every once in awhile, I like to look at available schnauzer puppies via the internet. Zeta might need a little brother, ya know? Sometime.

So, uh... I came across a breeder whose business is named:
The Poochie Patch

I'll leave you with that.

(and no kvetching about that crappy photo of Zeta. I took it with my phone, while I was driving.)

Did I say that out loud?

The Price of Gas

In my neighborhood we have those "kiosks" for our mailboxes -- you know, one central area in the neighborhood where you go to get your mail. I miss having a mailbox where I just grab the mail as I come in the house, but, we live in a newer neighborhood than all that.

Today, as I found my way home from a very productive NxNW Theatre meeting, lunch with our friend er... Mimi, which is her nickname and not her real name because she's pretty famous and she thinks the nickname Sexy Beast is amusing, even though her nickname is Mimi... anyway -- and a jaunt to Precision Camera, which to me is as exciting as a being a fifth grader at Fiesta Texas (LOVE it!) and a visit to GMan's HEB, I circled around on my way home and got my mail.

As I approached the mailboxes and swing toward them (on the wrong side of the road but politely) I noticed a HUGE, Ford Pickup approaching the mailboxes on the correct side of the road. I stopped where we'd have room for the both of us, and got my mail. As I left, the woman driving the HUGE Ford Pickup got out of her truck but then got back in -- I guess she forgot her mailbox keys.

I travel back to my house, and realize once I gather all my goodies that she's getting out of the truck in the house next door to mine. She's my neighbor.

That's ok. But here's the deal. I hope she didn't drive that big huge truck from her house to the mailboxes. It's like, 50 yards, maybe. I hope she was picking her mail up on her way home from somewhere, just like me. That truck is big, and... uh... gas is $3.97 gallon now.

She was nice, all the same.

Hillary Clinton

I watched Hillary's speech today on CNN. When's the last time you saw such fanfare over a losing candidate? She carries much political weight, no matter what kind of polarizing she might cause.

I actually got choked up and sad a couple of times. I live in a district where Clinton won but in a precinct and county where she did not. I hope I got that right. I went to the County convention, as you might have noticed from an earlier blog, and I feel that I'm a part of history in a different way now because of it.

Still, I am deeply saddened. There's a brilliant and superbly written entry on this topic that I couldn't have worded better (or I would have) at Dorothy Surrenders.

However she may allegedly polarize the Democratic party and the Republicans, one thing is for sure as far as I can see: Obama needs Hillary Clinton. Check out the Huffington Post on this one. Sorry. I agree with Michael Fauntroy.

Maybe I'm delusional, but... I don't think it's over. And I'd say I'll miss her, but somehow, I don't think she's going anywhere.

Still. I'm sad.

Kissing

Sexy Beast and I went with Beast Boy 2 and a friend to the Round Rock Express game last Tuesday night and had a great time. I scored some seats right at the home dugout. No. I mean right there. We rested our feet on the dugout.

Anyway, they do this Kiss Cam thing, and of course, it always brings up the question of whether or not I would kiss the SB if the camera fell on us for such a thing. How they figure out which same gender couples are together as gay or lesbian is always my concern. Ever pragmatic, that's me.

THEN I become concerned with the gay thing. Whaddya know, a couple of days later, I find this online.

Lesbian kiss at Seattle ballpark stirs up gay-friendly town

Oh well.

Name The Starlet

This is a great piece of video.

Go see!

I Love You You're Perfect Now Change

There's nothing like getting a good shot of The Sexy Beast. Here she is helping me out at the shoot I did earlier today for Love, Perfect, Change. I love that hat. I'm not sure about the key. I think it's a premonitory symbol for the price she would pay for new tires later in the afternoon.


Anyway, I got some loverly shots of the cast of Love, Perfect, Change. And I am so grateful to my friend and mentor Brenda Ladd for the use of her studio. It was so luxurious! These are not quite complete, and need some retouching but the subjects are great!


I'd blog more about the shoot but it's very late. I'll share more tomorrow!

"I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change"

I am so excited! We're doing a photo shoot tomorrow for the cast of Love, Perfect, Change. We haven't even begun rehearsal yet, but we'll have shots for the website, where you can make your reservations already!

So what are you waiting for? Go make 'em!

Oh, yeah, well. In the meantime, I'm also tickled about the last couple of sessions I did.

Here's Henry. He's a kind, powerful and wonderful man, who also happens to be a lawyer.


Paullette is a playwright, and the Artistic Director for Paradox Players. If I had no other light but the north light from her window here, I could die a happy photographer.


Who wants a portrait session with me? C'mon...

Go see more at Love and Light Images. Oh. And stay tuned for more on "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change."

Special Photographer Trick

This is just a photo -- no post processing. I cropped it. But that's all. The Sexy Beast. Looking heavenly.


This is a old fashioned photographer's trick called, "Taking A Photo of A Reflection."

Life Imitates Art Imitates Life

Von Trapp Family Mansion Becomes A Hotel

First Prom

Sexy Beast and I made a brief jaunt to Houston this weekend to take GMan to enjoy his girlfriend's junior prom. I think he had a good time. I know we did. (A side note: His prom was at the Majestic Theatre downtown. If you print a map to the Rothko Chapel, you should make sure it's a map to the Rothko Chapel, and not the Majestic Theatre.)

We left town noonish on Friday after I had my hair colored. I like it lots, and look forward to showing it off. ;-)

We enjoyed our stay at the Hotel Derek. Room 1125. All the rooms are apparently "corner rooms" thanks to the architecture of this groovy hotel, redecorated "loft" style in 2004, after it was bought in 2001. Stay here in Houston.

We took photos of GMan and his girlfriend at the hotel, then went out to dinner at Ninfa's Galleria (no need to go there again) just across the street and up the block from the hotel and then we retired to the hotel room again.

Saturday we lunched at Niko Niko's (Great place! As proof, the line was out the door, and the wait on food was a half an hour.) We had a wonderful conversation in the rain, at a dry table just under the awning of the building on the patio. Then, we visited the Rothko Chapel , the Houston Center For Photography (ok, just me, SB was napping) and then we viewed the Menil Collection.

From there we proceed to meet GMan, took him to a party, and went to dinner at CoCo's (we are SAD there is not one of these here.) The crepes were amazing, the tomato bisque soup velvety, tangy rich deliciousness.

Then we picked up the GMan and proceeded home, pulling in the drive at just before 1 this morning.

And! Zeta decided to take a field trip while we were out of town. She's fine and at home now, though she took a walk through the neighborhood where she was visiting and found some cute little girls and another schnauzer to play with while she was out. We're glad she's safe. We felt terrible for our sweet friend who had to call us and tell us he couldn't find her.

Tonight, we're going to take a jaunt up the road to see Iron Man. I'm excited not just to see the movie, but I understand the X-Files trailer is tagged on to the Iron Man film...

Another quiz

Hey. I really can read Tarot cards, too.

Your hidden talent is psychic You are able to foresee certain things, and prevent bad things from happening to yourself. It could just be a lot of common sense, but it’s probably something a little more. Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

More X-Files News

The Movie Gets A Title!

And Gillian Anderson gets covered in Maxim again!


It's a good week for me. Ahhhhhh....

What Will YOUR Obituary Say?

'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Technology

Hmmm... today the SB and I make our way to the car in the driveway-- SB is on her way to meet a friend to go sailing, and I to church. I meander to the back of the car as I need to put my camera in my trunk. I ask SB to push the remote button. She does. Repeatedly. I ask her to try the button in the cab of the car. Nothing again. Repeat, nothing, repeat, nothing.

At this point I'm in a panic. I have three photo shoots this week. Every piece of equipment I need is trapped in my trunk. I am mentally cursing my car for taking my livelihood hostage. I am trying to figure out how to get my car to the dealer.

All the while, SB had made her way around from the front of the car to the trunk.

And.

Opened it.

With the key.

Rude Mechs "The Method Gun"

SB, BB2 and I met with friends yesterday for a trip to the Long Center to see The Rude Mech's performance of "The Method Gun." If you haven't seen enough of it here or here, I'm here to tell you, just go see this thing.

You can get your fill of review like information on the links above, and there's something amusing about full frontal nudity happening not just onstage but in the communal backstage areas of The Rollins Theatre and The Dell Hall -- especially with The Austin Symphony performing next door Saturday when we saw the show.

I'll leave the theatre reviews to others and I'll take this space to tell ya about the Long Center.

We chose to take plenty of time to get there, and parked in the garage on the North side. We had an early dinner at Vinny's and walked around the Palmer Auditorium to get to The Long Center.

I've lived here all my life and I remember when the high schools were small enough to conduct their commencement exercises at Palmer Auditorium and NOT the Erwin Center. I remembered those quiet and simple times as I rounded the building, cars in a veritable parking lot beside me, being directed into the parking lot by a pleasant Sheriff's deputy who informed us that they were expecting about 8000 people to the Center/Palmer that night.

The kids Imaginarium was happening in Palmer Auditorium, The Austin Symphony was in Dell Hall, and the Rudes were in The Rollins Studio -- oh, and UrbanFest was on Auditorium Shores. Welcome to the culture that is Austin.

It's a little confusing at the front of the Long Center -- where's the "will call" for The Rollins and Dell Hall? Well, the Rollins was NOT a part of the huge box office area where Dell Hall was admitting well dressed patrons of the Symphony. We were directed into a doorway just to the left of the wide staircase out front. We siphoned ourselves in with the patrons of the symphony and were directed to a tiny table that was will call for The Method Gun. Interestingly, there's a door that is a short hallway away from The Rollins Theatre, and no one thought to funnel us through that door. Instead, they placed that tiny table just to the right of the small lobby where all those Symphony fans were entering. Live and Learn.

I admit. As glad as I am to have it, The Long Center reeks of, well, Houston and it's culture. It's grey, and big, and most of the patrons around us were posh and such. We headed straight for the bathroom, shouting behind us amidst all the culture to BB2, "Look, you can come to the bathroom with us sweetie, there's a *family* bathroom." Which there is. How that child manages to tolerate us makes him a saint, really. It's like his life really is a little like Patrick's in Auntie Mame, a role he played opposite just the very sweet friends we were out with last night. And that was some "culture" he got last night!

Ok, so we take our seats in the Rollins Theatre, an industrial strength black box theatre with "one and a half hour" seats. No, they're not two hour seats, so keep your show short. (The Rudes did). We took our seats and shortly thereafter a very polite usher informed us the show would be starting later (there were 60 unclaimed tickets) than it's designated 7:30 curtain. Certainly the traffic and Austin's notorious inability to manage crowd control had something to do with it.

Someone asked if we had enough time for cocktails. Of course that someone was in my party. Surprise.

So, after having a smoke (not me) a reasonably priced latte (me) and an $8 gin and tonic (not me!) we ventured back to our seats. The theatre was noticeably more full, and the show started shortly thereafter.

Here's the part where you can learn more about the show, as linked above. Go see the show. And make sure you check the times, which are as odd as 10pm or 6pm. This makes it a great candidate for my BIP friends, who I INSIST must see the show.

My comment above about Houston notwithstanding, we're still in Austin, and it really does rule, even with traffic and crowd control and expensive cocktails, to know that The Rudes were running around naked with the Symphony happening right next door. THAT is why I love Austin. But please, if we're going to brave such a parade of people and traffic, make sure your show is as good as this one.

Even in all The Method Gun's brilliance, we spent the ride home having a conversation that gave new meaning to the innocence we could no longer associate with helium balloons, backstage mothers and whether size matters. You'll just have to see the show to understand.

So, at a mere 9:20, it took quite some time to snake through the parking garage and find our way to Barton Springs Road. That's ok. The company, the show, and the conversation was great. Especially the company.

Bring Me A Shrubbery

Epic Democratic County Convention Entry

Greetings from the Williamson County Democratic Convention. The SB and I got up this morning at our usual weekday go to work time and promptly got ready, loaded the car with a cooler full of snacks we haven’t eaten yet and it’s 10:40. We scampered into the Starbucks at 7:40 and got fuel, then made the short jaunt to Stony Point High School where there were still prime parking spots on the west side of the school.

At 7:50, we took our place in line. There was a computer glitch that caused our system to print out every name tag as a visitor. Ok, they fixed that. I didn’t notice it as an issue, I just figured we’d have to wait, just like my precinct chair had told us. That’s why I wasn’t surprised that I was still in line at 9:15.

Around that time, my precinct chair, in an effort to be democratic (yeah… well… that’s why we’re here) and helpful, joined us at one end of the hallway while we were waiting in line. The line that snaked around three hallways twice, btw. She made an announcement that had already been made toward the front of the line indicating that the line started at the other end of the building. She also noted that folks didn’t need to be in a group in line with their precinct, but they did need to have their driver’s license or voter registration. Finally she mentioned indicating presidential and sexual preference when we signed in. Well… at least I had both of those figured out.

Some time thereafter another woman joined us and said the same thing. She shouted, “I have a long day ahead of me and you need to be quiet so I don’t have to talk over you and lose my voice.” Also, she indicated she didn’t care if people cut in line. Sheesh! I can bet she’s not a supporter of my candidate. Really, suppose you were part of the 2/3 majority of the attendees here at the convention. Of course you wouldn’t care. But if you were in the 1/3, and you didn’t get to register because the bullish 2/3rds were being less than fair, when they didn’t need to… you might appear confrontational.

If I didn’t know what I was in for, it would have felt a little er… “Auschwitzean.“ Ten people at a time were allowed in the small gymnasium (which isn’t small) to be ushered to people using laptops where their credentials are verified. (I’ll mention here that originally, they figured they only needed one Dymo printer for the nametags for over 1300 people.) See, if we were willing to be microchipped like our furry friends they could’ve just scanned us and the process would have been much faster. Next, we were ushered to separate doorways for delegates and alternates. I went one way. The SB went another. I stood in one hall, she in another. Then a select group of volunteers brought us all big long name badges to wear. Yellow for delegates, white for alternates.

Ok, then we’re allowed in the big gymnasium. Alternates on one side, delegates on another. It didn’t work that way. You’ll hear more about that later.

Jim Mattox is yapping away for all he’s worth while registration still continues for over one thousand delegates and alternates.
Let’s see. Some math. We each represent 15 people. Nice.

As I understand it, the “Obama people” are “steamrolling” the process here at this convention. I don’t know about that, the folks I was in line with were exceptionally friendly and unimposing. Seems to me, if you’re an Obama candidate, that’s the way you ought to be. If you share Obama’s values, walking the walk here at the convention in the line to register, you ought to be friendly and unimposing. That’s a good model.

Ok, so I’m gonna go out to the car and snag a snack. Whew. Much better.

I admit. There’s nothing happening. It’s just getting more crowded. That’s all. Let’s see. It’s 11:50. We have not started yet. My ass is killing me. I’ve got two movies, and I haven’t explored the games available on my laptop. The six democratic candidates for various open seats for county positions have all talked, including the wacky Jim Dillon, who thinks Mexico is a wealthy country that is building an army to infiltrate Texas… or something like that.

OH! Hey, it’s noon, and we’ve officially STARTED! Wait, gotta do the pledge of allegiance, now the National Anthem. Ok, we’re taking nominations for permanent officers to the convention. Ok those are closed. Ok, now we can get down to business! Wait! We have to clear the floor for delegates only. There are a bunch of alternates on the floor. Man. Now it’s gonna get crowded up here at the top of the gym on my side.

Also, someone interjected a point of order that the rolls weren’t balance before we started the meeting, so, uh… that’ll take awhile.

No. Wrong! Oops. We just broke for lunch.

Democrats.

(Insert lunch break here)

Not that the Democratic County Convention officials aren’t good at what they do, but Pok-E_Jo’s BBQ is quicker to serve the 1200 people who are here today. And my ass is killing me again. Already.

WOOHOOO! 2:10, and now we’re going to upgrade the alternates.
Uh… we’re supposed to be done by 4, according to the agenda.

Ok, still balancing the rolls. J

I’m not complaining -- it ROCKS to have THIS many democrats together in this county -- where they’ve already decided to cite the party for illegal parking. It’s a red county you know.

I’m glad the SB wore a yellow cap today. I can see her in the crownd just under the “P” in “STONY POINT on the other side of the gymnasium. Teenagers have to navigate crowds worse than this in these halls every day. I did it too. How did we DO that?

Now we’re handling business on registering members at large and balancing the delegate numbers. It must be handled before we can move on. I think I will investigate the games on my new computer.

Now we are going to take the time to allow precincts who do not have a delegation chair to elect one.

My ass is killing me.

Heh. The wireless network available is named “donkey.” It doesn’t work. Would that be ironic to a Republican? If I was a Republican, I’d be blogging at home.

Aghhhh… there’s a precinct that doesn’t have ANY delegates at all.

I MUST interject here, that there are LOTS of uninformed people here serving in positions of precinct chair. Our precinct chair was GREAT about informing us about the process, the way to vote, our strategy.

So, I should say here, that whatever you might have thought the popular vote was in your precinct and at your caucus, it is changing at the speed of light at this very moment, right in front of my face. The bleachers for the alternates are wearing thin. Again -- the Clinton delegates in my precinct is in great order. I’ll probably still be sitting here, amused until we vote.

It really is exciting for all the waiting.

My ass is killing me.

3:20. Still waiting.

3:45 Still waiting. Haven’t played Mahjong in awhile. Now I have.

3:50 Meeting called back to order. 3:51 Back to waiting

4:10 Had a snack, a sparkling water, went to the bathroom, more Mahjong, proceeded to a Photshop tutorial. Can’t ever get enough knowledge on Photoshop.

My ass is ok.

4:30: We’re down to business. The rolls have been returned. And… Beast boy needs to be picked up. I have to leave. Sigh.

Maybe I won’t miss the voting.

:-/

Ok, Beast Boy 2 deposited safely at home. I’m sitting in the bleachers again, and yes even when my ass was on a comfy car seat, it was hurting. I feel it worth it though. Across the gym from me, and here’s the part where I feel so important -- is my precinct, voting for their candidates.

Here’s how it turned out at my precinct caucus:17 for Obama and 9 for Clinton. You see, no matter what, if we all vote for one person, that one person WILL be a delegate to the convention because we’re a two delegate, two alternate precinct. The Obama team was down by two when the day started, so they put two alternates in then. Here it is at 6:05 and the rest of their alternates -- as far as we could tell, have been seated as delegates. See, that’s some democratic process at work, no? They have 17 delegates and 17 alternates but the total number of people left supporting Obama at the end of the day could be as low as 15 or more. We still have 9 and we’ve sent in only 1 alternate, and Clinton had 9 and 9. We had one delegate back out and we seated an alternate while 5 of our 9 alternates showed today.

Forgive me for throwing Strunk and White to the wind by not spelling out all numbers under the number 10. Or, ten.

So back to strategy. The idea the Obama people *should* have implemented (and we thought they *would* have implemented) would be to attempt to get the Clinton delegates to vote first so we would be forced to vote our 9. If we could see how they were going to vote, then we could vote 8 and 1. Then we would stand a chance at sending an alternate. Have I made sense? Ok, let’s make it more interesting. If they vote … wait, wait, wait. This is funny. The Obama people are being democratic. Well ok, that’s what we’re here for… but, uh, strategy? Did they have one? Am I missing something? Did our whole team miss something? They’re nominating more than three people. What? Ok, It took me two years to finish four years of algebra in high school but I’m going to go ahead and say it: You do the math. If they nominate more than two people and give those three people the majority of their votes from highest to lowest they’ve now divided their 17 no matter how you slice it, in a way that leaves us an open door for an alternate AND a delegate. We had a meeting Thursday night and voted on who we were going to vote on. What a pile o’

OMG!!! They just announced the nominations committee in San Antonio is still checking credentials. You’ll remember from this epic blog entry of mine that we finished that at -- let me check… 4:30.

Can’t tell if my precinct has voted. SB tried sign language but it looked like it was in Swahili to me. OH. OH! B-E-E-R.

…and guess what! My ass is killing me!

6:40: The chair is waiting on three packages. One of them is my precinct’s. Wonder what’s happening over there.

LOL! They’re tearing down the decorations around me.

Hm. Looking forward to letting you know what happened with our precinct’s voting delegates.

I'll have to do it in past tense. My battery is going D-E-D.

7:15: My district finally signed off on the elected delegates.

7:20ish: The floor opened for any comments desired. A lesbian woman spoke of her experience of Williamson County. It was totally positive. She had lived in Travis County for a very long time, and moved last year to Williamson with her partner of twenty years. They had some reasonable trepidation. So did I when I moved here. She said she wanted to thank Williamson County (well, us I assume) for welcoming her, and urged us to continue to stand up for the unconstitutional, illegal discrimination we experience as gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered. That was good to hear. The positive cheers and applause she got was great to hear too… yes! In Williamson County!

As we left I got the lowdown on what happened with my precinct. Some sort of strategy did prevail. We wound up voting the 8 and 1, and not the full 9 in hope of also getting an alternate to state. The process was taking so long thanks to my team’s strategy of slowing down the Obama people by asking for a roll call vote, then a stand up vote to vote for the roll call vote and other things that confused both me and apparently the Obama people. Eventually, the other side got confused and wound up using a roll sheet that had the precinct voting in alternate order (Obama, Clinton, Obama, Clinton) . They just about had our strategy figured out when the precinct chair voted for the woman designated to become our alternate, were we to win one. BTW, if you tie with a delegate choosing the other party, Texas Democratic Party rules state that the seat is left to chance. That’s right. Draw straws. Pick a number closest to the number I’m thinking of. Yep.

At 7:40 we drug ourselves out the door, ventured to Taco Cabana, and then home.

We were greeted by Beast Boy 2 feeding the dogs -- Zeta was particularly happy to see us! SB had a bath, and I followed suit, leaving her to read this blog on my laptop.

I found her asleep in the same position I left her.

Zeta climbed in my lap for a visit.

My ass is still killing me…

G’nite.

Puns at The Expense of Others

Found this piece on the web a couple of days ago. Doesn't seem respectful to be clever at times like these, does it?
------------------------------------------------

Suicide at Mel Gibson's Place

Posted Mar 20th 2008 1:28PM by TMZ Staff

A construction worker who worked in the movie business committed suicide at one of Mel Gibson's homes.

It happened at Mel's Agoura Hills home -- near Malibu. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, 48-year-old Michael John Van Dyke hanged himself on one of the structures under construction on the property. He was discovered early yesterday morning by the job site foreman.

A rep for Mel tells TMZ the actor feels "terrible" that someone committed suicide on his property. Mel has never lived in the house and has no current plans to move in. The home is less than a mile from The Holy family Catholic Church, founded by Mel. It's where his daughter was married back in 2006.

We're told Mel did not know Van Dyke, although Van Dyke has worked on a number of movies as a set construction foreman, including "The Matrix Reloaded," "Dr. Dolittle 2," "Star Trek: Nemesis," and "Karate Kid."

Sources say Van Dyke was on the ropes after a messy, prolonged divorce a few years ago. He was having intense financial problems.

Ohhh yeahhhh...

I took a few delicious photos of the Sexy Beast this weekend. We found an abandoned house with windows and doors in the most perfect of places at the most opportune time of the day. I do plan to return there -- with further subjects.

Just look at the Sexy Beast! That light! That woman! She's beautiful!

Election Day!!!

How freekin' exciting! It's after 11:00 -- we were caucusing until 9. The SB is a delegate to the county convention -- I'm an alternate. There were 288 people who caucused in our precinct.

I've been watching the returns -- too close to call in Texas.

I'm so glad we matter. It's very exciting to be a part of this!

'gnite...

$38

Can we talk? Just a little thing really, as I gratefully type on my new laptop? I really should think about this before I say it.

It's petulant, somewhat...

especially since I'm grateful, really for all the discomfort I've avoided this year -- and how I am and was so well taken care of while I was out of work this summer and I didn't suffer -- which is different from being grateful for all I've received, which is a lot mind you.

Ok, oh, alright, I'll make a list.

I drive weekdays to a job, which I didn't have in the summer in a car that I have salary enough to pay for. I work for a company that has profit sharing, paid vacation, sick leave, insurance...

On weekends I sleep in on Saturdays, and sometimes I have a meeting or work on a set, or rehearse for either my theatre company or someone else's. Often, I go to the theatre, dinner, a movie or any combination of the above in the same weekend. On Sundays, I actually have to warn the youngest beast boy if we're not going to church so that he won't be surprised and terribly disappointed. I annually tithe to my church more than a middle class family makes in a year in Singapore -- and after placing my check in the offering basket and enjoying the music from some of our city's finest talent, I usually go out to lunch.

On weekends I also do portraiture -- using my not so cheap camera and lighting equipment and while my fees for one session would feed a child for a year in Bangladesh, they're very reasonable here in our country.

I am grateful for a frankly, huge, HDTV and the other tv's in two of our three bedrooms in a house on which there is no foreclosure. Everyone is healthy, and even though I've got palpitations caused by anemia... well... we're pretty sure there's a very manageable fix for it.

By most of the world's standards , my car is a honker -- a Mazda6 with a V6 engine that I am able to fill up twice monthly with exorbitantly priced gasoline that is made from a world resource that the next generation may not get to use.

I have satellite, high speed internet, wireless, food in the fridge, heat when it's cold and air when it's hot (which in this part of the world, at this time of year, happens in the same day.) Two dogs that are fed very well -- go Zeta! -- wonderful clothes to wear...

A loving friend, partner and Sexy Beast, and Beast Boys who have never had to, out of necessity, go hungry, without clothing, shelter, or warmth.

I am blessed with friends galore, a loving community that accepts me as I am, and a family that does, too.

Why am I so freekin' pissed that I have to pay the IRS $38???

ARggghhhhhhhhhhhh....

...what IS that???

Juliet van Otteren

Last night I did my first class with Juliet van Otteren. She is an outstanding artist and an sizzling, passionate person. She loves life, her work, and being on the planet. Prints from her books, Heart of The Horse, and the upcoming Being Dog, are hung in an exhibit where I go to church which is probably the least prestigious place she’s ever hung an exhibit. She has otherwise had exhibits at The Brooklyn Museum of Art, The National Portrait Gallery in London, The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in France, and lots more. In terms of the success terms we white bread Americans can understand, she’s so good you can buy her stuff at Art.com and Amazon.com.

Her results are in and of themselves amazing but how she does it is a courageous, spiritual experience. For Heart of The Horse, she used real film and painstakingly took the time to go into the darkroom herself to accomplish the results she wanted. I spent some of the evening staring at her photos in ways that are considered impolite if you are looking at real people. But that’s not as astounding as how she gets the shot.

So Juliet sets up a studio and lets the animals roam about as they wish, and do what they want. For her horse series, she used five strobes with a gi-normous backdrop set up in a barn. She left the barn door open so the horses could leave any time they wanted. She did the same for the dogs.

I'm inspired and intrigued. Our first assignment, a self portrait. Hmmm oh geeeesh... the anxiety!

When The Sexy Beast is Away... or I Should Have Bought The Dell Sooner...

No, I don't play, when the Sexy Beast is away.

I miss her. It's glorious out today, a balmy 80 degrees and she's in rainy cold Salt Lake with her mother, brother, and grandfather, who is dying. He's quite old enough now to deserve a good send off, and according to my love, his body is doing what a body does when it's just too worn out to keep going.

I'm so glad she gets to be with that part of her family even though this part of her family misses her lots and lots.

As for me, I am feeling a bit overly geeky in happy anticipation of the arrival of my new laptop. Yeah, I got a Dell... it seems so Republican in light of being a creative person who entertained voting for Apple. But Apples are too rich for my blood. Here's what I got:
I shopped the factory outlet and then kept going back to review the competitors, who couldn't even come close --even on refurbished models.

A refurbished Apple costs three times what this honker costs. And I confess it's a honker -- weighing in at around eight pounds with a 17 inch screen. I need the big screen! I do photo work! And I don't plan on schlepping it to every Starbucks, airport and boardroom in the country. I plan on using it at home on a consistent basis without feeling guilty for bumping Beast Boy 2 offline when he's doing homework (if he's really doing it.)

Yes I chose a brown cover. Black lacked expression, white was too... "apple-ey." Flamingo Pink and Spring Green will either a) never resell on Craig's List or, b) never be used by Beast Boy Two if he wants it down the line and is willing to use a hand me down computer that is older than an infant's shirt size. Red and Blue both seem so ... so... I don't know... elementary. school. (What's your favorite color? Blue. Red. Pfft.)

So, here we are with brown. Unique, but not outrageous. Risky, but calculated. The messenger bag that matches though, it's very cool... Home design fashionistas have enjoyed this color combination for a few of the most recent years.

I am further blessed to be able to get the bag at just over cost! Whee!

Ok, I can't believe that I'm about to have this conversation, but I am. The Dell comes with 3gb RAM and 160 gb Sata hard drive. Now it also comes with a Graphics Media accelerator X3100, which pulls it's performance from the main memory, but I really won't be playing a bunch of games, or running DVD's while I'm working in Photoshop -- but, I might do either separately. The card is built into the motherboard chipset, and that's what slows her down. What? ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzZZZ... I know a little about these things. I work for a company that builds workstations. No, they didn't make me one because they're workstations, not laptops. We don't do laptops.

Now, since we're all nodding off from this boring conversation, I think I'll sign off and watch the Oscars... before getting bored and switching to The L Word.

It would be a perfect weekend to have set up my new laptop, but I still would miss the Sexy Beast.

YaaaAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Lookie what I found today: X-Files 2

Yay for summer.

Yay for The X-Files. Yay!!!!

Snipped entirely from Variety Online:

"Fox sets date for 'X-Files' sequel

Scully, Mulder return to theaters on July 25

The long-awaited second "X-Files" film is finally a go, with 20th Century Fox setting a July 25, 2008 release date.

Untitled project reunites "X-Files" creator Chris Carter will thesps David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, who will reprise their signature roles as FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.

Carter begins lensing in December in Vancouver from a script he co-wrote with Frank

Spotnitz, a veteran scribe of the long-running "X-Files" television series, which became a worldwide hit during its 1993-2002 run on the Fox network. Spotnitz also co-wrote with Carter the screenplay for 1998 feature "X-Files." Carter and Spotnitz will also serve as producers.

Studio is keeping the film's logline under wraps, but stressed the pic is a stand-alone story and supernatural thriller that takes the complicated relationship between Mulder and Scully in new directions."

Oh that they had been shooting in Vancouver at the VERY SAME time as The L Word.

The Sexy Beast would have had to fly me there.... pant, pant.

The lovely ladies in the last blog have nothing on Gillian Anderson.

L Girls

I was at Subway today, getting that favorite sandwich of mine that, the last time I was at Subway, the guy before me ordered in exactly the same fashion until we got to the end of the line. He went for Ranch, I went for Italian -- on our sandwiches. Creepy. But I digress.

While there today, I heard OMG! Flashdance! Playing! Remember that? It actually made me smile to hear it somewhere besides in my head after all this time. Remember this?


Well... now we have this:
And we like it. It's one of the things that currently rocks. I may have to rent Flashdance from Netflix and laugh and laugh and laugh.

One of the things that doesn't rock:

Where is Rachel Shelley? Whaaaaaa? I like her best. When I have time I'll go trolling and find spoilers or something and see what's up.

Aside from Rachel's absence, it's been a pretty good L Word season. Some worthy plot lines. Some Tibette goin' on. They've got the right chemistry. Doncha think? Cheating sucks though, but I guess there just wasn't a more creative way to thicken the plot and keep viewers? I mean, it is a soap opera, if we get right down to it.

So I'm off to the gym... laugh if you must.

Fin.

Jane Lynch... But I Digress

I love Jane Lynch.

You know those ridiculous questions on Myspace pages like "who would you like to meet?" -- Does that mean, like, a mate, or Jesus, or what? BTW, the only reason I have a Myspace page is to spy on the Beast Boys. There's nothing there, don't go looking.

So, anyway... I "would like to meet" Jane Lynch. Here's an actress that works. (Six films coming out in 2008) I mean never out of work. And she's never been in the closet. I would go for meeting Catherine O'Hara, too. They're both brilliant, but something about Jane Lynch suggests she's just lots and lots and lots of fun offscreen.

Now, I got sidetracked looking for a Jane Lynch clip and ran into this (read this if you care at all about the rights of GLBT people) on The L Word's "Our Chart."


I wish I had taken that photo. Richard Phibbs took it. It's all retouched but it's great. I know someone who lurks on my blog who would love this photo -- if she hasn't seen it already.

But, I digress.

Sorta.

I'd like to meet Hillary Clinton. I WOULD. I know, I know, Obama is great, but I think Hillary has bigger cahones. And our next president will need them.

I have seen Hillary in person a couple of times. She said in an interview last week or so, that she sits down and has a beer with people, lots of them. I wouldn't mind being one of them.

Here's a little of what Hillary says in her address post on Our Chart.

"My father was a conservative Republican, who held very traditional views for much of his life. Yet in his last years, it was a gay couple who lived next door who provided much of the compassion and comfort he and my mother needed as he grew ill. And it was that same neighbor who held his hand as he died. If my father can move, America can move.

To each and every LGBT American, I say this. You have done so much to help this country understand your lives by simply being open and honest about who you are and living your lives with dignity. Thank you for your courage. It is time that we recognize your hard work. I know that this country is ready for changes in the law that reflect the evolution in our hearts."

Ok, so Jane Lynch. Jane has done lots and lots of work, in film and television, including two of my favorite shows, The X-Files and The L Word. (If it doesn't have a single consonant somewhere in the title, I don't watch it.) I know, I know! You're wondering if I know WHICH X-Files episode she's in -- "Lord of The Flies." Season Nine. Crappy Season. I had to look up which episode, and only vaguely remember it.

Ok, so Jane Lynch. Here ya go.

Enjoy.