I would have seen Kinsey anyway. Laura Liney is in it. I adore her work, the respect which she gives it, and the way that she goes about it. So, I would have seen the film anyway. But it's about Alfred C. Kinsey.
When I was young and wondering what my "difference" said about me and my place in the world, I read a lot of intriguing things, such as the fact that, incomprehensible as it seemed at the time, out of about ten other guys, there was one like me, or that ninety percent of males report having a homosexual encounter at least once in their lives. Every positive thing that I read about us was printed because of Alfred C. Kinsey. I knew his name from when I was twelve...probably earlier.
I wanted to love this film. Of course, my natural reaction would make it fall short of my expectations. It didn't. I do love this film.
If you like love stories, you'll find one there. If you like character studies, you'll find one there. If you like creative cinematography, look no further. If you like one man taking on the establishment, it's there. Crackerjack direction with a light touch, naturally. If you like perfect characters lacking the complexities that make us human....you're out of luck.
This film truly chronicles one of the huge stories of this nation. This is not only true for homosexuals. There is one other subgroup of the American populace who owe Dr. Kinsey a debt of thanks. While still marginalized, this group has improved their position with help from Kinsey. I speak of women.
Whether you're a woman, a homosexual, a lover of great film, or the average American, I ask you to push your cinema manager to show Kinsey.
29 November, 2004
My Purple Eye Shadow
Running for the T Friday morning, I was shocked, or rather, concussed by the failure of a turnstile to function as it's first syllable obviously requires. The resulting collision created a beautiful vision of stars which, alas, I could not enjoy thanks to the ringing in my ears. I adjusted to it before it stopped...about two hours later.
Throughout the day, I could see my cheekbone swelling. Rick, my manager, gave me bi-hourly reports of how black my eye was becoming. When I have my roll developed, you'll see that it's not black....it's a vivid purple. That's actually the color which I intend to paint my room. A vivid purple, the color of royalty in the nations of my lineage; the color of the priesthood for my priestly people. Why then, is purple singled out as the color most disliked by adults for their bedrooms?
Well, once-loved, the kings and priests have fallen into disgrace. The problem is that we who are royal or priests cannot renounce our heritage. Being the constant proponent of rebirth, we challenge those of purple nature to recreate a purple world uniting all that ever was great of royalty and the priesthood with all that they can be.
I'm starting with my left eye.
Throughout the day, I could see my cheekbone swelling. Rick, my manager, gave me bi-hourly reports of how black my eye was becoming. When I have my roll developed, you'll see that it's not black....it's a vivid purple. That's actually the color which I intend to paint my room. A vivid purple, the color of royalty in the nations of my lineage; the color of the priesthood for my priestly people. Why then, is purple singled out as the color most disliked by adults for their bedrooms?
Well, once-loved, the kings and priests have fallen into disgrace. The problem is that we who are royal or priests cannot renounce our heritage. Being the constant proponent of rebirth, we challenge those of purple nature to recreate a purple world uniting all that ever was great of royalty and the priesthood with all that they can be.
I'm starting with my left eye.
The Gay Marriage Debate
You know, things have quieted down in Mass. There has been no fire from the skies. Civilization hasn't crumbled. Straigt marriages haven't sufferred. Hence, the objectors to gay marriage have faded.
What's the problem with a separation of Church and State anyway? Or is being "one among equals the problem?" I honestly think that's what it is. I once heard a redneck being interviewed on television tell a reporter that if Gay marriage is allowed that would be like saying that "Their relationship is as good as (mah) marriage." Duuh! That's exactly what it means. Those fighting Gay marriage are simply fighting to retain the imaginary superiority that they believe that they have.
What's the problem with a separation of Church and State anyway? Or is being "one among equals the problem?" I honestly think that's what it is. I once heard a redneck being interviewed on television tell a reporter that if Gay marriage is allowed that would be like saying that "Their relationship is as good as (mah) marriage." Duuh! That's exactly what it means. Those fighting Gay marriage are simply fighting to retain the imaginary superiority that they believe that they have.
17 November, 2004
That Uppity Jew
No, the title doesn't refer to me. It's John Stewart. The man truly makes me realize what makes America great, and, strangely enough, he celebrates what drives Dubya crazy. If he weren't married, I'd try to convert him, if ya know what I mean!
12 November, 2004
Traveling Again
The tickets are booked. If you want to travel with, please do. If you want to email me while I'm gone, you probably should use my Gmail account. I wanted to do phoenixrave@gmail.com, but apparently someone else has discovered my name. I wonder what it means for them. I'll have to send an email. It's possible that I've found a match! Anyway, my gmail account is bobbywith@gmail.com Just imagine the @ is an A, and it shouldn't be to difficult to remember.
Without further ado:
Thursday, August 4, 2005 Leave Boston 19:55
After a brief layover in Paris (G-d, I miss smoking!), I arrive in Glasgow, Friday, August 5 at 12:40
That weekend is Interaction, the Scotish incarnation of The World Science Fiction Convention. You can check out their website by clicking on the title above. I'll be sharing my time between Edinburgh and Glasgow. After the convention, I'm in Scotland for that week, unless Ruaridh and Hillary want to venture elsewhere with me. I'm thinking about a visit to Dundee to see Marie and possibly checking out Aberdeen and Inverness. At some point
before August 12, I have to get to London.
Friday, August 12 Leave London 9:40
That's a direct flight, arriving in Tel Aviv 16:25
This begins two weeks in Israel. I can't wait!
Friday, August 26 Leave Tel Aviv 10:45
Another direct flight, arriving in Athens 13:05
It's playtime in the Mediterranean until August 31.
Wednesday, August 31 Leave Athens 6:40
There's a two hour layover in Milan (Wish there was time to shop!), and I arrive in Boston Wednesday, August 31 at 12:55
Without further ado:
Thursday, August 4, 2005 Leave Boston 19:55
After a brief layover in Paris (G-d, I miss smoking!), I arrive in Glasgow, Friday, August 5 at 12:40
That weekend is Interaction, the Scotish incarnation of The World Science Fiction Convention. You can check out their website by clicking on the title above. I'll be sharing my time between Edinburgh and Glasgow. After the convention, I'm in Scotland for that week, unless Ruaridh and Hillary want to venture elsewhere with me. I'm thinking about a visit to Dundee to see Marie and possibly checking out Aberdeen and Inverness. At some point
before August 12, I have to get to London.
Friday, August 12 Leave London 9:40
That's a direct flight, arriving in Tel Aviv 16:25
This begins two weeks in Israel. I can't wait!
Friday, August 26 Leave Tel Aviv 10:45
Another direct flight, arriving in Athens 13:05
It's playtime in the Mediterranean until August 31.
Wednesday, August 31 Leave Athens 6:40
There's a two hour layover in Milan (Wish there was time to shop!), and I arrive in Boston Wednesday, August 31 at 12:55
Let it snow!
A knock on the door drew me outside to find that...It's snowing! My first New England snow. It's a beautiful day! I guess that I won't be working on the computer all day. I'm going outside.
11 November, 2004
@#%* the South!
Ok, I think it might be time to address the election. Anyone who's had contact with me in the last week knows that I've been very troubled. I'm hoping that I've calmed down enough to look at the results rationally.
As it became obvious that we (meaning the Blue States, The United States, and The World. If W wins, the whole world loses.) lost, my redneck heritage came out. Of course, the 750ml of bourbon in me didn't hurt. I apparently (from witness accounts, as I blessedly don't remember) read W and his supporters the riot act, predicted doom and gloom for this nation, and reiterated my decision to move to the UK. Later, on a visit home, my vitriol was still spewing. Upon learning that my uncle was a big W supporter, I said to his son that if W's minions want to declare war on us they should beware. At that moment, I wanted to destroy fundamentalist culture. In a way, I still do. I can, however, write about the Blackest Tuesday without totally resorting to my base nature.
How do I begin?
Why do I hate W? Is it because he is seriously trying to amend the constitution so that I can't get married? No. There are others that are also fighting that fight, and while I would not piss on them if they were on fire (If they weren't on fire, I'd have no problem doing it), I don't hate them. Do I hate W because he despicably smeared the reputation of a good man and great candidate for president in 2000 by having Bush supported spread lies about McCain? Rove was part of that. I don't believe that I hate him...although I wouldn't deliver a Pro-life lecture to his mother.
How about Bush's escalation of the pollution of America? Nah....too many other people doing that. His insistance, after 2 buildings in the city that I lived in came down, that the best thing that Americans could do was to shop? (What happened to volunteerism? Guess "Compassionate Conservatives" don't believe in that.) That was disapointing, but it couldn't create this level of hatred in me.
Do I hate W because of the war that he started? This war wasn't begun in furtherance of democracy or peace, but because Sadamm threatened W's dad and Iraq challenged Saudi oil dominance, but way too many Congressmen and citizens were ready to cast those first stones. I don't hate them all. I do wish that they'd listened to me. Hell, being one of the few people in the nation who not only were right, but vocal about it actually makes me feel good, in a smug sort of way. Why should that make me hate him?
How about the dead bodies? I'm not talking about only the American bodies. I mean EVERY BODY that doesn't breathe because of W's war. I know that many of you have no concern for the Iraqis. Well, I do, but even if we ignore them, thousands of American citizens will be dead for the "What-Are-We-Saying-Was-The-Reason-This-Week?" War. Their lives are gone at his insistence, but the other hawks pushed as hard.
The above reasons all contribue to my hatred of W, but the strongest cause of my hatred is exactly the reason that he won the election. He represents the closed-minded views of much of the country. He won because much of America would rather complain about the effect of the poor on property values than help those poor find a job and home. He won because "Christian Values" seemingly require that any society which Christians inhabit create a totalitarian climate where bedroom freedoms are controlled by the voters. Funny...maybe I would be a Christian if I knew how to read between the lines of the Christian Bible and see where Jesus said "Thou shall prevent those outside your faith of even the smallest sense of self-worth."
I have a shirt. It satirizes the Baptist re-education camps where they brainwash homosexuals. It says "B.A.S.H." on the front, "Baptists Are Saving Homosexuals." On the back, it says "God told me to hate you." The people that laugh at the shirt invariably know that I'm not spoofing Christianity. They realize, no matter their faith, that the funny bit is that Fundamentalists commit actions which agree with what the back of my shirt says.
Do all Christians feel this way? No. I take pride in the fact that many of you realized that my marriage doesn't threaten your's. Almost half of the voters rejected the voices of hate. I forgot that for the week after the election. GOP spin doctors describing W's "mandate" and declaring that the breadth of the nation supported Does that mean we're out of the woods? Nah.
Am I still depressed? A bit, but then again, I plan on leaving this country. I'll do my part to leave it a better place than I left it, but it's your baby. And hell, some of you put your baby in the hand of the devil. The redneck in me says reap what you sew: America, feel the scourge of a W presidency; Jack, if Congress passes an anti-marriage amendment, never know the comfort of marriage; Heathra, leave Cole with a nation with huge debts and fewer friends and allies.
I still hate W. I can't think of another human being that I've ever hated. It's not a burning hatred. Then I'd be expending energy. I think he's pathetic. Do I really want my friends to suffer? No. Will I feel sad if they do? Yes, but I'm far sadder for anyone in a Blue State, any "Blue" voter, and those too young to vote.
That brings me to the title of this piece. Click on the title above, and you'll follow a link to a hillarious instruction in exactly how f-ed up Red State voters are. It also has some truly amazing facts, like, for instance, the state with the lowest divorce rate in the nation is Massachusetts. Hmm....aren't we the ones with the gay marriage? Guess it's not having to detrimental an effect.
As it became obvious that we (meaning the Blue States, The United States, and The World. If W wins, the whole world loses.) lost, my redneck heritage came out. Of course, the 750ml of bourbon in me didn't hurt. I apparently (from witness accounts, as I blessedly don't remember) read W and his supporters the riot act, predicted doom and gloom for this nation, and reiterated my decision to move to the UK. Later, on a visit home, my vitriol was still spewing. Upon learning that my uncle was a big W supporter, I said to his son that if W's minions want to declare war on us they should beware. At that moment, I wanted to destroy fundamentalist culture. In a way, I still do. I can, however, write about the Blackest Tuesday without totally resorting to my base nature.
How do I begin?
Why do I hate W? Is it because he is seriously trying to amend the constitution so that I can't get married? No. There are others that are also fighting that fight, and while I would not piss on them if they were on fire (If they weren't on fire, I'd have no problem doing it), I don't hate them. Do I hate W because he despicably smeared the reputation of a good man and great candidate for president in 2000 by having Bush supported spread lies about McCain? Rove was part of that. I don't believe that I hate him...although I wouldn't deliver a Pro-life lecture to his mother.
How about Bush's escalation of the pollution of America? Nah....too many other people doing that. His insistance, after 2 buildings in the city that I lived in came down, that the best thing that Americans could do was to shop? (What happened to volunteerism? Guess "Compassionate Conservatives" don't believe in that.) That was disapointing, but it couldn't create this level of hatred in me.
Do I hate W because of the war that he started? This war wasn't begun in furtherance of democracy or peace, but because Sadamm threatened W's dad and Iraq challenged Saudi oil dominance, but way too many Congressmen and citizens were ready to cast those first stones. I don't hate them all. I do wish that they'd listened to me. Hell, being one of the few people in the nation who not only were right, but vocal about it actually makes me feel good, in a smug sort of way. Why should that make me hate him?
How about the dead bodies? I'm not talking about only the American bodies. I mean EVERY BODY that doesn't breathe because of W's war. I know that many of you have no concern for the Iraqis. Well, I do, but even if we ignore them, thousands of American citizens will be dead for the "What-Are-We-Saying-Was-The-Reason-This-Week?" War. Their lives are gone at his insistence, but the other hawks pushed as hard.
The above reasons all contribue to my hatred of W, but the strongest cause of my hatred is exactly the reason that he won the election. He represents the closed-minded views of much of the country. He won because much of America would rather complain about the effect of the poor on property values than help those poor find a job and home. He won because "Christian Values" seemingly require that any society which Christians inhabit create a totalitarian climate where bedroom freedoms are controlled by the voters. Funny...maybe I would be a Christian if I knew how to read between the lines of the Christian Bible and see where Jesus said "Thou shall prevent those outside your faith of even the smallest sense of self-worth."
I have a shirt. It satirizes the Baptist re-education camps where they brainwash homosexuals. It says "B.A.S.H." on the front, "Baptists Are Saving Homosexuals." On the back, it says "God told me to hate you." The people that laugh at the shirt invariably know that I'm not spoofing Christianity. They realize, no matter their faith, that the funny bit is that Fundamentalists commit actions which agree with what the back of my shirt says.
Do all Christians feel this way? No. I take pride in the fact that many of you realized that my marriage doesn't threaten your's. Almost half of the voters rejected the voices of hate. I forgot that for the week after the election. GOP spin doctors describing W's "mandate" and declaring that the breadth of the nation supported Does that mean we're out of the woods? Nah.
Am I still depressed? A bit, but then again, I plan on leaving this country. I'll do my part to leave it a better place than I left it, but it's your baby. And hell, some of you put your baby in the hand of the devil. The redneck in me says reap what you sew: America, feel the scourge of a W presidency; Jack, if Congress passes an anti-marriage amendment, never know the comfort of marriage; Heathra, leave Cole with a nation with huge debts and fewer friends and allies.
I still hate W. I can't think of another human being that I've ever hated. It's not a burning hatred. Then I'd be expending energy. I think he's pathetic. Do I really want my friends to suffer? No. Will I feel sad if they do? Yes, but I'm far sadder for anyone in a Blue State, any "Blue" voter, and those too young to vote.
That brings me to the title of this piece. Click on the title above, and you'll follow a link to a hillarious instruction in exactly how f-ed up Red State voters are. It also has some truly amazing facts, like, for instance, the state with the lowest divorce rate in the nation is Massachusetts. Hmm....aren't we the ones with the gay marriage? Guess it's not having to detrimental an effect.
Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead
I'm done with the GRE! I got a 1440, so I'm not terribly disappointed. Yes, those of you whom I called right before I took the test know that it was actually over on October 27. After that, it was time to concentrate on my application for Emerson. Then, I received an email from Emerson informing me that "Unfortunately, the program director has decided not to review any more applications for spring 2005. Emerson prides itself on small class sizes and the program director felt that there currently is not enough room in the program to add more students."
So....I'm in limbo until Fall of 2005. LOL. You know what my reaction to that is: Time to Travel!! LOL. I'm contemplating Purim in San Fran and some kind of skiing jaunt....maybe to Aspen or France. I'm supposed to visit my friend David (whose books I highly recommend!) in LA sometime as well. In addition to all of that, I'm booking my tickets to Scotland, Israel, and Greece tonight. I'll post my trip dates when I know. You might not want to be on those flights after our Executive Branch reads my next post.
I've been examining Hebrew College, and I really like the school. One outcome of Emerson's postponement may be that I won't attend Emerson at all. It would be tremendously exciting to instead work on an M.A. in Jewish Early Childhood Education at Hebrew College. Proficiency in Hebrew is a must, and I'm already learning the language anyway. I'm looking into taking a Hebrew class in the spring. This would also be an ideal way to test if it's the right school for me.
So....I'm in limbo until Fall of 2005. LOL. You know what my reaction to that is: Time to Travel!! LOL. I'm contemplating Purim in San Fran and some kind of skiing jaunt....maybe to Aspen or France. I'm supposed to visit my friend David (whose books I highly recommend!) in LA sometime as well. In addition to all of that, I'm booking my tickets to Scotland, Israel, and Greece tonight. I'll post my trip dates when I know. You might not want to be on those flights after our Executive Branch reads my next post.
I've been examining Hebrew College, and I really like the school. One outcome of Emerson's postponement may be that I won't attend Emerson at all. It would be tremendously exciting to instead work on an M.A. in Jewish Early Childhood Education at Hebrew College. Proficiency in Hebrew is a must, and I'm already learning the language anyway. I'm looking into taking a Hebrew class in the spring. This would also be an ideal way to test if it's the right school for me.
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