MI Assistant AG suspended over gay-bashing blog - UPDATE

Andrew Shirvell with photo shopped picture of Chris Armstrong

UPDATE: It appears that Attorney General Mike Cox didn't suspend Asst. AG Andrew Shirvell. Shrivell says reports of his suspension are untrue, and that he has merely taken a voluntary leave of absence from his job.

Joy Yearout, a spokeswoman for Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, said this morning that media reports saying Cox suspended Shirvell were inaccurate.

If that's the case, then Cox should be fired!

Clearly these two anti-gay, Tea Party state employees should not be the leading law enforcement officials in the state.

* * * * * * * * * *

Finally, some good news! If you hadn't heard the background on this story, the Assistant Attorney General in Michigan -- Andrew Shirvell -- started a blog for the sole purpose of harassing University of Michigan student leader Chris Armstrong. So why would a presumed adult take the time to stalk and harass a college student? Chris Armstrong is gay.

Another Michigan blogger described Shirvell's behavior this way:

You would think the guy working for the republican Attorney General who lectures in schools about how to stop cyber bullying would know better. But Michigan AG Mike Cox's Asst., Andrew Shirvell just can't keep his teabagging, gay hating, religious zealot mouth shut.

College student Chris Armstrong is the President of the University of Michigan's Student Assembly. And he's been politically active, or as christian teabagger Asst. AG Shirvell might put it, "using his Nazi-like anti christian cult to lure innocent heterosexuals into accepting the evil gay." Evil, anti christian things like campaigning against tuition hikes, and working for safe housing for transgendered youth on campus.

Michigan's Attorney General has been reluctant to do anything, citing Shirvell's First Amendment free speech rights. All of Shirvell's blogging activity has allegedly taken place after hours.

Shirvell had recently stepped up his harassment of Armstrong by stalking the college student near his residence, and at local clubs where Armstrong was known to hang out. The actions caused Armstrong to seek a personal protection order against Shirvell.

I began this post by saying there is finally some good news! Well, after (cough) careful consideration, MI Attorney General Mike Cox has had a change of heart and suspended Shirvell.

Attorney General Mike Cox changed his stance Thursday, suspending Andrew Shirvell after the assistant attorney general attracted national attention for a controversial blog that ridicules and denounces a University of Michigan student leader for his gay advocacy, religious beliefs and character.

The suspension came a day after Cox told CNN he didn't intend to fire Shirvell, citing civil service rules that protect government employees from being "fired willy-nilly" for exercising their rights of free speech.

Cox said he hadn't earlier read all of Shirvell's blog, "Chris Armstrong Watch," that dogs Armstrong, the 21-year-old, openly gay president of U-M's student government and accuses him of "anti-Christian behavior," "mocking God," promoting homosexuality and trying "to recruit your sons and daughters" into the gay lifestyle.

"I'm at fault here," Cox said. "I've been saying for weeks that (Shirvell's) been acting like a bully, that his behavior is immature, but it's after-hours and protected by the First Amendment."

Republican (Tea party supporter) Cox couldn't leave it at just suspending Shirvell. He had to take a shot at Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who posted on Twitter that she would have fired Shirvell.

"I don't know why she's so freaking irresponsible. ... she went to Harvard Law School," Cox said. "The civil service rules are a huge shield for free speech and she knows that."

As governor, Granholm enacted policies applying to state workers that bar discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation -- but those rules apply to the workplace, not to what employees say or blog after-hours. The rules allow political appointees like Cox to fire employees for "just cause," including "conduct unbecoming a state employee," said Matt Fedorchuk, a spokesman for the state department of civil service.

What determines that conduct isn't explicitly described. [...]

Larry Dubin, a professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, said he doubts that Shirvell can effectively perform his job representing the public, when he's forcefully expressed his "biblical" views condemning homosexuality as the work of the devil. "My real concern is whether as an attorney for the Michigan Attorney General's Office, he can competently represent gay people in our state," Dubin said.

"Perhaps that raises a legitimate question as to his competency to hold this job, rather than examining his right to speak his brand of hate."

It doesn't stop there for Shirvell. Also on Thursday, Diane Brown, a spokeswoman for the campus police, confirmed Shirvell is subject to an ongoing investigation of "harassing or stalking" and banned from campus. Shirvell was read a trespass warning on Sept. 14 that bars him from setting foot on campus, Brown said. Shirvell is appealing the order, but no hearing date has been set.

Armstrong may need a body guard now that Shivell has been suspended.  Judging from the way Shivell has escalated his harassment of Armstrong, he's probably not safe.

We've heard a lot about kids bullying other kids lately. Is it any wonder this behavior takes place, when adults -- in positions of authority -- act this way!  Shivell needs to be fired, to send a strong statement that this behavior is not acceptable.

October is LGBT Month

Secret sex video linked to NJ student's suicide

It is just completely unacceptable to me that any college-age student would think they have a right to invade someone's privacy this way. A life is lost, and for what? The students responsible need to spend time in jail thinking about their actions, and as a society we MUST stop passing judgment on people because of their sexual orientation, or ANY characteristic that cannot be changed.

The death of a Rutgers University freshman stirred outrage and remorse on campus from classmates who wished they could have stopped the teen from jumping off a bridge last week after a recording of him having a sexual encounter with a man was broadcast online.

"Had he been in bed with a woman, this would not have happened," said Lauren Felton, 21, of Warren. "He wouldn't have been outed via an online broadcast and his privacy would have been respected and he might still have his life."

Gay rights groups say Tyler Clementi's suicide makes him a national example of a problem they are increasingly working to combat: young people who kill themselves after being tormented over their sexuality.
A lawyer for Clementi's family confirmed Wednesday that he had jumped off the George Washington Bridge last week. Police recovered a man's body Wednesday afternoon in the Hudson River just north of the bridge, and authorities were trying to determine if it was Clementi's. [...]

Clementi's roommate, Dhraun Ravi, and fellow Rutgers freshman Molly Wei, both 18, have been charged with invading Clementi's privacy. Middlesex County prosecutors say the pair used a webcam to surreptitiously transmit a live image of Clementi having sex on Sept. 19 and that Ravi tried to webcast a second encounter on Sept. 21, the day before Clementi's suicide. [...]

Collecting or viewing sexual images without consent is a fourth-degree crime. Transmitting them is a third-degree crime with a maximum prison term of five years.

The Court should throw the book at these two students.

"The notion that video of Tyler doing what he was doing can be considered a spectacle is just heinous," said Jordan Gochman, 19, of Jackson, who didn't know Clementi. "It's intolerant, it's upsetting, it makes it seem that being gay is something that is wrong and can be considered laughable."

Other students who did know Clement were upset that they didn't do more to help him. "I wish I could have been more of an ally," said Georges Richa, a freshman from New Brunswick.

About 100 people gathered Wednesday night for a vigil on campus. They lay on the ground and chanted slogans like, "We're here, we're queer, we're not going home."

Several gay rights groups linked Clementi's death to the troubling phenomenon of young people committing suicide after being harassed over their sexuality.

On Tuesday, a 13-year-old California boy died nine days after classmates found him hanging from a tree. Authorities say other teens had taunted the boy, Seth Walsh of Tehachapi, for being gay.

Steven Goldstein, chairman of Garden State Equality, said in a statement that his group considers Clementi's death a hate crime.

"We are heartbroken over the tragic loss of a young man who, by all accounts, was brilliant, talented and kind," Goldstein said. "And we are sickened that anyone in our society, such as the students allegedly responsible for making the surreptitious video, might consider destroying others' lives as a sport."

Newspaper columnist and gay rights activist Dan Savage has launched a YouTube channel in an effort to reach out to gay and lesbian youth. His "It Gets Better Project" features video's by lesbian and gay adults who share their stories about harassment and how it does (eventually) get better.

I've been fortunate in that I've not faced a lot of harassment, but then I didn't come out until I was an adult. It's tough for boys and girls who are struggling with coming out. Often they are shunned by their families and friends, and become targets for abuse. Even someone perceived to be lesbian or gay can face harassment and violence. And imagine the challenges faced by transgender women and men.

As I've said before, it's all rooted in sexism. If our culture didn't try and place individuals in such rigid roles it wouldn't matter if a boy wanted to be a cheerleader, or a girl wanted to play on the school football team.

The Blank Theory - Middle Of Nowhere

Este grupo de Chicago por desgracia ya no existe. Fué formado en 1998 por unos jovencísimos gemelos de 17 años, los Leone (Nathan y Matthew). Contaron con la ayuda de Michael Foderaro a la guitarra, James Knight en la batería y Shawn Currie con el teclado y como programador. Matt era el bajista y corista y Nathan el vocalista (a veces también guitarra rítmica).
Actualmente los gemelos han formado otro grupo, Madina Lake, pero no tiene mucho que ver con sus primeros pasos. Algo anecdótico es que sacaron el dinero para grabar su maqueta ganando el programa "Fear Factor", premiados con 50.000 dólares que invirtieron en poner en marcha su nuevo grupo.
Actualmente la situación no es nada buena. Hace 3 meses, cuando Matthew estaba llegando a casa de su hermano Nathan en Chicago, escuchó unos gritos de una mujer, se acercó y pudo ver como su marido la estaba maltratando con un bate de baseball. Ante este espectáculo, Matt se apresuró a ayudar a la mujer, consiguiendo salvarla del ataque de su marido. Una vez consiguió evitar que siguiera golpeando a la chica, le ayudó a recuperarse, pero el marido lleno de rabia le propinó una soberana paliza con el bate. Como consecuencia de ello, Matthew estuvo durante días al borde de la muerte, ya que su cráneo quedó totalmente desfigurado. Los médicos se vieron incluso obligados a extirpar parte de él, dejando al aire su cerebro porque se haía hinchado y estaba ejerciendo mucha presión. Nathan rapidamente hizo un llamamiento al público, ya que no disponen de seguro médico y no podían costearse la vital operación del bajista. Al final lo consiguieron, pero Matt no se recuperó. Estos días están pendientes de hacerle una segunda operación.
Pues nada, aquí queda el único vídeo que ha sacado The Blank Theory, mi canción favorita suya, "Middle Of Nowhere" con un magnífico videoclip:

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

Synopsis From Back Cover:

Author Barbara Kingsolver and her family abandoned the industrial food pipeline to live a rural life- vowing that, for one year, they'd only buy food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it.

One of the unforeseen benefits of starting my own book blog has been the fact that I've now read more non fiction books in the last year than I ever have before.  What's really wonderful about it is the wide range of topics I've been able to read about. I have since discovered a new found love of memoirs, so when I had the chance to sign up for Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I jumped for it.

 I wasn't sure what I would get out of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle before I read it, and now that I'm done, I'm still not really sure what I got out of it.  When I started the book I assumed it would be a detailed account into the lives of the author and her family as they took a year off from outside sources of food and for the most part, that's what I got.  What I wasn't expecting was the almost dogmatic tone directed at the food industry as a whole.

The reason I'm bringing this up is that this book, for the most part, worked for me and I really enjoyed reading it.  I was amused and somewhat jealous of this family's year long experiment.  I can only imagine the pride of growing your own food and seeing it nourishing your family.  The sense of well earned accomplishment is one to be admired and I applaud the author for caring enough about her family to take on such a life changing journey.   It's one that I wish I had the resources to experience for myself. I would love to feed my son vegetables grown on our own land.

What I loved about this book more than anything was how personal it felt.  The author is more than willing to share all the details of her experiment.  It felt like I was living with them during that year and I never wanted to leave.  I laughed along with her while she was recounting her story of breeding heritage turkeys.  My mouth watered at some of the fantastic recipes sprinkled throughout the book, some of which I will be trying out very soon.

Where this book didn't work for me, and I may be in the minority on this one, is the almost condescending tone taken throughout the book towards the modern food industry and those of us forced to deal with it.  I'm not here to defend the industry, quite honestly I don't agree with half the things done to the animals and crops we get our food from.  Every time I see a video of a egg hatchery or a slaughter house I wish I had the luxury to swear off it's products, but like millions of other I don't. 

I know the author wasn't judging those of us who can't do what she did, but there was a tone used throughout the book that almost felt snobbish.  The sense of being better than the rest of us was implied though I don't think it was intentional.  I think when people write a memoir about any aspect of their life, a little ego will come out.  It's normal and not something done on purpose.  It's the lens we view life from.  For the most part this was a very small aspect of what I got from the book and not one that should deter anyone else from reading it.  It may be simply that I was being over sensitive and judging myself through the author's eyes.

Now I would like to say that this book changed my life and that I'll be eating differently.  This book made me want to and for a day or two after I finished with the book I was in that mind set. My reality quickly set in though and while I may be more conscious of my choices, I don't seem them changing all that much.  I will be visiting the farmers market more often to buy local, fresh produce and I will pay more attention to where my food comes from.  But in the end, though I loved reading this book, it won't be life changing for me.

You can read more about Barbara Kingsolver by visiting her website.

I would like to thank Trish of  TLC Book Tours for giving me the opportunity to review this book.  This was part of a larger Barbara Kingsolver book tour featuring 5 of her books.  You can view all the other stops on the tour by visiting the tour page.

Ohio Male Cheerleader Beaten by Bullies

This is another example of why people need to be concerned about sexism. Tyler Wilson expected some teasing, what he didn't expect was a broken shoulder and bruises. Here is a little boy who is planning ahead. He wants to get into college, and cheerleading could provide that avenue. At a nearby university, the University of Toledo, half of the 40 cheerleaders are male.

Sexism not only hurts women and girls, but also men and boys. It's time for society in general to stand up to the bullies and say "no more!"

NOW President asks Alan Simpson to Step Down

Here is a copy of NOW's press release:

NOW President Terry O'Neill delivered on a promise when she presented Fiscal Commission Co-Chair Alan Simpson with 1,500 baby bottle tops this morning and promptly asked him to step down from the commission.

After Simpson insulted those who depend on Social Security -- many of them older women, children and people with disabilities -- by referring to the program as "a milk cow with 310 million tits," NOW came up with its "Tits for an Ass" campaign. The organization put out a call to its supporters, and they responded enthusiastically with donations to help buy baby bottle nipples in bulk to give to Simpson.

"We needed to send him this message in person, and we wanted to make it memorable," said O'Neill. "We can't have someone with obvious animosity toward women and seniors making important decisions on Social Security. This commission is supposed to be developing ways to reduce the national debt, which, by the way, has nothing to do with Social Security. But Mr. Simpson is bent on weakening a federal program that prevents many women retirees from living in deep poverty."

Women make up the largest group of elderly who live in poverty, and a cut in Social Security or raising the retirement age will only make things worse. Throughout their lives, women on average are paid less then men; in addition, they often work at part-time jobs or take extended leave from the workforce to raise children. As a result, women are less likely to have pensions, investments or life savings, making them extremely vulnerable in retirement.

"A cut to Social Security is a cut to the middle class. Mr. Simpson should know that the middle class is in a precarious position in this country, with millions in danger of falling into poverty," said O'Neill. "Asking women -- heck, asking anyone! -- to accept a cut in their Social Security benefits or to continue working into their 70s is no way to reduce the national debt, and it certainly is not the answer to strengthening the system."

O'Neill concluded: "Since it is clear that Mr. Simpson does not intend to step down from the Fiscal Commission, NOW will continue to urge President Obama to remove the Social Security foe from his influential position. And we will continue to educate women's rights and economic justice supporters about the threats to Social Security and what is at stake."

Alter Bridge III el 11 de octubre

Hoy os recuerdo que el próximo 11 de octubre, la banda americana liderada por el guitarrista Mark Tremonti publicará su esperado tercer disco, "Alter Bridge III". Por lo visto hasta el momento parece que seguirán con su estilo, algo de agradecer después de casos como los de 30 Seconds To Mars o Linkin Park que se vendieron para conseguir que su música se ponga en discotecas para que adolescentes facilmente impresionables les escuchen.

El próximo viernes 8 posiblemente lo consiga y pueda el sábado hacer mi crítica sobre este trabajo que llevaba tiempo deseando conocer.

Pues nada, queda algo más de una semana para poder disfrutar con los genios de Orlando por los que pongo mi mano en el fuego, ya que estoy seguro que no nos van a decepcionar.

Favorite Fictional Character --- Amanda Shelton

Since I'm such a hug fan of "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer" and it's amazing main character, Buffy Summers, I'm sure you won't be surprised that I love Sarah Michelle Gellar just as much.  She is an actress that brings every character she plays to life.  So this weeks Favorite Fictional Character is Amanda Shelton from the movie "Simply Irresistible."

When Amanda's mother passed away, she was left running a slowly dying restaurant.  It was a labor of love for her mother and Amanda has been trying in vain to keep it running.  She has very few customers, mainly old friends of her mother's who are just trying to be supportive.  The worst part, Amanda can't cook.  If it wasn't for her assistant, the restaurant would never serve anything that was edible.

Since Amanda is the star of a romantic comedy, you know something special will have to happen.  While she's at the market a mysterious crab crawls into her basket, and Amanda's life is never the same again.  While the crab looks on Amanda starts putting everything she has into her food, and I mean everything.  Amanda can not only cook and cook well now, but she can make her customer's feel any emotion just by eating the food.  Lucky for us there is a hunky man in the picture, Tom Bartlett, who is in charge of opening a new restaurant for a department store.  Needless to say hi jinks ensue and while the road may be rocky for or romantic couple, they end up together in the end.

What I love about Amanda is that she is both naive and worldly at the same time.  She is the girl next door that every girl wanted to be friends with and every boy wanted for his own.  Her approach to life is to grab it and turn it into something she wants.  She takes this opportunity to not only save her mother's dream but to find love for herself.  Even after she figures out what's going on, she keeps herself in control with only a little freaking out.  She accepts life and moves on.  She's not a whiner or a quitter and I admire her for it.

Casting: Candidatos - Vik Fenrissky

A pedido de várias famílias finalmente chegámos aos candidatos para o papel de Vik Fenrissky, um licantropo fenrisniano com características muito particulares...

Até agora não houveram muitas propostas, mas as existentes têm potencial. Por uma lado falou-se em:

Sam Worthington (não, desta vez não vai aparecer azulinho)

Joe Manganiello

Digam de vossa justiça, qual destes moços merece o papel?


PS: Após ter negligenciado Vik Fenrissky, farei dele a primeira personagem a ser sujeita a um novo espaço em "Crónicas Obscuras". Saibam mais no próximo post, dia 2 de Outubro.  

A Meeting At Corvallis by S.M. Stirling

It's been 10 years since the Change and Michael Havel and Juniper Mackenzie are still leading their groups of survivors in Western Oregon.  War with Norman Arminger hasn't started yet due to some ingenious moves by Clan Mackenzie, but it's only a matter of time before these groups will meet in battle and change their lives forever.

Because of various tactical planning by Juniper and her Clan, war with the Portland Protectorate Association hasn't quite broken out.  Tensions though are rising and it's only a matter of time before Norman Arminger and his even more dangerous wife, the Lady Sandra Arminger, figure out a way to ride roughshod over the obstacles in the way.

This is a tense third book in the series and one that I found myself being unable to put down.  The author is fantastic at creating completely believable worlds for his characters to inhabit.  It's those characters that drives this story.  This book, along with the two previous books, are glued together by the fantastic people who inhabit them.  It's their stories that will keep you coming back for more.  Now obviously, like most epic fantasy books, there is a large cast of characters running throughout the books so far.  Characters you will love and love to hate.  Lucky for us, they are all believable and well rounded.  Even the "evil" characters come across as complex individuals who have their own reasons for being the way they are. 

There are some brilliant supporting characters in these books, I may have not mentioned them before but they are well worth getting to know.  There is Mike's sister-in-law who's so into Tolkien that she, along with Juniper's deaf daughter, has started her own version of The Dunedain Rangers.  Juniper's son Rudi and Mathilda Arminger,the daughter of Lord Norman and Lady Sandra, are slowly growing into their own personalities and both are deeply enjoyable.  I could go on and on but there are so many wonderful characters in these books that I could take the next twenty paragraphs and never get through them all.

One warning though, and this started in the previous books, characters are never safe.  Even the ones you have grown to love are in danger of being killed off.  It's the one aspect of epic fantasy that when encountered for the first time, may take you by surprise.  The more you read and get into the story itself, you realize those deaths are needed to propel the story.  In a world turned upside down, people will die, including the good guys.

The meeting in Corvallis, which is an independent city state that is run by the old faculty of the University, that's in the title doesn't happen until the end of the book, but by then you are welcoming it.  It's a calming down of sorts that needs to happen but the journey towards that meeting is a wild ride that will leave you breathless.

State of the lifelist address

I was just entering my latest observations from the past few days' incidental and purposeful birding, when it occurred to me to see how many birds I've seen this year. This is the state of my lifelist/yearlist thus far:

Birds seen so far in 2010: 190
Lifers seen so far in 2010: 48
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Mottled Duck
Cinnamon Teal
Neotropic Cormorant
Anhinga
Tricolored Heron
Reddish Egret
White Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
White-tailed Kite
Harris's Hawk
Gray Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
Common Moorhen
Black-bellied Plover
Wilson's Plover
Willet
Baird's Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
American Woodcock
Wilson's Phalarope
Inca Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Common Pauraque
Whip-poor-will
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Ringed Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Vermilion Flycatcher
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Tropical Kingbird
Couch's Kingbird
Green Jay
Cliff Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Black-crested Titmouse
Long-billed Thrasher
Curve-billed Thrasher
American Pipit
Cape May Warbler
Olive Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Dickcissel
Altamira Oriole
Lesser Goldfinch

Not too shabby a list for this year, both total and the number of lifers. Many of the lifers were seen in Texas. Some people go to Costa Rica or Belize; I just go to my parents' house. It's cheaper!

I'm really looking forward to our Maine trip, and I can't believe we're leaving Thursday. So far, the birding plans involve a trip to Plum Island in New Hampshire with AB's parents, as well as some stops along the southern Maine coast. AB's mom sent us some potential places that we might consider:
Webhannet River Marsh, Wells
Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, Wells
Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, Wells
Vaughns Island Preserve, Kennebunkport (this is only accessible at low tide)
East Point Sanctuary, Biddeford Pool
Prouts Neck Bird Sanctuary, Scarborough (no parking; they suggest you bike there)
Scarborough Marsh, Scarborough

I don't know how much biking or low-tide accessibility we'll have. For that matter, we're only supposed to bird for part of the day and go to the L.L. Bean in Freeport (aka The Mother Ship, per AB) to get me a new coat and some rain pants for Cape May (as well as for work--it's always raining, and I sell door-to-door). So we'll probably hit the most accessible places. Does anyone have suggestions for a must-see place in that area between Portsmouth NH and Freeport ME? Scarborough Marsh apparently has an Audubon center. We may go there.

After all that birding and driving, we'll be going to AB's hometown of Bethel ME, to see all her old haunts and her grandma.

I wonder if we'll see any Atlantic Puffins. Their range appears to be a bit farther north, and I think they're fairly pelagic during non-breeding time.

I'm really excited to see the rocky coastline. We're coming back via I-91 to see the fall foliage, and we're stopping in Greenfield to look around that area (a potential place to go after AB's done with grad school). It's going to be a whirlwind trip, but it'll be fun!

Anti-Gay Group Wants Special Rights

We're not gonna fill out any stinkin' paperwork!

Yes, you read that correctly! The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) doesn't want to have to fill out a bunch of forms just to bash gays.

A group that opposes same-sex marriage sued the Rhode Island Board of Elections, saying it wants to run ads in the governor's race and other contests but doesn't want to have to comply with state campaign finance laws.

The National Organization for Marriage said in a federal lawsuit that it should not be forced to report its expenditures or comply with spending limits or bans that are required for political action committees. The group said it shouldn't be considered a PAC because it's not controlled by a political candidate and does not spend the majority of its money on Rhode Island's political races. It says the rules for PACs are burdensome and interfere with free speech.

"You have to negotiate the myriad regulations that apply, and for a lot of organizations, it's just not worth it," said Jeffrey Gallant, a lawyer with the James Madison Center for Free Speech, which is representing the group. "These laws are a deterrent for free and open speech in political matters."

Gee ... that's too bad!

It's common place for anti-gay groups to claim the LGBT community wants "special rights" -- you know, like liberty and freedom. The right to marry the people we love, or not get fired from a job simply for being gay.

Now it seems it's the ANTI-gay group wanting the SPECIAL RIGHTS. Everyone else has to play by the rules, but NOM seems to think there should be an exception for them. After all, filling out all that paperwork is hard!

Rhode Island is one of two New England states that does not allow same-sex marriage.

Mike Healey, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, which is representing the board of elections, declined to comment Monday but said the National Organization for Marriage has filed similar suits in other states.

Gallant said the organization's lawsuit was supported by a recent blockbuster U.S. Supreme Court decision that freed businesses and unions to directly spend money on federal elections.

U.S. District Judge Mary Lisi has scheduled an in-chambers conference on the lawsuit for Thursday.

NOM isn't a business or union, it's an advocacy group, so let's see how Judge Lisi rules on this.

Adema - Giving In

Hoy le dedico mi entrada al grupo de nu-metal de Bakersfield Adema. Les tengo un aprecio especial, porque son una de las tantas bandas de este género que vivieron a la sombra de Linkin Park gracias a los incultos que hay por el mundo (que por desgracia son muchos). Lo digo, porque si en Youtube pones el nombre de cualquiera de las canciones de Adema, te encontrarás esa canción pero con el nombre de Linkin Park, como si Chester Bennington y Marky Chavez tuvieran la misma voz...
Bueno, dejando fuera las polémicas me centro en la canción y en el grupo. Os recuerdo que el grupo fue fundado en 1998 con Marky Chavez, Mike Ransom, Dave DeRoo, Tim Fluckey y Kris Kohls y son además, los componentes actuales del grupo. Marky Chavez y Mike Ransom se ausentaran 5 años, pero el año pasado han decidido volver al grupo que estaba tomando unos caminos no demasiado buenos.
Salientar que Marky Chavez es hermanastro de Jonathan Davis, cantante de KoRn.
Aquí os queda "Giving In", una canción realmente excelente:

Granbury Gambol

A rainy Saturday did not deter my friend, Candice, and me from our trek to Granbury. The historic Gordon home (Tarleton University's Langford Center) hosted a superb photo exhibit by JB and Susan Harlin. This was the perfect jumping off spot for a day of arts, laughs, good food, and window shopping. Fran Leibowitz once said that, "Teaching someone how to be a writer is like teaching someone how to be an adventurer." To some extent, that's true. I'm going to add that to be a writer, you need a sense of adventure - a willingness to explore and also observe a variety of people, things, and locations.

Author Scott Spencer said, "The initial spark that starts a novel can come anywhere, though I don't know when it has ever come when I'm sitting at my desk. Behind the wheel of a car has been a lucky place for me." (WSJ 9/10/10 p. W5)

I will say, Granbury struck me as a lovely setting for a novel or a crime mystery. Small town feel, with plenty of outside traffic flowing through the square, as the imposing clock tower ticks down the hours.

Or the old jail could prompt historical fiction. I bet there were some cattle rustlers and other hustlers corraled in this small stone fortress.

From Steve Hely's fiction, How I Became a Famous Novelist, "Writing a novel - actually picking the words and filling in paragraphs - is a tremendous pain in the ass." (p. 73) His fictional character studies popular books and then bangs out one based on his observed formula. " If you tried to fit in actual emotion, or stuff you cared about, you'd just bog your novel down. Writing was like a magic trick." (p. 70) His system proves successful and the ultimate marketing, too, snowballs into success. But he feels hollow, a charlatan. "To fail to tell a story honestly was sacrilege." (p. 231)

The Granbury trip was refreshing. New perspective on Texas travel, characters, history. A grillworked layer set against a stormy sky.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Dani California

Es turno hoy para uno de los grupos más importantes de la historia del rock internacional. Red Hot Chili Peppers se formara allá por el año 1983 por Anthony Kiedis, "Flea", Hillel Slovak y Jack Irons. Sólo Anthony y "Flea" siguen desde que el grupo fué fundado. El puesto de guitarrista es el que más cambios ha sufrido, ya que después del fallecido Hillel, han pasado por la guitarra Jack Sherman, Dave Navarro, John Frusciante o el actual Josh Klinghoffer siendo John Frusciante, sin duda, el más importante y el que más tiempo estuvo. La batería también sufrió varios cambios hasta que en 1988 Chad Smith llegara para quedarse.
Actualmente se encuentran preparando un nuevo disco, ya sin John, embarcado en una carrera en solitario.
La canción que os ofrezco hoy es "Dani California", correspondiente al álbum Stadium Arcadium del 2006. Es una de mis favoritas del grupo y el vídeo es realmente bueno. Aquí os queda:

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Dani California
Cargado por WBRNewMedia. - Ver los videos de música recién destacados.

Sunday Funnies

Slipknot - Snuff

"Snuff" es la canción más triste del grupo de nu-metal de Des Moines Slipknot. Es, además, mi favorita del grupo. La voz melódica de Corey Taylor es absolutamente sorprendente y en esta canción lo hace simplemente genial.
Me ha llamado la atención tanto la canción como el vídeo, ya que es más propio de Stone Sour que de Slipknot. Solo sale Corey y sin máscara, canción triste en la que la guitarra acústica tiene mucha presencia y una letra muy profunda.
Con esta canción se demuestra que Slipknot no solo son 9 (ahora 8) macarras malcriados que solo saben decir tacos y darse leches entre ellos.
Ahí os queda el vídeo de "Snuff":

Poderes psíquicos: telecinesia/psicocinesia

  Para variar um pouco dos castings, voltemos aos poderes psíquicos.
 

  Este dispensa apresentação, uma vez que deve ser uma das capacidades psíquicas mais famosas e utilizadas em obras de ficção. Afinal, quem não desejou ter a capacidade de mover objectos com a mente?

Sobrenatural, 1º temporada, episódio 14

Rammstein - Halt

Ya que puliqué minutos atrás una versión de "Sonne" de Rammstein, publico ahora una original. Es mi canción favorita del disco Liebe ist für Alle da a pesar de ser una de las "Bonus track". Me parece una canción absolutamente genial, no sólo la mejor del último álbum, sino de las mejores de Rammstein. La verdad es que no entendí muy bien por que canciones como "Halt" o "Donaukinder" fueron "Bonus tracks" ya que para mí son dos de las 3 mejores del nuevo trabajo. Pero me centro en esta que hoy os ofrezco, "Halt".
Musicalmente es espectacular, con esos riffs pesados 100 % Rammstein, esa batería seca y potente y esa voz tan especial de Till Lindemann. Centrándonos en la letra, se ve una letra típica de Till. En esta canción Till nos muestra una faceta misantrópica de profunda aversión al ser humano. Si escuchamos el estribillo oímos "¡HALT! ¡Hört auf zu schlagen!" (¡ALTO!¡Dejad de latir!). Esta frase muestra su intolerancia a individuos de su misma raza, tanto que hasta le llega a molestar el latido de sus corazones. Es además una letra agresiva, ya que llega a decir "Nadie me atormenta por diversión, traeré la luz a sus corazones, la decisión no es difícil, iré a casa y traeré mi rifle". Esta letra se puede entender como una consecuencia de los abusos sufridos por Lindemann siendo niño.
Mezclando esta letra, la voz de Lindemann, las guitarras de Kruspe y Landers, el bajo de Ollie, la batería de Schneider y el teclado de Lorenz nos sale esta maravillosa canción.
Aquí os queda, espero que os guste tanto como a mí:

Rammstein - Sonne (Versión en ruso)

Pues hoy me acordé de una versión que había escuchado un par de años atrás. Es una versión de la canción "Sonne" del grupo de metal industrial germano Rammstein. La peculiaridad de esta versión es que el fenómeno que la hizo, lo hizo en ruso. No sé ruso ni mucho menos, pero creo que no es una traducción de la canción auténtica sino una versión con una nueva letra. Lo digo porque en el estribillo, la primera frase y la segunda no son la misma, cuando en la versión original se repite en las dos primeras frases del estribillo "hier kommt die Sonne" tras el coro de "eins" y "zwei". Lo que si estoy seguro es que en esta versión respetaron los números, "ras", "dwa", "tri" y así sucesivamente. Lo que si he conseguido averiguar es el nombre de la canción rusa, "Солнышко" que creo que significa "sol", al igual que "Sonne".
Además me gustaría salientar que la voz de este hombre es realmente interesante, una voz perturbadora y grave que acompaña con una voz más atormentada todavía en el estribillo.
Bueno aquí os queda esta curiosa canción:

They're Coming To Get You, Barbara.....

They're coming to get you, Barbara....They're coming for you, Barbara....They're coming for you....Look, there comes one of them now....Here he comes now! I'm getting out of here!

Little did Johnny know, how correct he was while he was teasing his sister, Barbara, that evening in the cemetery.  What started off as a taxing 6 hour long road trip to lay flowers on their father's grave, turned into a night of unspeakable horror.

When a destroyed satellite crashes to Earth, the radiation wakens the newly dead who wander around and feast on human flesh.  Barbara is quickly thrust into a world gone mad, where the walking dead is roaming the land slaying and eating their victims.

 After taking refuge in a farm house where she is quickly joined by others who are looking for a safety, Barbara and her companions must figure out what to do next.  Do they hole up in the house and hope for rescue or do they make a run for it to safety?  Either option leaves them exposed to the reanimated corpses gathering outside the house.

That one vital decision is what drives the best part of this movie.  It's the conflict and mistrust inside the house that fuels the flames and causes mistakes to happen.  When soul shaking fear is mixed in with self preservation instincts and overinflated egos, you know the result will not be good.  The tension and terror can be felt wafting off the screen and you can't help but be sucked into their plight.  How many of them will live to see morning?  Will any of them get out of that house alive?  I will leave it to you to find out what happens next, if you think you can handle it.

When Sept. starts drawing to a close and the weather is finally cooling off, I'm instantly in the mood for horror movies and books, so the other night I put in one of my favorite movies to start the season off right.  "Night of the Living Dead" just happens to be my favorite zombie movie.  Actually I'm not a big zombie fan, so this is one of the few movies I can handle.  The fact that is brilliantly done and still manages to scare the crap out of me at times, is even better.  I don't want to let you in on all the happenings, but I will give you a vague warning.  If you have never seen this before, don't get too comfortable in your ideas of what happens next.  Just when you think you have it figured out, something happens to change that outcome.

For those of you who don't mind sitting at their computer for about an hour and thirty-six minutes, I found the entire movie online at YouTube, so here it is for your viewing pleasure.  Bear in mind, it won't be as good as watching it on TV and the right hand side may be cut off, but just a fraction of it.



This will qualify for the Peril on the Screen segment of the R.I.P. Challenge hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings.

Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare

Hoy toca un vídeo que me sorprende que no lo haya colgado antes. Se trata de una canción maravillosa, sublime, magnánima y acompañada de un excelente videoclip. El grupo es Avenged Sevenfold y la canción es "Nightmare".
Conocía este grupo desde hace tiempo pero no me apasionaba ni mucho menos. Esa extraña mezcla emo-punk no me llamaba nada la atención hasta que en el verano me encuentro con este vídeo. El grupo había cambiado. Prueba de eso es su último cd, de mismo nombre que la canción, Nightmare. Me lo descargué y puedo decir que es uno de los mejores álbumes que he tenido el privilegio de escuchar. Todas y cada una de las canciones son magníficas, destacando alguna como la propia "Nightmare", "So Far Away", "Buried Alive" o "Welcome To The Family" entre otras. De sus canciones "viejas" he encontrado alguna interesante como "Seize the Day", "Dear God" o "Almost Easy" pero la mayoría eran similares, grandes partes de guitarra, buena voz (pero horrorosos estribillos) y una batería que no me convencía. En el nuevo disco tienen la baja de James Sullivan, su batería muerto en diciembre y no sé si es esa la razón del cambio, siendo sustituído temporalmente por el mejor batería actual Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater).
El caso es que Matt Sanders se luce con su gran voz, Brian Haner Jr. saca a relucir su soberbio manejo de la guitarra (junto con Zacky Backer, Johnny Seward nos muestra su interesante estilo con el bajo y Mike Portnoy lo completa de forma sensacional a la batería.
El disco salió hace tiempo, un par de meses, pero os recomiendo que os hagais con él porque es, sin duda, de lo mejor que se puede escuchar actualmente.
Os dejo con este confuso vídeo de "Nightmare":

Jon Stewart on The "New" GOP

Marilyn Manson - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

Hoy voy con una de mis 3 canciones preferidas del grupo de metal industrial Marilyn Manson. Se trata de esta versión de la famosa canción del grupo de pop inglés Eurythmics. Manson ha hecho la versión metal de esa canción, "Sweet Dreams", conviertiéndola en algo espectacular.
Se trata de una canción que desde mi punto de vista tiene casi todo para ser una "canción perfecta", incluyendo buenos riffs de guitarra, gran ritmo de batería y una voz realmente brutal. Esa mezcla entre susurros, voces enfermas, voces oscuras y gritos desgarradores hacen de esta versión una obra maestra. Puedo asegurar que es imposible emitir esos gritos sin preparación, ya que el estado de la garganta al terminar no sería recomendable.
No voy a rajar del estado actual de MM, ya lo hice anteriormente en la entrada del vídeo de "Coma White" por si no lo habeis visto. Aquí os queda el durísimo vídeo de "Sweet Dreams" con Manson a lomos de un cerdito:

Road Trip Reverie

Road trip novels can be really good or prove ponderous, however, The English Major is witty insight into a sixty-year old man who's "lost" his wife, his farm, and his purpose. Spurred by a childhood jigsaw puzzle of the United States, Cliff roams the West, rediscovers himself, and reflects on his past loves and life.

To attempt to be a good writer, one must read and I read in all genres and styles. I peruse library shelves and titles catch my eye. I pull the book out, read the blurb, and either keep or reject. Some authors are known and I have faith in their writing based on history. Book reviews are a wealth of opinion and often I'll remember thinking, "That sounded intriguing." The English Major was a found gem.

Jim Harrison's voice is strong and his humor heightens the book's charm. Cliff taught English, and then turned to farming. This foray is interesting as he considers his joys and tries to overcome early to rise habits. On his road trip, he flings puzzle pieces out the window, or buries them symbolically, as he crosses state lines.

Cliff's ties to his son, Robert, in California, and almost ex-wife, Vivian, in Michigan, are intertwined with his current (annoying) accessory, former student Marybelle. Sex, lust, and abandonment are explored. Cliff teeters between alcohol binges and sobering observations through Idaho, Montana, CA, Arizona, and his true love, Michigan.

Here's an example of Harrison's smooth writing on page 189: As an English major I was familiar with the stories of dozens of writers trying to get their work done amid the multifarious diversions of the world and the hurdles of their own vices. A professor had said what saves writers, is that they, like politicians, had the illusion of destiny, which allowed them to overcome obstacles no matter how nominal their work.

Meander with Cliff and enjoy the road (life) trip that is The English Major.

Casting: Candidatos - David Ulster

As características físicas de David Ulster, o melhor amigo de Clint e um dos membros da sua equipa de Obliteradores, fazem com que seja uma personagem para a qual é fácil encontrar vários candidatos. Não obstante, apenas um actor foi proposto:

Joel Edgerton

Nickelback - Savin´ Me

Hoy os ofrezco otro poco de rock del bueno. Se trata del grupo canadiense Nickelback. Formado por los hermanos Kroeger (Chad, Mike y Brandon) junto con el gran guitarrista Ryan Peake. Poco a poco se han ido abriendo paso hasta consolidarse como uno de los grupos de rock más importantes del momento en el panorama internacional. Hay que destacar que Brandon Kroeger se fué poco después de formar la banda y actualmente el batería es Daniel Adair.
La excelsa voz de Chad acompañada del buen saber hacer de Ryan Peake convierten a estos 4 en un grupo realmente talentoso e interesante.
El vídeo que he escogido no ha sido algo aleatorio. Posiblemente haya alguna canción que me guste más que "Savin´ Me", pero el videoclip me pareció realmente fastuoso. Vemos como el joven recibe el dudoso don de ver el tiempo exacto que le queda a las personas que lo rodean tras salvarle un hombre la vida. A partir de ahí anda perdido hasta que confirma que esos dígitos sobre las cabezas de la gente es el tiempo exacto que le queda de vida, cuando ve a una anciana morir mientras la cuenta de los números sobre su cabeza llega a cero. Finalmente consigue actuar antes de que una chica sea aplastada, traspasándole esa facultad a ella.
Aquí os queda el vídeo oficial de "Savin´ Me":

Nickelback - Savin' Me
Cargado por nickelback. - Ver los videos de música recién destacados.

Best video ever!

Julie Zickefoose's monarch caterpillar/chrysalis/butterfly photos, made into a video by NPR.

This video is beautiful. It reminds me the chrysalis I watched one year. Remember? Pure magic.

Now, I always look on milkweed plants, hoping to find another chrysalis to watch. I've never found another one, though.

They've been posting a lot on the Cape May site about the thousands of monarchs they're getting there right now. I wish I were there!

New GOP Logo

Favorite Fictional Character --- Indiana Jones

I'm more than a little excited to do this FFC post and I wish I could say it was all because of Indy.  As great as Indy is, I wouldn't be doing this post if he wasn't, he's not what I'm thrilled about showing you.  What I'm still giddy over is the lovely button that you see on the left hand side.  Saturday morning, early Saturday morning I got a email from my good friend Michelle of The True Book Addict.  Now any chance I get to talk with her is always fun so I gladly opened my email then about fell out of my chair.  The email was letting me know that, all on her own, she made a fantastic button for my Favorite Fictional Character posts.  Not only that, she made separate buttons for Halloween and Christmas characters during the months of Oct. and Dec.  Now I admit to never even thinking about having buttons for this but now that I have seen them and get to use them, I'm overly thrilled.  So I want to give a big humongous THANK YOU to Michelle.

Born, Henry Walton Jones, Jr., Indiana Jones is a rough and tumble college professor, archaeologist, OSS operative, and a ophidiophobia sufferer.  He is one of the most endearing characters to ever grace the big screen and I wanted to be just like him when I grew up. 

As Professor Jones, Indy is the intelligent, scholarly man who wears tweed and gives lectures that don't make you want to fall asleep.  He speaks many languages and knows so much about history and cultures that you would want him to be your lifeline call.  Once he has the chance to go out to the field and find an artifact though, he become Indiana Jones.  A fedora wearing, whip carrying man of action, Indian Jones is the pulp fiction hero come to life.

What is amazing about this character though is despite his rugged good looks (just look at that picture) and intense bravery, he is a human being.  He gets hurt, makes mistakes, laughs at himself and is so scared of snakes it's almost embarrassing to watch.  This sense of being a fallible human is what makes him such a great character.  He is the everyman we all want to be as kids especially when he is fighting Nazis, securing the Ark of the Covenant, finding the Holy Grail, or encountering inter dimensional beings.

Testing, testing 1-2-3

Early this evening, I saw this Red-tailed Hawk perched in a tree by the road and thought I'd test out my new camera. I was hoping to get him while he perched, illuminated by the last rays of the setting sun but, as always happens, he heard and saw me coming (though I was way down at the bottom of a hill and he was on a tree up top) and took off. The thing is, I always think, "there's no way this big predator will even notice me down here!" but raptors are far more skittish than I give them credit for. I've learned to turn on the camera before I even get close to these roadside raptors so they don't hear it coming on, but perhaps I need to zoom before as well. Still, I was able to catch this dark silhouette; I really like the beak profile.

Later, I headed to Bald Eagle State Park after work to see if I could spot some migrating geese or anything overhead in the fast-fading light. I figured there'd be nothing in the water, as we've had absolutely beeeeyoootiful days lately so no birds would be forced down by the rain and cloud cover. I've seen and heard a few Vs of Canada Geese in the last few days.

As predicted, there wasn't one bird on the lake; overhead, nothing. I chose as my vantage point a pull-off that overlooks the majority of the lake and the marina. I've seen Common Loons at the marina before, but tonight there were none. No mergansers; no Mallards even. Nothing. I heard the mewling of a Gray Catbird and the chipping call of a Northern Cardinal. The only other sound was the roar of passing cars.

Still, the evening wasn't a total loss:
The full moon shines on the 23rd, but this is pretty close to full. I put the camera on my tripod and played around with several of the modes on the camera, from Night Portrait to Starry Sky. Starry Sky mode was actually an adjustable long-exposure setting, with 15-, 30-, and 60-second settings. Here's what the moonlight flecks on the water looked like on fairly fast exposure:Here's what it looks like with 15 seconds of exposure:
I'm wondering if that's the setting that one would use to catch moving water, like a waterfall, with that blurry motion effect.

All in all, the camera performed quite well in the low light. I was pleased with the fast focusing and shutter speed on the raptor photo; the backlighting was inevitable, given where the bird flew and the time of day. I'm feeling more comfortable with the camera too. I need to learn more about the different modes and what works best for what scenarios, but the automatic mode pretty much rocked.

The Protector's War by S.M. Stirling

Synopsis From Back Cover:

It's been eight years since the Change rendered technology inoperable across the globe.  Rising form the ashes of the computer and industrial ages is a brave new world.  Survivors have banded together in tribal communities, committed to rebuilding society.

There isn't a lot I can tell you about this book without giving a lot of the plot twists away, so this review will be short of details.  The book starts eight years after the Change and life in the Willamette Valley is teetering on the edge of war. The militarized Bearkillers led by Mike Havel and the mystical Clan Mackenzie headed by Juniper Mackenzie have managed to make a place in the valley for their respective societies.

The two groups have strong ties binding them together to oppose the Protectorate ruled by Norman Arminger.  All three groups now have heirs that they are wanting to protect and build inheritances for.  Together our heroes with the help of their allies, the warrior monks of Mt. Angel and the loose federation of ranchers east of the Cascades, are trying to keep Arminger's reach from growing even larger.

This is a solid second installment in the series and the focus, outside of the coming war, is on the family.  What family dynamics mean in a society where birthright is once again becoming an issue.  Who will inherit the positions of power when the parents start to die off?  What happens when titles and positions are once again important distinctions in society?  I don't want you to think that this is the only aspect of family that is explored in this book because it's not.  I don't think there is any aspect that isn't involved in this book and the interpersonal dynamics are fascinating to read.

The other aspect of the book I enjoyed was getting to see how other regions of the world have survived the Change.  We get to see glimpses in England and small glances at the rest of Europe as well as Australia and New Zealand.  Reading even a little bit of how the rest of the world manages to survive when everything they knew was turned on it's head was a treat that I was not expecting to see.

So for any of you who end up reading the first book in the series, Dies The Fire, you are in for an even better treat with this one.

Serj Tankian - Imperfect Harmonies

Ayer me descargué el disco Imperfect Harmonies, del cantante armenio Serj Tankian (ex-System of a Down) y lo he estado escuchando por la noche. Por eso os ofrezco hoy mi crítica.
Se trata de un estilo nuevo que ya nos había advertido Serj. Utiliza sonidos orquestales y sinfónicos que le dan un toque especial a este nuevo álbum. Antes de nada comentar que no se puede comparar al Elect the Dead, el cual fué una auténtica obra de arte.
Este nuevo trabajo tiene algunas canciones realmente interesantes como pueden ser "Left of Center", "Borders are" o "Deserving?" y otras en las que el sonido sinfónico se sobrepone al de los instrumentos propios del rock como puede ser "Yes, It´s Genocide". Se trata de un disco muy político, en donde Serj expresa claramente sus ideales, además de su pelea para que los turcos reconozcan el genocidio armenio como la citada canción "Yes, It´s Genocide".
En resumen, la voz de Tankian siempre hará de cualquier disco algo bueno, debido a que nos hace disfrutar con sus registros. En cuanto a una puntuación... le voy a dar un 6,5, nos ha malacostumbrado con sus trabajos en SOAD y con su anterior disco, por eso creo que no he llegado a degustar este nuevo CD. Aún así os lo recomiendo, Serj nunca defrauda.
Os dejo áquí la canción "Deserving?":