all about me

the 8:26 phenomenon

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Okay, so this is something about me that I think is kind of weird, kind of neat, and kind of creepy. Almost every single day, either in the morning or evening (there are no other times possible, yo) I encounter the time 8:26; as in, I see it on the clock just randomly walking by or something. Now, you may not think that is all that weird, but it is always happening to me, enough for me to notice. And I wonder why. See, 8:26 is my birthday, August 26. Isn’t that creepy, weird, and neat at the same time? Do any of you have “things” like this in your life? I wonder if it is an omen… I hope it isn’t a bad one.

Interesting… that my first podcast on the gapodcastnetwork.com was posted at 8:26pm by Amber! Go see for yourself (click here); weird isn’t it?!

Also, not related, but totally necessary (apparently) for me to stress YET AGAIN… Being gay is not a choice. Period.

the catch-all-egory

there’s a lot, so pay attention…

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— Today is my last tattoo appointment. Here’s hoping it is complete and actually IS my last tattoo appointment. Expect me to be in pain tonight. And drinking.
— I have tried everything I can think of (with the help of several others), and the consensus is that I am going to have to give up Tivo, for now. I can’t believe it. I am still in shock. But I will have to live with the shitty UI from Comcast. Damn. Hurry up Tivo series 3!!! We need you! (if anyone can tell me how to get around this… without giving up a clear picture… I am all ears)
— We went to see Wicked on Tuesday night, and it was pretty good. I only say “pretty good”, because I have actually seen it done better. There were a few sour notes, and a few pitch problems, but overall, it was a delight. I also actually saw Wicked on Broadway, and it was just so insanely good there, that it couldn’t of been topped by a traveling company, so no worries. It was still really good. I LOVE that musical, and as such, I have listened to the cast recording a thousand times, so if you are doing that, you may be slightly disappointed by the show; none of those actors (and this is not trying to be mean to them) have the level of talent that Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenowith have. It would be like going to see someone sing Whitney’s songs; while they may be great, they just aren’t Whitney. Finally, this is in no way a negative review of the show or the performance, it was good, and if you can go, I say go. The show will blow you away.
— Apparently, I am not the only one that thinks the media is being too hard on mama Britney. See this article.
— Taylor “soul patrol” Hicks won American Idol. Good for him… and let it be known that when Chris Daughtry was voted off, I totally called this one. I got it right! And don’t worry, McPhee will get a record deal. Chill out.
— We are planning on painting the front of the house this weekend… how are you spending your Memorial Day weekend? Want to come and help?
— Make sure, if you want to that is, to pick up the Dixie Chicks album… it is wonderful.

UPDATE:
— It’s official. I am definitely getting a Wii. (article)

well?

Comcast is evil… what do I do now?

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Basically, after having the new big ass TV for a few days, I started to regret my purchase; the picture looked like crap. Even on DVDs. Then, I found out that the cable that you connect shit to your TV with makes a difference. So I got component cables. Problem solved. Now, how does Comcast fit in here? Why let me tell you!

First of all, on Saturday, I had to wait 7 hours for them to show up, with them pushing their arrival back by hours at a time every time they reached their “absolutely no later than” time. I got in a fight with the woman in customer service. They didn’t care. I told her it was bullshit. She said she would terminate the call if I used anymore harsh language. Fuck. I got nowhere with that. All in all, we were successfully “upgraded” the the new Comcast DVR receiver, which means, you guessed it… “no more need” for Tivo. Ah Tivo, you have been so good to me all these years; and now I know why I loved you so much. Comcast DVR SUCKS!!! No seriously, Hoover, Dyson, they got nothing on Comcast DVR. The user interface is like taking pieces of construction paper and writing down names of shows, and then making a crappy looking graph out of them for you to browse with your horrible remote. Okay, that was an exaggeration, but it seriously, seriously sucks. I would give ANYTHING to get my Tivo back.

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mixed media

Alias: the final episode

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So, as many of you know, I am an avid Alias fan, and have been for many years; always sticking by the show, even though it went slightly awry in season 4. I was upset to learn that this would be last season, not only because it is my favorite show, but because this season has been progressively getting better and better, and has been successful in making me forget about the mess from season 4. With that being said, I must admit that I went into the series finale with a large amount of anticipation, and an equal amount of trepidation about what would happen to the lovely Sydney Bristow. Thankfully, the series finale did a wonderful job of bringing the series full circle, and tied up loose ends that have been dangling since day one. Did the finale have and say everything that die hard Alias fans wanted? Probably not. But, given what they did give us, I have to say, it is probably all for the best. True there were some minor inconsistencies, but overall, no harm no foul. The show definitely ended on a high note.

I have to say that I will miss my Sydney Bristow, and the adventures she took me through. I will miss Rambaldi and the mysteries that surround his prophecies. I will miss Vaughn and Jack. I may even miss Sloane. But I can say without a glimmer of doubt, that I am extremely pleased with how the series ended, and I want to issue a huge thanks to the writers of those last two episodes. I feel like those episodes where everything we could have expected and more! I can’t wait to buy season 5 on DVD!

Now, after the jump, I am going to get into a little more detail about the finale, and I am doing this as not to spoil the episodes for anyone that hasn’t watched their tivos yet.

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mixed media

I support the Dixie Chicks; and a note about mama Britney

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I for one, don’t understand why people are STILL “dissing” the Dixie Chicks. Since Natalie Maines made a personal proclamation about the president, an opinion that I in fact share, people have even gone so far as to send them death threats. My problem with this, is that first of all, it shows that free speech gets you in big trouble in parts of this country. But probably the biggest problem I have with this, is that there are a group of people out there (let’s call them country fans) that are still pissed off because someone dissed a shitty president. That goes hand in hand with my state of awe that I go into when I see people with W stickers still on their cars, and people that still say that they support this president. It just blows my mind that someone can continually fuck up, lie, cheat, steal, and break the law, and people still stand behind him. Gives new meaning to the word sheep. Either way, I don’t think that one statement should make or break someone, especially when those someones are as talented as the Dixie Chicks. I for one, will be picking up their album tomorrow. Not ready to make nice girls? I don’t blame you.

Now, I have to say something about the Britney Spears “baby blunders” that have been splashed all over the news lately. First of all, almost all of this stuff is so minuscule and insignificant, it isn’t even funny. This stuff happens to other kids all of the time; especially when the parents are first time parents and are so young. People make mistakes and learn from trial and error during parenting sometimes. That is what Britney is doing, and I honestly don’t see why it is such a big deal. Second, these type of things happen to kids all of the time, and no one even looks twice. For one, the car seat thing, it was recommended he face backwards. Recommended doesn’t mean required. I’m just saying. There are people out there that legitimately beat and abuse their kids all of the time, why not focus on finding them, instead of criticizing Britney, right? Which is more important? Lastly, I just want to say that Britney, sweetie, now is a good time to leave K-Fed, and make a kick ass comeback album. Push that baby out, and let’s get back to being the Britney we are all struggling to remember!

near and dear

interestingly bittersweet

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Last night was the series finale of Will and Grace. I have to admit, that I was a fan of the show, but not so much that I actually watched it regularly. Many times, the show down right infuriated me for one reason or another; Will’s inability/unwillingness to find a boyfriend, Jack’s incessant overly effemininite nature, too many guest stars detracting away from the comedy pairings of the 4 main characters, etc., but I always liked the show, and always ended up watching it. And last night, I have to say, when I sat down to watch the final episode, I was a little bit sad. Sad, mainly because this is one of the first shows I ever saw that even had a glimmer of semblance to someone like me on TV. A gay man as the main character. Groundbreaking, yes, but at the same time, not really. There have been gay characters on TV for years, but what makes this show so special, is that it shows us as just normal people that go on with our lives. It shows Will’s struggle to find happiness amongst all of the chaos in his life, and shows him through what we all want, gay, straight, or whatever in life; to make friends, have relationships with people, be happy, and hopefully find someone that we love that will love us back. Additionally, it offered us his journey in a humorous medium with fantastic characters, and portrayed real bonds between people. Grace is like my ideal example of someone I would be friends with (I even have a Grace), and if I could find her, I would seriously want Karen Walker to become a close friend of mine. To me, this is what was groundbreaking, the fact that these people just were who they were living life, and that Will and Jack just happened to be gay and funny; yes, too gay at times, but what are you going to do… it’s comedy.

With that being said, last night’s episode tried to wrap up the entire series in one hour, which, unlike some shows, where they end with the people just riding off into the sunset or whatever, Will and Grace took us until the end. It showed us what happened with Will and Grace, Jack and Karen, and a couple of other regular characters over the next 20 or so years. And the thing I think that got me the most, and that really threw me while I was watching the finale, was that Will and Grace somehow lost touch, and drifted apart; only to come back together in the end. And you know what, that really got me thinking, it is interesting how people that you know so well, and feel so close to, can drift out of your life almost overnight. At least they were able to come back together in the end, but that final scene, when they all met up in the bar for a drink, it was hard to see people that had spent so much time together, and cared so much about each other, only just then reconnecting after several years apart. It was hard to realize that this is what happens with life, that things change, and that people change, and that sometimes, it works out and sometimes it doesn’t. I know that I am glad that it ended well, with Will and Grace back together, but it was interestingly bittersweet for me, since they had lost touch for almost a lifetime in between. Life imitated for you can truly be accurate sometimes, and it can be hard to watch. I will miss Will and Grace, and I am glad they ended how they did. Hopefully something as good as Will and Grace, or better, will come along to take its place.

that is so gay

Bank of America vs. the Boy Scouts

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Yesterday, I talked about a legislation that I felt was important because it fights discrimination. Some said that a law that prevents it (more specifically, a law that requires inclusion) wasn’t necessary. Well, the following example of that very same discrimination tells me that it certainly is.

When my buddy Josh sent me an email about how Bank of America withdrew it’s funding from a local Boy Scouts troop, and the response to that withdrawal, I just sit here and wonder why people care so much about being bigots. I just wonder what is so threatening about being inclusive, understanding, and compassionate to diversity. I just wonder why those concepts are so threatening, and damning, that they must be treated as they are. Basically, here’s the deal, Bank of America sent this local Valdosta Boy Scout troop a letter saying:

Under the non-discrimination policy, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation cannot provide funding to any organization that practices discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, or veteran or disability status. The Boy Scouts’ current employment and membership practices do not comply with this policy.

Basically, Bank of America told them, since you have a discrimination policy on the books (in this case, against homosexuality) then you gets no money. Nada. None. Not from us, anyway, because we don’t believe in discrimination. Way to go Bank of America! Way to stand up for what you believe in, and show that discrimination of any sort has no place in this country! Way to stand up and send a message to an organization that regularly and continually teaches values of imposed morality and discrimination that you refuse to fund such shit as that. Thank you Bank of America for having my (and every other minority’s… did you see that long list..) back. (more after the jump)

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is it just me?

just saw this on google news:

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Just got this screen grab from google news:

I just want to say, if they are that stupid, that they think that this fictional movie is worth protesting and not eating over, then go for it. Priorities people! Priorities! I’m serious… we are talking about a movie. A fictional movie! Also, not trying to be mean, but I doubt some of them will make it long… I’m just saying. It is simply an observation, nothing more, nothing less.

that is so gay

a gay history lesson

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Right now, the California senate is proposing a bill (that has to be signed by the Govenator) to insert information about sexual orientation, where appropriate, in school history books. In essence, they are advocating teaching about sexual orientation in schools, in an effort to highlight the contributions of gays and lesbians, as well as give gays and lesbians a place in history. This debate, obviously since it is in regards to anything gay, is getting a bunch of parents up in arms in California, and honestly, it just pisses me off. But, you ask, “duane, why does it matter??” Because, the Senate is obviously trying to make inclusion and acceptance part of the curriculum (surprise! who would have thought we need more of that?), and there are parents out there that are showing us that they prefer ignorance and deniability to compassion and understanding. I think the reason that it pisses me off most, is because mainly, if the same were to be said about the contributions of women, blacks, Hispanics, or any other minority group, it would just be unthinkable and a blatant act of bigotry; but when it comes to sexual orientation, it is a debate as to whether you should include anything about a person’s true self, or not. And that just isn’t right.

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the catch-all-egory

eh, it’s monday…

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I need to write a book. Seriously. I need to get on that… damn you ADD! Damn you repressed anger and depression that prevent me from doing things I want to do! I am seriously going to though… watch out.

Monday sucks. To top it all off, last night my dumb ass tripped over the threshold from the office to the kitchen, and since that threshold is where the carpet ends and the SHARP hardwoods begin, I managed to almost slice off the underside of my big toe. Seriously, cut a little more deeply, I would no longer have a toe print. Now, I get to sport an ever so sexy limp until that shit heals. I love being clumsy!

But… guess what we got yesterday? Isn’t it a beauty? 42 inches of pure joy… I guess 9 isn’t enough in this case. I guess it is true; buying things CAN make you happy. If you don’t believe that, buy something and see how you are wrong. So, so wrong. Now I can’t wait until Saturday when Comcast brings us our new HD cable box with a DVR inside! Which does record 2 channels at once, everyone who wanted me to have that! But I will miss my tivo… blee bloop blee bloop blee bloop. I wil shut up now.