Thursday, April 28, 2016

This is a Solution Looking for a Problem

A Solution for a non-existent problem.
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I mean, say you are looking for a new psychologist, and you find one.  You're gay and he says, "I am not sure I am the right guy to help you on this."  And you, duh, leave.  Legislation not needed.
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So you might think, how can this hurt?
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Okay, let's say you are a gay (or worse) trans kid.  And your family has turned their back on you and you attempted suicide (gay and lesbian kids are 4 times as likely to attempt or commit suicide than heterosexual kids - in part because of laws like this).  So they assign you a psychologist (which is required after an attempt) - and he comes in and you start talking.  He tells you life is worth living, and you express concern because people don't like gays.   And he says, "Oh wait, you're homosexual - well I don't like dealing with deviants, find some other therapist."
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And now that's legal in Tennessee.  Hooray.
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Because, what fun is being in state government if you can't make sure everyone knows you hate faggots.
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So, this guy Rick...

When I was first on the Condo Board, a guy Rick was on it with me.  Now Rick and I never really clicked.  Which was odd because we are near the same age and he is from Southern California and (like me) he worked at Disneyland as a youth.
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I asked where he worked once and he wouldn't tell me, but said he ended every trip with the words "Now you will exit to the real Jungle, California Traffic".
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Well once you say that you tell a cast member that, then you don't have to say more.  He was a captain on the Jungle Cruise.  I was impressed.
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The Jungle Cruise
I mean, really impressed - which is so SoCal, I know.  To be a Captian you had to be cute, funny and quick witted to deal with a live Cruise every day. Those teenagers are annoyed and they think they are funny.  Plus it isn't a first year gig.  You have to work at Disneyland a year or two to get that gig.
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Now the Rick I knew wasn't any of those things, but I figure maybe he just grew out of them.
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Well, then we were going down the elevator and he was talking to someone else about his time at Disney.  He said he worked on the Tom Sawyer Boats.  The Tom Sawyer Boats!
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FIRST - You aren't supposed to say that line at the end of the Tom Sawyer Boats - which wasn't a surprise because he was kind of a liar by implication in my dealings with him.
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SECOND - I think you shouldn't imply you did the Jungle Cruise when you really ran the Tom Sawyer Bus.  That is like talking about your job as a race car driver when you drive the Sanitation Truck.  I mean the Sanitation Truck is fine, and a critical job, but you aren't Indianapolis 500 material.
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The Tom Sawyer Boats...phffft.
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Its a 45 second schlep across the water to Tom Sawyer's Island - you Liar!


I Feel Bad About Dennis Hasert's Sentence - But Worse For the Kids

So, just so you all remember, Denny was at the forefront of scapegoating gays to re-elect George W. Bush - along with closet case Ken Melhman (now out).  Remember all the terrible things he said about gays and gay marriage in 2004 to get re-elected.
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Turns out Denny was paying off kids he had sexually molested as a child.  Denny was married, so he's not gay - he is a CHILD MOLESTER. 
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Now the Republicans are trying to scapegoat Transsexuals who pee.  You know how many transexual attacks there have been in bathrooms.  ZERO.  NONE.  But it scares people.  And, do you know what happens when you allow transsexuals to use the bathroom appropriate and - God Forbid - something bad does happen - IT WOULD STILL BE AGAINST THE LAW.
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Nope, these are just more people who are scared, and  being driven by evil lawmakers who prefer to get re-elected at the expense of the most venerable than to do actual work.
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So I feel bad for the poor old man in the wheel chair.  But I feel worse for the boys that he molested - and drove at least one to suicide.  There is a special place in Hell for people that sexual molest children.  He should enjoy his time in jail, because it only gets worse when he dies.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

North Carolina Hate Mongers Need to Coordinate Their Message

Well the North Carolina Hate Mongers hate to coordinate their message.  Is it a conspiracy by us queers or by you?
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The governor believes that the homos orchestrated this.  You know, we magically called a special session of Republicans late after the Democrats left the State House and them magically orchestrated the Republicans to create and pass this hate legislation.  All to prevent NC Governor and chief lying bastard from getting reelected. (link)

Girlfriend, please.  We can't agree over Madonna versus Lady Gaga - we certainly don't have time for your backwoods, Deliverance Lite bullshit.
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On the other hand, the Attorney General thinks that this law was passed by Republicans in order to keep North Carolina Straight (link). And he is worried we are all trying to turn North Carolina into Sodom in the Swamp.  Which is redundant, because we all know that is Key West - which, by the by, makes a shit-load in tourist dollars.
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Here's the thing, you backwoods, cousin marrying, fever-swamp dipshits.  We don't give a good healthy BM about your state.  North Carolina can be fucking swept away by the many hurricanes God sends you because you are full of hate.  God sees and comments on all, right? Well the dunes are just being wiped away - and I think I know why God hates you.
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I don't care so much you hate us queers.  I don't ever need to set foot in the Tar Heel state.  (Hell even your nick-name describes an unpleasant visit.)  You aren't allowed to openly hate blacks anymore, so you choose the most venerable among us - which is a sign of pathetic hate and not religious piety no matter what your viagra-taking limp dicked politicians say to the contrary.
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But I will not support companies that expand or are headquartered in North Carolina.  I have started using Paypal directly, not via credit cards - since they called off expansion in your backwards hateful state that demands a birth certificate to piss.  And Ed and I have given Merrill Lynch a year to fix this or we shall take our private money management out of the state.
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FYI - I LOVED our Merrill Lynch money manager who quoted some poor VP homo that asked me,  "What should we do, leave North Carolina and put those people out of work?"
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I did respond, perhaps more vehemently than they expected, "No.  NO!  You know what you should have done!  Not moved those jobs and headquarter from San Francisco where this would not be a fucking issue.  You moved to North Carolina.  Fix it or we will move our money to a state that doesn't define hate of fags as a "family value".

Mississippi Shoots for Nincompoopery.... And SCORES!

Idiots.
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There are 12 admissible reasons for divorce, including impotence and drunkenness.  Beating the hell out of your wife for the hell of it, not a valid reason. link - like you can't believe it

Things We Found bumbling Around New York this week-end

It was a reasonably nice day and both Eddie and I had been in the house too much with bad weather.  So on Saturday and Sunday mornings we bumbled a little and I took pictures of things that interested me.

Cool top of a coop near Greenwich Village

I love this turret on 4th and Broadway

Old home on MacDougal

MacDougal Ally.  These were originally stables for the rich of Washington Square and Fifth Ave.
Tulips in Bryant Park

Bryant Park
And Rockefeller Center had an art piece titled Van Gogh's Ear.  As well as blooms along the fountain.
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My Eddie at Van Gogh's Ear.

I knew you wouldn't believe me



Monday, April 25, 2016

Because the Cleveland Police Aren't Big Enough Assholes...

I love this, the Police Union wants Tamir Rice's settlement do go to educating 12 year olds on the dangers of plastic guns.
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Ummm... maybe you should educate the fucking Cleveland Police on  the fact that there are black kids.  Because the number of 12 year old white children killed  by the police while playing with toy guns is... ZERO.
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I am not sure kids are the ones that need to be trained on toys.
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Onassis Center Show

We went to a show at the Onassis Center.  I couldn't take pictures there, but it was a way cool show about a village that was rediscovered  not that long ago.
The program and the statue outside the Onassis Center
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It was called "Dion" on the slope of Mt. Olympia.  In 2002 a flood forced people in this part of Greece to reroute a river to avoid flooding homes.  After the water receded, a Greek column topped by a statue of an eagle was uncovered.  More excavation found a huge complex built around 300
BC that flourished until at least 200 AD - judging by the statuary and whom temples are dedicated to.
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There are tablets from the earliest periods by Macedonian rulers giving title to lands - and much later Roman ruins that pay tribute to Agrippina the Elder (d 33AD) and Faustina the Younger (r 161-175 AD).
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Not just statuary, but also full roman tiled floors and various personal use items.  IT reminded us both of Pompeii, but this was covered by mud, not ash.
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They also have casts of the Elgin Marbles.  Made right when Sir Elgin took them under the permission of the Ottaman's.  Yeah, there is a big sign about all that.

Cool Show at the New York Public Library

It turns out that the New York Public Library has a vast Illustration collection.  It is used by theater and movie people as ideas for set and costume ideas.  It is also used by artists - and in fact there is a thank you note from Diego Rivera during his work at Rockefeller Center and the New York Public Works.
The entrance and the overview.

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Anyway, they have pulled some of them out for an exhibit and it was very cool (and free).
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Here are a few shots.
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Various original travel posters

Illustrations that inspired outfits and scenic designs.

The costume for Madam Morrible from Wicked, and the illustrations that inspired it


My favorite poster.


Note freom the show, just the rehabbed fountain of "Beauty" from the Library facade.

Friday, April 22, 2016

Little Broadway Visit with Shelly This Last Week-nd

My friend Shelly came last week-end and we took a little Broadway time.  We saw American Psycho (review coming - but I loved it).  And Hamilton - which everyone loves.
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It was great fun!  shelly and I had been in drama together in high school and so when she comes out we go see things.
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Me, Lauren and Shelly in front of American Pyscho!

The Cast during curtain call.


Second day - Me, Shelly and Eddie at Hamilton

The Cast stumping for Broadway Cares.


My Review of American Psycho is Up

LINK to full review...
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preview...
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Thursday, April 21, 2016

Our New Place Starting June 1 (Hopefully)

The building - we should be on floor 10.
So we have decided to live up in Morningside Heights for a year.  We have sold our place and our new place won't be ready for a year.
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In the meantime, there is a brand new rental building next to the Episcopal Cathedral that was just done.  The church is using the rental fees to pay for church maintenance.  It is, of course, a beautiful church, but you don't have to be Episcopal (Church of England everywhere else) to live there.
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It is brand new and we will have a view over Morningside Park.
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Pictures:

The building to the right of the back of the Cathedral
Our view will be two floors up.

The shop that convinced Ed this was the right place to move!

Only "Respectable" Indigent Females

The American Youth Hostel on the Upper West Side started life as an Old Age Home for "Respectable" Indigent Females.  i.e. No Old Prostitutes...
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British Foreign Office to UK LGBT Travelers " Be Careful in North Carolina and Mississippi"

The British Foreign Office has warned LBGT tourists to the United States that the states of North Carolina and Mississippi might be dangerous.
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The Foreign Office notes that there are laws now allowing people in these states to discriminate against the Gay / Lesbian tourists and specifically outlawing the use of correct bathrooms by Transgendered people.
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So parts of the United States join Gambia, Uganda and other actively discriminatory places in the world where UK LGBT tourists and their families should use extreme caution when traveling to.
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Way to promote your states.
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LINK

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Many Things Happening - But First Happy Spring

Spring is nice right now.  Here are two pictures I took while my friend Shelly and I were bumbling around the city on Monday.
The Gandhi statue in spring in Unions Square Park

View of One World Trade from Washingtons Square park

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Feel Free To Ignore, but I Agree Whole Heartedly

One of my problems is the double standard I think Hillary is being held to.  I liked this post a lot and an copying it.  (LINK).  I am not saying this is true of everyone - and I certainly will vote for Bernie, if he gets the nomination - but I would like people to think.
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Your Gleeful Liberal Takedown of Hillary Clinton Is Affirming Institutional Sexism
It’s time liberals acknowledge that their vitriol toward the presidential candidate is hurting women — and speaks to something deeper,
The Progressive Left’s blitzkreig against Hillary Clinton is unprecedented. She’s been branded a “neocon” — this, in spite of a senate voting record netting an 83.9% “liberal score” from the National Journal (considerably higher than that of 2000 democratic candidate Bill Bradley or 2004 candidate John Edwards), a coveted “F” rating from the NRA, and an OnTheIssues.com calculation of “more liberal” than Barack Obama.
She is singularly delineated as “bought by Wall Street” — even with former Democratic nominees Al Gore and John Kerry receiving millions in campaign contributions from the so-called “big banks” during their presidential runs, including hefty sums from both Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.

When Republicans launched their dubious investigation into a “corrupt,” “manipulative” and “dirty” Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email server while Secretary of State — regardless of Colin Powell implementing the same practice during his tenure — this character assassination, quite troublingly, inspired many liberals to co-opt these very words, rewarding the carefully-crafted Republican fallacy and giving them new life in the progressive sphere.
These educated and civic-minded men and women would never engage in the kind of blatant misogyny that chides on her inability to satisfy her husband, that bandies the word “bitch,” that forwards Kentucky Fried Chicken-themed memes boasting an “HRC Special” with “2 fat thighs” — they instead use codified language that, when used in the context of a powerful female, serves as a tool of “soft sexism” that undermines and devalues women.
The Left’s enthusiastic embrace of these tropes and rhetoric props up the narrative that, for a woman to have reached the upper echelons of power in her field, she could only have done so through depravity and deception. Her success is undeserved, and she is therefore unworthy — and dismissing Clinton’s campaign as a “coronation” only gives credence to a culture that has for so long cheered the brutal teardown of accomplished women.

Hillary Clinton is indeed, as her critics claim, part of the “the establishment.” Like all women of lofty ambition, she is keenly and woefully aware that in 2016, less than a century out from women’s suffrage, pioneering into a space formerly only occupied by men requires an acceptance that gender constrains one to work within the system, rather than from outside of it.

So the next time you say, “I hate Hillary Clinton,” ask yourself why.

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Two very Cool Buildings while Rental Shopping

Eddie and I are looking for a year rental before our building is done.  And we are looking all over.
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Yesterday in the Financial District I saw these 2 buildings while I was out looking.  I loved them (neither are a possibility for us).

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This is the old New York State Chamber of Commerce, built in 1901.  It is suppose to remind one of the Paris Opera House.
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This is the old headquarters of the Sinclair Oil Company (with the dino).  Built in 1910.

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Finally this is the elevator lobby of 70 Pine - an Art Deco Masterpiece.  I actually am looking at condos in this.
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Monday, April 11, 2016

The Ansonia


 This is a great building.  I have taken pictures from the other side - the very Parisian towers.  But this light well on the North side is tres cool.


Congress is - surprise - full of Assholes

Since 2002, war appropriations have been "off-budget" under George Bush.  Money for War didn't count.
Under this administration War Costs went back on the budget - for a while.
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  However Congress and the President agreed, in not shutting down the government after the 2010 election, to a "budget sequester".  This reduces the money for everything that is discretionary spending - year over year.  This include everything but social security, medicare and interest payments.
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So "Discretionary Funding" includes military spending and everything else.  Just so you know, this was done because it was thought that it would force new budgets, because everyone agreed the wholesale cuts were asinine.  It hasn't.
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Everything proceeded apace - towards hell in a hand basket - until the Syrian war.  New war - New funds were given towards that war outside the sequester.
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You know what ISN'T outside the sequester AND isn't given new budget.  Money for Veteran's Medical Care and post-deployment support.
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So, we are fine spending extra money to kill people and create more and more veteran's that need more care and support.  But ZERO new money to care for them.
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You see lobbyists for war manufactures and suppliers pay a lot (to Congressional members) to get more money.  Veterans are ignored.
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And the great wheel spins.  Congress is full of Assholes (regardless of party).

Friday, April 08, 2016

So ... About God



In general, I am not a big believer in God.
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Definitely not "God" as presented by Jihadi terrorists, raping Priests or the Governors of North Carolina and Mississippi.
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But stop for a minute and look at this planet - the world - this amazing rock we live on hurdling through space.  Well, looking at this beauty in the mist of, truly - the vacuum of space, it is objectively hard not to believe in God, at least a little.
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AND, the ability of that planet to recover from humans actions - to date - makes the world even more of a gift.
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I say this because I recently read an argument that man made climate change is not a problem because God gave man dominion over the Earth.  Okay, let's say that is true.   That doesn't mean you have to screw it up.  If I bought a car and then drove it at 80 miles an hour at a cliffside - I have "dominion to do that", but it doesn't make it a very smart thing to do.
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This world is, at least, amazing and fragile.  At most, a true gift from God.  Let's not screw the pooch here.
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