Fuckwits

I had the pleasure of having this conversation in the Champaign gay.com chatroom the other day:

{Antaeusz}oy erik
{Antaeusz}what maxe you think anyone wantz to hook you up?
{[me]}were you born an asshole, or did you have to take lessons?
{Antaeusz}the latter, definitely
{[me]}your teachers would be proud of you, then
{Antaeusz}lol...hoo ha...you didnt like that, did you
{[me]}not really, i just don't like you in general
{Antaeusz}you don't even know me
{Antaeusz}but U sho is ugly

The sad thing is that it's the first time in I-don't-know-how-many months someone chatted with me that wasn't a man 20 years my senior wanting to hook up. So I've given up and uninstalled the damn chat client so I won't waste any more of my life on there.

This is why I don't date: because other than David, Billy, and Jon, gay men are all assholes.

OK, so I'm really lazy

I just finished balancing my checkbook for the first time in eight months. Oops. Just been letting those statement build up. Do you know how hard it is to figure out what an electronic transfer was for from February? I think there are a couple where I'm still not sure what they were for.

I should learn by now, dont let things like this build up. Fortunately, it also means I'm close to seeing the dining room table again.

Fuck the spambots!

One of the more persitent spam bots in the gay.com chatrooms is one for gayroomie.com. Interestingly, it's always the exact same thing, a bot enters, repeats the ad exactly three times in succession, then leaves. It looks something like:

Devin1011 Entered the chat
«Devin1011» Gay Roommate? http://www.gayroomie.com/
«Devin1011» Gay Roommate? http://www.gayroomie.com/
«Devin1011» Gay Roommate? http://www.gayroomie.com/
Devin1011 Has left

This lovely piece of network abuse has been brought to you at the ethically-challenged bastards at:

MoveOn Media. LLC
Toby Benjamin
1825 Logan St.
Denver, CO 80203
Phone: 303-564-7726
Fax..: 303-861-2427
Email: Chadben024@aol.com

So fee free to drop Chatben024@aol.com and tell him what a parasitic wanker he is. Better yet, drop a line to abuse@qwest.com, who hosts the gayroomie.com website and ask them to stop hosting their spammer.

Now here's the funny part. I can't find anything on this MoveOn Media, LLC, and there's nothing really interesting at the gayroomie.com site itself. However, Googling for the chadben024@aol.com email address gives one hit. A personal ad, and a rather amusing one, at that.

inexperienced seeks experienced
Posted by: toby
February 07, 2004 at 05:30:22

I've only given a BJ so far and i want to try more in the Denver area. 19 years old 155lbs smooth body. Email me at Chadben024@aol.com or call me at 303-861-2427.

The area matches the registration info for gayroomie.com, as well as the email address and the phone number. I guess finding gay roomates isn't good for getting laid.

Someone shut him up...

I caught the last five minutes of the Keyes/Obama debate on WILL tonight. I wish I'd known it was on or I'd have watched more of it. It looks like it would have been rather entertaining. I tuned in just in time to catch Keyes claim the US Constitution applies only to the federal government, so it would be perfectly legal for the individual states to establish an official religion. Something tells me he has a particular religion in mind.

Just another tiny piece of evidence showing that Alan Keyes is a fucking nutjob.

Cats and dogs working together!

It looks like Darby Conley has it right: if we had more wise pets in the world, we'd have a different president today.

The missing explosives

By now, you've almost certainly heard that the Bush administration failed to secure an Iraqi military installation, resulting in the theft of about 380 tons of high explosives. After the invasion of Baghdad, securing the installation wasn't a priority according to Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary. Most of what was stolen was RDX and similar high explosives. Theoretically, this stuff could be used to trigger a nuclear bomb, but that's not particularly a concern. Rather, it makes for excellent conventional bombs. In fact, this cache is likely the source of the explosive used in the recent car bombing attacks in Iraq.

Less than a pound of RDX was used to bring down PanAm flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988. To put that in perspective, that's about the volume of my coffee mug at work. There were 760,000 coffee mugs of explosive stolen from this weapons cache.

All because protecting it wasn't a priority.

Web stats stuff

To whoever just came to my site from a Google search for "clips of Dick Cheney's daughter having sex", please go the fuck away.

Five word movie review: The Day After Tomorrow

Schlock with great special effects.

(And I haven't even finished the movie!) Come on, when they play the "little orphaned boy with cancer" card, you know it's crap.

Although it might be worth seeing the world destroyed to get to huddle together for warmth with Dash Mihok.

Huh?

There's just something about sports I don't get. This week, it looks like the Yankees were playing the Celtics or Red Socks or something in the World Series. When whichever team won, their fans went wild. One fan was actually killed when struck in the eye by a rubber bullet fired by cops trying to break up rioting fans.

I just can't seem to wrap my brain around the whole idea that a bunch of multi-millionaires vaguely geographically associated with me have beaten some other group of multi-millionaires in a physical contest is cause for celebration. Not just any celebration, mind you, but a "let's go flip some cars over and set them on fire" kind of celebration. Do these people really think that they somehow share in the victory by living in the town associated with the winning team?

I guess the sports gene really is incompatible with the gay gene.

Hi, Bud

E. Bud's sign at 909 W. springfield currently reads:

BUSH, HISTORYS
MAN FOR
OUR TIME

Come November 2, let's all get together and make him history, shall we?

(I'll give E. Bud the benefit of the doubt and assume his sign letter pieces did not include an apostrophe, rather than him being an ingorant twit. Or at least an illiterate ignorant twit.)

You should be watching

If you're not watching Desperate Housewives, you should be. It's smart and clever and funny, which means it probably won't last out the season. Just off the top of my head, there are four good reasons for watching: the hot and hunky next door neighbor, played by Jamie Denton; the cute and horny gardner, who I hope to God is at least 18; one of the husbands is played by the guy that was the cute, yet celibate, Matt from Melrose Place; and Felicity Huffman. That last one was a reason entirely different from the other three.

Lesbogate

Boy, the flannel has hit the fan. Kerry made one reference to Mary Cheney and her being an out lesbian in the debate, and Republicans can't stop crying crocodile tears about it. Kerry's words were really quite benign:

We're all God's children, Bob, and I think if you were to talk to Dick Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she's being who she was. She's being who she was born as.

But Republicans can't denounce it fast enough. Lynne Cheney was quick to come to her daughters "defense" saying that it was a "cheap and tawdry trick" and that Kerry "was not a good man."

It was only a few months ago that Alan Keyes, running for Republican office here in Illinois, called Mary Cheney a "selfish hedonist," like all homosexuals. Where was the outrage then? Where was Lynne Cheney's righteous indignation when a member of her own political party was attacking her daughter? All Kerry really did was acknowledge her existence, something her own parents have been loathe to do in this campaign. No, the outrage from the Right is clearly just trying to make a mountain of this molehill. It is all sound and fury, and truly signifies nothing.

I'm reminded of the Republican National Convention a few months ago, the same place Keyes made his repugnant comment. After Cheney's speech or Bush's (I forget) the entire Cheney family got up on stage to give Dad a big hug for the camera and smile and look happy. That is, except for Mary. She was there at the convention; the networks showed cutaways of her sitting in the audience. Ah, but I think I remember that she was sitting with her girlfriend.

Mary has been silent on both these occasions, and has refused to be comment. But the fact that she wasn't up on the stage I find particularly peculiar. It's not like she doesn't support her father in his campaign, in fact, she works for it, as the Director for Vice Presidential Operations. I am strongly suspicious that she didn't go up on stage that day because she wasn't welcome there. Probably not by her father's request -- he's always seemed quite supportive, if quietly supportive -- but there had to be someone on the campaign that realized it would not look real great for the "family values" ticket to have openly queer family members on stage, possibly with their partners along. Possibly even (gasp!) holding hands.

Other people have written about this topic probably better than I have. Read more:

• Reports From the Edge
• Dave Cullen's article at Salon
• Eschaton

One more, then I'll stop. Really, there are better people than I pointing this stuff out. And I didn't plan to write this much this evening; I just can't seem to stop myself.

BUSH: Gosh, I just don't think I ever said I'm not worried about Osama bin Laden. It's kind of one of those exaggerations.

Hmm, that's odd:

So I don't know where he is. You know, I just don't spend that much time on him, Kelly, to be honest with you... I truly am not that concerned about him.

-- press conference, March 2003

SCHIEFFER: Both of you are opposed to gay marriage. But to understand how you have come to that conclusion, I want to ask you a more basic question. Do you believe homosexuality is a choice?

You know, Bob, I don't know. I just don't know. I do know that we have a choice to make in America and that is to treat people with tolerance and respect and dignity. It's important that we do that. And I also know in a free society people, consenting adults can live the way they want to live. [blah blah blah sanctity of marriage blah blah defense of marriage blah blah]

I have a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that Bush thinks "tolerance and respect and dignity" can go hand-in-hand with the Texas sodomy law.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go spit.

Debate *facts*

From the second question in this debate:

SCHIEFFER: Flu kills thousands of people every year. Suddenly we find ourselves with a severe shortage of flu vaccine. How did that happen?

BUSH: Bob, we relied upon a company out of England to provide about half of the flu vaccines for the United States citizen, and it turned out that the vaccine they were producing was contaminated. And so we took the right action and didn't allow contaminated medicine into our country.

OK, that's a great response. Except it's completely wrong. Now it's true that the factory that was producing the vaccine was in the UK, but the company is based in California. So it wasn't really "a company out of England" that was producing the vaccine, but an American one. That's like saying Intel is "a company out of Ireland" because the have a fab in Dublin.

Secondly, Dubya says that "we took action" and "didn't allow contaminated medicine into the country." Again, it wasn't our fearless FDA agents inspecting the factory that came up with the contamination problems that it shut down, it was the Brits! It was Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency of Great Britian to take the action that shut down the factory.

According to the NY Times:

Even though bacterial contamination was first reported more than a month ago at a British flu vaccine factory, the Food and Drug Administration relied solely on the factory's owner for information on whether the problems were being resolved...

So the F.D.A. was caught by surprise when the British agency suspended the factory's license on Oct. 5, depriving the United States of nearly half the 100 million flu shots federal authorities expected to be used this winter.

I don't know why this one is affecting me more than the other three debates, but I'm so mad right now, I could just spit.

Question #3, and we've just had the "Kerry raised taxes 98 times" distortion. I have an idea, let's just start making facts up; it wouldn't make things much worse.

Debate #3

We are on the second question of the debate, and Bush has been less that truthful (or at least just plain wrong) about both the first and second questions. I'm pretty sure that he did say that he wasn't worried about bin Laden, and he's been wrong about the flu vaccine shortage.

And we're not even 15 minutes in.

Ten years

I think it's really an oversimplification to dismiss Dubya as dumb, or simple, or just a plain redneck. Which is why I have never really given much stock to the theory that his deteriorating ability to speak clearly was due to presenile dementia, as one doctor has hypothosized. But this movie, comparing Bush's performance in the recent debates with that from when he was running for governor ten years ago, shows a rather astonishing contrast. It's clearly partisan, and therefore not to be entirely trusted, but it's worth taking a look at, anyway.

Patriotboy

If you have not yet worshipped at the altar of Jesus's General, go. Now. Drop whatever you are doing and click that link. His unwavering support of Our Leader will bring a (manly) tear to any red-blooded heterosexual American's eye.

Cho-cho-cho

I have to keep telling myself that this is just preliminary, and doesn't really mean much yet. From zap2it.com:

NBC Resurrects Pilot From 'Wonderfalls' Co-Creator

Back in 1998, Todd Holland and John Riggi's "Five Houses" was one of FOX's hottest pilot scripts. It didn't make it to the air. Now, years later, "Five Houses" may get a second chance with NBC.

...the original pilot, which looked at a gay couple and the suburban neighborhood into which they move, was viewed by FOX network executives as "a gay show" at a time when such things weren't in vogue. Holland says that the show was never meant to be about sexuality so much as the blending of cultures and a study of communal life.

...It's possible that actors from the original pilot, including Margaret Cho, may be asked back for the second go-round.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

MPAA ratings

I sent this to David, since he's the film nut, and he suggested I post this article on the MMPA and their ratings board here. You know, the people that are responsible for assigning the G, PG, R, NC-17 ratings.

The article points out that NC-17 movies run the risk of being picketed by conservative groups, and not carried by Walmart or Blockbuster. There's no legitimate reason for this, of course. After all, NC-17 just means that it's not suitable for anyone under 17. Are they really suggesting that it's not right to portray some aspect of adult life, to adults, and not market it to children? What's actually wrong with a movie that's targeted to and appropriate for people over 17?

Frankly, I think it's because they have this idea that our society is sinking into depravity and evil, largely because of the 'mo's in Hollywood. They'd picket anything that's at the upper end of the ratings spectrum.

So I propose that we keep the NC-17 rating, as something that's appropriate for adults, and not for children, and create a new rating, NE, not appropriate for everyone. From Justin to Kelly comes to mind.

That way, the conservatives get their rating to boycott, and the adults get their movies. How do you like them apples, Jack Valenti?

The stage isn't even cold yet!

Oh, man, you just can't make this stuff up.

From tonight's debate:

KERRY: The president got $84 from a timber company that owns, and he's counted as a small business...

BUSH: I own a timber company?
(LAUGHTER)
That's news to me.

Then, from factcheck.ORG: (emphasis mine)

President Bush himself would have qualified as a "small business owner" under the Republican definition, based on his 2001 federal income tax returns. He reported $84 of business income from his part ownership of a timber-growing enterprise. However, 99.99% of Bush's total income came from other sources that year. (Bush also qualified as a "small business owner" in 2000 based on $314 of "business income," but not in 2002 and 2003 when he reported his timber income as "royalties" on a different tax schedule.)

Geez, the man has so much money, he doesn't even know about it all! (Pointed out by Electablog.)

Music #2

(Continuation of this entry.)

I stuck Winamp on shuffle this evening while making dinner, and these both came up. I think the first is my offical theme song for this election season.

Republican is the way you vote
You've got a sticker on your bumper that's how I know ...
Hey, it's Saturday night so go on down the road
I'll cancel you out when I go to the polls
Nanci Griffith, One Blade Shy of a Short Edge

I'd like to dedicate this song to the twits on Springfield that have that constantly-changing Bush/Cheney sign in front of their house. I'll be cancelling at least one of you out come Election Day.

We're living in a time of inconvenience
Compassion fails me with this meanness in the air ...
We're living in the age of communication
Where the only voices heard have money in their hands
Where greed has become a sophistication
And if you ain't got money
You ain't got nothin' in this land
Nanci Griffith, Time of Inconvenience

I think these lines just about sum up the current political climate. And they were written in 1994. I hope they won't hold true forever.

Veep, veep!

Now this is a debate! Distortion ... inaccuracies ... distortion ... inaccuracies!

Gell-O

I just finished making a couple of gel candles (my first, thanks David!), and I have to say that gel wax base is some of the weirdest stuff I've ever touched. Even when melted, it's very viscous -- think extra-thick honey -- and pouring it is an exercise in not making a mess all over the kitchen. I'm not even sure it really hardens from the liquid state; it just seems to slowly, well, gel. It looks really cool, though.

It's sort of like working with Satanic Jell-O.