Thursday, April 17, 2008
This Blog Has Moved
Attention K-mart shoppers. Let me direct your attention to LiveJournal, where a friend of mine actually paid for a premium membership on my behalf. She's been on me for years to create an account, so when I finally did she whipped in with her credit card and bought me the premium account as a tactic to guilt me into actually using the site. It worked. I do feel obligated to use it now. So if you're interested go check out my LJ page here: http://cantcan2.livejournal.com/
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Et Tu, Brut?
OK. So yesterday I had to pick up a few things and one of those items was deodorant. For some reason my body builds up resistance to antiperspirant so quickly that every time I buy it I have to get a different kind. I can't cycle back to a brand for about a year because if I've used it within that time it won't work on me.
Due to this situation I will eventually have to buy every brand of deodorant there is. I've even bought women's deodorant before. (It didn't work, despite the "strong enough for a man" statement. Bullshit.) So yesterday I was torn between Mitchum and Brut. I went with Brut hoping for nostalgic masculine appeal. Instead I now smell like a 1980's junior high student returning to school after the Christmas holidays wearing the contents of a gift set he got as a present from his grandmother. Ew.
Avoid at all costs.
Due to this situation I will eventually have to buy every brand of deodorant there is. I've even bought women's deodorant before. (It didn't work, despite the "strong enough for a man" statement. Bullshit.) So yesterday I was torn between Mitchum and Brut. I went with Brut hoping for nostalgic masculine appeal. Instead I now smell like a 1980's junior high student returning to school after the Christmas holidays wearing the contents of a gift set he got as a present from his grandmother. Ew.
Avoid at all costs.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Stalking Is So Sweet
OK. I'm totally forsaking my generation's cynicism by posting this but I actually thought it was really sweet. In fact, it's so cute that you may shit kittens after watching.
For a few weeks now I've seen blurbs on some of the glbt blogs that I read regularly about this guy in NYC who is wooing a guy in another state through YouTube videos he's been posting. Work was slow during the afternoon for a bit yesterday and I finally went and watched them and I'm totally suckered by the whole thing. Not only am I falling for all the romantic shtick but I'm also fascinated by the concept, which is so modern. I mean, this sort of thing couldn't have been done a few years ago.
So here's the story as I understand it. Chris is originally from Houston but lives in NYC now. He's half-Mexican and half-Irish. Nick is in Iowa. (Going to college?) He's half-American and half-Swedish (I think) but must have spent much of his youth in Europe, as he has a bit of an accent. Both guys have video blogs on YouTube and somehow got to watching each other's postings. Well, Chris developed a serious crush on Nick and decided to pursue him by posting videos to try and woo him. Nick's videos have a more homemade quality and often have poor sound quality but Chris' are very sleek. Plus Chris is one of those people who is not afraid of putting himself out there and making a complete fool of himself. It's really quite endearing. I can see how his videos are effective. Like I said, the modernness of this venture is intriguing but it's really the old-fashioned, unabashed romanticism and humor that the clincher.
Each guy has several dozen videos they've posted but I've linked the essential ones that tell the story of their romance below more or less in order. I think most of you will really like this. (If you want to peruse all their videos you can find Chris' here and Nick's here.)
For a few weeks now I've seen blurbs on some of the glbt blogs that I read regularly about this guy in NYC who is wooing a guy in another state through YouTube videos he's been posting. Work was slow during the afternoon for a bit yesterday and I finally went and watched them and I'm totally suckered by the whole thing. Not only am I falling for all the romantic shtick but I'm also fascinated by the concept, which is so modern. I mean, this sort of thing couldn't have been done a few years ago.
So here's the story as I understand it. Chris is originally from Houston but lives in NYC now. He's half-Mexican and half-Irish. Nick is in Iowa. (Going to college?) He's half-American and half-Swedish (I think) but must have spent much of his youth in Europe, as he has a bit of an accent. Both guys have video blogs on YouTube and somehow got to watching each other's postings. Well, Chris developed a serious crush on Nick and decided to pursue him by posting videos to try and woo him. Nick's videos have a more homemade quality and often have poor sound quality but Chris' are very sleek. Plus Chris is one of those people who is not afraid of putting himself out there and making a complete fool of himself. It's really quite endearing. I can see how his videos are effective. Like I said, the modernness of this venture is intriguing but it's really the old-fashioned, unabashed romanticism and humor that the clincher.
Each guy has several dozen videos they've posted but I've linked the essential ones that tell the story of their romance below more or less in order. I think most of you will really like this. (If you want to peruse all their videos you can find Chris' here and Nick's here.)
- Chris' first move to let Nick know how he feels, which was posted as one of his regular blog entries.
- Nick's first response, which wound up being edited down because it was apparently really long when initially posted.
- Chris' first official attempt to win Nick's love, which he titles Boyfriending Nick.
- Chris' response to the YouTube naysayers that left him shitty comments.
- Chris' second Boyfriending Nick post.
- Nick's second response.
- Chris' third Boyfriending Nick post.
- Nick's third response.
- Chris' countdown to meeting Nick.
- Nick gives his reasons for agreeing to hook up with Chris.
- Nick just a few hours before departing for NYC to meet Chris.
- Chris & Nick meet in NYC!!!
- Saying goodbye :(
- Nick looking back on trip.
So if you're suckered into this gay soap opera too you'll have to subscribe to their channels to keep posted on their blossoming young love. (OK. You can officially gag now.)
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Some Random Thoughts
I have intended to update this blog for the past couple of weeks but just didn't feel like I had anything of substance to relay. There have been a few things here and there that have caught my attention but nothing that made me want to sit down and vent or try and rally others to react.
However, I did just see a news story on CNN's Headlice News while I was eating lunch in the breakroom at work that sort of freaked me out. Europe is now going to provide the Department of Homeland Security with all this personal info regarding visitors flying into the U.S. including sexual orientation!!! What in the fuck could a person's sexual orientation have to do with their propensity to be a terrorist, which is allegedly the reason for sharing the information!?! I would have written a whole post just on this topic but I'm sure this is going to be a big deal and there will be a grassroots effort to express displeasure regarding this invasion of privacy. You can read about this shit here.
Moving along. I bought an mp3 player with money that I got for my birthday this month. I didn't get some fancy ass iPod because I knew my needs and budget weren't that big. Man, mp3 players have sure come down in price since the last time I looked at them. You can now get a 1gb player as cheap as $30 to $40 currently. I bought a 1gb Sandisk brand that has direct USB connectivity, so I can just plug it directly into my pc and drag and drop files. It's also memory expandable with a micro SD card, so I could potentially double the memory for a mere $15 bucks! This player I bought was $60 at Best Buy. And I'm sure that a comparable player will be half that price within a year. They're so cheap now compared to when I shopped for them before that my mind was blown. (Like a couple of years ago a 512mb player cost over $100!!!)
The reason why I bought the mp3 player was to play audio books on. I was tired of keeping up with all those cds and using the bulky portable cd player at night in bed. I figured I'd just rip the audio book cds and move them onto the player. This plan has totally worked out. I listened to the whole new Harry Potter book using the mp3 player. (Yes. I'm that big of a dork.) It was so much more convenient than having to keep up with and constantly switch out seventeen cds.
The coolest discovery I've made since I got the mp3 player has been podcasts. I know I'm a few years behind the times with this but I've never had a way of capturing the files and carrying them around with me conveniently before. And I am just not going to sit in front of my computer and listen to a show. Since I got a player I can now finally trip on this phenomenon that had almost passed me by. I know there are thousands of podcasts out there, so I haven't really figured out which ones I'm super-duper into. Right off the bat I've been listening to these two ultra-gay shows though: Feast Of Fools and this "sober" drag queen called Wanda Wisdom. There's also another one that seems like it is potentially fun called Tranny Wreck but it doesn't seem to be updated very often and I've only listened the one most recent show. Update: Since I originally posted this a couple of days ago I stumbled across another show - Foul Monkeys. It's these two gay guys and their revolving door of straight friends just hanging out and usually talking about nerdy stuff, like video games. A lot of the time I'm not into what they're talking about but I like the energy and silliness of the show and mainly I like that the gay guys aren't stereotypical queens. I can definitely relate to that...girl. (Insert satire.)
I'm back on a work-out routine. I slowed down on the smoking over a two-week period until I finally quit all-together (again) on Wednesday (or Thursday?). The mp3 player is perfect for working out. I walked the treadmill last night listening to Wanda Wisdom do her thang. I'm not planning to go overboard but I do feel so much better that I think this is going to stick finally. Last time we "got healthy" we really adopted the full lifestyle but then we started fostering kids and it all went out the window. I think we're at a place again where we can focus on regular exercise and good eating habits. (It's too damn easy to eat like shit in this country!)
Anyway, speaking of fostering kids, I had said in a way earlier post that I wanted to put something up about our experience with so-called gay adoption, specifically in Texas. I did start writing something and have come back to work on it several times but it's grown enormous and I'm still not finished! I swear by the time I do wrap up all of what I want to say it'll be a goddamn book. So if you've come across my blog while doing a key word search trying to find something about same-sex partners adopting (particularly in Texas) just send me an email with any questions you may have. I'm generally pretty good at staying on top of my mail, so I'll probably write you back relatively quick.
Alright. I'm gonna go. Y'all take care.
However, I did just see a news story on CNN's Headlice News while I was eating lunch in the breakroom at work that sort of freaked me out. Europe is now going to provide the Department of Homeland Security with all this personal info regarding visitors flying into the U.S. including sexual orientation!!! What in the fuck could a person's sexual orientation have to do with their propensity to be a terrorist, which is allegedly the reason for sharing the information!?! I would have written a whole post just on this topic but I'm sure this is going to be a big deal and there will be a grassroots effort to express displeasure regarding this invasion of privacy. You can read about this shit here.
Moving along. I bought an mp3 player with money that I got for my birthday this month. I didn't get some fancy ass iPod because I knew my needs and budget weren't that big. Man, mp3 players have sure come down in price since the last time I looked at them. You can now get a 1gb player as cheap as $30 to $40 currently. I bought a 1gb Sandisk brand that has direct USB connectivity, so I can just plug it directly into my pc and drag and drop files. It's also memory expandable with a micro SD card, so I could potentially double the memory for a mere $15 bucks! This player I bought was $60 at Best Buy. And I'm sure that a comparable player will be half that price within a year. They're so cheap now compared to when I shopped for them before that my mind was blown. (Like a couple of years ago a 512mb player cost over $100!!!)
The reason why I bought the mp3 player was to play audio books on. I was tired of keeping up with all those cds and using the bulky portable cd player at night in bed. I figured I'd just rip the audio book cds and move them onto the player. This plan has totally worked out. I listened to the whole new Harry Potter book using the mp3 player. (Yes. I'm that big of a dork.) It was so much more convenient than having to keep up with and constantly switch out seventeen cds.
The coolest discovery I've made since I got the mp3 player has been podcasts. I know I'm a few years behind the times with this but I've never had a way of capturing the files and carrying them around with me conveniently before. And I am just not going to sit in front of my computer and listen to a show. Since I got a player I can now finally trip on this phenomenon that had almost passed me by. I know there are thousands of podcasts out there, so I haven't really figured out which ones I'm super-duper into. Right off the bat I've been listening to these two ultra-gay shows though: Feast Of Fools and this "sober" drag queen called Wanda Wisdom. There's also another one that seems like it is potentially fun called Tranny Wreck but it doesn't seem to be updated very often and I've only listened the one most recent show. Update: Since I originally posted this a couple of days ago I stumbled across another show - Foul Monkeys. It's these two gay guys and their revolving door of straight friends just hanging out and usually talking about nerdy stuff, like video games. A lot of the time I'm not into what they're talking about but I like the energy and silliness of the show and mainly I like that the gay guys aren't stereotypical queens. I can definitely relate to that...girl. (Insert satire.)
I'm back on a work-out routine. I slowed down on the smoking over a two-week period until I finally quit all-together (again) on Wednesday (or Thursday?). The mp3 player is perfect for working out. I walked the treadmill last night listening to Wanda Wisdom do her thang. I'm not planning to go overboard but I do feel so much better that I think this is going to stick finally. Last time we "got healthy" we really adopted the full lifestyle but then we started fostering kids and it all went out the window. I think we're at a place again where we can focus on regular exercise and good eating habits. (It's too damn easy to eat like shit in this country!)
Anyway, speaking of fostering kids, I had said in a way earlier post that I wanted to put something up about our experience with so-called gay adoption, specifically in Texas. I did start writing something and have come back to work on it several times but it's grown enormous and I'm still not finished! I swear by the time I do wrap up all of what I want to say it'll be a goddamn book. So if you've come across my blog while doing a key word search trying to find something about same-sex partners adopting (particularly in Texas) just send me an email with any questions you may have. I'm generally pretty good at staying on top of my mail, so I'll probably write you back relatively quick.
Alright. I'm gonna go. Y'all take care.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is...That Is, When It's Not Wrapped Around A Cock.
I saw an item today about how UPS has denied benefits to the civil union-ed partner of one of its employees in New Jersey. UPS claims that the couple's civil union is not a marriage and, therefore, they cannot provide the benefits that they provide to the family of their opposite-sex "married" employees. It's unclear as to whether UPS is simply being shitty and discriminatory or if they're purposefully trying to push the issue in an effort to tear down the (not) separate-but-equal status of same-sex civil unions. Personally, I'm leaning towards their being good guys in this situation.
I've looked UPS up on HRC's Equality Index, which is basically a ratings system for how gay-friendly corporations are, and they have a fairly respectable score of 80 (out of a possible 100). That's not phenomenal but it kicks the crap out of FedEx's shameful score of 55!! Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that UPS provides it's gay married Massachusetts' employees with same-sex benefits but FedEx has refused, citing that the federal government doesn't recognize same-sex marriage. (Thanks, DOMA.) FedEx is evil and you should not use them for your mailing needs. They're like the Exxon of shipping.
So then that reminded me of something that I wanted to write about. Please, please, please whenever possible spend your money responsibly in regards to the gay community. I use the aforementioned HRC's Equality Index a lot. If I'm looking to buy something I compare the scores of competing businesses and always try to give my money to the company with the best rating. For example, always choose Target (a score of 80) over Wal-mart (65). And if possible go to Costco (93) over Target!
This past weekend I was looking to buy an mp3 player. I did some research online and found the cheapest sale prices at Radio Shack and Circuit City. However, when I looked them up on the Equality Index I was very disappointed to find Radio Shack's abysmal score (40), so I knew right off I wouldn't buy anything from them. Circuit City didn't fare much better (55). However, I remembered Best Buy and was thrilled to see their perfect score (100)!! So that's where I went for my mp3 player and that's where I'll go for all my electronic needs from now on until one of their competitor's matches their score.
It's not quite enough to just spend your money responsibly though. You have to let the businesses know why you're making your choice to spend or not spend money with them. Take one or two minutes to Google a company's web site and locate their "contact" link or page. Then send them a brief message telling them that until their policies regarding queers improves you'll be taking your business to competitor "X" who has a much better track record. And if a company is gay-friendly drop them a line too, so that they know it does make a difference and you appreciate their progressive policies.
It's not a lot but this type of "armchair activism" will be more effective than any sort of picketing or other confrontational tactic. This is America, baby. The great bastion of capitalism. People can go on and on about how great our democracy is but the bottom line is the bottom dollar. Money talks louder than any verbal screams of protest. You want progress? Then stop funneling money into the hands those that hate us. For real, bitches.
I've looked UPS up on HRC's Equality Index, which is basically a ratings system for how gay-friendly corporations are, and they have a fairly respectable score of 80 (out of a possible 100). That's not phenomenal but it kicks the crap out of FedEx's shameful score of 55!! Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that UPS provides it's gay married Massachusetts' employees with same-sex benefits but FedEx has refused, citing that the federal government doesn't recognize same-sex marriage. (Thanks, DOMA.) FedEx is evil and you should not use them for your mailing needs. They're like the Exxon of shipping.
So then that reminded me of something that I wanted to write about. Please, please, please whenever possible spend your money responsibly in regards to the gay community. I use the aforementioned HRC's Equality Index a lot. If I'm looking to buy something I compare the scores of competing businesses and always try to give my money to the company with the best rating. For example, always choose Target (a score of 80) over Wal-mart (65). And if possible go to Costco (93) over Target!
This past weekend I was looking to buy an mp3 player. I did some research online and found the cheapest sale prices at Radio Shack and Circuit City. However, when I looked them up on the Equality Index I was very disappointed to find Radio Shack's abysmal score (40), so I knew right off I wouldn't buy anything from them. Circuit City didn't fare much better (55). However, I remembered Best Buy and was thrilled to see their perfect score (100)!! So that's where I went for my mp3 player and that's where I'll go for all my electronic needs from now on until one of their competitor's matches their score.
It's not quite enough to just spend your money responsibly though. You have to let the businesses know why you're making your choice to spend or not spend money with them. Take one or two minutes to Google a company's web site and locate their "contact" link or page. Then send them a brief message telling them that until their policies regarding queers improves you'll be taking your business to competitor "X" who has a much better track record. And if a company is gay-friendly drop them a line too, so that they know it does make a difference and you appreciate their progressive policies.
It's not a lot but this type of "armchair activism" will be more effective than any sort of picketing or other confrontational tactic. This is America, baby. The great bastion of capitalism. People can go on and on about how great our democracy is but the bottom line is the bottom dollar. Money talks louder than any verbal screams of protest. You want progress? Then stop funneling money into the hands those that hate us. For real, bitches.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Roomba - The World's First Retarded Robot
Yesterday at a garage sale we bought a Roomba vacuum, which I've always wanted. That's one of those little disk-shaped robotic vacuums that supposedly roam around your house and vacuum automatically. It was only like $10 and we talked them down to $5 at this garage sale. It's a good thing too because it's fucking stupid. I put the recharging base in the corner of the dining room and whenever I turn it on it always instantly heads out, then turns around, goes back and then promptly turns and goes and wedges itself underneath the table. It does the same exact thing every time and never learns from its mistakes. If I move it out into the middle of a room it only takes maybe thirty-seconds before it jams itself either up underneath a piece of furniture or tries to start climbing up something until it's stuck. Before it becomes completely stuck it'll back up a little but instead of turning around it just keeps trying to go forward until it become irreversibly fucked.
Oh. It's also really loud too.
I looked it up on Wikipedia and the one we wound up with is not a first generation model with bugs. It's like a more advanced third generation unit. (Model 4220 from 2004.) I also don't think it was just used till it got fucked up either, as it looked really new and the people had it in a bag with all the parts and even all the little books that come with it. I think they probably got it from like their adult kids one Christmas and quickly discovered that it didn't work and it went in a closet for two or three years.
So I just wanted to put this out there to warn people about my experience. If you think this is a good product or have any suggestions as to how to improve ours or why it acts so ignunt please let me know.
Geez. I'm glad I didn't plop down like $150 on one of these things new.
Oh. It's also really loud too.
I looked it up on Wikipedia and the one we wound up with is not a first generation model with bugs. It's like a more advanced third generation unit. (Model 4220 from 2004.) I also don't think it was just used till it got fucked up either, as it looked really new and the people had it in a bag with all the parts and even all the little books that come with it. I think they probably got it from like their adult kids one Christmas and quickly discovered that it didn't work and it went in a closet for two or three years.
So I just wanted to put this out there to warn people about my experience. If you think this is a good product or have any suggestions as to how to improve ours or why it acts so ignunt please let me know.
Geez. I'm glad I didn't plop down like $150 on one of these things new.
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