9/12 ramblings

So where was I in August? I don’t recall being too busy, so WTF? No entries, no excuses, no worries.
If I’m back, it means I must be worried. Irate might be more accurate. I’m looking at the exchange rate ahead of a November trip to Thailand, and the exchange rate sucks. The upside to having a crappy, weak currency is that we should be awash in foreign tourists. Granted, I’ve seen a few running around downtown this summer, but we’re hardly “awash.” I blame the Bush Administration for acting unilaterally to the point that nobody wants to visit -- not to mention the heightened security measures that make it such an incredible drag for legitimate tourists (with big euros to spend) to even get in the door. It does seem some auto sales offset our huge trade imbalance, but not by much. So I’m just pissed.
Beyond that, looking at the aforementioned “enhanced security measures,” I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I believe in vigilance. I don’t like the thought of loose borders -- at least, not as long as you have borders -- and I don’t think being transported by private companies is a right. This means that if US Airways wants to strip-search every passenger flying, or if I get questioned more thoroughly if the Irish Republican Army starts killing people again and I have an Irish surname, that’s fine. But I don’t appreciate this thought that we’re helpless and need protecting.
Take 9/11. The passengers on those planes didn’t stay in their seats because they were scared. They remained in their seats because they thought that was the prudent course of action. The freaks hijacking those planes told them they wouldn’t be hurt if they cooperated. History largely backed that lie. The passengers could guess that their respective planes would be landed and the psychos would begin making demands from the tarmac, as had been standard operating procedures. Thanks to cell phones, however, word got to Flight 93 that other planes in the same situation were being used as weapons. Suddenly, the rules had changed. Accordingly, the passengers attacked and won. They may not have been able to save themselves, but they did something more important: They stopped the hijackers. I’m certain it wasn’t a question of those Flight 93 passengers being more brave, but simply having more information.
It’s not so hard to execute a sneak attack against Americans. Part of our cultural nature is that we don’t like duplicity. We appreciate straight talk, transparency, open dialogue. We often don’t get it, but it’s what we like. It’s that nature that makes a Pearl Harbor possible. And then we defeated Japan. Sixty years later, it made 9/11 possible. And then Richard Reid tries to light his “shoe bomb” on a loaded flight from Paris to Miami, and no sooner is he putting flame to shoe tongue and knocking down flight attendants, then do passengers and crew have him quietly subdued with plastic handcuffs, seatbelt extensions, headphone cords and a happy dose of valium.
The point is, at least for the remainder of this chapter, I think we’re on to them. People look to the Patriot Act and similar measures and say, “It’s working. We’ve not been attacked since 9/11.” Horrendous attacks have been made, though. Not on U.S. soil, but they have been made -- all the while our espionage is said to be even less restrained overseas. It was little help to London or Madrid. What has protected the United States, primarily, is education. Al Qaeda educated us.
Can we be attacked again? Sure. But it’s going to have to be in some way radically different than on 9/11. Those fellas got their shot. They took it. They did some damage. But now they’ve got to hide from Americans. And from Britons and Spaniards and Australians and Jordanians. Our government can tell our military where to go. But it’s we, the people -- including those same citizen soldiers -- who really keep us safe at home.

The religion entry

I am embarrassed today for Congressional Democrats in light of the legislation being proposed by Senators Warner and Lugar. Their bill seems to find ground that everyone can agree on. For the most part, it gets U.S. personnel out of the nation-building, but allows for some measure of security. We get off the streets, but remain in the country keeping Syrians and Iranians out; target foreign terrorists, but not Iraqi sects; and offers some protection to U.S. interests. Why was that so hard?
It’s actually in our best interests to let these power struggles play themselves out. In the security vacuum we leave, clandestine Iranian efforts will move in to support the Shias. Meanwhile, the Saudis have said before that they may feel obligated to move in to Iraq to support the Sunnis. Let them. Saudis and Iranians at war, if indirectly, can only help us -- at least in the short term. Both sides will need to finance their efforts with oil money, possibly attempting to under-price one another. As these sides deal with their own messy animosities, we can use the time to furiously develop ways to wean ourselves off petroleum. And by maintaining a presence in Iraq, we’ll be right there in case al-Qaeda turns out to be the winner in a local struggle. If Iranian Shias and al-Qaeda and Saudi Sunnis want to have it out, we shouldn’t stand in their way. That fight has so very, very little to do with Americans.
The only religious struggle that should be on America’s plate today is remorse for the shameful outburst against the Hindi prayer in Congress. The protesters, I understand, call themselves “Christians” and “patriots.” I’ll give them their Christian designation, but to think themselves patriotic by taking aim at one of our greatest strengths -- religious tolerance possibly unequaled anywhere else in the world -- is downright un-American.

Mein Mugabe?

In this quick news story about Zimbabwe's rapidly running downhill President Mugabe, Agence France Presse included what I assume is a recent photo. So is that just a patch of darker skin under his nose, or has this notorious homophobe taking his manscapinig cues from Hitler? If so, his press secretary should let him know that it's somewhat poor p.r. Perhaps it's been there all along, hiding (ahem) right under his nose?

Mission mostly accomplished

OK, except for reading Manji, I fulfilled my July 4 plans. Though I did walk past her book on the shelf several times.... Regardless, the view of the fireworks was lovely. Especially so, in that the National Mall's show was just the centerpiece. In every direction from our roost at P and 8th NW, we could see shows both professional and pedestrian. It seems that when the country is mired in shit, displays like these illustrate that we have a awfully optimistic national psychology. It all just looked so hopeful.

Independence Day, 21st Century Style

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Immigration Now!

The lag in entries was due to the Pride season in the capital: Youth Pride, followed by Black Pride, then Capital Pride. For the local gay press, this is our crunch time. Think of the mall -- consumer, not national -- between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thankfully, that’s all done. Our next guaranteed boom isn’t till One In Ten throws our local LGBT film festival in October, Reel Affirmations. Ahead of that, I can count on a couple of lost weekends screening choppy copies of independent movies for the sake of 200-word blurbs. Meanwhile, it’s just hosting out-of-town guests and keeping cool.

Since writing last, however, that “Too Many People” entry holds ever more firm. It just seems obvious that sharing the wealth by increasing our population through immigration versus reproduction makes sense. For the left, it’s a very PC way to help those who were born with fewer opportunities. For the right, it nearly guarantees that your fewer offspring who share less of their inheritance and are born into the advantages of citizenship from Day 1 will have an advantage over immigrant labor. So everybody wins, right? I don’t see a downside. An added bonus for Neo-cons bent on spreading democracy is the cost-savings of spreading it to foreigners inside our own borders. We don’t have to pay to bring democracy to them, but instead bring them here for lessons. That’s got to offer a substantial savings, especially considering that when we send “democracy teachers” abroad, we often have to pay to arm them heavily and risk losing them to roadside bombs.

Too many people

I've decided that all my feelings of doom can be traced by to those 1970s-era predictions of overpopulation. It's not something you hear about much today. To the contrary, we're told the planet can hold a few billion more. I'm not buying it. I think we've surpassed our comfort level. And why do citizens of rich countries need to reproduce at all? There are millions -- if not billions -- of poorer people dying to get in. Some would argue that massive immigration will change our national character. Yeah, well, so what? Time alone will change our national character. And that's why we have a living Constitution. We're not bound by creed or borders or cultures. We're everything. And, as Americans, we hold certain truths to be self-evident, as our "founding fathers" put it. So, that said, any chance we can get the golbal population down by a couple billion in the next couple centuries? Please? My birthday is coming up in a couple months, and that's at the top of my list. Along with a new bottle of Chanel Pour Monsieur; I'm almost out.

More bad news

I'm so glad this little corner of the virtual expanse goes relatively unseen, I imagine, as I find I just want to vent more. The Virginia Tech insanity Monday, followed by news of the slain Peace Corps volunteer, is making me sick. But that's just on top of all the bombings in Iraq, which lead me to conclude that abandoment is best. I used to think we had a responsibility to clean up our mess. I don't really much care anymore. Sure, I think GW Bush should be impeached, but I've also come to think that the barbarism sewn (and controlled) by Saddam Hussein is beyond anyone's control. Some fear that if the U.S. pulls out, the Sunnis will be persecuted. Well, they're pretty active in blowing up U.S. troops and trying to make the Shia look incapable of governing by killing off Shia by the thousands, so I'm not so sympathetic. The other fear is that the Shia will ally themselves with Iran, creating an even more annoying Iran. But that's really a foregone conclusion, I would think. Perhaps if we leave now, we'll at least have an opportunity to play all these forces against one another -- from the Saudis who say they may send in troops to defend Sunnis if the U.S. leaves, to the anti-Saudi Iranians whose foreign policy seems to center around doing whatever they can to hurt America, rather than looking out for their more direct interests -- while we try to figure out how to live without oil. If the Middle East falls into a Shia-Sunni war, at least all countries involved will want us to buy their oil. And they should undercut each other's prices if they're in conflict.
Sadly, my views come from a fairly left point of view. I don't want to sacrifice anything to give Iraq democracy. If the Iraqi Shia couldn't get it on their own -- or at least start the fight themselves -- do they even deserve it? The argument that the moderates suffer most doesn't do much for me, either. I would hope they could get themselves out of the conflict zone, but there are limits to U.S. power. Limits far more restricting than any the neocons imagined. I'm certain every American would risk death to maintain our constitutional sovereignty, but we Americans know that there is no enemy at the gates putting that liberty at risk. Osama may hate our freedoms, but unless he runs for office here, there's not a whole lot he can do about it. If we don't fear him and his bombs, he's a paper tiger. We are still flying and traveling abroad. We've not abandoned our cities for free of sitting too close to the next 'ground zero.'
But though Osama has nothing, still there is this feeling far beyond anything he and his criminal ilk have wrought, that things are just falling apart, that misery and ignorance and danger are increasing. Will it be global warming-induced food shortages? Ethanol-induced food shortages? Growing extremism? Fear, all by itself? Nuclear meltdown in North Korea? A Canary Island-spawned tsunami wiping out the East Coast? What's next? Why now does there seem to be a limitless list of apocalyptic scenarios. And as if these scenarios weren't bad enough, there are seas of childlike adults who seem to welcome whatever may herald "the end times," or whatever apocalypse a person's specific faith has to offer.
I remain, by nature, an optimist. But these are damned depressing times.

Poor Pelosi

I'm seeing that Speaker Pelosi is taking more shit for going to Syria. I have no idea which congressional Republicans went over at roughly the same time, as they don't seem to be taking any heat. While numbly eliptcal-ing an hour away at the gym, there was an ad on CNN from the Republican Jewish Coalition blasting her trip. So it was OK for the Bush administration to use buddy-up with the Syrians to use their jails for the so-called was on terror, but her attempts at dialogue are counter-productive. The ad was particularly annoying in light of her press conference yesterday with Rep. Tom Lantos -- my hands-down favorite legislator -- a Holocaust survivor, who had no problem answering a question whether he'd go to Iran for dialogue. He said he'd get on plane immediately. I almost cried a little, worrying about his advanced age and what Congress will lose when he retires. We all know Ahmadinejad is a nutjob. But it's a nutty world, and we've got to talk to everybody if we want to operate in it. Smiling and shaking hands with people you despise is part of diplomacy. It costs you nothing, and may gain you plenty. And I hope Lantos and Pelosi spend lots more time together. I want as much of his wisdom as possible to rub on off this powerful woman, a Bal-mer girl (like my mom), whom I applaud for offereing a refreshingly sophisticated face to American diplomacy. Certainly it's better than John Bolton's criticism of Britain for sending letters to Iran regarding their detained troops, rather than, I presume, invading; or, worse yet, his apparent salivating at the prospect of them asking us to invade on their behalf. Where does this short-sightedness come from??

Pessimistic mood

While not in a bad mood, I'm having a difficult time finding any good news today. Just like Helen Reddy. The government is full of jerks. The Middle East is full of jerks. Everybody is full of drama. In the past week, three people in my little world have had to go to the hospital. I'm aware of two current break-ups. Several people who are looking for jobs. And near-record lows for this time of year in D.C. It's all very disheartening. This would be a great time for someone to invent an inexhaustible source of clean energy, or perhaps for aliens to say hello. Just something to get out of this malaise, for which I blame GW Bush and Osama bin Landen in nearly equal amounts.

sea legs

Following my partner's surprise 40th birthday hoo-ha, it's good to be back on land. The surprise centered around a 4-day cruise on the Celebrity Century: Thursday in Miami, Friday in Key West, Saturday in Cozumel, Sunday at sea, Monday back in Miami. Though we've cruised before (heh...), I'm still struck by the odd "sea legs" phenomenon. For days now, I'm still occasionally struck by the feeling that I'm rocking a tiny bit. It's not an uncomfortable sensation, just curious.
Regardless, the trip was great thanks to Celebrity, the Coconut Cove Guesthouse in Fort Lauderdale, and, most of all, all of those who were on-hand to mark Fernando's birthday. Beyond those who were present, I'm thankful to so many people for keeping the months-long preparations under their hats.
As an added bonus, I'm adding one photo from the trip. It's a photo of my mother and me taken by her pal, Harriet, in the Century's martini bar on the formal night. When I look at this photo, all I can think about is how I wish her genes had been more assertive than my father's. She's 75 years old and looks fantastic. She doesn't even dye her hair, while my temple grays are beginning to bust out at 37. I'm actually the age she was when she had me, but not aging nearly as well. But with her devotion to moderation, I suppose she's earned it. My appetites, on the other hand, tend toward excess.

The Host

Wow, what a fun movie! My partner and I went Friday. Granted, we were under a bit of chemical influence, but The Host would've held up regardless. The movie's Korean sensibilities offered a pleasantly dizzy mix of childhood sweetness, frights and comedy. I think the culture's affection for ancestral ghosts also flavored the ending in a way that may have made it a happy ending by Korean standards, but bit sad for us bubbly Americans.
The remainder of the weekend was not so fun. Work on Saturday -- two interviews, blessedly interesting -- followed by chores and errands. And breaking the coffee carafe, which mandated another errand: running to Bed Bath & Beyond at Gallery Place for a new coffee maker. Between the two of us, we average one broken coffee carafe every two years. This new Cuisinart dealio should protect us though; no carafe.
We hit Halo Saturday night for Dougie Fresh's birthday. He looked so happy, and not at all older. Blowoff was supposed to follow, but the crowd at Halo -- on top of the day's chores -- left me in no mood to Blowoff. At least domesticity guaranteed I still got laid. Sunday, took dear old Auntie Alex to Whole Foods. Her regular ride is in the hospital. Tho so many Sunday evenings find us at JR's, we stayed home. It seems, to my sour grapes, that both Blowoff and JR's were mucho fun this weekend.

Stanton, Smith and Largo FL

As a former Floridian -- Port Richey and Tampa -- I'm often interested in news from the area. Considering former classmates sometimes provide the local controversies, you can't blame me. But I just came across news of Largo's city commissioners voting 5-2 to fire the city manager, Steve Stanton, for announcing that he plans to transition to female. As if that weren't enough, Nadie Smith of Equality Florida -- perhaps the most influential LGBT leader in the state -- was violentely thrown to the ground by police officers and arrested for handing out a flier at a Stanton hearing, I believe, reading "no discrimination." I am dumbfounded by both actions. If this story was coming out of Iran, I could believe it. But unless Largo is in the clutches of former Nazis hiding out in their 'golden years' as Floridian retirees, I just don't get it. This news out of Florida is sickening.
Read all about it: http://justiceinlargo.com/

no amsterdam

I was looking at fares, hoping to get Fernando and me to Amsterdam in the fall. We really, really like Amsterdam. But Euro fares are crazy right now. We're used to paying between $400-$500. But for early November, it's going to be closer to $700-$800. About $300 of which is fees and taxes. It also seems impossible to find out who you're paying for what, between flyover fees, landing fees, etc. I'm all for worthwhile taxes, but international passengers seem to get screwed on the deal. I should clarify, by saying Atlantic passengers. We've dumped the Amsterdam weekend notion for a Thailand week. A premim economy seat with the best cabin crews on earth, 17 hours from JFK to BKK, is about $1400. And this is not cramped into a US Airways 767. This is Thai's spankin' new A340-500, in a cabin with 42 inches between seats and a billion some channels of video on demand. And free booze. Plus, the 17,000+ miles are what we're really after to keep our "silver preferred" status on US. Air travel isn't much different from bus travel these days, so the preferred perks are needed just to keep the experience from getting any worse.
Now, back to work.

Today is a good day...

...if for no other reason than the news the DreamWorks is planning to make Tintin movies! Tintin is my childhood hero. My father would read me the stories of the little Belgian reporter in the original French, in hopes of teaching me the language. Though he bought a crate of the books, and don't think we had more than two of these little lessons. But 30 years hence, I still have most of the books and all of the love. I'm fairly certain Tintin is the reason I went into journalism. I can only hope that DreamWorks won't make it a live-action affair. So much of the Tintin's charm lies in Herge's rendering of him.
For more, the official English-language site is here: http://tintin.francetv.fr/uk/

hump day

And I am nearly over the hump. This issue has been particularly sad. First of all, two of the news stories are about people who have died recently, one of whom I met. Meanwhile, the woman who works the front desk of our building is gone, presumably down to Mississippi for her grandfather's funeral. Like my pals, Brent and JT, in Atlanta for JT's sister's funeral. Then there's my boss, out of town to visit his mother, dealing with her husband's newly discovered and very agressive brain tumor. Oh, and then there's my friend Claudia, about to depart for Florida and a visit with her mother and step-dad, who is fighting a very agressive cancer himself, with a bleak prognosis.
Thoughts of mortality always remind me of "The Crisis of Desire: AIDS and the Fate of Gay Brotherhood." It's one of the most touching memoirs I've ever read, written by Robin Hardy, published posthumously with the help of his friend, David Groff. While somewhat morbid at first glance, Crisis is ultimately enlightening and beautiful. I'm also reminded of Mark Matousek's "Sex Death Enlightment," which I just recommended to a friend in advance of her upcoming trip to India. Enlightenment never read so well.

Tuesday crunch

The Boomtown Rats hate Mondays, but not like I hate Tuesdays. Deadline-wise, it's the worst day of my week. I shouldn't even be on here. There is no time. So back to work. I'll miss you.

Bob Hattoy has died

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Stitch in time and my leg

with the family history of skin cancer, i thought it prudent to have this little cyst thingy on my leg removed. especially after the mutha's xmas-time observation: "that looks angry." no muss, no fuss, and it was out -- three stitches in its place. and a warning from my adorable dermatologist, dr.howard: no cardio for two weeks. so last week, i was just like, 'fuck it.' i gave up on the gym altogether and ate crap. monday, back at the gym to lift weights, rapidfire, i was dismayed by my skyrocketing weight. by today, friday, i've managed to shave off four of the gained pounds. but damn, this aging shit is no fun. my biggest indulgence this week has been a banana nut muffin this morning. but the bananas were rotting! i had to cook something with them! and now I head into the weekend, starting with big morroccan dinner tonight. oy. tho i cannot do cardio at the gym, dr.howard says i can walk all i want. so maybe a long long long walk will take the edge off? or a quick trip to thailand for emergency liposuction? damn my body type! at least, in my pettiness, i'm gratified when i see you hot-torso bitches trying to work those chicken legs into something. you suffer the inverse of my hot calves/fat torso curse. but you get the last laugh, as the aformentioned stitches were sewn into one of those pretty calf muscles, leaving me with this little pucker scar. you win.

so far, so good

the magazine for which I write publishes every thursday. accordingly, every thursday morning i walk to work fearful that I've made some huge mistake -- or even a minor one, onto which some single person may latch. there is a certain stress that comes with working in a public arena, wherein it's not just your boss who sees your mistakes, but everyone. but so far, so good -- no complaints.
i can now focus the day's anxiety on my 2pm dental check-up, tho i love my dentist. i don't know that i've got anything to worry about, but it's been more than a year since my last check up. and ever since getting one of my front teeth knocked out in Portland, years ago, it seems my mouth has not been the same. and i really like my mouth. damn this mortal coil.

So gay

Walking to work yesterday, I passed these posters with hot, shirtless guys and one big word: 'PRIDE' Oh, and all the guys were black. And it was across from a church. But I was late for work, so I kept walking. Today, passing by again, I stopped for a better look. Turns out, it's a historical film about an African-American swim team. But the advertising is SO GAY.

I can't help but be reminded of the Portland, Ore., indoor-soccer team, the Portland Pride. Team colors were white and this sort of lavender/pink color. The logo was a lion jumping out of an inverted triangle.

These must be acts of gay sabotage. There is just no other explanation.