Category: Uncategorized

The other day I was on Zillow and for kicks went looking for the house my family lived in from 1972 through 1981. It was where I spent my "formative" years and I have many fond memories of the place. I may have in fact, written about it at some point on this here blog thingie.

It was up for sale a few years ago, and the few photos posted of it at the time showed that it had gone downhill. Very downhill—matching the rest of the neighborhood. I knew the pool my folks finally put in as I was just about to move out (how convenient!) had been ripped out years ago, but I was unprepared for exactly how rundown the place had become.

I was kind of surprised to actually see that the house was once again on the market, but this time it looked damn good. It was obvious it was a flip, and while not a complete remodel, it looked like all the basic amenities had been replaced or repaired. More importantly, it looked clean—unlike the last time I was able to vicariously peek inside via the internet. And this was the first time I'd been able to see multiple views of every room in the house (save one) since my folks moved out in 1981.

I almost cried.

Sadly, for some reason neither I or my family took many pictures of the inside of the house while we lived there, but I was able to find and post a few "then and now" comparisons.

Mom was an interior designer, so when we lived there the place had a definite…look…about it. I think the only room that managed to remain the original white walls all those years was my dad's study upstairs. I knew from the last time I saw inside the house everything had been stripped, but it was even sadder to see the place now, looking almost like it looked the day we moved in back in 1972.

Of course, it's now 46 years later and decorating sensibilities are different. Carpet in all the living areas has been replaced by ceramic tile and there are now ceiling fans in nearly every room (something we did not have back then but definitely could've used). Thankfully the popcorn ceilings have been removed. While they slapped up a ceramic tile backsplash in the kitchen and replaced the major appliances (the GE "Americana" range is gone), they didn't replace any of the cabinets or countertops except in the master bath. So the nasty faux butcher block Formica countertops that were original to the kitchen are still in place. So are the fiberglass one-piece tubs/showers in the bathrooms.

At some point since 1981 the wet bar (how 70s, am I right?) had been ripped out of the lower level family room as well, leaving a weird, empty, closet-like opening in one wall.

My old bedroom is now being marketed as a "study" with a ceramic tile floor like the rest of the main living areas.

I suppose I should be grateful that they didn't simply reconfigure the whole first floor and knock out the wall between the kitchen and living room as has been done on countless other homes of the same model in the old neighborhood.

Out back, the wood deck and self-supporting "floating" lattice deck cover my dad built was long gone, replaced by a concrete slab and solid patio cover with posts to support it. All the landscaping was gone except for a couple palm trees that had been planted at some point after we vacated the property.

I sent the listing to my sister. We're going to schedule a tour with the agent, since it's probably the last time we'll ever get the chance to step inside again…

Ben and I went out to dinner last night and watched in rapt fascination the mating dance of the elusive Urban Hobro.

Dude on the right was ostensively there with his wife/girlfriend, but she was all but being ignored—and her body language conveyed in no uncertain terms she was pissed off. Meanwhile, these two were busy talking sports and flirting heavily while Jersey Bro was oblivious to the fact the bartender was undressing him with his eyes every time he walked past.

No, this was not a gay bar. It was a friggin' Applebees.

Just as we were about to leave, Jersey Bro leaned over to the other guy and literally said, "No homo, where did you get your fade?"

As Ben said, "Dicks might touch tonight." BUT NO HOMO!

"Hey Honey..Joel—you know, the guy from the bar?—wants me to come over and watch the game."

"It's 2 am."

"He has it on DVR…"

Several months ago—after even more months of concerted study and testing—Ben received his NBCT (National Board Certified Teacher) credentials. I was proud of him for accomplishing this at the time, and even moreso when we attended the annual NBCT gala where the certificates were passed out.

Congratulations again, my Love! You. Are. Amazing!

"I didn't think Titan Media was still in business."

I could've sworn his-also actor twin brother, Shawn, came out as gay a few years ago but I can find nothing online to back up that memory. Maybe it's just that he wants to play gay characters…

I guarantee from this point forward you'll be pulling back a bloody stump.

Yesterday showed me that this is not Germany 1938 and will never be. If Trump and his thugs think they're just going to roll over the opposition, they've got another thought coming. This country has freedom of speech and of assembly woven into its DNA, and as much as Cheetolini would like to and will undoubtedly try to, this—and yesterday's crowds—cannot be denied.

Photo source

But also a bit of an optical illusion.

Messier Object M45, or as is commonly known, the Pleiades, aka "The Seven Sisters," one of the most famous star clusters visible to the unaided eye in the night sky and now prominently visible after dark, presents itself as a compact grouping of stars surrounded by the wisps of gas and dust leftover from the stars' creation. From all the earth-bound photos, one would assume that the cluster is physically compact and these stars are very close together.

But that assumption would be wrong. Thanks to the wonders of Celestia, an entirely new view of the cluster can be seen, exposing the true relationship of the stars in the group.

Not only are the seven main stars in the cluster further apart from each other than the Earth is to its nearest neighbor Proxima Centauri, on average, adjacent stars are as far apart as the Sun is from Sirius, and the distance from the star closest to earth and the one farthest away is nearly 40 light years.

While a night sky on a planet orbiting any of the stars in the cluster would still be wondrous compared to a night sky on Earth because the stars of the Pleiades are young, hot, and burn with a blue-white intensity, it wouldn't be as bright and filled with glittering jewels as you would think. The other main stars in the group would appear anywhere from the brightness of Sirius to about twice the intensity of Venus in Earth's sky. Bright, yes, but perhaps not as awe-inspiring as you'd expect based on the photos from Earth.

That being said, I certainly wouldn't turn down an invite to visit…

RIP Anton Yelchin 1989-2016

Too soon. Way too soon.

Emperor Joseph II: My dear young man, don't take it too hard. Your work is ingenious. It's quality work. And there are simply too many notes, that's all. Just cut a few and it will be perfect.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Which few did you have in mind, Majesty?

The one thing that stands out to me the most after pouring over the few remaining gay blogs out there where authors actually write, is how incredibly normal, and dare I say—boring—our lives actually are. As human beings we all want the same things: food, shelter, to be loved, a means of making a living, a safe place to call home, and a modicum of happiness—however we choose to define it. That's what angers me the most about those on the right who are constantly screeching in fear of "the other," whether it be people of the same sex wanting to get married, or families fleeing war-torn Syria. We all want the same things, and—despite what certain harpies would have you believe—those things are not finite. There is plenty to go around once we let go of the "all for me and none for thee" mindset. "We are more alike than we are different" is so obvious. It's really too bad that more people don't get it.

"…we literally have no idea if we're supposed to mourn Clara or not. And to us, that's indicative of a flaw in the writing." ~ Tom & Lorenzo, in their review for Doctor Who: Face the Raven

It's not an "O" I see poking up in that box, but rather something else in front of a red circle…

Free Fall

Disclaimer: I am not Catholic, have never been Catholic, and quite frankly couldn't give a rat's ass what the guy in Rome wearing the fancy smock and the pointy hat has to say, but I ran across this today and felt it worthy of passing on.

"If my good friend Dr Gasparri says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a punch. It's normal. You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others." ~Pope Francis

From Rosa Rubiconidior:

Dear Pope Francis

I saw your recent statement in Manilla in response the the Charlie Hebdo atrocities in Paris, that people who insult religion can expect to be punched. I am surprised that you seem to be excusing Islamic violence, presumably because you feel solidarity with other religions in the face of growing secularism in Europe, and find it confusing in view of official Christian teaching.

I acknowledge your right to determine Catholic Church policy and dogma in this issue, and I am aware that you have been trying to present the Catholic Church in a more liberal, more tolerant and less bigoted light and that you may even have been trying to instigate some actual reforms yet to manifest themselves, but this statement raises a number of questions which I would like you to answer please:

1. In view of what the Bible says Jesus said should be the right response to insults – to forgive and turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:38-39, Luke 6:27-29) – how does this new, violent response to insulting religion fit in with Jesus' teaching? Do you think Jesus was wrong or just that he made a mistake in not explicitly stating this exceptions to this rule? Or does this apparent abandonment of the 'turn the other cheek' principle mark a change in God's thinking on this matter and a repudiation of Jesus' teaching?

2. Does this violent response to insults to religion apply in principle to other insults to individuals or organizations? If so, which, please?

3. Some people might interpret a resort to violence as a tacit admission that there areno reasonable arguments which can be used and an awareness of that deficiency, and that it betrays an insecurity which translates as a perceived threat, hence the 'retaliation'. This in turn might imply a personal commitment to an idea which is known to be defective or even a lifestyle which is known to be fraudulent and disingenuous with religion being used merely as an excuse. What would you say to these people?

4. If this permitted violent response applies only to religions, does this apply to all religions or just to major ones such as Islam, Christianity and Judaism? If all religions, how are you defining the term 'religion' in this context? Does it require a belief in one or more invisible deities or would you include Buddhism and neo-Paganism or religion as understood by people such as Baruch Spinoza and Albert Einstein, which would include very many openly Atheist/Agnostic scientists? For example, as someone who is in total awe at the Universe and the natural forces that have shaped it and which have given rise to life on Earth with it's amazingly rich diversity, would I be justified in punching anyone who disagrees with Big Bang Cosmology or Evolution by Natural Selection rather than bothering to explain the science?

5. Can I define my own religion and then punch anyone who insults it or does it need to be an organized religion complete with priesthood, buildings, creed, etc?

6. How should we define an 'insult' in this context, please? Is it an insult to question religious dogma or to disagree with it and put forward an opposing point of view? For example, if I question the historical existence of Jesus or the validity of the claim that the Qur'an was dictated by Allah to Muhammad, or even the historical accuracy of the Bible, would this justify someone punching me? How about if I question your authority or the dogma that on ecumentical matters and matters of morality you are infallible? What if I advocate contraception, same-sex marriages or strict secularism in government, health-care and education?

7. As an Atheist, I believe that all religions are delusional in nature and have many of the characteristics of a memetic virus living parasitically on human cultures. Do I deserve to be punched by religious people who might be insulted by these views or by religious people who find the idea that they are evolved apes who share a common ancestor with the other apes offensive and insulting?

8. The other day in Oxford, UK a man was telling passers by that they were all sinners and his god would hurt us if we didn't agree and do what he said. As a secular Humanist and Atheist I found this insulting. Would I have been justified in punching him for that insult and would he have been justified in punching me for telling him he was probably suffering from paranoid theophobia and needed psychiatric help and counselling?

9. Is it permitted for any Muslim to punch Christians who deny the divinely inspired nature of the Qur'an or the claim that Muhammad was Allah's prophet, or for a Christian to punch a Muslim who claims Jesus was not an Earthly manifestation of God and that the only way to salvation is through strict adherence to Islam not Jesus? If not, why not? If so, to where do you see this leading humanity?

10. Is the violent response restricted to a single punch or is a slap, a push, a knee in the groin or a headbut permitted? Can it involve more than one of these and can it result in actual bodily harm? What if the punched person retaliates? Can the response include a weapon or is it always to be unarmed violence?

11. May a man punch a woman who insults his religion, or an able-bodied person punch a disabled person, or a large person a smaller one? At what age are children eligible to be punched by adults and can children punch one another?

12. What advice would you give to people living in countries where punching someone is a crime and who finds themselves in court charged with assault, affray or causing actual or grievous bodily harm? Would you support a plea of innocent or mitigation on the grounds of religious conscience or that you said it was permitted?

I would be grateful for a reasoned and prompt response to these questions, please as I feel the future of European civilisation in particular and human society in general may be enormously affected by a careless and confused attempt to implement what looks like a new, less tolerant and more violent Catholic dogma which can only be expected to result in retaliation and an escalation in communal and inter-faith violence.

Yours,

Rosa Rubicondior

Spotted on my walk to the train station this morning…