Upright & Stowed

My Icarus Wish

It is a truism in American politics that garbage floats on the surface a long time before it finally gets sucked to the bottom of the sea.  Happily, we're mostly rid of the political garbage called W.  It's only a matter of time before Cheney finds his deserved place in the history book of haters.

But the sexy narcissist known as Sarah has yet, I fear, to find her true moment in the sun.  If we are lucky, she will run for higher office and burn up as she reaches for that sun, just like Icarus.  I wish, I wish, I wish.  It will be SO fun to watch. 

More likely, she will join the trash heap of television personalities spewing close-mindedness and hate on Fox and other venues, causing far more damage.  Only time will tell.

For now, it's Sayonara to one of America's most embarrassing quitters ever.  Here's hoping karma comes around.

[Thanks to Vivirlatino for the great image.]

Lose Some, Win Some

Great news about Obama's pick of "Nuyorican" Sonia Sotomayer for the Supreme Court.  Go ahead, Republicans: Try to pick a fight on this one and see where it gets you.

On the topic of close-minded Republicans, congratulations religious right on your miserable little victory fighting back the right of gay people to marry.  Civil rights will ultimately prevail over church rights, but you've won a few years in California.  New York: It's time to take a stand.

On a happier note, this week Hilary Clinton's State Department announced that it will begin offering equal protection to same-sex partners of American diplomats.  I've spent much of the past year working for a non-profit that gets much of the funding for its Africa-based programs from the State Department, and I know how welcome these benefits will be to the thousands of gays and lesbians who work hard to make the world a better place, on behalf of their fellow Americans. 

Step by step.  Brick by brick.  America will right itself and become the place it should be.  I believe it.

Where Am I/What Happened?

 

In November 1998, I went to India.  The first shot is a picture taken from my hotel room at the Taj Mahal, in Mumbai.  As everyone knows, the Taj was at the center of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai two weeks ago.   You probably saw pictures of the Taj in flames. Sad, very sad.  The second picture is a shot of the door to my old apartment in New York City.   It was also taken in November 1998.  

Here's what happened:  The day I arrived in Mumbai, there was a horrific fire in the apartment one floor below mine, back in New York.  As I was preparing to head out for my first evening in Mumbai, the hotel room phone rang.  It was a call from home, telling me what had happened.   My place was pretty trashed, and one of our beloved doormen was very badly burned.  So my primary memory of the next three nights at the Taj is lying awake for hours and nearly having a nervous breakdown knowing what was happening back home.

What’s the point?  I guess it’s that the world works in strange ways, and when you look for the lines between people, places and experiences, you can usually find them.  We’re all connected, and when the earth shakes in one place, there are reverberations in others.

Despite the drama, India was one of the most amazing travel experiences of my life.  I can’t wait to go back and see all the changes of the past 10 years.  And I plan to stay at the Taj. 

I'm So Ruben

Each week when pop culture phenomenon American Idol announces which contestant has been voted off the show, they air a video montage of the loser's journey through the season.   These montages are accompanied by a background song, suitable for sending contestants back to their no-longer dreary lives.   This year's song choice is Kenny Loggins' Celebrate Me Home, as sung (not very well) by 2003 American Idol winner Ruben Studdard.

Each Thanksgiving I have created a blog video tribute to my wonderful family and friends.  My chosen backup track?  Kenny Loggins' Celebrate Me Home, as sung (very well) by Kenny Loggins. 

All this explains why my videos have been getting so many views on YouTube.  In fact, my two Celebrate Me Home videos have been viewed more than 21,000 times!   I'm touched.   In honor of Ruben, Kenny and all of the Season 7 American Idol contestants, here are the videos for your encore viewing pleasure.  (Click on the arrow to view small.  Click on the YouTube logo to view large.)

NEED Magazine

This is the most recent magazine I have subscribed to. It is called NEED.

Every quarter, NEED profiles humanitarian effort throughout the world. The stories it tells are the best stories we have – those in which human beings with great ideas and huge hearts use them to create helping solutions for others in need.  Every page is an inspiration.  And it is gorgeous to boot.  Subscribe to NEED.  You'll be proud of and amazed by your fellow man.

AIDS/Lifecycle: Pure Inspiration

This week, 2,300 people from 10 countries and 43 states are riding their bikes 545 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles.  Combined, they will raise over $11 million to fight AIDS.  If ever you were looking for a vision of  humanity, strength, support, caring, hope, charity, power, passion, dreaming, giving, or love, look no farther than the AIDS/Lifecycle.

I am so proud of these riders and volunteers (and all those who have walked, ridden, danced, and donated to these events before them).  My friend Peter runs communications for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.  I am super proud of him.   Several people I know are riding this year, or have in the past.  One day, I hope to get my act together and do it myself.  For now, I'll take comfort and joy knowing that something amazing is happening in California this week.  Ride on, people!  I'm with you.

Stuck or Unstuck? You Decide.

Today, the 27,000 ton aircraft carrier U.S.S. Intrepid got stuck in the mud.  Home of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, she was supposed to leave her dock on Manhattan's west side for the first time in 24 years and get tugged across the river to Bayonne, New Jersey for much-needed repairs. 

The Intrepid moved 10 feet, bore her propeller into the mud, and moved no further.

Tomorrow is Election Day in the U.S.  Our country has been sadly sinking into the mud of arrogance, closed-mindedness and greed for years, never more dramatically than under the disastrous "leadership" of Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld.   We cannot do anything about these three shameful men ... tomorrow.  But we can send a message that America is awakening from its slumber, and understands that it is time to admit our mistakes overseas and take far better care of our needy here at home.

I'll be voting with my "moral conscience" tomorrow.  For peace.  For separation of Church and State. For respect for the sovereignty of other nations.  For sensible national tax and spend policies.  For our one and only natural environment.  For the value of education (which includes reading a newspaper every now and then). And for acceptance of people who are different from me.

I hope you'll join me.  Let's get unstuck.   

Photo credit: Seth Holladay on Flickr

Castro Halloween Sadness

Ten people were shot during San Francisco's Halloween party in the Castro.  I, fortunately, was not one of them.

I lived in the heart of the Castro for three years.  My second Halloween (2002) featured several stabbings and a crazy guy with a chain saw.  So I knew to avoid the "fun and frolic" of this totally out-of-control annual event.   Listen crazy people:  The Rainbow Flag may be all about inclusion, but drunk, gun-toting, saw-wielding freaks are not part of the Rainbow's plan. 

I think this may spell the end of the Castro Halloween party.   Sad, but it's time to say Good Riddance.

Photo courtesy Dennis on Flickr

Play Ball

This not entirely flattering picture (circa 1999) is of me and a lot of my family.  It includes brothers Ed, Rich and Daniel, sister Sibyl, sis-in-laws Steph and Bettina, and Mom and Arnold.  Yours truly, of course, is mugging front and center. 

The important this is that we are all sitting at Busch Stadium, watching a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game.  Yesterday the storied Cards pulled off an unlikely victory against the New York Mets, and advanced to their gazillionth World Series. 

When you live in New York, a loss (or win) like last night is a blip on the radar.  When you live in a place like St. Louis, a hometown sports victory is a singular event ... one that pulls everyone together in a communal spirit of joy, or disappointment.   I'm not a big sports fan.  But I grew up in one of the truly great sports towns, where fans are  deeply connected to their teams in a warm, spirited way.  So off to Detroit it is.  Play ball!

10 X 10

Imagine a news aggregator that lets you see what is happening in the world every hour of the day ... by showing a small block of 100 pictures.  Now stop imagining, and  check out 10x10. 

This great little site scours various web news sources to determine what is happening in the world, and then creates a block of 100 images an hour to represent that hour in time.  It's awesome.  And it's just one of many innovative websites developed by Jonathan Harris, " ... an artist working primarily on the Internet. His work involves the exploration and understanding of humans, on a global scale, through the artifacts they leave behind on the Web."

Bottom line: The guy's a genius.  Now go ahead ... explore an hour of the world.