Jumbo Barking

Love this picture of Michael, Lora and Glenn

Star Child

Link: Freeway (live performance video from Artists Den)

"You got a lot of money, but you can't afford the freeway." -- Aimee Mann

I can't believe George Bush has offered to sell enriched Uranium to Saudi Arabia, thinking it will ensure lower oil prices for the U.S. This after getting down so heavily on Iran for buying enriched Uranium. So much for anti-nuclear proliferation.

Group Shot

Here's a pretty good pic of Marilyn, me, Mary and Lora at Lonnie's birthday party this past weekend.

Adilettes

Finally broke down and ordered another pair of Adilettes. The ones I have are over five years old and a bit beat up. If there was ever a classic "flip flop," this is it. Highly recommended. First launched in 1973. Hmmm. Flashback to writing Originals catalog copy. Anyway, these have a great molded polyurethane sole with a good arch.

Taste of France

Couldn't resist snagging this gorgeous pic of a village in France from Viv's blog. You can see more by following this link: n'importe rien. She's a friend of Liz's who lived in California for many years and recently returned to Europe.

Dave Rosema

Mary went to Comerica Park for batting practice with former Tiger Dave Rosema last week. He pitched and Mary was hitting most if not all of his pitches. Here's a picture of them in the dug out.

Lonnie's Birthday Party

I really had a good time last night at Lonnie's party. There were people there who I would describe as my psuedo extended family, people I've known my whole life. There's something really satisfying about that -- especially for someone like me who's done a lot of moving around and wandering away from my roots. Lonnie's son, Rob, was there and he told me a story about when I was a kid and how I was a total sugar fanatic. All I was focused on was candy and I called it "key." He said that he used to give me candy and my mom was always telling him not to, but he said he couldn't resist because I would go into a fit with my legs and arms flailing, saying: "key! key!" I told him that these days I eat very little sugar, but I always suspected I was a sugarhead, as a child, because I've seen pictures in our photo albums of me comotose on the couch with a grape Koolaid mustache.

I think I got some good pictures and Marilyn and I are planning on putting together an album for Lonnie. At one point, there was a rainbow in the sky and we stopped to look at that. You gotta love a birthday rainbow!

On a Lighter Note

Rex just sent his son over with cake AND ice cream. What a sweetheart. He does that all the time, but usually when he's coming to use the pool.

The Big Sea of Misunderstanding

Last night I got kind of ganged up on for not having legally terminated my marriage with Karin before moving on. I got the "it's a sacred bond" kind of pitch. And it felt like I was being put in a corner and preached to. The fact is, when two people enter into a marriage it's a very personal thing. And when you're gay and in a bi-national relationship sometimes it takes on a different meaning and becomes not just about love, but about practicalities. Sure, Karin and I loved each other, but the marriage was more about me being able to legally stay in Germany (and us being able to legally live in the same place together) than it was about a celebration of our love. And we were both on the same page with that. Nobody came to the wedding; it was pretty bureaucratic. Anyway, my reaction to the implication that I was negligent or disrespectful or whatever must have been a bit too real because I got accused of being too direct for the millionth time since I moved back to the States. The thing is, the marriage was a solution to years of logistical/immigration problems for Karin and me, but people don't want to hear about that. They'd rather do a little holier-than-thou dance about how their idea of marriage is more pure than yours.

One more thing: this conversation was with nobody you know, dear blog readers -- friends of a friend.

As a side note: Sometimes I feel like it's just so hard to get people to understand where I'm coming from. It almost makes me want to stop talking. And this is all in English! One of the main reasons I left Germany is that I felt like I was at the bottom of a mountain in terms of being able to communicate with any kind of fidelity. Here I am in the U.S. and sometimes it still feels like I just can't connect.

Time for some Wabi-Sabi, I guess -- the Japanese art of honoring the imperfect.

Swedish

Mp3: Veronica Maggio "Gammal Sång"
(Click here for the official Veronica Maggio site.)

Washington Post Article

Old mechanical gas pumps won't even go up to $4.00 a gallon: analog pumps

Blondfire

Mp3: Blondfire - Pretty Young Thing

Animals

Two days before the earthquake in China, cobras were moving around their cages as if they wanted to run and hide.

Same-Sex Marriage Debate

"Retaining the designation of marriage exclusively for opposite-sex couples and providing only a separate and distinct designation for same-sex couples may well have the effect of perpetuating a more general premise -- now emphatically rejected by this state -- that gay individuals and same-sex couples are in some respects "second class citizens." -- quote from the California Supreme Court