omphaloskepsis: the study of one's navel

Writer's Block: Firsts

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:54:38 GMT

What was the subject title of your first-ever LJ entry?

Stardate 0406.01 - New to this one The week after GM's 2004 Contract Employee Purging.

Thoughts on a Sunday

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:00:29 GMT

We cannot start over,
But we can start in a new direction.
The journey continues onward,
No hope of returns or re-do’s.
The unalterable past led to
This crossroad, these choices
Of direction that lay ahead of us.

But the future! The future
Is filled with the bright despair
That burns the soul to the core.
Leaving the proverbial cinder
Where a vibrant soul used to be.

The future also hold the
Balm of cool soothing hope
That covers the burn scars
And lets the healing begin.

The road goes ever on
Where we choose to go.
So we can’t start over,
We can start in a new direction.

Detroit is "Hung"

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:18:30 GMT

There was a commercial for the HBO series "HUNG" the other day. Prostitution is a step up from the official corruption problems we've been having for the last few years, I guess. Is it a good thing that LA can stand in for Detroit?

HBO series 'Hung' gives Detroit a starring role by Jessica Nunez | MLive.com | Monday June 29, 2009, 8:49 AM
"The pilot was shot entirely in Detroit, Birmingham, Livonia, Clarkston and West Bloomfield Township, as was part of the rest of the season (the rest was filmed in L.A.).

The opening sequence is jam-packed with familiar Motor City signposts, from the first shot of a barge gliding over the Detroit River, to Thomas Jane as Ray Drecker walking through Hart Plaza, below the People Mover and in front of the Joe Louis fist, Lafayette Coney Island and the abandoned Packard plant."

School

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:17:15 GMT

If the grant is approved it looks like my fall semester will consist of Composition 2 (Comp 1 was passed in 1985); Personal Computer Productivity Tools; Business Law 1; and Physical Well-Being in a Modern Society.

12 credit hours...minimum 24 out of class study hours. This could also be the lightest course load I have for the next year and a half (the classes get heavier after this...)

Help!!!

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:03:34 GMT

Struggling MI BGLT Bookstore

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 11:20:37 GMT

In Ann Arbor, MI, home of the University of Michigan, the only BGLT Bookstore in SE Michigan needs help. Please consider placing your next order with one of our independent bookstores.

"Common Language [Bookstore] Needs Your Support: There is no easy way to say this. Common Language is not making enough sales to support itself. Its very existence is in peril."

Thanks!

Doctor Who mini-episode "Time Crash"

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:24:47 GMT

Doctor #5 meets Doctor #10. The multi-Doctor stories are always fun. This is a "remix" of the Time Crash story "from the 5th Doctor's perspective."

#10: "...look at me: I'm the Doctor. I can save the universe using a kettle and some string. And look at me, I'm wearing a vegtable."

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfXPqYBvEeE

It's All One Thing

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:08:18 GMT

NBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC, SciFi, Bravo, and USA are all broadcasting a golf tournament!! (Which is also on the Golf Channel...). What's a couch potato to do?

10.30 am update: Regular programming has resumed. What the heck happened?

Adventures in job hunting

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:27:37 GMT

Am posting this anywhere for anyone who needs it.

Find a job at our Detroit Career Fair on July 10, 2009

Posted using ShareThis

From John Kobara: Networking with humor

Ways to help yourself see the lighter side of life: (from Helpguide.com)

* Laugh at yourself. Share your embarrassing moments. The best way to take ourselves less seriously is talk about times when we took ourselves too seriously.

* Attempt to laugh at situations rather than bemoan them. Look for the humor in a bad situation, the irony and absurdity of life. This will help improve your mood and the mood of those around you.

* Surround yourself with reminders to lighten up. Keep a toy on your desk or in your car. Put up a funny poster in your office. Choose a computer screen-saver that makes you laugh. Frame photos of you and your family or friends having fun.

* Keep things in perspective. Many things in life are beyond our control—particularly the behavior of other people. While you might think taking the weight of the world on your shoulders is admirable, in the long run it’s unrealistic, unproductive, unhealthy, and even egotistical.

* Deal with your stress. Stress is a major impediment to humor and laughter.

* Pay attention to children and emulate them. They are the experts on playing, taking life lightly, and laughing.

Movie: Madam Palmfry @ The Clairmont

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 13:19:35 GMT

Last week we saw Mrs. Palmfry At the Claremont starring Joan Plowright as a woman who’s moved to London to be closer to her grandson. Said grandson doesn’t show up to visit but she remains at the hotel. After taking a tumble on the street she meets a charming young man, twenty-something, who quickly becomes a good friend and a stand in grandson. They learn from each other. When Joan needs someone most, he & his girlfriend are there.

This isn’t just another movie about the old learning to reconnect with life or the young learning to appreciate the adventure. This is about who family really is. Is it our blood relatives whom we are given or the chosen family we gather along the way? I would recommend this one to almost anybody as a bit of a melancholy feel good movie.

Things to do??

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 19:28:09 GMT

Unless the predicted rain comes through.

Writer's Block: Call Me

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:01:52 GMT

Do you still use a landline at home, or do you rely completely on your cell phone?

View other answers

The landline is part of the cable / internet service. Cell phones are too expensive for the two people who call me (one of them I live with).

QOTD

Fri, 29 May 2009 18:53:04 GMT

“Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.” ~ Chinese Proverb (Pick The Brain blog)

Wow!

Sun, 24 May 2009 12:26:14 GMT

Listening to a story about the rising rates of kidney stones in young children.

Writer's Block: There Can Be Only One

Sat, 23 May 2009 12:51:15 GMT

Do you believe in monogamy?

View other answers

I do believe! However, monogamy requires two people to be committed to the same thing and I see it break down when there is an irreconcilable difference in lifestyles.

GOP struggles

Wed, 20 May 2009 20:20:31 GMT

The headline has it wrong, according to the article the Republican's want to start referring to Democrats as "Nationalist Socialist Democrat" party...which isn't a socialist party at all. It's interesting because the recently concluded administration had more in common with the Nationalist Socialist Democrat party than the current crop.

I'm glad there's nothing more critical to focus on...it'll help keep them irrelavent.

GOP struggles with push to rename Dems 'Socialist' / By BEN EVANS

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Party leaders are trying to avoid a public confrontation over a GOP-led effort to rename the Democratic Party the "Nationalist Socialist Democrat" party.

The Republican National Committee is slated to vote on several resolutions Wednesday. Leaders already have softened one that would have pointedly criticized Republicans who supported recent billion-dollar bailouts.

Party Chairman Michael Steele and others say the party should also drop the renaming resolution and focus on more serious problems. To avoid a party dispute over the renaming, they were trying to compromise on milder language that would simply criticize Democrats for what they call socialist tendencies.

The fight reflects a divide between Republicans who want a more centrist message and party hardliners.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Raising Katie

Fri, 15 May 2009 17:47:41 GMT

(ADOPTION) : What adopting a white girl taught a black family about race in the Obama era.

So-called transracial adoptions have surged since 1994, when the Multiethnic Placement Act reversed decades of outright racial matching by banning discrimination against adoptive families on the basis of race. But the growth has been all one-sided.

An interesting article. Many of the things about a balck family adopting a white girl were easily forseen, but the story raises some interesting points. Katies legal guardian, for instance, "joined her colleagues in condemning the adoption of black children by white families as "cultural genocide"—a position she still holds in theory, if not in practice."

QOTD

Fri, 15 May 2009 14:14:25 GMT

"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment." – Lady Dorothy Nevill

Lady Dorothy Nevill, the noted British gardener, was one of the most celebrated society hostesses of her day; her salons attracted leading writers, artists, and statesmen. She was born Dorothy Walpole in 1826 in England. She married a wealthy cousin with a 23-acre estate, where she pursued her interest in plants. She built 13 greenhouses and carried on an extensive correspondence with Charles Darwin. Her memoir, Leaves From the Note-Books of Lady Dorothy Nevill, was published in 1906. She died in 1913.

Feeding the pet peeve...

Sun, 10 May 2009 12:17:44 GMT

Good greif!! The news is all about the record gross earnings of the new Star Trek movie. Gee, could it be because ticket prices are at an all time high? Why do these folks think that gross earnings is a reliable measure for anything?

According to a report a few years ago the most viewed movie of all time (Gone With The Wind) ISN'T THE TOP GROSSING. The 10 top grossing movies weren't even in the top 50 most viewed (measure by number of tickets sold over time) though they were in the top 100.

Give some news that's worthy of the bandwidth!!

Movie: A Very Natural Thing (1973)

Sun, 10 May 2009 00:29:52 GMT

We watched A Very Natural Thing this week. In footage from the 1973 Pride Parade in NYC people talked about the need for people to be free to be themselves. The more things change the more they stay the same.

I really got the feeling that this was showing two sides of the gay community: Promiscuous (liberated) vs. Traditional (repressed). Mark was the gay man who was sexually liberated and stated that he wasn’t interested in romance or deeper relationships. David, former monk, brought the values of hearth and home with him to this relationship. Unfortunately, being liberated and being committed aren’t compatible world views, so things get rough and break apart, wounding David in a deep way.

When a new beau later asks him to move in, David says no. He likes what they have and even loves him but isn’t ready to take that step right now. My hubby was saying the beau should dump David but I was thinking that this isn’t a relationship to throw away yet. He grew in the first relationship and I think when he feels more secure he will rethink his position. Hubby felt David picked up the aversion to commitment that many gay men seemed to have in the 70’s. (Maybe it was just generalized as the sexual revolution ran its course?)

This is a much better movie than its cotemporary The Boys In The Band, much less self-loathing and more positive in scope.

Top 10 Lines Never Before Said In A "Star Trek" Film

Fri, 08 May 2009 15:03:03 GMT

From last night's David Letterman! Leonard Nimoy stopped by to deliver the lines. The blod one's made me LOL

10: Warp factor 8! Arby's closes in ten minutes
9: We're entering a breach in the space-time continuum or a wormhole or some crazy crap like that
8: Set phasers to fabulous!
7: Welcome aboard the Starship Enterprise -- today's in-flight movie is "Big Momma's House 2"
6: We've been hijacked by Somali Pirates
5: Sir, I'm going to need Saturday off to attend my nephew's Bar Mitzvah
4: My baby-daddy is a Vulcan -- on the next "Maury"
3: The Enterprise just hit a goose -- we're gonna have to land in the Hudson
2: Live long, prosper, and keep on hangin' and bangin'
1: I find your choice of a hairpiece highly illogical

A prayer for the rest of us...

Sun, 03 May 2009 16:00:08 GMT

Dear God,
So far today, I've done all right.
I haven't gossiped.
I haven't lost my temper.
I haven't been greedy, grumpy
nasty, selfish, or overindulgent.

I'm very thankful for that.
But in a few minutes, God,
I'm going to get out of bed;
and from then on, I'm probably
going to need a lot more help!
Amen.

Family Search

Sat, 02 May 2009 21:40:09 GMT

Detroit Free Press (4-June-1979) Max M. Horton age 70 of Roscommon, formerly of Bloomfield Hills. Husband of Della; father of William of Rochester; Annette of Royal Oak; two grandchildren; Brother of Rita Magoon of Detroit. Mr. Horton was retired after 14 years as State Director of the M.E.S.C. In 1972 Mr. Horton was selected by Gov. William Milliken as outstanding Michigan State Employee of the Year. Funeral Services will be held Tuesday, June 5 at 1:30 pm at St. Elizabeth Episcopal Church in Roscommon. Burial in the Garrish Township Cemetary.

I found this obit for my grandfather today but I have to admit that I was hoping for a bit more...we don't know what his parents names were and have long lost contact with the survivors. (Honestly...I didn't know he had a sister & thought he had 2 sons.)

Affirmations BGLT Community Center Needs Help

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 02:30:25 GMT

Please help us with our back door!

If you've been to Affirmations recently, you've seen the obstacle facing Affirmations guests: our back door, which faces the parking lot, broke several weeks ago.

Affirmations guests, volunteers, and staff must travel around the block to the front door in order to access our vital programs, resources, and services. For many, this is an inconvenience, but for our friends with disabilities, this is a major barrier, as there is currently no accessible entrance to the Center.

Unfortunately, the $2,725 needed to fix the door is not in our budget. To repair the door today would require us to reallocate funds that support the crucial programs and services, meeting the needs of more than 1,000 people each week.

Your contribution today, combined with the support of others in our community, will help us keep both of our doors open - quite literally - to all.

Marriage equality = religious liberty

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:10:48 GMT

A point by point examination of arguments against marriage equality without ranting or namecalling that I've seen elsewhere.