The Perfect Trifecta

What could be better than having lobster three times in one day?

• Lobster Cake Benedict… homemade lobster cakes, roasted red pepper hollandaise at the Van Rensselaers
• Lazy Man's Lobster Roll… 5 oz native lobster meat sautéed in butter and served on a toasted roll at Mac’s on the Pier
• Lobster Newburg… fresh lobster meat in a sherry cream sauce at the Lobster Pot

A Short

Okay I don't usually post videos but this is so good.
I can see why it won all types of awards. It is only 9 minutes long so take some time-off and watch it.


The Gunfighter from Eric Kissack on Vimeo.

The awards...

Just another period western meta comedy short film.
Featuring the mellifluous voice of Nick Offerman.
I hope you enjoy it!

WINNER Audience Award for Best Short Film - LA Film Fest
WINNER Audience Award for Best Short Film - Napa Valley Film Festival
WINNER Audience Award for Best Narrative Short - Sidewalk Film Festival
WINNER Jury Award for Best Short Film - Macon Film Festival
WINNER Jury Award for Best Short Film - Hill Country Film Festival
WINNER Jury Award for Best Comedy - LA Shorts
WINNER Jury Award and Audience Award for Best Short Film - Hell's Half Mile
WINNER Jury Award for Excellence in Short Filmmaking - South Dakota Film Festival
Best of the Fest Selection - Palm Springs Short Fest
Audience Favorite - DC Shorts
Honorable Mention for Best Short Films - Woods Hole Film Festival
Official Selection - Cleveland International Film Fest
Official Selection - Seattle International Film Fest
Official Selection - Traverse City Film Festival

Have A Safe And Happy Fourth Of July!

I’m up visiting some friends in Haverhill MA today and then I’m heading up to the cottage in New Hampshire to watch the fireworks around the lake on the Fourth. New Hampshire is one of those sane states that allow fireworks.

All around the lake people are shooting off fireworks, not the little stuff but big stuff. We are talking multi-shot aerials and artillery shells, the stuff that echos around the lake and off the mountains.

Many of the neighbors go down to the association's beach and pool their fireworks, I like to go out in the boat to the middle of the lake and watch the fireworks all along the shore. There is actually a little flotilla of anchored boats there at tone of the shoals.

Tomorrow Saturday 9 will be a little late because I'm driving up to the cottage in the morning.

Our We A Block Vote?

There is an interesting article in yesterday’s Hartford Courant on how LGBT voters might made the difference in the election of governor Malloy.

Did gay, lesbian and bisexual voters push Gov. Dannel P. Malloy over the finish line?

A new study suggests the gay vote may have played a role in helping Malloy, a Democrat who has long been a strong supporter of gay rights, beat Republican Tom Foley in last month's gubernatorial election.
[…]
"In Connecticut, Democratic incumbent Gov.Dan Malloy won the election over Republican challenger Tom Foley by a thin, 2.8 percent margin,'' the study said. "Without the LGB vote, analysis suggests that the margin of victory for the Democratic incumbent would have narrowed to just .3 percent."

Malloy has been a steadfast supporter of gay rights, even when the cause was far outside the mainstream. "Not many mayors were driving an hour and half to support a gay marriage bill at the Capitol 10 years ago or more,'' said state Sen. Beth Bye, a Democrat from West Hartford. "Both him and [Lt. Gov.] Nancy [Wyman] have been so good on our issues and everybody knows that."

I have been to a number of LGBT fundraisers for the governor and I know he has been a staunch of trans-rights. I have known the governor for almost ten years; I first met him at a fundraiser for GenderPAC at the home of an IBM Vice President down in Westport. He was then mayor of Stamford and he said back then that he was committed to working to pass a gender inclusive non-discrimination law.

Did we make a difference in the elections, I think so.

On The Road Again...

Right now I should be pulling into the motel that I am staying at for Fantasia Fair. It is a little over a four hour drive from my house and I take Rt. 2 to I-395 and then I take that back roads through Voluntown and pick up I-95 in Rhode Island. Routes 138 and 165 is a nice drive and I usually do 50 mph unless I hit traffic and I-95 at times can be a nightmare.

Then when you get on the Mid-Cape Highway (Rt. 6) the expectations start to build and it make the drive seem like it will never end. Route 6 is also known as a one of the deadliest highways in the U.S. parts of it is a two lane road that everyone is going 60 mph and there are a lot of head on crashes along it.

Once you get to around North Truro it because a nice scenic ride through the dunes. When I was little we used to come up to North Truro for vacation, my parents used to rent one of the bayside cottages for a week and our neighbor rented for the following week. We used to take the neighbor kids for the first week and they come up the following and I would stay with them. So we would stay two weeks there and our parents would get a week vacation from us kids.

When we went in to Provincetown my father used to call it an “artist colony” because of its bohemian atmosphere (I now think he was calling it that because of all the gays and lesbians, but in those days that was never spoken about.). Little did I know back then that some forty years later I would be one of those bohemians.

The Countdown Continues…

…To Fantasia Fair

I started my list of what I am taking for the week, I stopped the newspaper, and the mail and I still have some clothes to buy (a sweater and a turtleneck).

I went through the workshop list and picked out the workshops that I want to go to…

Fantasia Fair Itinerary

Sunday

6:00-9:00 Welcoming Reception

Monday

9:30-11:30 Brunch

3:00-4:30 Hair Restoration in the Transgender Individual

6:30-8:00 Town & Gown Dinner

8:00-10:00 Town & Gown Show: Exact Change 

Tuesday

Morning free - photo shoot

3:00-4:30 Femulate Blog Party

6:30-10:00 The Virginia Prince Transgender Pioneer Award Banquet

Wednesday

Morning free - photo shoot

1:30-2:45 Evolution of an Activist: How to Keep Busy Helping Others for Fun and (almost no) Profit.

3:00-4:30 Evolution of an Activist: Discussion & Followup

8:00-10:00 Fashion Show

Thursday

10:00-11:30 Post-Transition Relationships: A Panel Discussion Dallas Denny & Heather Verdu

1:30-2:45 The Adventurous Evolution: The Life and Times of Trans* Over the Past Century or So...

3:00-4:30 A Participatory Discussion on Mental Health and Public Policy

9:30-11:30 Walking Tour ‐ The Darker Side of Ptown

Friday

10:00-11:30 Recording Our Stories: Forty Years of Fantasia Fair

1:30-2:45 Waging a Culture War on Two Fronts

3:00-4:30 Waging a Culture War on Two Fronts: Discussion & Followup

8:00-10:00 Fantasia Fair Follies

Saturday

Morning Free - photo shoot

1:30-2:45 Transgender Activism and Beyond

3:00-4:30 Transgender Activism and Beyond: Discussion and Follow-up

[3:00-4:30 MTF Surgeries Marci L. Bowers]

6:30-10:00 Gala Awards Banquet

Sunday

9:00-11:00 Farewell Brunch

I’m a devote amateur photographer and the Cape is so photogenic so in my free time I’m going to walk around town and drive around. The last time I was up to FF I got some great photos.

I Did It…

I’m going to Fantasia Fair this year; I booked a $99 room at the Boatslip and I will register for the fair in September after I pay my credit card bill for the room deposit and then pay off the room balance on the October bill. That way it is not one big hit, it is spread out over three months because the fair is not cheap but considering that it is for seven days it is reasonable.

I decided on going because of a number of reasons, first was that this is their Fortieth anniversary, they have I number of workshops that sound interesting and they have some interesting speakers for the daily luncheon keynote lectures. Also the Provincetown area is very photogenic with scenic old buildings, lighthouses, vineyards, landscapes and one of the pictures that I have envisioned is Commercial Street at night with a wet street reflecting the neon lights.

I first went to Fantasia Fair back when I first came out and I was still in awe of coming out. Back then I had a “blog” on Geocities and I wrote about the fair…

2000, October 22^nd
It has been just a year since I joined COS ( Connecticut Outreach Society ), in that years’ time I went to the dinners and banquet that they have hosted and have enjoyed them all. But, the Fantasia Fair can’t come anywhere near any of those events. It’s a seven day filled with all types of presentations and evening entertainment. I went up on Tuesday with another COS member and we stayed at a Bed and Breakfast on a side street just off of Commercial Street, the main thoroughfare through town. It’s a nice little place that is very Transgender friendly.
[…]
That night’s [Thursday] entertainment was a concert by Sara Buechner on the piano and Elanie Kreston on the cello. Sara Buechner is member of the faculties of New York University and the Manhattan School of Music and she is world renown for her work. She is also a transsexual who transitioned in 1996. The four of us went to the concert. I had never been to a classical concert before and I enjoyed it. The concert was a nice change from the night before. Also at the concert we meet some other members of COS there.

2001, Sunday, Oct 14^th
After we had dinner at restaurant whose name I won't mention (Which was a rip-off $35 for lobster tails, at least it was good.) we went to the reception wine and cheese party. There they introduced all of the new fair goers; there were people from all over the U.S. and Canada as well as England, Spain, Italy and Brazil. Some of us went to a restaurant and they had dinner (I just had a salad, the other restaurant for $35 at didn't include a salad.) Then I went back to the B&B around eleven.

Saturday October 27^th
The gale warnings were out at the Coast Guard station, we had a full-blown Nor'easter. The rain was coming down all day and the wind turned many umbrellas inside out. I decided to forgo the morning and went to lunch at the Crown and Anchor then head back to my room for some dry clothes…

Friday, Oct. 19^th
The evening's entertainment was Fantasia Follies it was a big hit. Afterwards, I went out partying with a COS member who is staying at the B&B and ended up at Roomers ( Another B&B). I got in at two in the morning and I'm paying for it today ( Saturday morning ).

2002, October 30^th
Another whole year has passed once again I am writing about Fantasia Fair. I fell in love with Fantasia Fair the very first time that I went. The town of Provincetown makes the fair, from its people to its location at the tip of Cape Cod. To walk the streets and visit the shops, to be out and about not cooped up in some hotel. To feel the wind, smell the ocean and yes even to dodge the rain drops makes you feel so much more alive.

2003, Thursday October 23^rd
In the evening they had a cocktail party at another B & B. Afterwards I went to get some pizza with a friend and then to another B & B where I stayed until 11:30 when I walked back to the Carpe Diem. The streets were wet from the light rain we had all day and the cold wind was whipping up the alleyways and side streets. Heels echoing on the deserted pavement. Laughter heard come from the bars and me, Diana, just walking down the street, it was so peaceful.

2004, Friday October 15^th
Yesterday I went and had my back and chest waxed, ouch! ! ! Today it is still a little sore ( well more like a lot sore. ) and there is a little redness, however I think that it was worth it. I wanted to have my chest smooth for the Prom at Fantasia Fair on Tuesday night and hopefully it will be hair free for the entire event.
Right now I am taking a little time off from packing, I got my list and I am checking it twice, I don't want to forget anything. In the morning I have an appointment to have my nails done at 8:15 so that I can get an early start. But that means I have to pack the car tonight and leave around 7:45 in order to get to my appointment on time.

2005, October 16^th
On the way back from registration, I overheard a couple of tourists;
Husband: "There’s another tall woman.” ( Meaning me )
Wife: "Maybe there’s a bus tour for tall women in town.”
Me: Giggling

I also went up in 2006 and 2011 and now I am going back this year. Since I transitioned I have found the fun has gone out of the trans-convention circuit, many of the workshops are on make-up or coming out and I’m not interested in them anymore. I go more to meet old friends than the workshops. Also the party ‘til 2AM is way past my bedtime now.

One thing that I don’t miss is telling little white lies about where I’m going. Back before I came out I wrote in my diary,

October 12th
It’s getting closer to the Fantasia Fair, but as it does I have to lie to Mom and Dad and I hate it! I don’t really like it and I might not go to another event, this makes me feel so bad lying to them. This is really downer. It’s not like when I use to smoke pot, because I didn’t have to come up with complicated lies, only just smoke it. This on the other hand evolves two lies, one at work - I’m going up to my brothers to help on his house and the other for family - I’m going to a computer show in Boston. Well, where in Boston , who’s going, what are you going to see, how do we get in touch with you, etc. etc…. “Oh, what a tangle web we weave when at first we do deceive… “ or however Shakespeare said it.

************************************************
October 17th
Another white lie last night, R [my brother] called and asked about my trip to Boston. I’m torn between wanting to go to Provincetown, but I hate all these lies. I have to think of a way to at least come out of the closet to R and D [my sister-in-law], but I worry about the consequence. I’m off to P’town, I made the commitment, so now I have to live with the outcome. Hopefully no more lies and that I will have a good time there and not worrying about Mom and Dad finding out.

Whatcha Doing Saturday?

This Saturday OutCT is having their Pride Day at the Beach at Ocean Beach park in New London,

OutCT hosts second Pride at the Beach Festival on Saturday
The Day
By Amy J. Barry, Special to The Day
August 19, 2014

On Saturday, Ocean Beach Park in New London will be transformed into a fun-filled, super-charged festival with activities and performances as diverse as the people who are expected to attend when OutCT hosts the New London Pride Festival for the second summer running.
[…]
And, because the event is being held at Ocean Beach Park, although the festival is free, the fee to park or walk-in will give attendees access to the half-mile boardwalk, Olympic-size swimming pool, playground and splash park, waterslides, children's rides, mini-golf snack bar/cafe, bar/lounge and more.

For more details got to their website’s event page…

OutCT presents Pride at the Beach!Saturday, August 23, 2014
11:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Ocean Beach Park, New London
Live entertainment, vendors on the boardwalk, GLBTQ resources, activities for all ages, bar and patio overlooking the Long Island Sound, and more….your typical pride festival but it is on the beach!

Note: Admission: $22 per car or $6 for a walk-in with no car.

Falcon Ridge…

I went to a concert Saturday with a friend; we met at a Park & Ride in Farmington and I drove up to Hillsdale NY where the concert was being held. Falcon Ridge Folk Festival is a three day event but I want to check it out before I went the three days.

It was only an hour and a half ride and we got there around 11 and found a place in the shade to sit, stage left from the main stage. Before the first act began I wandered around to look for my friends who were up there for the whole event and to buy some funny money and get lunch.

Funny money you say…

They have script that you use to buy food at the festival; my friend said it was to make sure the festival got their cut of the proceeds from the vendors. Besides food they also have a number of vendors selling stuff like clothes, hat, and leather goods. They also have a tent where the bands sell their CDs and sign autographs. I went off my low carb diet at lunch, I figured I’ll splurge on a potato pancake and what a pancake it was, it was the size of the 10 inch plate and about three-eighths thick… mega carbs!

When the band started to warm up, I went back to the main stage and set-up my camera and settled down. Beside the main stage they also have a workshop stage, a dance stage, and a family stage and my friend went over to the workshop stage.

As the sun worked its way around the sky I found myself in the sun and slowly cooking. a little bit about the main stage viewing area. It is on the side of small hill and they allow blankets and beach chairs in the center section but nothing tall enough to block the view of the people behind you and then father up the hill they allow tents and cabanas, on the sides you can have regular lawn chairs. Only one side has shade for the most of the day and that was where I sat.

The weather was beautiful, high in the upper 70s to low 80s, low humidity and a light wind with some clouds that prevented the sun from baking me.

During the first band a friend dropped by who works for the festival and we chatted briefly and she left off some frozen bottles of water which carries me through the day… Thanks J.

So what bands did I see… here is a short video of the pictures that I took during the concert.

So what didn’t I like, well the list is short, the iceman must go down as the most… I don’t know what. But he drove around saying in a deep voice Iiiiiiice drawing out the “I.” The other thing I didn’t like was during Ronny Cox, one of the bands that I wanted to hear, a group of teenagers (college age) sat down in front of me drinking beer, talking about college and guys. One of them was one the phone!
One thing that wasn’t on the list was the porta-potties, they were amazingly clean! That was one thing that I dreaded was using the porta-potties, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The next time that I go I'll bring a beach chair so I can sit in the center section and get a better view of the stage, a cooler with a lot of water, a hat and suntan lotion. And there will be a next time, it was a nice afternoon, I don't think that I'll go up for the festival because my tent sleeping days are over. Now if someone want to rent a RV, I might consider going the whole weekend.

I videoed a number of the songs but I don’t want to post them here, so here are the YouTube versions of the songs that I liked (minus the chatty teenagers in the background).

It Is That Time Of Year...

...where kids and parents are thinking of summer camp, but what do you do if your child is transgender? Where can they go to have fun?

There are a number of summer camps around the country for trans-youth, probably the flagship camp is Camp Aranu'tiq in Connecticut. Boston.com said,

On the volleyball court, a boy spiked a shot and his teammates cheered. Nearby, some campers lay on mats, doing yoga stretches. A girl executed a series of cartwheels. Over in drama, the kids performed a “cranky old lady” talk show; everyone cracked up.
Related

Before the week was over, there were campfires, Capture the Flag, a skit night, and a talent show. Camp Aranu’tiq seemed like a traditional New England camp, complete with requisite lake, rustic cabins, and 65 shrieking campers.

Only when you see tags around campers’ necks, with the words “(HE)” or “(SHE)” under their names, do you realize something’s different here. It is the only camp of its kind in the country, a camp for transgender kids, where idle chatter on sports, music, school, and teenage crushes blends right in with talk about “coming out,” “transitioning,” puberty blockers — and bullying.

Have heard from the parents of children who attended the camp and they liked it. There are other trans-camps for kids around the country and can be found by googling "summer camp transgender children" for them.

If you are a young at heart trans-woman there is Camp Camp in Maine, which is a LGBT week long summer camp.

A Mini-Staycation - The Mark Twain House

New Year’s Eve I went out to lunch with a friend and afterward we went to the Mark Twain House. I have lived in Connecticut all my life but I had never visited it and we were looking for something to do after lunch and I thought about visiting the Twain house. I checked my library’s website and the library pass for the tour was still available (Your local library usually has passes to many local museums and tourist attractions, it is worth looking into.).

For lunch we meet at the Chowder Pot and I had Lobster Pot Pie, it was delicious but you know me anything with lobster in it good. We then headed over to Farmington Avenue to the Mark Twain House and we were able to take the 3:05 tour. They don’t allow pictures inside the house which I figured that they wouldn’t because most historic places like Newport and the Hill-Stead do not for some reason.

One of the first things that struck me when the tour entered the house was how dark it was inside and I wasn’t the only one to notice that, another tour member asked if that was the normal brightness. The tour guide said it was because all they had back then was gas lights and they didn’t give off much light. As we were going up the staircase I noticed the banister was low and when I asked him about it he said it was designed to be that way to make the room seem larger, but I’ll tell you it could never pass code today. Another thing that I saw that was interested was the gas extension cord, we have cords on electric lights so they can be moved and they had gas hoses from a wall or ceiling lamp to do the same thing. Mr. Clemens even had a “man cave” on the top floor of the three story house where he worked on his books, smoked his cigars and played pool with his friends. The website has pictures of the inside of the house and also a floor plan.

The tour lasted about an hour and then we wandered around the small museum that they have behind the house. As we were walking back from tour the guide to me that he had seen me around town, that he remembered me from an event at the MCC church in Hartford. It seems like everyone remembers the six foot tranny in the room.

My friend went to "First Night" celebrations and I went home. I didn't want to go because the wind chill was in the single digits and standing around in freezing weather is not my definition of having fun.

Lefties Of The World UNITE!!!!!

Did you know that only around 6.5% – 7.5% are left handed*?
Did you know that in twins there is a significantly higher percentage for both twins to be left handed?
Did you know that left handedness tends to run in families?
Did you know that left handers on average lived nine years less than right handers?
Did you now that Gay and Lesbians have an “increased incidence” of left handedness?

Buzzfeed had this article about 18 Worst Things for Left-Handers People,

1. Spiral notebooks. Yup, I hate them and sometimes I use the notebook upside down.
2. Writing in a three-ring binder. Ditto.
4. Only two pairs of the green lefty scissors in class, three lefty kids. I got a left-handed scissors but they get mixed in with the right-handed scissors and the right-handers cruse me out.
6. Ink all over the side of your hand. Do you know how many times I had my knuckles rapped with a ruler by the sisters?
7. Bonking elbows with a righty at the dinner table. I always take the left-hand corner of the tables
12. These desks (Student desk with the armrest on the right). Let the battle begin for the only left-handed desk.
13. Measuring cups show you the stupid metric side. Yup, I hate them. I have to hold it in my right-hand and pour with my left which is awkward. Put the measuring cup down and pick it up in my left handed to pour.
16. Cord on the credit card machine pen is never long enough. Not only that but also they pile stuff on the left side to block your elbow.

*I used Google Scholar and googled the various topic and the percentage of left handedness varies depending upon the tests used.

A Day Trip To The Hill-Stead

Yesterday we were planning on going to the New Britain Museum of American Art but all the library passes were out so I picked up a pass to the Hill-Stead Museum. I had never been there before but it was on my list museums to visit.

When we got there the woman in the gift shop asked if we wanted to go on the tour? I was really wasn’t interesting a guided tour but the friend I was with said yes. Well it turned out that was the right answer because the Hill-Stead isn’t like an ordinary museum, they only have tours. It was the retirement home of the Pope family and it used to be a working farm back in the 1901 when it was built; her father was the president of Cleveland Malleable Iron Company and it was his daughter that created the Hill-Stead Trust when she died. She was a woman ahead of her time.

They were from Ohio and they sent their daughter back east to go to a finishing school for girls, Miss Poter's, that is also located in Farmington just down the road from the Hill-Stead. Theodate Pope (born Effie Pope in 1867, she changed her name in 1886) went on to become an influential architect, she designed many local building in Connecticut and New York and she was the fourth registered woman architect in the nation and she became a member of the American Institute of Architects in 1918 (You can read more about at the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, on the Hill-Stead website and an excellent website “Theodate Pope Riddle Her Life and Architecture")

Theodate Pope Riddle from Joe Colombatto on Vimeo.

About the Hill-Stead Museum:

Alfred Atmore Pope collected "avant-garde" works that would inspire him, such as French Impressionism with works of Edgar Degas and Claude Monet and he also liked the works of James McNeill Whistler, Mary Cassatt and Edouard Manet. As part of Theodate Pope will Hill-Stead is preserved with all the original art and furnishing, they will never leave the estate. As one of the other women said in the tour that this was the only place where she has seen a Monet as it was meant to be viewed, in a living room over a fireplace.

Later the as we were touring the house’s library the same woman pointed to a book and said, "Is that 'Godey’s Lady Book'?” and the tour guide said yes pointing to a row of books and said that they are only opened for members to view once in awhile.

After the tour we walked in the near 100^o heat for a little bit in the sunken garden next to the house and the horse barn, then we hurried back to the air conditioned car.
The afternoon was well spent touring the house.

Fashion For Your Body Type

I usually do not write about fashion but I came across an interesting website that helps you to figure out what style fits your body type…

But I do think they need to wear a slip. :)

Source

Happy Easter!

I’m one of the lucky ones who will be with my family this Easter. However, for many it is not a time to rejoice, it is a time of loneliness, their families may have moved and left them behind, their family or spouse might have passed away leaving them without any close relatives or their children might be at their in-laws Easter. However, for whatever the reason, it is a lonely time for them.

So let us open our hearts and doors to them and invite them to the table.

Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson: A fascinatingly disturbing thought

I Didn’t Watch The Election

It would have been too stressful for me; instead I went down to West Haven to hear Namoli Brennet. I first heard her sing up in Provincetown at Fantasia Fair and I enjoyed her music, she writes all her own music. She was born in Waterbury, moved to Pennsylvania and now lives out in Tucson when not traveling around the country singing. At Fantasia Fair when she was preforming she said that she was going to have a contest, but what could she give as a prize? I yelled out “A trip to Holy Land” and that broke her up. You see, it is an inside joke. If you been to Waterbury you will see a big cross on top of one of the hills. A local convent built a model of the Holy Land on the hill based on the Stations of the Cross and they use to charge admission to aid the convent. So anyhow, I enjoyed listening to her and bought a number of her CDs. She played some of the old favorites and added a number of songs from her new CD, “Live” and of the new songs that she played I liked “Iowa” and “the Grapes of Wrath” the best. (You can listen to her songs from “Live” here.)

Before her set George Morgio played, he is a local folk singer from the 60s and many of his song followed the tradition of folk singers of the 60s with social advocacy. One song he played was called “Killing of New Orleans” which was about hurricane Katrina and how the poor were treated during the storm. But he also sang “Think of You” about breaking up with his girlfriend. (You can listen to a sampling of his songs here.)

I guess I have to say something about the election.

Probably the election is best summed up as “status quo,” nothing really changed. The divide in the House and the Senate is basically the same, some new faces and a lot of old faces, but what was interesting for me were three things for this election.

First was that the president won the women vote and second the president increased the percentage of Latino and Black vote. Lastly, marriage equality won in Maine and Maryland and a constitutional amendment seeking to ban marriage equality was rejected in Minnesota.

This is what I think it all means, first the people rejected the Republicans’ war on women. I think that the Republicans have to back-off their quest to ban abortions; women want the right to choose what they do to their own bodies. They must also back-off from their efforts to close Planned Parenthood and they must support programs like mammograms, WIC, Head Start and other women heath programs.

Next the Republicans have to become more diversified, they have to reach a compromise on immigration reform and end their efforts to chip away at the Civil Rights Act of 1964. They must also end their war on LGBT people. The religious right has hijacked the Republican party and changed it from a party of smaller government and getting government off the peoples backs to a party that want to bring government into the bedroom and in to our most private lives.

The Republicans also have to comprise on the economy, they have to come up with some tax increases and at the same time the Democrats has to look at deeper spending cuts. One of the problems that they will face is that these spending cuts cannot be done at once but over time. When you cut out programs or government agencies, people will get laid off and you must allow the economy adjust to those changes in gradual steps.

Lastly I want to say that I think the people voted for the devil that they knew as opposed to the devil they didn’t know. It is very hard to overthrow an incumbent.

I leave you with a video by Namoli Brennet from her “Live” CD… enjoy.

The Train Show

This afternoon I went up to Springfield MA with a friend to see the Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show. A friend asked if I wanted to go see the show, I had never been there before and it sounded interesting and I wasn’t doing anything so I said yes. I was glad that I went.

I figured maybe a couple hundred people would be there… wrong. It was a couple of thousand and the exhibits were spread out over four buildings on the Eastern States fairgrounds. Some of the layouts were unbelievable; they must have covered more than 900 square feet! The layout that I like best was by the host group, Amherst Railway Society. They had a small TV camera in the cab of one of the trains and it was neat to see the layout from the perspective of train when it went over a bridge. Another exhibit had an actual scale model steam engines that they can sit on.

While I was wandering around the show, I came across the booth of some friends from where I worked. I had forgot that they make railroad videos and would be at the show, I stopped and talked to them for a while catching what been happening at where I used to work before I retired.

Would I go back next year, no I don’t think so because I think that it was nice to see it, but I am not that interested in model trains.

How Many Of You Remeber Art Linkletter?

Hurricane Warning!!!!!

Warning from the National Hurricane Operations Center...
For immediate release

"As Hurricane Irene prepares to batter the East Coast, federal disaster officials warn that Internet outages could force people to interact with other people for the first time in years. Residents are bracing themselves for the horror of awkward silences and unwanted eye contact. FEMA advises: “Be prepared. Write down possible topics to talk about in advance. Sports...the weather. Remember, a conversation is basically a series of Facebook updates strung together.”