Monthly Archives: August 2009

Have You Had Your Mammogram?

Gentlemen, you may still want to read this, but I’ll understand if its too ‘squicky’ for you. (I’ll also try to refrain from rolling my eyes.)

Ladies: If you are over 40, I certainly hope you’ve had your mammogram. I just did and I’m going to tell you all about it. Think of it as a kind of public service announcement. One that may allay any fears.

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Florida = Prejudice

I have a number of politics/freedom related posts to upload, but here’s a quickie.

The ACLU reported today that the Florida’s Third District Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in an ACLU lawsuit challenging Florida’s law banning lesbians and gay men from adopting. This was a response to Florida’s challenge to the 11/25/08 ruling by the Juvenile Court that a gay couple could adopt. (The full post is here.)

I want to draw your attention to something in particular:

Despite these admissions by DCF, the agency responsible for child welfare in Florida, the State’s lawyers put on expert witnesses who offered an outlandish menu of justifications for the exclusion. They argued primarily that the exclusion is warranted because gay people are prone to problems like psychiatric disorders, drug abuse, and unstable relationships. They also asserted that gay parents cause their children to be gay and that gay people should be excluded from adopting because society is prejudiced against them and their children might be exposed to that prejudice.

What if the word ‘gay’ was changed to ‘black’ or ‘asian’? Or ‘elderly.’ You would hear the howls of outrage from coast to coast. (Never mind the incredible circular logic of that last sentence.)

I’m beginning to think that an ongoing test of discrimination is to replace descriptor nouns with similar ones for a diferent population.

Snarking on Spam

This was caught by my (absolutely rocking) Akismet spam filter:

Gday.

Did you ever think about creating your own blog? There are many great platforms, but by far the best is WordPress. It is fast to set up, however the themes just never fit my specifications. I searched for a simple solution to this problem and realized that there wasn’t one. I then had a template custom made for my needs and was so happy with the outcome. I then decided to build a website that would show the world how to easily hire an expert in wordpress design.

(link to ‘wordpress design experts”)

Because, you see . . . spam is still sent by idiots, to trap idiots.

Memo from HR

To: All Employees
From: HR

Re: New Management Style

The owner of this company has told HR to increase productivity by eliminating unproductive behaviors among employees. We have therefore developed a new mandated management style which is spelled out in the Micro Management Policy, effective immediately.

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Dinner Theater a la Teatro Zinzanni

As a surprise for my mom, and a way to have fun for my birthday, J and I took her to see Teatro Zinzanni last night. It’s my third seeing, the first back in ’99 with it’s original presentation (and Ann Wilson [of Heart] as the chanteuse, “Love, Chaos & Dinner”), and the second in 2002 or so (with J., at their temporary Belltown location “Dinner and Dreams”). Both of those times I saw the same emcee (Kevin Kent), which is interesting because the cast, and show, changes over time. They have world class performers doing acrobatics, juggling, magic, stage comedy (not stand up), singing, dancing, and — for lack of a more precise term — stuff. The menu is created by Tom Douglas and is of a fairly high standard.

We had so much fun! Laughed until we cried, ate good food and drank great wine (they do a wine flight of 2.5 oz pours — one for each course, five in all — for $35), and had a nice time chatting with the other people at the table. General admission is in booths along the outer ring.

The setting is a gorgeously restored spiegeltent (mirror tent) constructed at the beginning of the 20th century. There are only eight tents left in existence, one of which is at the sister Teatro Zinzanni production in San Francisco.  and The current emcee, Chef Caesar, leads us through the “All Dressed Up with Some Place to Go” event and we thoroughly enjoyed all of the acts. Most especially Les Petits Freres, Ming and Rui, and The Vertical Tango.

A word about that last one: the title is literal. Take a 50 foot pole, about 6 inches in diameter,add your partner, and  wrap your hands, feet, legs, arms around in in various combinations we you tango up and down, the pole.  Oh, and do it in time to music. Its incredible. Want to see? (Link opens a youtube video.)

Just for fun: here’s Ming and Rui (this one is for you Jeremy) and one of Vita Radionova, the company contortionist.