A Smattering Of Hostility

I am just filled with rage today. Honestly, it's mostly due to things work related, but it's just spilling over into everything else. So when I opened my RSS reader over lunch to see what's going on in the world… well, I suppose I should have just left the damn thing alone and just read some more of the Sookie Stackhouse books.

If you don't read Joe.My.God, you need to check out his weekly articles on Holy Crimes. While the religious right continues to attempt to defile us queers as vile, predatory freaks, it's even more interesting to note the child molestors, child pornographers and outright scoundrels Joe brings to light every week. For people that are so obsessed with making the gays look bad, they should really take a few moment to look at their own damn people.

A new study popped up that scared the living crap out of me. 17% of gay males in Chicago are HIV-positive. Half of those men don't even know it. Why? Because they are too damned scared to go get tested. Man up. Go down to Howard Brown and get yourself tested. There is absolutely no excuse for being a sexually active gay man and not getting tested every few months. You can get free testing and you can get it confidentially. But most importantly, take care of yourself people! Be smart, wear condoms, practice other forms of sex. Sure, we may not have to live through another generation like the 80's, but you will still die from HIV and AIDS. You will still be broke from the cost of treatment and medication. You will still have a hard time getting insurance. You will still be stigmatized.

The senate, or at least one senator, is considering a bill that would repeal DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act that prevents same-sex marriage recognition at the Federal level) that would not do the same for Domestic Partnerships and Civil Unions. It's not even clear if this bill would truly afford same-sex couples federal marriage benefits, other than the right to have your marriage in one state recognized in another state. Truly, this is D.C. at it's finest: A gesture that doesn't mean a damned thing, that you have to work twice as hard to get passed, but at the end of the day makes you look like you did something good while not solving anything.

Good news for the day: Kentucky asshat Jim Bunning will not be running for office again. Good for you! Now, lets see which asshat will take his place…

Oh, and gays smoke more than straight people. If you're a LGBT person and hadn't made that casual observance yet, you need to open your eyes. Again, take care of yourselves people!

I think that's enough to raise my blood pressure to unhealthy levels for today...

Only In My Home Town...

For those that don't know, I'm a military brat, so I don't technically have a hometown. However, I did spend an inordinate amount of time (most of high school, all of college, and a few years after) in Northern Kentucky. Also, for those that don't know, Northern Kentucky is essentially a series of suburbs of Cincinnati, but since there's a river there, they call it Kentucky.

In Northern Kentucky, one of the larger 'burbs is Florence. I say larger because it had "the mall" and, until recently, the theaters. I worked there on and off, as a server, bar tender and store manager. I tell you this so that I can qualify my next statement: the people there are hillbillies. Born and bred hicks. Most of them are lovely, but if you aren't used to gun-toting, truck-driving, tobacco-chewing redneck stereotypes, you may not want to go. But, in case you do want to visit Florence, KY sometime, there is now another reason. One of the city residents is now a world record holder!

That's amazing! Who'd have thought that someone from little ol' Florence to make it big in this world. Man, isn't life strange sometimes? Wait… what's that? He's got a World Record in… what?! …. Holding Cockroaches in his mouth…? But… why??

Yeah, the guy held 11 Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches in his mouth for 10 seconds. They were still alive. If you were wondering, the Madagascar roach is the one they use on every reality show when they talk about roachs. Big, ugly, vomit-inducing bugs. And he had 11 in his mouth. One asumes he practiced for this?

And these good people, my dear readers, are the kinds of people I grew up around, that helped shape my world view. Just a sense of perspective for you all.