After a month long hiatus, The Gaymer Mafia podcast is back! This week, Tom and I talk about the stubborn streak in RPG players (they NEVER back down) and how it can be a detriment... and then realize it's not a bad way to live one's life.
Over IM, this morning:
JON: Hey.
JON: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080515/ap_on_re_us/gay_marriage
TOM: Wow.
TOM: Christ, now we'll get the nagging.
The California Supreme Court has ruled that gay marriage bans are unconstitutional, paving the way for full marriage equality here in America's most populous state. This is huge. Massive. Awesome. But, we're not out of the woods yet. There's a push to change the California Constitution to ban gay marriage. Fortunately, there's a lot of people against that, including our governator:
I respect the Court’s decision and as Governor, I will uphold its ruling. Also, as I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling.
[Link courtesy of Andrew Sullivan]
So, for the time being, this is fantastic news.
Andy Borowitz from the Huffington Post has discovered the best way to let Hillary know the race is really over for her.
Hilarious.
On June 3, there is a special election here in California, based on eminent domain. Eminent domain is where the government can seize private property for the public use, like putting in a freeway, etc. The Supreme Court recently ruled that eminent domain can be used for private industries, like putting in a Wal-Mart. There are two Propositions on the ballot, both about eminent domain: Prop 98 and Prop 99. The one of great concern is Prop 98.
Prop 98 says it limits eminent domain, but ALSO eliminates a bulk of renters' rights. Prop 98 will eliminate rent control in California, the right of tenants to claim their security deposit in 30 days, among others.
So, to protect all of us, PLEASE vote NO on 98. Urge everyone you know to go vote on this. The landlords who put this on the ballot called for it during June because they knew it would be a low turn out. In order to protect our rights, we can't let them do this to us and to millions of renters here in California.
Remember: vote NO on Prop 98. You should be getting the sample ballots in the mail soon, if you haven't received them already.
For more info, check out http://noonprop98.org.
Spewgilist, a geek/pop culture site, has named Fellowship of the Dice Best Geek Movie of 2008! Thank you, Spewgilist. Apparently, they will have an article about the film coming soon.
Between the tour for the movie last year and my recent trip to visit the family, I've done a lot of flying in the past year and a half. During all of this travel, I've come up with my flying routine. And the following, what I'd like to call, my Aero Manifesto.
These personal guidelines have always steered me right, even when things go wrong, like delayed flights. I'm one of those weird types who really enjoys flying. I find it amazing that we as humans can go such large distances in a such a fantastic manner. Even though I may get rather cranky on long flights, I would rather spend 4 hours flying to visit my family then spend a few days driving there. I've done both, and even though the road trip was a good experience, I'd rather fly there so I can spend more time with my loved ones. And with the Aero Manifesto, I can do it with my sanity intact.
Tom and I are in Illinois currently for a nice long weekend for a first communion for one of Tom's 18 nieces and nephews (and no, I'm not exaggerating). It was nice to step outside and feel a bit of nice humidity, actually hear some real thunder and look around at my old environs here in Chicagoland. So we head to the Republican stronghold that is Central Illinois for the communion tomorrow afternoon but in the meantime, Tom and I are hanging with my parents here in the Windy City... well, in a suburb bordering Chicago, which would make it Windy City-adjacent.
As I'm in a familial mood, I want to take a second and wish my older brother Matt a belated happy birthday (as it was yesterday). He's the one that lives in Italy, and is the very, very talented artist. You can check out his website here. Happy (belated) birthday, bro. Drink yourself silly this weekend.
Lately I've been privy to a lot of conversation amongst my single friends and co-workers. They will go on and on about their mating rituals and etiquette and blah-blah-blah. "I can't believe he wanted to split the check!" "Why would he say that in an IM?" "I really do like her, but I don't know..." And while I'm sympathetic and I try my best to be a good listener, I can't help that a huge chunk of me... well, doesn't give a rat's ass. I've been with Tom for so long and I don't see myself with anyone else, so even the concept of trying to date kinda confuses me. My single days are 14 years behind me, so when my single friends & co-workers ask me for my opinion, I do my best, but it's like me trying to speak Klingon or something. I can make some words and sounds that come close to what they're talking about, but fundamentally I really don't understand.
I think also the big gulf in my lack of understanding is that all of these single friends and co-workers are straight. Way back in the early to mid-90's when I was single, I never really encountered the whole mating dance of the etiquette of only calling someone after a few days or so-and-so picking up the check. In my (rather limited) experience, we gays would sometimes split the check, other times one of us would pay for it. Case closed. We all have lives to lead, jobs to work, so why should things be this complicated? I'll hear the straight single friends and co-workers go on and on and on about their dating foibles about who should do what and yadda yadda yadda and it takes almost all of my energy to prevent myself from rolling my eyes and giving out a big Who Gives A Shit sigh.
My singledom time I view in the same way as high school: a period of my life that happened a long while ago that I have absolutely no interest in revisiting. I know myself so much better now and like myself so much better now than I did what I was single and when I was high school, so why even talk about it now? Maybe that's where my apathy comes from.
To be clear, I do have some great single friends who DON'T talk about their dating foibles and who don't go on and on about their lack of a significant other. Occasionally, they will sigh and wish they had someone, but that's about it. Those friends tend to define themselves by their jobs or interests or their belief structures first, and everything else second, which is why I prefer to hang out with them, I think. 'Cause, honestly, if I want to hear someone kvetch about their single adventures, I'll watch Sex and the City. At least that'll be funnier and I can turn it off whenever I want to.
At about 5:45am CST, I turned 36 years old today. It's a number without a 5 or a 0 or a 9, so it's kinda one of those meh birthday markers. I'm now definitely in the latter part of my mid-30's and about to stumble into my late-30's, which means 40 is ever closer. Yikes. The one thing people do tell me is that I don't look my age. I look younger. My TV/Film agent still sends me out for mid to late 20's roles, which is good to hear. My first television role was as a high school senior when I was 28 years old, so I guess that should have been a sign. Not that I'm complaining, mind you...
So far, it's been a good birthday. Saturday Katie popped for a very nice birthday dinner for Tom and I at a very, very, very nice place in Topanga. This just reconfirms that Katie is just one of the coolest chicks ever. It was great just to spend time with her. So, thanks, Katie.
Tonight, Tom and I are off for some celebratory sushi, which will be great. I've received some great messages during the day, birthday wishes from old friends and new ones. So, while things haven't exactly gone my way lately, I'm trying to accentuate the positive. We'll see.
