Jeez Jon

Prop 8 Is Enough

After the PSA, I thought I had to do more.  So, I volunteered to help out on a No on Prop 8 rally last night in West Hollywood. 

It started out slow at about 5pm when we  started waving our signs on Santa Monica Blvd. 

But more and more people slowly arrived. 

We got stronger reactions as day went into night.  More honking, more cheering.  All of us were talking about our sore arms and feet, but we kept going.  Eventually, about 100 people were there waving sings, getting people to honk their horns in support of No on Prop 8.

Now, you are probably thinking that we were preaching to the choir by doing the action in West Hollywood.  I was thinking the same thing too.  It's always good, in my opinion, to be visible so people don't get complacent.  I really hope people don't assume it'll fail because we live in California.   Also, we did have 2 people give us the finger during the rally, so it's not like every person who happens to go through West Hollywood is necessarily gay-friendly either.  One of the volunteers told me they were part of an action the previous day in Orange County, so they are branching out into rather hostile territory. 

 

Those of you in California, remember to vote No on Prop 8.  Any of you with family or friends in California, urge them to vote No on Prop 8.  If any of them are wavering, lemme know, and I'll talk to 'em.  The polls are very, very close so every vote is going to count. 

You can't make changes in the world if you sit on your ass.  Get out there, do something.  Anything.  That's what I've learned from this election cycle.  Trust me, I'm as exhausted by this as you are, but the time to strong and vigilant is now. 

(does this protest sign make me look fat?)

The TVLand Crew Chimes In

Ron Howard has done a video in support of Obama, and brought in some old friends.

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

It's a lot better than The Da Vince Code, I can tell you that.

Taking The Bull By The Horns

Tom and I (with the help of our buddy John Clark) made our own (low budget) PSA about Prop 8.  Please to enjoy:

Have No Fear: Vote No on Prop 8 @ Yahoo! Video

Picking Up After One's Self Is Not That Difficult

After playing copious amounts of Guitar Hero III on Saturday on our new Wii (both wedding gifts from my work, I shit you not), I stopped myself long enough to go to the gym.  I had a pleasant work out and drove back home.  Now, Tom and I live on a hill and our street is very narrow.  So, I had to drive up to our building and go a turnabout in order to get to my usual parking space.  As I'm driving up, I see a Slavic woman in her 60's walking her small dog on the sidewalk right across the street from my building and by where I'm going to park.  She is eyeing me suspiciously.  Her little dog is taking a dump on the sidewalk as I am pulling up into the parking space.  She shoots me another suspicious look, and that's when I noticed she didn't have any kind of bag with her. As I pull up my parking brake, I look up and see she is walking back in my direction, presumably going home.  I looked down and saw that she had left her dog's poop sitting on the sidewalk.  Oh, hell no.

I turned off my engine, and popped my head out of the open car window. 

Me: Excuse me.

Old Woman: Yes?

Me: Are you going to pick up after your dog?

Old Woman [curtly]: Yes.

Me:  Good. 'Cause I live right here [pointing at my building], and I want to make sure that we are all doing our best to keep our neighborhood clean.

Old Woman:  You know, I go for lot of walks in these streets all over every morning. 

I stared at her for a second.

Me:  I don't see your point.

Old Woman:  Well, I go for walk every morning, and I see dog crap everywhere on de sidewalks.

Me [unimpressed]: Uh-huh.

Old Woman: Are you going to yell at them?

Me:  Well, if I see them leaving their dog poop and not picking it up, then yes, I will say something. I saw you, so I'm saying something.  If there is dog poop by my building and no one is around, I'll clean it up.  So, are you picking up your dog's poop?

Old Woman: Yes. 

Me:  Thank you.

I got out of the car, grabbed by gym bag from the trunk and walked up to my apartment, keeping an eye on her the whole time.  She actually did grab some newspaper and picked up the remaining poop, shooting me evil looks the whole time.

Any serious dog owner does not leave the house to take their beloved pet for a walk without poop retrieval materials.  My family had a succession of 3 Irish Wolfhounds, so when my dad would walk any of them he would leave the house with a couple plastic bags and some paper plates for extra-scooping action.  This woman had no such armaments with her; therefore, she was perfectly content with leaving dog poop on the sidewalk.  Nuh-uh, not on my watch, hon. 

It honestly floors me that people don't understand a simple adage:  pick up after yourself.  Yeesh.

Planning Ahead

A conversation with my co-worker Becca, earlier this month.

Becca:  What are you going to obsess about once the election is over?

Me:  I don't know.  Porn?

It Bears Repeating

Here's a great slew of No on 8 PSA's that are out.  Watch them, pass them around.

#1: The Straight Approach:

#2: The Ellen Approach:

#3: The Humorous Approach (With Special Guest Molly Ringwald)

[Links Courtesy: Joe.My.God]

UPDATE:  #4: The Seeing-It-From-The-Other-Side Approach

[Link Courtesy: Andrew Sullivan]

Hitched

Tom and I got married on Friday.  We have the first wave of pictures from before the ceremony and the reception here.  It was amazing. I cried some at the ceremony, and drank A LOT at the reception the next day.  Still recovering from that.  More to come later.

Fortuitous Timing

On the same day that Tom and I are getting gay married, the Supreme Court of Connecticut has ruled that same-sex couples can marry in their state.  Connecticut governor Jodi Rell (R) has taken a page from the Governator's playbook, saying she will abide by the court's ruling even though she doesn't agree with it.

The Supreme Court has spoken," Rell said. "I do not believe their voice reflects the majority of the people of Connecticut. However, I am also firmly convinced that attempts to reverse this decision -- either legislatively or by amending the state Constitution -- will not meet with success. I will therefore abide by the ruling."

Wow, some Republicans on board with gay rights?  Maybe this country is changing after all.

[Link courtesy ThinkProgress]

My Head Sounds Like This: Judy Garland

For rather obvious reasons, this song has been going through my head for the past couple of days:

I prefer the Stanley Holloway version, but Judy's edgy state during the song I think better conveys my current mood:  nervous, excited, thrilled, and a tad jumpy.

A PSA Called Wanda

Comedian Wanda Sykes and tween idol Hillary Duff are starring in some PSA's from the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network trying to curb people (especially the youth) from saying "That's so gay" when they mean "That's so dumb" or "That's bad." 

Here's Sykes' PSA:


And here's Duff's:


I have always felt that humor is one of the best ways to not only illustrate one's point but to also change minds, and these PSA's are hilarious.

[Link courtesy of Queerty]