More Like Voter Antipathy Than Apathy

Ian Welsh has a good piece (via) with some useful reminders in it:In a midterm election where they need the base to come out, they have spent the last six months insulting the base and engaging in policy after policy meant to enrage it. ...It is, for whatever reason, more important to Democrats to “hippie punch” than it is for them to win elections. It is more important for them to serve

More Like Voter Antipathy Than Apathy

Ian Welsh has a good piece (via) with some useful reminders in it:In a midterm election where they need the base to come out, they have spent the last six months insulting the base and engaging in policy after policy meant to enrage it. ...It is, for whatever reason, more important to Democrats to “hippie punch” than it is for them to win elections. It is more important for them to serve

A NEW KIND OF PIECE OF MACHINERY.

We like to think we have a fairly rich pedigree of female pop talent here at Neon Gold, as we gaze fondly at the busts of Marina & The Diamonds, Ellie Goulding (who makes her NYC live debut tonight) and Mr. Little Jeans lining the halls in the pantheon of Neon Gold leading ladies. So it's with great pleasure that we pass the torch on to a special newcomer by the name of Spark, who's brilliant

Florida agency ends ban on gay adoptions

The Florida Department of Children and Families has responded to last week's ruling that the state's ban on adoptions by gay men and lesbians is unconstitutional, and the news is great.In a two page memo dated the day after the ruling, Alan Abramowitz, State Director of the Office of Family Safety, announced that the Department has submitted to the legislature language repealing the statute. "

Portugal - Gorgeous Bear Pennant

For those who care, sorry for being away so long. I have been pre-occupied with other

Double-Obama, Licensed to Kill

Oh dear, I was going to get so much done tonight. In lieu of productive activity, let me quote Glenn Greenwald once again. Obama told Rolling Stone, "If we want the kind of country that respects civil rights and civil liberties, we'd better fight in this election."Greenwald wrote:To summarize Obama's apparent claim: the Republicans better not win in the midterm election, otherwise we'll have

Double-Obama, Licensed to Kill

Oh dear, I was going to get so much done tonight. In lieu of productive activity, let me quote Glenn Greenwald once again. Obama told Rolling Stone, "If we want the kind of country that respects civil rights and civil liberties, we'd better fight in this election."Greenwald wrote:To summarize Obama's apparent claim: the Republicans better not win in the midterm election, otherwise we'll have

Okay, Something Besides Politics ...

Like, oh my Ghod, there's going to be a remake of True Grit! That movie is totally a classic of Western Civilization! Why do They have to ruin everything!? Why can't Hollywood do something original, like another remake of Ben-Hur or A Christmas Carol?Seriously, this trailer looks promising. I might even go to see the Coen Brothers' remake, though I've never seen the 1969 John Wayne version or

Okay, Something Besides Politics ...

Like, oh my Ghod, there's going to be a remake of True Grit! That movie is totally a classic of Western Civilization! Why do They have to ruin everything!? Why can't Hollywood do something original, like another remake of Ben-Hur or A Christmas Carol?Seriously, this trailer looks promising. I might even go to see the Coen Brothers' remake, though I've never seen the 1969 John Wayne version or

Yesterday Once More

I want to write about something other than politics, but life keeps throwing me provocations.The other morning a right-wing acquaintance on Facebook posted a link to this article from the Commentary blogs, by Jennifer Rubin. According to her,After the across-the-board defeats in 2008, conservative pundits didn’t rail at the voters. You didn’t see the right blogosphere go after the voters as

Yesterday Once More

I want to write about something other than politics, but life keeps throwing me provocations.The other morning a right-wing acquaintance on Facebook posted a link to this article from the Commentary blogs, by Jennifer Rubin. According to her,After the across-the-board defeats in 2008, conservative pundits didn’t rail at the voters. You didn’t see the right blogosphere go after the voters as

Know Your Enemy

It's always good to have your excuses ready and your enemies in your sights, and at least some Democrats are getting ready for defeat in November:Actually, have been havinbg a conversation with friends who are really deeply involved in political work, who see a lot suspect about the pushing from leftie appearing commenters to keep Dems from voting. Seen too many dirty tricks. No, Avedon, I

Know Your Enemy

It's always good to have your excuses ready and your enemies in your sights, and at least some Democrats are getting ready for defeat in November:Actually, have been havinbg a conversation with friends who are really deeply involved in political work, who see a lot suspect about the pushing from leftie appearing commenters to keep Dems from voting. Seen too many dirty tricks. No, Avedon, I

Let's Do Another One Just Like the Other One

There are a lot of things I've been meaning to say about the upcoming midterm elections, especially now that the Republicans have announced their Pledge to America, but this evening my right-wing acquaintance posted a link on Facebook to Peggy Noonan's latest exercise in glossolalia at the Wall Street Journal. His comment: "This rings true." Of course you all know that the Opinion page of the

Let's Do Another One Just Like the Other One

There are a lot of things I've been meaning to say about the upcoming midterm elections, especially now that the Republicans have announced their Pledge to America, but this evening my right-wing acquaintance posted a link on Facebook to Peggy Noonan's latest exercise in glossolalia at the Wall Street Journal. His comment: "This rings true." Of course you all know that the Opinion page of the

Padang, West Sumatra-Place where the Ground is Shaking

It was last year when i saw the news about 9.1 scale earth quake in Padang West Sumatra. I could only see the news on TV that time. It was around September 2009 few days after Moslem celebrate Ied Fithr.Sumatra called ring of fire as it had volcanoes that goes straight from top of Sumatra island (Aceh) to the very edge of it (Lampung). All the active volcanoes well known for it history of

A Wide Stance Prophet?

Avedon Carol at The Sideshow has linked to this verse (16:49) from the book of the prophet Ezekiel:Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.The link is to the Skeptic's Annotated Bible, which apparently trades in pointing out the icky

A Wide Stance Prophet?

Avedon Carol at The Sideshow has linked to this verse (16:49) from the book of the prophet Ezekiel:Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.The link is to the Skeptic's Annotated Bible, which apparently trades in pointing out the icky

YOU MAKE ME FEEL.

We've been fully on board the Lissie wagon ever since we experienced her literally AMAZING duet with Ellie Goulding at this year's Great Escape festival (phenomenal footage of which is viewable above), and her debut album Catch A Tiger and its lead single "When I'm Alone" were two of our favorite surprises of the summer. Leo Zero must have felt similarly, so keen was he to remix "When I'm Alone"

Their Glory Is In Their Shame

Incidentally, there's a good post by Richard "Lenin" Seymour at Lenin's Tomb on the British protests against the Pope's visit, with some sharp criticism of Richard Dawkins. (Thanks to Jenny for the reference.) Lenin writes:I also know imperial condescension when I see it - when I first came to England and found that people here believed that Northern Ireland was torn apart for thirty years or

Their Glory Is In Their Shame

Incidentally, there's a good post by Richard "Lenin" Seymour at Lenin's Tomb on the British protests against the Pope's visit, with some sharp criticism of Richard Dawkins. (Thanks to Jenny for the reference.) Lenin writes:I also know imperial condescension when I see it - when I first came to England and found that people here believed that Northern Ireland was torn apart for thirty years or

Accentuate the Obvious

Today I was one of the speakers on a GLB panel for a college class, and the question of choice came up again. It occurred to me as I listened to the other speakers that they were even more confused than I'd thought. They talked about people who'd had bad coming-out experiences, and who would choose that? No one, perhaps. This was a variation on the familiar rhetorical question, "Would anyone

Accentuate the Obvious

Today I was one of the speakers on a GLB panel for a college class, and the question of choice came up again. It occurred to me as I listened to the other speakers that they were even more confused than I'd thought. They talked about people who'd had bad coming-out experiences, and who would choose that? No one, perhaps. This was a variation on the familiar rhetorical question, "Would anyone

Florida appeals court finds ban on gay and lesbian adoptions unconstitutional

In a long-awaited ruling, the Florida Third District Court of Appeal, in In re Adoption of X.X.G. & N.R.G. (usually referred to as the Gill case), has declared the state's ban on adoption by gay men and lesbians unconstitutional. The three-judge panel unanimously upheld the trial court's ruling and held that the ban violated the Florida constitution's guarantee of equal protection. The court

My First Gay Experience (no sex included)

My First Gay Experience (no sex included)

GET UP OUT MY SOUL.

"The Recluse" was our favorite track off Plan B's amazing The Defamation of Strickland Banks, easily the most impressive comeback record of 2010, so when we heard a remix was coming from dubstep extraordinaires Nero - whose immense rework of The Streets' "Blinded By The Lights" remains one of the biggest remixes we've ever heard - it's safe to say we got a little bit hot and bothered. Now it's

The Obama Code

Actually, this possibility bothers me more than the usual crypto-Muslim Kenyan anti-colonialist fantasies.

The Obama Code

Actually, this possibility bothers me more than the usual crypto-Muslim Kenyan anti-colonialist fantasies.

The Happy Endings for Homosexuals Club

More than any other single person, Jill Johnston inspired me to come out.It was early 1971, and I was twenty, in the throes of my latest crush on a conflicted straight boy. I had heard about the Stonewall Riots of June 1969, but they were in New York City a thousand miles away, and I don't recall paying enough attention to the developments in the gay movement that ensued. I do remember some

The Happy Endings for Homosexuals Club

More than any other single person, Jill Johnston inspired me to come out.It was early 1971, and I was twenty, in the throes of my latest crush on a conflicted straight boy. I had heard about the Stonewall Riots of June 1969, but they were in New York City a thousand miles away, and I don't recall paying enough attention to the developments in the gay movement that ensued. I do remember some

NIGHT HAS FALLEN LIKE A STONE.

Way back in late 2008, Bag Raiders changed our lives with their amazing "Shooting Stars", which remains to this day one of the most magical - and in our opinion most underrated - singles of the past few years. Now at long last their debut album is visible on the horizon, preceded by what their press release calls the official sequel to "Shooting Stars", the absolutely immense "Way Back Home".

Traditional Values

Sunday morning I was listening to a locally produced Native Americans program on the community radio station, and they played this song by the Apache flute player Andrew Vasquez. (It was a shortened version for a Putomayo compilation CD.) It's not really a song, though, it's a recitation over plaintive flute music and the sound of surf. Vasquez' words jumped out at me:I long for the days when

Traditional Values

Sunday morning I was listening to a locally produced Native Americans program on the community radio station, and they played this song by the Apache flute player Andrew Vasquez. (It was a shortened version for a Putomayo compilation CD.) It's not really a song, though, it's a recitation over plaintive flute music and the sound of surf. Vasquez' words jumped out at me:I long for the days when

British Columbia Attorney General's White Paper proposes explicit recognition of three parents

Hats off to New Jersey lawyer Bill Singer for alerting me to the article in yesterday's Vancouver Sun on an aspect of family law reform under consideration in British Columbia. While the article focuses largely on the possibility of a child having three legal parents, the White Paper released by the province's Attorney General in July, proposing a complete overall of the Family Law Act, is much

Dance, Dude, Dance

It just entered my mind that Forbes magazine published Dinesh D'Souza's piece on Barack Obama's "Kenyan anti-colonialist mindset" simply for the pleasure of watching the liberals fuss about refuting it. The President is so fit to eat with the hogs! He is not anti-colonialist! But wait -- it's good to be anti-colonialist, so he must be anti-colonialist after all! I mean ... It's an

Dance, Dude, Dance

It just entered my mind that Forbes magazine published Dinesh D'Souza's piece on Barack Obama's "Kenyan anti-colonialist mindset" simply for the pleasure of watching the liberals fuss about refuting it. The President is so fit to eat with the hogs! He is not anti-colonialist! But wait -- it's good to be anti-colonialist, so he must be anti-colonialist after all! I mean ... It's an

Catholic Chutzpah

This morning on NPR I heard Pope Rat "apologizing" for the child abuse scandal during his UK tour. He went so far as to deliver his performance in English, which you can hear in this fawning report. Now, these official apologies are seldom convincing, and they're probably not supposed to be; they are supposed to "send a message," "convey an image," and other public-relations jargon for fake

Catholic Chutzpah

This morning on NPR I heard Pope Rat "apologizing" for the child abuse scandal during his UK tour. He went so far as to deliver his performance in English, which you can hear in this fawning report. Now, these official apologies are seldom convincing, and they're probably not supposed to be; they are supposed to "send a message," "convey an image," and other public-relations jargon for fake

Har, Har, Har!

I guess that when President Obama leaves office, be it in 2013 or 2017, he can build a new career in standup comedy. Here he is wowing a $30,000-a-plate audience in Connecticut the other day:Democrats, just congenitally, tend to get -- to see the glass as half empty. (Laughter.) If we get an historic health care bill passed -- oh, well, the public option wasn't there. If you get the financial

Har, Har, Har!

I guess that when President Obama leaves office, be it in 2013 or 2017, he can build a new career in standup comedy. Here he is wowing a $30,000-a-plate audience in Connecticut the other day:Democrats, just congenitally, tend to get -- to see the glass as half empty. (Laughter.) If we get an historic health care bill passed -- oh, well, the public option wasn't there. If you get the financial

Beating the Tea Party at Their Own Game

In the past I've been drawn by such contenders as Cthulhu and Fred Nietzsche, but I've come to realize that the time for such adolescent rebellion is done. It's time to come down from Mount Disdain and support someone who's electable, a candidate with name recognition and a proven track record, someone with experience. And I think I've found him.Accept no substitutes.By the way, some Canadian

Beating the Tea Party at Their Own Game

In the past I've been drawn by such contenders as Cthulhu and Fred Nietzsche, but I've come to realize that the time for such adolescent rebellion is done. It's time to come down from Mount Disdain and support someone who's electable, a candidate with name recognition and a proven track record, someone with experience. And I think I've found him.Accept no substitutes.By the way, some Canadian

MEET ME IN THE RED SKY.

All aboard the Clare Maguire express, next stop: the stars. After what seems like an eternity, Ms. Maguire's debut single proper has finally arrived in the form of "Ain't Nobody", a dramatic stunner that showcases the Birmingham chanteuse's booming voice and knack for the epic. While it lacks the chart toppling potential possessed by some of the other Clare tracks we've heard behind closed doors,

STARS SO BRIGHT.

We won't front like we know all that much about Australia's Kimbra, but she's clearly got a good head on her shoulders, going straight for the crème de la crème of remixers when she hit up our dude Penguin Prison for a mix of her latest single "Settle Down". While the original finds Kimbra intent on settling down, Penguin's all about shaking things up on his remix, upping the BPM and breathing

Librarians at the Gates

I'm not sure what pointed me in the first place to Ed D'Angelo's Barbarians at the Gates of the Public Library: How Postmodern Consumer Capitalism Threatens Democracy, Civil Education and the Public Good (Duluth MN: Library Juice Press, 2006). An Amazon.com "recommendation", or one of their "Readers Who Liked This Item Also Liked"? A Powell's Review-a-Day? I don't remember now; no matter. It

Librarians at the Gates

I'm not sure what pointed me in the first place to Ed D'Angelo's Barbarians at the Gates of the Public Library: How Postmodern Consumer Capitalism Threatens Democracy, Civil Education and the Public Good (Duluth MN: Library Juice Press, 2006). An Amazon.com "recommendation", or one of their "Readers Who Liked This Item Also Liked"? A Powell's Review-a-Day? I don't remember now; no matter. It

Delaware court rules man who did not know his girlfriend would use his semen to get pregnant is not a legal parent

Biology is neither necessary nor sufficient to create a legal parent. A new Delaware Supreme Court case, Adams-Hall v. Adams, illustrates this point in an unusual context and gives food for lots of thought.Christine Adams-Hall and Robert Adams were in a sexual relationship. In November 2007, Christine told Robert she was pregnant with his child. She asked him for a semen sample, alleging that she

STATIC TONE ON THE PHONE.

We've been banging on about how amazing Fyfe Dangerfield's cover of Girls Aloud megahit "Call The Shots" is for quite some time, so the fact that it's taken until now to get an mp3 up on the blog is somewhat unforgivable. Fyfe played NYC a few weeks back though and fully reignited our love for the track, swiftly helping us to realize the err of our ways in sitting on this track for so long. The

From Sea to Oil-slick Sea

From my "Do I Have to Read This?" Department, it appears that Dinesh D'Souza published an article in Forbes magazine, which was picked up by Newt Gingrich, who told an interviewer from National Review Online, linked to by Steve Benen of the Washington Monthly, that Barack Obama "may follow a 'Kenyan, anti-colonial' worldview." Got all that? It's a few too many degrees of separation for my

From Sea to Oil-slick Sea

From my "Do I Have to Read This?" Department, it appears that Dinesh D'Souza published an article in Forbes magazine, which was picked up by Newt Gingrich, who told an interviewer from National Review Online, linked to by Steve Benen of the Washington Monthly, that Barack Obama "may follow a 'Kenyan, anti-colonial' worldview." Got all that? It's a few too many degrees of separation for my

The Time Is Fulfilled; or, DTMFA

"Right-wing crack whores" as a term for those who are nowadays called "conservatives." That has a certain ring to it. I like it, though I'm not sure it's fair to crack whores.On the other hand, the same site quotes Bono, of all people: "God, my friends, is with the poor and God is with us, if we are with them. This is not a burden, this is an adventure." No no noooo. "God" is no more with the

The Time Is Fulfilled; or, DTMFA

"Right-wing crack whores" as a term for those who are nowadays called "conservatives." That has a certain ring to it. I like it, though I'm not sure it's fair to crack whores.On the other hand, the same site quotes Bono, of all people: "God, my friends, is with the poor and God is with us, if we are with them. This is not a burden, this is an adventure." No no noooo. "God" is no more with the

Australian head of state Julia Gillard has an unmarried partner...and it's not a political liability

Julia Gillard has formed a government and is Australia's newly elected prime minister. She has a long-time partner, Tim Mathieson. They are not married. The Australians don't care about that. "De facto" relationships are a regular part of Australian life -- and Australian law. "De facto" partners qualify for all the same legal consequences accorded married partners. In fact, no country has

The Nurture of Nature

Some other posts are going to stay on the back burner for a while longer. In the meantime I want to quote some memorable passages from Politics and Letters, the 1979 book-length interview with the great Marxist critic Raymond Williams. I think they are still relevant and even radical, thirty years later.Take the example of the famous slogan of the mastery of nature. Of course anyone who views

The Nurture of Nature

Some other posts are going to stay on the back burner for a while longer. In the meantime I want to quote some memorable passages from Politics and Letters, the 1979 book-length interview with the great Marxist critic Raymond Williams. I think they are still relevant and even radical, thirty years later.Take the example of the famous slogan of the mastery of nature. Of course anyone who views

Revisiting My Gold Stock Buying Plan

I was wildly bullish on Gold stocks during this winter and spring. I am now in watchful

Point / Counterpoint: Slate on September 11

First, David Weigel answers one of those plaintive political questions that just beg for an ass-whuppin': "Why 9/11 Is No Longer A Day Free of Politics". Weigel (who I've learned before isn't the most trustworthy commentator) gets off to an apolitical bang by jeering atThe liberal panic of the week, now that Saturday's Quran-burning ceremony has been canceled, is the mystery-cloaked rally that

Point / Counterpoint: Slate on September 11

First, David Weigel answers one of those plaintive political questions that just beg for an ass-whuppin': "Why 9/11 Is No Longer A Day Free of Politics". Weigel (who I've learned before isn't the most trustworthy commentator) gets off to an apolitical bang by jeering atThe liberal panic of the week, now that Saturday's Quran-burning ceremony has been canceled, is the mystery-cloaked rally that

Resistance Is Futile

The Taser has become the sex toy of choice among American law enforcement officers, as shown most recently by the experience of this Marin County citizen. How exactly do you "stop resisting" when you're in convulsions from electric shock? (via Digby, via Sideshow) I'm reminded of a passage from Merle Miller's 1972 semi-autobiographical novel What Happened. The narrator recalls an anti-Fascist

Resistance Is Futile

The Taser has become the sex toy of choice among American law enforcement officers, as shown most recently by the experience of this Marin County citizen. How exactly do you "stop resisting" when you're in convulsions from electric shock? (via Digby, via Sideshow) I'm reminded of a passage from Merle Miller's 1972 semi-autobiographical novel What Happened. The narrator recalls an anti-Fascist

River Deep, Mountain High

Youtube is a trove for old people like me, looking for long-forgotten old songs. The commenters can be a pain in the ass -- I've had some acrid exchanges with vicious old farts who say, falsely, that there's no talent or ability in pop music these days. It's ironic, of course, since that was exactly what their parents said forty years ago, often attacking the same people that my fellow geezers

River Deep, Mountain High

Youtube is a trove for old people like me, looking for long-forgotten old songs. The commenters can be a pain in the ass -- I've had some acrid exchanges with vicious old farts who say, falsely, that there's no talent or ability in pop music these days. It's ironic, of course, since that was exactly what their parents said forty years ago, often attacking the same people that my fellow geezers

Sanity and Rationalism

Michael Moore just posted to his blog in support of the Cordoba Initiative, and has committed to match other people's donations up to $10,000. I made a donation myself.The first comment to Moore's post, though, just boggled my mind:Can I just point out that all religions are 'made up' - I actually believe stupidity on this scale should be made an offense and punishable by locking up in a

Sanity and Rationalism

Michael Moore just posted to his blog in support of the Cordoba Initiative, and has committed to match other people's donations up to $10,000. I made a donation myself.The first comment to Moore's post, though, just boggled my mind:Can I just point out that all religions are 'made up' - I actually believe stupidity on this scale should be made an offense and punishable by locking up in a

We're Sportsmen Through and Through

One of the downsides to living in a college town, and especially living close to the bars, is the drunks. The weekend typically begins on Wednesday night, and the bars close at 3; the least of it is the noise as people stagger back to their apartments or dorms, sometimes laughing uproariously, sometimes screaming abuse at each other. But the true surprises come on the morning after. For

We're Sportsmen Through and Through

One of the downsides to living in a college town, and especially living close to the bars, is the drunks. The weekend typically begins on Wednesday night, and the bars close at 3; the least of it is the noise as people stagger back to their apartments or dorms, sometimes laughing uproariously, sometimes screaming abuse at each other. But the true surprises come on the morning after. For

WHEN YOU'RE FEELING DOWN AND LOW.

You'd be forgiven for trying to determine the sample in The Knocks' "Make It Better" - after all, it was the first question we asked when they first played it for us - but on the real it's an original vocal from The Knocks' Mr. JPatt, just pitched up and fucked with. But the sample question came up so often they decided to go back and write a retro original track, as if it were the track they

The Full Political Gamut From A to B

A right-wing acquaintance of mine on Facebook posted a link to this blog post at the Telegraph's website. Fortunately I'm well inured by now to the absurdities of the right-wing media, or I might well have spluttered cola all over my keyboard when I read the title -- "Even America's liberal elites concede that Obama's presidency is crumbling" -- and I don't need cola in my keyboard again.The

The Full Political Gamut From A to B

A right-wing acquaintance of mine on Facebook posted a link to this blog post at the Telegraph's website. Fortunately I'm well inured by now to the absurdities of the right-wing media, or I might well have spluttered cola all over my keyboard when I read the title -- "Even America's liberal elites concede that Obama's presidency is crumbling" -- and I don't need cola in my keyboard again.The

If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands

BTCNews has this charming photo of our President, and elsewhere this suggestion for dealing with dunning e-mails from the Democratic Party.I wrote back to tell her that if she can explain to my satisfaction why the president named walking tumor Alan Simpson to head a wholly unnecessary deficit reduction commission, and why the president thinks he has the authority to assassinate US citizens on

If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands

BTCNews has this charming photo of our President, and elsewhere this suggestion for dealing with dunning e-mails from the Democratic Party.I wrote back to tell her that if she can explain to my satisfaction why the president named walking tumor Alan Simpson to head a wholly unnecessary deficit reduction commission, and why the president thinks he has the authority to assassinate US citizens on

You want to add the name of the person you live with to your deed and mortgage? Now you can.

Is an explanation of a long hiatus in blogging necessary? I took a long summer vacation and then there were all those just-getting-back-to-work efforts (and the Lavender Law conference). But it's the day after Labor Day, a traditional day for new beginnings (to be followed shortly by the Jewish New Year tomorrow night), so this is a great day to resume, and I get to do it with good news.Lambda

The Young Man on the Staircase

Ah, I feel much better now: done with My Queer War, a hundred pages into Christopher and His Kind.Maybe it's unfair to compare the two, since Isherwood was one of the great English prose writers of the twentieth century. I last read (or reread) Christopher and His Kind a quarter century ago, and I worried just a little that it wouldn't work for me now, but I'm getting enormous pleasure from it.

The Young Man on the Staircase

Ah, I feel much better now: done with My Queer War, a hundred pages into Christopher and His Kind.Maybe it's unfair to compare the two, since Isherwood was one of the great English prose writers of the twentieth century. I last read (or reread) Christopher and His Kind a quarter century ago, and I worried just a little that it wouldn't work for me now, but I'm getting enormous pleasure from it.

FOLLOWING YOUR EVERY MOVE.

The third and final installment of Russ Chimes' Midnight Club mini-film has arrived and it doesn't disappoint, wrapping things up in an epic finale soundtracked by EP highlight and next single "Targa", featuring a killer vocal from our main man Cass Lowe. The EP will be available for purchase soon, but for now revel in its accompanying mini-film directed by Saman Keshavarz, the finale of which

Deja Vu All Over Again

This chart should cause a sense of dread for all the retail investors left that are still

How Long, O Lord, How Long?

Back to my grumpy face for a moment, because I'm still slogging through the mud of James Lord's My Queer War, and I'm feeling a certain amount of cognitive dissonance here. Compare this:Japan had hardly been endeared to me by Teddy’s fate [killed by a Japanese sniper in the Pacific], and in fact even before Pearl Harbor I’d felt neither sympathy nor curiosity toward a remote and occult country,

How Long, O Lord, How Long?

Back to my grumpy face for a moment, because I'm still slogging through the mud of James Lord's My Queer War, and I'm feeling a certain amount of cognitive dissonance here. Compare this:Japan had hardly been endeared to me by Teddy’s fate [killed by a Japanese sniper in the Pacific], and in fact even before Pearl Harbor I’d felt neither sympathy nor curiosity toward a remote and occult country,

The Magician's Book

I've been giving my grumpy side free rein lately, so I figured I should write about a book I really like: Laura Miller's The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia (Little, Brown, 2008). Though, as the title makes clear, Miller's focus is on C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, the subject of the book is reading -- what it means to be a reader, how one learns to read, and the complex

The Magician's Book

I've been giving my grumpy side free rein lately, so I figured I should write about a book I really like: Laura Miller's The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia (Little, Brown, 2008). Though, as the title makes clear, Miller's focus is on C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, the subject of the book is reading -- what it means to be a reader, how one learns to read, and the complex

The Biggest Volcano Eruption Sinabung

Sinabung in Karo District, North Sumatra, erupted again on 3 September 2010. The eruption was the strongest since the mountain was first erupted on Last August 29 2010.Sinabung issued eruption of black smoke is thick. Rumbling sound and vibration sounds and feels to a radius 8 kilometer.The bursts of ash reached an altitude 3000 meters, is greater than that previously only 2000 meters.The

The Man Who Got Away

I'll probably finish reading James Lord's My Queer War (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2010), having passed the halfway point today. If I'd checked it out from a library, I probably wouldn't have gotten that far, but I bought it: partly because the subject was interesting -- the World War II experiences of a gay man of my parents' generation -- and partly because the book had received rapturous

The Man Who Got Away

I'll probably finish reading James Lord's My Queer War (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2010), having passed the halfway point today. If I'd checked it out from a library, I probably wouldn't have gotten that far, but I bought it: partly because the subject was interesting -- the World War II experiences of a gay man of my parents' generation -- and partly because the book had received rapturous

Wayang Purwa the legendary Puppet from Java

Wayang Kulit Purwa is the most popular Wayang Show in Jawa until recently. Wayang Kulit Purwa take the story from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana story. Figure Puppet Wayang that puppeteer played by a sheet made from buffalo leather (or beef) which puppet figures are carved according to the form and then disungging with colorful metaphor that reflects the character of the people.Wayang Kulit

The Destruction Was Mutual

An excellent article at Counterpunch by William Blum. Here's what he has to say about the US and Afghanistan:In their need to defend the US occupation of Afghanistan, many Americans have cited the severe oppression of women in that desperate land and would have you believe that the United States is the last great hope of those poor ladies. However, in the 1980s the United States played an

The Destruction Was Mutual

An excellent article at Counterpunch by William Blum. Here's what he has to say about the US and Afghanistan:In their need to defend the US occupation of Afghanistan, many Americans have cited the severe oppression of women in that desperate land and would have you believe that the United States is the last great hope of those poor ladies. However, in the 1980s the United States played an

Every Which Way But Wrong

I just finished reading Sara Paretsky's new novel Body Work, starring her Chicago private investigator V. I. Warshawski. Paretsky's one of the writers whose work I'll buy and read pretty much as soon as it's published, despite my occasional political disagreements with her. I bought Body Work the day it appeared in my local independent bookstore, and read it a few days later because I needed to

Every Which Way But Wrong

I just finished reading Sara Paretsky's new novel Body Work, starring her Chicago private investigator V. I. Warshawski. Paretsky's one of the writers whose work I'll buy and read pretty much as soon as it's published, despite my occasional political disagreements with her. I bought Body Work the day it appeared in my local independent bookstore, and read it a few days later because I needed to

TRYING TO FIND THE INBETWEENS.

With the release of The Naked & Famous' anthemic debut single "Young Blood" cresting over the horizon as we prepare to drop it next week, it's time to dip into the excellent remix package that's coming together around it. Earlier today Popjustice premiered the epic Sound of Arrows remix as his Song of the Day and made it available for free download on the main page, and now it's time for us to