Purr Purr pays tribute to Alfred Hitchcock.
If we told our partners everything that’s wrong with us on the first date, I guess we’d all be single for life. There are some things you simply don’t sign up for when you commit to someone.
Let me start with some background on this story. I have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). When I was diagnosed with it 11 years ago, most people didn’t even know what IBS was. Thankfully the public has become much more educated about it now, and most people now realize it’s a legitimate health problem.
Basically my digestive system does not always function correctly. Aside from having to make unexpected runs to the nearest toilet, I also suffer from episodes of very sharp, intense pain in my stomach, breaking out into cold sweats, dizziness, and sometimes I can hardly stand up.
To keep these episodes to a minimum, I eat a very strict and boring diet. I can’t have any caffeine. Nothing with spices in it. No onions, very little garlic. Nothing ethnic. No red meat. Limited dairy. Limited fried foods. The list goes on…
If I follow doctor’s orders, I do pretty well. But sometimes, like tonight, IBS rears its ugly head and I get really sick.
When I get sick, I get scared. The dizziness and cold sweat makes me afraid I’ll pass out. I feel just miserable and have to sit in the bathroom, doing you know what. And I shake and hyperventilate with a wet rag on my forehead (which seems to calm me).
The sweet part is Rodney. He stands outside the door, just in case I need him. He’ll stand there and endure any embarrassing sounds or smells, just because he loves me and doesn’t want me to suffer alone.
I really appreciate it. I guess loving me isn’t very glamorous. But he’s special and he’s there when I need him.
I bet when we exchanged rings, he didn’t think he’d have to suffer through that the rest of his life, now did he?
One in five Americans suffer with IBS. That’s a whole lot of significant others holding their noses. 
The great thing about having a blog is that you get the opportunity to talk about your feelings and opinions. I always feel better after I write about something.
Two recent posts, When Did We Stop Being Immigrants? and Manhunt.net Controversy have really struck a chord with readers.
People are passionate about how they feel… and I like it.
I like hearing what you think about things. So what’s on your mind today? Anything in the news you have an opinion about? Anything in your life that’s bugging you? Anything coming up that you’re really excited about?
Tell me all about it in the comments. I want to hear about you.
24 hours ago I decided it would be really cool to do a new version of this website with a grunge theme. It’s so out of my element. My design is always very clean cut lines, uncluttered, bright colors.
12 hours ago I took a photo and composed it to look like I was holding the blog content with my hands and looking down at the posts.
1 hour ago I stared at my screen in horror, realizing people could mistakenly think I just had my eyes closed rather than thinking I was looking downward at the blog content.
Fuck.
What’s the verdict, readers? When you look at this, do you get it that I’m looking down at the blog posts, or does it just look like I’m sleepwalking?
UPDATE: After really studying it, I figured out what was causing the “sleepy eyes”. When I turned up the contrast on the photo, the color in my eye blended together with my eyelashes, giving it the appearance of one big black spot.
I swapped it out with a different one, which I think looks much more obvious that I’m looking down at the content. Please let me know what you think. Thanks.
You can call me crazy, call me greedy, call me selfish. But I want more from a President.
I want a President who will say “I support gay marriage.”
And I’m a bit disappointed that it will be at least 2012 before the opportunity arises to hear that.
During tonight’s debate with Obama and McCain, they both expressed their belief that “marriage is between a man and a woman.” (I hate that phrase, it makes me sick to my stomach.)
This is nothing new. Both candidates have been very open about this, so there were no surprises.
But it just bugs me that Obama won’t support it. To his credit, he does support gay couples having the same rights as straight couples. And if states choose to legalize gay marriage, he will not fight it and he will not try to ban it. So at least that’s a positive thing.
I just can’t help wanting a little bit more. I want someone to have the balls to stand up there and say “Hey, all gay people should be able to get married.”
I recall a statement Ellen Degeneres made earlier this year when interviewing McCain. I don’t have the exact quote, but she said something along the lines of “Even though we’re both Americans, it feels like I’m on one side of the room and you’re on the other, and you’re saying I can’t come over to your side. It feels like you’re singling me out and won’t let me have all the rights you have. It just doesn’t seem fair.”
Again, that’s not a direct quote. But that’s exactly how I feel. It seems I pay the same taxes and follow the same laws, yet I can’t have everything America offers.
That’s just my rant. I want more, and that’s all there is to it. But I do believe Obama is a step in the right direction and I guess I’m just going to have to muster up some more patience for other people’s shortcomings.
One of the subjects that I found interesting in school was history class. It was fascinating to learn about the early history of the U.S. and how brave explorers ventured their way here to what is often referred to as “the land of opportunity.”
I’m assuming people paid attention during history class. I hope they did, because if they did, they would know that we’re all immigrants here. Native Americans were actually here first, and we white people kind of just came in and took over.
So chances are good that you’re the descendant of an immigrant if you live in America.
What boggles me is all the fuss about our friends down south. Right now, a $157 million dollar fence is being built in San Diego. Hmmm… $157 Million?
I can’t help but wonder if there is a better use for that money. Instead of trying to keep people out, what if we worked together to help them get in? With legal status, of course.
I don’t condone illegal trespassing in any country. I understand that there are rules and regulations for the safety of everyone. But we seem so hellbent on keeping people out, I feel as though we’ve forgotten that we are all immigrants. Whatever happened to the American Dream?
I truly believe illegal immigrants want to gain legal status. They want to come here and work, and pursue their happiness. The truth is, it is very expensive to gain citizenship in America, and I don’t feel like it should be. Why is it all about the money? Why isn’t $157 Million taken to help people who can’t afford it?
I just think it’s a bit backwards. I’ve had some really heated debates with people in Tennessee about this subject. White people, of course, who think they are somehow higher and mightier than people from Mexico.
And I don’t want to hear any bullshit about them taking our jobs. I see foreigners doing stuff we feel we’re too good to do… like cleaning toilets and mowing lawns… You know, breaking a sweat. I don’t see that many Mexicans sitting in an air-conditioned office with their nice, big leather chair. So don’t even try that argument with me. Most foreigners work twice as hard as we ever will, for about half the pay.
And hey buddy, you’re an immigrant too. We need to remember our roots, and embrace others who want to achieve the same equality and opportunities that we have access to.
Instead of building walls, let’s build bridges.
Should you lose your spot as chairman of a company for your personal political beliefs?
Jonathan Crutchley, co-founder of gay hook-up site Manhunt.net, made a $2,300 contribution to John McCain’s presidential campaign, the maximum allowed. Although the transaction took place last March, it has just now come to light. Following a shit storm of controversy from the gay community, Jonathan has stepped down from the board for his actions.
It’s clearly a very sensitive subject for the gay community. The Republican party has taken great measures to make gay rights a wedge issue for their party. Showing any amount of support for a Republican candidate these days is considered the ultimate blasphemy in most gay social circles.
But some gay people still choose to support McCain, and the Republican party in general. Although they may not agree with McCain’s views on gay equality, some do agree with his other policies, and therefore have chosen to throw their support his way.
So should Jonathan Cruthley be able to support who he wants? Well, technically, of course he can. That’s one of the perks of being an American. HOWEVER, Manhunt.net is funded directly by the gay community. It’s most likely that that $2,300 contribution came right out of the pockets of gay men… more specifically horny gay men cruising for sex.
Critics also claim that Manhunt.net brings in $2.4 Million per month, making it one of the most lucrative gay websites in history. They go on to say Manhunt.net has given very little money at all to gay related non-profit groups that support equality, as well as safe sex education and treatment for HIV/AIDS. So how can someone donate the maximum amount to a Republican candidate, but give very little at all to organizations that directly support our community?
I guess the bottom line is that it’s Cruthley’s choice, and he can do whatever he wants with the money. I’m personally not very upset with it. Do I think it’s poor judgment? Yes. I strongly disagree with McCain’s policies, and even if he supported gay rights, I still wouldn’t vote for him because I think he’s all wrong about his foreign policies and ties to the oil companies.
So I don’t really think he should have stepped down. I should note that stepping down will not make him stop supporting McCain. But on the other hand, I do see where it would be very upsetting to the gay community if he stayed, and it would no doubt have cost the company to lose most of its customers if he hadn’t stepped down.
What are your thoughts?
Things have been a bit um… weird.
A few weeks ago, I had a situation that I really couldn’t explain, but felt I had been touched on my face by the hand of an elderly woman one evening. Several days later, I had a dream about a man shooting innocent victims, and a few hours later, a man actually did in a Tennessee church.
Freaky? Yes.
Now I’ve been waking up at 3:33 on the dot, every single night. Sometimes, like tonight, I haven’t went to bed yet, but I still look at a clock right at 3:33.
I’ve done some research, and just can’t get a straight answer.
Some people believe that a series of numbers is an angel’s way of comforting you. This is usually referred to as 11:11, because that’s the most common. But it can be any series of numbers. I wrote about that last year when I started seeing 11:11 all the time.
But now the 3:33 is happening and it freaks me out.
I’ve finally concluded that the elderly woman was my guardian angel. 3:33 is the time of night that she comes to me and tells me she’s there with me.
And as I’m writing this, it’s 3:54 and one of our cats, Purr Purr, is just standing in the doorway staring at me like there is someone next to me. Wild. I don’t see anybody but my hairs are standing on end.
Now if you want to go down a darker path, there are people who believe 3:33 is a satanic warning and claim you’re about to be possessed by evil. But I won’t go there. I’m not sure if I believe there is a devil. I do believe in God, and guardian angels, but oddly enough I’m not sure if I believe there is a devil.
What purpose would he serve? I think all humans are imperfect, and as imperfect creatures, we are capable of some good, some bad. We’re a combination of both and I don’t believe anybody is 100% of either. So why have a devil when nobody is truly evil?
Well, this is getting deep. Point being, something interesting is going on. I don’t know what, but I’m remaining aware. There are so many subtle things in our daily life if we just remain aware.
Almost a year ago, I wrote the post Geek Speak with Eudora, discussing news that the Eudora e-mail program was going to be re-built using code from Mozilla’s Thunderbird program.
I was really excited about the news because I used to love Eudora back in the day. And Thunderbird is a painfully under appreciated piece of work. It has many great and useful features, all for free. So the possibility of Eudora combined with Thunderbird sounded perfect.
Well it doesn’t look like much has happened since then with the project. BUT… right around that time, it was announced that Thunderbird was no longer going to be developed. Sad news. It was unfortunate that Thunderbird had not gained the same momentum that Firefox did.
In 2008, Thunderbird was given new life when Mozilla announced the Mozilla Messaging project. They now have a team giving Thunderbird the care and attention that it deserves. Their goal is to re-think e-mail programs in the same way they re-thought the browsing experience with Firefox. I really think it’s going to stick this time.
I’ve been using developer versions of Thunderbird 3 for a few months now, and I’m in love. It is my favorite e-mail program. Lightweight and fast loading, but also robust and full of great features. I discover something new it can do almost daily.
Like Firefox 3, Thunderbird 3 now matches the look of your operating system. The search engine is lightning fast (something Thunderbird 2 was really weak with). It also has tabbed browsing, which has mysteriously stopped working in the latest release, but I’m sure it’s a bug they are working on. When you’re using test versions of a program, expect bugs.
Point being, Thunderbird 3 has won me over in the features department, and I know the final release will be even better. I’m happy that Thunderbird isn’t dead after all. Maybe someday it will make a dent in the e-mail market the way Firefox has in the browser market.
What could be cuter than a puppy whistling?
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