Life from the Bottom Left Hand Corner

WARNING: Prolonged babble, proceed at your own risk

"Oh brave new world that hath such people in it" Shakespeare/The Tempest

That quotation came to mind as I was chatting with a gay friend of mine. He was regaling me with the story of his latest 'date' with a good friend who happens to be a straight man. It was evident that they almost completely lack the classic gay/straight friction that often exists between men. In fact, my gay friend has voiced his attraction to his straight buddy (but has never tried to 'get to second base') and again there appears to be little or no friction between them as a result. On the same day another recent acquaintance was relating his joy at the ease with which his 3 young sons accepted his partner and their gay friends.  And with the acceptance as normal that a gay couple should be proud parents.

All of which drove me to ruminate on the slow but seemingly steady march of our society at the grassroots level towards a normalization of relations between gay and straight factions. Will there be nary a gasp in our near future when The New NEW Dick Van Dyke Show will have Rob greet Larry with a big smooch as their son Richie runs around screaming 'Daddies! Daddies!'? Will the resurrection (and you know there will be one) of Will and Grace finally reveal with a collective societal yawn that Will and Jack and Karen and Grace have always been same sex couples?  And what fallout will ripple through US society as a result?  We tend to think in the short term, gay marriage, secure partner benefits, and the rest that defines true equality.  Of course there are countries that are well ahead of these States United, but the dynamic here will be no doubt different.  Our puritan roots are not so deeply buried that they will not surface.  But what of the long view?

Will we become a divided nation?  Some states legalizing gay coupling while others staunchly holding to (suppressing my rising bile) traditional values?  Will there be red states, blue states, and pink states as gays gravitate towards the more liberal corners of our nation?  Will gay politics become a force for and against change much like organizations like the NRA and the Religious Right? 

Is today's gay community ready to take on a role akin to this nation's founding fathers (ooooh Daddy!)?  Or are we too busy chasing the musclebear that's just wandered past our gaze?  Our individual participation in the direction that our nation's future pursues should be on our minds.  Interesting, no?

But for me, I'm off to watch the latest Simpsons and learn if this once brilliant show is continuing its steady decline.

Note:  Minimal spoilers

( Crystal Skull )

After years of procrastination, I'm considering purchasing my first digital SLR (I've owned 35mm SLRs and less sophisticated digital cameras to date).  One recommended option is the Canon EOS 40D.

Any suggestions from the more digitally savvy out there?

Little things can give me a satisfied geeky smile sometimes. 

Saw a TV program I wanted to record which began before I could get home.  So, I logged onto the satellite TV company's website while at work (yeah, so I cheated my employer out of a few minutes), picked the show from the listings, clicked "Record".  And bingo (somewhat to my surprise), it worked! 

Gotta love it when geeky stuff functions as advertised.

Now if only the show hadn't sucked...

Checklist to determine if the car you've just driven is deserving of 'hyperdrive' status:

Sufficiently exclusive so that you'll never find one on every street corner... check

Effortlessly capable of delivering single digit fuel economy... check

Under 5 seconds from standing start to over 60 MPH... check

Over 450 horsepower and over 500 foot pounds of torque... check

Ability to produce smoking rear tires when accelerator is floored... check

Demands that you be independently wealthy to perform required maintenance... check

Dowdy appearance that will fool the police, until they realize how fast you were going... check

Knob and button ratio so high that tuning the radio requires 5 minutes of study... check

Capable of going so fast that they'll throw away the jail cell key... check

Absolutely no practical or environmentally responsible reason to have it in your garage... check

( And the winner is... )

Well, not exactly home.  Actually, not even close to home.  And not even San Diego home.  But Seattle at the home of best friend Todd and his partner, Jayson.  Which is home-alternate.  Where the sweet pooch and cat kept me company most nights.  So yes, I did sleep with furry warm blooded creatures.

Seattle, where hunky bearded men seem to be everywhere.  Seattle, where gray skies and rain are the norm (but this year the shiny yellow thing called 'sun' appeared from time to time as well.  Seattle, where it did indeed snow on Christmas day.  Big white slushy flakes which melted almost immediately but snow just the same.

Meanwhile, in San Diego, the big holiday was greeted by 65 degree temperatures and blowing dust storms.

Seattle, where the distance between coffee shops is less than a tall latte.  Seattle, where (unlike coffee emporiums) chain foodage outlets are a rarity and terrific, distinctive restaurants abound.

Seattle, where I had a very special, very 'family' holiday.  And hope that you all had the same.

A few minutes ago I learned that the partner of an acquaintance of mine from Palm Springs had passed away in mid November.  That makes three counting poohbearjim who I knew much less than I should have and jamesbeary who I'd met at a bear run yet never taken the time to get to know.  All good people who's departure diminishes our world just a bit.

As I've grown older, losing those I've known has become a more and more frequent occurrence.  Not that this is unique by any stretch of the imagination.  Death and loss are part of the cycle of life.  Not being particularly religious (hell, I'm not at all religious), I find myself pondering how to face the grim reaper that will come for us all.

I mourn for the loss of these good people.  I mourn for the suffering of their families and those that were close.

I am reminded of all of those that I have lost who were close to me.

I celebrate their lives.  I try to remember all of the good that they brought into people's lives.  I believe that this celebration of the good should be their legacy.  And my own (if I'm lucky) when my time comes.

Celebrate.