To All of My Fellow Mormons

There has been a flurry of activity over the passage of Proposition 8 in California, as well as similar maneuvers in other states (like one in Arkansas; the vague legal rhetoric has so many loopholes it is painful to imagine).

CAVEAT: THIS BLOG POST IS SPEAKING NEITHER FOR OR AGAINST THE PASSAGE OF PROP8.  THAT IS A WHOLE DIFFERENT ISSUE.

For those who don’t know about Proposition 8 in California, here is the gist:

Proposition 8 was a California state ballot proposition that was passed at the 2008 election.  This proposition, ballot-titled “Eliminates right of same-sex couples to marry,” passed with 52% of Californian voters voting for and 48% against.  The entirey of the text to be added to the Californian state constitution reads: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

There’s been quite a bit of controversy from both camps, with everyone shouting at everyone else.

The Selection of Sarah Palin

I vlogged about it. WATCH IT HERE.

That is all.

Democracy Is a Fragile Thing

(FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE READ WHAT I HAVE WRITTEN ELSEWHERE, THIS MAY BE OLD NEWS)

I’m going to start by acknowledging that we in the USA don’t live in a democracy, and that our government is really a republic, not a democracy.

Now I’m going to use the word Democracy a whole lot to describe our government. Let’s just swallow that word for this conversation.

We, as Americans, have experienced something of a miracle: a 200-year-old mega-power of a nation that has been a democracy since day one (since Independence, at least). This is a feat that is completely unique in the world: no nation can boast such a thing.

LINK DUMP MONDAY: FLASH GAMES

It’s that time again.  Link Dump Monday!

With the heat back in action (at least in the St. Louis area, which is where I live), my mind wants a distraction and my body wants to stay in the air-conditioned environment.  So, what better to do this week than to waste your time on flippant games online?

This link dump will focus on free, fun flash games (flash is a type of programming) you can play online.

Marriage For My Generation

“Your generation is so scared of marriage.”

I was sitting in a tapas place when my Mom said this to me.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“You all want to wait to get married, even when you love that other person.  Just do it.”

I found this an incredibly interesting comment coming from a woman who divorced her first husband.  As I sat and talked with her, I realized that all but two or three of my aunts and uncles have divorced.  I thought about how both sets of my grandparents either divorced or separated.  I thought of my numerous friends whose parents and grandparents had been divorced.  And then I agreed with my mother.

LINK DUMP MONDAY

I’m going to start doing a link dump each Monday.  My hope is to just share cool stuff I find on the internet.  Stuff that piques my fancy.  You know.

This first week will focus mostly on bizarre stuff.  This is all weird internet culture material.  Enjoy!

Word Arsenal

So, I regularly visit the folks over at Confessions of a Seminarian.  It’s a cool blog, and they are a very respectful, calm group of people who are interested in discussing Christianity evenly and with grace.  As a hardcore agnostic, I am happy to have this conversation with such a cool group of people.

But sometimes the writers over there get a little nuts with the vocabulary.  I admit that I will whip out some pretty bullshit modes of talking (I once told someone asking about the theatre company I run: “it’s sort of a neo-brechtian attempt at modifying the congealed paradigms of theatre as a living, breathing organism”), those guys can get downright crazy!  And sometimes I feel like I’m reading satire on scholarly elites, when they are, in fact, real people.

Today I Quit My Job

Today I quit my job at _____.  _____ is a state-wide non-profit organization dedicated to providing transportation for transportation-disadvantaged Missourians so they can live more independently in their own communities.  Most of the work we do is for necessary medical appointments and essential shopping.

For the past eleven months, I have been the Regional Coordinator for the East Area at _____.  I have been given a wide variety of names: administrative assistant, assistant regional director, assistant to the regional director, assistant director, administrative assistant, Pam’s personal assistant, and (my favorite) Big Thinker.

Misery Loves Company

Apparently I’m a poet.

I’ll be reading 10 or 12 minutes’ worth of spoken word at Novak’s Bar and Grill in the Grove (St. Louis) this coming Monday (August 11).

Take Back the Streets

Art Crimes?

I know I am inclined toward shouting “REVOLUTION!” and running with a flag of Che Guevara.  I know I am an activist.  I know I would throw a molotov cocktail if the cause interested me.  I consider myself a guerrilla.

And that is why things like THIS interest me.  I have a few pet projects of my own (projects I will share as they develop), but street art really gets me fired up, and I was surprised recently to learn that this is a hot topic for many city-dwellers.  Somewhere along the way, I just assumed that others found this street art to be as powerful and exciting as I do.  I have since learned that this is not true.