The alphabet meme: N

is for number of piercings you have: Zero. I'd love to get my ears pierced, but it would totally freak-out my wife.

Plat du jour

I really don't think I want him operating on me.

The alphabet meme: M

is for your favorite muppet: I'm so old, I did not grow up with Sesame Street--I was already in college when it debuted. I remember, if only vaguely, seeing Rowlf the Dog on the Jimmy Dean show when I was in high school. I never watched The Muppet Show very much.

So the amount of my contact with the Muppets is way, way under average. But from the little I've seen, I think I like Kermit the best. I'll always remember his little shudder when someone mentioned eating frogs' legs.

Williams v Williams in the Wimbledon final--UGH!

I've said it before, when Venus and Serena Williams play each other it's a lousy match. As with sibling against sibling in general, they don't play their best--it's hard to go all out against someone you love.

The alphabet meme: L

is for last restaurant you dined at:
(Shouldn't this be "R"?)
Trattoria Spaghetto in Greenwich Village. This was the suggestion of my friend, Cleopatra Queen of Denile, when we went out last Thursday. The food is decent, and reasonably priced. The service is fair, at least if you sit inside.

TG for Obama

In just 2 days we have already surpassed our initial goal of 50 Obama contributors on the transpeople and allies page. Now we're aiming for 75. Even if you can only donate $5 or $10, please give. The number of supporters donating through this page is important to show the Obama campaign, and all politicians, that the transgender community is involved in politics and can't be ignored.

Click on: http://www.actblue.com/page/trans

Thanks.

The alphabet meme: K

is for what you'd like to kick: "Kick" has two very different meanings--the original, "to strike with one's foot," and the more modern, "to give up," especially a bad habit or addiction. Since I don't have any habits or addictions that I'd like to give up, I guess I'll have go with the first definition. Except I can't think of anything I'd like to strike with my foot. So I'm going cheat a little and use a verb phrase.

I'd like to kick the Republicans out of power.

Plat du jour

The alphabet meme: J

is for favorite juice: None. Not worth the calories.

Living with bears XL

New Jersey: Bear Tranquilized After Causing Disruption Near Paramus High School

Canada: Birdseed-loving black bear goes pine high for a feast, Fur flies over Whistler bear birth control

Pennsylvania: Home cooking lures bear to trap in Fayette, Woman recovering from bear attack

Michigan: Bear captured in Fruitport Twp.

New York: Bad news: bear had a record

Romania: Bear and her cub climb stairs of block of flats in search for food

Wyoming: Officials trap bear on Casper Mountain

India: Five schoolgirls mauled by bear

North Carolina: Official says shooting of bear was justifiable

Support Obama AND transgender rights

Dear Fellow Transgender Advocate,

This year we have an opportunity to elect a President who will be the most transgender-supportive in history.

But electing a candidate isn't enough just by itself. Unless we're visibly and vocally involved with campaigns and giving our time, energy, money, and ideas we will miss out on an opportunity to create a relationship with a President who has already said he's willing to stand with us. That is why we are asking you to join with us in supporting Barack Obama.

We've set up a specific page to track donations from the transgender community and our allies to Sen. Obama's campaign. You can donate by clicking here:

http://www.actblue.com/page/trans

In both the United States and Illinois Senate, Barack Obama has a long commitment to supporting the LGBT community—and specifically the transgender community. Most recently, here is what he said when issuing his statement on Pride month:

"It's time to live up to our founding promise of equality by treating all our citizens with dignity and respect. Let's enact federal civil rights legislation to outlaw hate crimes and protect workers against discrimination based upon sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. . .

"We are ready to accomplish these goals because of the courage and persistence of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people who have been working every day to achieve equal rights. The gay couple who demand equal treatment in our family laws as they raise their children; the lesbian soldier who wants nothing more than to serve her country openly and honestly; the transgender workers who ask for the simple dignity of being judged by the quality of their work. Generations of LGBT Americans, at once ordinary and extraordinary, have made possible this moment in our history. With leadership and hard work, we can fulfill the promise of equality for all."

--Sen. Barack Obama
June 6, 2008

Fully inclusive hate crime protections, fully inclusive employment non-discrimination, and a fully inclusive vision of the American family; these are the values we can have in our next President.

But he can't win—and our community won't advance—without your support.

We're encouraging you to give today to Barack Obama for President at a special fundraising page that will track the impact of the transgender community and our allies on the election.

http://www.actblue.com/page/trans

This page, launched in conjunction with Stonewall Democrats, will track donations to the Obama campaign from the transgender community and our allies. The money raised on the page will go directly to Sen. Obama's campaign.

We've set a very modest starting goal of 50 donors. Can you be one of those 50? [Update: we've gotten 50, and are going for 75.] Can you promote this page on your blog? Can you help spread the word and email your friends and family?

http://www.actblue.com/page/trans


This election is too important to sit on the sidelines. Let's elect a pro-equality Democrat and help build power for our community.

Sincerely,

Marti Abernathy
Karen Bachman
Pam Barres
Caprice Bellefleur
Dana Beyer
Laura Calvo
Carrie Davis
D'Angelo Johnson
Julie Johnson
Eden Lane
Lisa Mottet
Rev. Elijah C. Nealy
Donna Rose
Diego Sanchez
Lisa Scheps
Amanda Simpson
Barbra "Babs" Casbar Siperstein
Melissa Sklarz
Lynn Walker
Jill Weiss
Jaan Williams

UPDATE: We've achieved our initial goal of 50 donors. Now we're aiming for 75. Please help. Even a $5 or $10 gift will add to the cause.

The alphabet meme: I

is for instruments played: None. I have no musical talent whatsoever. I tried the drum when I was in elementary school, and had a few piano lessons when I was in high school, but basically I'm hopeless.

Plat du jour--guest submission

A friend found this one.

The alphabet meme: H

is for hometown: Cleveland Heights, Ohio. I escaped over 40 years ago. It was a pretty good place to grow up in, at least back then. But I wanted to get away from being treated like a child, which my parents pretty much did, at least until my senior year of high school. And Cleveland was a rather dull city in the 60's.

My brother now owns the house we grew up in. He bought it from my mother's estate. My mother inherited it from her father, who bought it in 1945.

My week in review

Sunday: My wife and I watched the first episode of Inspector Lewis from Masterpiece Mystery! Detective Sergeant Lewis from Inspector Morse gets a promotion and his own series in this spin-off. Pretty good, though as a character Lewis is not nearly as deep as Morse was, at least so far.

Tuesday: I started at Mayor Bloomberg's Pride Celebration at Gracie Mansion, the NYC mayor's official residence. (Bloomberg doesn't actually live in the mansion though. He prefers his own townhouse--it's nice being a multi-billionaire.) I got there late, and by the time I got through security (when I set off the metal detector I just said I was wearing a corset, and they allowed me in), Bloomberg had already finished his speech. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn was making her remarks. Then the mayor introduced a short talk by designer Isaac Mizrahi, who said a psychic had told him the love of his life was named Eric--so he would go into gay bars and call out "Eric!" to see who turned around. Finally they played a little "Match Game" take-off with three members of the audience. It was pretty stupid.

After the program I just mingled and had a couple small cups of wine and lots of the salads provided, avoiding the make-up destroying hamburgers, hotdogs and chicken. (A fork is a crossdresser's best friend at mealtime.) There were probably 15 or 20 people there I knew and said hello to.

After that I went downtown (via bus and subway) to another Yetta Kurland for City Council fundraiser. I got some good aerobic exercise climbing the stairs to Tom Shevlin's fifth floor apartment. But it was lots of fun--each one of these Kurland fundraisers is more fun than the previous. This campaign is attracting a lot of interesting people.

Thursday: My friend Cleopatra Queen of Denile and I started with an off-off-Broadway musical, written and performed by the daughter of Mariette Pathy Allen, who has photographed two books of transgender people. Julia Steele Allen's "A Boy Called Noise" is about the murder of a gay teenager. This was originally(?) produced in the 2006 San Fransisco Fringe Festival. Allen is a very good actress, but I found her writing to be a bit lacking.

We the went down to the Village for some dinner, and Sweetie's show at the Stonewall. However, the show was cancelled (the Stonewall manager told us Sweetie's father had died). So we went up to the Zipper Theater for "Don't Quit Your Night Job." It was the second anniversary of the Broadway-oriented comedy/improvisational show, though it was my first time. (It starts at 11:30, so the Broadway performers can be there.) It was a lot of fun. They get some big name Broadway performers as guests: I got to see Kelli O'Hara from South Pacific and Mary Poppins herself: Ashley Brown. They used O'Hara (whom I had heard in "Light in the Piazza") in the spot where a great voiced Broadway star sings some very mundane lyrics--O'Hara lent her beautiful soprano to subway announcements, prescription medicine instructions, and a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. Later it was Brown's turn. However, prior to her entrance the show host fielded audience suggestions to questions like: "Give me a verb," "Give me a liquid," "Give me a familiar place." These were inserted into Brown's lyric. So we got to hear her sing "A spoonful of semen helps the medicine go down," etc. I'm looking forward to seeing this show again, when it resumes in the fall.

Saturday: My wife and I watched the Metropolitan Opera production of Donizetti's "La Fille du Régiment" which we had DVR'd. It was a wonderful performance. Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez were marveleous--Flórez makes such a handsome leading man, aside from being an extraordinary singer (what high C's!). Dessay can also sing beautifully--while simultaneously being a great comic actress. The only slightly detracting aspect was the slightly muddled production. It seemed to be set in the 1930's, judging by the costumes and (altered) dialogue. But I can't say I remember France invading Switzerland in that time period.