An easy one for the Badgers

Wisconsin won its first game in the Big Ten tournament with a 51-34 win over Michigan. They scored the first 10 points, and never trailed--which means they've been ahead about the last 150 minutes they've played. It didn't matter that their top scorer, Brian Butch, got in foul trouble early, and ended up with only one point.

Fortunately, Michigan wasn't able to take advantage of that, or of some rather sloppy ball-handling and poor shooting by the Badgers. The Wisconsin defense was up to the task--Michigan's 34 points was by far the lowest by any team ever in the decade-or-so old Big Ten tournament. Michael Flowers got some pay-back against Wolverine star Manny Harris, who had burned him for 26? points in a game earlier in the season, and perhaps preventing Flowers from being named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Flowers guarded him super-close, and Harris managed just 4 points this time.

It was good to see Tanner Bronson, who worked his way up from team manager, get into the game in the last minute and end up on the scorecard with a free-throw. I wonder if Butch will get any ribbing for only being able to equal the point output of a bench-warmer.

Next up for Wisconsin, the winner of the Michigan State-Ohio State game, tomorrow afternoon.

Republican corruption knows no bounds

Over the last few years we've seen Republican after Republican get bounced out of office (and frequently thrown into jail) for bribery and other misdeeds, usually betraying the public trust (not that there haven't been a few Democrats in the same boat, the latest and biggest example being Gov. Spitzer). But now we have Chris Ward, a Republican who is alleged to have stolen huge sums from his own party. They gave this guy sole control over $400 million dollars over the last 5 years, and it is alleged that some of this money found its way into his personal and business accounts.

What really gets me is that if he's 39 years old now, then he was 35 when he became treasurer of this organization. Yet they said he had handled their finances for many years previously. Did he start when he was in college? High school?

I think this, and all the other corrupt Republicans that have been exposed in the last few years, shows that the Republicans are totally incapable of judging someone's character.

I also just love that this money won't be available to help Republican candidates get elected.

Plat du jour

Love to roll? Love Derol? or Daryl? Love something else? I dunno.

I never know when to give up

I see I've gone over 1,000 posts on this blog! This is number 1,002.

Sometimes I amaze even myself.

Another Denny's warning

This is my second warning about how dangerous Denny's is: Brooklyn Man Charged with Fatal Knifing in Upstate N.Y. Fight

(The first warning.)

Semi-random thoughts

● There's a marketing genius out there in Oregon: Clinic: Have Vasectomy, Watch NCAA Hoops

● It seems Myspace "new" friends aren't new forever. Mine were recently reset.

● I sure hope Gov. Spitzer's political meltdown doesn't screw up our chances of passing the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA).

Living with bears XXXVII

It's been months since I did one of these. Of course, the bears have been hibernating. Here's the round-up from February:

Nevada: IVGID, county find bear solutions

Canada: There's a bear in there, Nuisance bear calls topped 1,400

Colorado: Boulder Offering Bear-Proof Garbage Cans

Georgia: A bear-human story with happy ending

Massachusetts: Police offer advice on black bear encounters, Un-bear-ably cute

Wisconsin, Big Ten champions!

Wisconsin's men's basketball team won the Big Ten season championship this afternoon, with an easy victory over Northwestern, the league's last place team. They won the title outright. Only two losses, both to Purdue, marred their conference record.

When I attended UW, back in the dark ages, being regular season champions would have given them an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament (not that they ever had a competitive team back then). But about 10 years ago a post-season conference tournament was added, so now they'll have to win three more games, on three consecutive days, to get in automatically.

Not that they have to worry about getting in, anyway--they're ranked tenth in the nation, having won 26 of their 30 games. So even if they should lose in the Big Ten tournament (perish the thought), they will certainly be picked for an at-large berth. But winning the conference tournament on top of the regular season championship might get them a #2 seed in the "Big Dance," as the NCAA tournament is called.

Unlike last year, the Badgers are all healthy, so I'm hoping for a much better post-season (they lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament, with their center, Brian Butch, out with an injured elbow). Friday is the Badgers' first game, which I can watch from the comfort of my own home. ESPN will be carrying it, so I won't have to go to the bar to watch it, also unlike last year.

Plat du jour

Weiner pandering to the Yankee fans

It's really sad the way politicians suck up to sports stars, and their fans. First we had Congress members fawning over Roger Clemens before he testified to their committee--while their staffers were perhaps violating the law getting his autograph. That was bad enough.

Now Rep. Anthony Weiner, the Queens Democrat preparing to run for mayor of New York City next year, is asking the FBI to drop its probe of Clemens' allegedly false testimony. His reasons are that:

1) Clemens has already suffered enough.
2) The FBI has more important things to do.
3) Congress shouldn't have been involved in the first place--the professional sports leagues should handle steroid use by the athletes.

Weiner is wrong, wrong, wrong.

1) Clemens hasn't begun to suffer enough, for the exact same reasons I noted in the Marion Jones case.
2) Nobody should ever think they can get away with lying to Congress.
3) The professional sports leagues (and the athletes' unions) are the last people I'd trust to keep athletes from using performance-enhancing drugs. They know that the fans want to see their teams win, and most want to see records being broken, and few care how it's done.

What Weiner is doing is simply pandering to Clemens' fans, of which there are many in New York, since Clemens played for the Yankees. He's looking for votes in an extremely difficult constituency for him--he's a Mets fan, and Yankees fans generally hate the Mets, and their fans.

I don't think I'm going to be voting for Weiner.

Now I know we're in a recession

Last week I semi-joked that we're already in a recession. Then Warren Buffett agreed. Now I've found hard evidence: Job Discrimination Complaints Jump. When employers start dumping people, the first ones to go are the ones that are "different"--minorities and women, and ones that tend to be more expensive--older workers and the disabled. When discrimination claims go up it's a good sign the economy is going down.

Plat du jour

On a beautifully restored Chevy.

New template

Someone on the myHusbandBetty message boards said she noticed a correlation between misogynistic postings and pink backgrounds on crossdressers' blogs. While I don't think I have ever been guilty of any misogyny here, I don't want anyone to be misled--so I've changed my blog's template.

I've tweaked it a little, but there are some more things I'd like to do. I wish I could figure out how to decrease the size of the borders, so the main column (now white) would be wider.

Likewise, Wendy's

Another addition to my list of dangerous places to avoid.
Fireman, Gunman Dead in Wendy's Shooting

Plat du jour

A snowbird--back in NY a bit early, perhaps.

Talking back at the headlines

The Associated Press "Top News" at 11:39am:

• Bush: US Is Not Headed Into Recession
He's right--we're already there.

• Bernanke Says It's Not As Bad As in '70s
Yet.

• Al-Maliki: Iraqis Are Reconciling
They're all reconciled to keep fighting.

• Kenya's Rival Politicians Sign Deal
Any bets on how long that will last?

• Economy Slows to Near Crawl
See the first headline.

• Cribs Recalled for Faulty Railing
What is the matter with these manufacturers? This isn't rocket science.

• Harvard Scholars to Explore Net Safety
Maybe they should be studying crib safety.

• Car-Building Legend Boyd Coddington Dies
Who?

Maybe they should reconsider the route

There's going to be a Vegetarian Pride Parade in NYC in May. It starts in Greenwich Village's Meatpacking District.

McCain seems surprised his backer was indicted

Last August I posted how the Republicans had yet another congressman intending to leave office under suspicion of illegal activities. Yesterday the hammer fell, and Rep. Rick Renzi was indicted. What was interesting to me was McCain's reaction--he seemed surprised at the whole thing. Didn't he know that the co-chair of his campaign in his home state of Arizona was under investigation? He knew Renzi well enough to know how many children he has. Wasn't there anyone on McCain's staff smart enough to tell him that having Renzi as a state leader of his campaign wasn't a good idea? Or maybe there just wasn't anyone on McCain's staff brave enough to risk angering him.

Weird websearch of the day

lolita nude beach illegal

Another one from the Department of Ambiguous Headlines

Rights Group: NGOs Choked in Russia

Semi-random thoughts

● They added my friend Helen Boyd's second book, She's Not the Man I Married, to the list of nominees in the Transgender Category for the Lambda Literary Awards. Her first book, My Husband Betty, was a finalist.

● My new ACLU card says I've been a member since 1974. I can't honestly say I'm a card-carrying member--my wallet is stuffed with more than enough cards that might actually be useful to carry. I also can't say that I agree with absolutely every position the ACLU takes. But I'm glad I've been able to support them in the fight to ensure that our Constitution is more than just a bunch of words on paper.

● How long does Myspace consider a friend "new?" Forever? It sure seems that way. BTW, I've got over 300 friends there now.

● I hate being sick.

● There is an interesting difference between the coat-check policies at the New York State Theater and its neighbors at Lincoln Center, Avery Fisher Hall (home of the New York Philharmonic) and the Metropolitan Opera House. The latter two charge $3 per item, while the State Theater only charges $1.50--but unlike the other two, it won't accept fur items. Very egalitarian.

Sad but true

How it works:

The fat lady is singing at the format war

About a year ago I posted on how the battle of formats of high definition video disks was becoming irrelevent. Between the plans for dual format players and dual format disks, all the bases would be covered. Well, a lot has changed in the last 13 months.

The dual format disks never actually appeared. The dual format machines did appear, and the most recent models were pretty much full-featured, from what I read (the initial ones were basically Blu-ray machines that could also play HD-DVDs, but with very little of the special stuff). But the prices of the single format machines fell so much that you could buy one of each for significantly less than a dual format player.

Meanwhile, a lot of the movie studios and big retailers really started choosing sides--and most chose Blu-ray. Now the final nail in HD-DVD's coffin has been nailed: Wal-Mart has announced it will sell Blu-ray exclusively.

Though there are arguments as to which format is technologically superior, it seems to me that Blu-ray has a slightly better case--though I doubt very many people could ever tell the difference visually. What is really important is that there will be one single standard. People, even people like me, have put off buying anything. Now we know what to purchase.

Meanwhile, the ability for people to get their movies via internet download has been picking up steam. I foresee a big problem with this--if it gets extremely popular there just won't be enough bandwidth. It will clog up the internet completely. I really wonder if that's at least part of the cause of the slow internet problem I've been having recently.

Male or Female: Choose one!

Recently I got a new Myspace friend, Queering MySpace's Gender: Official Petition. This is someone who's trying get Myspace to change its requirement that everyone identify as either male or female. He/She/I-don't-know-what-pronoun-to-use has also just started up an online forum, Gender is Not Binary: Queering the Gender of Social Networking Sites, "the official discussion forum of the Queering Gender movement." I really doubt there is anyone qualified to designate it the "official" one, but I'll accept it as the site's self-identity.

But he/she/whatever has a little problem with the site (actually there is more than one--I also found a technical glitch in trying to access my Profile from at least one page): To register you are required to identify as Male or Female! It turns out this is a restriction of phpBB, the software the forum is using, but the founder never had to register, so he/she/whatever didn't know. A request has been put in to phpBB to change this.

This just shows how ubiquitous the gender binary is.

Headline of the day

No Homicides in Newark for More than 30 Days
That's great for Newark, but I think it's really sad that this is seen as something unusual.

Plat du jour

French for "the teacher."

Plat du jour

From the upcoming movie: Hamlet, the Sequel

Vote for Obama!

I was a Richardson supporter, but now that he's dropped out I'm voting for Obama. Clinton is OK, but I think we will get out of Iraq more quickly with Obama as president.

Have they stopped teaching literature in the UK?

British Stores Halt `Lolita' Beds

LONDON (AP) - Woolworths stores in Britain have stopped selling "Lolita" beds for young girls after a parents' organization complained because of the name's association with the famous novel about a pedophile.
...
"There aren't many people in the company, in the whole world, who know about the 'Lolita' book or films," Lim said. "There might be a few people in the country who have a problem with it, but it's just a name."

Groundhog Day

So it's Groundhog Day. As is frequently the case, the various groundhogs the media turn to for a weather prognostication disagree. Somebody really should organize the groundhogs so they all present a common forecast.

BTW, the observance of Groundhog Day does not entail eating pork sausage.

Plat du jour

Awwww!

Another headline pair coincidence

(assuming it really is a coincidence)

Mormon Church President Dies at 97

Head of Greece's Orthodox Church Dies

are the first two "Top News" articles of the AP at the moment.

An odd pairing of headlines

The Associated Press lists these two headlines consecutively in its National News:

1 Killed in LA Helicopter Freeway Crash

Speeding Car Wrecks on Runway, Kills 5

People have got to learn, it's cars on the freeways, aircraft on the runways. Don't get it backwards.

Lost in translation

You never know what you will find in an international market.

One of the people on the myHusbandBetty boards found this, in Indianapolis, of all places. I've added her blog to my list.

EDIT: Behind the bar at the Zipper Theatre (which I went to Friday night for drag performer Sweetie's birthday party), they had a pack of the soup. But the package was slightly different: it had "COCK FLAVOURED" in the big letters, "Soup Mix" in the small type. I don't know which is the newer version. I don't think it matters--it needs some retranslation regardless.

Vote for Choice

I believe it is important to vote pro-Choice because the government has no right to control people's bodies. It should be the sole right of a woman to determine whether she wants to have a child.

This is the reason I stopped supporting the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. They started supporting anti-Choice candidates.

The return of an old weird websearch

madison square garden stagehands is back, after a lapse of 18 months. It's still from Arizona. This is the only site Google has for that exact phrase.

Weird websearch of the day

Somebody found my blog doing a websearch for "the awe and dread with which the untutored savage contemplates his mother-in-law are amongst the most familiar facts of anthropology." Somebody in Korea.

How in the world is that going to get someone to this blog, I wondered. It turns out that it was the title of some spam that I made my Spam of the Day a couple years ago.

BTW, it was a quote by the British anthropologist Sir James George Frazer.

Happy birthday, Smurfs!

Smurfs Mark 50th Birthday in Belgium

I can't say I've ever watched an entire Smurf episode, and I'm certainly not a Smurf expert. But as I understand it, originally there was only one female Smurf, with many male ones. It appears that they later added a couple more females. This leads me to believe that at least one of the following is true:

1) There are a lot of horny male Smurfs.

2) The female ones are very tired servicing all these guys.

3) Many of the male Smurfs are gay.

Semi-random thoughts

● Sometime last week my glob received its 25,000th visitor.

● Immigrants Protest Against Western Union Fees It's the law of supply and demand, the way we do things here in America. If they don't like it, they can go to some other country. Or start their own competing service.

● I hate it when people confuse loose and lose.

● I've added links to the blogs of a couple of people from the myHusbandBetty boards: Jude's Scenic Root and Sandyshoes' Noted and Blogged. I've also rearranged the order of my blog links a bit. I've moved up some of the more frequently updated ones, and moved down the ones where there is seldom (if ever) a new post--though it's not strictly in frequency order by any means.

● And I still hate Vista.

Plat du jour

Someone from Seattle?

And Arby's, too

Another one on my list of dangerous places to avoid:
Elderly Woman Killed When Van Crashes Into Queens Restaurant

Semi-random thoughts

● Burlesque shows are fun.

● It's great to see Lindsay Davenport playing and winning after leaving the tennis tour to have a baby. What really amazes me is that she now has the highest percentage of singles wins in the women's tour history. She's never dominated the tour the way Steffi Graf did (at least after one of Graf's fans stabbed Monica Seles with a knife). That's who I would have guessed has the best percentage.

● The Southern Poverty Law Center has sent me my 2008 Membership card, awarding me the status of "Lifetime Member," since I've been donating to them for more than 15 years--in fact, it's been since 1983. But I doubt I'm going to increase my donations (which are made automatically every month) any time soon. I've noticed in the fine print on the back of the contribution form that the Center's endowment is up to $175 million dollars. (The last time I looked, maybe two years ago, it was $153 million, I think.) They say that the income from the endowment is insufficient to pay for their current activities, so additional contributions are "crucial." I have no reason to think this isn't true, but if I'm going to increase my donations to any of my favored organizations it's going to be to one that's a little more hard up.

● I went to a birthday dinner party for a friend of my wife's, a former colleague from before my wife retired. Her friend is an evangelical Christian--though certainly not extremely conservative: wine was served, and most of the guests had some. A bit to my surprise (and relief), there was nothing religious at all about the evening, apart from a short grace before the meal delivered by the honoree's minister. But I did notice one small thing I thought extremely telling: the seating arrangement. There were placecards for everyone, and I noticed that no one was seated next to a person of the opposite sex except for one's spouse--which happens to be the exact opposite of the seating at a French dinner party. I guess the evangelicals want to minimize any temptations.

● Someone found my blog Googling "Mary Carillo nude." Now that's a new one.

Plat du jour

Your H1ghness!

Semi-random thoughts

● My plain black leather skirt has died--after about 10 years and many, many wearings. I had it even before I started going out as a woman, when I was just wearing a few things at home when my wife was elsewhere. One of the seams is coming apart at the hem. But I'm told it isn't worth trying to repair it because the leather has dried out and the stitches won't hold. So I'll have to get a new one.

● Sometimes when I pull out the stem of an apple before eating it I have the urge to throw the apple and duck for cover.

● Mary Carillo must be broadcasting one of the tennis tournaments from down-under. I'm getting a lot of hits on my blog from people searching for "Mary Carillo lesbian" or something similar.

● My blog was Google's top choice for "protest HRC" a few days ago. Wow! But now I've dropped down to sixth.

Plat du jour

I wonder if s/he knows EVENPAR1?

Go to jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.

Marion Jones thinks she shouldn't have to go to jail, that her fall from "American hero to national disgrace" and the loss of her unfairly obtained medals, wealth, etc. is sufficient punishment for lying to investigators about her steroid usage and check fraud.

It's absolutely amazing what celebrities think they are entitled to. Jones' loss of all that stuff just puts her where she should have been had she not cheated as an athlete--it doesn't start to make up for her violation of the law.

I hope the judge throws the book at her.

UPDATE: It sure looks like the judge wants to.

Headline of the day

Man, 75, Hurt While Riding Pet Buffalo
You can't make up this kind of stuff. No one would believe you.

Semi-random thoughts

● It's a scary thought that 40% of all DVDs are sold in Wal-Marts. I'm proud to say I've never set foot in a Wal-Mart.

● WQXR played something by Englebert Humperdinck (the composer, not the singer who used his name) other than his opera Hansel and Gretel--a first for me, at least. He's a classical music one hit wonder, as far as I know.

● I really can't complain about the Wisconsin football team losing to Tennessee in the Some-Commercial-Entity Bowl. They played pretty well, the game was close all the way, and it was very entertaining. They just came up a little bit short. If they can find a decent quarterback next year they should do quite well--outside of that position it's a pretty young team.

● I still hate Vista.

Plat du jour

It's God's will that they only have 6 characters on the vanity plates in Virginia.

Movie micro-reviews

The Savages: Excellent. Philip Seymour Hoffman is great--yet again.

Atonement: A marvelously made movie of a ridiculous story. (Memo to Keira Knightley: Eat something!)

No Country for Old Men: Super! I saw this several months ago at the New York Film Festival.

Plat du jour

For whom?

Hooters--another place to stay out of

2 Shot in Tab Spat at Hooters in Tenn.
Add Hooters to my list of dangerous places: Wal-Mart, Denny's, Starbucks.

Plat du jour

How sweet.

Semi-random thoughts

● I hate Vista!

● Driving with a GPS is wonderful.

● From the NY Times Metropolitan Diary column:

One of the perennial joys of the holiday season: the hearty good wishes for a very merry Christmas exchanged as my Jewish husband hands our Muslim doorman his year-end tip.

Been there, done that--though I usually just say "Happy Holidays."

Plat du jour

Plat du jour

as what?

From the Office of Ambiguous Headlines

Ireland Steps Away From Catholic Schools

When I first looked at this, I thought it meant Ireland was getting close to having Catholic schools--I read "steps" as a noun.

Answer of the day

A little while ago my Question of the Day was how did I accumulate 23 pairs of black socks. I've discovered the answer: Some of them are my wife's. She's been noticing her supply of black socks has been dwindling.

That's what I get for wearing women's trouser socks all the time. I can't really blame the cleaning woman for this mistake. The socks are pretty much identical, though my wife prefers the completely plain ones, and I like the ones with a bit of a pattern. But I do have some plain ones as well.

I'm not sure I can hold it that long

First of 20 New Public Toilets to Open in Manhattan
Let's see: 8,000,000 people in NYC (+ commuters and tourists)/20 toilets=some very long lines.

Plat du jour

Maybe he should see a dermatologist.

Living with wild turkeys III

25-Lb Turkey Flies Through Man's Window

Living with mountain lions II

Cougar Nearly Joins SD Woman in Hot Tub

Plat du jour

Here's one to enjoy today.

Question of the day

How did I accumulate 23 pairs of black socks?

Semi-random thoughts

● It really feels good when I complete a chore that I hate doing.

● Sometimes I simply must drop everything and do something. I just had one of those times. I noticed that I had worn mismatched socks yesterday. So I had to go through my entire sock drawer and a) find the mates to the two I had worn; b) make sure all the other pairs matched.

● I hate it when I try to log on to some site, and they say there's a problem with my account name or my password, but they don't say which one.

Plat du jour

They must be shameless to have such a poorly spelled plate.

A tip for keeping your job

Don't set up a website saying how bad your employer's product is.
London PA Voice Fired for Slamming Tube

Living with wild turkeys II

Turkeys Visit NY Town for Thanksgiving

Protest HRC: Joe Must Go!

The JOE MUST GO coalition will rally on the National Transgender Day of Remembrance, 6-8 p.m. Tuesday Nov. 20, in Sheridan Square at Christopher Street. The rally honors the transgender heroes who participated in the Stonewall Rebellion and also protests HRC’s betrayal of the transgender community, as HRC will be hosting a networking event at the Stonewall Bar across the street.

Joe Solmonese is the head of the Human Rights Campaign. An op-ed article by Jon Winkleman, the organizer of this rally, in the NY Blade, explains all this.

I'm going to be there. Join me!

Semi-random thoughts

● The best from today's Overheard in New York:

Father to young son: The species tourist vulgaris is identified by the fanny pack and the new white sneakers.

● Runner-up:

Suit on cell: No, I'm just saying that you are being very unresponsive... Unresponsive! Do you know what unresponsive means? ... Hello?

● Somehow, my apartment seems quieter when my wife is away for a few days, even compared to when she is out for just a few hours.

● I see my friend Clover Honey has a picture of me in my Halloween costume (Tracy Turnblad from Hairspray) on her blog.

● There is an excellent summary of what happened with ENDA, and HRC's role in it, in an (I think) op-ed piece by Paul Schindler in the Gay City News.

My morning so far

So it's cold in my office. The radiator's barely above room temperature: clearly there's been no steam coming up for awhile--which happens occasionally even in my semi-fancy apartment building in my very fancy neighborhood. So I dig out my electric heater, which is buried under some stuff in the corner. (One of these years I'll clean up this place.) It doesn't work. I vaguely remember having had problems with it last year. So I go to the storage closet and find another one (we have several). But its cord is shorter, so I have to find a heavy duty extension cord. Unbelievably, it's right where it should be, in the "electrical stuff" drawer in the other storage closet. I plug it in. Ah finally, heat.

Two minutes later steam starts coming up to the radiator.

Weird websearch of the day

blue glob in ohio at gas station
Someone came here doing this search, which lists my blog first. Apparently they were looking for information on this news story: Ghost-Like Blue Cloud Haunts Parma Gas Station.

When I lived in Cleveland, Parma was the suburb we all made fun of. Except the Parmasans, or whatever they call themselves, of course.

Semi-random thoughts

● I just passed the ninth anniversary of the first time I presented as a woman.

● I also just passed the first anniversary of my mom's death.

● It's not as much fun watching a recorded sports event when you already know the outcome--even when you like the outcome.

● Councilman To Introduce Bill That Would Ban The Feeding Of Pigeons. I thought it already was illegal. I'm all in favor of curbing the pigeon population (rats with wings), but I don't know if appointing a czar is really necessary.

● The absolute worst pick-up line I have ever heard of (courtesy of Overheard in New York):

You are so beautiful, I would suck on your father's dick just to taste where you came from.

He's not just a sports writer

Sports Illustrated's Rick Reilly is a great writer--not just a great sports writer. His column in the Nov. 12 issue (not online, unfortunately), "It Isn't Just A Game," is a masterpiece. It explains why spectator sports is so much fun--and a bit why it's so important for society. My favorite quote:

Sports encourages good healthy hate. If I'm an Auburn fan, I can hate you, an Alabama fan, from the bottom of my hater, and it's all right. Who knows where all that hate would go without sports?

(But I wonder if "hater" is a typographical error--it is an anagram for "heart.")

Plat du jour

Colbert withdraws!

Stephen Colbert has withdrawn from the race for president. I'm sure the real reason for this action was the overwhelming pressure from the transgender and allied communities who are aghast at his transphobic jokes.

I wish.

U-rah-rah, Wisconsin!

UW gets $85 million for School of Business,
Gift is biggest ever, but won't require new name

My alma mater--I'm so proud.

But I'm not terribly surprised--they've always had smart people at the business school, people who understand how money can be used for good purposes. Their alumni showed it with this action, and the current students did also. They recently approved an increase in their own tuition, so better professors could be hired--a situation necessitated by the state legislature's refusal to adequately fund the university.

I wasn't in the business school, though I did take a course in accounting principles there. But I'm proud of my fellow Badgers.

Semi-random thoughts

● A Halloween costume is good for no more than two wearings.

● As a general rule of thumb, there is an inverse relationship between a rock group's quality and its volume.

● Where did all the South Beach Diet Whole Wheat Snack Crackers go? Suddenly none of the stores have them.

● Flats can cause just as many blisters as heels--but in different places.

● Am I the first person to notice that if a space gets between the N and the D, Indiana Jones becomes a porn movie?

● This weekend they're going to return the hour's sleep they "borrowed" from us last spring. The least they could do is to give us a few minutes interest.

Plat du jour

Colbert is not always so funny

A little while back I posted about comedian Stephen Colbert's candidacy for president. I did this without really knowing that much about him--I've seen his show only once or twice. Now I find out that he regularly makes fun of transgender people.

I discovered this from a post by Julia Serano on the Trans Group Blog. I recently got her book, Whipping Girl, which has been garnering a lot of praise on the My Husband Betty discussion boards. Now all I have to do is find the time to read it.

Getting back to Colbert, it's not just him. The transgendered are about the last minority group that's still pretty safe to make fun of, without being thought of as politically incorrect. Well, us and overweight people.

Come to think of it, I'm in both groups.

Plat du jour

I'm staying out of his way.

E-mail forwarding--that I want!

A woman has petitioned the FCC to require Internet companies to forward e-mail to your new address for six months, similar to what the post office does with snail mail.

I'd love to have that. I spend over $20 a month so I can maintain my old e-mail address. I would like to switch to a new one, but it's too much of a hassle. But if things got forwarded it would make it easier. I'd still have to put in manual changes to where my e-mail address is my account name, and update my profiles on some other sites, but this would be a good start.

The petitioner wants the companies to provide this for free, but I'd be happy to pay for it. I'd even pay my full, regular charges for the six months if I could get this.

Plat du jour

A pQlice Qfficer, I assume.

If you're gay you're ageless

The Metropolitan Opera is holding a series of "Connect at the Met" nights--singles events with a pre-opera reception ("a chance to mingle with other singles over hors d'oeuvres") and a champagne-dessert reception at intermission.

What is curious is that there are three different sub-series: one for those in their 20's or 30's, one for those in their 40's and up, and one entitled "gay and lesbian events." If you're gay or lesbian your age doesn't matter.

What does matter, though, regardless of which sub-series you want to attend, is your gender--there are separate sign-up links for "females" and "males." I guess the gender-queer are out of luck.

Neologism of the day

"Shittiquette list." Thank you, Helen Boyd.

Google lists a half dozen references to "shittiquette," all dealing with shit in the literal sense, and mostly as synonymous with bathroom etiquette. Helen, though, has invented a new usage.

Just another example of why I like Helen's writing.

A presidential candidate who really stands out from the rest

The list of candidates for president includes a woman, an African-American, and a Mexican-American on the Democratic side, and a crossdressing control-freak currently on his third wife trying to convince the conservatives of the Republican party that he's their man. Oh, yes, there's also an actor auditioning for the role of Reagan II. In this crowded field of unconventional office seekers it's pretty hard to really stand out. But now we have a candidate who I think can outdistance all the rest: Stephen Colbert.

It's been quite a while since we had a comedian run for president. At least an intentional one. But I fondly remember Pat Paulsen's run in 1968. My favorite line of his concerned equal rights for women: "It is wrong to discriminate against someone because of the shape of her skin."

Living with bears XXXVI

Canada: Berry shortage in Northern Ontario sends bear encounters soaring, Children trapped in West Vancouver treehouse by plum-seeking bruin, Gut-shot bear upsets Dettah resident
Colorado: Don't blame lack of bear hunt, says DOW, Pitkin Co. adopts emergency bear law
Nevada expands bear control efforts, Bear seeks necessities in kitchen
California: Bear report, South Lake Tahoe Bear Incident
Wyoming: Bear is killed during capture attempt

Plat du jour

Plat du jour

The NBA is in pre-season. Go Cavaliers!

On the other hand, perhaps this car belongs to a member of Straight Women in Support of Homos.

Headline of the day

Lindsay Lohan Says Rehab Was `Sobering'
I thought that was the whole idea of rehab.

ENDA resources

My friend Helen has compiled a list of various articles, essays, & blog posts concerning ENDA dating back to April. She posted it on her blog. It's also on the Trans Group Blog.

If you haven't contacted your CongressKritter (thanks to Betty for that moniker), please do so. Today their offices are probably closed for Columbus Day, but tomorrow would work very nicely.

Plat du jour

A fan of Seattle Slew, I guess.

Help pass the trans-inclusive, un-watered-down ENDA

See Lambda Legal's analysis of the substitute Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) bill. Not only would it leave out gender identity and expression, but it would also dump protections for gays and lesbians who don't look straight.

Plat du jour

Yum! (assuming they mean gnocchi)

Now this looks promising

Conservatives Consider 3rd-Party Run
Just what the Democrats need: a third-party run that will siphon off votes from the Republicans. It almost makes me want to send some money to Giuliani's campaign.

Nah, that's really going too far.

Plat du jour

Living with bears XXXV

Canada: Controversy in North Vancouver after police shoot aggressive black bear

Nevada: Record Numbers of Bear Spottings, Shooting death of bear at Lake Tahoe criticized, Authorities say Tahoe bear complaints, Angora fire, linked, Black bear seen near Keystone grocery

Colorado: Bear's Long Trek Back To Boulder Gets Him Killed, Reports of bear conflicts on the rise in Colorado, Bear ventures into tree at Avery House, Bear barrage may intensify in Aspen

Ohio: A black bear is out there in Gates Mills

Plat du jour

Clean dogs are good.

I know that football games can get boring, but really now

Football fans banned from stadium for bathroom sex

Two intoxicated fans who police say were having sex in a Camp Randall restroom at the Washington State home game had their lewd and lascivious charges reduced to disorderly conducts in a district court Monday.

Plat du jour

Sanction what? Or maybe sanction whom?