Filed by Bil at 1:25 pm under Damn Hippies, Love, Social Issues
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This World AIDS Day, I called in sick to the office. I don’t have AIDS, I just happen to be under the weather.

While I can’t do much about the syndrome itself, seeing as how I am not a research scientist, I can at least raise awareness and encourage prevention education.

Here’s how I do that:

Please read this article on World Aids Day 2009 from NPR’s news blog, The Two-Way. The article contains a brilliant summation of the current world AIDS situation from UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibe.

If you’re too lazy to read the article, I’ll reprint the summation here, with some parts in bold (courtesy of me, because I like them):

On this World AIDS Day we are filled with both hope and concern.

Hope because significant progress has been made towards universal access. New HIV infections have dropped. Fewer children are born with HIV. And more than 4 million people are on treatment.

Concern because 28 years into the epidemic the virus continues to make inroads into new populations; stigma and discrimination continue to undermine efforts to turn back the epidemic. The violation of human rights of people living with HIV, women and girls, men who have sex with men, injecting drug users and sex workers must end.
(Keep reading…)

Filed by Bil at 10:54 pm under Damn Hippies, Fightin' Words, GOP, Politics
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http://benonymous.tumblr.com/post/198803171/divorce

Please, everybody go and read this blog post. It is a divorce of right and left proposed by the right, and a supremely clever response from the left. I’m enamored with the reply, it sums up just about everything about the strife we find ourselves with these days, and while it stands firm, it is not a mean-spirited reply. The wink comes with open arms; or, the open arms come with a wink. One of the two.

While you’re at it, check out the rest of the blog. This is one interesting mind.

Filed by Bil at 12:11 pm under Damn Hippies, Fightin' Words, Politics
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According to the LA Times, “The Pentagon is open to the idea of European firm Airbus building the next fleet of planes that carry the president.”

Foreign maker of next Air Force One? That may not fly

If this were to become the reality, that would be like the President cruising around in a Mercedes-Benz or BMW limo instead of a good old-fashioned Cadillac limo.

Ordinarily, I don’t care about buying American vehicles over foreign vehicles; Devon and I bought a Scion instead of a Saturn or Ford because, simply stated, they are better cars. I’m not even a very good Capitalist, but I agree with the idea that better foreign cars should inspire American automakers to step it up. And, on a personal level, I kind of hate the new Cadillacs and the way they brand themselves nowadays (snotty-brat nouveau-riche market).

…But the President of the United States flying around in a French airplane? That’s not cool.
(Keep reading…)

Filed by Bil at 3:31 pm under Damn Hippies, The Arts
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As I walked into the super-cheap Chinese/Korean food restaurant across the street from my office today, I heard the sound of a human voice singing loudly, which is a very unusual thing to hear in that particular restaurant. It seemed to fill the entire dining area, and there were four humans in there who might have been the one singing, but I didn’t know who.

When I listened more closely to the words being sung, I figured out that it was the homeless guy by the free water cooler. The words were along the lines of “This shit ain’t right, it’s broken, bitch, there ain’t no water in here…” and it was all in kind of the same four-note melody.

I ordered the lunch special, and the nice lady behind the counter who knows me (whom I will refer to only as “Nice Lady,” because I don’t actually know her name) confirmed that I was indeed getting the same thing I always get there, the lunch special with white rice. It went like this:

Nice Lady: Hello!
Bil: Hi there.
Nice Lady: Lunch special today?
Bil: Yes, please! Sesame chicken.
Nice Lady: White rice?
Musical bum: Whiiiite riiiice…
Bil: Yes. White rice, please.

(Keep reading…)

Filed by Bil at 1:41 pm under Damn Hippies, Fightin' Words, GOP, Gay Agenda, Homophobia, Politics, Religion
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Ordinarily I don’t like to just leave a link to a news article without really expanding on it by adding my own thoughts, but I don’t have much time right now and I really wanted to put these out there:

1) Totally Gay Happy Meals/It is the end of the nutball Christian right. Here is your proof. To go

A sharply-written (and delightfully snarky) article about how the Religious Right has lost its power over America because the public has been bored with them for some time now.

2) McCain’s Problem: Not Age, but Condition

An article by Alec Baldwin for the Huffington Post with a very rational and appropriate warning not to alienate our elders by labeling John McCain as simply “old.”

Read and discuss. I’ll be back. (Coming up next – probably – all about the most interesting rehearsal process I have ever experienced, and some shameless personal promotion for the play I’m acting in…)

Filed by Bil at 1:28 pm under Damn Hippies, Politics, Pop Culture
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Apparently, topping the list of most memorable quotes of 2007 (and thus defining this year in history) is the phrase, “Don’t tase me, bro!”

This angers me, because I never even heard it before today. The fact that the most popular, most year-defining moment came while I wasn’t even looking, and the fact that I completely missed its fifteen minutes of fame, makes me think that all that other stuff I paid attention to was all for naught.

Anyway, the year isn’t over yet. That list doesn’t even include anything (or everything) that George W. Bush said this year.
(Keep reading…)

Filed by Bil at 10:37 pm under Damn Hippies, The Science
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There are few times when I curse living in a big city. I’ll admit, I am not 100% city slicker. I do love me some outdoorsiness. I particularly enjoy seeing stars at night, which, in Chicago proper, is pretty much out of the question. Most of the time there is a glow that radiates up from beyond the buildings around me, and makes the sky itself impossible to see. All I see is the glow. Most of the time I tell myself it’s okay, it’s the price I pay for living in a place where at least some of the fine establishments stay open till the wee small hours. I mean, it’s not okay, but there are bigger problems to face right now.

But every now and again I see an article like this one from the 16th of November, describing the awesome comet and/or meteor shower that I WAS NOT ABLE TO SEE because I live under a giant cloud of smog and second-hand smoke.
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Filed by Devon at 12:03 pm under Atheism, Damn Hippies, Love
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It’s not like I’ve been slacking. Really. I have not had a day off in WEEKS. And between the fact that I’m never home and the fact that when I am, I’m in the midst of a very moody, angry depression brought on by grief, I’ve not been much in the mood to write about anything. My cats have even noticed. They are cuddling more with me than usual. But maybe that’s just the fact that it’s getting cold.
(Keep reading…)

Filed by Trevor at 2:37 pm under Damn Hippies, Homophobia, Politics, Social Issues
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Quote from Barack Obama yesterday:

“I have clearly stated my belief that gays and lesbians are our brothers and sisters and should be provided the respect, dignity, and rights of all other citizens. I have consistently spoken directly to African-American religious leaders about the need to overcome the homophobia that persists in some parts our community so that we can confront issues like HIV/AIDS and broaden the reach of equal rights in this country.

I strongly believe that African Americans and the LGBT community must stand together in the fight for equal rights. And so I strongly disagree with Reverend McClurkin’s views and will continue to fight for these rights as President of the United States to ensure that America is a country that spreads tolerance instead of division.”

On the surface, it’s refreshing to hear this sort of candor regarding the LGBT community from a top contender for the Presidency — had it come from a Republican I think I would have dropped down dead — but it’s a shame that legalizing gay marriage doesn’t fall under his heading of “broaden[ing] the reach of equal rights.” Just a reminder to all of you out there: ideology always trumps semantics. If you’re in favor of civil unions that offer the same rights and benefits as traditional marriage, then you’re in favor of gay marriage. Why call it anything else?

Can someone please tell me why we’re wasting any time as a country debating this issue? There is no discussion. We have far more pressing things as a nation to be united for. But out of curiosity, any word on the religious right about this?

Filed by Bil at 1:45 pm under Damn Hippies, Fightin' Words, Social Issues
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One strong disadvantage to getting on the bus before the crowded bus stop is that although you get your own choice of seat, you are left at the mercy of whoever chooses to sit next to you. You can’t just get up and move to another seat, because you’re at the window, not the aisle. And you can’t be rude and ask the other person to stand up just so you can go to a different part of the bus, God forbid.

Most of the time, I have fairly good luck with people sitting next to me – usually uneventful, hardly even memorable at all. Today, however, my lucky streak ended.

I was on the way back to the office from lunch. I had eaten at Chipotle, a tasty burrito joint secretly owned and operated by the sinister hand of McDonald’s. With me were my trusty iPod, a clean napkin from Chipotle that I for some reason had put into my pocket instead of leaving behind, and a large cup full of Coca-Cola. I was feeling good. I had an excellent seat all to myself when my bus reached its busiest stop and let on a flood of day travelers.

Time didn’t slow down or anything, because I had no idea what I was in for. Straight towards the empty seat beside me walked a tall, thin Asian guy. He was dressed in designer clothing and his carefully slanted hair covered one eye. He carried a small, unisex over-the-shoulder bag just big enough to carry a CD or two and a book by Kurt Vonnegut. Safety, I thought, just a run-of-the-mill hipster. I have been known to pass undetected in and out of hipster circles, so I figured this man would pose no threat. Then he sat down next to me.

Rarely have I smelled a worse-smelling individual than this dude. I mean, wow. Lordy. Lordy, lordy, lordy.
(Keep reading…)