Championable | Love, parenting, politics.

Sorry about the reposting of this little story. I messed up the code the first two times.

	Sleeping bags laid out on the floor. The 11-year-olds are out with Maggie, seeing Live Free, Die Hard, which my oldest and I vetted for his party last week.
	I’ve arranged glow sticks near the sleeping bags, because no matter how old you are, glow sticks are cool. Or at least I think they are.
	While Maggie is out with the boys… the rest of us had a project to do. Maggie made the icing earlier in the day, I baked the cakes and painted them with chocolate. But then, I had to bring in the helpers.
	Two pairs of hands, ready to help!
	Little glass bowls, ready to be filled.
	One bowl of M&Ms, ready to be sorted.
	A quick example for the kids to follow.
	And away they go!
	Just like that… the job is done! After this, it was time to put the little ones to bed for the night… and then it was time for me to start stickin’ on the patterned, chocolaty color goodness!
	Keep in mind that I’m a semi-professional writer, but a complete zero as an artist… but with that in mind, I think I did pretty well!

While I was writing this, they all came home. Apparently, Maggie and I crossed wires, and the boys will not be having cake tonight. I’m confused by this, because Maggie told me that our oldest really wanted this to happen… plus they are staying up until midnight… so I’m a little bit bummed out that this is the case. But it is what it is. I almost asked Maggie why the hell they couldn’t just have cake, since I was so excited, they were staying up, and this is what out oldest wanted, but I decided to hold my tongue.

This isn’t the ending I wanted for this post, though. I’m a little bummed.

Well, tomorrow will be fun, too. Alas.

Love to all. Even you, the kid who should say thank you to Maggie.

Whether homosexuality is innate or whether it is acquired — the age-old nature versus nurture debate — has long shaped the political and social discussion over gay rights.
- CNN, 6/30/2007

DAMMIT. It’s like the fucktards leading the jackasses. If we played in CNN’s severely underpowered logical arena, the question would be: Why the hell would nature vs. nurture have anything to do with the rights granted to US citizens? That’s like saying that if homosexuality is a choice, gays shouldn’t be protected under the Bill of Rights? Huh? What? EXACTLY.

But the discussion is actually the problem. The very idea that there are and aren’t circumstances under which gays shouldn’t be granted precisely the same rights and privileges as every other US citizen is just a poor attempt at justifying a despicable set of ideas.

Pro-choice vs. Pro-life? Let’s debate, because I can see your point even if you disagree with me. Conservative vs. Liberal? Let’s have at it, because there are gray areas.

But if you think gay is “wrong…” Fuck you, and get the hell out of my house.

Love to all. Even you, Taylor Gandossy.

…I’m going to finally tackle a post I’ve been trying to write about some other bloggers, hypocrisy, deeds-vs-words, and True Meaning.

But before I do, I want to say that it’s really disconcerting how self-conscious I am when my oldest son’s friends call my house. I really want to come off as Parent-neutral. I always want to reflect well on my boy. I’m so happy he’s made some good friends, and I want to step back and watch him be who he is.

Love to all. Even you, Jersey Plates.

Everyone said I should get one. Maggie, my business partners, everyone. You’re an Apple Developer, they said. Your a Technical Evangelist, they said. You run a firm that services creatives, they said.

I’m almost ashamed.

My friend Eric asked if I was excited about getting one. I said “I don’t need one.” He said: “Need? Since when does that have anything to do with it?”

That would be true, if I somehow justtfied the 17″ MacBook Pro, an AppleTV, etc.. I mean, even though the 17″ Macbook (with high-density screen and 7200rpm drives) costs so much more, it would still allow me to work just a little bit faster, hundreds of times a day. Cost be damned, because I’d be more productive. But, since I carry my MacBook Pro pretty much everywhere, and use it constantly, the iPhone would have to at the very LEAST allow me to cancel my Verizon v640 service, using the iPhone as a modem instead.

Then… oh, Lord. Then…

I need to brush these thoughts from my mind. The Apple Store is offline. When it comes back online, maybe I’ll take a peek at that 17″ MBP.

Love to all. Even you, Jesse James Garett.

Yeah, they edited out the “fucker” to keep the PG-13 rating, but it was sure good to see John McClane back in action one more time.

Love to all. Even you, the person parked in the middle of the exit lane… apparently sleeping.

You scored as Old School Democrat, Old school Democrats emphasize economic justice and opportunity. The Democratic ideal is best summarized by the Four Freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Old School Democrat 75% New Democrat 55% Foreign Policy Hawk 50% Green 40% Libertarian 25% Pro Biz Republican 20% Socially Conservative Repub 20% What’s Your Political Philosophy? created with QuizFarm.com

Thanks for the link, James!

Love to all. Even you, you Socially Conservative Republicans.

I don’t know why I find this so funny. This is an IM between my office coordinator (left) and my VP (right). They both started cracking up from different rooms in the office, and I asked if I could post this.

Love to all. Even you, the cranky lawyer who couldn’t believe that jerk.

Me: How do you like the jump rope I got you?

Daughter: I like it, but it hurts my feet when I jump.

Me: Do you wear shoes?

Daughter: Um. [looks rightward to access brain data…eyes light up]. Oh, yeah!

Problem solved. If only everything else was this easy.

Love to all. Even you, the person whose phone is ringing at this very second.

The last four times I’ve tried to pick up the phone over the last two days, my daughter has been on a call.

My oldest just left with Maggie to be dropped off at an all-day paintball party.

My youngest is doing working on an impossibly complicated LEGO model.

Last night, Maggie and I played in a mixed-doubles tennis mixer.  We were the youngest couple there, but not by far.

Life is in yet another phase. What else is new?

Love to all.  Even you, the mom who can’t quite grasp that kids are nuanced.

I just got back from my youngest son’s birthday party. It was a pool party. 15 six year olds, running round like maniacs. I came home to do some work before the weekend. My newsreader alerted me that Miss Britt had updated her blog, so I went to read.

Her friend lost his son yesterday. There are no words for how sad that is.

Take a minute to pay a call to NYC Watchdog, then take the very next moment to realize how good you have it right now.

Update: Avitable is helping with a memorial fund. You can buy a graphic for $5 (or $10, or $50), and he ’s donating 100% of it to help out with the financial issues involved in the tragedy.

Love to all.