December 15th, 2008
I’ve just taken my laundry out of the car when a panicked-looking woman comes up to me. “I’m real sorry, sir, but my daughter’s just been in a car accident, she’s in Oakland General Hospital and I need bus fare to visit her, could you spare five dollars?”
There is no Oakland General Hospital. Oakland is served by Highland General Hospital. It’s 9:00 at night and I don’t know this, not without looking it up. When I lived in the East Bay, I went to the Tang Center on the Berkeley campus. “Five dollars?” It’s the Christmas season. Even if she’s lying, I can afford five dollars. She needs it more than I do. I reach for my wallet.
“Oh, thank you, sir, you know ten dollars would help even more.”
November 27th, 2008
As we sit down to eat today, on this great American day of feasting, I would like to take a moment to remember those who are hard-pressed to join us. Almost every week brings another round of corporate bankruptcies, and even the survivors are shedding jobs. Nearly three million jobs have disappeared in the past year, and more are sure to follow. Food banks are stretching to their limits, even though they do incredible things with their donated funds.
When the things we want are out of reach, we give thanks for the things we need.
Some people are struggling to have even that.
November 4th, 2008
Hello everybody!
Today is Voting Day in the United States of America. It is the one day that politicians are guaranteed to be listening and accountable. If you are an American citizen and not legally prevented from voting, please take some time to go to your polling place and make sure that you are counted. The choices we make today will help decide our future. We have only one, and all of us have to share in it.
Please give that responsibility all the consideration that it deserves.
This message was brought to you by the Lost Catboy Foundation for a Better Tomorrow.
Thank you,
~Catboy! =^.^=
October 28th, 2008
Here in California we have an proposition on the ballot that would constitutionally revoke the right of homosexual marriage. I’ve given up arguing with the scaremongering that’s going on to promote it. Other writers have dissected it, but I’ve found that people who believe it usually are not playing with the same deck of cards that I am. The legal construct of marriage and its “protection” don’t matter, except on the surface; the Proposition 8 crowd is selling fear and morality, and it’s hard for people – on any side of any political fence – to change their perceptions of morality, especially when they’re afraid. People want to believe in an Enemy.
In this case, it seems important to remind them that there is no Enemy. Nobody wishes them harm. There are only real people, real lives, real concerns, and real relationships, seeking legal recognition. That’s all.
On a tangentially related note (you’ll see how in a moment), I’ve been meaning to check out Comstock Films for a while now. When they created the “Real People, Real Life, Real Sex” series, they named their company after the historical Anthony Comstock, which has to be one of the smarter up-yours gestures I’ve seen out of the industry. From their trailers and the reviews, it looks like they go out of their way to show off the emotional chemistry and relationships behind the couples in their films. Naturally I approve of this.
Today, though, I especially approve of them, because they’re running a pre-election home-stretch special:
It’s going to be from Tuesday, Oct. 28, 12AM Eastern to Oct. 29 3AM Eastern. For 27 hours, 100% of the purchase price on our erotic documentary DVDs (excluding S&H) is going to the No On Proposition 8 Campaign to preserve marriage equality in California.
So get your blog on. Get your Twitter and your Facebook and your MySpace on. Text a friend, e-mail a loved one. Tell them that if they buy any Comstock Films DVD on October 28, 100% of the purchase price will go helping stop Ballot Measure 8 in California.
That’s not “100% of the profits“; that’s 100% of the sales. It’s a totally selfless gesture. If you’re interested in checking out the Comstock films, or just want to pitch a few dollars into the campaign against Proposition 8, now’s your chance to do both.
October 19th, 2008
My YaoiCon attendence tends to be a very organic kind of experience, partly because of my volunteer hours (ten this year, rarely fewer than eight) and partly because I only plan to attend a few events here and there. I like letting things catch my attention. Given that, it’s not surprising that my photos don’t form any kind of coherent narrative.
Rather than try to force them, I thought it would be best to just share them with you all at once. I hope I’ve captured some feeling of the con’s friendly exuberance for you.
