All of these are macro shots taken right outside the cabin we were staying in at Kalaloch Lodge, on the coast in Olympic National Park.
From our cabin, we had a wonderful view of the beach and the ocean.
These photos are all taken just outside our cabin door, just next to the cliff. The rope photos are marking the cliff area. The plants are near by.
This photo series completes our trip to Olympic National Park in Washington State. It was an absolutely wonderful time for us. We had a lot of fun. I encourage everyone to go there. If you like the mountains, the scenery, and want to get away from your normal routines of city life and Starbucks, it’s a nice place to sit by the lake and spend an afternoon reading a book, or taking a hike. Every hike that we took offered it’s own beauty. Sometimes, especially after hiking back aways to be confronted with a beautiful waterfall, I found myself wanting to stay there and take in all the smells and the serenity of the place.
So below are a few images from Ruby Beach, an absolute must-go-place if you visit the park (park officials will tell you that also). I’m putting a link below for the entire Ruby Beach Album. But since this is the final in the whole series, I’m also including the link to the Washington State collection itself, which includes Seattle, Crescent Lake visit in Olympic National Park, and the Kalaloch Lodge visit in Olympic National Park.
View entire Ruby Beach album
View Washington State Collection
View entire Ruby Beach album
View Washington State Collection
America prefers its gay movies really, really, not gay. So Adam Sandler and Kevin James getting all grossed out by each other clearly wins out over show tunes, dancing, and John Travolta in love with Christopher Walken. We imagine Universal is pretty glad they replaced Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor’s gay-friendly script, which climaxed with Chuck and Larry passionately kissing, with Sandler’s rewrite and its “who dropped the soap?” jokes. (source)
I’ve pretty much given up on Hollywood when it comes to producing a movie that is realistic about gay characters. Time and time again, I go to these movies only to be subjected to really offensive jokes about gay people. If I want to be called a faggot, I can do that for free on the streets, without paying $10-$12 a ticket to sit in a movie theater to be called a faggot. And my understanding is that this movie does that quite often. It’s ok though because the Adam Sandler character eventually gets around to saying toward the end of the show that it’s really not nice to say that to gay people. But this of course only happens after we’ve sat through two hours of it. And no, I haven’t personally seen the movie, but this is what I’ve been told.
This is the way it is for America today. People like to call themselves “tolerant” of gay people. They are, until they actually see gay people holding hands in public, or kissing. Then, these “tolerant” people tolerantly call the couple “faggots”, or beat them up (better yet), thereby bringing balance back to the universe. People are tolerant as long as we are never seen, and if we are seen, there has to be a joke close by. This movie is true to form.
That aside, a movie with the title, “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry” simply makes light of the fact that thousands and thousands of gay families along with their children from coast to coast do not have the ability to marry, or the protections of marriage. So to make a joke of that in the title of the movie is well.... intolerable. That is why I’m a bit surprised that GLADD would go along with this film...
Despite the rampant homophobia in the film, I understand from on-line reports that Sandler showed the film to GLADD in order to prevent them from picketing screenings. Having seen the film, the only possible explanation for GLADD’s refusal to complain about the content is that when they saw it, they realized that the film is an equal-opportunity offender that takes cruel potshots at virtually every other group imaginable–perhaps realizing that he can’t do these dumb frat-boy comedies forever, perhaps Sandler decided to have one less blow out in which he could make cruel fun of everyone who isn’t Adam Sandler or Rudy Giuliani (who receives a bizarre late-inning shout-out that his presidential campaign probably won’t be knocking themselves over to exploit anytime soon). (source)
And this from an interview from GLADD...
Through the disarming use of comedy, there is an exploration of homophobia, which often involves stereotypes and slurs, and it holds a mirror up to that and asks people to consider where it comes from. I can’t imagine a studio movie being made five years ago that even dealt with marriage equality and the discrimination that same-sex couples face on a daily basis in this country. (source)
Perhaps they are right. Five years ago there may not have been a studio movie “that even dealt with marriage equality and the discrimination that same-sex couples face on a daily basis in this country.” But my question is, can’t they do that without all the crude jokes and degradation of gay people?
Some things never change. I’ve also never really understood why it’s so difficult for a straight male actor to kiss another man if that role calls for it. I would have no problem kissing a woman passionately if the role called for it. Colin Farrel had such a role. In the filming, Colin went farther than his counterpart was comfortable with. Colin stormed off the set in a rage saying, “Let me know when amateur hour is over...”. And just for the record, Colin is a straight man, who apparently is quite serious about his art. And if it’s done well, I, the viewer, shouldn’t be thinking about, “Wow, he did that gay scene well, being straight and all.” I should be swept up by it. But I’m probably asking a little too much from the likes of Adam Sandler.
As far as Hollywood is concerned, they try to put on a face of being progressive to issues like ours by throwing us a “gay movie” every once in awhile, usually laced with a good dose of homophobia. Are we supposed to feel grateful for being mentioned? I would rather be totally ignored, than have some recognition from people who claim to be enlightened by using us as the brunt of their jokes, all for the bottom line.
And that’s why I won’t watch a “gay themed” movie anymore.
A nice day today. The weather is beautiful. We started out the day having smoked salmon with bagels at home. We’ve been doing that more lately. It’s nice to just spend some quiet time at home with each other. Then, we went to the mall to get a few things. We came home, Kent went to the gym, and I am trying to finish up the last photos from our trip to Olympic National Park, in Washington State. I have a few more sets to do, but here’s what I have so far.
View entire collection (to date)
This moth was actually around five inches from one end to the other.
For the last couple of weeks, my life seems to have been about stress, sadness, loss, change, depression, doubt, and a dozen other emotions I’m sure I could come up with.
I work in a three-team environment, and two of that three are leaving my team. That just leaves me. It’s been difficult on many levels. On the emotional level, I’m not going to be working with two people that I personally consider friends. They are moving on and, from my previous experience with professional friends who change jobs, the number who actually keep in touch is down right around zero. So they will move one and in all likely hood, I will not see them again. I understand that, but I’m not the type of person that lets go of friendships easily. I don’t take it personally. Every one of you reading this will remember all the friends who entered your life and, over time, left your life. It seems to be the way of life -- change. Or perhaps I need to qualify a personal friendship versus a professional friendship. But when you work with someone for so long, that line gets blurred.
And change can be a good and healthy thing. For my department, it is healthy to have new minds look at old issues that we face. Most all the time, it is good to have a fresh outlook on problems. Of course, for me, the one who is finding replacements for these individuals, it’s just simply hard work going through interviews, listening to individual after individual explain what they have done, and why they are the most suited for the job at hand. And then calling them to hear the disappointment in their voices when you inform them that they did not get the job.
So, that’s what I’ve been doing, and it’s not left a lot of time for blogging, or any other personal endeavors for that matter. I go to work early, do interviews, and in between that, bring myself up to date on all the open issues facing the department -- issues that I haven’t dealt with in a long while because I interact mostly with management doing special projects dealing with data. Then, I come home late, totally exhausted. I go to bed early, and lay in bed worrying if I will find the right people to fill the need of my department. In other words, I bring my work home with me. That’s not like me and under normal circumstances, I leave it behind. But this has been an extraordinary time for me.
It will even out over the next couple of weeks. Things are already starting to fall into place a bit. We will go on, and I’ll settle back into my life. I’m thankful I had the vacation to Olympic National Park. But, all the relaxation and losing all my stress on that vacation was followed by all the stuff I had to deal with at work. So, the stress is back up, but at least I got to see a beautiful part of the county. I still have many photos to post and I’m starting to work on them again.
So I’m back. Life has been difficult for me, but I’ve also learned that I’m not that far removed from what I used to do years ago. It’s like riding a bicycle I suppose. It all comes back to you. You simply have to learn what has changed while you were doing other things.
I’ve missed writing, and I hope that I haven’t lost too many people who have frequented this blog in the past. At least now you know why I’ve been away.
Today, we are taking time for ourselves. We are looking to take a small hike somewhere. We bought a book on Connecticut hikes. And tonight, we are going to Grant’s Restaurant in West Hartford. We’ve heard good things about it.
It’s good to be back!
I know that it is an unwritten understanding that you aren’t supposed to talk about work on your personal blog. Never once have I mentioned where I work on this blog, or even the town I work in, for that matter. In fact, I’ve never once talked about work on this blog. So, I’m a bit out on a limb here when I talk about this, but it’s relevant because it effects why I wrote my last posting, and how my life has been the last couple of weeks.
I got back from that wonderful vacation to the Olympic Peninsula, went back to work Monday morning, and within 10 minutes -- I barely had enough time to get my coffee -- someone that I care a lot about on a personal level, someone who has worked for me for the past 12 years, submitted his resignation to me. I don’t take it personally at all. I am happy for him because it looks to be a great opportunity for him. New jobs are not for certain, but if he had to leave, I think this will be a very good pick for him. But I want to say something here that I cannot say to his face. I’m a person who is deeply passionate about people I care about. This man who I have worked with for the last 12 years is like a brother to me. I wish I could tell him that without it being all weird for him. But I can’t. It seems that protocol and workplace policies do not allow for this to happen. But these feelings are there, and I acknowledge them here. They are real for me.
For those at work who may read this blog and find this posting “inappropriate”, I would only remind you that I have never once mentioned by name the people who work for me, the place I work, or, it’s location. For that matter, I’ve never even mentioned exactly what it is I do for a living.
On top of all of this, another individual who works for me is leaving. I’ve come to know him and his family as well. The group I work for has become somewhat of an extended family to me. And he too is leaving. Neither of these has to do with me (as far as I know). It has to do with new opportunities that have opened up and new directions that they want to take their career. For that, I’m happy for them both, and I truly wish them the best.
As for me and my work situation, life will go on. And, all of this will give my work area a new perspective and hopefully will bring with it new ideas that I can apply. After all the initial shock of them leaving, I’m finally getting more excited about a change. It never really was, “Oh My God! They are leaving. Now what?!?!!!?” It was more, two dear friends are leaving. Most of it was like losing some family, and I don’t have a lot of family. The rest of it is the awful process of sitting through interview after interview of people trying to convince me that they are the best candidate.
So, that’s what’s been going on. I won’t dwell on it because I’m mostly over it now. I’m in the “looking forward phase”. It will simply take me time to get used to the new faces. And, I have to once again deal with the fact that I don’t know how they will react to working with someone who is gay. You know, I hate that. I hate that I have to label myself and qualify myself because of the prejudices in society. I hate that I even have to even worry about bringing someone in who may hate gays. Everyone is entitled to their feelings, but that would be a problem to my team of people if that person weren’t able to put a lid on those feelings. I hate that I even have to worry about that. I’ve become comfortable with my past crew that I could simply be myself, and they accepted me. They would talk of Kent and me as a couple and there were no secrets. Now, it starts over again. All I can do is be myself.
Other news.....
My Nikon D200 died. It’s actually not “dead”. It’s more that the flash will work, when it wants too. I took it to the camera shop yesterday. It didn’t flash for them either. Before I took it in, I reset it to factory defaults to see if it was some weird setting I put it in. Still nothing. In the store, it started working for the guy, so I figured he did something to fix it, even though he had no idea what he did.
We left the store, and went to get a bit to eat. Afterwards, we tried the camera again, and the flash would sporadically fire. I took it back to the store and said in a joking matter about my D200, “This camera is crap.” Everyone laughed. I told them, “Let’s just send it in. They can clean it and inspect it.” I suspect that the flash sensor is going out.
So, I’m without my D200 for 2-6 weeks! But, I have no trips planned so this will be a good time to do it. I still have my D70, which takes great shots as well. So, I’m afraid you will all just have to suffer through more photos. 
Also, my poor little Vaio is slowing dieing. Or maybe, over time, I’ve come to expect more performance. At any rate, I’m thinking of a new notebook. I’m tired of everything Windows and a lot of the inherent problems that comes with Windows. I went to the Mac store yesterday and I’m thinking of getting a MacBook PRO (17 inch monitor):
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
1680 x 1050 pixels
2GB memory (would probably boost that to 4GB)
160GB hard drive1
8x double-layer SuperDrive
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics with 256MB SDRAM
And while I’m at it, I may throw in an iPod as well. My iRiver music player is on the fritz.
Happy Sunday everyone. I’m going downstairs to get breakfast ready. We are having toasted bagels with cream cheese, smoked salmon, tomatoes brushed with truffle oil and seasoned with a bit of sale and pepper, onion, and capers.
Life is really hard right now. So, I’m taking some time off from all of this. Until then, here are some nice summer flowers for you to enjoy. I took this Sunday afternoon.
Take it easy everyone.
I received this tonight in my email after filling out the online form at the UPS site.
Same old crap, just explained away with a bunch of excuses.
Dear Mr. Cannon:
I got your email that you sent to our customer service dept. I wanted to respond personally to let you know that UPS does indeed provide benefits to domestic partners. Some of the media you may have seen is not giving the full picture.
As a matter of corporate policy, UPS currently offers same sex benefits to all non-union employees -- management as well as administrative workers. This includes all such employees in New Jersey, even though the state has failed to recognize gay partners as married spouses. Beyond health care, UPS also offers benefits such as medical leave, pension rights, funeral leave, relocation and transfer benefits. We recently added same-sex benefits as part of a new union contract with UPS pilots too.
UPS doesn't legally have the right to give same sex benefits to package car drivers (like Ms. Brazier who was cited in some of the media reports) because she is part of the Teamsters and any changes to benefits have to be done as part of the collective bargain process. The contact expires in 2008. Absent a law that specifically categorizes same sex partners as married spouses such as in Mass., UPS cannot unilaterally change a union contract to offer same sex benefits. We have already brought up this issue to the Teamsters for consideration. The situation regarding Ms. Brazier and her partner is just as disappointing to UPS as it is to them. But for unionized employees, we can only address the issue through the union at contract renewal time.
Hopefully, this will help you feel better about doing business with UPS.
Sincerely,
Lynnette McIntire
UPS Public Relations
Anyway, if anyone cares, here's the contact information for UPS.
TRENTON, N.J. -- United Parcel Service has denied health benefits to some same-sex couples in New Jersey, a decision gay rights advocates say starkly illustrates the limitations of the state’s civil unions legislation.
The company provides health benefits to its employees’ spouses, including married gay couples in Massachusetts. However, it said the Garden State’s decision to recognize same-sex relationships as civil unions, rather than marriages, has tied its hands.
In a letter to Gabriael “Nickie” Brazier, a driver for UPS, and her civil union partner, Heather Aurand, the company concluded that “New Jersey law does not treat civil unions the same as marriages.” It said if the state had done that, Aurand could have been included in the health coverage plan as a spouse....
However, benefit plans offered by many employers, including UPS, are governed by federal law, which recognizes only the union of a man and a woman as a marriage. Those companies are allowed, although not required, to deny benefits to partners in other relationships.
Another longtime UPS driver, Tom Walton of East Brunswick, said he was verbally rejected when he sought health coverage for his civil union partner, Mermon Davis. Walton, though, said he has not received a formal explanation for the decision.
“It’s upsetting,” Walton said. “We were told this law was going to give us the same benefits as everybody else, even though they weren’t calling it marriage. It just goes to show when something is separate, it’s never equal.” (source)
Well, we should expect to see this more and more. Many companies use the federal laws to guide (and conveniently exclude) them in who they will offer “marriage” benefits to. Does anyone honestly believe that civil unions are equal to marriages? And if you do, are you really being honest about that opinion?
Let’s be clear about one thing. UPS or any other company in this country could offer these benefits to same sex couples in a state civil union if they wanted to offer them. They simply don’t. I actually prefer UPS over FedEx, but after today, that’s going to change.
You can write to them at...
UPS Corporate Headquarters
55 Glenlake Parkway, NE
Atlanta , GA 30328
United States
They can also be called at 888-967-5877
Or send them an online message here.
Cecilia Bartoli sings Vivaldi. It’s beyond words. Simply a wonderful musician.
A flower I spotted on our hike to Marymere Falls in Olympic National Park.
These photos were taken on June 18, 2007 on our trip to Olympic National Park. I’m still sifting through them. We are on top of Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park, and as you can see, it’s quite a breath taking view of the mountains. We were lucky to have the view. Often, you can drive all the way up to Hurricane Ridge only to find yourself up in the clouds with no view at all.
I was looking through my notes that I took on that day. This is what I was in my travel journal:
We wanted to drive to Hurricane Ridge first thing. But upon the advice of a Forest Service ranger, who said that it would be very cloudy at the top of the ridge until around 6-7 in the evening, we put off our trip to the ridge and instead went to Elwha Valley. Once there, we drove up the river valley for some nice scenic shots, and spotted a very nice falls (photos to come) that was easily accessible by the handicapped. I was impressed by how nice the falls were and how understated the advertising was for this little gem.
We decided after that not to take the advice of the forest service ranger to wait until 6-7:00 for our drive to Hurricane Ridge, and took a chance that maybe at the top, it wouldn’t be so cloudy. We passed through a very cloudy section driving up the mountain, but eventually, we cleared the fog and were able to have breath taking views of the large mountain tops of Olympic Mountain range. And this was the view from our picnic table where we had lunch. The views were quite stunning as you can see from this.
After we got back to the hotel, we had dinner and went back to our room to relax a bit. We ended up going back to the bar for a bit before bedtime, because the bar had a WiFi Internet zone, and we wanted to catch up a bit on email.
While Kent was reading and answering email, I went to the bar to order a drink and a snack. While there, this young man started talking to me. He was working at the lodge for the summer. He was sitting at the bar sipping on a soda and talking to the bartender. He asked how I was doing. I told him how much we were enjoying our stay at the lodge. He said, “How long do you and your… what do I call him, your ‘husband’… plan to stay?” That kind of took me back because I really didn’t think we were that obvious, at least to these people who are out in the middle of nowhere.
I told him another few days, and a bit of silence filled in. I finally thanked him for at least acknowledging that we were a couple. He replied, “Hey, my aunt is, so I’ve seen it before. They’ve been together for 12 years!” I asked, “How long to you think we have been together?” He replied, “Probably not that long. You guys don’t stay together for that long.” I said, “Is that right? Well, take a guess.” He said, “Five years.” I said, “No. Try thirty-two years.” He said, “Damn! That’s older than I am. Well, I don’t agree with it, but whatever makes you happy.”
He then went on to mention that he used to be a youth pastor. If you ever wondered where youth who attend churches regularly pick up all the standard stereotypes of gay people, this guy is your poster child. It was all there. I started getting the creeps a bit, excused myself, and went back to our table to check email.
A moment in time... We stopped to have lunch on the ridge, and this little fellow was helping himself to one of my oatmeal raisin cookies, which he thought was quite special. Notice the cookie breaking up in mid air.
As many of you know, Beverly Sills passed away on July 2, 2007.
I’ve been so busy, I haven’t posted in awhile. None of us live forever. But there are some things that we all take for granted. For me, it’s not that Beverly Sills is gone, it’s more that maybe we have lost the dream that she always talked about. She was always an optimist. When I think of her, two things come to mind. She said, “Everything is obtainable. Dream BIG.” And of course, there was that voice that was distinctly hers.
One item of interest I came across was an audition form that was filled out by her when she was 10 year old.
One morning about a year ago, I was awakened by singing. I had my television programmed to come on at 5:30 in the morning to wake me up. Kent entered the bedroom to get me up. I was half asleep. He asked me if I knew what that was. I responded, “Beverly Sills. Hamlet. Act III.” I could just tell her voice.
I have a few favorite performances in my mind from her career. I remember watching her perform a lot, and I always walked away feeling uplifted by them. She was known for her coloratura work. In my opinion, it’s the most demanding style to sing. It requires extreme flexibility and vocal dexterity. And, most singers who excel in this usually have 10-15 peak years. After that, it’s gone. I could hear this happening in her voice as time went on. This recording of “Una Voce Poco Fa”, Rosina’s aria from Il barbiere di Siviglia, is one of my favorites. It was recorded in 1976, four years before she retired.
Later, she went on to perform Queen Elizabeth I in “Roberto Devereux” by Gaetano Donizetti. This even got the attention of Time Magazine.
Well, it got my attention too. My first thought, “What in the hell is she doing? This is a heavy and deeply dramatic role. She will kill her voice!” And I remember her saying that she never sung Puccini because it was “too heavy for my voice”, something I completely agreed with. She had a lyric voice that excelled in lighter roles with breathtaking results. I often thought that Lucia di Lammermoor was on the borderline in the heaviness category for her. Then, she comes out and does Roberto Devereux. She even reworked her vocal technique to do this feat. “Mind over matter,” as she put it. The result was quite amazing, and it shortened her career. But she wanted the more dramatic roles later in her career, and she knew it would come with a price. And, I remember thinking, “And this isn’t as heavy as Puccini?”
A few favorites... This is one of Kent’s favorites, from Linda di Chamounix. She makes it look so damn easy.
There are so many others. I guess I will say goodbye to Beverly as she did in her farewell concert in 1980, that she ended with “Tell Me Why”.
Time has come for me to leave you.
Tis the moment for goodbye.
Ah my sweet, we have to part now.
Please brush your tears from those dear eyes.
We have shared so much together.
Tis not the end but a new start.
Ah, my dear, I’ll always love you.
You’ll be forever in my heart.
Ah, my dear, I’ll always love you.
You’ll be forever in my heart.
Goodbye Beverly. I still dream big. I just wish that I had your cheer -- that cheer that you always seemed to have, even against all the obstacles that you had in your personal life. You were an inspiration to me.
