Miscellaneous: December 2007 Archives

Hi everyone. I hope you are all having a great holiday season. I haven't posted for awhile now because I've been incredibly busy with life. I decided to take a few days off from work to rest up a bit. The 31st is my birthday, so as a treat to myself, I took the three days off after Christmas. It's been nice to just relax and chill out, but I'm finding that there's so much that's been filling out my days.

Kent continues to go to work everyday (he's a work-a-holic), which leaves me alone at home to read and catch up on all the stuff that I never seem able to get too. And, part of what I've been wanting to do for some time now is to redesign the website. I upgraded to the latest Movable Type, which went really well. I've noticed that they've put a lot of work into the archives. You can now look at the data a multitude of ways, be it by category, author, tags, or monthly.

The banner is a bit busy, but Kent said to keep it. It was my effort to show pride in who we are. For those of you who don't know, the pink triangle that is under all the names of famous gay people throughout history, was a symbol of the Nazi persecution of homosexuals in World War II. In the concentration camps, Jews were required to wear a yellow star. Likewise, homosexuals were required to wear the pink triangle. They were considered the lowest of the low, worse than Jews. And they often suffered from Jews in the concentration camps who also felt they were the lowest form of life. Their life expectancy was close to zero. I thought it was important to remember them in some form. A few of the names I have quoted... some of my favorite quotes.

For my birthday, we are going to Lake Winnipesaukee, in New Hampshire. For those of you who saw On Golden Pond years ago, that is the lake it was filmed at. There's not much happening up there this time of year. The forecast is calling for a 60% chance of snow when we are there. We hope to do some snow shoeing, and perhaps cross country skiing, and of course, photography.

For Christmas, we just stayed home. We cooked a nice dinner for just the two of us. It was peaceful and very nice. Sometimes I miss having a big family where everyone comes over. But that has it's drawbacks. Sometimes people don't get along so well and, when you cook for so many people, it's not really fun. It's work. Our Christmas was nice because it gave us quality time together putting together a nice dinner. Then when we sat down to eat in the dining room, it was just us with our little dinner, and very quiet. And after dinner, we rested awhile, followed by apple/cranberry pie in front of the TV. It was really a perfect day.

Tomorrow is the “Holiday Party” at our company. Being the (very) socially shy person that I am, I usually don’t go to such events. Once in awhile, I’ll surprise people, and go. I’ve been asked to come to this one because for some reason, it’s “very special” this year. In past years, other departments of the company have had holiday parties. This year, it was made clear that there is just one party this year, and that will be tomorrow.

I’ve been asked to be the “official photographer” this year. That basically means I’m responsible for taking all the photos of the party, organizing them, and posting them for people to see.

This party also has significance to me. This year, I will be presented with my 20-year service award. It’s sobering that I’ve been with the same company for 20 years. It doesn’t seem that long. But I’ve seen so many people come and go, and many fine people are no longer with us. I’ve seen all of that. And no other person in my position has lasted as long as I have. I’m a survivor, but I sometimes wonder if I’ve stayed too long, and if it’s time to move on.

I was listening to 60 Minutes tonight. They had a segment on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. The short version... old farts still want the gays out... younger guys don’t have a problem with it... people like me think it’s a stupid waste of time that this is still an issue... military officials, just like our so-called President, are absolutely clueless about the issue of what it takes to be a solder, which by the way, has little to do with who you sleep with. Ok... not such a short version.

Segment ends.

Flomax commercial comes on. Kent leaves the room and on his way out says, “Bill your favorite commercial is on! Flomax!!!” I reply, “I don’t even know what the hell it is. What does it do?” He replied, “It helps you pee.” I then shared this little observation of life that I have had.

I go to the restroom, and step up to a urinal. I explain to Kent, “I take deep breathes, think of running water, Niagara Falls, and other things to encourage the current state of affairs.” While I’m doing this, some other guy in their early to mid twenties will come in and stand in the urinal next to me. He sounds like Niagara Falls. I’m thinking, “My God, how does he do that?” He finished up in about 20-30 seconds, washes his hands, and leaves the room. Meanwhile, I’m standing there still working on my little project. I get it done. It just takes a bit longer.

Do I need Flomax? Naw. Everything is relative. It takes me a bit longer, but some of my best ideas come to me while I’m relaxed and open to new ideas.

The execution of a 21-year-old Iranian man that was reportedly stayed due to international pressure in mid-November has happened.

“Mr. Makvan Mouloodzadeh was executed in Kermanshah Central Prison at 5 a.m. this morning, Iranian time.” the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission reports:

Mr. Mouloodzadeh was a 21-year-old Iranian citizen who was accused of committing anal rape (ighab) with other young boys when he was 13 years old. However, at Mr. Mouloodzadeh’s trial, all the witnesses retracted their pre-trial testimonies, claiming to have lied to the authorities under duress. Makvan also told the court that his confession was made under coercion and pleaded not guilty. On June 7, 2007, the Seventh District Criminal Court of Kermanshah in Western Iran found him guilty and sentenced him to death. Despite his lawyer’s appeal, the Supreme Court upheld his death sentence on August 1, 2007. The case caused an international uproar, and prompted a letter writing campaign by IGLHRC and similar actions by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Outrage! and Everyone Group. (source)

I suppose I should at least make mention of this since none of the so-called news agencies are covering this story.

I’m puzzled though... I thought that Iran had no homosexuals.

“In Iran we don’t have homosexuals like in your country. We don’t have that like in your country. In Iran we do not have this phenomenon. I don’t know who’s told you that we have this.” - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

And now the translation....