I don't want to live on this Planet anymore...

I spent my subway ride reading the paper, and catching up on other news articles from the NY-Times, Huffington Post, and the BBC. My current feeling? I don’t want to live on this planet anymore…

Ok that may be a little melodramatic, but honestly things are getting ridiculous.

First off, it’s republican stumping season. It seems like they’re all competing to see who can be the most polarizing, hateful, and extreme candidate possible.

Mit Rommney - Mormon? Who gives a shit. Frankly I think he’s an ok guy, except for the fact that he can never have the same opinion twice.  I’m serious. String a bunch of news clips together. He was both for, and against the Occupy Wall Street movement in the space of a few days. ABC News tallied FIVE different opinions on Libya from him. It’s like he’s trying to please everyone at once.

Rick Perry – Look at the state of Texas and tell me if you really want him running the country. He’s stiff and awkward. His inability to debate makes me think he’ll cave under pressure. Most of what he says reminds me of Bush.

Michell Bachman – Do I really have to go into detail? She is a bitter, hate-filled woman. She thinks God talks to her. She wants to undo everything LGBT rights groups have worked for. She scares me. I’m serious. I fear for my future if she becomes the President.

Herman Cain - This man is a fraud. He’s not in it for real. He couldn’t be. He’s getting paid for appearances, he has no staff in Iowa or New Hampshire (leadoff primary states), and he sells his book wherever he goes. He wants fame and attention. Just look at his public statements! Can he actually explain his 999 economic plan? NO. Find me a clip where he has. Go ahead; I’ll wait… No? Ok moving on. He said he wants to put up a huge/lethal electric fence on the border. But then he says he was joking…but then he wasn’t. “I’m not backing away from that [electric fence idea]”.  Also his views on abortion are hard to decipher. I’m going to sketch out a dialogue that he had with a reporter.

Reporter: “And your views on Abortion?”

Cain: “I am against abortion. It should be illegal”

Reporter: “What if the woman is raped?”

Cain: “Then that’s her choice”

Reporter: “So abortion should be legal in that case?”

Cain: “Abortion should be illegal, that’s what I said”

Reporter: “But you just said it should be her choice, I’m afraid I don’t…”

Cain: “I said abortion should be illegal. Have I made myself clear?!”

No Herman…you haven't

Rick Santorum – Closeted self hating gay. That’s the only thing that could explain his overt gay hating agenda. I’m just waiting for him to get “nailed” in a Minnesota airport stall.

Ron Paul – I like him. I really do like him. If he beat Obama I wouldn’t feel too bad. My favorite plan of his is that we shouldn’t be anywhere. We need to pull everything back in and fix our shit at home. America needs some ME time to get back on track. The only problem is that he’s not crazy enough, religious enough, or hateful enough to get attention or backing.

Moving onto congress. They’re making me want to rip my hair out. Republicans are basically say no to everything Obama is asking for. No compromises, just “no.” And it’s not because they don’t like the ideas, they just want to do everything they can to sabotage the end of Obama's term.

Congress also reduced the EPA’s ability to fine concrete plants for polluting because it was “Hurting Jobs”. Well thank God we have those jobs so we can afford our cancer treatment.

Occupy Wall Street. I’m for the movement, but against their general lack of clear direction. Also, it’s about time they came up with a spokesman the world can take seriously. And how about some demands so we know what you want? If you’re stuck I have a suggestion:  A few years back trillions of dollars were sucked out of the economy when the banks destroyed the housing market and nearly caused the biggest economic cluster-fuck known to man. Someone needs to be held accountable for this. Regulations should be placed to prevent it from happening again.  A small percentage will always control most of the money, get over it. This isn’t a hippy commune where everyone has an equal share. It’s capitalism. However the wealthy should shoulder more economic responsibility because THEY CAN AFFORD TO. I'm sure if the wealthy ever became poor they'd want things to be different too.

Hmmm what else…

Justin Bieber is being slapped with a paternity suit. I’m not convinced. With all those anti-puberty drugs Usher makes him take? I doubt he’s firing live rounds.

Kim Kardashian – I hope she goes away forever. (I have no idea how to spell her name. Don't really care either)

This is what’s wrong with American media, and those who watch it. The news glosses over real stories, while spending hours on the royal wedding, and that stupid twat Kardashian. We need to stop watching people like the Kardashians until they realize they live a vapid, empty existence and fade away. 

SO much rage right now.

~n

24

Monday was my 24th birthday. Not quite the quarter life crisis that is 25, but almost. Just kidding, I'm pretty ok with 24. I've had a pretty amazing run so far, not gonna lie.

Anyway I woke up to Facebook messages and texts waiting to be read. (These would continue throughout the day) Work was pretty uneventful. My usual stuff with the staff wishing me the best.

After work I met up with Justin in Times Square. I got there a little earlier because I love Times Square, and all the people watching that I get to do while I'm there. Justin arrived and we ate pizza at Famous Rays Original Pizza. I had bacon, pepperoni, and onion. Not the best for the breath, BUT it tasted delicious. After dinner we went to enjoy the birthday present Justin got me:  tickets to see Priscilla, Queen of the Desert!

If you haven't heard of it go look it up. It's basically a musical made about a movie of the same name. It's on Nextflix instant watch starring Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, and Peter O'Toole. It's about an Australian drag queen who drives across Australia to perform at his ex-wife's casino and meet his son. The musical pretty much is the movie but streamlined and with singing.

I don't think I can adequately explain how awesome this show was. Just imagine lots and lots of glitter, sequins, fantastic costumes, witty banter, camp to the max, ripped/scantily clad chorus boys, brilliantly choreographed dance numbers, great music, and heart warming drama. It was everything I could have ever wanted for a show like this. After seeing the movie I had some expectations, bet the musical blows them out off the water. I would see it again...several times.

Also...I'll never play ping-pong again.

After the show Justin and I came home and ate the cake and brownies we made the night before. Then I responded to all the Facebook posts that had accumulated during the day. As far as birthdays go, it was pretty great.

Roommate Day!

I didn't have to work last Monday thanks to Christopher Columbus' conquest of early America. So Justin and I decided to have Gay-Roommate Day!

After pressing snooze on my iPhone 4 or 5 times I got out of bed and browsed www.imgur.com at my window. Justin came in and said he wanted to make pancakes, but first he had to find a fruit vendor. I pointed at the one on the corner. I saw them peeling oranges, but I was pretty sure they had apples. I didn't stay at the window to see. I went to take a shower.

When I got out of the shower I smelled apples, pancake batter, and...smoldering cinnamon. Justin made apple cinnamon pancakes with sliced up bits of apples in them. I have to hand it to Justin, he can really make a pancake. I put applesauce on mine, so it was like this gooey apple deliciousness.

Justin and I wanted to do something new and exciting. We picked the Natural History Museum because neither of us had seen it yet. After some debate over which 1-line stop we needed we walked a few blocks to the backside of the Museum. This is when I started taking pictures. If I haven't put them up yet start bugging me until I do.

As we we're walking Justin's shoe lace came untied. He said I should tie it for him. I said no. He said, "Fuck you, I made you pancakes!" But I still wouldn't give in. But I did get a nice picture of him tying his shoe.



...You know what. This entry is going to be too long at this rate. I'll just skipped to my favorites.

Favorite thing #1: The movie in the planetarium. Whoopi Goldberg narrated a movie about starts. The theatre was pretty much an I-Max dome. The imagery was astounding even though I felt a little motion sick towards the end. My favorite part took place inside a nebula. The way the colors unfurled down around the dome just blew me away.



#2 Hall of gems and minerals. I like sparkly objects. I took a bajillion pictures (check my Facebook). Justin tricked me into sitting on a stump of petrified wood. Security yelled at me.



#3 The Under Water Hall. There was a giant Blue Whale suspended from the celling. How cool is that??



#4 Getting Nachos / Calamari with Justin at nice Restaurant.



#5 Wandering the village in search of a Tarot card reader. We found one but she charged 45$. I was like "F-that, I'll do it myself." So I bought cards and a little how-to book. This will only end in hilarity. I also saw a tricycle covered in yarn.



#6 Little Britain. Seriously... Netflix it.

This is all I have for now till something relevant hits me. Like a folded up newspaper. ZING!

~n

A Mostly-Good Samaritan

I had an amazing weekend in Boston with Matt. Everything went great (except for the small electrical fire in my car the flared up just outside of NYC). But more on that later. I really want to post a blog about my Boston trip, and I even have some nice pictures. However after what happend to me last night I'm going to put Boston on hold for now.

Get comfy and read this:

     The train pulled into Penn Station without indecent. Getting off the train was no different than exiting an airplane. Only the conductors didn't go, "buh bye. Bye bye now. Buh bye. Watch your step." It was more like we pull into the station and they're the first ones off (a new crew gets on at NYC). I got off the train, and made my way to the escalator. I was about to step on when I hear, "Excuse me." I turned to see this woman; mid-fifties, straw-blonde hair, slightly wrinkled, and clearly frazzled. She tried to manage a bag from some shoe store, a roller bag, an over night bag, her purse, and some smallish fluffy pooch. "Could you hold some of this while I hold my dog?" She gestures towards the escalator. I looked at the the long white and brown hairs of the dog; imagining them tangle in the stairs of the escalator.
     "Sure, no problem," I said with a smile. So she wrangled her dog and I wrestled the bags behind her.
at the top of the stairs I moved out of everyones way, arranged her belongs in a manageable stack, and got ready to hand them to her. Before I could be go she asked me, "which way is the subway?" I gestured to the other end of the hall at the 1,2,3 line. "I need to get to 53rd and Lex," she said, "Will the 1 take me there? I don't want to pay for a cab."
     "Oh no ma'am. You're on the wrong side of the island," I said. I tried to explain the series of trains she'd need to take to get where she wanted. I wasn't sure if the shuttle from 42nd to Grand Central was running, and I'd forgotten about the E (as Justin pointed out). She looked at me with this helpless/lost look. "How am I going to manage all the stairs?" she asked. I told her most stations have elevators (God was I wrong about that). I told here I'd take her down to 14th St. and get her onto the L train thinking she'd be fine from there. It's at this moment her dog stops walking and takes a runny shit in the middle of Penn Station. I don't know what was more startling:  The sudden defecation, or the fact that NO ONE CARED or gave it a second look. What a city.

     Fast forward to 14th St. We got off the 3 and I tried to find an elevator to get her up to the tunnel to the L. No such elevator. Apparently NYC and the Americans with Disabilities Act aren't friends. So I haul her bags up the stairs and pull them down the tunnel while she continues with her extended tail of woe.
     Apparently she's from Boston, but now lives in Rhode Island. She's in NYC to take some people to court for identity theft and other horrid things. (Justin is skeptical). She also says she's out $4,000,000. I almost tripped over her bag when she said this. (I stumbled at the mention of the number, and at the nonchalance tone she said it in). We got to the L train, but low and behold...no elevator to the platform. So I juggled her bags down while she talked more. On the platform we waited for the L. Then she pointed out a very unconvincing cross-dresser to me. "Oh my gawd. That's a guy right? Look...LOOK! He's got a 5 O'clock shadow!"
     "Yeah probably. It is New York after all. Strange things and what-not. SO! tell me more about your life!" trying desperately to get her to keep her attention on me and not her surroundings. Last thing I need her to say is something offensive like, "I get nervous around all these people." I'll let you infer the meaning.

     We make it to Union Square where there is an elevator to the concourse. However we shared it with a strung out homeless man. He pushed a dilapidated office chair that held a box-fan, and the board game:  Stratego.  "I'm trying to make my way you know? Going to court for what I done. This is all I got right here (he gestures the chairs contents). I'm selling these game pieces to get food money. Ya know man? yeah..." he said all that with lot of effort. We exited the elevator quickly.

   Now I just wanted to put her on the 6 and tell her good luck, but the previous mention of 4-mil peaked my interest. That and I hate seeing tasks unfinished. We were almost there after all. I think really though I felt bad for her. Lost, and unprepared to deal with this place on her own. Empathy always wins.

     We didn't find an elevator down to the 6. Thankfully the train ride was uneventful. The dog inspected people curiously then hid under the seats. The woman (she never told me her name) regaled me with more details about these people she's prosecuting. I feigned interest. As long as she's not talking about other things. We got off at 51st to find no elevator at the platform. So more bag hauling. She was really glad I decided to be her guide.

     I took her to the hotel but she asked for a quick detour to CVS. I was already hopelessly out of my way in both time and distance, so what was 10 more minutes? I stood outside the door holding the bags, and the dog. She exited CVS looking exasperated. "Do you mind if we go to Duane-Read? It's only 3 blocks up?" Well, why the hell not.
    She marched into Duane-Read with her dog in tow. She'd forgotten to give me the thing. Sensing impending conflict I followed her in. As I walked in I heard a clerk try to tell her dogs aren't allowed in the store. This is where she pretended to be "hard of hearing" because you know, they have small lap dogs for the hard of hearing. I heard the clerk mumble something about the manger and watched her walk to the back.
     The woman marched to the pharmacy and asked if they had 90mg of Adderall or generic brand. It's at this point I needed to sit down. "Who are you?" I wanted to yell. But I just stood there as she asked them call another pharmacy to see if they had any. The pharmacist said that his particular pharmacy was out. (Side note, who runs out of Adderall? My guess is the pharmacist didn't want to deal with her. She probably didn't even have a prescription). The other pharmacy didn't have any either, and she looked like she was going to make a stink about it. Thankfully the manager was walking over so she turned and went up a different way towards the door. I followed close enough so she knew I was there, but far enough away to pretend I didn't know her if a scene erupted.
     The manager swooped in before she got to the door saying something about the dog rule, but she just walked as if he wasn't there. I tried to make a face that would explain he whole situation, but probably just looked uncomfortable. I ran off after her, bag wheels rumbling behind me.

     I caught up to her on the corner looking lost. She acted as if nothing strange happend. I didn't upset that delusion. Frankly I just wanted to be rid of her. So I took her to the hotel, and into the lobby. As she talked to the desk clerk about a matter of getting points settled I tied up her dog, stacked her bags, and handed her her purse.
     "Well here you are. This nice man will summon he bell hop to help you from here," I said, "Is there something else I can do?" (Please say no, please say no. I thought). She said I'd been so helpful, and was reluctant to let me go. "Where else am I going to find a helpful person in this city?" She said. I said something about not being the only nice guy in New York (I think the clerk stifled a laugh).
    "Well at least let me give you something for your trouble," she said. Now I knew this was coming, and I'll admit I saw $$$ in my head when I decided to take her all the way to the hotel. I'd even thought about how many times to politely decline before giving in (I picked 2). But to be honest, I really couldn't see myself not doing what I'd just done. Those who know me best will agree.
    So she opens her wallet and thumbs past a bunch of $20's in search of a specific bill. I got pretty excited when she kept thumbing past $20's. Then finally she pulls out a crisp...5$. I take it with a smile and gratitude; knowing full well that I couldn't get 1/8 of the way home in a taxi with 5$. I gave her a hug, pet the dog, then walked out of the lobby. As I left I heard her sing my praises to the clerk.
    "Can you believe this kid? .....all the way from Penn Station....carried my bags....NYC is such a great place." That was actually pretty rewarding.

     I walked to Columbus station, and sat on bench waiting for the 1. I leaned forward with my head in my hands. After a few moments I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked to the see the (probably) homeless  man next to me give me a concerned look. "Are you alright son?" he asked. I thought to myself, "you're asking me?" but I just said, "Yes. Just a long night, trying to get home."
    He sounded like an older Antonio Banderas, and smelled like gin. I also noticed his four fingered hand leave my shoulder as he smiled at me with bloodshot eyes. "Do you believe in God my friend?" he asked. Not wanting to get caught up in what would surely be an attempt to convert me, or a debate about personal-spiritual-philosophy, I just nodded at him. He smiled and continued, "When I'm sad I think about Peter the apostle. And how Jesus said when things get tough, I am always with you. And then I smile because I don't feel alone anymore." I kept nodding. I had no idea if anything he said was remotely accurate to scripture. "Just remember when your down, and things are tough, you're never alone," he said in a wave of gin ladend exhalations. I smiled and nodded some more.
     The train pulled into the station and I mentally willed him to stay seated. He did, but only after holding his hand up saying, "Give me four son. God Bless you my friend."I backed into the train and the doors slid shut in front of me. He made the sign of the cross at me while the train lurched away. I slid down into a seat.
     "What the fuck just happened?" At that moment I just realized I could have given him the $5. It would have been pretty fitting right?

Got home, thought about all the karma points I earned, what my gin soaked friend had to say.

I think he's right that we're not alone when times are tough. But Maybe we should be more inclined to look for help from around us, not above us.

~n

Occupy Wall Street

So, many of you have texted me asking, "what's going down on Wall Street with all the protesting?" I didn't really know so I had to look into it.

Here's the story:  Using social media like Twitter and Facebook, protest organizers hoped to incite a mass occupation of Wall Street. The plan was to quickly descend en-masse on September 17th. They called it "The Day of Rage". They were hoping for the kind of crowds that erupted in Egypt earlier this year. Unfortunately Twitter and Facebook aren't the most private places, so the NYPD was more than prepared with metal barricades to herd the protesters into "protest zones". On a side note I think the whole notion of a "protest zone" or "free-speech zone" is bullshit. Free-speech exists everywhere. Limiting where we can express ourselves is just as bad as not letting us do it at all.

The group's main focus is the 99% vs. the 1% problem. Specifically they're outraged that apparently about 1% of Americans control most of the wealth of the country. To them the banks of Wall Street represent that 1%, so what better place to occupy?

They've been there for about 11 days now, and show no signs of leaving. The major news outlets aren't documenting everything that happens at the occupation, but if you spend enough time on Youtube, Imgur, Reddit, or even 4chan you can get a good look into what's going on. The organizers have set up a website which you should visit, https://occupywallst.org/

Now I'm not an economist, so I'm not even going to attempt a fix for the job market. I am however a pretty close student of history. Most revolts, uprisings, and revolutions start when those struggling to get by just absolutely lose it. Plain and simple. Tensions boil over and everything goes to hell. People take their rage and frustration out on whatever they can get their hands on. Just look at what happened in the U.K.

What I'm curious about is how the Media, Police, and Government will continue to handle the situation on Wall Street. By now I'm sure you've seen the clips of the women who were corralled and then maced by an NYPD officer. I've seen the clips from different angles, but honestly I don't understand the officer's actions. True, I didn't see what happened before, but in the clip the officer walks in, sprays mace everywhere, and then walks away. All this seems unprovoked to me. A large portion of what we see comes out via Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr. It'll be interesting to see if any forms of control are exerted over these outlets. I wouldn't be surprised. Zuckerberg already has access to everything we post...ever.

Be careful where you get you facts. It's not like watching Egypt erupt on the other side of the world. This is happening here. This is an American problem. Watch closely, and be careful.

A very small step takes us from this:

To This:

If you haven't seen either of these images then we clearly have a problem.

~n

CERN broke the Universe

So I don't know how heavily you all follow science and particle physics, but something huge happened. Scientists at CERN think they measured sub-atomic particles traveling a few tenths of a second faster than the speed of light.

As most of us know, Einstein said that light-speed was the fastest anything could go ever. It was (barring more testing) one of the rock solid laws of the universe. The implications are massive. To me it's like saying the only reasons humans can't fly is because we're not trying hard enough.

As a sci-fi nerd I sometimes get very sad that many of the fascinating technologies created on these shows and movies won't appear in my lifetime. Light-speed, Hyperspace, Ludicrous speed are all just science fiction and impossible with the current level of existing knowledge.

But a discovery like this is an incredibly small, yet absolutely massive step forward. Imagine what science will come up with now when they start thinking, "Hey, maybe we can travel faster than light."

I think what's most important is that from now on scientists shouldn't be allowed to say, "We Can't." They should only ask, "Should we?" And in the case of faster-than-light travel...Hell yes.

See you Space Cowboy

~n

Celebrity sightings and DADT repeal

I left work at 1:00pm to go to the deli on 8th St. I was about 10 or so odd paces behind some guy carrying a white-plastic grocery bag in one hand, and a ratty guitar case in the other. He had on black athletic shorts, some weird Gortex vest, and a floppy olive-green baseball cap. At first I thought he was homeless, not gonna lie.

He rounded a corner and I followed. Not because I'm a creepy stalker, we were just going the same way. A small gaggle of students walked by him, then past me. Out of their excited chatter I made out, "Oh my God that was Daniel-freaking-Craig." The homeless Craig clone kept walking, but turned his head and shot a look. There was no mistaking those sparkly blue eyes. It was indeed Daniel-freaking-Craig. I guess trying to look homeless was a clever ruse to travel incognito. But if you're James Bond...well good luck with that.

This is actually the second time I've seen him wandering the East Village. Last time he was with his wife (the lovely Rachel Weiss). I felt tempted to try and snap a picture, but he probably get's tired of it. That, and I'm slightly afraid he'd cut me in half with the lazer that undoubtedly shoots out of his James Bond wrist watch.

Being a celebrity nowadays is weird. In most cases you're only famous because millions of people have seen you on a screen (or naked on the internet), not because you've cured something or went to the moon.

In other new Don't Ask Don't Tell expires tonight. I really don't have much to say on the subject except this:  When the shit hits the fan, there are only two things that would matter to me about a fellow soldier. 1) Can he carry me if I need him to? 2) Does he have good aim?

This isn't just because I'm gay and I'm motivated to push equality forward etc. This is because our military is made up of volunteers. Any man or woman who would willingly enter the bullet riddled shit show that is the Middle East deserves our respect. End of story. If you think soliders would find it distracting, then I think you should spend some time talking to some actual active duty servicemen. But don't blame me when they knock your teeth out for being dumb.

~n