Signs and Signs

Remember how I talked about the "Vote NO" signs a little while ago? (If not, you can refresh your memory here.)

Well, a friend came over for dinner a week or so ago and commented how cool it was that so many Vote NO signs are on our block. I believe that we're up to 5 out of 6 houses in a row on our side of the street, one on the other side of the street, and two on the other side of the block (we live on a corner, so those two on the other side of the street are our "contiguous" neighbors).

It's amazing how many of those signs have popped up over the past few months. People seem to really be understanding that the Anti-Gay Marriage amendment is more than just another run-of-the-mill amendment to the state constitution. More and more people seem to be understanding that this is a hateful amendment (and - for the record, I got into some trouble for calling it "hate" the last time I wrote about it, but I stand by the word) and doesn't have a place in the state constitution.

And the support for people like me... well... that's a really nice feeling. It's good to walk around the block and see all of the signs. It reassures me that this is a great neighborhood and we have great neighbors.

Did I mention, yet, that we have a new neighbor? She moved in next door (the one house out of 6 without a Vote NO sign, because... well... she just moved in), and she told us that she wasn't sure about the neighborhood when her realtor suggested it. But when she came around the corner and saw all of the signs, she knew she was in an okay place.

So... Anyway... There is one "Vote YES" sign that we pass when we're out for our walks. And another that I pass on the drive home from work. With all of the positive energy from the bright orange Vote NO signs, it's amazing how those two solitary signs can be such a shock to the system.

On the other hand, I guess it's good to know where people stand on issues. I think I'd rather know that there are bigots living in the neighborhood so I can try to avoid them, instead of being surprised by them when I'm not expecting it.

I can only hope that, as more people become visible and vocal about standing up for basic rights (you know, like the right to equal protection under the law, or equal taxation under the law, or simply equality in the eyes of society regardless of who you love), maybe we'll see more Vote NO signs out there, and fewer and fewer Vote YESes.

And even if people are afraid of putting up a Vote NO sign in the lawn for the world to see (after all, there has been vandalism of some signs by hate groups), hopefully, in the privacy of the polling booths in November, they'll vote for love, instead of hate. And, in the future, they'll be able to hold their heads high and say "See that leap forward toward equality? I helped do that."

(For your own lawn sign, or to donate money to the cause, please visit MNUnited.org .)

Vicarious Living

When I was growing up, my mom used to say that no one needs soap operas when you live in a small town.

Which is not to say that my small home town was (or is) any more imprudent than anywhere else. It's just that, in a small town, you hear all that's going on, and because everything is condensed, it seems like more.

Nowadays, I live in a city, and I barely know my neighbors, and many of my friends don't know many of my friends. And the only small "community" that I spend time in is my work. And, well, I would never want to watch a soap opera with my office mates as the main characters.

So I have to find other ways to live vicariously.

Luckily, these days, there is the Internet. And, even luckier, some of my friends have pretty interesting lives.

Right now, I've got a Netflicked movie on in the background and someone that I used to know (years ago - although he's still a friend of a friend) is a much bigger presence in it than I was led to believe.

Then there's the other friend of mine who had the John Barrowman sighting last week.

And, of course, Christopher is out in Northern California with a friend of ours this week and I've been getting to see pictures of where they are in some kind of almost-real-time.

There's probably something in there about how the Electronic Age makes the whole world a small town.

But, at the same time, I do kind of miss the days when a small town was the whole world, and vicarious living... well... that came from post cards and phone calls.

John Barrowman Sighting (Once Removed)

A friend of mine who was in Vancouver over the weekend apparently passed John Barrowman on the street.

He didn't get any photographic proof, but Barrowman is currently in Vancouver for the filming of the new Green Arrow-based TV series on the CW. So it's entirely plausible that this happened.

There's a little info about his upcoming stint on that show here (that's where the pic in this posting is from).

And... well... since I got up at about 4 this morning to take Christopher to the airport, that's about all I've got to say for today.

So the Story Goes (Away)

Nobody really likes commercials on TV. I get that. I fully admit that now that we have a TiVo one of my favorite things is the fact that I can pause a show for a while and then fast-forward through the ads.

But, even so, there are times when I'm watching "live" TV and I do watch the commercials. And, amazingly, sometimes in the middle of the crappy commercials something will happen and you'll find a really good commercial that tells a story or somehow, someway, actually makes a connection with you as the audience.

And it'll be good. And you'll actually look forward to seeing it again or sharing it with someone else.

But the next time it comes on, something's missing. The story and feeling that were there are suddenly gone. And you realize that the formerly 30-second commercial is now only 15 seconds. Sure, the product pitch is still there, but the humor or emotion that made you like it has been stripped out.

Suddenly you really don't care about the product. You don't care about what you're watching. You just know that you've wasted the past portion of a minute hoping for that payoff that never came.

And you feel kind of sorry for the person who wrote and directed the original commercial, knowing that this new version is probably cheaper to air, but is also less interesting and probably less fulfilling.

It's sad, really.

Okay. Sure. Tonight the part of the ad that got cut was the beefcake in the background and not some great "Rosebud" moment in the commercial I was watching. But that's beside the point.

My "New Normal" TV Obsession

Well, "obsession" might be a bit strong. But it's close.

Have you seen "The New Normal," yet? It's on NBC on Tuesday nights (9:30/8:30c) and it's kind of amazing.

There were all sorts of people saying "Oh, it's already been done. An inter-generational comedy with gay characters, who cares?" And I admit that I was kind of afraid that I'd watch it and I'd feel the same way.

But I did, and I didn't.

I mean... I watched it, and I didn't feel that it was a rehash of other things.

True, it's an intergenerational series. There's a mother and daughter and the mother's grandmother (and, thus, also the daughter's great-grandmother, although she doesn't want to admit it). But the family dynamics aren't stereotypical. They're weird (both the family and the dynamics). Which, really, is how most families are when seen from the outside.

And, yes, there are gay characters. But - for once - those characters are actually MAIN characters, and not just relatives of the main characters, or friends of them, or semi-regulars on the show. They're a couple who are madly in love with each other although they are fairly opposite in styles. But they're chemistry is great, and the way the show lets the characters play off of each other is really refreshing.

I was pretty much won over when, during the pilot episode, the two guys were in bed together. And they kissed. Considering that two men kissing was still taboo during the heyday of "Will & Grace" not so many years ago, it was nice to have NBC stepping up this time and saying, in essence, "this is what our show is about, please deal with it."

But I also didn't want just another fluffy show. I know it's a comedy, but I wanted some reality, too.

And I got it. In fact, I got enough of it that I've both laughed and cried during all three episodes so far. This week, it was when they (the two guys and the mother - who is acting as their surrogate) were confronted with how they'll deal with bigotry in the eyes of their new child. There was something so... true in it that I couldn't help but get emotional. And then I laughed because of what happened next. Because, after all, it is a sitcom on the most basic level.

A really smart sitcom, but a sitcom, nonetheless.

In other words, I'm giving it a solid A, and a huge recommendation that you should watch it. And I'm doing this all with my fingers crossed that NBC doesn't cancel it any time soon. (We're waiting for some multidimensionality to the grandmother's character, otherwise it would be an A+.)

How Did They Know?

Tonight on "Go On" (the new Matthew Perry sitcom which I'm still considering watching but which probably won't become "Must See TV" for me), the Loss support group he attends was trying to find things to do together.

One of the problems is that, since they belong to a "Loss" support group they occasionally refer to themselves as "losers" (because, obviously, they've all lost someone).

So... The episode was moving along, and I was doing other things, and I looked up to see them, rather inexplicably (I think I missed a plot point along the way) in a bowling alley.

And, of course, here is the assumption we're supposed to make: Losers who have nowhere else to go go bowling.

Now, I would like to point out that there are plenty of people who go bowling who are not losers. After all, bowling leagues are big social events, which means that you not only have an excuse to buy shoes and accessories, but you get to go out eating and drinking and, in essence, breaking things. (Since, really, you're throwing a heavy ball at small things and making all sorts of noise that someone else has to fix.)

But, all that social goodness aside, bowling is not a glamor sport. It's a sport where people who don't really fit in in other sports go because they don't have to be overly athletic or coordinated. Which is why the "losers" on "Go On" were there.

Here's the sad/scary thing: Tomorrow afternoon, as part of an office "morale-boosting" event, we're going - you guessed it - bowling. In the middle of the day. Somewhere far enough away from home that drinking enough to make an office event fun is out of the question.

Wish me luck.

Curing Random Fireworks

The past couple of nights, there have been some strange booms coming from outside in the night. I could tell pretty easily that it was the sound of fireworks, so I didn't worry about it.

Granted, I have absolutely no idea what events are going on that are shooting off fireworks. But tonight the booms have been even louder. And I've been hearing not just the Boom, but also the Crackle of the kind of fireworks that go up and then explode and sparkle.

Because the temperature is dropping pretty quickly outside (it was around 85 today, and is heading to around 50 tonight), I opened the windows and doors about half an hour ago. And then the fireworks started.

And the pup barked because of the noise. And then it went off again. And she barked again.

So I closed the door, rubbed her ears, and promised it would be okay.

Wouldn't it be nice if everything in life that was unsettling could be cured so easily?