the rush toward progress September 30, 2008

my favorite bar/restaurant just closed, along with a couple of other establishments in the once thriving exposition park, directly across from fair park. DART has had construction going on along Parry for so long that even the regulars were driven away. i’m just sick of dallas city council refusing to take into account the affect on existing establishments when they make their grand plans. i know that it’s important to expand our public transit system, but it’s like they don’t care about salvaging anything that might lay in its path. it’s like the good latimer tunnel all over again.

*I’m collecting pics from the Meridian Room. Please send them to my email or leave a link in the comments if you don’t know said email. I’ll be adding them to this post as I receive them.

RIP Meridian Room

thanks to several random flickr accounts, including our friend katie who we haven’t seen in a while, but who was once most definitely a part of the sunday brunch group.

for stacy September 29, 2008

my friend, stacy, used to always make fun of my crazy vegetarian ways. she was a big fan of asking if i was having sticks & twigs for lunch. well, just for her, i bring you…

Sticks & Twigs!

On lab explosions and unhealthy patterns September 29, 2008

if i could add anything more to this, i would. however, portly dyke, over at shakesville, has effectively drilled into my head and extracted the essence of my pattern in relationships. with the help of an excellent counselor, d and i have been working through these issues for over a year now, and plan to continue doing so for the rest of our lives. one of the biggest things i’ve learned is that this is okay. we all have our issues and some of them may never get resolved, per se. we can only learn how to spot them coming and detour around them the best we can. this makes us human, not failures.

I kept applying the same disastrous formula to my experiments — over, and over, and over, and over.

It went like this:
a) Problem arose in relationship (usually in the form of conflict or disagreement).
b) Argument ensued . . . . or Discussion ensued — and quickly devolved into Argument.
c) Partner who had low-tolerance for conflict or ongoing process demonstrated fatigue, or expressed desire to go away and process internally before continuing to talk. (I tend to process “on-the-fly”, as I talk.)
d) I would press partner further, often pulling out the “Never go to bed angry” card, or claiming that their need for a break was simply avoidance (which observation may have actually been correct, in some cases).
e) My pressing would simply add to low-conflict-tolerance partner’s overload, and render them even less likely to want to engage.
f) At that point, I would generally push harder and thus, exponentially grow the conflict.

No More Gay Republicans September 26, 2008

…gay Republicans can no longer say that their party’s performance on other matters overrides its unyielding opposition to GLBT equality.

Wayne Besen has a great piece up on 365gay about why the rationale for the Log Cabin Republicans has eroded to the point of non-existence.

annoying day September 25, 2008

today’s not so much going badly, as it’s just been annoying. i used this all natural face scrub/peel this morning that i’ve used before without incident. only, this time, my face went all red and splotchy. on top of that, i must have gotten a little in my eye without realizing it, because my right eye was all crazy blood-shot. so, i went into the shower looking sleepy but normal, and came out looking like a crazy strawberry. luckily, it faded pretty quickly and makeup covered the little remaining bit.

but, now, i have a sinus headache. it’s one of those ones that’s located right behind my eyes and makes my nose hurt when i breathe in. i took meds, but it’s not doing anything so far.

all in all, i just kind of want to go lay on the couch in the conference room and pretend i’m not really here.

bleh.

My new favorite time-waster September 23, 2008

Girls with slingshots is, so far, a really great comic. it’s definitely got a feminist bent and it’s just dang funny sometimes.

Here’s the first comic in the archive, because it’s always best to start at the beginning.

Sick of it September 19, 2008

you know, i may make fun of republican politics at home, or in the company of good friends who i know share my views, but i’m nothing but respectful to people to their faces. say what you will about that, but i think it’s pretty normal. so, why do staunch conservatives feel like they have the right to mock me straight to my face, going so far as to call my opinions stupid and immature? i just don’t get it, and i’m quickly losing respect for some people i know.

*also, what i make fun of is politicians and their policies, or wingnuts who protest funerals, etc. i don’t make fun of the individual people working their asses off, just like me, who happen to hold more conservative views than i do.

Avast and Ho! September 19, 2008

Arrrr, mateys! it be international talk like a pirate day and what better reason to clicky on the link to the right and join yer lily-livered arses up with the vilest bunch o’ maurauders ye’ve ever seen! we’ll be pillagin’ in the north of dallas come October 18th and takin’ all the booty we can find. if yer not in the mood to mauraud with us, give up yer chests fer the sake of ours!

sail with the pink pearl or make a donation!

Wednesday cat blogging September 17, 2008

ninja cat owns you

All a memory September 15, 2008

some of my favorite parts of galveston are just gone. i haven’t been able to find anything on the historic homes, probably because they haven’t gotten much into downtown yet. but i’m still just unspeakably sad.

*note: thanks to the NOLA site for having the best story i’ve found so far. a lot of the national media are focusing on the energy crisis which, while not unimportant, isn’t what you talk about when people have died and history has been destroyed.