To All My Liberal/Progressive/Democratic Friends:
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2010, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wish.
To My Conservative or Republican Friends:
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ 2010.
David Yaffe, Superior Court Judge in LA County, has rejected the AIDS Heathcare Foundation's request that law require all models to wear condoms while performing on porn sets.In his decision, Judge David Yaffe said the county has broad discretion in how it oversees public health and dismissed a petition seeking a court order to compel health officials to require condom use on porn sets or take other reasonable steps to stem the spread of disease.Not sure how I feel about this one. I feel that bareback porn satisfies people's urges to go out and do it, but at the same time, promotes it as a hot thing to do.AHF filed suit in July, just weeks after a performer known as Patient Zero tested positive for HIV and county health officials released data that showed 18 HIV cases and more than 3,700 cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis had been reported since 2004 by the AIM Healthcare Foundation.
While you're driving to grandma's house, your spouse can be finishing the holiday shopping and the kids can be chatting with friends and updating their Facebook profiles," said Mark Fields, Ford president of the Americas. "And you're not paying for yet another mobile subscription or piece of hardware because Ford will let you use technology you already have." Several automakers already offer in-car Internet access -- Japanese drivers have been using it since 1997 -- and many others are rushing to bring it to us. Ford's announcement follows General Motors' promise last week to make in-car connectivity available in seven models of trucks and SUVs. They're the latest automakers to bring the infobahn to the autobahn.Pretty cool feature! This means you could stream music from your mini or shut your snot faced child up with a movie from Netflix on each and every road trip!
eBooks, some of them free eBooks, outsold print books this Christmas. On December 26, Amazon announced that, for the first time ever, they had sold more eBooks than physical books on Christmas day. In an interview Jeff Bezos was also quoted as saying that he believes that the print book will eventually disappear. And how much money is Amazon making? How much money are authors and publishers making? When GalleyCat examined the Kindle Store bestsellers, they found that 64 of the 100 bestselling eBooks, the majority, were, in fact, free, including the number one bestseller, "Midnight in Madrid", by Noel Hynd.Interesting, but not too surprising. Personally, I agree with JMG... there's nothing better than having a hard-cover book in your hands and flipping through it's rough, dry pages to get to the end of the story.
The former sheepfold at the edge of Central Park, now ringed by twinkling lights and fake topiary animals, is preparing for New Year's Eve, when it will serve its last meal. Just three years ago, it was plating more than 700,000 meals annually, bringing in more than $38 million. But that astronomical sum wasn't enough to keep the landmark restaurant out of bankruptcy court. Its $8 million debt is to be covered at an auction of Baccarat and Waterford chandeliers, Tiffany stained glass, a mural depicting Central Park and other over-the-top decor that has bewitched visitors for decades.The city has awarded a contract to operate a restaurant on the premises to the company that owns the Loeb Boathouse, which is also in Central Park. Next month a court will decide on whether the new owners can use the Tavern On The Green name.
The LGBT Co-op first heard about the T-shirts from a member of the Yale College Council, LGBT Co-op Coordinator Rachel Schiff ’10 said. She followed suit by contacting the dean and master of her college — Silliman — to encourage dialogue among the Co-op, administrators and FCC. Ou said Wednesday that he first heard about the winning T-shirt design when FCC brought the complaints to him. In response, he told the FCC chairs to meet with the concerned students face to face. Shortly after he told FCC to respond to the co-op’s concerns, Ou said, he told Yale College Dean Mary Miller about the issue, and she decided to pull the design. “What purports to be humor by targeting a group through slurs is not acceptable,” Miller said in an e-mail to the News. Still, FCC representatives had concluded they would not make their final decision until they met with the co-op. “Independently of Dean Miller’s decision, our primary concern was that no one was hurt, offended or felt uncomfortable with our T-shirts,” Levin said. After that discussion, he said, representatives decided to withdraw that design and opt for a different one, featuring a white ‘H’ in the front inside a transluscent white circle, with a white line slashed through it.Talk about a most boring design for a t-shirt. But that's not the biggest issue here. It's that gay men were actually offended by this shirt. Shame on the gay men at Yale for even thinking this shirt even applied to them. I mean, aren't we past that point? The point where all gay men are regarded as overly feminine? Because I know plenty of gay men who aren't... and I know plenty of straight men who are. I just feel that the LGBT group at Yale took this issue a little too far. When I refer to someone as a sissie, it's because they're a total whimp, not because they're gay.
A Honolulu television station is reporting that conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh has been taken to a hospital with chest pains. KITV reported Wednesday that paramedics responded to a call at 2:41 p.m. from the Kahala Hotel and Resort where Limbaugh is vacationing. The station, citing unnamed sources, said paramedics treated Limbaugh and took him to The Queen's Medical Center in serious condition. Queen's spokeswoman N. Makana Shook says the hospital is unable to comment on the report.He certainly gets over-excited about things. And while he may be anti, anti, anti, anti gay... the editors of SwishEmbassy certainly hope all is well and wish him a speedy recovery.
Television coverage could expose witnesses and other trial participants to harassment and intimidation, backers of Proposition 8 said in a court filing Monday. They said some of their witnesses 'have indicated that they would not be willing to testify' if the trial was televised. They also argued that a long-standing court rule prohibits cameras and cannot be changed until the court invites and considers public comment. The filing by attorney Charles Cooper hinted that the Yes-on-8 campaign would ask higher courts to intervene if Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker approved TV coverage.Prop 8 challengers persist:
A lawyer for the couples challenging Prop. 8 supported television coverage in a filing Tuesday, citing the 'overwhelming national public interest in the issues.' Safety concerns voiced by defenders of the measure are 'unsubstantiated and groundless speculation,' said attorney Theodore Boutrous.
Belton is the author of Almost Midnight, a novel, and the anthology Speak My Name.
Michael J. Griffin, 25, of Bloomington told police he visited Don Belton on Sunday to confront the 53-year-old assistant professor of English over two alleged assaults, the probable cause affidavit said. An argument and scuffle ensued. Griffin told police he stabbed Belton with a 10-inch military style knife after Belton failed to "show or express any type of feeling that what had taken place was a mistake," the affidavit said.
A friend who came to Belton's home in Bloomington on Monday found his body in the kitchen, authorities said. Police who were called to the scene found both doors unlocked and no signs of forced entry. Nothing was missing, said police Lt. David Drake. Drake said Belton was stabbed "at least five or six" times in the back and several times in the front of the torso.
The affidavit said police found Belton's journal, which contained an entry saying that he was "very happy" that someone named Michael had entered his life. Police later received a call from Griffin's girlfriend saying she thought her boyfriend might be involved in the slaying.
Officers who searched Griffin's home Monday night found the knife believed to have been used in the killing, Drake said. The affidavit said Griffin had bought the knife before serving as a Marine in Iraq.
Laura... get on top of it girl! I had a conversation with Daphne in my own little head, and it went something like this:Daphne: Welcome to AT&T online Sales support. How may I assist you with placing your order today?Laura: Hi, I was looking at the iPhone 3Gs and the system tells me that I cannot order one in my ZIP code. My zip code is 11231. (Brooklyn, NY) Is this true? Are iPhones no longer available in New York City?
Daphne: I am happy to be helping you today . Yes, this is correct the phone is not offered to you because New York is not ready for the iPhone.Daphne: You don't have enough towers to handle the phone.
Laura: Thank you for your help. So the phone is not available to people anywhere in the city?
Daphne: Yes this is correct Laura.
It's no joke people, AT&T's service sucks... and the only thing they have going for them at this point is the iPhone. All I can say is that once my contract is up, it's back to Verizon bitches!Daphne: Welcome to AT&T online Sales support. How may I assist you with placing your order today?Wes Rocks: Hi, I was looking at the iPhone 3Gs and the system tells me that I cannot order one in my ZIP code. My zip code is 11231. (Brooklyn, NY) Is this true? Are iPhones no longer available in New York City?
Daphne: I am happy to be helping you today . Yes, this is correct the phone is not offered to you because New York is not ready for the iPhone.Daphne: You don't have enough towers to handle the phone.
Wes Rocks: Oh, I get it! So what you're telling me is AT&T has the fastest 3G network in the entire nation, but it doesn't work in big cities because there's too much congestion, and it doesn't work in the country because, unlike Verizon's totally reliable and extensive network, AT&T doesn't provide service that far out of city limits? And in order to get full use of AT&T's network, I have to live in some awful suburb full of minivan-driving soccer moms, full of new home developments, with no crime, no poverty, and no pushing?
Daphne: Yes this is correct Wes. You Rock.
Provincial spokesman Eduardo Porter says the wedding between Jose Maria Di Bello and Alex Freyre took place at the civil registry in Ushuaia. Their marriage plans in Buenos Aires earlier this month were thwarted when city officials refused to marry them because of conflicting rulings. An official representing the federal government's antidiscrimination agency attended the wedding. Claudio Morgado called Monday's marriage 'historic.' Argentina's Constitution is silent on whether marriage must be between a man and a woman, effectively leaving the matter to state and city officials.Via Towleroad
Her confirmation by the U.S. Senate was announced Monday morning by Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar, who recommended her. Lubinkski was formally nominated for the post in October by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate in a flurry of pre-holiday legislative activity last week. U.S. Marshals oversee federal courthouse security, protect witnesses, transport prisoners, and catch federal fugitives. Already one of the nation's highest-ranked female law-enforcement officers, Lubinski now becomes the state's first female U.S. marshal and one of only two women in the nation currently serving in the post.
Pop sensation KE$HA wrecked her chances of becoming Paris Hilton's 'BFF' when she threw up in the socialite's closet.The Tik Tok hitmaker sang backing vocals on Hilton's album, Paris, and the two girls briefly became friends - but that ended when Ke$ha mistook the heiress' wardrobe for her bathroom. She recalls, 'We were all dancing, hanging out (and) I got overexcited and ralphed (threw up) in her closet. I thought it was a bathroom. That kind of ended the relationship right there. I wouldn't want to be my friend either.
Hey bitches... SE will be back in action, effective 12/28/09 (yeah... that's tomorrow!). I'm SO excited to get back to blogging!
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