Like many teenagers, I had bad -- maybe horrible -- taste in music. Some of my favorites were inspired by having older brothers who were teenagers through much of the 80s. The music they liked in college may have dribbled down, a realization Suzanne and I came to a few weeks back when we were celebrating Toad the Wet Sprocket at a Glenn Phillips show only to realize we were the youngest people in the room.
My fascination with 80s sugar-pop, maybe a little new wave, is solely my own fault -- and maybe Suzanne's a little. There were about 4 80s CDs in constant rotation in Vendala, my 1986 Civic that I slaughtered on Magic Mountain Parkway. My copy of our favorite one, featuring the song below, was so horribly worn out because our "CD player" was a boom box that usually had to sit on someone's lap. (I did manage to have a CD player installed in time for Vendala's untimely passing.)
A few weeks ago, Suzanne burned me a copy of that classic 80s hit album so I'd never be without it. And now you can enjoy the video of one of the cheesiest songs ever recorded:
Other classics on the album include Putting on the Ritz, Pop Goes the World, Funkytown (but not the disco version), and Axel F from Beverly Hills Cop.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
What Really Matters?
Brack Obama recently spoke at a rally in Medford, Oregon, using a speech about wedge issues that he's rolled out throughout the state. It's interesting because I'm familiar with Oregon; my brother's went to college just outside of Medford. Oregon is an interesting state politically that's been battling some demons. It's not a huge state, but it is as politically diverse as a behemoth like its neighbor to the south, California. Oregon has been haunted by equality fights over the past decade. Once thought to be an early-pioneer test ground for marriage, it's not caught up in a constant stuggle over basic rights. And this is where Seantor Obama decided to say this:
What I am most afraid about Democratic nominee Barack Obama is that he will sell us out to the right. Ironic, since he was like the most liberal senator or something of the sort; I heard it on Fox News. My friends that support him criticize Hillary -- and typically Bill, too -- by talking about how she's a hawk, how the Clinton years were a disappointment, and how we need a new leader that can bring America together.
Guess what? Conservatives don't want to sit down at the table and give me half of what I want if I concede to half of what they want. Politics is war with balloons and less polling. We convince the majority of Americans to support our candidates and then our candidates rule.
Have you ever asked yourself why the British flag doesn't fly over American buildings? Because the British lost the war.
Conservatives have spent the past 8 years denying every modest movement in a more progressive direction. They have used all their energy to villify people like Barack Obama who support tolerance, oppose the war, and want to invest in our future. Why give in to them?
Marriage equality is not a wedge issue. It's a bread-and-butter issue for about 30 million Americans and those that care about them. It's about fairness. It's about justice. It's about segregation. And taxation. And health care. And education. And employment. To 30 million Americans it is as important as things like the war and global warming.
Do you need more examples besides my landlord?
Two friends of mine are in a relationship and "registerred Domestic Partners." In California, that ugly term is about the same as civil marriage. Lesbo 1 has a job with great health benefits. They'll cover Domestic Partners. Lesbo 2 needs the coverage, so they take it. Just like how my dad's been under my mom's health insurance for about 35 years. Except the lesbians get a 1099 at the end of the year. Lesbo 2's coverage is considered income and they must pay income tax on the insurance benefits that my dad would never have had to pay.
Every time that Barack Obama says something stupid like...
...I'm gonna try to remind us all why he needs to really lead and not just prance around on stage dressed like a leader and reading a leaders lines.
Source: Towleroad.
The reason that we have to talk about and deal with these divisions is because we get distracted every political season and election cycle by these divisions. And then we end up ignoring these big problems. Think about what these last few election cycles have been about. We argue about immigration, but we don't try to solve the immigration problem. It's an argument that is all about people's passions instead of trying to figure it out. We argue about gay marriage. In the meantime the planet is...potentially being destroyed. We've got a war that is bankrupting us. And we're going to argue about gay marriage? (applause) I mean, that...doesn't make any sense.We argue about gay marriage because "principle progressive leaders" don't exist to speak out bravely and boldy in defense of civil rights and against the new apartheid state.
What I am most afraid about Democratic nominee Barack Obama is that he will sell us out to the right. Ironic, since he was like the most liberal senator or something of the sort; I heard it on Fox News. My friends that support him criticize Hillary -- and typically Bill, too -- by talking about how she's a hawk, how the Clinton years were a disappointment, and how we need a new leader that can bring America together.
Guess what? Conservatives don't want to sit down at the table and give me half of what I want if I concede to half of what they want. Politics is war with balloons and less polling. We convince the majority of Americans to support our candidates and then our candidates rule.
Have you ever asked yourself why the British flag doesn't fly over American buildings? Because the British lost the war.
Conservatives have spent the past 8 years denying every modest movement in a more progressive direction. They have used all their energy to villify people like Barack Obama who support tolerance, oppose the war, and want to invest in our future. Why give in to them?
Marriage equality is not a wedge issue. It's a bread-and-butter issue for about 30 million Americans and those that care about them. It's about fairness. It's about justice. It's about segregation. And taxation. And health care. And education. And employment. To 30 million Americans it is as important as things like the war and global warming.
Do you need more examples besides my landlord?
Two friends of mine are in a relationship and "registerred Domestic Partners." In California, that ugly term is about the same as civil marriage. Lesbo 1 has a job with great health benefits. They'll cover Domestic Partners. Lesbo 2 needs the coverage, so they take it. Just like how my dad's been under my mom's health insurance for about 35 years. Except the lesbians get a 1099 at the end of the year. Lesbo 2's coverage is considered income and they must pay income tax on the insurance benefits that my dad would never have had to pay.
Every time that Barack Obama says something stupid like...
We argue about gay marriage. In the meantime the planet is...potentially being destroyed. We've got a war that is bankrupting us. And we're going to argue about gay marriage? I mean, that...doesn't make any sense.
...I'm gonna try to remind us all why he needs to really lead and not just prance around on stage dressed like a leader and reading a leaders lines.
Source: Towleroad.
More Bryan
I was Bryan... again... today at Starbucks.
I hate that Starbucks. I prefer to be Brent at Coffee Bean where at least people order coffee. The five -- yes FIVE -- people in line in front of me did not order coffee! Breakfast sandwiches and juice, or water! Friggin' water! I thought Starbucks was getting rid of those nasty smelling sandwiches!
I hate that Starbucks. I prefer to be Brent at Coffee Bean where at least people order coffee. The five -- yes FIVE -- people in line in front of me did not order coffee! Breakfast sandwiches and juice, or water! Friggin' water! I thought Starbucks was getting rid of those nasty smelling sandwiches!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Say My Name, Say My Name
Do you know what it's like to have people consistently misspell your name? How would you feel if about half the time they misspelled your name for a version that isn't remotely as common?
Brian is a name of Celtic origins believed to mean, "noble" or "high". It's a great name with a 1,000 year old tradition. It was popularized in, like, the 11th Century by King Brian Boru who defended his kingdom in Ireland from Norse invaders. What a guy!
Bryan is a name of illiterate origins often credited as meaning a "variation of Brian."
In the 1970s -- when I was born -- "Brian" was the 8th most common boys name. It hovered in the top 20 until 1991, when it finally slipped down to 30th. But the name is still popular. It has been in the top 100 boys names in the United States for more than 60 years.
"Bryan" on the other hand, is another case. It took over a decade later until the name slipped into the top 100. It's never broken the rank of top 30 names.
Yet, the people at Coffee Bean and Starbucks always -- well at least half the time if not more often -- write "Bryan" on the side of my cup... like I'm drinking someone else's latte.
Ugh.
Oh, but today, I was Brent. (I was tired and must have slurred my speech.)
Brian is a name of Celtic origins believed to mean, "noble" or "high". It's a great name with a 1,000 year old tradition. It was popularized in, like, the 11th Century by King Brian Boru who defended his kingdom in Ireland from Norse invaders. What a guy!Bryan is a name of illiterate origins often credited as meaning a "variation of Brian."
In the 1970s -- when I was born -- "Brian" was the 8th most common boys name. It hovered in the top 20 until 1991, when it finally slipped down to 30th. But the name is still popular. It has been in the top 100 boys names in the United States for more than 60 years.
"Bryan" on the other hand, is another case. It took over a decade later until the name slipped into the top 100. It's never broken the rank of top 30 names.
Yet, the people at Coffee Bean and Starbucks always -- well at least half the time if not more often -- write "Bryan" on the side of my cup... like I'm drinking someone else's latte.
Ugh.
Oh, but today, I was Brent. (I was tired and must have slurred my speech.)
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Amen
My friend Troy has some thoughts on Seantors Obama's "groundbreaking" speech on race and his run for the presidency of the United States...
Troy is right. Obviously, some will say, "The speech was about race, no gay rights." Some will say blacks have suffered more, or differently, or that Starbucks burns their coffee. All three of those things don't matter.
We live in an apartheid state. Segregation -- legal segregation by the government -- exists today, in 2008. And our leaders, both progressive and conservative, are content to let it continue so they don't "lose" an election. Problem is we all lose. My former landlord who lost his lover of 30 years and was forced to sell their home because he got no pension benefits loses. The mother who has her kids taken from her for no reason other than she is a lesbian loses. The thousands of children who could be welcomed in to the loving homes with 2 gay parents lose. And Obama hides behind church and 5,000 years of oppression, female ownership, slavery, and hypocrisy -- a tradition which his own denomination, the United Church of Christ has rejected by supporting full marriage equality.
The Audacity of Hypocrisy
In order to form a more perfect union…
All men are created equal…
Land of the free…
Yesterday I, along with millions of other Americans, watched Senator Obama give the first real speech on race relations and discrimination by a politician in 40 years. It was a moment staged to be revolutionary. It was a moment of supposed self-reflection and reconciliation. It was a moment where we were to look inward and see that racism is in all our lives and that by pretending it doesn’t exist, is to limit our country from healing.
Senator Obama held a mirror up for all of us to look in. White, black, Asian, Native American, red states and blue states. We were to see that if we are not part of the solution, then we are part of the problem and that if we truly wish to be the Land of the Free then we need to work together and be honest with ourselves. Today I hold up that mirror up for the Senator to look in.
How can you stand and deliver a speech on equality, to talk about the kitchen-table-discrimination that our country perpetuates and yet still not support the rights of millions of Americans who only wish to marry the person they love? Do you not see this as discrimination? Do you not see that you are telling a group of citizens that they cannot have the same rights as you? Do you not see that saying you can have civil unions while everyone else marries is the same as saying you have a seat on the bus, but only in the back of the bus because you are not like us?
In your speech you talked of Rev. Wright as being a man whom you admire but who does not always represent you in what he says. How is it that you can compartmentalize your belief system when it has to do with your Reverend and his impact on your political status, but you cannot compartmentalize your belief system from the church when it comes to delivering equality to the only group in America that is still institutionally discriminated against?
On your website you wrote, "And I should say that personally, I do believe that marriage is between a man and a woman." Well let me say this. There were people who believed that interracial marriages should be illegal and like you, they were wrong. Two people who love each other and who are committed to one another should have the same rights, no matter their race, creed or sexual orientation.
You sir, discriminate. You sir, are guilty of the same sins as those who believed that blacks should not have the same rights as whites. You speak of equality and yet you legislate and preach discrimination. I find that hypocrisy unforgivable.
We have three candidates in this election and not one of you has had the courage to stand up and say the discrimination is universally wrong. I hear about racism every day. I hear of sexism every day. I never hear about the one group that is still legally discriminated against. Homosexuals. I understand that it’s a politically sensitive area, but I am looking for a President with the courage to do what’s right.
Let me be clear about this clear Senator Obama. We were fed to the lions with the Christians. We were gassed and shot with the Jews. We have been hung from trees, dragged behind trucks and left to rot in the sun just like African Americans. We were here from the beginning of time and will be here until the end of time.
If you dare to speak of equality, then dare to fight for equality.
I want change too, Senator…
Troy is right. Obviously, some will say, "The speech was about race, no gay rights." Some will say blacks have suffered more, or differently, or that Starbucks burns their coffee. All three of those things don't matter.
We live in an apartheid state. Segregation -- legal segregation by the government -- exists today, in 2008. And our leaders, both progressive and conservative, are content to let it continue so they don't "lose" an election. Problem is we all lose. My former landlord who lost his lover of 30 years and was forced to sell their home because he got no pension benefits loses. The mother who has her kids taken from her for no reason other than she is a lesbian loses. The thousands of children who could be welcomed in to the loving homes with 2 gay parents lose. And Obama hides behind church and 5,000 years of oppression, female ownership, slavery, and hypocrisy -- a tradition which his own denomination, the United Church of Christ has rejected by supporting full marriage equality.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Ayudame!
Ever have a really weird thing happen that you just need to tell someone?
I've been watching the diet a little, cutting out High Fructose Corn Syrup. Not because I need to lose weight or anything, we all know I'm pretty hot, but because that shit is whack! Seriously, read up on good ol' HFCS. ...but, sometimes, some mornings, you just need a little something. Mmmm... donuts!
I love donuts! I've loved them ever since I was a little kid and my dad would get up at 5:00 AM on the weekend to get to the donut shop before the pickings were slim. Today, I craved a donut and I knew I was gonna drive past a donut shop on the way in to work. So I pulled in to a parking lot full of day laborers.
This seems like a weird place for them to gather. There's no hardware store nearby. It's a small shopping center with a liquor store and a donut shop, and that's about it. Strangely, the donut shop is exactly across the street from the LAPD's Pacific Divsion station house. But there they were. Eager to work. So eager, in fact, that when I pulled in to the lot in my pick-up truck, I got swarmed and one fella even jumped in to the bed of my truck. Don't go get donuts, driving a pick-up truck, in a parking lot full of day laborers.
They were very polite when I explained I just wanted donuts. The gentleman in the back got out, and they all returned to their exact spots, as if they were blocked by a stage director, and continued with their waiting.
Seriously, that's a story I can't keep to myself. And there's only one person I could call. He's always there for my crazy observations. Like the time the woman working at Barnes & Noble asked if I wanted to donate a book to school "lie-berry", I just had to call someone. (I did donate out of fear that another child would graduate from school thinking a library was called a "lie-berry.")
Thank you, Chris, for being there!
Oh, and I ended up not getting the donut. Donut shops in 2008 are sad, sad places.
I've been watching the diet a little, cutting out High Fructose Corn Syrup. Not because I need to lose weight or anything, we all know I'm pretty hot, but because that shit is whack! Seriously, read up on good ol' HFCS. ...but, sometimes, some mornings, you just need a little something. Mmmm... donuts!
I love donuts! I've loved them ever since I was a little kid and my dad would get up at 5:00 AM on the weekend to get to the donut shop before the pickings were slim. Today, I craved a donut and I knew I was gonna drive past a donut shop on the way in to work. So I pulled in to a parking lot full of day laborers.
This seems like a weird place for them to gather. There's no hardware store nearby. It's a small shopping center with a liquor store and a donut shop, and that's about it. Strangely, the donut shop is exactly across the street from the LAPD's Pacific Divsion station house. But there they were. Eager to work. So eager, in fact, that when I pulled in to the lot in my pick-up truck, I got swarmed and one fella even jumped in to the bed of my truck. Don't go get donuts, driving a pick-up truck, in a parking lot full of day laborers. They were very polite when I explained I just wanted donuts. The gentleman in the back got out, and they all returned to their exact spots, as if they were blocked by a stage director, and continued with their waiting.
Seriously, that's a story I can't keep to myself. And there's only one person I could call. He's always there for my crazy observations. Like the time the woman working at Barnes & Noble asked if I wanted to donate a book to school "lie-berry", I just had to call someone. (I did donate out of fear that another child would graduate from school thinking a library was called a "lie-berry.")
Thank you, Chris, for being there!
Oh, and I ended up not getting the donut. Donut shops in 2008 are sad, sad places.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
8 Months.
If you were going to make a movie about my life, you could call it "8 Months." My life runs in 8 month cycles. Funny, because it's like elections, which often run about the same...
Every 8 months I start looking for ways to change things dramatically. New job. New friends. New home. I mean, I've had like 13 roommates in 10 years:
Peter - Mondo - Suzanne - George - Chris - Brad - Ethan - A Different Chris - Ron - Beth - Michelle - Jamie - Ben
I've lived in 8 places in 10 years, without really every venturing out of Los Angeles:
On Campus - Mar Vista - Studio City - Home Again - Burbank - North Hollywood - Hancock Park - Playa del Rey
I've had a good number of jobs that I don't even want to start on.
Wow. 8 months. That's like an old television season, if we still had television seasons.
So, at 8 months I get antsy for something. A few weeks ago, my brother innocently stirred things up in the family. Things seemed to have settled but I'm haunted by something my sister (in-law) said about how when things are going well, he shakes things up. Like we feed on chaos. My family life growing up was great -- no real complaints at all -- but it definately was chaotic. A house with 3 boys, an overworked father, a fiesty Irish momma; there's bound to be some chaos. Maybe it was mom's mood swings, or so much activity being shifted by school calendars, swim seasons, and family vacations, but I think my body -- not just my mind -- has become dependment on that chaos. Stability beware.
I'm tired. But still trying to think how to mix it up even though 2008 has me trapped!
Every 8 months I start looking for ways to change things dramatically. New job. New friends. New home. I mean, I've had like 13 roommates in 10 years:
Peter - Mondo - Suzanne - George - Chris - Brad - Ethan - A Different Chris - Ron - Beth - Michelle - Jamie - Ben
I've lived in 8 places in 10 years, without really every venturing out of Los Angeles:
On Campus - Mar Vista - Studio City - Home Again - Burbank - North Hollywood - Hancock Park - Playa del Rey
I've had a good number of jobs that I don't even want to start on.
Wow. 8 months. That's like an old television season, if we still had television seasons.
So, at 8 months I get antsy for something. A few weeks ago, my brother innocently stirred things up in the family. Things seemed to have settled but I'm haunted by something my sister (in-law) said about how when things are going well, he shakes things up. Like we feed on chaos. My family life growing up was great -- no real complaints at all -- but it definately was chaotic. A house with 3 boys, an overworked father, a fiesty Irish momma; there's bound to be some chaos. Maybe it was mom's mood swings, or so much activity being shifted by school calendars, swim seasons, and family vacations, but I think my body -- not just my mind -- has become dependment on that chaos. Stability beware.
I'm tired. But still trying to think how to mix it up even though 2008 has me trapped!
Monday, March 03, 2008
Do you need to Give Big?
Last night, I came home from a big day of diving at Catalina's Casino Point in Avalon. I have a great class that has really grown on me, but the conditions weren't very good. I was also working with a stand-out Divemaster candidate named Reza. It'll be great when he's an instructor! When I came home, I took a bath, read a little and then turned on the television to woo me to sleep. And I remembered at the last minute that last night was the premiere of Oprah's Big Give.
But Reza can.
I spent the day working with him and saw and loved something about him. The way Reza interacts with people is astonishing. He introduces himself to almost everyone he meets. He chats up everyone. The driver of the baggage truck, the woman filling scuba tanks, the women serving Bloody Marys on the boat, the waiter at the pizza joint. And then he addresses people by name. And he asks them how they are doing... and listens long enough to hear the answer. You could see the reaction in many of these people and it was beautiful. In fact, the Bloody Mary ladies told us that speaking with us was the highlight of their day.
I learned from Reza something I always knew. You don't need to Give Big like Oprah. You just need to give. Even a little will matter.
But Reza can.
I spent the day working with him and saw and loved something about him. The way Reza interacts with people is astonishing. He introduces himself to almost everyone he meets. He chats up everyone. The driver of the baggage truck, the woman filling scuba tanks, the women serving Bloody Marys on the boat, the waiter at the pizza joint. And then he addresses people by name. And he asks them how they are doing... and listens long enough to hear the answer. You could see the reaction in many of these people and it was beautiful. In fact, the Bloody Mary ladies told us that speaking with us was the highlight of their day.
I learned from Reza something I always knew. You don't need to Give Big like Oprah. You just need to give. Even a little will matter.
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