I have been toying with the idea, for a while now, of organizing a "Day Without Gays" protest. I was mostly inspired by the 2006 protest where members of the Hispanic community organized "A Day Without Immigrants". It was brilliant example of the impact that New Americans (and even undocumented Americans) have on the economy.
Like many ex-pats and immigrants who have chosen to live in this nation, I am a passionate about my city, my country and it's place in the larger world. I have seen the progress that we have made in the past decade. That being said, the progress is slow and the conversation around marriage equality is often used to polarize opposition and drum up financial support for those who commit themselves to blocking equality.
I don't think of this as a political issue (and you are free to disagree with me) I see this as a human rights issue. Human rights should never be politicized, and the fate of any minority should not be subject to approval by a majority of the population. That is dangerous thinking.
The reality, however, is that the question of equality has been politicized. A number of former Republican politicians, today, (many of whom opposed equality while they were in office) have submitted a brief to the US Supreme Court in support of equal marriage. While I appreciate the support, I think it is telling that nearly all of those who signed have nothing to lose, as they are no longer holding, or seeking office. I think it represents the deep hypocrisy of bi-partisan politics. But I digress.
I think a day when all members of the LGBTQQA community stand together - all races, creeds and political persuasions - and demonstrate to their communities, to their colleagues, to their elected representatives, the impact of their participation in society. Maybe then, the message of equality will resonate.
Please let me know if you would like to help make this day of protest a reality. Let's stand up and be counted. The time is now.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Amazing Amazon Ad
Huge kudos (and a sincere round of applause) to Amazon, whose latest commercial for Kindle Paperwhite features an equal marriage twist. Well done!
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
You Had ONE Job...
And you failed miserably at it!
This article had me in stitches today. (Click here to check it out) It also, according to Timmy two-tone "makes me feel better about my life."
Happy hump day everyone!
This article had me in stitches today. (Click here to check it out) It also, according to Timmy two-tone "makes me feel better about my life."
Happy hump day everyone!
O Canada - Family Day Edition
(NOTE: I wrote this yesterday afternoon but forgot to publish it. Oops. I have updated the final paragraph to reflect today's date -P)
I recently took a well-deserved 5 day weekend to travel home to Niagara-on-the-Lake for the Family Day long weekend. This is a quick rundown of the events of the weekend (to the best of my recollection).
The evening before I left - February 14, 2013 - I hosted a "Singles Slumber Party" chez moi and invited Codester, Shmi & Papo (aliases) to eat, drink, dish and watch the 90s classic, "Clueless". Speaking of drinking, I saved a delicious bottle of wine that I was given for my birthday to enjoy with all the single ladies. It was amazing - smooth, rich and it paired beautifully with our Thai dinner.
My flight, the next morning, took off at 7:15am, which meant that I was up at around 5am to head to the airport. Necessary aside: I LOVE driving around in Chicago in the wee hours. Obviously, there's something awesome about the lack of traffic, but it also makes the city feel more intimate. More mysterious. More mine.
I parked the Forteress and jumped on the shuttle to the terminal. I arrived at the gate with plenty of time to spare but found almost no one was sitting in the waiting area. I had a momentary panic attack - worrying that everyone else had already boarded. The airline representative at the desk assured me that they hadn't started boarding yet, and also informed me that there were only 15 passengers for this flight - so much for my upgrade.
The flight, from wheels up to touchdown took a total of 58 minutes (I love a good tailwind!). My father was dutifully waiting for me (despite my early arrival) and we headed off to the border.
There was no line at the peace bridge, but the truck in front of us was questioned for quite a while, and was then referred to the secondary inspection area (where 3 officers walked over and supervised the truck's parking). Intrigue.
Friday evening, I spent with my parents and had dinner at my favorite euro-grille, Frescos. They were leaving town in the morning to attend the Scotties Tournament of Hearts (women's curling) in Kingston, Ontario. So much for family day. I kid.
Saturday, I spent with Mouse, Janie and the kids. We visited my favorite winery, got a couple of bottles of really lovely wine and then drove out to a large vacant field where Niagara's resident snowy owl resides. I snapped a picture of him, it's sort of like a winter wonderland version of Where's Waldo. No hints.
After our jaunt out, we dropped Natalia off at her Highland Dancing lessons, and went back to the Mouse House. After picking Natalie up a couple of hours later we were ready to enjoy a meal of lasagna and salad. While Mouse had a tub, Jane and I realized that there wasn't a corkscrew in the house so Natalia and I booked it over to Jane's place to get one. Crisis averted.
The next crisis was that the baking instructions for the lasagna only spoke to the time and temperature required for a thawed dish - not frozen. The result is that we ate about 90 minutes later than we'd originally intended. The children were none too pleased, but the grownups enjoyed a little extra wine time. The meal was beyond delicious and a good time was had by all.
The next day, while I waited for Ian to arrive, we hung out Chez Jane, and had some lovely family bonding time. We had a lovely meal of spaghetti tossed with olive oil, feta cheese, black olives and cherry tomatoes. Yum!
Liv, fresh in from the wilds of Brooklyn, also came by. I couldn't compete with three children for her attention, so I don't think I said more than 50 words to her all night. Still, it was so great to see her. Ian arrived at the St Kits bus station at 9pm. He and I ended up going through the A&W drive-thru in Niagara Falls. According to Ian, the veggie burger was ok but the poutine was awful.
The next day, Ian and I headed to the states for a quick shop through Target followed by burgers from Harvey's, long afternoon naps and a night of brother bonding over pizza and Big Bang Theory.
Yesterday, Ian dropped me off at the Buffalo airport and Southwest whisked me back to Chicago. Soleil was so happy to see me, she did a choreographed dance number. After so many lovely days with family, and friends, the best part was coming home to my baby girl.
I recently took a well-deserved 5 day weekend to travel home to Niagara-on-the-Lake for the Family Day long weekend. This is a quick rundown of the events of the weekend (to the best of my recollection).
The evening before I left - February 14, 2013 - I hosted a "Singles Slumber Party" chez moi and invited Codester, Shmi & Papo (aliases) to eat, drink, dish and watch the 90s classic, "Clueless". Speaking of drinking, I saved a delicious bottle of wine that I was given for my birthday to enjoy with all the single ladies. It was amazing - smooth, rich and it paired beautifully with our Thai dinner.
I parked the Forteress and jumped on the shuttle to the terminal. I arrived at the gate with plenty of time to spare but found almost no one was sitting in the waiting area. I had a momentary panic attack - worrying that everyone else had already boarded. The airline representative at the desk assured me that they hadn't started boarding yet, and also informed me that there were only 15 passengers for this flight - so much for my upgrade.
The flight, from wheels up to touchdown took a total of 58 minutes (I love a good tailwind!). My father was dutifully waiting for me (despite my early arrival) and we headed off to the border.
There was no line at the peace bridge, but the truck in front of us was questioned for quite a while, and was then referred to the secondary inspection area (where 3 officers walked over and supervised the truck's parking). Intrigue.
Friday evening, I spent with my parents and had dinner at my favorite euro-grille, Frescos. They were leaving town in the morning to attend the Scotties Tournament of Hearts (women's curling) in Kingston, Ontario. So much for family day. I kid.
Saturday, I spent with Mouse, Janie and the kids. We visited my favorite winery, got a couple of bottles of really lovely wine and then drove out to a large vacant field where Niagara's resident snowy owl resides. I snapped a picture of him, it's sort of like a winter wonderland version of Where's Waldo. No hints.
The next crisis was that the baking instructions for the lasagna only spoke to the time and temperature required for a thawed dish - not frozen. The result is that we ate about 90 minutes later than we'd originally intended. The children were none too pleased, but the grownups enjoyed a little extra wine time. The meal was beyond delicious and a good time was had by all.
The next day, while I waited for Ian to arrive, we hung out Chez Jane, and had some lovely family bonding time. We had a lovely meal of spaghetti tossed with olive oil, feta cheese, black olives and cherry tomatoes. Yum!
Liv, fresh in from the wilds of Brooklyn, also came by. I couldn't compete with three children for her attention, so I don't think I said more than 50 words to her all night. Still, it was so great to see her. Ian arrived at the St Kits bus station at 9pm. He and I ended up going through the A&W drive-thru in Niagara Falls. According to Ian, the veggie burger was ok but the poutine was awful.
The next day, Ian and I headed to the states for a quick shop through Target followed by burgers from Harvey's, long afternoon naps and a night of brother bonding over pizza and Big Bang Theory.
Yesterday, Ian dropped me off at the Buffalo airport and Southwest whisked me back to Chicago. Soleil was so happy to see me, she did a choreographed dance number. After so many lovely days with family, and friends, the best part was coming home to my baby girl.
Friday, February 8, 2013
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