Muses of the Mad

Chris Buttars

2009-02-20T13:08:00.001-08:00

**EDIT ADDED AND LINK CORRECTED**

I just got an email from the HRC (Human Rights Campaign). I can't watch the video, because I don't have time to be pissed off, write letters to Utah's Senate, at the moment. I will later, trust me.

Letter from HRC President, Joe Solemonese:

So what's America's greatest threat? The weakest economy in 80 years? Widespread layoffs, bank collapses, meltdown in the auto industry and a housing crisis?

Not according to Utah State Sen. Chris Buttars. In a recent interview obtained by HRC, he says America's greatest threat is the LGBT community. He goes on to call lesbian and gay relationships "abominations" and claims LGBT people lack morals.

Just appalling. We need to make sure that these kinds of remarks by a public official do not go unanswered.

Words matter. They can't just be laughed or shrugged off. In the interview, Sen. Buttars calls LGBT people "the meanest buggers I've ever seen" – this kind of rhetoric creates an atmosphere of hatred that incites violence against LGBT Americans.

Here are a few more lowlights from Buttars' vile rant:

* LGBT people "are destroying the Constitution."
* Their "number one goal is to proselytize to youth" and use schools as "a recruiting station."
* Thanks to them we are, "moving toward a society that has no morals."
* They will "destroy the foundation of American society... In my mind, it is the beginning of the end."

Watch the video on youtube.

More to come on this later.

**EDIT**

The clip provided by the HRC doesn't give context, but it's enough. Enough to make me completely lose respect fro Sen. Buttars.

He asked, "What are the morals of a homosexual?" and answers himself, "You can't answer that because anything goes."

Hahhah. What are the morals of a straight person? Are they all completely sin free and non-judgemental like Sen. Buttars obviously is?

"They talk about being nice. They're the meanest buggers I've ever seen."

The first problem I have with this, is if you're blatantly homophobic and make comments like Buttars has, you're not going to get very good reception from the gay community. Just like you straights, we don't like being treated like a piece of rubbish. My second problem is his use of the term "bugger," which literally means "anal intercourse," maybe he's just an idiot and that's an unfortunate choice of words whose meanings he isn't quite sure about, or maybe he has the gall to insinuate promiscuity in the gay community. ''

And tell me, how are gay people destroying the Constitution? We embrace what this country was built upon. We embrace the freedom to be who we are. Are we somehow bastardizing free speech to use the word lover, partner, and mate to describe someone of the same-sex? Tell me how we've touched the constitution. Because I want to know. Because if we already have, maybe we can again, so I can marry and have the same rights as everyone else.

I thought we'd moved past gay people acting as recruiters in schools a long time ago. I know a girl who fears her future career as a teacher, because she's gay. What happens when she's out in the community with her partner? Will she be blamed for the 10% of people who have been coming out since the beginning of human kind? Like Harvey Milk said in the 1970s, "If children emulated their teachers, we'd have a lot more nuns running around."

Do you know who lacks morals, Sen. Buttars? The man that judges his fellow man. That accuses a diverse group of people-- just a diverse as the straights-- of entirely lacking morals. Of being SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for the decay of society... Instead of blaming those who are responsible. The blatantly uneducated bureaucrats that stand in front of a nation and condemn.

I understand that Buttars is from a heavily conservative state... and here's the thing I DON'T CARE. It's still unacceptable. Somewhere in Utah, there's a kid listening. A kid who is learning from people like Buttars to believe that he is wrong for loving.

"Before you echo Amen in your home or place of worship, think and remember. A child is listening."
- Mary Griffith

Take it from Mary Griffith. Her son, Bobby Griffith was driven to kill himself because his mother couldn't accept his sexuality and continued to try to cleanse him through religion. No more mothers have to lose their sons. No more sons have to feel as though they are wrong for feeling in a way that they can't help.

Just... end hate speech. End discrimination. And elect no more closet-case bigots like Buttars to office.

Milk

2009-02-19T14:04:00.000-08:00

[Youtube Link]

I just finished this film. The film was criticized... mainly for its inclusion of openly gay characters.

It was one of the best films I've seen in my entire life. It is the real life of Harvey Milk, a major asset to gay rights in the 1970s, and the first openly gay man ever elected to public office in the United States.

From his tireless campaigns and willful facing and fighting of adversity, Milk is a hero to us all. And as he said, not just gays, the blacks, the asians, the elderly, the disabled, all of the us's, all of the minorities.

Harvey Milk did the right thing. He fought on an impossible front and won the majority of the battles, at great personal sacrifice. And still, today, he touches people. The only school for LGBT students and other students who have a high risk of being the victim of bullying was opened in his honor. (An estimated 160,000 students miss school every day out of fear for being bullied because they are LGBT) In NYC, Harvey Milk High School continues to spread what Harvey Milk taught, not only tolerance, but whole-hearted acceptance of the people that society has ostracized for no justifiable reason.

There was one quote that hit me really hard.

Two days after I was elected I got a phone call and the voice was quite young. It was from Altoona, Pennsylvania. And the person said “Thanks”. And you’ve got to elect gay people, so that thousands upon thousands like that child know that there is hope for a better world; there is hope for a better tomorrow. Without hope, not only gays, but those who are blacks, the Asians, the disabled, the seniors, the us’s: without hope the us’s give up. I know that you can’t live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living. And you, and you, and you, and you have got to give them hope."

Altoona is still a town with little hope for gay people. Here, in this little town, I've been glared at, I've been talked about, I've been called a dyke to my face. But in Altoona, off of campus, you get warned that it's not safe. It's not safe to be a young person in the darker parts of the small city, much less an openly lesbian young woman. And I remember, the night of the election, on the computer, watching Prop 8. I was watching for that hope. I did get hope in one sense, a straight man who openly supports gay rights was elected to the white house, and for that I'm thankful. But I also watched Blair county turn red, in fierce support of a man who believes that puritanical garbage should make it impossible for me to live in the same manner as a straight person, and a running mate who believes that her "friend" chose to be a lesbian, her "friend" chose to be marginalized by a society of uneducated bigots.

Harvey Milk's fight still isn't over. I talked to a friend a few weeks ago; she is going to school to become a teacher. She's afraid the parents of her future students will be aghast to see her with her partner in the community, that she'd lose her job for falling in love with a woman. We still don't have the federal right to not be fired because of who we love.

And Milk is right. You have to be out. The biggest foe is ignorance. The person who thinks gays are depraved and comparable to various deviant acts, has obviously never met one.

So: be out, be proud, and never, ever give up on the movement or on yourself.

Lawrence King

2009-02-19T13:59:00.000-08:00

I've been slacking. My updates on here are sorely lacking, but I have been writing about the community, don't get me wrong. So here are a few updates from the not too distant past:

Posted originally on February 14, 2009

[Youtube Link]

It has been a year, today, since Larry King, a 15 year old boy, asked a classmate to be his valentine. The next day, the boy walked into to English class, and shot Larry in the head.

I didn't know Larry. Accounts say that he was a sweet boy, who had never conformed to gender roles. People who knew him say he brought joy to everyone around him.

I remember getting the email, on February 15, 2008, and crying. This should not have happened. Brandon McInerney should not have been brought up in a society that made him feel so threatened by a well meaning gay boy, that he had to take Larry's life and ruin his own.

Rest Peacefully
Lawrence King
January 3, 1993- February 14, 2008

No on Prop 8

2008-11-03T17:48:00.001-08:00

Proposition 8 in CA and Amendment 2 in FL are about HATE. How does a loving couple hurt the sanctity of marriage?

Please, all I want is to be able to marry. Is that really so threatening to people that the Yes on Prop 8 campaign has raised $27,931,045 to fight my right to marry someone I love? No on 8 has only been able to raise $26,683,255, because of IGNORANCE people simply don't know

ONE: what Prop 8 is [it would redefine marriage in CA as between a man and a woman]

TWO: why there is a stigma attached to being gay.

And if you have friends or family who are homosexual, you realize that there is NO GOOD REASON.

PS In FL Amendment 2 would explicitly define that marriage is between a man and a woman, making it a hell of a lot harder to ever get marriage rights for same-sex couples in the state. FL is the same state where same-sex couples can't even adopt a child in need of a home. Please, help change that.

Lawerence King

2008-09-25T20:50:00.001-07:00

I was just reading more about Larry King and how the trials for his murderer are proceeding...

If you don't know, Larry was a 15-year-old boy from Oxnard, California. He was openly gay. He asked Brandon McInerney to be his Valentine. The day before Valentines day, this year, Brandon came to school with a gun. He shot Larry in English class.

And

One: McInerney's representation has the audacity to plead NOT GUILTY. Because McInerney, a 14-year-old, is being charged as an adult. While legally, he cannot be charged a minor, they want a charge of manslaughter rather than first degree murder and hate crime. He knowingly killed another human being. At 14 years of age we aren't exempt from the moral codes of everyone else. Youth is not an excuse for ignorance or violence. McInerney's actions should earn him the consequence for first degree murder as a hate crime. Not manslaughter. 53-life won't bring Larry back, but it will speak volumes to McInerney and to those like him.

Two: Larry was a ward of the state. I haven't been able to find the details as to why. But he wasn't in the custody of his parents at the time of his death. He was living in a home for abuse, neglected, and troubled youth. Larry was gender-nonconforming. He wore make-up and high heels to school. His parents, who at the time of his death were not his legal guardians, are suing the school. They're suing the school because the school did not enforce the dress code. This, they claim, made Larry a target.

Being different makes us a target, eh?

It is horrifying that it isn't safe to be different. That people will kill us for being different. That people will sue a societal institution for not making us be the same.

And don't think by "us" I only mean LGBT. I mean each one of us who is does not fit nicely into the norm. I mean us. Those different of orientation, gender identity, race, ethnicity, religion or lack thereof, dress, social standing, and secular opinions.

Trevor Project

2008-09-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

I added a banner link in the sidebar to the Trevor Project.

Established in 1998 to coincide with the HBO airing of the award winning short film, Trevor, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, The Trevor Helpline is the only nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth.

The Trevor Helpline is a free and confidential service that offers hope and someone to talk to, 24/7. The Trevor Helpline's trained counselors will listen and understand without judgment. If you or someone you know would like to talk to one of our highly trained counselors, dial 866-4-U-TREVOR.

Trevor Project's Official Website

The site also features a "Dear Trevor" page, where readers can post their questions and seek help, and "Trevorspace", a safe-space social network for LGBT youth and their allies.

LGBT youth are about 3 times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight counterparts. I'm glad to see another safe place for people who hurt.

Oh, and here's a link to the GLBT National Help Center's Youth Hotline website: link

Stay safe.
Live out.
Live proud.
And be glad you failed. I am.

Beautiful.

2008-09-14T11:38:00.000-07:00

I have internet at my apartment, now, folks.

College Life

2008-09-05T08:50:00.000-07:00

Oh the wonders of PSU Altoona.

Well, actually not. No one bothered to tell me that college was extremely boring. Extremely is an understatement. College is unfathomably, obscenely boring. Almost as boring as high school but lacking a great deal of the drama.

Oh. And I swear I'm the only gay chick here.

I went to a GSA meeting yesterday, and it was pretty neat. Max, the president is really cool. I'm thinking about trying for an officer position. But anyway, that's not the point. Apparently the vast majority of the membership here has migrated to main campus. So now, the GSA that sounded so cool on the website is like 6 people, including myself.

But I guess it's cool that it's still a pretty active group. The first activity for the year will be National Coming Out Day. Which is, by the way, October 11, but will be held on campus on the 9th. Apparently they're setting up a stage or whatever in the Student Center, and having some people perform and then leaving the stage free for people to tell their own coming out story. That's cool, I guess. I just kind of worry about someone getting outed by some asshole who thinks they're doing them a favour.

Ohhhh!! And I don't have internet. I won't until next Saturday. I don't know what to do with myself. Basically, I sleep and spend absurd amounts of time on the phone. And I clean my apartment. It's so not Cori. Cori uses the internet about 90 hours a day. That's right. 90 hours a day. Don't ask me how it's possible, but in my little world it is.

And have I mentioned how cold it is? I swear. Everywhere it is freezing in this place. Except outside, which is relatively nice if you ignore the fact it's virtually a city out there. People run the air conditioner constantly. I guess that should be expected in a computer lab, but I am like really cold.

Uhh. Well, that's all for now, folks. My life is pretty boring, and I really need to go outside and, to be entirely oxymoronic, chill where it's warm.

Oh. And sorry for the lack of links and pictures. I hate public computers and really don't want to fool with them much. But Google Interlude Magazine. It's an indie lesbian magazine. The first issue was just released and it's amazing.

Coming Out

2008-08-16T16:44:00.000-07:00

Hey, Youtube's video suggestion thing came through for me for once. This is coolkid0076's coming out video. He did it to help people understand what it's like to come out. If you've ever been closeted, you know how hard it is.

[[Youtube link]

Go to his Youtube for more of his story.

My story?
I've been attracted to women as long as I can remember. It was a long time before I found out what that meant, and even longer before I could accept it.

The first time I was gay-bashed, I was 11 years old. The first time I told someone I was a lesbian I was 16. When I was in the 6th grade, a mere 11 year old, the people around me started to date. Me, I wasn't really interested in boys. When we talked about boys, which was only done in the blushing privacy of our young adolescent rooms at the time, I'd make it up. I'd liked so-and-so since I met him or whatshisface was pretty cute.

In all reality, it was the time close to the girls with whom I was discussing it that I enjoyed. I don't mean sexually, at that age, no one really enjoys anything in a sexual sense. But that blushing awkwardness didn't come from the teasing hand of the opposite sex, it came from a hug or a phone call from a best friend. And when I found out that there was something called a lesbian, I was ashamed. I was too ashamed of the fact I might be one of "them" to ever really realize the source of turmoil within me.

The following year, an older girl who was the friend of my best friend figured it out. A rumor spread throughout school like wildfire that I was gay. It hurt. At 12 years old, the last thing you really need is people asking you if you're a lesbian, and if you aren't a lesbian why you're not dating any guys. So I dated guys. I dated guys for 3 or 4 years. And when I'd go through a break up (4 if them) I'd usually end up laughing. I didn't really want that anyway. Oh-- and when I got older and the subject of sex came up? It was absolutely horrible. Sex or oral would come up in conversation, and I wouldn't be able to look at the guy anymore, let alone 'date' him.

Anyway-- to the part that really matters which is of course, when and why I actually came out. Two years ago, my best friend at the time, told our group that she was bi. She said that she was terrified that I would hate her for it. I was professedly homophobic at the time. I was afraid of myself. I cried. I cried that I allowed my own self-loathing to hurt a friend. To make her hide like I had hidden. But I still didn't come out. I participated in so many conversations that made me ache to say it. But I was afraid that would make it real and I'd have to face all of those words I had in middle school all over again.

In June and July of 2007, I went overseas with a group called People to People International. The group of Student Ambassadors was made up of 42 students from all over western Pennsylvania. I became close friends with two girls, one of them being a pretty much out lesbian. No-- you guessed wrong-- nothing ever happened between us, and neither of us would ever have it any different. But instead of just hearing society's lore about crazy bull-dykes, Ellen, Rosie, and Xena and Gabrielle, she was my best friend. Unlike my friend who was bi, she had a girlfriend, and they were (and are to this day) happy together.

I didn't know that lesbians could be happy. I thought for some societally induced and idiotic reason that we were miserable. That all of the people like me mutilated themselves to ease the pain as I had. And then, an old boyfriend told me he still liked me. In my frustration, I told him I wasn't even sure if I was straight. And he didn't hate me. In fact, he talked to me about it in a positive way. He wished me luck with the girl I liked.

I read. I must have read more in the months of July and August of 2007 about LGBT people than most people ever will. I was amazed. There were people just like me. There were people who had struggled the way I struggled. They fell in love with someone of the same-sex and raised a family. I read LGBT YA lit hungrily. I cried when I read Annie On My Mind by Nancy Garden. Empress of the World left me smiling. Keeping You a Secret left me numb.

Then, I went to Ozzfest with Jess and her boyfriend at the time. This was in August 2007. I told her there was something I needed to tell her, but couldn't tell her in front of her boyfriend (he was homophobic, didn't like me, and even ended up asking me that night if I was queer). The next day, I told her. And she told me she might be bi. And I almost died laughing. And crying. And wondering if I'd ever be able to tell her I'd had a crush on her since 9th grade.

And from there, I started to fight for a GSA at my high school. I planned and carried out The Day of Silence 2008 even though my principal opposed me (he said there was no need at the school and that it encouraged public displays of affection). People found out I was gay, and I proudly wore a rainbow bandanna and a shirt I made myself emblazoned "IMRU" in all the colors of the rainbow.

From there, I learned that coming out is a process and so is loving yourself. I didn't tell Jess that I liked her until February of 2008. My sister didn't know I was out until last week. My parents still don't know, but I hope to tell them before October 11, which is Coming Out Day.

Live out. Live Proud.

Closets are for clothes. And I don't even have a damned closet for my clothes... they're in two laundry baskets getting ready to be packed for college.

College

2008-08-12T17:48:00.000-07:00

Right now, I'm in Corolla, North Carolina. And let me tell you, it kind of sucks. It's really uncomfortable spending most of my time back in the closet. But that is the nature of the summer, I've been here since school was out in May. And let me tell you, the smell of mothballs gets really tiring. But this week is the blackest part of the night before the dawn. I'm with my entire family in a beach house, and the only person who knows me at all is my 14 year old sister. It's getting really tiring.

Otherwise, it's less than a week until I leave for PennState Altoona. I'm really excited. I chose the campus mostly because it has a GSA, and I fought for a long time to get one in my high school. Don't get me wrong, it's a decent school, but I am really excited about the GSA. I mean, Jess got me an awesome rainbow flag for my bedroom wall in my apartment.

And I won't lie, when I opened that, I started crying. In the last year, though we never dated, we've become closer than I've been with almost anyone. She's shown me how amazing it is to have someone who knows how to make everything okay. She's shown me how utterly awesome it is to have someone to hold, someone you genuinely ache to be near. Wow, am I ever sappy?

That's going to be the biggest challenge, not being able to be near her. (A three hour drive seems longer than ever.) I swear, she keeps me sane. I don't want to see someone else take her place, ever. She's coming with me when I move on the 20th, though.

Another challenge will be living with my roommates. I haven't met them yet or even spoken to them online. I'm mildly terrified that they'll be homophobic or something. I'm conditioned that way. I've been raised so far with a mother who says that gays and lesbians shouldn't be allowed to be teachers or to be around people of the same sex. I'm afraid I'll have a likeminded roommate, afraid that she'll be afraid that I'll be into her or something.

I guess I never really experienced the awkwardness with the opposite sex that most of my peers went through, and now that I'm out I'm getting it like 10-fold in my head with people I might potentially encounter in college. What can I say? I'm a small town girl. Moving into a diverse place with different types of people (and even some people like me!) is slightly insane.

Muse Overhall

2008-08-12T17:34:00.000-07:00

I think it's about time for this blog to be overhalled. I mean, I started it last summer, and it hasn't really ever seen faithful updates. But that's because it never really had a subject. But it started to have steady LGBT themes. And here we are, Muses of the Mad is about the become one of the few Youth LGBT blogs on the internet.

I know it's not anything huge or new. But there are definitely not enough of us out there blogging. Most of the LGBT individuals that are blogging are 20 or 30 somethings. They're writing for AfterEllen, AfterElton, The Gay Blog, and The Advocate. I frankly enjoy their stories, but where among the slews of teenage and college bloggers is the LGBT community represented?

My name is Cori. I'm seventeen years old. I'm a lesbian. I read weekly updates from HRC, GLSEN, and several other organizations. I like to blog. And from now on, Muses of the Mad is a Youth LGBT blog.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

2007-12-02T22:35:00.000-08:00

Okay, correct me if I'm wrong... but gays and lesbians do NO HARM in the military. It is HOMOPHOBIA that does the harm. Morale would not waver, unit cohesion would not waver if we overcame homophobia. Gays and lesbians are not animals running around rampantly raping men and women, respectively. Come on! There are strict regulations about relationships in the military, are there not? Its not as though a man is going to put part of his unit in danger in efforts to save his partner-- and if so, it is an equally pressing matter with heterosexuals.

And what do you think our conservative Christian military chiefs think? Oh, because the majority of the military is "conservative" (I'd like to see the proof), America is for once in its horrible lifetime, going to serve the majority, instead of the minority?? That makes delightfully little sense. Politicians are always ready to appease the minority.

I don't understand it... Men can carry pictures of their wife or girlfriend, women of their boyfriend or husband, but if a man openly carries a picture of his boyfriend, domestic partner, or civil union partner, he can be dismissed?

What makes it any different? The fact that copulation doesn't lead to reproduction? Does that mean using birth control is wrong? Does that mean the infertile should be ostracized?

It can't be the fact that others aren't "openly heterosexual", because you are openly heterosexual every time you talk about your partner of the opposite sex. Every time you talk about the girl you fucked in high school... Maybe you don't realize it... Try talking about someone you're fond of in gender-neutral pronouns, and not mentioning their name.... It's not so easy, is it? Try avoiding the subject of significant others in casual conversation... not so easy...

And to think people can be dismissed from the military for saying "she" instead of "they"... Because that is being openly gay.

I lost a little respect for Romney, there; I respected his positions on gay rights, keeping them separate from his personal beliefs, as he should.

Church Cancels Memorial for Gay Vet

2007-08-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

ARLINGTON, Texas - Relatives of a gay Navy veteran who died say they are upset that a megachurch canceled his memorial service 24 hours before it was to start. Officials at the nondenominational High Point Church knew that Cecil Howard Sinclair was gay when they offered to host his service, said his sister, Kathleen Wright.

But after his obituary listed his life partner as one of his survivors, she said, it was called off.

"It's a slap in the face. It's like, `Oh, we're sorry he died, but he's gay so we can't help you,'" she said Friday.

___

On the Net:

High Point Church: http://www.churchunusual.com

More at Yahoo News

That's so wrong its horrible.

The Truth

2007-08-06T17:10:00.000-07:00

Back in the times of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson saw a need for an educated population. The "mob", as they called the uneducated colonists of the time, was too unlearned in the knowledge of the world to make decisions in a true democracy. To alleviate this problem, Jefferson pushed for a national school system for all. Each state was able to make decisions regarding the guidelines of their individual districts and each district was to appoint a school board to oversee the administration and specific rules of the school district. This ideal system worked for a while. I believe it was the 1990's when it finally began to break, at least in our area, and allowed politics to slip into the sacred hall of the school board. Currently, the school board at West Greene is at one of its worst moments. The School Board of West Greene has displayed, over the past few years, a slowly decreasing interest in the education of the students. You can see this most clearly in the increase in the members of the administration. West Greene currently has two superintendents, technically one superintendent and one "assistant to the superintendent". Many people do not understand exactly what a superintendent does in a high school, so I will enlighten you. A superintendent, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is a person who oversees and supervises an organization or district. Personally, I feel that with a smaller district like West Greene, which recently had a graduating class of 48, it should be easier to supervise, not more difficult and definitely should not require more than one set of eyes for the job.

You can also see the loss of importance that the student has gone through when you look at the textbooks that are currently in use. Subjects like math and science are constantly changing and rearranging according to the results of new ground-breaking research. For example, most Biology textbooks are outdated before they reach the printer's office because of the rapid push in all fields of research going on around the world. The school tries to keep up with these changes in these crucial subjects, but what about the other ones, like English, Social Studies, and Languages? Our textbooks are extremely outdated. Not just by a few years, but by decades. My grammar book from my junior year was published in the 1960's and my American History textbook opened with information on the "current" president, Mr. Ronald Reagan. I understand that the budget is limited, but it seems to me that enough money should have been set aside within several decades to purchase new textbooks for our children. Our school board is cutting corners in the wrong places. Maybe we should help guide the scissors over the correct places.

Read the Rest

This was written by Glen "Buddy" Ruse, a student at Penn State who happens to be a good friend of mine, about the school from which he graduated. It's the sad truth, as it is the school I currently attend.

The Stolen Tome

2007-08-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

Morgan Glendennings, aristocrat wizard, is at a crossroads. She believes her family’s mysterious heirloom holds a secret. After much research, she learns of an ancient book that contains the information she needs. When the book is lost during shipment, Morgan suspects it has been stolen. She hires a shadowy rogue named Axel to help get it back. Together, they pursue the book and the men who stole it. Axel’s distrust of wizards and all things magical only complicates matters, especially when the chase takes longer and covers a greater distance than either expected. Caught in the intricate plots and schemes of the thieves who stole the book, Morgan and Axel push onward, trying to learn who paid the thieves for their services. Can they figure out who is behind the theft and why they would go to such lengths? And what could be so important about the Stolen Tome?

Buy It

Having refused to grow up and find a "real" occupation, Brian writes during his time away from the job that pays the bills. Born, raised, and hiding in southwestern Pennsylvania, he is a self-confessed hockey addict who won’t seek out any sort of treatment program for fear that he may be cured. As a proud member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, he is currently involved in a top secret project to overthrow all that is good and fair in the world just so that he can make a few bucks. His hobbies include a plethora of bizarre interests: import video games, reptiles, wrestling memorabilia, MST3K, collecting toys from his childhood, and Legos. Amazingly, despite all of these things, he has never been married.

I plan on getting a copy... I have the first few chapters from Brian, back when we did writers workshop. It's good fantasy literature.

I can't wait to get myself a signed copy. Hah.

Too Many Books?

2007-07-26T18:43:00.001-07:00

WILKES-BARRE, Pa., July 25 A bookstore owner's obsession with the written word has cost him his Pennsylvania home after local officials deemed his book collection a fire hazard.

Authorities in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., condemned John Puchniak's apartment this year when a routine inspection raised concern the bookstore owner's collection of nearly 3,000 texts could cause a fire, The (Wilkes-Barre) Times Leader reported Wednesday.

More at Earthtimes.org

It is virtually impossible to have too many books... Especially when you own a bookstore. I'm with the guy on this one. By the way-- didn't something of this nature happen in Diane Setterfield's Thirteenth Tale?

Berkeley and Locke

2007-07-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

I thought this was neat. I apologize for the lack of posts. I'll catch up soon-- I swear!

Or go to Youtube

More about Berkeley's Immaterialism

Bong hits 4 Jesus

2007-06-25T11:10:00.001-07:00

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A divided U.S. Supreme Court on Monday curtailed free-speech rights for students, ruling against a teenager who unfurled a banner saying "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" because the message could be interpreted as promoting drug use.

In its first major decision on student free-speech rights in nearly 20 years, the high court's conservative majority ruled that a high school principal did not violate the student's rights by confiscating the banner and suspending him.

Student Joseph Frederick says the banner's language was meant to be nonsensical and funny, a prank to get on television as the Winter Olympic torch relay passed by the school in January 2002 in Juneau, Alaska. More at Yahoo News

Skin grafts grown from hair

2007-06-23T19:56:00.000-07:00

Pisa, June 22 - Italian researchers have
succeeded in using hair to grow the right kind of skin for grafting onto serious burns and other wounds. "Basically, you put the hair in an incubator and grow skin cells that produce a protein that endows the skin with protective properties," said Pisa University's Marco Romanelli. "We have obtained a type of skin that is able to repair the kind of wounds that are hardest to treat". "And there's no risk of us turning anyone bald - we only take about 100 hairs from each person, the number that falls out every day in any case". Read More at Life in Italy

Rock addiction deemed a 'disability'

2007-06-22T13:48:00.000-07:00

A heavy metal fan has been awarded sickness handouts after doctors said his addiction to music was a disability.

The ruling means Roger Tullgren, 42, will pocket thousands of pounds in state benefits to help finance his 36-year obsession.

His boss is also letting him play his ear-splitting music at work and giving him time off for concerts, reports the Daily Mirror.

It marks an end to Roger's 10-year bid to have his "condition", which began when he started listening to Ozzy Osbourne's band Black Sabbath in 1971, officially classified as a handicap.
Read More at Ananova.com

I wonder if I can get the state to pay for my heavy-metal addiction...

Too Much Freedom of Speech?

2007-06-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

Consider freedom of speech. Hardly anyone actually supports unrestricted freedom to say what we want. Many of those defending Kilroy-Silk, for example, would be horrified by the extreme freedom of speech in Denmark, where pro-paedophile groups are allowed to speak with impunity. This would be a freedom too far.

But why? In his classic defence of liberty, John Stuart Mill distinguished between offense and harm. We cannot stop people doing or saying anything simply because it offends us. Too many people are offended by too many different things. We should only constrain the liberty of others if what they do causes harm. More at BBC News

What do you think? When is freedom of speech too much?

Restrictions on free speech [wiki] are prevalent whether we realize it or not.

The first morning of the 2005 school year held more than the typical jitters for Toni Kay Scott. One moment, the seventh-grader, known as T.K., was stepping from her mom's Ford pickup to join friends in front of Redwood Middle School in Napa, Calif. Minutes later, the police officer assigned to watch arriving students was steering her toward the principal's office.

Scott, an impish brunet with a tiny nostril stud, had violated Redwood's dress code. The code aimed to squelch gangs by requiring students to wear only certain clothes and solid colors. Scott could change her outfit and stay at school, or she could spend the day at home. "I said, 'There's nothing wrong with what I'm wearing. I'm going home,'" recalls Scott, a near straight-A student. "I thought it was kind of ridiculous." More at Time Magazine

Stem Cells from Skin

2007-06-21T21:55:00.000-07:00

"These cells should provide a valuable resource for tissue repair and for organs as well," said Anthony Atala, M.D., director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine and senior researcher on the project. "Because these cells are taken from a patient's own skin, there would not be problems with organ or tissue rejection."

The research team grew mesenchymal stem cells, a type of stem cell normally found in bone marrow. Using tissue samples from 15 donors who had routine circumcisions, the scientists were able to isolate single stem cells, which they then grew in culture dishes in the laboratory. The scientists used hormones and growth factors to coax the stem cells into becoming fat, muscle and bone cells.

When the differentiated cells were seeded onto three-dimensional molds and implanted in mice, they maintained features consistent with bone, muscle and fat tissue. "Our study shows that stem cells can be obtained from a simple skin biopsy and can be made to become three vital tissues," said Shay Soker, Ph.D., associate professor of surgery at Wake Forest's School of Medicine, which is part of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. "The bulk of our bodies is made up of fat, muscle and bone."

The promise of stem cells lies in their ability to develop into specialized types of cells and to replicate themselves. Scientists hope to harness the potential of stem cells and use them to replace damaged cells and tissue in conditions such as spinal cord injuries, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, stroke and burns.

Read the rest at Science Daily

Admittedly, from what information this article gives, that's far from ideal. Ideally, you'd use skin cells to produce pluripotent cells (Meaning the can produce any cell in the human body, like an embryonic stem cell does.). The only real revelation here is that you can produce the cells from skin, we already knew that you could get multipotent stem cells from the bone marrow. But just you wait...

With a few strokes of genetic trickery, scientists have transformed mouse skin cells into embryonic stem cells and proved their potency by using the new cells to produce baby mice.

The experiments are seen as a major advance for regenerative medicine, which aims to custom-build tissues and cells to repair ailing and aging bodies.

Scientists caution there are serious safety issues that must be resolved before the techniques could ever be used on people, but they say the advance points to a new way of making embryonic stem cells for patients from their own cells.

More at Canada.com.

The main problem with stem cells, is they share so much in common with cancer cells, that they often form tumors that become cancerous. I mean, think about it, what are the main characteristics of the general stem cell AND cancer cells:

1) They proliferate.
2) They differentiate.
3) They migrate.

I'm no geneticist, but I'll leave it at that.

Ugly Aphrodesiac

2007-06-21T20:20:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES - The hagfish is a bottom feeder so repulsive it had a cameo on TV's "Fear Factor." It slimes its enemies, has rows of teeth on its tongue, and feeds on the innards of rotting fish by penetrating any orifice. But cooked and served on a plate, it is considered an aphrodisiac in South Korea.

And the overseas appetite for the hagfish — also known as the slime eel — is creating a business opportunity for struggling West Coast fishermen confronted with tough restrictions on the catching of salmon and other fish. Read More

Hagfish [wiki], a pseudo-vertebrate creature than can turn a bucket of water into slime in minutes is considered an aphrodisiac? I mean it eats the insides of fish by entering the fish through the gills or anus.

Very odd.

Give Peace a Chance

2007-06-21T19:58:00.001-07:00

POLICE have arrested a 60-year-old lawyer wearing a T-shirt saying "Give Peace A Chance".

A judge charged Stephen Downs with trespassing after he politely declined to leave the Crossgates Mall in a suburb of Albany, New York State, on Monday evening, or remove his top, which he had had printed there.

Mr Downs pleaded not guilty and cited his right to free speech. He could face up to a year in prison. His son, Roger, 31, avoided arrest by removing a T-shirt saying "No War With Iraq" on one side and "Let Inspections Work" on the other.

His father's second offending message was: "Peace On Earth." "We weren't talking to people or handing out leaflets," Mr Downs Jr told a local newspaper. "My point was I'm not trying to convert anybody," his father said.

Most Americans support President Bush's war plans, but many Democrat voters oppose them. James Murley, the local police chief, told The Times that his office had been inundated with complaints since the arrest. "We're getting all kinds of e-mails, some of them rather nasty," he said.

Chief Murley said that one of his officers had tried for an hour to persuade Mr Downs to end a stand-off with two security guards who stopped him and his son after a shopper reported a confrontation with passers-by that she thought might turn nasty. But, as one guard pointed out three times in his deposition to police, he did so "in a nice way". The other guard took a tougher line, alleging that the men were "bothering" shoppers by telling them why they opposed the "pending war with Iraq". Chief Murley said that the shopping centre had signs advising customers that the "wearing of apparel likely to provoke disturbances" was banned. Paul A. Clyne, the District Attorney, also said that it was up to the mall to choose its clients.

However, Mr Downs may have an ace up his sleeve when he appears in court on March 17, with no jury. He is the director of the local office of a state commission that investigates complaints against judges and imposes punishments.

link

Big Toe

2007-06-21T19:56:00.000-07:00

Youtube

"This has to be the most amazing footage i have ever seen... a man with no arms playing a Tom Petty tune on a guitar [Mary Jane's Last Dance], with his feet!!! simply amazing! His name is Mark Goffeney, he deserves huge props coz i think not only he is awesome, but he puts most muso's out there to shame! He has actually bought out an album called 'Big Toe', so go check it out!"

More of Mark's performances
Three Doors Down's Kryptonite
Collective Soul's Shine
Big Toe's We are All the Same

His band's page is here.

15 Greatest Dead Rockstars

2007-06-21T19:55:00.001-07:00

15 Greatest Dead Rockstars

#15

Name: Ronnie Van Zant
Band: Lynyrd Skynyrd
Died of: plane crash.
Why he was so great: One of many celebrities, he was one of the few who said they wanted to die before their 30th birthday, and succeeded without having to OD on smack. In fact, he died 3 months short of his birthday. You know why else he's so great? Because a damn lot of people don't realize he's dead. Though many say he and Niel Young were rivals, they were in fact friends, and collaborated on several songs. Oh, and that was such an issue, vandals broke into his tomb to see if he was wearing a Niel Young shirt.

#14

Name: Layne Staley
Band: Alice in Chains
Died of: heroin/cocaine "speedball" Over dose.
Why he's so great: Damn, because he is the man in the box, damn it. Oh, and he died April 5, 2002, the same day as Kurt Cobain, 5 years later. And he's the one guy that could use the excuse "I'm a heroin addict" to get out of a tour. Most bands would be like "well, write some more kick ass songs about it, and release a new album, you fucking pussy."

#13

Name: Cliff Burton
Band: Metallica
Died of: Bus crash. In Germany.
Why he was so great: He started playing bass when he was 14, which means there's still hope for me. He wrote 6 of the 8 tracks on Ride the Lightening. Apparently he didn't live long enough to do any of the crazy shit these other guys did, though.

#12

Name: Sid Vicious
Band: Sex Pistols
Died of: Drug overdose.
Why he was so great: At only 21 years of age, Sex Pistol's bassist was very much addicted to drugs. Oh, and sources say he killed his girlfriend, Nancy, and killed himself to avoid the humiliation of a trial. Though, other sources say, that's bullshit, and he killed himself because of the broken heart she left behind. Oh, and he was using amphetamines by the time he was 9, with his mother, and started self-injuring when he was 10.

#11

Name: Jim Morrison
Band: The Doors
Died of: Unknown
Why he was so great: He originally went to UCLA for theater, but ended up in a rock band. One of the most influential rock bands, at that. He showed up high or drunk to a damn lot of recording sessions, and in "Five to One" he can even be heard hiccuping. Oh, and he never got an autopsy, because he died in France, and if no foul play is suspected, they don't look for a cause of death, apparently.

#10

Name: Jerry Garcia
Band: Grateful Dead
Died of: Heart attack.
Why he was so great: He was missing two-thirds of his right middle finger, due to an accident chopping wood, when he was 4 years old. Oh, and he originally went to school at San Fransisco's Art Institute. Grateful Dead spawned one of the biggest followings of any band of their time-- the Deadheads.

#9

Name: Freddie Mercury
Band: Queen
Died of: Bronchial pneumonia brought on by AIDS.
Why he was so great: He was the first celebrity to die of AIDS, greatly raising awareness about the disease. (Oh, and Bohemian Rhapsody was written 10 years before he was diagnosed. The song isn't about AIDS.) He never received any formal vocal training, yet he could sing across four octaves. Oh, and he wrote 10 out of Queen's 17 chart toppers.

#8

Name: Kurt Cobain
Band: Nirvana
Died of: Gunshot to the head. Homicide/suicide.
Why he was so great: He was friends with a gay in highschool. And claimed he was once arrested for painting "homo sex rules" on a bank, though he's stated "I'm not gay, although, I wish I was, just to piss off the homophobes." He liked to draw fetuses. Oh, and he suffered from a lifelong un-diagnosable stomach ailment, which lead him to an opiate addiction. We don't know, but we all think Courtney killed him.

#7

Name: Dimebag Darrell Abbot
Band: Pantera/Damageplan
Died of: gunshot, during a live performance.
Why he was so great: He recorded a track with Dallas musician, Rodd, called "Country Western Transvestite Whore". He was self-taught, purportedly only taking one guitar lesson, ever. Oh, and he had a tattoo of Ace Freshly on his chest (as well as his signature).

#6

Name: Randy Rhoads
Band: Ozzy Osbourne/Quiet Riot
Died of: plane crash.
Why he was so great: He played for Ozzy, for fuck's sake. He co-wrote "Mr. Crowley" with Ozzy, the only identification the mainstream has with Aliester Crowley. Oh, and he learned to play on a Gibson... when he was 6 years old.

#5

Name: Bradley Nowell
Band: Sublime
Died of: Heroin overdose.
Why he was so great: Head of punk-ska band Sublime, Bradley could do anything stoned. Oh, and he couldn't function without his dog, Louie, a dalmatian which most consider to be the mascot of Sublime.

#4

Name: Wendy O. Williams
Band: The Plasmatics
Died of: self-inflicted gunshot to the head
Why she was so great: Female lead singer of a PUNK band. This chick went on stage nearly nude, and cut shit up with chainsaws. She was arrested numerous times for indecency, and was a walking statement against modern culture. After the Plasmatics, she worked as an animal rehabilitator.

#3

Name: Syd Barret
Band: Pink Floyd
Died of: pancreatic cancer
Why he was so great: He was Pink Floyd. He was an amazing singer, songwriter, and artist. He was a recluse. He just epitomized awesome.

#2

Name: Jimi Hendrix
Band: Jimi Hendrix Experience
Died of: Asphyxiated. On his own vomit.
Why he was so great: He took curlers with him to England, whilst on tour. He was self-taught. And a groupie wrote about him in her confession book. We all doubt its true, but you never know.

#1

Name: Shannon Hoon
Band: Blind Melon
Died of: Accidental cocaine overdose.
Why he was so great: He was an amazing and caring man, as apparent if you listen to any interviews with him whilst he's sober. But the problem is, he wasn't sober often. Between attacking guards, pissing on fans, and wearing his girlfriend's dress on stage, Shannon was one crazy guy. Did I mention, he was inspired by Syd Barret, and grew up on Floyd and LSD?