Nothing really important here. Just a quick early morning “rapid fire”. I woke up in a bad mood for some reason. Maybe it’s because I was doing laundry until 2am and then I had to wake up at 6am to psych myself up to drive the kid to school. Man I hate that drive. It’s not the drive so much. It’s the freaking traffic. Everyone else is driving their kid to school the same time I am. What’s up with that?? Can’t they wait until I drop mine off and THEN drive their kid to school? It would seem parents don’t know how to drive either. The speed limit is 50…not 05!
And it’s cold here. I’m looking at the temperature on my computer and it’s telling me that it’s supposed to be 42 degrees out there. It’s lying. It’s colder than that. My nipples tell me it’s at least 30. And my nipples never lie. Seems a cold front from Canada has swept through while I was sleeping. Does EVERY thing from Canada have to come to Florida? Can’t it take a trip to Colorado or to the Grand Canyon? So I’m watching the morning news and the weather chick comes on and she says “it’s cold this morning!”. Really? No shit. They get paid all of that money to tell me it’s cold. I could seriously make a fortune off my nipples. I’m losing out here.
Someone near and dear is moving. Far far away. He’s moving from the Ft Lauderdale area all the way over to Las Vegas. Last time I checked…Las Vegas wasn’t just a 4 hour drive from me. So even though I know he’s going because he’s found love and it’s a good move for him….I am going to miss my monthly get togethers. He SAYS he’ll still pop over at least twice a year. But we all know that ain’t gonna happen. Once someone finds the love of their life…you don’t hear from them until the conflicts in the home start. That’s usually about a year. I’ll keep you posted on this one.
Man…I cannot get warm this morning. I even took a long hot shower. I didn’t want to climb out because I KNEW that it would be colder outside of the shower than it was inside the shower. And boy…I wasn’t wrong. And this coffee isn’t doing it’s job. Unless it’s job is to make me pee every 5 minutes. Then yeah…it’s doing it’s job.
And the dog has NO concept of how cold it is outside. 6 am this morning and he takes his good ol’ time finding that right spot to piss in. Meanwhile I have a tear running down my cheek from the arctic air blowing on me. The tear turned into an ice crystal. By the time I peeled it from my skin and threw it to the ground in a glass shattering sprinkle…the dog was ready to come back in. I’m not sure if he pissed or not…I was too busy wondering just how far my nuts would go into my gut to escape the cold wind blowing up my shorts.
I was sent an email yesterday telling me that I am like Dorian Gray. So you know I had to go look that up to find out if I was being insulted or not. Turns out…it was a compliment. I suppose one day I’ll have to read the book to get it’s full concept. Here’s the newest picture of me. Notice the sweater I’m sporting. I’m not kidding….I have woken up in Alaska somehow.
I know it’s a fuzzy picture. It’s a quick shot from the webcam. Rob will clean it up for me since he’s my official picture cleaner upper. I’m an artist…not a photographer.
Ok…I think that pretty much is it for now. I have to get things moving around here. Maybe if I get the blood flowing it won’t then freeze in my skinny little veins. Enjoy your day! Hope it’s warm where you are. And if it is…tell me where you are so I can come crash at your place until this blizzard we’re having is over. haha
Ok…so let’s get this straight….I have never even remotely paid attention to Beyonce before. Except I know that she has fallen onstage during her performances. I don’t know how she got to be the celebrity she is today. I just haven’t followed along at all. But a few days ago I was listening to GrooveRadio and her new tune came on. I have been singing the damn song ever since. I went to YouTube to look at the video…and wow. The girl can dance. So this is the tune I have been singing in the shower….enjoy it!
Now put your hands up
Up in the club, we just broke up
I’m doing my own little thing
You decided to dip but now you wanna trip
Cuz another brother noticed me
I’m up on him, he up on me
dont pay him any attention
cried my tears, for three good years
Ya can’t be mad at me
[Chorus]
Cuz if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it
If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it
Don’t be mad once you see that he want it
If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it
[Chorus again]
I got gloss on my lips, a man on my hips
Got me tighter than my Dereon jeans
acting up, drink in my cup
I could care less what you think
I need no permission, did I mention
Dont pay him any attention
Cuz you had your turn
But now you gonna learn
What it really feels like to miss me
(Chorus x2)
Don’t treat me to the things of the world
I’m not that kind of girl
Your love is what I prefer, what I deserve
Here’s a man that makes me then takes me
And delivers me to a destiny, to infinity and beyond
Pull me into your arms
Say I’m the one you want
If you don’t, you’ll be alone
And like a ghost I’ll be gone
It happens every time. We hear that the space shuttle is going to take off and we bolt outside to watch it ascend into space. Nothing is more magical than seeing the space shuttle zoom off into a place only most of us can dream about.
From what I understand…this International Space Station is only the first phase of MANY phases on our quest to walk on the surface of Mars. And beyond. The space shuttle program will end in 2012. That’s when the new space ship will be ready for manned flight. I wonder if they’ll call it “The USS Enterprise”?
From where I am in Florida…you can see the space shuttle pretty clear. When the lift offs are at night…the shuttle lights up the sky like the best fireworks. Last Friday night at 7:55pm it was like it was daytime. Even though you could see the shuttle slide right by the full moon on it’s way to the Space Station. Tim and I called Gambrell outside to watch this spectacle. He wasn’t as thrilled as we were about the whole thing. There were no goosebumps on his arms. That’s alright…I had enough for both of us.
I’ve been watching the space shuttles and rockets heading for space since I was a kid. Watching the astronauts boldly go where no man has gone before. I thought, for sure, in my lifetime that I’d get to visit a themepark on the moon. Or float around on a ship in the dead weight of space. At the very least, get to own a flying car. Until then, I will stand in my front yard looking up to the heavens to watch these space shuttles and ships and rockets go to where dreams are made of. Even if I’m not on board….my spirit is.
The picture above was from the Friday - Nov 14 launch. Thanks to Justin for this picture.
The title of the piece translates to “Apples for the teacher”.
I never thought, in a hundred years, that I would have to interact with any teachers in any school. Yet here I am today to tell you that the teachers I’ve met at Gambrell’s school have my gratitude for all of their hard work and determination.
Last week (or maybe two weeks ago) we had this huge pow wow with every one of Gambrell’s teachers. All seven of them, Tim, Gambrell and myself all squeezed into this little room with a round table. I wanted to know WHY Gambrell was getting the grades he’s getting and what we can do to get those grades up. One by one…around the table…they introduced themselves and told us what they do and what Gambrell is NOT doing in class to get his good grades. This was just the meeting I wanted. I want Gambrell to be on a GOOD path…but we were without a map. Now we have that map.
A few of the teachers have extended their contact beyond that meeting. Ms. Brooke was one of them. She offered to tutor Gambrell after school on HER time to get his grades up. I asked her what her fee would be and she said “there is no fee”. No fee?? I have to pay her for her kindness SOME how. And since she won’t accept money….I decided to create a piece of art for her. And this is what I came up with.
Ms. Brooke said her favorite color is blue. She went further to tell me it’s not just ANY blue…but the blue you see as you are driving over US Hwy 1 to Key West. Talk about specifics! So that’s why the apples are blue. It’s her favorite color.
Thank you, Ms. Brooke, for going above and beyond to help Gambrell. I’ve said “you’re awesome” a hundred times…this time…you went a step above awesome. You now officially RAWK!
The strip at the bottom says:
“An apple is a traditional present for teachers in the United States, Denmark, and Sweden. The practice originated as a simple gift of food for poorly paid teachers. Most believed the good health associated with apples made the present more meaningful.”
So my nephew (Joshua) is into wicked clowns. Seems there’s a group out there called “The Wikkid Clown Posse” that he’s got on his skin forever now since he liked them so much he tatted their logo on his body. So While I was sitting over the weekend…I decided I wanted to do a wicked clown. And this is what I came up with the past two days. It’s colored pencil on cold press board. Once I find out his address way over in Washington state…I’ll send it to him.
The background is grass. We laid the piece out on the yard to get a good picture of it. We tried not o put it onto any spots that Stone pisses on. haha That was really hard! He pees everywhere.
As always…I name my pieces in french. Mauvais translates into Wicked. And that is the latest piece that I’ve done.
*takes a bow*
Update: I have been corrected that the name of the group is “The Insane Clown Posse”. Thanks to Lucas, Laurie, Bobby, Drew, and Justin for correcting me. Oh wait…just got an email from Brandon too. Sorry guys….I don’t listen to the junk….I just draw it. haha
Update again: Thanks to Rob for tweaking my picture so it looks all pretty and stuff. I’m an artist…not a photographer. haha I snap the picture and just run with it.
It would seem that Florida voters have decided that gay men (or women) shouldn’t be allowed to wed. The exact wording was:
This amendment protects marriage as the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife and provides that no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized.
It needed more than 60% of the votes to pass. It got 62.1%. I’m a little angry over this because I have spent my life making sure that I give the black community utmost respect. I have always said that if the mexicans can pass the entrance exam…sure…they should be Americans. I’ve always believed women should get equal pay for equal work. Yet all of these sonsabitches that I have always supported have decided that I am not good enough to get married. Those that I have always voted for to get equal rights have decided that I am still - STILL - a second class citizen.
It’s not that I have to prove anything to anyone. Everyone who even remotely knows Tim and me know that, if anything, we were mentally married years ago. I just went to a parent/teacher conference for the kid and Tim said one of the teachers sitting next to him wrote down “Chuck - Uncle. Tim - Chuck’s partner”. It’s no biggie. Tim’s doctors all know who I am. There’s no way I wouldn’t be allowed to visit him in a hospital. The pharmacist knows me. Everyone at the corner store always asks “where’s your buddy??” when Tim’s not with me. Everyone KNOWS that Chuck is with Tim and vice versa. The problem I’m having is that strangers get to decide whether I get to be married or not. People who I have always supported are now telling me I can’t have a ceremony with a goddamn wedding cake.
Since the Democratic party removed itself from the Republican party back in 1912 to form it’s own voice…how hard would it be to form an entirely Gay Party? That way we can nominate our very own seats in the House and the governors mansion could be filled with a homosexual and eventually….a gay president. This can’t be all that hard with all of the homosexuals and the bisexuals out there. We are more in numbers than these strangers voting against think. If we banded together, instead of letting them constantly defeat us….we could finally get married and we can finally have some fucking wedding cake!! I don’t want to be the Best Man anymore. I want to be THE man. Ya hear me??
Man I’m pissed off about this. I know I can’t be the only one.
I will be absolutely honest….I had reservations about who I was going to vote for when I walked into my voting booth. I want change. But then my grandmother’s words resonated in my head “better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know.”. Barack Obama is not “african-american” to me. He’s bi-racial. I DID..however…vote for Obama. I voted for him because I (like everyone else) want out of this mess we’re in. Big government leans toward those with money. If you are poor…then you’re fucked. I’ve lived for far too long fighting for my rights as a gay man who loves another man who can’t get any help because “God hates fags”. It was time to get the old establishment out of politics and bring in the new. And last night….like a breath of fresh air after a rain storm….I feel a glimmer of hope that there is renewal coming. Obama is MY proverbial rainbow on the horizon.
I have heard “this doesn’t make any difference…it’ll all stay the same.”. I honestly believe that Barack Obama will make a dent. Not only in the way we all look at Washington D.C., but how the world views us as a nation. I belong to many forums that are international. I have been embarrassed (more than a few times) to admit my nationality. Today…I can proudly say that I am American. And my vote helped in bringing that concept around. This election had so much energy buzzing around it. So many were tired of the same old shit. So many wanted the hope…the very idea…of a change. We were not heading in a great direction. And for those of us below middle class…there was relief in sight. We work hard and live paycheck to paycheck just to get deeper and deeper in debt. And while I’m not saying that Obama as President is the cure…it sure as hell will ease some of the symptoms of what ails us.
If nothing else….for the first time ever….Tim was excited about this election and it’s outcome. He’s never paid attention to the candidates or how the voting process even works. Last night he was following along with me as we watched our candidate take the election. He watched history. Most of the people I know are just like Tim. They never paid attention to any of the process. This year it was amazing to be able to hold a conversation about politics with them, and they actually follow along and understand what I’m talking about. Because they were all part of the process…by voting. PZ and I spent the time emailing back and forth during the incoming results. In our 5 years of acquaintance…we have never talked politics. Last night he was holding his own in the conversation and his dialogue was electric. It was awesome to see him ( today’s youth) getting involved with the process. I doubt it would have happened had it been two old white dudes running against each other.
Yep yep…it was a good night. I’m glad the campaigning is over! My gawd…no more commercials. I understand that Obama is no messiah. I don’t expect him to part waters. But I can’t help but smile when I think our next president of these United States will bring a fresh perspective into an old and musty establishment. I watched McCain’s concession speech. I will say that I felt bad for the guy. I even stated that maybe there should be a “Co-President”. I have a deeper respect for John McCain. Especially since I’ve gotten to know him this past year. But I feel we have voted the best choice given for the worst case scenario. Humans react with emotion in any given situation. So when I stepped into that voting booth…I was torn between who was best for our country or who was best for our vision of our bright future. I voted Obama. I’m pretty sure we elected the best candidate for realigning America. Yes….we did.
Posted by Chuck 
