I've been watching Manor House on PBS, it's interesting. What's surprising is how all the gay people I know (including Jonno) are watching it too. Did everyone know except me that they were going to show hottie footman Charlie Clay's bare butt in the first episode? Talk about gaydar. ALL of the younger male staff are pertty darn cute. Guess I need to go back to England.

Bushie's supposed feelings about Santorum are hardly surprising, yet angering all the same. Too bad Howard Dean doesn't have a chance in hell.

This Week's Friday Five:

1. What was the last TV show you watched?

The series finale of Sabrina the Teenage Witch (No laughing!) I always had a thing for Nate Richert.

2. What was the last thing you complained about and what was the problem?

A new employee at my company being transferred from a dept. that I helped get him hired into to a dept. in trouble. I said it was borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, and unfair to the new employee and his manger, who was very pleased with this guy. It's also bailing out the manager of the other dept, who should be hiring his own people rather than stealing from other depts.

3. Who was the last person you complimented and what did you say?

Sadly, I don't recall.

4. What was the last thing you threw away?

Umm. Coffee grounds?

5. What was the last website (besides this one) that you visited?

The website of presidential candidate John Edwards. He is big on environmental issues but seems silent on gay rights.

Oh. My. 'god.' What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs: Creation Science Books and Videos on Creationism and Evolution

Ahhh. I knew whitehouse.org wouldn't let me down. Senator Rick Santorum and President Bush Deny Anti-Gay Bigotry Within the GOP

As I mentioned way back sometime, while I was a student at UVa and for a couple years afterward I worked at the Fine Arts Library and the Sci-Tech Library. I also worked on a special project (With Janet and Christie) to study the deterioration of the collections in Alderman Library (many of us, being Star Wars Geeks, referred to the Alderman Library System as the 'Aldermaan System'... get it?) because it was not climate-controlled. Because of my library past -- not to mention my architecture major -- it is of interest to discover what they are bulding in the giant fenced-off pit I noticed when I was there last October: UVa Special Collections Library: Harrison & Small Building Project. Lots of spiffy Quicktime 3D goodies. At first I had trouble figuring out exactly where they were putting the above-ground portion, but then I realized that they demolished Miller Hall, the old Admissions building. I guess it wasn't particularly historic...

Oooh. bIPlog: Revolution is not an AOL Keyword*

You go Dixie Chicks. You have to wonder when the kind of people who blindly support Dubyah are the kind who make death threats against people -- women, no less -- who have the guts to exercise their Constitutional right to speak out. Sick, sick, ignorant, intolerant people. Like 'Senator' Santorum!

Woohoo! Dan Savage is doing an all-gay online advice column! Note: Dan's column is not for the prudish or faint-of-heart!

I'm feeling activist and generous today. I also joined People For the American Way, GLAAD, and the HRC and gave to the Rainforest Alliance.

Seeing this article about reduced giving to charities in the Washington Post spurred me to finally get moving and write some overdue checks to my favorite non-profits: Sea Turtle Restoration Project, Planetary Society (co-founded by Carl Sagan), The Nature Conservancy, Ocean Conservancy, and Defenders of Wildlife. The last two are actually located right on the street where I work, and we do printing for them--mostly fliers and presentation posters for when they lobby Congress. It's a little scary to see how they spend money sometimes, but supposedly they are among the most efficient charities.

This guy is officially a Fascist. "Parts of the Consitution undermine the family"? Scary indeed.

N.B.: partial World Book definition of Fascism: "Fascism resembles Communism. But unlike Communism, which calls for the government to own all industry, fascism allows industry to remain in private ownership, though under government control. Other important features of fascism include extreme patriotism, warlike policies, and persecution of minorities."

Two words why I'll see this movie: Orlando Bloom.

Friday Five (though I think this one is rather vapid):

1. Who is your favorite celebrity?

Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon for political reasons. Keanu Reeves... just because.

2. Who is your least favorite?

Tom Cruise, because of his homophobic lawsuits against any silly gay allegations. Paranoid much, Tom?

3. Have you ever met or seen any celebrities in real life?

(Ahem) Lance Bass and Gloria Estefan. Both were very nice. Gloria is tiny but has a very commanding presence. I used to know basketball guys Jeff Lamp and Rick Carlisle. Both were also very nice. Met Anne Rice at a book signing, also nice. Ohhh, and met and talked to Garrett Wang of Star Trek: Voyager. Very nice (and cute). Met a bunch of the other Star Trek stars.

4. Would you want to be famous? Why or why not?

My teeny-tiny bit of minor fame as a writer is plenty. I wouldn't want to be a big celeb, mobbed wherever I go. I would like to be rich.

5. If you had to trade places with a celebrity for a day, who would you choose and why?

A day hardly seems worth it. It would be fun to be a star in a sci-fi movie or show for a day just to see how it all works.

Cool. Track the Monarch Butterflys' journey north here or here.

Ohh, boy. Baghdad Falls: President Bush Extends a Heartfelt Olive Branch to Iraq's Proud Population of Newly-Liberated, Soon-to-be-Christian, Petroleum-Pumpin' Eunuchs

You know they are next on Rumsfeld & Booshie's hit list. Then Iran ("they held our people hostage"); then they'll straighten out those sheiks in Saudi Arabia...

Powell: U.S. Has No War Plan to Attack Syria, Iran Oh no... SURE they don't. Get me out of here!

Hahah! Spammer sues user who fought back.

Woah! I had a Toshiba KT-S2!!! I remember thinking how cool that FM module was too.

Happy Birthday Leonardo da Vinci!

Thank you Roger Kahn for making clear what an ignoramus Dale Petroskey is for snubbing Tim Robbins for his anti-war stance.

Oh my goodness! Fun in Iraq for a change.

OK, this REALLY gives me the creeps!

Friday Five:

1. What was the first band you saw in concert?

Eek. I was in college. Maybe ELO?

2. Who is your favorite artist/band now?

Changes all the time. I'm hoping that the boyband SoulDecision comes out with their new album soon.

3. What's your favorite song?

That changes all the time too. One is Enya's Caribbean Blue, classical either the Pachelbel Canon (I know, how common) or Haydn's Emperor string quartet, the second movement of which became the German National Anthem.

4. If you could play any instrument, what would it be?

That's easy too: keyboard/piano. I know (or used to know) how to play saxophone and bassoon, and (passably) flute and clarinet.

5. If you could meet any musical icon (past or present), who would it be and why?

That's easy: Mozart.

R.I.P. Leslie Cheung, (thanks--as usual--to Jonno)

Bah hah hah(I mean, boo-hoo, really Britney!

Captain Janeway as Kate Hepburn!

The Death Toll mounts.

Just to put all this in perspective...

The 1991 war was at first hailed as a stunning victory for the U.S. and its allies, but the years have told a different story.

The coalition of 34 nations and nearly 1 million troops, including 697,000 Americans, smashed Saddam's army in four days with minimal casualties. There were 213 coalition troops killed in battle, 148 of them Americans. Another 145 Americans died in non-combat circumstances and 467 Americans were wounded.

But 11 years later, the human toll has soared. More than 159,000 American Gulf War veterans are receiving disability payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Thousands suffer from memory loss, dizziness, blurred vision, speech difficulties, nerve disorders, muscle weakness. Many have chronic skin disorders, including rashes. They have reported incidences of cancers in themselves and birth defects in their children, though U.S. government studies deny they are related to the war.

Research has failed to pinpoint the cause of the soldiers' disabilities, but the potential sources were many. Thousands of troops may have been exposed to chemical weapons launched by Saddam on SCUD missiles or dispersed into the atmosphere when the U.S. bombed Iraqi munitions plants and destroyed stockpiles. Others were exposed to radiation on the battlefield with the use of armor-piercing depleted uranium ammunition by U.S. forces.

Thousands of troops also had received batteries of shots that included anthrax vaccinations now the subject of controversy and an experimental anti-nerve gas pill, pyridostigmine bromide....

By Dick Foster, Rocky Mountain News
September 21, 2002

Woah. Yesterday I opened the Washington Post and there in a big picture on the front page was Lance Cpl. Jorge Sanchez and another Marine dragging a civilian from a burning car. He didn't look much like my guy, and then I remembered of course that he was Lance Cpl. Jose Santos. For a second I was thinking What are the odds...?

This week's Friday Five:

1. How many houses/apartments have you lived in throughout your life?

Oh, man. Two places in Manitowoc, WI (or thereabouts) then two places in Bethel Park, then EIGHT places in Charlottesville, then Dupont Circle then Arlington. 14!

2. Which was your favorite and why?

I loved my apartment in Ashtree in Charlottesville, with the big windows and balcony overlooking a tree-filled culvert. I like my little condo I have now too, I just wish I could spend all the money I wanted to fix it up the way I want.

3. Do you find moving house more exciting or stressful? Why?

Both. Moving to a new place is exciting, with the promise of decorating and putting your stuff in new places, and organizing (hah hah). But moving has its stresses too.

4. What's more important, location or price?

Location, location, location! I always spend as much as I can afford (sometimes more).

5. What features does your dream house have (pool, spa bath, big yard, etc.)?

All those things would be nice. But the bigger the place the more the upkeep. If I had unlimited money I'd like castle-manor type place (with turrets! I want a round room!) with a big walled yard for a dog to play in, a greenhouse, media room to play those Star Trek DVD's really big and loud, super computer room/office and kitchen (I don't cook often but I do enjoy it).

This morning as I exited the Farragut West Metro station (2 blocks south of work) I was greeted by not the usual rasta with an electric guitar turned up way too high, but a man in full Scottish regalia playing the bagpipes. He seemed to know what he was doing (he wasn't 'using the tips of his fingers'! Long story) and he wasn't playing My Bonnie Lassie. I must admit it put a smile on my face.

WhiteHouse.org does it again! Pep Rally at Camp Lejeune

Shades of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea! I've been fascinated by these beasties for ages. Thanks to Sis for the heads-up!

Inspired by my sister, I've added this cutesy little thing at the bottom of my blog called the 'Weather Pixie,' showing conditions in lovely Arlington, Virginia. In keeping with the theme, I picked the 'pixie' I thought looked most like Justin Timberlake.

Keep up with war statistics with the IRAQ-O-METER