Ah, good intentions. You really know you are fundamentally screwed when you have good intentions. Last week, therre was a fairly major snowstorm that hit the east coast of the US, and as a result, I got trapped at work, while I was feeling sick, for 21 straight hours. It took another 36 hours for the zombielike feeling of sleep deprivation to leave me, and until today for the illness that I had gone to work with to pretty much depart. A very slight cough remains, but not bad at all (by comparison). And that, friends, is what happened to the good intentions that I had to post more regularly to this site. My apologies.

One thing that I had given some thought to was the .kids domain that the Bush administration had been talking about. Given some of the nasty things that had taken place lately...including here in Connecticut, where a fourteen year girl was killed when she met someone she had met online- the instinct to protect is admirable and quite understandable. What I am concerned about, however, is that the "information superhighway" remain a source of information, regardless of what the judges of appropriateness decide, is, indeed appropriate.

Some examples:

Blocking software, which to date has been the main protective device, frequently refuses access to information on Wicca, even though this religion is gaining wider recognition, even among those who disagree with its tenets. The military even has a section on Wicca in it's chaplain's handbook.

Let's say that little Suzie's uncle Ernie is a gay man who comes out of the closet. Mommy and Daddy refer to Uncle Ernie as "sick" and declare that he is "going to hell". While Suzie may not need to know what Uncle Ernie does with his friend Fred when they are behind closed doors, she has every right to know that mainstrem doctors do not think Ernie is "sick" at all, and that there are respected ministers such as Walter Wink who certainly disagree with the assertion that Ernie is "going to hell". Will .kids sites block the flow of factual information? I certainly hope not.

Will there be access to alternative views of history, such as those of Howard Zinn? Access to feminist and radical thought? Access to the more controversial writings of Thomas Paine? Infomation that there are more views within Christianity and Judaism than its most orthodox forms?

To the extent that the .kids domain protects children from predatory behavior, I offer my applause. But to whatever extent that it "protects" them from information (NOT pornography), I offer my strong disapproval. Parents may have the right to raise their kids how they please, but they do not have the right to restrict access to contradictory information.

In any life, there need to be touchstones for some sanity in the midst of a fundamentally crazymaking world. For me that touchstone is my sister. We got together, went to a bookstore for awhile, then went to the mall where we did some window shopping for some clothes that we each knew that there was no way we could afford. Fun nevertheless. She went for the black silk skirt and top, very simple, me, the more femmy of the pair found a nice preppy pink sweater and a fivehundreddollar white dress with crystal sewn into it. We then went out for coffee, complained about everything in the world, and then called it a day.

Thanks, Patty. You make this town, state, and state of being bearable. You're the best.

One thing that I've decided to do is to is add a feature which will be the transgender story of the week.The article for this week is from the Advocate, regartding prejudice among gays toward transgendered people.

Yikes.

After a recent trip to Springfield, MA, I realize that my postings have been spotty at the very best. Not that there hasn't been a lot on my mind to write about, but simultaneously there have been a lot of other things going on that, for whatever reason, have kept me away from making some updates. Therefore I will do a bit of catching up, throw out a few thoughts that have been rambling about my brain in abbreviated form.

It's time to abandon the movie rating system, once and for all. The three most recent films that I have seen have convinced me of this. "Bowling for Columbine" is a movie that just about everyone should see. So some kid wears a hat that says "Fuck Everything"...this is a reason for an R rating? There isn't a five year old who hasn't heard the word, and it's been that way for some time. The MPAA needs to pull its head out of the forty year old sand. The newest Harry Potter movie received a PG, when a PG-13 would have been far more appropriate. This is a good film, but violent. And "Far From Heaven" which contains no sex, no violence gets a PG-13 I would guess because there is a scene with two men kissing. . . not humping, kissing. It's not a film many kids would want to see...like "The Winslow Boy" which got a G rating, it is a movie for adults. But a serious-minded child who has a level of maturity should have no problem with this film.
My solution? Dump the ratings, don't make ticket sellers into cops, and let parents take responsibility for what their kids see. Ratings. like record warning labels and efforts to remove books from curricula and library shelves, are just means to allow parents to shift responsibility to self appointed censors. If you are unwilling to do the work, tie tubes, get vasectomies.

Now that Thanksgiving is past, tis time to work seriously on losing weight. I know, Christmas is coming...but it is not as serious an eating holiday for me as Thanksgiving. Any of you who wish to offer a word of encouragement, the link to my e-mail is on the left side of the screen.

Henry Kissinger? John Poindexter? All the proof that is necessary is now in. The alleged President is insane.

I like John Kerry well enough...but as President? I don't know...maybe it's just a fond wish that it were the other Senator from Massachusetts who was running.

Last week on the same night there were two NHL games played. One was in Toronto, who played the Washington Capitals. These are two mediocre teams, both at the time with losing records. They not only played to a full Air Canada, standing room tickets were sold. In Boston, a team in first place in their division, the conference and second in the whole league also played...with over 5000 empty seats in the building. The NHL had the gall to say Hartford no longer deserved an NHL team...when it averaged 95% attendance in it's last year? Please. Boston hockey fans should be ashamed.

OK...that's all for now, but I may catch up further later in the day