playasinmar

Hawn Key

2010-10-11T12:24:00.003-06:00

"All mankind love a lover." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I've been digesting what Packer said for a few days now. I have three brief insights I'd like to share with you.

1st. He never actually says homosexual, now does he? This is great news for future Mormon apologists. Heck, it's good news for ~~Bruce R. McConkie~~ Boyd K. Packer! Should his superiors decide to reverse their official anti-gay stance he can claim he was talking about pornographers. Or shoplifters.

2nd. “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” isn't canonized and Apostles don't get to canonize whatever they want. Not even the President of the quorum can do that. Even if he super-duper wants to. I wonder what his boss thinks of the obvious overreach. Can a breach of etiquette be blamed on a moment of religious fervor? Can it be excused by the same?

3rd. This is for anyone who thought that Conference was good except for Packer's talk:

ps. Should you care to read a bit more of Packer's teachings checkout this BYU link.

My favorite quote: "We've always counseled in the Church for our Mexican members to marry Mexicans, our Japanese members to marry Japanese, our Caucasians to marry Caucasians, our Polynesian members to marry Polynesians. The counsel has been wise."

Take that, apologists.

OMT

2010-04-16T15:33:00.003-06:00

oh. my. ty.

Ty is getting married. To a girl (AKA women).

Check out this excerpt from their wedding blog:

Halfway through the two weeks, over the course of several phone calls, we talked about how we loved each other and we each acknowledged out loud that we were thinking marriage. The conversation naturally evolved to when and where we would get married. The next morning, Ty called the Salt Lake Temple and scheduled our wedding. Things were feeling pretty set already...and then Ty changed his relationship status on Facebook to say he was engaged to me.

No, there is no mention of Ty being a big gay anywhere in their official life story! The gay, as it were; remember, Ty wrote the book on being a gay Mormon.

More accurately, Ty wrote the book on being a hopelessly repressed gay Mormon. His book outlines his commitment to celibacy. On CNN he declared his commitment to the entire country. In person at Matis family gatherings he quietly soaked up the adoration of countless other repressed gays. They wanted him and he knew it.

He still knows it, by the way.

You can probably sense my disdain for the man. He represents everything wrong with the gay-meets-Mormon universe. Is is impossible to be a complete human being and celibate. Period.

And that's why I don't like Ty. Or it was... until today.

Today I found out he's getting hitched. To a lady. And it's not that I'm upset he'll be sexing a player on the other team. Gay guys sleep with women sometimes, no big. No, the bad part is the using.

He's using her. She gets him into heaven. Finally, no more guessing about the fate of a gay celibate Mormon. No more hoping the celibacy thing pans out after death. Nope. Once he ~~pops that cherry~~ punches that ticket he's guaranteed a seat on the Heaven Express.

He'll never see her as a women. That Sister of God may as well be a crowbar he slips between the pearly gates. Unless he needs liquid oxygen and a hammer because the Pearly Gates are padlocked after hours, in which case he can think of her as that.

She'll never be loved in that relationship. Not like a wife should be loved. He'll like her, sure. A baker likes flour. A judge likes justice. Anyone can like a tool, a ticket, or a pet.

That's the crime. That's why I don't care for Ty Mansfield. Because he is willing to bet his theological theories against her entire life.

But at least he'll finally get the batch of gay kids his karma so desperately requires.

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good video

The Matis Statement

2010-02-23T12:11:00.003-07:00

... they aren't merely mistaken, they're dead wrong...

North Star* just forwarded everyone a statement from the Matis family. In it, the parents of Stuart Matis requests that any activities planned by those wishing to remember the 10th anniversary of Stuart's suicide be canceled. They feel any such activities would detract from the Stuart's wish for change.

This is so, so wrong. Where do I even begin?

THE FAMILY OF AN ICON HAS NO SAY ON HOW OTHERS VIEW THE ICON.
Sorry, but it's true. Stuart is a symbol now. Be it martyr or victim there is nothing his parent's can expect except to draw more attention to the event.

THE FAMILY IS MISTAKEN ABOUT THE CHANGE STUART WANTED.
Mr. and Mrs. Matis don't expressly say what Stuart wanted. They do say that a rally is not how Stuart would want to change things. They also say "...he was also an intensely private person. It was in quiet, unobtrusive ways that he made his biggest impact on others."

He blew his brains out on the steps of the Stake Center. That IS NOT how a "intensely private person" effects change in a "quiet, unobtrusive" way.

THE FAMILY IS SERIOUSLY F---ED IN THE HEAD.
They claim to understand so much about gay Latter-day Saints. They claim to have spoken to many gay latter-Day Saints. They claim to talk to other members about the needs of gay Latter-Day Saints.

Those claims are all true. I've been to the firesides at their house so I can confirm this first-hand.

But this is also the family that wrote in a book they authored, "Although losing our son was difficult, it has been comforting to know that he was faithful to his temple covenants." (p 20).

Comforting? Comforting to know that your son, all his potential grandchildren, and all your would-have-been family memories of his adulthood are ALL DEAD. But, hey, at least he didn't date some dude!

So maybe they don't understand gays so well. They even dust-off the old chestnut of "same-gender attraction" instead of just acknowledging their son was g-a-y GAY.

And they are wrong, wrong, wrong about finding comfort in Stuart's death. There's NO comfort in Stuarts death. There's NO silver lining. It is pure, epic tragedy.

The failure of the Stuart's parents to see that is beyond the pale. It is disgusting. Filthy. Putrid.

SILENCE IS MURDER.
The planned event is the opposite of silence. It can only save lives. If you live anywhere nearby I would hope you attend.

And light a candle. You know, for Stuart.

*Not the gay rodeo association.

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good video.

Boom!

2009-12-07T12:24:00.002-07:00

and just when i had started to think the inside story would never be told...

Journey Into Manhood. Ever heard of it? It's the pray-the-gay-away organization run by People Can Change. Ty Mansfield* talks about it all the time. Journey Into Manhood (JiM) is an expensive weekend retreat run by non-professionals who claim a shocking 79% success rate! They do this by...

...ah, yes. I almost forgot about the confidentially agreement. Do you know who remembers the agreement and is fully prepared to breech it? Ted Cox.

Ted Cox, a "perennially straight writer," spent two years posing as a gay man and attending reparative therapy events around the country including JiM!

Feel free to read the whole article (it isn't very long) but before you do, feel free to read these choice quotes:

"For one exercise, you're standing just inches away from another man and you're staring him in the eyes, and someone in the background is telling you to think about what emotions come up. You do this with every man at the camp. It is very uncomfortable."

"I became sad because I saw men reenact traumatic events from their childhood. ... One man, for example, reenacted his father beating his mother."

"What was surprising at the weekly meetings was this emphasis on falling in love with Christ. In order to overcome your attraction to men, it was to fall in love—in almost a romantic way—to the most perfect man. Some of the songs they sang sounded like soft-rock 80s love hits, but they were about Jesus instead of your sweetheart."

I can hardly contain my laughter about that last one. Surely, if you can't pray the gay away you can always sex-up the Lord!

In the article Mr. Cox also talks about the staffers trying to reinforce the American machismo mind-set. How does that myth still persist? These non-professional therapists need to spend a night at a leather bar.

As do the weekend campers.

*In a related story: Ty Mansfield Still Not Caught Soliciting Male Prostitute, Says Google Search.

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good video

To Cure The L

2009-09-14T10:17:00.003-06:00

an open letter to the one known as -L-

You'll never be one of them. They don't want you.

If they knew about you - if they ALL knew about you - you wouldn't ever be allowed near them or their children again.

Your wife didn't fix you, your degree didn't fix you, and Evergreen didn't fix you.

They won't fix you, L. You're not broken.

They won't straight you, L. You're bent.

Don't opt for chemo. You don't need medicine. You need The Cure.

You've spent decades trying to pretend you don't need it but you know you do.

Your soul knows what you need.

And as long as you keep dismissing your soul...

...you'll never be whole.

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good video

That Cousin of Mine

2009-08-17T17:00:00.002-06:00

A cousin of mine sent me an invitation to sign a Facebook petition. This cousin knows I'm gay, comes from a conservative military family (that also knows I'm gay), and is preparing to serve an LDS mission. What do you think, bloggers, did I handle this well?

Cousin,

My Facebook account informs me you have requested I sign the "Petition to US Congress and President Obama."

Item 5 of the petition states:

"I am against the Hate Crimes Bill (Pedophile Protection Act) that would make it a federal hate crime to defend a child against a pedophile."

This is simply not the case. The legislation, known as the Matthew Shepard Act, amends the existing federal Hate-Crime Law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

The bill would also:
- remove the current prerequisite that the victim be engaging in a federally-protected activity, like voting or going to school;
- give federal authorities greater ability to engage in hate crimes investigations that local authorities choose not to pursue;
- provide $10 million in funding to help state and local agencies pay for investigating and prosecuting hate crimes.

Nowhere in the bill are provisions made regarding pedophilia. The author of the petition has made the bigoted assumption that all non-heterosexuals are pedophiles and that assumption couldn't be further from the truth. Nor does it have anything to do with this bill.

This bill's detractors usually claim it will suppress free speech by making it illegal to speak or preach against homosexuality. This too is a flawed notion. Quoting from the bill itself, "Nothing in this Act...shall be construed to prohibit any expressive conduct protected from legal prohibition by, or any activities protected by the free speech or free exercise clauses of, the First Amendment to the Constitution."

I believe you have been deceived by the wording of this petition and been led to sign it thinking it was protecting something it doesn't. Political rhetoric can be difficult to sort through and I'm not bothered you fell victim to its lies. I would appreciate, however, if you removed your name from it.

Sincerely,
playasinmar

PS.

You can read more about the bill here
http://www.hrc.org/laws_and_elections/5660.htm

You can read more about Matthew Shepard here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Shepard

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good video

A Recent Poll

2009-07-05T16:27:00.006-06:00

"A recent poll of Massachusetts residents revealed that 36 percent of voters who oppose gay marriage agreed with the statement, 'If you speak out against gay marriage in Massachusetts you really have to watch your back because some people may try to hurt you.'"

Wow, 36%. That's a big number. There are 6,497,967 people in Massachusetts. That's 2,339,268 people (give or take) that feel they need to "watch their backs."

What have we done, gays? We're terrorizing... our enemies... merely... for... thinking...

Wait just a second. 36% of voters who oppose gay marriage? 64% of the state is registered to vote and according to the study I found, support amongst the state's citizenry for genuine gay marriage* is 56%. So if 36% of 44% of 64% fear for their backs...

...that's about 10% 650,000 people!

So, to the 10% or so Massachusett-ites who fear for your spines, we're sorry for the vague threats we've been issuing. But we didn't bring the Neolithic attitude toward the gay minority to the party so grow up. Try worrying about the planet or the economy or something else you may be able to influence in some way.

And to the well-read scholar who wrote the even-handed analysis the original quote came from I say this:

First, thank you for participating in this debate in a cool, controlled manner.
Second, you claim individualism and communism are bad without establishing a reasonable middle-place. I think you need to elaborate on that.
Finally, pick a better statistic then "36 percent of 44 percent of 64 percent."

*References: here, here, here, here, here, and here.

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For the Love of Pete, if anyone spots me making a math error in here please, please let me know.

good video

AVPA

2009-05-15T09:00:00.002-06:00

a very poor acronym

Let's face it: Gay Mormons have to put up with two of the worst acronyms ever coined.

The Church would have us believe we suffer from Same-Sex Attraction or "SSA." This gives us a good example of how something very trite can be very true: SSA is ASS backwards.*

Another unfortunate concept you may have noticed is Mixed-Orientation Marriage or "MOM." the oedipal implications of a gay man saying, "I am in a MOM," are staggering.

Perhaps it would be better for individuals in such marriages to admit to being in a Mixed Orientation Partnership. I think MOP (pronounced "mope") would be the most accurate title for those poor, unfortunate souls.

*Too many colons?

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good video

Why You Will Lose - part three

2009-04-29T13:36:00.004-06:00

- a three part series by playasinmar -

Part Three - Breeding

Let's pretend you can stop us from marrying forever. All the things you whine on and on about (they need a mommy and a daddy, for example) would still be trumped by the fact that all kids need a family. Certainly this applies to foster kids.

But gays cAN't have kids on their own! They want the ones we straights are disCaRDing!! tHen thEY can indoctrinate future generatiONs with lies about how normALl gay folks are!!! they musT be stopped FRom adopting!!!1!

Indeed, some states have done just that. In doing so they have secured their futures and the futures of all children everywhere. No gay families equals no gay recruiting, no gay support, and no gay tolerance. Problem solved, right?

However, in their frothy denunciations they have overlooked the loophole: Gays are breeding.

Its true. The government can take away all sorts of rights from its gay citizenry but it can't take away their ability to have sex. Sorry, straight bigots, but you can't do that.

So gays are generating their own children one way or another. Surrogacy, in vitro fertilization, and saki make babies happen regardless of orientation. Not that it happens without effort. The family you want to build is always happier than the family a torn prophylactic built. Maybe that alone is why kids in gay families love their gay parents.

So go ahead and keep discarding your precious progeny, straight bigots. And if you think gays don't deserve a shot to care for the children you treat like refuse, fine. The gays and their families aren't going anywhere.

And honestly, some of us are getting real tired of asking for your permission to exist.*

*I believe in the basic human right to start any and all sentences with "and" if one so chooses.

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good video

A Single Poly Question

2009-04-16T11:22:00.005-06:00

a question a day keeps the doctor away

This one's gonna be brief. I really have just a single question.

Why is polygamy illegal?

If a man married to one wife has multiple affairs a court will order him to pay support to any children he fathers.

Nobody is ever prosecuted for philandering. The worst that could happen is he'd lose a custody hearing should they divorce.

But if he is willing to volunteer support, if the mistresses want to live near him, and if nobody is underage, what's the problem?

Let me reiterate that underage marriage is obviously wrong and should be prosecuted. Based on that big raid last year it seems that underage marriage isn't a frequent issue.*

Does anyone know why polygamy is illegal?

*Besides, I want to discuss polygamy as a concept as opposed to a particular groups use of it.

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good video

A Very Important Video

2009-04-09T15:26:00.002-06:00

this is a video you cannot miss:

A Mormon housewife from California spends a month with a gay couple raising four children.

What will happen? View and discuss below.

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good video

Its Finally Happened

2009-03-31T10:34:00.006-06:00

After ascending Rameumptom to declare his superiority. After that trip to Guatemala. After dating AtP. After singing with and defending the OCMCO (Orange County Mormon Choral Organization).

After all those years of hemin' and hawin' about what it takes to be happy...

...Max has a boyfriend. And they live together!!

This is great! This is such good timing; the news comes only days after I identified his need for companionship. Now I have further evidence supporting my All-it-Takes-to-be-Happy-is-Submitting-to-Happiness™* theory.

Congratulations, Max. I hope you and Whoever-He-Is spend the rest of your lives sharing warm, sexy nights together! :)

P.S. Does anyone know who the mystery boyfriend is? My guess would be the blogger Issacson based on those steamy Guatemala pics. Does anyone else care to venture a guess?

*Per playasinmar stylebook instructions, the All-it-Takes-to-be-Happy-is-Submitting-to-Happiness™ theory can be abbreviated in all caps as AITTBHISTH.

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good video

A PSA

2009-03-12T12:38:00.007-06:00

i've solved all your problems - don't freak out

The following bloggers desperately need a boyfriend*:

John Galt
Forester
Crow
Beck
Clint
Max
Ty
L

So if you know one of these poor souls (and you’re single) do the world a favor and hook one of these guys up.

*Which is to say a we-have-so-much-in-common, I-am-able-to-express-love-for-you-naturally, and I-don't-cry-after-having-sex-with-you boyfriend.

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good video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88mnAAQP2Ss

Why You Will Lose – part two

2009-02-12T13:15:00.004-07:00

- a three part series by playasinmar -

part two – For the Love of Nerds

It doesn’t take a creative person to sit in front of a computer and pound out C#. It takes a creative person to pretend to like programming but programming itself is 99% mindless busy work.*

Are you familiar with the traditional nerd (from the Latin battlus starus galacticus)? The thick glasses, inept social skills, dresses like Stephen Speilburg, and hair like Bill Gates type of nerd is real. Very, very real.

These people are easily the smartest among us and yet the most difficult to be around voluntarily.

Ask your self why their employers went to bat for them in the fight against Prop 8.
Ask yourself why these tech firms already have policies in place to extend medical coverage to the partners of gay employees.
Ask yourself why, exactly, in a world full of heterosexual tech graduates they would try so hard to retain the small number of gay ones.

And ask yourself what, precisely, straight communities have to fear from regular gays if Apple has already learned to love gay nerds.

*Alas, poor Chedner.

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good video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drE5cHe6c3s

The Gift of Laughter

2008-12-24T09:49:00.006-07:00

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal is a daily comic that may be the reason RSS Feeders were invented--

I don't know if there's a site for these. I just get them in emails from time to time--

Cyanide and Happiness is just what it sounds like: cynicism made funny--

The Fail Blog proves failure is funny--

Dinosaur Comics prove irrational fear is funny--

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good video

Why You Will Lose

2008-12-15T12:27:00.003-07:00

- a three part series by playasinmar -

Part One – Hollywood’s Example

Hollywood has long portrayed gays as sympathetic victims of a Straights Only culture much to the ire of social conservatives. These portrayals have little to no effect on culture at large and are mainly for the entertainment of social liberals. These teleplays aren’t what I mean by Hollywood’s Example.

Have you noticed there aren’t any high-ranking gay actors? How many can you name off the top of your head? Ellen, Rosie, and Neil Patrick Harris are probably the best known. And their status in the Hollywood Universe: talk show host, vagrant comedian*, and sitcom actor.

Let’s look at the winners of Oscars for Best Actor and Best Actress from the last five years: straight, straight, straight, straight, straight, straight, straight, straight, straight, straight. So why does Hollywood support the gay community if they aren’t deserving of their industry’s top honors?

Because they talk to, work with, dine with, and toast with gays. Gays are their friends, neighbors, and colleagues.

They know and therefore aren’t afraid of gays.

It will take time but it will happen everyone eventually. Unless you live on the moon or Northern Idaho you’ll meet one and you’ll undersand Hollywood’s Example: gays aren’t any different from straights. They’re just as fat/skinny, polite/rude, corrupt/virtuous, and detached/involved as everyone else.

That’s why the anti-gay bigots will lose.

*Poor Rosie. Now living life as a punchline.

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good video
.

If You Read Only Seven Scriptures Today

2008-11-03T11:39:00.003-07:00

...make it these seven

Jesus commanded, "…Ye shall not esteem one flesh above another, or one man shall not think himself above another."
(Book of Mormon, Mosiah 23:7)

"And again I say unto you, let every man esteem his brother as himself."
(Doctrine and Covenants 38:24)

"And there was a strict command throughout all the churches that there should be no persecutions among them, that there should be an equality among all men; That they should let no pride nor haughtiness disturb their peace; that every man should esteem his neighbor as himself…"
(Book of Mormon, Mosiah 27:3-4)

"We believe that religion is instituted of God; and that men are amenable to him, and to him only, for the exercise of it, unless their religious opinions prompt them to infringe upon the rights and liberties of others…."
(Doctrine and Covenants 134:4)

We do not believe it just to mingle religious influence with civil government, whereby one religious society is fostered and another [prohibited] in its spiritual privileges, and the individual rights of its members, as citizens, denied."
(Doctrine and Covenants 134:9)

"…it was strictly contrary to the commands of God that there should be a law which should bring men on to unequal grounds."
(Book of Mormon, Alma 30:7)

Please, vote No on 8.

That Email

2008-10-20T16:35:00.004-06:00

hey, L. havin' any luck keepin' me off northern lights?

You know that email. The one forwarded to you by every family member you’ve ever heard of and their podiatrist. The one titled “Six Consequences the Coalition Has Identified if Proposition 8 Fails.” It seeks to provide logical reasons why no sane person would allow for gay marriage.

Today wasn’t Christmas but I did awake today to find the internet had brought me the best gift I’d received in years: a rebuttal to “Six Consequences” written by a BYU Law School professor. This isn’t your average rebuttal. This is a rebuttal so razor-sharp it will slice the very air molecules between your eyes and the screen.

You can read it here.

I’ve always held to this tenant: You can believe what ever you want but your arguments need a rock-solid foundation. If I see foundational weakness I’ll tear it down. Or, as that PDF demonstrates, a BYU professor will do it for me.

I realize*, of course, there are other arguments than the six presented in that email. I only wish to point out the inherent fragility of the arguments used in this campaign. Arguments built on fear, exaggerated consequence, and flat-out fabrication.

And this isn’t just a weak foundation! The whole structure built upon it is thin and wafer-like. It’s an entire house built out of frickin’ graham crackers.

*In civilized society a learned person will use the “z” (or “zed” to the heathen) if the need to be taken seriously should arise.

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good video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mP3FqUUAAw

Good, Honorable Men

2008-10-18T08:55:00.003-06:00

because shifting my IP address is simple, really

Mark over at Northern Lights had this to say:

"In an early post [on cranieum's blog] he describes his video game addiction history and his committment to his young family. Sometimes it’s just good to know that non-ssa guys struggle with unhealthy addictions but have the same desires to be good, honorable men."

Addiction? Hurumph!

Is it addiction to be loved by someone you actually love in return? Not platonic, not brotherly, not familial. Actual Love loving.

Is it addiction to be kissed by someone you actually enjoy kissing? Not a peck on the cheek or a brush of the lips. Actual Kiss kissing.

Is it addiction to sit next to someone you fully appreciate? Not thanks-for-toughing-this-out-for-eternity closeness or please-help-me-control-my-inconsolable-sobbing closeness. Actual Cuddle closeness.

And while we're on the subject of sobbing... wouldn't it be nice if sex didn't end that way?

I'm sure your spouse would appreciate it.

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good video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liLVAf6ViAg

Headlines I Await

2008-08-26T20:47:00.003-06:00

there’s one reason and one reason alone I read the paper and that’s to one day stumble across one of the following headlines:

Son of Orson Scott Card: I’m Gay!

Orange County Mormon Choral Organization to Perform at Gay Weddings

Local Newspaper Employee Forced to Hire Personal Copy Editor

Local Lesbians Spend One Day Unconcerned With Men

Ty Mansfield Arrested Soliciting Male Prostitute
-or-
Ty’s New Pal is Not Real Gal

+++

good video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ErAz7r7Bhs

Growing Up

2008-08-20T10:32:00.007-06:00

this post has nothing to do with the Orange County Mormon Choral Organization (OCMCO) but this other post does

It’s amazing just how young some people are. I’m not naming any names here but there are a lot of 11-year-old bloggers in our little corner of the intertubes. You know the type: emotional maturity stopped developing right after they figured out they were attracted to the wrong gender.

Never grew up, those Lost Boys*, did they?

It fascinates me to see that some of them have children. Some of them even have children older than 11! (If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to throw a tantrum better than your kids you need read no farther than John Galt’s blog.)

Also interesting to me is what happens when some of them suddenly decide to mature. AtP got himself a boyfriend and suddenly gets arrested for violating curfew. Curfew violation! Like a 15-year-old. He’s aged four years in five months!

*The term “Lost Boys” is used as a literary illusion to invoke the idea of a person who never grows up and is no way meant to exclude any lesbians from the thesis presented herein.

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good video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmecyCCdknk

The Gift of Laughter

2007-12-25T01:27:00.000-07:00

Cyanide and Happiness is just what it sounds like: cynicism made funny--

Red VS Blue is best known for their movies made with video game footage--

White Ninja is pure randomness perfected--

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal is a daily comic that may be the reason RSS Feeders were invented--

Here's a bonus SMBC comic--

Penny Arcade chronicles the life of two men who built an empire around playing video games too often--

VG Cats prove that cat's are, in fact, valuable--

Dinosaur Comics prove literature is funny--

And a bonus Dinosaur Comic--

Meet the OCMCO

2007-12-17T21:47:00.000-07:00

and here i thought i was going to take a break from posting until after the holidays…

OCMCO stands for Orange County Mormon Choral Organization. It's a brand new choir that just had it’s inaugural concert on December 12th at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

According to the blogger known only as "Max Power," a member of the choir, it was a magnificent show. Posting the night of the concert, Max describes the experience in glowing terms and even speaks of a personal miracle he attributes to his participation in the event.

But not all is well in the choir, it would seem, as an individual known only as the choir’s “Web Publicist” has discovered that Max is a homosexual* and asked him to remove his post so it wouldn’t show up in any Google searches for the choir!

"[T]his is not the kind of publicity we need as a young organization trying to benefit the Church and its music," said the Web Publicist in an email.

Max released a statement detailing the distasteful and offensive nature of the request he believes was made only because he is a homosexual. In a statement released earlier today Max writes incredulously, “Have you read my blog? Have you seen any of the posts where I talk about sticking with my core beliefs and values, in spite of my sexual orientation… Why do you think that an admission of incredible faith (faith to the level that it causes me to shun the most core and natural feelings that my body generates) about the church is bad?”

He continues, “I would say that I don't understand, but I do. The general membership of the church doesn't actually belive what they talk about every Sunday. They don't believe in unconditional love. The don't believe in imperfections. They don't believe in caring for those who are different than they are. They don't believe in the Atonement. They don't actually believe what Jesus taught, even though they can lay claim to greater knowledge of His teachings than any other Christian church out there.”

Whether or not the actions of the choir reflect on the general membership of the church is unclear. Max’s statement is, however, as scathing a critique of a choral organization as this observer has ever read.

If you’d like you can deliver your own scathing critique of OCMCO you may do so at the following link:

Contact the Choir

*It's true, OCMCOs. Like millions of Americans, Max suffers from Chronic Gay.

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good tune (but not a choral piece)
http://djpretzel.web.aplus.net/songs/Zelda_Links_Awakening_Braving_Tal_Tal_Heights_OC_ReMix.mp3

Love / Valor / Compassion

2007-12-08T10:58:00.000-07:00

to those posts that sit unpublished because the blogger can't quite perfect it I humbly suggest we surrender

I’ve been spending some time trying to perfect a post about the necessity of gay relationships for gay men. The basic premise was the gayer the man the more necessary the gay relationship. The inverse was also true. The straighter the man the more necessary the straight relationship.

It was getting too long for one post but not quite long enough for two posts. I tried to trim it but every paragraph seemed necessary.

Then it struck me. I didn’t need any fancy arguments at all. Just a premise that played off the basic, ingrained human experience we all know so well.

Love and Companionship are critically necessary experiences for all men.*

Love and Companionship are two things that can't be replaced by anything. Or rather, nothing is a true substitute.

Neither casual acquaintances, nor home teaching, nor Straight Boot Camp, nor Legos™ will ever truly substitute that basic human requirement.

For men only Love and Companionship will do.

*Lesbians should swap each occurrence of "men" with "women." At least, that's what they usually do.

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good tune
http://djpretzel.web.aplus.net/songs/Castlevania_3_Pools_of_Rust_OC_ReMix.mp3

You’re Considering a “Traditional” Marriage

2007-11-29T16:07:00.000-07:00

neal called me a “pit viper” recently. what’s with that guy and phallic imagery?

You’re considering a “traditional” marriage. Good for you. A fool weighs not his options.

It works for some gays. I’ve met them so I can assure you it does work sometimes.* You’ll be a father like you’ve always wanted. You’ll be a husband like you’ve always wanted. You’ll get into that straight-only heaven you’ve always wanted.

Having weighed the pros and cons I’ve decided it isn’t for me. Having met the men who tried it only to meet with disastrous results I’ve estimated it isn’t right for most.

Normally, I would say this now, “Do as you will; it’s your life to make happy.”

But it’s not your marriage that explodes, is it? It’s her marriage, too.

It isn’t your life that explodes. It’s her life, too. It’s her identity, her self-esteem, and her kids that are caught in the shock wave.

She wasn’t prepared. How could she have been? Society didn’t teach her anything about this type of relationship. Neither did her family. Neither does her church. Neither did you telling her you were gay beforehand.

One might be fully aware they’re standing on railroad tracks, they may even be told the train is coming, see it’s bright lights, hear it’s sounding horn, and still not be prepared for the impact when it finally arrives.

And it always arrives.

*Allow me to make something perfectly clear for those of you who only read the first and last sentence of a post: I know it works for some gay guys.

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good tune from an artist who will be missed (link, link, link)
http://djpretzel.web.aplus.net/songs/Street_Fighter_2_RyuforFourPianos_OC_ReMix.mp3