Tweet of the day: Rogeronimo
Kitty patty-cake
Great voice-over work. Way cute.
Christmas Sweater
A little post-holiday bear flirtation?
(via JMG)
Maine: Same-sex marriage begins!
The first five same-sex couples who arrived to get marriage certificates walk up the steps of Portland City Hall (Maine) on Friday, December 28, 2012.
They begin to get officially married tomorrow, Saturday the 29th!
Update: First couple to get married under new marriage equality law – “We finally feel equal and happy to live in Maine,” Steven Bridges told the Bangor Daily News after marrying Michael Snell. Same-sex couples can now marry in Maine.
Fiscal cliff drama continues
From ThinkProgress: With four days left until the end of the year, President Obama will host the congressional leaders in the Oval Office today in hopes of reaching a compromise.
The House and Senate are back in session, but House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) refuses to take an up or down vote on a Senate-passed bill extending tax cuts to Americans earning less than $250,000 and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is now demanding spending cuts to pay for an extension to the federal unemployment insurance program that expires at the end of the year.
The Washington Post reports that McConnell “for the first time was engaged directly in talks with the White House. He signaled an interest in cutting a deal.”
Happy birthday Joe Manganiello!
Joe Manganiello turns 36 today! Whoo-hoo! Celebrate!
Top Ten Grammar Peeves
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I wish everyone would read this. I don’t know why this is so hard for so many. Click the pic to enlarge.
Huffington Post: Most Compelling LGBT People of 2012
The Huffington Post has compiled a list of 30 “Most Compelling LGBT People of 2012.”
I like the list, so here are a few I whole-heartedly agree with. Check out the rest of the list here.
Tammy Baldwin: The general election on Nov. 6 was a historic one for LGBT people. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) was a part of that history when she became the first openly gay senator in the nation to win a seat in the U.S. Senate.
“I am honored and humbled and grateful, and I am ready to get to work — ready to stand with Barack Obama, and ready to fight for Wisconsin’s middle class,” Baldwin said at her victory party.
Shane Bitney Crone: In May, Shane Bitney Crone got everyone’s attention with his tragic, alarming and thought-provoking YouTube video, “It Could Happen To You,” which went viral and has garnered over 3 million views to date.
The video highlights the many inequalities LGBT people face in the U.S., using his relationship with and loss of his longtime boyfriend as an example, and urges people to take a stand for marriage equality.
Since the video’s debut, Crone has become a fervent LGBT-rights activist, making another video in a plea for full equality called “No Freedom Until We Are Equal” in November.
Edie Windsor: Edie Windsor and her late wife Thea Spyer spent more than 40 years together and were married in 2007 in Canada. Spyer was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and passed away from the disease in 2009.
Because the U.S. doesn’t recognize their marriage, Windsor, now 83, was forced to pay more than $363,000 in federal estate tax on her partner’s estate and this inequality, courtesy of the Defense Of Marriage Act, caused her to sue the federal government in 2010.
In July, Windsor petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear her case and now, after historic news in December that Proposition 8 and DOMA would be addressed by the high court, Windsor’s petition will be granted with a decision due in June 2013.
Orlando Cruz: In October, Puerto Rican featherweight boxer Orlando Cruz made history when he announced that he is a “proud gay man,” which made him one of the first active professional athletes — not just boxer — to do so.
The 31-year-old told USA Today: “I’ve been fighting for more than 24 years and as I continue my ascendant career, I want to be true to myself. I want to try to be the best role model I can be for kids who might look into boxing as a sport and a professional career.”
Cruz won his first fight after coming out about two weeks later.
“I was very happy that they [the fans] respect me. That’s what I want — them to see me as a boxer, as an athlete and as a man in every sense of the word,” he said.
What makes a life “full?”
This has been posted many times on the internet. I really like it.
My apologies that I can’t attribute authorship, but I’m betting they won’t be mad that I pass on their wisdom:
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full.. The students responded with a unanimous ‘yes.’
The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.The students laughed..
‘Now,’ said the professor as the laughter subsided, ‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things—-your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions—-and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.. The sand is everything else—-the small stuff.
‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued, ‘there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.
If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.
Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and mow the lawn.
Take care of the golf balls first—-the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, ‘I’m glad you asked.’ The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.
Billy Porter on art, passion and pumps
Billy Porter – soon to be starring in the upcoming Broadway musical “Kinky Boots” – stopped by The Candi & Randy Show to chat on his new role, his upcoming CD and his perspective on a 20+ year career in entertainment.