Quill & Claw/Pen & Paw

I really hate politics, on so many levels. At least a salesman has a product in his favor. Something tangible, something real. A politician works on belief. But his/her beliefs are less then that of religion. Religion may fail in the concrete evidence department, but still has a structure and system to follow. But politics? Squat, generally. And the polls and pollsters make it worse, much, much worse. Four years ago, Bush rallied on the fact that Kerry had flipflopped on several issues. But the fact is, all politicos flipflop, merely due to polls. So not only are their beliefs fluid--they ability to even stay on topic for too long is at risk. I mention this, because I follow gay issues so closely. Yeah, an oxymoronic statement. I hate politics; I follow gay issues on politics. But then again, I hate some kinds of food--so I do watch for them on my plate. Lately, the winds of change have swept gay issues up to the forefront. Now, again, we are a topic for warm debate amoung the hets...

Okay, I admit it, I'd love to give the snarky answer here. I was so tempted to just put "no" and leave, like the entire page blank, ya know? How pedantic would that be? But the fact of the matter, I've been railed again from some of my friends from all over the block for my constant critism of classics. I thought, for example, that Gone With the Wind and Dances with Wolves were voluminous hack-jobs that made, by far better movies. Anything made my John Grisham was convoluted and should also be punished--yep--by being made into sub-par films for 4 star actors to finish up their studio contracts... I also felt that many classic books SHOULD be held to the light, repeatedly, to help persuade us and remind us why, in the first place, did we see them as "classics." I look to specific fame there. I mean, The Adventures of Huck Finn? Every time I've looked between the covers on that one, I'm always impressed...the book does stand tall and resistant to cri...

Dear Reader, I'm really, really trying to get back into writing, at least once a week. Here's his week's topic: If you had to name the single most regrettable thing about your country's history, what would it be? I'm reminded of a scene in the sci-fi movie Alien Nation. In it, a slave ship from another planet crashes near Los Angeles and the creatures aboard find themselves as a new minority in the City of Angels. As usual, it is not easy going, as many people suddenly say, "they are infrindging on my rights! They are reducing my freedoms." The aliens cannot assimalate smoothly besides their abilty to learn at an advanced rate and helping the economy. In this particular scene, both a human (James Caan) and an alien (Mandy Patankin) are getting drunk and letting the sparks fly. The alien realizes something the human never could. See, the human had all the rights and freedoms of his country for so long, he never realized that they might not be excluding anyo...