Is Age Just a Number?

Getting at this ageism thing... I think there is one thing that folks under 40 have to realize. Once you get into middle-age and beyond, you start to see that there is an end to this thing. That all the profound thoughts and idealism of youth really don't matter after a certain point. I am not saying that people grow more cold-hearted as they age (although that might explain Republicans). I am saying that you see the end of your life, you see friends dying in their fifties (and not from AIDS) and you realize that life is short, and you only have so much time to make your life feel well lived.

The one thing I think I treasure more and more as I age is a kind-hearted soul. Every time I meet someone whose kindness and generosity shine through I feel humbled by it and lucky to know them. Give me the Gandhi's and the Martin Luther King's (who were not known for their beauty) of the world any time. That is the true measure of a person.

I don't think gays are really any more ageist than anyone else. Money, power and beauty are the three things that have always mattered most to people. Any combination will get you ahead in the world. If you have all three, then you have hit the jackpot. It doesn't matter if you are gay or straight, substance only matters to a few of us.

Better Living Through Television

TV has suddenly become more interesting lately. First let's start with that scourge of the right-wing, The Book of Daniel. I have watched the first two episodes and I was very impressed by the whole thing. Great writing, acting, music. Throw in a little Jesus and you'd think the born-agains would be happy. But noooo.... You've got the gay people, the druggies, adultery, teenage sex, this is just too much. No wonder four stations have taken it off the air. Mostly in the south, but Indiana could be an honorary member of the southern states. Solidly red, if you will. Christian Campbell has been working out, that adds yet another layer of quality to the show.

Then there is Crumbs, ABC's new comedy on Thursdays. Unfortunately it is up against The Office, which is one of NBC's few hits. Crumbs is also a very good show, and not just because the main character happens to be gay. Fred Savage is so perfect for that role. Actually everyone seems perfectly cast. The music is excellent as well, good to see they were not afraid to use some songs from the pop oeuvre. I would recommend this show to anyone who is a fan of good writing and not just the typical sitcom one-two punch lines. Plus I love me some crazies.

Will and Grace kind of impressed me last week. Their show about The Sound of Music was consistently funny. Not to mention Will finally having a love interest of sorts. I couldn't believe they got Taye Diggs to play the role. Most black guys just don't like to play gay, just ask Will Smith (even though it launched his career in film). I wish this week's show had been as funny. The live thing is okay once, but even going live and throwing in Matt Lauer can't save a bad script. Then to throw in slapstick, I'd expect that from Three's Company, but not from my homies.

I have recently discovered Commander in Chief. I was never a fan of West Wing, so I thought I wouldn't like this show either. Then I bought the pilot on iTunes and fell in love. I hope it helps to prepare America for its first female President. And I'm not talking Hillary or Condi either. Of course the way things are going, Judge Alito will throw us all back to the fifties so a woman in the White House could never happen. After all, he thinks the Warren Court went too far, judicial activists doncha know.

So, set your DVR's and start watching some good programming childrens, Homey will play dat.

And So Life Begins Anew

First week back at work was not too much fun. Seemed like the longest four days on record. Following the story of the trapped miners in West Virginia really brought me down. Those poor families, such unbearable pain.

All the good news on the horizon seems to be coming from Washington. Jack Abramoff, the Republican poster boy for clean living, is singing like a canary. I can't wait until he starts squealing on his friends in the White House too. I hope it really breaks open in late Summer, just in time for the elections. Please let no Dems be involved, please let no Dems be involved...

Looking at today's headlines about IBM freezing their pension plan sent chills up and down my spine. How can all these companies be allowed to do this? When you work for a company your whole life, they shouldn't be allowed to tell you after the fact that your pension will stop. One of the reasons most people select certain companies to work for is because of the benefits offered. You spend 25 years working toward your retirement, thinking you have everything planned (at least the things you thought you could count on), and then POP, in your fifties you have to scramble for another plan for your financial future. Worse yet, you may have to work into your seventies in order to live. It is no coincidence that this is happening when the Republicans control all the branches of government. Those bastards...

But I'm not bitter. I just hope this cycle changes before the environment is destroyed and we are all working for Chinese wages. Such selfish, short-sighted thinking. Don't they care about their own children and grandchildren, or other peoples' children? Sometimes they just make me want to spit...

On a happier note, I'm hoping to get a video iPod soon. My iPod is only six months old, but it doesn't do video. Who can live like that. Now if only I can talk my other half into letting me get it. Maybe I'll say I found it on the street? Left by a homeless man with the same musical tastes as me. Yeah, that'll work.

No, the picture above is not the homeless man. That's me, can't you see that I'm just geezer-licious??? Sorely in need of a shave though. It's all part of being manly I guess. Just call me smilin' Scotty.

2006 Already???

I promise not to do a year-in-review blog. You can't turn the channel on the TV without seeing one of those shows. Okay, we know what happened, we were there.

I would like to talk about the future, however. Not just my future, but the future of us all.

Where is my turban when I need it, I can't even find my crystal ball? I guess I won't be playing Madam Sasha in any local carnivals anytime soon. I keep hoping to see a brighter tomorrow, but looking to Washington that light just keeps getting dimmer.

Bush's poll numbers are starting to go back up, for what reason I don't know. Maybe people like being spied on, maybe we secretly think we are all bad and need to be looked after. Maybe people are just so frightened by the future that civil liberties and the rule of law really don't mean much anymore. I wish I knew (damned crystal ball).

I do know that the right-wing is still way better organized than the left. We don't have built-in meeting places where like-minded people can attend services on a weekly basis. Well, maybe a couple, but not nearly enough. We also don't have the mean-spirited soul that is needed in cut-throat politics (Mr. Frist and Mr. Delay, etc.). That's a good thing and a bad thing. After all, we really don't want to be like them, do we?

So, from this vantage point, the first day of 2006, things look iffy. All we can do is hope and pray that the Dems get their act together and the press takes notice. And that Mr. Bush continues to fall on his face and gets indicted for spying on us illegally. We also have to work toward taking back at least one of the houses of Congress this November. Wouldn't that be loverly...