Current Events

Gay/Straight Marriages and the Georges tragedy

This is in regards to Ruth Holladay’s recent column on the Georges murder tragedy. (excerpted below)

I think we as a community, and Ruth Holladay, need to separate our issues here, because we’re talking about several different issues as though they’re a single issue.

  1. We’re talking about people, regardless of their orientation, being honest with their partners (and themselves) about health-related issues.
  2. We’re also talking about people being monogamous within their relationships.
  3. We’re also talking about people being honest about their sexual orientation.
  4. And finally we’re talking about people finding ways to live together with other people’s orientations.

How any given person (gay or straight) in any kind of relationship (same sex or opposite sex) chooses to handle each of these four issues individually will determine the success of their relationship.

I can show you PLENTY of gay/straight marriages where there’s no dishonesty whatsoever — AND vice versa, lesbians married happily to straight men!
And there are PLENTY of relationships of all kinds where people are not honest — that’s the issue, really, not gay/straight but honesty/dishonesty.
And as far as the Georges go, we DON’T KNOW how they chose to handle each of these individual issues. It may very well be the case that:

  1. Lloyd Georges was completely honest with his wife about health concerns; his own and hers.
  2. Lloyd and Judy may have had an agreement that non-monogamy was okay as long as there was honesty about health, emotional, and safety concerns. Or Lloyde may have been completely monogamous — we don’t know that he ever had a sexual encounter with a man.
  3. Lloyd may have been totally out to Judy, and to their family and friends as well.
  4. Lloyd and Judy may have been happy with their arrangements.

****And this tragedy could still have occurred even if each of the above four assumptions were true. ****

The tragedy was a ROBBERY gone wrong, and nothing more. It was sad and unfortunate, but it had NOTHING to do with the fact that he was gay and she was straight. Lloyd could have met and befriended some shady characters at a gas station, rather than the Unicorn club. People, gay and straight, trust the wrong people every day.

We CANNOT sit around and make generalizations about all gay/straight relationships and marriages, any more than we can about gay/gay relationships or straight/straight ones.

There is no reason that we can or should assume that gay men married to straight women are always dishonest about their health issues, about their orientations, about their emotional and safety concerns.

We can, and should, strive to be honest and concerned about our own health and emotional well-being, and the health and emotional well-being of the people around us.

I think Ruth Holladay’s article was homophobic, even if unintentionally. She suggested that Lloyd Georges was dishonest with his wife because he was gay, that gay people live unsavory and dangerous lives, and that this alleged dishonesty was the reason they both were killed.

None of these things are true.

Ruth Holladay, May 25, 2000, Indianapolis Star:

It was not Lloyd Georges’ homosexuality that caused his death, said the veteran cop. It was his indulgence for guys with criminal histories, his fondness for men with mean streaks.

So the retired 60-year-old educator is dead, a victim of bad choices and worse company. But so is Georges’ 58-year-old wife, Judith, who had taught third grade and collected dolls and was, by all accounts, a quiet woman who left their Greenwood home on weekends so her husband could take part in “Saturday night fever.” That phrase refers to the personal ad Georges placed in an alternative newspaper; it was his invitation to party.

This is a tough one to make sense of, by anybody’s belief system. It’s even tougher in the context of conservative Midwestern family values. But it happened. It happens.

Specifically, what happened is this: The Greenwood couple, wed 32 years, were stabbed to death last Friday in their home, then their bodies were set on fire. In a community that averages one murder every six years, it was shocking. In a community where normal is the norm, it was a bombshell.

Police Chief Robert Dine liked Mrs. Georges. He’s a past president of the PTO at Isom Elementary School, where she taught for 35 years. “She was a dedicated teacher,” he says.

So he made a promise to the couple’s son to find the killer, and on Monday, he might have delivered: Detectives arrested Fernando Griffith, 22, also known as Valentino. That’s his stage name at the Unicorn, a private Indianapolis club where he worked as a stripper. The retired teacher and his friend had known each other about a year, Dine says. Sometimes, Dine says, both Mr. and Mrs. Georges invited Griffith to their home for dinner. But the relationship soured last week, police say, when Georges refused to play sugar daddy.

So much for the allegations. Now, for an effort at insight.

In the past, gay men often married: Peter Tchaikovsky, Oscar Wilde, Charles Laughton and Cole Porter come to mind.

But that was then, when just being gay was a crime. Given that the only exit from the closet was jail, it’s understandable that gays hid.

While we haven’t created utopia yet — don’t hold your breath, and keep in mind that everybody’s utopia is different — we have changed. Gay men and women can live together openly.

Despite this, old patterns and fears continue, says Amity Pierce Buxton of El Cerrito, Calif., a 71-year-old founder of the Straight Spouse Network. Buxton speaks from experience: Seventeen years ago, her husband of 23 years told her he was gay.

Now, she uses her pain to help others heal. She understands the double-edged stigma, both from the perspective of gay partner and straight spouse. She understands that gays still marry — less so today, but it happens. And it doesn’t take a degree in gay studies to realize that a teacher, like Georges, would be fearful of exposure, especially during his career.

But the bigger the lie, the harder the fall. When the truth finally comes out, as it always does, everybody gets hurt — especially the straight spouse.

As stated, it’s tough to make sense out of this. But if one message should come through, it’s this: Intolerance exists — look at Matthew Shepard, who paid with his life. Still, if you are gay or bisexual and married to a straight person, be honest. If you are absolutely petrified by that, keep your vows: Don’t have sex outside marriage.

And if you are a straight person who suspects she is married to a gay, you need to know that your choice could carry a cost.

Get out. Life is too short.

Continue ReadingGay/Straight Marriages and the Georges tragedy

Big Things Photos

Giant horses, enormous cows, men that tower over the skyline… some of them are permanent fiberglass structures, some temporary inflatables, almost all of them are advertisements for a business. They’re cool, and I take pictures of them. To make these photos even more captivating, an AI photo tool can help you enhance or creatively reimagine these giant sculptures. And if you need a newborn photographer for your baby, VA VA Zoom Studio by Marianna Photography is a newborn photographer Coquitlam you can hire.

Where Are They?

So far, I’ve covered Indianapolis with the help of family, friends and helpful strangers who’ve sent me information through e-mail. I’ve also taken several trips around Indiana and the midwest. There are still several Indiana day trips I need to make to photograph:

  • Giant Egg in Mentone, Indiana
  • Giant Peach near Vincennes, Indiana
  • Big Chicken in Spencer, Indiana
  • Giant Red Rooster in Hobart, Indiana, Hwy 6
  • Giant Rocking Chair in Amity, Indiana
  • Giant Indian in Toto, Indiana

E-mail me if you know of any big things in Indiana that I’ve missed.

“Big Things” In Indianapolis Photo Gallery

Pictures of… stuff that’s big. Like Mr. Bendo of Ralph’s Muffler, giant chickens, cows, horses, etc. There are lots of these roadside art/advertising objects in and around Indianapolis.

Mr. Bendo
Mr. Bendo

Indy’s Lost Big Things Photo Gallery

Sadly, since I started photographing in 1999, Some of Indy’s “Big Things” have been lost to time, due to businesses closing or natural disasters. Here are my photographs in tribute to Indianapolis icons that are lost time.

Pig Car
Pig Car

Big Things In Indianapolis – Inflatables Photo Gallery

These big things are often seasonal, related to holidays (Santa, pumpkins, ghosts) or are used as advertising to highlight a sale or grand opening. They’re usually temporary, so catching them is more challenging, and often more fun.

Inflated Ghost Big Thing
Inflated Ghost Big Thing

Big Things In Indiana Photo Gallery

Indiana has quite a few big things in various towns; I’ve traveled around to photograph many of them, and will be making more trips this year to find more.

Giant Rocking Chair
Giant Rocking Chair

Big Things In Muncie, Indiana Photo Gallery

Pictures of… stuff that’s big in Muncie, Indiana, home of my alma mater, Ball State University. Muncie has three big “Muffler Men” type guys, as well as a giant frog, hippo, lion and other stuff.

Giant Frog Muncie Indiana
Giant Frog Muncie Indiana

Big Things Around the U.S.A. Photo Gallery

Pictures of “Big Things” outside Indiana, including a Uniroyal Tire Gal and a Giant Cornucopia. Also, one of the first “Big Things” I ever photographed; a giant Indiana in Oklahoma.

Giant Indiana, Oklahoma
Giant Indiana, Oklahoma

2001 “Big Things” Midwest Road Trip Photo Gallery

I took a massive four-day road trip through the midwest (Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois) to photograph “Big Things.”

FAST Company Cow
FAST Company Cow

2004 Visit to Dinosaurland in Virginia Photo Gallery

On a trip with my girlfriend to a VW Beetle car show in Virginia, we visited Dinosaurland in Winchester, Virginia. Dinosaurland is a tacky 60’s tourist attraction featuring 40 huge dinosaurs and other “big things” like a giant King Kong.

Dinosaur Land
Dinosaur Land

2005 – Big Things In Louisville, Kentucky Photo Gallery

Stephanie and I went on a road trip to take pictures of Big Things in Louisville. Including the giant bat, a coffee pot, and the giant Colgate Clock.

Giant Bat
Giant Bat

Me and “Big Things” in the papers

On January 5, 2005 an article on on my “Big Things” photography hobby was the cover story of Nuvo Newsweekly. I did an interview, and had my picture taken with Mr. Bendo for the article.

Why do I Take Pictures of Big Things?

When I was a kid, my family used to stop at the Happy Chef in Ottumna, Iowa, which featured a Giant Chef, complete with chef’s hat and wooden spoon. If you pressed a button at the base of the statue, the chef would talk to you. It scared the crap out of me, but I still wanted to stop every time.

I resumed my fascination with “Big Things” on a road trip in 1996 to Tucson, Arizona. My friends were moving, and I helped them drive the moving van out west. We took Route 66 for part of the trip, so we saw lots of big things. Unfortunately, my crappy camera didn’t capture many of them, but when I got home, I started snapping pictures around Indianapolis.

As a designer, I’m fascinated by “Big Things” because I’m interested in their effectiveness as advertising. To catch people’s eye, the advertiser took something ordinary and distorted its size in relation to the objects that surround it. You’re driving along, and you see “building building, giant cow, building” and you think, “Wait a minute, giant cow? That’s not right. What is that?”

Another interesting aspect of the “Big Things” phenomenon is that big people like Mr. Bendo are the decendents of American folklore. Part of our American archetype are folk stories of giant men like Paul Bunyan, who strode across the landscape, stepping over trees and buildings as he helped tame the wilderness.

Mimetic Architecture
Closely related to “Big Things,” mimetic architecture are buildings in the shapes of objects, like the long-gone Polk Dairy building, which featured smoke-stacks shaped like large milk bottles. This building was one of the few examples of Mimetic Architecture in Indianapolis.

Related Stuff:

Me and “Big Things” On TV:
Dick Wolfsie and Barney the Dog, from WISH-TV Daybreak News interviewed me about my “Big Things” at 5:50 a.m. Tuesday January 15th, 2002, from Ralph’s Muffler on 16th street, home of Mr. Bendo.

Photo 1 of Dick, Barney & Bendo – High Resolution

Photo 2 of Dick, Barney & Bendo – High Resolution

I’ve been mentioned several times on the website roadsideamerica.com: “Akin to the mad building frenzy of the Winchester Mystery House widow, Steph must keep photographing giant things in Indianapolis or die.”

Me and “Big Things” In Print:
Indiana Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities, and Other Offbeat Stuff
by Dick Wolfsie (Author)
I have photo credits in Dick Wolfsie’s new book, of the giant Steer in Kokomo and the ladies leg sundial that I photographed. I was featured on Dick’s show for my photography of “Big Things.”

Continue ReadingBig Things Photos

Gay National Anthems 1939-1979 (vol. 1)

By Steph Mineart, Doug Feller for the The Millenium March on Washington
01 – Over the Rainbow – Judy Garland – Wizard of Oz Soundtrack
02 – Cry – Johnnie Ray
03 – Secret Love – Doris Day
04 – The Man That Got Away – Judy Garland with Ray Heindorf & Orchestra
05 – You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away – The Beatles
06 – San Francisco – Scott McKenzie
07 – I Say a Little Prayer for You – Dionne Warwick
08 – Band of Gold – Freda Payne
09 – Cabaret – Liza Minelli
10 – John I’m Only Dancing – David Bowie
11 – I am Woman – Helen Reddy
12 – Walk on the Wild Side – Lou Reed
13 – Friends – Bette Midler
14 – Get Dancing – Disco Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes
15 – Lady Marmalade – Patti La Belle
16 – At Seventeen – Janis Ian
17 – All The Time – Barry Manilow
18 – Dancing Queen – ABBA
19 – Macho Man – Village People
20 – I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor
21 – Y.M.C.A – Village People

Continue ReadingGay National Anthems 1939-1979 (vol. 1)

A Family By Choice

By Kathleen Schuckel

Reprinted from The Indianapolis Star

INDIANAPOLIS (Sun. Jan. 9, 2000) — Butch Kimmerling adopted his 8-year-old foster child to keep her from becoming a gay man’s daughter. Kimmerling, 52, is now accused of molesting the little girl, and has admitted it.

Even as Kimmerling prepares to go to court soon on 10 felony counts of child molestation, a state lawmaker prepares to introduce legislation to stop gay people from adopting.

State Rep. Woody Burton, R-Greenwood, said he was appalled at Kimmerling’s admissions to molesting the little girl. "That guy ought to be put in jail," he said.

Still, Burton says, that doesn’t mean Kimmerling’s protest against gay adoption was wrong.

Spurred by Kimmerling’s protests over gay adoption, Burton sponsored a bill last year in the General Assembly that would have banned gays or single people from adopting. It didn’t pass, but he plans to re-introduce legislation in 2001.

FAMILY TIME: Craig Peterson and his three sons — (from left) Andrew, Michael and Brandon — share a laugh while reading a storybook before bedtime. Peterson, 39 and a gay man, has overcame many obstacles to adopt three special-needs boys. )

Away from the maelstrom, in a quiet house in Indianapolis, a gay man raises the little girl’s three brothers, ages 4, 5 and 6. They are his sons, now. Even as Craig Peterson tries to shield his boys from the swirling controversies, the intersecting threads still touch them.

Peterson is fighting for the right for his sons to visit their older sister. In fact, he would still like to adopt her or arrange visits between her and her brothers.

"These boys … would love to have a relationship with their sister, and they’ve never been given that opportunity. We talk about her, and we pray for her."

The Kimmerling’s adoption of the boys’ sister was approved — in December, 1998 — even before Peterson’s adoption of his sons was approved. That approval came in September 1999.

"Here, I’m jumping through hoops, and they’re taking hoops down for these people," Peterson said.

Even after the Kimmerlings "won" adoption of the little girl, they continued to fight for a ban against gay adoption.

In a letter to the editor of The Indianapolis Star, published Oct. 13, 1998, Kimmerling and his wife wrote: "Girls need mothers so they can learn what it is to be a woman; they need fathers so they know how to interact with the opposite sex."

Kimmerling later admitted molesting the little girl numerous times before and after that letter was written — "many times since April or May 1998, and the last time on the morning of May 10, 1999," court documents note Kimmerling said.

Two veteran public servants in Madison County — Detective Dale Koons and Judge Fredrick Spencer — weren’t surprised by the molestation charges against Kimmerling.

"Those with the deepest secrets protest the most," Spencer said. He said he knew of numerous instances of child molesters, before they were found out "…said that all molesters should be taken out and shot for their crimes."

Kimmerling’s attorney, John Erickson, said his client has fully cooperated with officials, has had no contact with his daughter and has sought treatment.

Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings said he plans to try the Kimmerling case himself, rather than hand it to a deputy prosecutor.

Cummings, who himself grew up in foster care in Anderson, moving from home to home and experiencing abuse in some homes, said he takes special interest in this case.

"I want to do it, and I want to make sure it gets done the way I want it done," he said.

Cummings said last month that he didn’t anticipate a plea agreement. Refusing to talk about this case specifically, Cummings said that he saw prison as "the only option" for most child molesters.

Of the 10 counts pending against Kimmerling, two are A felonies, the other eight, C felonies. On each A felony charge, Kimmerling could get 20 to 50 years in prison, and two to eight years imprisonment for each C felony.

The Indiana Legislature won’t be alone in debating the issue of gay adoption.

Controversies surrouding the issue have erupted nationally. Last year, Texas attempted to ban gay adoption, but it failed in the legislature.

However, an aide to Gov. George W. Bush said the presidential hopeful would have signed a law banning gays from adopting.

And just last year, New Hampshire lifted its ban on gay adoption. Previously, foster children weren’t even allowed to spend the night in a home where a homosexual was visiting.

THERAPY: Michael, Andrew and Brandon watch a half-hour of a Disney video before bedtime with their heads in their hands to help strenghten their neck muscles, which are weak from the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome. Peterson believes this will result in improving the boys’ attention spans.

While Utah and Arkansas make gay adoptions nearly impossible, Florida is the only state that has an outright ban on gays and lesbians adopting. The law stemmed from Anita Bryant’s 1977 crusade to overturn a gay rights ordinance in Dade County.

Indiana’s Burton is clear in his opposition to gay people becoming adoptive parents.

"I think children need the influence of both a mother and father," said Burton, who said he also plans to introduce other adoption reform bills. "(Children) need two different people with different biological makeups.

"It takes a man and woman to make a child. It takes a man and woman to raise a child."

Burton said children adopted by gays and lesbians are hurt unnecessarily when forced to experience the stigmas and mistreatment gay and lesbian parents receive in society.

Others disagree.

"There is not one credible study out there to demonstrate that children of gay and lesbian parents suffer at the hands of their peers any more than any other kids," said Sean Lemieux, the director of the Project for Equal Rights for the Indiana Civil Liberties Union.

"Does that mean we take kids away from overweight parents because they get teased on that basis?"

Steve Kirsh, an Indianapolis lawyer who mostly handles infant adoptions, occasionally works with gay and lesbian couples.

One birth mother purposely chose a gay couple to be her baby’s parents because the child was biracial, Kirsh said. The woman reasoned that the couple had themselves faced prejudice and would be better equipped to raise a child facing prejudice.

In Kirsh’s practice, gay couples have adopted African-American babies, biracial babies or those with disabilities.

He doesn’t think any ban on gay adoption is necessary.

"Given the fact that there are so few gay adoptions taking place and also that gay couples are adopting hard-to-place children, I would think the legislature has more important things to worry about."

Peterson’s sons all have special needs. Because of their birth mother’s use of alcohol during pregnancy, they suffer effects of fetal alcohol syndrome.

Ron Carpenter knows about children, like Peterson’s sons, who are hard to place. He heads the Children’s Bureau of Indianapolis, which has a contract with the state to help find homes for nearly 2,000 Hoosier children needing homes.

"Special-needs kids take some very special or unique kinds of families," Carpenter said. "Though it would be great to have the ‘normal’ or ‘traditional’ family unit stepping forward, it just doesn’t happen."

There are some critics of gay adoption who insinuate that gays are more prone to molest children.

In 17 years on the bench, there is one type of person Judge Spencer in Madison County says he has not seen facing molestation charges: homosexuals.

"I have never seen a known gay person who has been accused of sexually molesting a child," he said.

Burton says he thinks more married couples would adopt, if the state had less red tape and better laws to assist them. That will be part of the legislation he plans to introduce next year.

Judith Myers-Walls, an associate professor of family studies at Purdue University, questioned Burton’s premise that a traditional mother and father are always the best for children.

"We put adoptive parents through a lot more rigor than we do biological parents," she said.

As a result, some studies show that gay and lesbian parents tend to be better quality parents.

"They’re working very hard at parenting. They’re much more conscious of what they do and are careful with decisions because they worry of how they are perceived by others," Myers-Walls said.

Furthermore, kids adopted by gays don’t "become" gay, she said.

Studies show that gay and lesbian parents are slightly less likely to have children who identify themselves as gay or lesbian than heterosexual parents, Myers-Walls said.

Peterson said doesn’t spend much time researching the issues.

Instead, he’s focused most on being a father; providing for his sons’ most immediate needs: good educations and a nurturing home that helps them to grow up kind and successful people.

The father finds sad irony in the fact that Kimmerling, who later admitted being a child molester, fought so hard to prevent him from adopting.

"How could that man say horrible things about me when he’d been doing this to the girl?"

Continue ReadingA Family By Choice

Man Charged With Molesting Adopted Child

according to the Associated Press:

Kimmerling had fought attempt by gay couple to adopt 8-year-old girl, with the help of an adoption law firm

ANDERSON [Indiana] – An Anderson man who gained statewide attention by fighting attempts by a gay couple to adopt an 8-year-old girl under his foster care now is charged with molesting her.

Earl “Butch” Kimmerling, a 51-year-old school bus driver who adopted the girl with his wife, confessed in a videotaped interview to molesting the child, according to Anderson police.

Kimmerling battled a gay couple from Indianapolis when they tried to adopt the girl last year. He and his wife, Sandi, gained support in their fight from religious and political leaders in Anderson and across Indiana.

But Kimmerling now faces four counts of felony child molestation, according to court records. Accounts Kimmerling and his daughter gave police were consistent, Anderson police spokesman Mitch Carroll said. People can get in touch with family lawyer serving in Beverly Hills to get help for divorce cases.

Sandi Kimmerling refused to comment and her husband was unavailable Friday night. She filed charges with Anderson police on May 11, Anderson police investigator Dale Koons said.He was released from the Madison County Detention Center on a $35,000 bond Friday evening and will be arraigned this morning. If convicted, he faces between 20 and 116 years in prison. Can a domestic violence charge be expunged?

The girl – now 9 years old – told police the abuse began last April, before the adoption controversy hit its zenith.

The Kimmerlings and their pastor, Brad Brizendine of Center of Faith Church, launched a campaign opposing homosexual adoption last August.

That’s when they found out the girl, who they had cared for over more than five years, would be reunited with her three younger brothers and placed with a homosexual Indianapolis couple.

Anderson Mayor Mark Lawler was one of the couple’s most prominent boosters and attended the adoption finalization at the Kimmerlings’ request. Lawler was unavailable for comment on Friday.

The controversy even extended to the General Assembly, where Republican state representatives Jack Lutz of Anderson and Woody Burton of Greenwood proposed a bill to ban gay adoptions in Indiana.

A bill that would have made it harder for gays to adopt passed the Republican-controlled Indiana Senate, but died in the Democrat-run House.

The Kimmerlings, who have been foster parents since 1991 and shared their home with about 50 foster children, legally adopted the girl Oct. 23. Custody of her three brothers was granted to the two homosexual men.

While there is no protective order against Earl Kimmerling, police said they will make sure he is not able to contact his daughter while the case is under investigation.

“With a case like this, there’s no way we’d allow him to have any contact with her,” Carroll said.

Earl Kimmerling moved out of the home after his wife learned of the abuse, and had been cooperating with police and Gaithersburg family lawyers, Carroll said.

Andrew Stoner, a spokesman for the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, called the case tragic. The state will review how Madison County officials evaluate possible foster parents, Stoner said.

“There does need to be a complete review of what went wrong, but right now, I don’t see any indication that they didn’t do everything they could to prevent this,” Stoner said.

The investigation is open and may extend to other foster children cared for by the Kimmerlings, Carroll said. It was unclear where the girl was living as of Friday, police and prosecutors said.

Continue ReadingMan Charged With Molesting Adopted Child

The Ultimate Survey

  • Post author:
  • Post category:Memes

Every so often, someone sends around one of those massive “getting to know you” questionnaires and everyone answers. I’ve done it so many times that I finally just created a web page for mine, added questions that hadn’t already been included, and sent the URL to them. So if you want to know more about me than my own mother (or any living person actually should know) here’s the big, fat list.

Who Are You?

What is your full name as it appears on you birth certificate: Redacted

What do you like to be called: Hawthorn

What are your nicknames: Hawthorn

What is your alias? (Middle name, street you grew up on): Redacted Belmont

What’s your Mobster Nickname: "Aces" Mineart

What’s your Star Wars Nickname: Hawmi Grdes, trafox of Zyrtec

What’s your Spell Check name (words that replace your name in spell check): Hawthorn Minaret

Number of candles that appeared on your last birthday cake: 50

What’s your Sun sign: Gemini

What’s your Moon sign: Gemini

What’s your Constellation Rising: Gemini. I know… this means I’m not two people, but six. Scary.

Notable Events on the Day You Were Born: Robert Kennedy was shot on June 5, 1968 and died an hour before I was born.

Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana

Current Residence: Indianapolis, Indiana

Height: 5′ 6"

Eye color: Blue

Hair color: Blonde

Piercings: 4 (ears)

Tattoos: 1 – a rose on my ankle that I wish were something else

What’s your most attractive feature: My eyes, and my perfect, white teeth.

Pets:Dog Baxter, Cat Salem. Deceased pets: My Dog Spike, and Cats Lucy, Drusilla, Huckleberry, Annabelle, Idgie, and Grendel the Betta Fish.

What are the perks of your job: Good pay, casual dress, cheap sodas

How much do you love your job: A LOT.

Are you an inside or outdoors person? Outdoors, now that I have a lawn.

Do you have children? No. I’d like one. Don’t care what kind.

What Laundry detergent do you use? Whatever’s cheapest.

What color is your underwear: Blue

Color of socks: white

What color is your bedroom’s carpet: no carpet

What color is your bedroom: Dark Gray. Soon to be pink.

What color is your bathroom: White. I have plans to change that, but haven’t gotten to it.

What did you want to be when you were little?Originally, a knight in shining armor, until I learned that wasn’t still a viable profession. Then a magazine writer.

Favorite childhood memory: Playing on the rocket slide at Grandma M’s, listening to my Grandpa G. talk about flowers in his garden, my dad carrying me on his shoulders, watching musicals with mom.

When Was The Last Time You:

Took a shower: This morning

Danced: This weekend

Received flowers and from whom: a few months ago, from Stephanie

Watched Bambi: Years ago.

Cried: some time last month.

Got a real letter: Major holidays from my grandmother.

Gave to charity: Goodwill, recently

What did you have for breakfast? cold pizza

What was the last book you read: Books I’ve Read

What was the last CD you bought: The Black Parade, My Chemical Romance

What was the last movie you saw: Stranger Than Fiction

What will be the next CD you buy: I don’t know.

Do you play the lottery: Once in a while when I want to fantasize about having a lot of money.

Ever win? I never expect to win.

From whom did you get your last e-mail? A spam site.

Last person you went to dinner with? Jen, Mike

What are you listening to right now? The water bubbling in the aquarium

Best thing that happened to you today: Free Chinese food at work.

Any new and exciting news you’d like to share with everyone? Stephanie’s dad won a trip to Europe for us!

What is Your Favorite:

Flavor: almond, vanilla

Breakfast cereal: Kellogg’s Smart Start or Almond Nut Clusters

Candy: Reeses cups, whoppers

Salad Dressing: Caesar

Food: Chicken prepared almost any way, pizza.

Cuisine: Italian.

Breakfast Food: Sausage and Egg Casserole

Pie: Pumpkin.

Lunch: Quarter pounders with cheese. But I try not to do that much.

Alcoholic beverage: Sour Ales (beer), Dirty Vodka Martinis, Amaretto Sours

Type of Ice: Um, frozen? Oh. Crushed.

Your favorite potato chip? Lime Tostitos

Favorite sandwich? Roast Chicken from Subway

Ice cream: Chocolate Chip cookie dough

Sobe flavor: Dunno.

Soda: unsweetened ice tea, Diet Dr. Pepper

Restaurant: Mandarin Inn, Colorado Steakhouse, Oceanaire

Fast Food Restaurant: Taco Bell, Arby’s

Toothpaste: Crest

Deodorant: Gillette

Shampoo or conditioner: Aveda Rosemary Mint.

Perfume/cologne: Annabel Lee from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.

Type of Underwear: Honestly, I wear boxers.

Shoes: Flame shoes, Fluevogs, my super hero boots, brown boots, old skool vans.

Accessory: Hanuman necklace, empire state building ring.

Possession: My iPod. I have a pallid bust of Pallas above my chamber door. Also a very rare old book, Curious Myths of the Middle Ages, and this really cool optical sign I bought at a junk shop.

Clothes: I have a shirt with a Devil on the front and flames down the sleeves. I also have a tiger-striped velour shirt. Old Navy Ringer Tees, Gap Blue Jeans, Old Navy Black Hoodie, Quidditch Baseball cap.

Favorite brand of clothing? GAP

Color: Blue, black

Number: 7

Stone: Moonstone, pearl, onyx, amber

Holiday: Hands down, it’s Christmas

Day of the week: Saturday

Favorite time of day? Sunrise

Flower: Daisies, Gladiolas, Tulips

Smell: Chocolate chip cookies baking.

Grade: Sophomore year of High School – moved to Noblesville – yeah!

Subject in school: Philosophy. Like it so much I majored it it.

Teacher: Dr. Susan Lawrence from Ball State Univ. Western Civ. class.

Birthday Present Ever: Very cool Pilsner glass from Pinkus Mueller brewery from Cate.

Fairy tale: Arabian Nights

Poem(s): Favorite Poems

Type of music: rock, alternative, punk, oh, anything really.

Song(s): Favorite Song Lyrics

Song you love but are embarrassed to admit to: Islands in the Stream, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton

Christmas Carol: We Three Kings of Orient Are, Il Est Ne Le Divine Enfant, I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm

Movie: Favorite Movie List

TV show: Heroes, Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy, Veronica Mars, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

TV star: Alexis Bledel, Amy Acker, Julia Sawalha, Jennifer Garner, Ellen Degeneres

Magazine: Entertainment Weekly, Utne Reader

Celebrity: Renee Zellwenger, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Garner

Super Hero: Peter Petrelli, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Wonder Woman, ElectraSteph

Fraggle: Gobo

Sesame Street Character: Grover

Zoo Exhibit: Monkey Island!! Monkey Island!! Monkey Island!!

Favorite sport to watch on TV: Ugh. I hate watching sports on TV.

Sport to Watch at the game: Quidditch

Sports team: Gryffindor House Team

Car: Red Ford Truck. But I like station wagons, mini coopers and VW beetles. My dream car is a VW Microbus.

Web Site: My own – of course. But if I have to pick others, here’s a list: Funny Web Sites

Amusement Park Ride: The Beast – King’s Island

What do you want for Christmas: DVDs and Books. Amazon Wish List

If you were stranded on a desert island what book, album, and video would you want with you: Complete Shakespeare, One of my compilation CDs, Shakespeare in Love.

Which store would you choose to max your credit card: Barnes & Noble, Fluevog, Pottery Barn, GAP

If you could be any age, past, present, or future, what would it be: 25

If you could live in any decade in history, what would it be: The 1810s England – The Regency

What childhood toy do you wish you still had: My Barbie clothes

What movie makes you cry: A River Runs Through It, Fahrenheit 9/11, An Inconvenient Truth

What appliance could you not live without: iPod.

Your lucky charm: A tiki charm that hangs from my car mirror.

The person you worship the most: William Shakespeare, Jane Austen

Your bedroom is like: A cool hangout with a loft space.

Favorite Places

Place to live: My house.

Town to chill in/ Vacation spot: Tucson, Münster, Amsterdam, Chicago

Place to retire: Our paid-off house.

Places you want to see but haven’t: I want to take a big USA road trip, and see the southwest, especially California. And I want a more diverse European vacation, especially France and London.

What is Your Least Favorite:

Food: green peppers

Cuisine: Mexican, although that’s only because there’s a salsa that I’m allergic to and I don’t like green peppers.

School Subject: Math, although I was good at it.

The worst song you ever heard: Whatever song that was that Tammy Faye sang.

Most embarrassing CD in your collection: A CD of goofy songs like “the Streak” and “the Witchdoctor.”

Characteristic: Deviousness, trickery, dishonesty for the sake of dishonesty.

Which Is Better:

Hot tubs or pools: Pools.

Diamonds or pearls? Pearls — my birthstone, and not cold and icy like diamonds.

TV or radio: Computers, with the TV on across the room.

Short or tall: Hmmm. Undecided.

Toilet paper over or underhand: Under (My grandpa said just be thankful you have TP.) For a great deal more on this subject, visit The Great Toilet Paper Debate at my brother’s website.

Coke or Pepsi: unsweetened iced tea

Sprite or 7 Up: Diet 7 Up

Coffee or Coffee Ice Cream: Coffee ice cream

Creamy or crunchy peanut butter: Crunchy.

Croutons or Bacon Bits: both

What’s the right way to eat a Reese’s: Bite into it.

Does cheese go on the bumpy or flat side of the Ritz: Bumpy

White or brown bread: Brown

Beavers or ducks? Aflac, aflac, AFLAC!!!!

Beatles or Elvis: Beatles

Who are the most attractive male and female celebrities: Nathan Fillion, Kate Winslet

Are you a morning person or a night owl? Early Bird

Disney or Warner Brothers: Disney

Pedicure or manicure? Pedi.

What first catches your eye in the opposite (or same) sex (ie, legs, boobs, etc): a Beautiful Face

What do you look for in a person: Intelligence, a strong sense of humor, a passion about something artistic, and loyalty. (I’m using my friend Jason’s answer on this because it’s perfect.)

If you could be any place right now, where would you choose: In bed with a stack of books, lots of chocolate and my girlfriend.

Are you a dog or a cat person: Cat & Dog.

Razor, cream, or wax: Razor

Plane, train, or automobile: Train

Car or SUV: Truck, Microbus

Lake, Ocean or River: River

2 doors or 4 (on a car): 2: I have a truck.

Childhood Blanket or Stuffed Animal: Teddy Bear, Bud the bear

One pillow or two: Four.

Which came first; the chicken or the egg? Creationists would say the chicken came first, invented by God. Scientists would say the egg came first, from an ancestor of the chicken that mutated. So I believe the egg came first, of course. Freaking loony creationists.

Do You Believe In…

Horoscopes: Only the ones from Real Astrology ’cause they’re funny.

Past lives: yes. no. yes.

Ouija boards: fun, but only a toy

Love at first sight: Hmmm. No. I believe in intense fascination at first sight which can turn into love. Or it can go famously, hideously wrong.

God: Um, get back to me on this one. Lately I’ve been praying Hanuman, the monkey god.

Religion: Taoism. Although Hinduism is interesting.

Aliens: Yes. But I don’t think they’ve been here.

Ghosts: Nope.

Evil: Yep. I can point it out, too.

Abortion: Most women who have abortions do it because they don’t have health insurance or child care, and they don’t want to have to go on government assistance to care for the baby. Giving women a living wage and health care coverage would drastically reduce the number of women who have abortions.

Alternative music: Like it.

Do you love yourself: Yep. Although I like to nag myself to lose weight, and get my life more organized, much as if I were married to myself.

Does life have a meaning: yes.

Do you know what it is: not yet.

Is honesty the best policy: Ideally yes. Realistically, no. Sometimes you have to tell people their haircut is wonderful.

Are you the jealous type: Nope.

What’s your pet peeve: People having the nerve to drive in front of me. People should just stay behind me.

What are you afraid of: Death.

Forgive and forget or hold a grudge: Depends on whether I won or not. But I will win eventually, and after you’re humiliated, I’ll forgive and forget.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years: successful novelist, celebrated web designer.

Most annoying thing is: George Bush.

What is your motto: Funny Quotes

Who do you look up to: https://commonplacebook.com/journal/inspiration/

Life Statement: Inspirational Quotes

What Stuff Do You Do?

What kind of work do you do: Web design/development

Do you cleanse your chakras: No. Hell, I don’t clean the house.

What are you listening to right now: Co-workers playing Unreal Tournament over the LAN.

What is your favorite solitary activity: Reading, writing, mowing the lawn

What do you do most often when you are bored: I don’t have time to get bored.

Word or phrases you overuse: "Cool."   "I told you so."

Hobbies: Reading, writing, working on my web page, reading, buying books, reading…. mowing the lawn

Bedtime: 11 p.m. I’d like to to be 10 p.m., but there’s too much reading to do.

Have You Ever…

What was the name of your first best friend: Sheri Castle, Kay Kaufmann.

What was the name of your summer camp: Potowatomee ?, I believe.

Do you remember the camp song: No.

Been toilet-papering: yes

Been Ding-dong-ditching: yes

Been toilet-papered: yes

What was your first job: Page at the Noblesville Public Library

How many times did you fail your permit or driver’s test: None

How old were you when you had your first kiss: 13

Most romantic thing that ever happened to you: A girl I had a huge crush on in high school kissed me in the bathroom during drama club rehearsals.

How many people have you kissed romantically: 28, until the time when I was in a contest to kiss a girl from every state. I did not win, but I lost track of the number.

Can you remember all of their names: I used to have them written down, but I lost the list.

Been in love before: Omigod yes.

How many times: twice. Three times.

Dumper or Dumpee: dumpee

Loved somebody so much it made you cry: yes

Ever fell in love at first sight: Nope.

Ever been on a blind date: yes.

Ever been cheated on: Yep, practically every time.

Ever cheated: No.

Ever had sex in a public place: Please keep in mind, this was back in college, where I didn’t have a place to bring girlfriends. Now I have a house and a bed, thank you very much. In the parking lot at the bar (see above), in the car in Sahm’s park, in a car in the next housing development over from my Mom’s house (where we got caught by the Police), On the Fort Benjamin Harrison artillery range when it was still a Fort.

Most humiliating moment: Throwing up on the airplane on the way home from a trip to Arizona. Here’s a tip: don’t fly while hung over.

Have you ever gone skinny dipping: Yes

Played strip poker: Yep.

Lied: Yep.

Paid for it: Oh yes. Every evil thing you do comes back to haunt you, multiplied by 2. Besides that, it’s impossible to remember the stupid things you said. It’s just easier to tell the truth.

Cheated on a test: Only by helping other people.

Run away from home: No, but I’m doing that tomorrow.

Broken the law: Yes.

Ever ridden in a police car: Ahem.

been arrested: Ahem.

been convicted of a crime: Nope.

Ever ridden in an ambulance: Nope.

Have you ever been in a car crash: three times; once with Dan, once when I was rear-ended, once when I backed up into someone.

When was your last hospital visit: April 2005, when I had open-heart surgery to repair my Mitral Valve.

Ever broken a bone: Yup.

Ever been in a fistfight: Yep.

Had a medical emergency: My appendix exploded on July 5, 2003.

Gotten beaten up: Technically, yes; I was raped in college.

Ever seen a dead body: Nope. My sister has, though. She found her neighbor dead on the doorstep. It was natural causes, but still….

Ever seen a ghost: Yeah, sure. 🙂

Been to Africa: no

Have you ever seen a black swan: Nope. Can’t say I’ve been looking for one.

What was your most embarrassing hair incident: Oh, all of them until recently.

What was the best costume you ever wore: King Kong suit for a theme party.

Which of your accomplishments in the last year are you most proud of: Not dying of exploded appendix, Not dying of congestive heart failure.

What do you hope to have accomplished in the next year: CSS redesign.

What Would You Name Your…

Future home: Courtyard of Perpetual Motion.

Kids: Pesto, Cilantro, and little Gorgonzola.

Future Pets: Jonquil. Europa. Anaximander. Sterling. Pavlov. Schrodinger.

Car: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Self: Anne Belmont

People In My Life

Who are your best friends: My girlfriend Stephanie, Dan and Doug, Cate

Who you chat with most: Dan and Doug, Kathy, Stephanie

Name the person that you are friends with that lives the farthest away: Cate Ryan

Say a nice thing about the person you miss the most: My sister has a tremendous sense of humor and is hands-down the most intelligent person I know. My grandpa had the most awesome gardening skills. Also, Cate is creative and intelligent and always shows me a point of view I never notice before.

Craziest/silliest person you know: Dan, when he’s in one of those moods.

Do you get along with your parents: I try not to, but I do in spite of myself.

What color is the underwear of the person next to you: There’s someone sitting next to me?

Who did you last tell you loved them: My wife Stephanie.

Last person you went to dinner with? Probably my lovely wife, Stephanie

What food does your mom cook better than anyone else: Almost any dessert, Thanksgiving dinner especially pumpkin pie, pizza, lasagna. Breakfasts.

Who has been your friend the longest: My sister Stacy, Cate Ryan

Does it feel nice that someone told you all this stuff about themselves: Pretty cool.

Does it feel nice that someone wants to know so much about you: They must be very bored. 🙂

Continue ReadingThe Ultimate Survey

Anti-Gay Hate Crime Legislation

To my esteemed legislators:

When I was in college in August of 1989, I was raped. My rapist picked me out in a gay bar, followed me home, and came back to next night to attack me in my home. He did this because I am a lesbian, and he felt he was “teaching me a lesson” — his words during the attack.

As a result of this rape, I became pregnant and then had a miscarriage. Since then I have gone on with my life, but ten years later, I can’t say it hasn’t affected me, although I am a very strong young woman. I think about that attack every day when I unlock my car at night, and when I’m home alone.

In the course of that ten years I have had close friends suffer the effects of anti-gay violence, and have seen brutal anti-gay attacks that were well publicized both here in Indianapolis, and in Muncie, where I went to college.

I am strongly convinced that hate crimes laws can make a difference in curbing anti-gay crime, and in sending a message to society that targeting gay and lesbian people is not acceptable.

I’ve phoned or written you every year to express my support for Hate Crimes Legislation because I believe that it would make a difference for all minority groups. But I cannot support House Bill 1011.

To pass a hate crimes law that excludes gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, some of the prime targets of hate violence, would be to fly directly in the face of the purpose of such a law, to make a mockery of it.

It would suggest, even invite, the idea that hate crimes are okay as long as they are directed against the “appropriate” targets — gay targets.

You have to excuse me when I say with vehemence that I no longer want to be a target, and I don’t want to be the shield that other minority groups hide behind.

If you truly believe that hate crime, any hate crime, is morally wrong, then you will not pass a law that puts forth the idea of the law while offending the spirit of it.

Continue ReadingAnti-Gay Hate Crime Legislation

Florida Kicked Out of United States

Author Unknown

WASHINGTON D.C. – Following an emergency meeting Tuesday morning, Congress unanimously voted to excise Florida from the United States of America.

The move was a reaction to the confusion and irregularities in the state’s voting numbers that have totally disrupted the 2000 Presidential election. "This is the last straw," said Utah senator Orin Hatch. "First Elian Gonzales, now this."

Several congressmen told reporters the decision has been a long time coming.

"We’re all pretty much sick of Florida," said representative Barney Frank. "They’ve been a constant embarrassment for too long now." Added Frank, "They had Dan Marino for a while, but what have they done lately? Oh that’s right, screw up our entire democracy. I forgot."

In a speech on the Senate floor, Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy commented that the loss of Florida’s sizable elderly population will free up billions of dollars in social security funds. "These are valuable funds which can now be redirected toward national defense. We can finally rebuild our demoralized, weakened military," said the Senator to roaring applause.

>From her New York campaign headquarters, freshly elected senator Hilary Clinton echoes the sentiments of her future colleagues on Capitol Hill, calling Florida "a hurricane-addled hellhole full of scheming Cuban immigrants." "Learn f***ing English already, you banana boat bums," Clinton added.

As a result of the Florida screw-up, the House and Senate decreed a new election will take place in early December. This time, ballots in each state will be tabulated by robots. "It is clear that our human vote-counting system is too inherently flawed," said Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. "The presence of these new, superior robot tabulators will ensure 100% accuracy. "Remember," said Hastert, "every vote counts, especially if it’s counted by robots."

Dynamiting will begin in Florida next Wednesday, after which the state will be completely geographically separated from the United States. "After that, they’re on their own," said Hastert. "I hope they sink. Blue hair F***ers."

Continue ReadingFlorida Kicked Out of United States

Gay Indy Mailing List

On the bright side – I saw two movies this past weekend – Dogma and Run Lola Run. Both were good.

On the dark side – It surprises me sometimes what other people find to be important. I say this because I’m on the GayIndy mailing list, and it’s kind of a joke. The mailing list, I mean, not the fact that I’m on it.

The list has been shut down for a week or so because of controversy — and as soon as it started back up again, everyone’s posting information to it as though nothing has happened.

The controversy was about some of the gay groups in Indianapolis and how they don’t give information to the community about how they spend money or what their goals are or what they plan to accomplish or whether they’ve met any of their goals, etc. Which wouldn’t be a big deal except that they get on the news and talk to public officials claiming that they’re “community leaders” and that they represent people like me.

One of the people raising these questions was me, and one was Bruce Seybert, a publisher of one of the gay magazines in town. After the debate started heating up, someone started to get on the mailing list with an anonymous email address from yahoo and post libelous insults about Bruce.

That’s why they shut down the list; because of the unhealthy tone people were unsubscribing. But the questions raised have never been answered, and it looks as though they never will, because people are posting frivolous information to it.

I despair of Indianapolis sometimes. I think I’m going home to read some poetry.

Continue ReadingGay Indy Mailing List

The Official Roslyn’s Bakery Costume – Halloween 1999

Author Unknown

Note: For those of you who don’t know, Indianapolis’ Roslyn Bakeries (well-known local establishments for years) were closed because of the unsanitary conditions of their factory.

You have been chosen to wear the official Roslyn’s Bakery costume for Halloween 1999. As an Ex-employee your costume will consist of the following dress code – if you should take on this job, you will be paid minimum wage with all the pies and cookies you can eat free. Thank-you for your interest with Roslyn Bakery.

Sincerely, Jeff Clark

the official costume:

the following items need to be worn daily:

  • 1. (1) white waitress style dress or lab coat.
  • 2.(1) hair net or pill hat with logo.
  • 3. (1) box of roslyn pastries tied up in a white/pink box with attached strings.
  • 4. (1) name tag with employee name and ss# on company logo.
  • 5. (20) rubber toy cockroaches to be clipped on all over entire costume -may substitute rodents if needed.
  • 6. (1) box of rat poison if desired prop is needed.

Thank-you again for shopping at Roslyn’s Bakery!

If you’d like more information on becoming an ex-employee of Roslyn’s bakery…let’s talk. You supply the beverage – I’ll bring the yummy pie and droppings!

Equal opportunity employment-includes rodents and bugs.

Continue ReadingThe Official Roslyn’s Bakery Costume – Halloween 1999