We are Not a Minority

"We are Not a Minority"
Originally uploaded by Gilbert Estrada.

Just a friendly reminder...April 10, there will be actions all over the country in support of immigrant rights. March as though your life depended on it...

Con puro corazon

On the corner of Soto & Cesar Chavez in East LA

funny money

this is how much this blog is worth....

My blog is worth $67,744.80.
How much is your blog worth?

my luck, this thing is worth more than I make in a year...

Eye for an Eye leaves everyone blind

48 year old father goes to Iraq for revenge…

But last April 11, a year and a day after his son was killed, Johnson told his Iraq-bound Georgia National Guard unit, the 48th Infantry Brigade, he was ready to join them. They ended up at this dustblown base in Iraq's far west, pulling escort duty for fuel convoys on the bomb-pocked desert highways from Jordan.
Why did he do it? The wiry lean Georgian, an easy-talking man with a boyish, sunburned face, tried to answer the question that won't go away.
"It's a lot of things combined," he said. "One, a sense of duty. I was pissed off at the terrorists for 9/11 and other atrocities. Second, I'd only trained. I wanted combat." And then, he said, "there's some revenge involved. I'd be lying if I said there wasn't."

"I don't really have love for Muslim people," Johnson said. "I'm sure there are good Muslims. I try not to be racist." Although he hasn't read the Quran, or spoken with Muslims, he has "heard" the Islamic holy book "teaches to kill Jews and infidels. And it's hard to love people who hate you."

Wow, sexism, racism and hegemony in one article! Not only did he not read the Quran, he hasn’t read a lot of the bible either. I bet he’s read the Left Behind series though. This poor grieving father typifies how Christian machismo has become mainstream. A comic book- video game- ADHD- bible fueled view of masculinity that the president has come to typify. It’s sad and terrifying.

Time flies

Damn, time flies when you’re (not) having fun…I’ve been neglecting this little blog, not due to lack of having anything to say but due to lack of actually having time. I finally made it through the toughest round of exams this month. I must’ve had an average of 4 to 5 hours of sleep. Ever had the feeling you were treading water? Yeah, I felt like that since this semester began. This semester isn’t a breeze as my first. I love it though. I look forward going to school. Resources for things that you care about are always available. The motivation to do things that are soul-sucking however is hard to come by. (here’s comes the typical job rant).My full time job has become more dysfunctional than usual. It seems as though I have to come in at the crack of dawn to make sure that I can anticipate my boss’ needs before he has them. They are such bad managers. I can’t wait to give them the ol’ heave ho. Why not leave now? I will definitely leave in August since my practicum will start (I’ll find out if I got it by the end of the month). My gf and I are talking about finances and I still feel a little uneasy leaving a fulltime job with good benefits. So, I will put up with it for a little more. Besides I am going to an all expenses paid conference in LA, so I want to stay for that. (is that tacky?)

Let’s see, this weekend is the 3rd anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. The more things change the more they stay the same.

burning at both ends

I've been running ragged lately. School, work, relationship...it's been hard trying to juggle everything at once, and keep on top of things. Is it because I just can't do everything anymore because I am older? Damn, that doesn't sound good. I feel something has to give. It can't be my school, and it's not gonna be my relationship either. I want to quit my job, but I can't afford it. *sigh* I won't get a choice by the end of the summer, since I have my first practicum starting in the fall. I will definitely not work full time then. I am amazed I did what I did during my masters. I worked 40 hrs, I went to school, had a 20 hr practicum and kept a relationship. I think I paid a price for that. I feel this time around, I need to focus on what's more important. I come from a background that just doesn't quit jobs easily...you stick it out, work harder no matter what, because according to what I was taught, you are defined by what you produced. Fucked up work ethics keep me in a job I find soul sucking. I have friends who switch jobs all the time and seem not to worry about that. There's always another one, they say, why worry? Maybe I am too intense to leave it to the universe. How can I trust something that is chaotic in the first place? *sigh* Well, if I had more time, I would wax neurotically about my place in the world, but I have studying to do. Here's a picture of the night...

better late than never

we finally got snow! this is from last night...
 

truth to power

"We know now there were no weapons of mass destruction over there. [Standing Ovation] But Coretta knew and we know that there are weapons of misdirection right down here. Millions without health insurance. Poverty abounds. For war billions more but no more for the poor. " --Rev. Joseph Lowery at Correta Scott King's Funeral

The HELL word

Memo to Showtime:
Here are some of my observations (mostly complaints) about the show you call "controversial". It isn't. It's as controversial as the a cup of latte being served at the Planet. It's about a group of mythical lesbians in LA who have complicated and apparently food-free lives. Let them eat something. I bet Jenny would love to eat a burger. Don't get me wrong, the women are gorgeous. Jennifer Beals looking pretty, pretty good in her post-flashdance-post-modern self. But really, can you have her have sex sometimes? Speaking of sex, where is it? Did I miss it? I mean, Shane doesn't even get any. Oh, that's right, it's been three years, you're due for the ubiquitous lesbian bed death that we all are afraid of. Sigh.
Bringing in the androgynous Max does make things interesting, but why did she have to be hooked up with the girl with borderline personality disorder? Seriously, I was happier with the illusions to the circus, or the carnival, or whatever last year was about. Please don't make Pam Grier (what did she do to her face?), into the token straight perimenopausal woman who can't get any. She deserves to get some. And what's all this about the Alice and the tennis player who probably has breast cancer (because someone in the show has to!) I have to say Alice's character is about as close to reality that I have seen, other than Carmen, who of course is representative of all Mexicans. It's LA and there's only ONE (quasi)Mexican on the show? I know it's not reality, but the law of averages, y'know? Finally, can Tina be killed off or something? I'm sure the kid would be better off having Bette being the mom, than the whiny, selfish and annoying Tina. If you can do only one thing, please for the love of god, get BETTY off the soundtrack. What blood-promise did you make in order to have them be the music for the show? Girls with sashes..or long lashes, or whatever the hell that song is...please erase if from my mind before it eats away the cortex I have left.
I'll patiently await your response next week.

time gous by con loli

the.best.video.ever

4 Rules

So, here are 4 rules that will make your life more livable if you live with a woman who leans heavily towards the femme spectrum...

1. Let the femme play with power tools. Not only will you get the project done quicker, the sight of your girlfriend drilling things into holes make it much more pleasurable.

2. Let the femme pick the colors. Black and white, as you've been told, are not the only colors that go with everything. There are more colors in the world to choose from (except for pink).

3. Let the femme take control of your, er, her kitchen. You didn't know how to work your stove effectively, did you?

4. Keep the option for the pocket/line-item veto open. As the less-than-femme person in the relationship, your only recource is to use the power of the veto on your side. Use it wisely and wear a helmet.

Finally, remind yourself that your bachelorette pad has been transformed into something better. Whatever that something is...

Picture of the day

Happy New Year

With the New Year, my new life has started.

As dramatic as this may sound, it’s true.
My girlfriend and I decided to make the plunge and move in together. We’ve been seeing each other for over a year and half, visiting each other once a month. Spending most of our relationship on the phone was not going to go make this relationship evolve. We talked about moving in several months ago, it didn’t become real until we packed her things in her car and drove 1600 miles to live with me.

This is as close to getting married as I will ever get.

Another dramatic statement but also very true. Moving in for a lot of us is as close to “marriage” as we can get and frankly for me, as close as I want to get.

Too bad I don't have the time to talk about gay people's role in deconstructing marriage and my growing ambivalence about the LGBT movement in the direction of marital rights but I have to go to IKEA to buy new furniture with my girlfriend...

We will always have Dollywood

On the way to DC we swung by Dollywood...sadly it was closed

Bad Santa

I love christmas!
from Scared of Santa

dulce's Amarga 12 days of xmas

On the twelfth day of Christmas my culture gave to me
Twelve groups spied on,
eleven priests a pimping,
ten Conservative idiots,
nine anonymous secrets,
eight days-a-waiting
seven released inmates,
six amemdments ruined,
five golden lies;
four black gay men,
three more years,
two gay cowboys,
and a cracked up diva named Whitney.

have a happy, merry (insert euphemism for the holiday)!

good thing i didn't answer the phone

1000 days

1000 days got us this…

$204.4 billion: The cost to the U.S of the war so far.
2,339: Allied troops killed
15,955: US troops wounded in action
98: U.K troops killed
30,000 : Estimated Iraqi civilian deaths
0: Number of WMDs found
66: Journalists killed in Iraq.
63: Journalists killed during Vietnam war
8: per cent of Iraqi children suffering acute malnutrition
53,470: Iraqi insurgents killed
67: per cent Iraqis who feel less secure because of occupation
$343: Average monthly salary for an Iraqi soldier.
Average monthly salary for an American soldier in Iraq: $4,160.
755: foreign civilians kidnapped per month
47: per cent Iraqis who never have enough electricity
20: casualties per month from unexploded mines
25-40: per cent Estimated unemployment rate, Nov 2005
251: Foreigners kidnapped
70: per cent of Iraqi's whose sewage system rarely works
183,000: British and American troops are still in action in Iraq.
13,000: from other nations
90: Daily attacks by insurgents in Nov '05. In Jun '03: 860-
80: per cent Iraqis who are "strongly opposed" to presence of coalition troops
58: percent who believe that Bush has NO PLAN out of Iraq

gratuitous xmas picture of the day

Athough I've been feeling quite humbugish, I wanted to spread some xmas cheer...yes, that is santa and he is riding a what looks like a stork.
Taken at this year's Macy's parade.

Number 18,301

Red, White and Blue

Is the title of this piece by Georgia O'keeffe @ the Metropolitan Museum...i spent the weekend in NYC with some really good friends. Had thanksgiving dinner in manhattan and caught an off-off-so-off-broadway-it's-in-the-south-bronx show. I will never tire of this big and brash city. It slaps you in the face when you come in, not to be rude, but to remind you to turn your senses up on high. I fell like I have only experienced .001% of what the city offers. I can't wait to go back.