Politics, gay marriage, and the WMD

I love John Stewart's The Daily Show. It should be required viewing for everyone. I know many of the "interviews" and new clips are edited to make them funny and may not reflect the entire context, but I think the basic messages are the same, either edited or not. Check out this clip by the very loud (and funny) Lewis Black on this show about Rick Santorum, a Pennsylvania Republican senator. Most of this bit is about the elusive weapons of mass destruction (WMD) with a little about gay issues thrown in.

Although I think labels tend to take away the truth and confuse the issue, Sen. Santorum deserves a label "ultraconservative". He strongly opposes gay marriage and has been quoted of equating gay marriage to incest, polygamy and some other crazy shit. (I'm not into "marriage" of any kind personally--I think marriage is basically "mutual misunderstanding" and just an arbitrary stamp of approval which is more trouble than its worth. However I do believe in equal rights for gay-lesbian couples in ALL aspects. The laws need to change. If Spain, Canada and the Netherlands can do it, why can't everyone else?? They can call it "civil union" or whatever the f*** they want and maybe that will piss off the extreme religious fanatics a little less. The can preserve their "sanctity" of marriage, which is a religious/church issue, NOT a legal/state issue. But I digress....)

Anyway, there are many influential senators and other high-power people out there who share the same non-tolerant views with Santorum. What scares and depresses me even more is not these people, but the people who elected them!! They are, in my opinion, the WMD.

Net neutrality: check it out!

I saw this link on craigslist for "save the internet". Sounds like the giant media corporate world is again trying to taka a big chunk of our pocketbook and restrict our internet freedom. I would totally support this network neutrality concept. I encourage you all to check out and petition for it. As in anything else, there are two sides to every issue and I would like to hear the arguments against this concept.

The Diva Returns....

One of my favorite female
singers is Lisa Stansfield. If you are not a dedicated fan, you at least probably remember a few of her songs, like All Around the World, Change, Real Thing, or Someday (I'm coming back), which for the most part would be classified as pop/R&B. A few of her remixes were also great. She sort of disappeared from the radar for a while (especially in the US). Recently I got her latest DVD release, Live at Ronnie Scott's, which is a recorded live performace at the legendary London Jazz club. She was the first non-traditional jazz musician to be invited to perform there. You may or may not like it since it does not have the energy of a big arena concert or the high-production value of a music video, but I love it. The essence of the her vocal style really comes through. Get the DVD if you like her old stuff. It will not play on a regular DVD player in the US unless you have the "all zone" player. ( or you can play it on your PC, of course.) 

Soccer mania--its not so bad

It's weird that the US is so out of synch with the rest of the world. One example which cannot be more obvious is the love for football (or as the Yanks call it "soccer"). The apathy towards this game is in so much contrast with what is going on elsewhere. Soccer seems to be so boring and action-less, as described by most in the US. But in most other countries, football is like the air people breath--it's so ingrained in the lives of the people young and old. But to each his own, I think the love of sports is based on nostalgia and what you have experienced as you were growing up. I can never grasp what fun is in baseball, for example.

Anyway I sat down and watched the World Cup Italy VS Germany semifinal. I couldn't help rooting for Italy, the underdog, and to my surprise, I ended up enjoying the game quite a lot. Italy scored 2 goals in the last few minutes of the game and sent the Germans packing. They are now going to the final. For those who watch the sports for "secondary" gain, you can see a lot of nice looking lads doing amazing soccer skills. One dude certainly caught my attention. Alessandro Del Piero, who scored the second goal, is pretty hot (the guy in the pic). Eat your heart out, Beckham!! See it for yourself. I think I'm gonna watch the final this time.