There are many things I could write about today. So I guess I will start with the header photo. As you can see, the winner was the young hunk with more than twice as many votes as the next closest total. It was unbelievably simple to put the photo up there as soon as I found the instructions. Finding the instructions was the hard part. Google likes to make things hard, they must be related to Uncle Bill over at Microsoft. The Google help group for Blogger sent me in a couple of different directions but I did find a post in their forum about placing a picture in the header, however those instructions said to upload a picture to Google pages and copy the url etc. However to create a Google page, you have to have a G-mail account, which I do not. No problem, sign and I have a 4th e-mail address. However, to get a G-mail account you have to get an invitation by text message on your mobile phone. I have my cell phone lent to Gal Pal and of course she was out of pocket and could not be found so I could not get a G-mail account which I did not really want as I have had a Yahoo! account as my main e-mail for years. Still it was a little frustrating to have to then figure out what to do next. Now Blogger, being owned by Google will not advise you to go someplace other than a Google site to do anything. However after much searching I found Beta Blogger for Dummies. Now when it comes to HTML/CSS, I definitely qualify as a dummy. Still, I had to find the portion of my template in which to insert the code to allow me to upload a picture to my header. After about an hour of searching my template I found the appropriate slot and added the code and voila, you now have the header photo of your choice and I did not have to upload it to Google only to Blogger. They could have made it simple, but no, they would not have had the opportunity to display 42 gillion Google ads for me to ignore. Make no mistake, Google is not a search engine, it is an advertising platform. Bottom line, I learned a few things about HTML and you have a great photo of your choosing here at your home away from home.
The NFL play offs started today with the Colts beating the Chiefs on a day when Peyton Manning threw 3 interceptions, Indy's Defense won the game for them. In the other game the Cowboys lost to Seattle 21-20 when Tony Romo fumbled the hold on a gimme field goal and got tackled short of the first down or touchdown with a 1:19 left in the game. The Cowboys did get the ball back but the hail mary to the end zone was in complete. So now I have to figure out who I want to root for in the race for the Super Bowl. I will probably pull for San Diego as they were the team I first saw in person back when Dan Fouts was QB and Don Coryell was the coach. You younger guy might not know them but Air Coryell and Dan Fouts played some exciting football and the game I first went to was against the original Cleveland Brown and Brian Sipe who was not a bad passer in his own right. The Chargers won that game 35-34 that was exciting from start to finish. Kind of sold me on going to pro ball games before they priced themselves into the stratosphere where it is an investment to go to a game instead of just a good time expense. I am waiting to see how much Jerry Jones is going to charge for Cowboy tickets in the new stadium when it is finished. It has a Billion dollar price tag so I probably won't be going to many games in person, thank God for cable TV.
Moving into mainstream news, there was and article in the Miami Herald about a high school senior who has had to file a federal law suit with assistance from the ACLU to get her Okeechobee school to allow her to form a GSA on campus. "Gay Teen Draws Scorn For Proposed Club At School" tells how this small town of 5500 people and 60 churches has rained hate an derision at the teen who in spite of all opposition formed a GSA which meets at an alternate location. The school district filed a motion to dismiss but that has not been allowed so far and the Superintendent of the district has avoided commenting to the media except for the Florida Baptist Witness newspaper where she asked for prayer in support of the district against the GSA. The teen, Yasmin Gonzalez, realizes she will not benefit from the fight and eventual victory but she says ''You shouldn't have to grow up feeling like you're alone,'' she said. ``It was just terrible. I saw that something was wrong and I'm trying to change it.'' If you can find any way to support her cause I urge you to do so.
I just had a ROTFLMAO moment when my brother e-mailed me his thought on Cowboy game.
It was the F word in large print with each letter formed by small corresponding letters followed by a star maid of asterisks and this was the subject line X / ? * # !. As a diehard fanI can appreciate both the disappointment and the humor. I could see my brother banging on the keyboard to send it to me to vent his frustration at loosing a game we should have won, but my first reaction was to burst out laughing and then tell you guys about it. I hope you too can see the humor.
In other news from Seattle, there was an OPED piece "Rethinking Don't Ask: Military's Closet" remarking on how George is leaning toward rethinking DA/DT. As the article states it is not "enlightenment" but "desperation" that fuels this thought process. The article also pointed out General Shalikashvili's OPED in the NY Times about how he does not think gays in the military would affect morale and pointing out the troops have more important things to worry about like staying alive long enough to see their families again. It's not a long article, the comments take up more space than the article but there is much lively discussion and is worth a look.
Don Armstrong of Grace Episcopal Church has resigned over "possible misuse of church money". He has not been accused of using it to pay for Gay sex but the investigation is still on going. Grace Church is a "cardinal" parish and one of the largest congregations in the diocese. Rev. Armstrong has been pastor there for 19 years. Of course we have "never" heard of pious preachers doing it for the money, have we? My cynicism on mega churches and televangelists does not allow me to believe that someone's pockets do not get lined somewhere along the way and the good shepherd of the flock usually has his hand in the cookie jar as most of them are control freaks in the first place or they would not get so much joy from trying to control the lives of other people who are doing them no harm.
Turning once again to the NY Times, "When She Speaks, He's Breaking All Islam's Taboos" tells about the biggest sensation on Pakistani TV, a cross dressing man who portrays a widow while pushing the envelope for journalists in a very conservative country. Ali Saleem portrays the title character in "The Late Night Show with Begum Nawazish Ali" who interviews celebrities and politicos and asks the hard questions that most journalist do not attempt for fear of censure. The title of the show is somewhat misleading as it is shown in prime time to garner more advertising revenue and is rerun twice each week to get even more. In a country where speaking of sex is strictly off limits, he not only brings up the subject on the program without creating a fundamentalist backlash, he has done it as a woman in a society where women definitely are not on the top rung of the social ladder. It just goes to show that living openly as a LGBT person can affect change in a society where change was thought to be improbable. I salute you Ali/Nawazish and hope for your continued success. Long live the Queen.
I just had a ROTFLMAO moment when my brother e-mailed me his thought on Cowboy game.
It was the F word in large print with each letter formed by small corresponding letters followed by a star maid of asterisks and this was the subject line X / ? * # !. As a diehard fanI can appreciate both the disappointment and the humor. I could see my brother banging on the keyboard to send it to me to vent his frustration at loosing a game we should have won, but my first reaction was to burst out laughing and then tell you guys about it. I hope you too can see the humor.
In other news from Seattle, there was an OPED piece "Rethinking Don't Ask: Military's Closet" remarking on how George is leaning toward rethinking DA/DT. As the article states it is not "enlightenment" but "desperation" that fuels this thought process. The article also pointed out General Shalikashvili's OPED in the NY Times about how he does not think gays in the military would affect morale and pointing out the troops have more important things to worry about like staying alive long enough to see their families again. It's not a long article, the comments take up more space than the article but there is much lively discussion and is worth a look.
Over in Colorado Springs the fundies have another loud mouth anti-gay pastor in trouble. Rev.
Turning once again to the NY Times, "When She Speaks, He's Breaking All Islam's Taboos" tells about the biggest sensation on Pakistani TV, a cross dressing man who portrays a widow while pushing the envelope for journalists in a very conservative country. Ali Saleem portrays the title character in "The Late Night Show with Begum Nawazish Ali" who interviews celebrities and politicos and asks the hard questions that most journalist do not attempt for fear of censure. The title of the show is somewhat misleading as it is shown in prime time to garner more advertising revenue and is rerun twice each week to get even more. In a country where speaking of sex is strictly off limits, he not only brings up the subject on the program without creating a fundamentalist backlash, he has done it as a woman in a society where women definitely are not on the top rung of the social ladder. It just goes to show that living openly as a LGBT person can affect change in a society where change was thought to be improbable. I salute you Ali/Nawazish and hope for your continued success. Long live the Queen.
Well that's about it for tonight, I will leave you with the usual assortment of beauty to peruse and meet you here tomorrow. Until then as always, Enjoy!
All photographs processed through Picasa2
All photographs processed through Picasa2
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