A Little Bit of Lots of Stuff

Uncle Gerry is a tired puppy this morning.  We had a large truckload of goods and supplies last night so Sean and I had to hump it hard to get it all done as well as our normal duties.  Of course, when you have things you have to do, you always get busy with customers just to make the night interesting.  It was interesting all right, but we got it done and on time too.  I worked last night because the guy who normally gives me my days off, got another job so he quit yesterday.  That means, effectively, that my days off are a thing of the past for the foreseeable future until we get someone hired and trained up so I can once again have a day off.  This will surely be good for the budget, but it will probably be hard on the body.  As long as it doesn't last too long, I am sure I will be OK.  

As for the Super Tuesday results, nothing much was clarified as all the candidates found some reason to continue the race.   Mr Romney took 7 out of the eleven states, Mr Santorum took 3 and Mr Gingrich took his home state of Georgia.  You can find the vote percentages and breakdown over at Towleroad: Rupublican Clown Car Sputters Through Super Tuesday.  Like I said, nothing is becoming clearer yet so this traveling comedy extravaganza will continue for a while longer.  

PBS is having an online film festival with one of the categories being "Growing Pains".  I have posted two Gay themed short films from this category below.  The first is 'Man in the Mirror' about a talented high school athlete with a girlfriend and a boyfriend.  The second short film is 'This Gay and Age' which examines the gay stereotypes that bombard LGBT youth and the way these stereotypes impact the way we think about sexuality.   You can check out all the films in the festival by visiting PBS.org.  After the two short films, I have a video comprising several Piano Sonatas by Franz Joseph Haydn performed by Jean Martin, Catherine Collard and Raymond Trouard in classic performances.  You can find the complete play list in the video description which just happens to be in French.  Then after all the videos is a goodly selection of highly Humpable Hunks selected from my collection of outstanding photographs taken from the pages of the Eyecatcher blog.  That should keep you occupied and amused (maybe even aroused?)  for a little while at least.  Thanks for stopping by, see you again tomorrow.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

History - Real and Imagined

I am a bit of a history buff as it has always fascinated me and was one of my best subjects back when I was in school.  Over the weekend, I ran across a couple of things that were of interest to me and probably to you also.  The first was an article in this week's Dallas Voice, the premiere media source for LGBT Texans, entitled Forgotten Heroes?.  It relates the story behind Lawrence v Texas, the landmark Supreme Court decision that established the Civil Right of consensual sexual relations between two persons of the same sex. In essence this decision invalidated the 14 anti-sodomy laws in the United States that remained at the time of the decision, thus making life better for all LGBT Americans.  There were actually 3 men involved in the case, primarily John Lawrence in whose name the original suit was filed.  Lawrence was a quiet, unassuming man who, prior to the lawsuit, had not been active in any LGBT Rights movement.  The second man involved was Tyron Garner, Lawrence's occasional sex partner who was arrested with him, and Robert R. Eubanks, the jealous boyfried of Mr Lawrence.  Eubanks called in a false crime report which resulted in a Harris County Deputy Sheriff entering Mr. Lawrence's Houston area apartment to investigate said report, thus catching Mr. Lawrence and Mr. Garner in flagrant delicto as it were.  All three men are now deceased, but should be remembered for the parts they played in this historic court case.  After being humiliated by being arrested and taken to jail in their underwear, Lawrence and Garner courageously resisted their oppression by deciding to wage a legal battle against the antiquated and discriminatory law that was rarely enforced as it was in this instance.  After a 5 year legal struggle that took the case to the Supreme Court of the United States,  8 years ago the 9 Justice Panel ruled in their favor, overturning the 1986 decision in Bowers v Hardwick which had upheld the Georgia sodomy law and changing all of our lives for the better here in the US.  It is an amazing story of two ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances who rose to the occasion, leaving their indelible mark in the annals of LGBT history.  

The second thing that tweaked my interest was a Public Broadcasting System (PBS) series of which I missed the original airing of the first season.  Downton Abbey is a a remarkably well acted costume drama set in Edwardian England with a stellar cast, many of whose reputaions and credits are known and some who are not.  The program synopsis reads:

"The Downton Abbey estate stands a splendid example of confidence and mettle, its family enduring for generations and its staff a well-oiled machine of propriety. But change is afoot at Downton — change far surpassing the new electric lights and telephone. A crisis of inheritance threatens to displace the resident Crawley family, in spite of the best efforts of the noble and compassionate Earl, Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville, Miss Austen Regrets); his American heiress wife, Cora (Elizabeth McGovern); his comically implacable, opinionated mother, Violet (Maggie Smith, David Copperfield); and his beautiful, eldest daughter, Mary, intent on charting her own course. Reluctantly, the family is forced to welcome its heir apparent, the self-made and proudly modern Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens), himself none too happy about the new arrangements. As Matthew's bristly relationship with Mary begins to crackle with electricity, hope for the future of Downton's dynasty takes shape. But when petty jealousies and ambitions grow among the family and the staff, scheming and secrets — both delicious and dangerous — threaten to derail the scramble to preserve Downton Abbey. Created and written by Oscar-winner Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park), Downton Abbey offers a spot-on portrait of a vanishing way of life."

The production is part of the Masterpiece Classic family of high quality period dramas that never fails to engage the viewer from start to finish.  All the episodes of Season 1 are available on line at the PBS Masterpiece website and Season 2 episodes will be available also one day after their original air date.   I watched the entire  6 hours of Season 1 which began with news of the sinking of the Titanic, between Saturday and Sunday.  I then watched the two hour Season 2 premiere episode that aired last night.  I am now hooked and will continue watching events as they develop.  Season 2 will air weekly on your local PBS station from now until February 19th.  There is some LGBT action involved with some of the characters albeit on the down low as it were due to the "propriety"  of the Edwardian era.  A truly enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday evening with or without your honey.  

Now for today's entertainment, I have a marvelous Cello Sonata in E Major, Opus 121 (1850) by Ignaz Moscheles performed by Ramon Jaffe (Cello) and Elisaveta Blumina (Piano).  Then of course I have this week's edition of Monday's Undies to delight your visual senses and brighten what is here in Texas a cold and rainy day.  Thanks for choosing to spend some time with me today, see you again tomorrow.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!