In light of a recent news story I came across about a little boy in Manhattan who was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of Leukemia, and who is currently looking for a matching bone marrow donor, I came across the National Marrow Donor Program. Now we all know how important it can be to people with cancer and leukemia to find a matching bone marrow donor in order to literally save their lives. And most people are either too afraid of the pain to even see if they are a potential match, or they have no way of going about finding out if they are. This is where the registry comes in. Now I had no idea this existed or even how easy it was. What you do is, is you sign up for the registry and then they send you a little kit with stuff to swab your cheek with, and then you send the sample back. They keep your results in a data base and when a doctor/patients does a search for particular bone marrow and they find a match in the registry, you then have the chance to save someone's life. Now there is a fee for filing (which is tax deductible and can be paid in portions...and it's really not that much) but that is only because this registry needs funds to keep going. They keep your data on file until you are 60 years old. There are some other guidelines that you might want to check out if interested. I honestly think this is such an important thing that everyone needs to do. I know you hear horror stories about the pain of marrow donation, but just think; a couple weeks of discomfort to save someone's (possibly a child's) life. If you or your family member were sick wouldn't you want there to be plenty of available donors around to help you out? The least you can do is check the site out. Me and my husband are definitely going to be doing it!
Congrats Team Broadsword!!
Congratulations to my friends Jim Balent and Holly Golightly of Broadsword Comics! Their comic book, Tarot Witch of the Black Rose, was ranked #2 Hottest Indie Comic in Wizard Magazine! If you are comic-book nerd like me you will understand how incredibly awesome this is. I'm so proud of these two. They have come such a long way with running this label on their own, and now it is like madly popular. From across the world people are loving Tarot and it's so awesome. If you like comics, or just beautiful art, you have to check out Tarot Witch of The Black Rose. The pictures are amazing, the characters are beautiful, and the message is very empowering to women (and to everyone). Jim and Holly are honestly the most gracious artists to their fans. They are always there to answer an e-mail or questions, and they have become friends of mine simply from me loving their comic back. I mean anyone who can obtain a personalized autograph of my savior and king Glenn Danzig will always be number one in my book. Congrats guys! you work so hard and deserve all the great things coming your way!
P.S. this is not a review. I'm not gaining anything (besides love) from these two. I am just honestly proud of em!
Yay for progess!!!!!!!!
Wow other then the impending doom for the Swine-flu. Today is a great day!!
The Senate in New Hampshire voted on Wednesday to legalize gay marriage.
The legislation will go into effect on January 1st, 2010, unless it is vetoed by Governor John Lynch, a Democrat. (let's hope not)
Lynch has said publicly that he opposes same-sex marriage, but has not commented as to whether he would veto legislation legalizing gay marriage.
If Lynch declines to take any action to block the legislation, the bill will automatically pass into law. The New Hampshire House of Representatives approved the bill on March 26th.
New Hampshire would be the fifth state in the U.S. to allow same-sex marriage if the legislation is passed into law.
That's right people! Equality for ALL!
Did the ancient Mayans predict the end of the world?
The end is near. Or is it here?
You can be forgiven for believing it is.
Volcanoes in Alaska, earthquakes in Italy, war in the Middle East, floods in the Midwest.
And don't forget Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina.
If an $11 trillion debt and your shrinking 401(k) aren't causing you enough anxiety, here's another set of numbers to worry about: Dec. 21, 2012.
That date marks the end of a 5,000-year epoch as determined by the Mayan Long Count calendar, a device that ticks off days since the Mayan mythical creation date in 3114 B.C. It's been hijacked by New Age seekers and seers who interpret its end date as representing either a shift in human consciousness or an apocalyptic event.
Without the portent they impose upon it, the date marks the winter solstice and four shopping days until Christmas, and has the significance of the flipping of an odometer.
But to deny the date's influence is to ignore the network of books and Web sites that promote it, and the end-time themes that are appearing in dramatic narrative.
The two strands intersect literally this fall in the disaster film "2012," which asks: "How would the governments of our planet prepare 6 billion people for the end of the world?"
Doomsday also is the subject of films like "Knowing," in which solar flares threaten Earth; "Watchmen," whose characters are concerned about a nuclear war; "I Am Legend," in which mankind has been decimated by plague; and "Terminator Salvation," in which machines destroy humanity.
Sometimes, havoc rather than destruction is portrayed. In "Angels and Demons," due in theaters May 15, Tom Hanks battles a shadowy group called the Illuminati. On Fox TV's "Fringe," something called "the Pattern" is responsible for a series of ghastly events.
Modern popular culture is rife with such art-imitates-life metaphors. Radioactive creatures ran rampant in Japanese films post-Hiroshima. Cold War and Red Scare-era films were portraits of mistrust and uncertainty.
And much escapism produced since 9-11 is distinctly dystopian.
Dave Gibbons, who illustrated the "Watchmen" graphic novel upon which the movie was based and wrote the book "Watching the Watchmen" about his creative process, said his own "absurd" duck-and-cover experiences influenced the way he portrayed the Cold War atmosphere in the book, written by Alan Moore.
"There have always been doomsday scenarios, from prehistory through the Bible, to modern fiction," Gibbons said in an audio file sent in response to a reporter's questions. "I think it's a perennial concern of mankind that it will just come to an end someday."
Rather than attach any significance to prophecies or conspiracies to doomsday, Gibbons suspects "that if it ever does happen, it will be on a Tuesday afternoon. When no one's looking."
"Going back 300 years ago, it was witches and supernatural beings," said Robert Bonadurer, director of the Daniel M. Soref Planetarium and Humphrey IMAX Dome Theater at the Milwaukee Public Museum.
"And as we moved into the space age, it was flying saucers."
The current round of doomsday scenarios is simply the latest in a long line of such manifestations, said Bonadurer.
Apocalypse now?
And they are a sign of the times.
Jeffrey Kaplan, associate professor of religion at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, said doomsday concerns appear at times of the greatest social stress.
"And certainly we are living in one right now," he said. "And when fear rises, millennial and apocalyptic beliefs crest."
Apocalyptic texts are common to all religions, and most of them celebrate "what comes after the end. The new beginning," said Kaplan, author of "Millennial Violence: Past, Present and Future."
"Go into any church on Sunday and you'll find a room full of millenarians. It's very mainstream."
But when people act on such beliefs and try to "force the end," he said, violence can occur. "That type of violence is a subset of terrorist groups."
This possibility concerns the most objective observers.
Brian D'Amato is "very skeptical" about 2012 prophecies, but he worries about "trends intersecting around now, or around then, that are very disturbing," like climate change and species extinction.
"There is no reason the same people who shoot up a school or civic organization can't get hold of ricin or anthrax," said D'Amato, author of "In the Courts of the Sun," a literary thriller set in modern and ancient Mayan times that combines the scientific and fantastic. In his book, characters seek to prevent an act of end-times violence.
John Major Jenkins, a writer and independent researcher whom The New York Times described as bringing "academic rigor" to the discussion of the Mayan calendar, said doomsday prophecies made in association with the 2012 date "are more revealing about the preoccupations and biases of our own culture" than anything the Maya believed.
But "now that there's such hysteria projected onto that date, there's a sociological probability" something could occur, he admitted.
In the Maya of the beholder
Jenkins said his research revealed that the Mayans believed the date presented an opportunity for "transformation and renewal."
Daniel Pinchek is similarly oriented. Pinchek, author of "2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl," whose title refers to a mythical beast, said that although he "is not a fundamentalist" about the date itself, "it's clear that we're in an amazing process right now, and it's extraordinary the Maya targeted this particular time like a bull's-eye."
Pinchek, founder of the Web magazine realitysandwich.com and the social network evolver.net, believes 2012 is "an opportunity to create a new awakening" and to use "the ethical capacities we've developed to make a world that works for everybody."
But it is unclear what, if anything, the date meant to the Maya, said Andrea Stone, professor of art history at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
"It would have been the conclusion of a major calendrical cycle . . . but we have no idea of how they saw the implications of the end of that cycle or if they worried about it," said Stone, whose specialty is Mayan art and hieroglyphics.
The Maya flourished in Central America from about 300 B.C. to 900 A.D., when their civilization disappeared for reasons mostly unknown, although millions of ethnic Maya remain. Four ancient Mayan texts survived the invasion of the Spanish conquistadors, and what is known about them today is drawn from these writings and archaeological finds.
A display of Mayan pottery and figurines at the Milwaukee Public Museum calls them "the Greeks of the New World."
"The Maya were great astronomers," D'Amato said, and they were "especially concerned with solstices and equinoxes."
This dovetails with Jenkins' research that shows the 2012 date coincides with what he describes as "a rare astronomical alignment" of the winter solstice sun and the axis of the Milky Way, called the galactic or celestial equator.
Bonadurer, an astronomer, explicitly disputes this: They do not align on that date, he wrote in an e-mail.
For her part, Stone calls "the solstice thing interesting."
The Maya "loved these kinds of alignments," she said. And they saw the Milky Way as a "path, a road, a river." But, she said, they were unaware of the celestial equator. And she said they did not invent the long count calendar, but borrowed it from neighbors and refined it.
Learning from apocalyptic fear
While some in the academic and scientific community refused to speak on the topic, Bonadurer embraces 2012 as an educational opportunity.
"We don't want people to be scared of the future, but to embrace the joy of learning, and that is a fantastic process," he said.
Stone thinks Mayanists "are not too unhappy" about the attention, which means they are studying "one of the coolest cultures in the world."
And she equates the transformative possibilities the date represents to some with an experience she had at an open-air Art Garfunkel concert.
"The sun was setting, the crescent moon appeared and Venus, as the evening star in opposition to it, was intensely bright as he was singing," she said.
"And it was so incredibly beautiful I was totally inspired by it and jealous of the Maya. This was the kind of thing they paid attention to. So I don't begrudge the New Age people for getting that kind of inspiration from their calendar and their great cycle of time.
"It is," she said, "something to respect."
By Duane Dudek of the Journal Sentinel
Free Comic Book day!!!
Free comic book day is one of my favorite days of course, because I am a COMIC BOOK FANATIC. I love everything comic books and hell I even starred in one myself!! So I'd love to remind you all (and if you have kids this is a fun thing to do) that May 2nd is Free Comic Book Day! Head on over to your local comic book store and ask for your free comic book. Tons of fun to be had...
Poetry Corner -Buckowski
Carson McCullers by Charles Buckowski
she died of alcoholism
wrapped in a blanket
on a deck chair
on an ocean
steamer.
all her books of
terrified loneliness
all her books about
the cruelty
of loveless love
were all that was left
of her
as the strolling vacationer
discovered her body
notified the captain
and she was quickly dispatched
to somewhere else
on the ship
as everything
continued just
as
she had written it
And The Moon And The Stars And The World - Buckowski
Long walks at night--
that's what good for the soul:
peeking into windows
watching tired housewives
trying to fight off
their beer-maddened husbands.
Do most people not understand what a blog is?
Apparently not, so let me explain it to you. A blog consists of someone's thoughts and opinions. It consists of things that they want to say, because it is their blog. It really isn't that hard to understand? So if you would honestly like for me to solely write a blog consisting of things that you, the reader, approves of only, then you are sadly sadly mistaken. Seriously folks, is it so incredibly wrong to have your very own blog where you can place, write, post, blog, bitch, moan, piss off, and do whatever the shit you want? Really it isn't that hard to simply NOT click on my blog. I know I know, it's hard because you became a follower for a giveaway, and cannot help yourself but to create an entirely new profile in order to let me know what your brilliant little mind thinks of me, and there isn't much I can do about it. But like I've said a million times. There are sooooooo many more things you can worry about in this world. Take the Pig flu for instance! Honestly, as much as you'd love to think otherwise, if you didn't come to my blog, you wouldn't be missed my friend.
Pretty clouds? Or sign of Impending Doom?
Everyone who knows me knows that my greatest fear (besides something happening to my daughter, although this goes hand in hand) is living to see an apocalypse. I have literally had hundreds of dreams since I was a little kid about it occurring and there I am having to run through the streets from a mushroom cloud, or hide in the hills with a shotgun from looters. So you can see how this little swine flu occurrence is scaring the holy shit out of me. At first I didn't really freak out too much, because it would be mentioned here or there on the news. Then yesterday, after going to the Las Vegas Strip with my family...where there are tourist from all around the world and country....I turn on the news to see that it has spread and stuff. My heart started beating a little fast, and I started to feel a little bit of dread in my guts. I swear to god if this turns into the Superflu or something (I'm a huge fan of Stephen King) I don't know what I will do. I don't even want to leave the house. And I don't understand why they are letting people come from Mexico back into Las Vegas. Hello? The flu is in Mexico...why wouldn't you Quarantine it? Stupid government. And in all the movies the newscasters will say "It's OK. We aren't worried yet". And what always happens? BAM! The movie Outbreak is what happens. Samuel L Jackson was right when he said "I don't be diggin on no swine".
Las Vegas AIDS Walk 2009...Success!
So last Sunday me, Paul, and Olivia were lucky enough to participate in this year's AIDS walk. Not only was it tons of fun, but it was a major sucess. AFAN raised over 100,000 dollars and over 7,000 people participated.
I just love going to things like this. Seeing a bunch of different people from all walks of life coming together for a good cause, just really warms my heart. And not a lot of things can make me actually feel warm and fuzzy, but seeing others do good, just for the sake of doing good, really gives me some faith in humanity. I can't wait to do it again next year and help raise some more money.
Not only did Olivia get to ride her first pony
She also met her first Drag Queen
And I met Penn from Penn and Teller. Can't wait to use my free tickets to see their show on the strip!! Love those Atheist magical bastards....
Along the way we got to hear some cool bands and see some awesome street art downtown
Can't wait for next year!
R.I.P Bea Arthur
As many of you have heard today, Miss Bea Arthur has passed away. Now everyone has their favorite Golden Girl and mine was always "Dorothy". She was smart-assed and sharp-tounged like no other character on TV, and facial expressions alone were enough to cut someone's stupidity to absolute shreds. The other reason this show and this character are close to my heart is because of my Great Aunt Nada. My Great Aunt practically raised me and I have very fond memories of staying at her retirement complex for the summers and watching Golden Girls at night while she fed me all kinds of goodies. She would crack up at Dorothy's one-liners and although I was too little to understand the dirty jokes I still enjoyed watching it with her. As I got older I started watching re-runs and really couldn't believe some of the stuff they were pulling back then. I mean some really dirty shit sometimes and it's funny that my Aunt let me watch it...lol. But seriously, the comedic and theatric world has really lost a very special talent tonight. Good-bye Dorothy....
And as you can tell from this clip I posted, she was a ground-breaker as well.
So I watched Grey Gardens...
Really, how could I not? You can't criticize and talk crap about something without seeing it in the first place. It's not like I watched it legally and paid for it or anything. And I have to say that it wasn't AS repulsive as I thought it would be.
In fact, it was actually pretty damn sad. I knew the story of these women, I saw the real Grey Gardens of course, but this told the story of how they got to where they were. In a way I could kind of relate to Big Edie. I have a daughter and the thought of her growing up, not needing me, and then eventually leaving me, makes me cry like a baby. Who wouldn't want to keep their little girl with them forever? But of course we cannot do that, and this story shows you exactly why. Big Edie wasn't a horrible, wretched, miserable, and mean mother. In fact, she loved Little Edie very much. It's just that back then they didn't know about mental disorders like they do now, and obviously Big E had agoraphobia of some sort.
Now as for Drew Berrymore's performance, I of course was disappointed but what can I do? Jessica Lang is a great actress so it's not like she could mess the part up. But in the end the movie just showed me that you CANNOT let life pass you by. It goes so incredibly fast sometimes, and the days can just run together, and before you know it you are older and wondering where the hell the time went.
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