"the book even of my secret soul" twelfth night: i, iv

So yet again thanks to Katie Schwartz, who pointed me in the direction of The Book Quiz. I took the quiz, and lo and behold, I am my favorite book of all time!!

You're Alice's Adventures in Wonderland!

by Lewis Carroll

After stumbling down the wrong turn in life, you've had your mind opened to a number of strange and curious things. As life grows curiouser and curiouser, you have to ask yourself what's real and what's the picture of illusion. Little is coming to your aid in discerning fantasy from fact, but the line between them is so blurry that it's starting not to matter. Be careful around rabbit holes and those who smile to much, and just avoid hat shops altogether.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

I wasn't even "trying" for anything specific, I just answered the questions honestly.

So that was fun.

On another note, today on the bus I overheard the young man next to me berating his baby mama over the phone. She kept hanging up on him, and he would keep calling her back, and if she didn't answer, he would berate her voicemail. Sounded like a custody thing; frankly, a guy who talks the way this guy did ("yeah try that and see how you like winding up in a fucking body bag" -click-) should not have custody of any child. I suppose it's possible that the mom is worse than him, but having listened to him for 15 minutes, I doubt it. So that was a good way to end the work day.

And finally, it seems to me that I got hoodwinked (refer to my previous post). Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel foolish at first, but the fact is that it is just a crying shame that there are enough people out there in this country who actually do think the way that Donnie Davies pretends to think to make me believe so easily in him. The way he looks and talks, and the words he says -- I have seen and heard people who are extremely similar, so it didn't seem like a parody to me. And since he's not really doing anything hyperbolic, since people really do think this way, it's not a very good satire, in my opinion. And I swear it's not just sour grapes -- I just don't find the subject matter to have been dealt with very cleverly. The only clever thing about it is the verisimilitude of the character.

Ok that's all I got for now.

"painting thy outward walls so costly gay?" sonnets: cxlvi

So I was surfing along, checking out some of my usual web haunts, when the Onion's The Hater clued me in to a really .... breathtaking website.

It's called Love God's Way, and if it wasn't so amaturish and hamfisted, it might be something worth getting upset over. But, because they clearly have no fucking clue what they're talking about, it is just funny, and in a way, kind of sad. Basically, it's an organization that helps to "reform" homosexuals, and their shining beacon of hope is ... wait, I want to get this right .... ok, got it -- "Christian Youth expert Donnie Davies." He's a reformed homosexual, you see, and now he's a Christian Youth Expert. Oh, yeah, he also is a Christian rocker, and -- this is exciting -- they have a new music video out for their latest song, called "The Bible Says;" sample lyrics include "God hates a fag .... if you're a fag he hates you too." Nice! I love the Christian generosity in that sentiment. I really encourage you to click around on the site, and especially to hit up their "Safe Bands" and "Gay Bands" lists. You know what, I'll save you the trouble, because there are a couple gems here I want you to spot.

Ok, Safe Bands first (Oh, by the way, Love God's Way indicates that these lists are a "powerful tool" to "let you see some bands and entertainment that is safe for your children." Ok, onward we go): UnderOath, Cyndi Lauper, Falling Up, Flyleaf, THE TURNING [I have no idea why that is in all caps], Disciple, P.O.D, By The Tree, Scott Reed, Michael W. Smith, Jars of Clay, DC Talk, Danielson.

No real surprises there -- most of these are Christian bands. The only real baffler for me was Cyndi Lauper. I'm just sayin' - I have known several very nice gay men who love the Cyndi. But hey, I'm not a Christian Youth Expert.

Ok, here are the Gay Bands, a much longer list, and prefaced by the note that "one of the most dangerous ways homosexuality invades family life is through popular music. Parents should keep careful watch over their children's listening habits, especially in this Internet Age of MP3 piracy." Good job keeping it current, Love God's Way. Ok, here are the Gay Bands, listed as they appear verbatim:

The Spores (endorse suicide), Scissor Sisters, Rufus Wainwright, Merzbau, Ravi Shankar, Wilco, Bjork, Tech N9ne, Ghostface Killah, Bobby Conn, Morton Subotnik, Cole Porter, The String Cheese Incident, Eagles of Death Metal, Polyphonic Spree, The Faint, Interpol, Tegan and Sara, Erasure, Le Tigre, The Gossip, The Doors, Phish, Queen, The Strokes, Sufjan Stevens, Morrissey(?questionable?), The Pet Shop Boys, Metallica, Judas Priest, The Village People, The Secret Handshake, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Man or Astroman, Richard Cheese, Jay-Z, Depeche Mode, Kansas, Ani DiFranco, Fischerspooner, John Mayer, The Indigo Girls, Velvet Underground, Madonna, Elton John, Barry Manilow, Indigo Girls, Melissa Etheridge, Eminmen, Nirvana, Boy George*, The Killers, Lou Reed, Lil' Wayne, Motorhead, Jill Sobule, Wilson Phillips, DMX, Lisa Loeb, Dogstar, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Lil' Kim, kd lang, Frank Sinatra, Hinder, Nickleback, Justus Kohncke, Bob Mould, Clay Aiken, Arcade Fire, Bright Eyes, Corinne Bailey Rae, Audioslave, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Panic at the Disco, Elton John(really gay).

Please note that Morrissey is only "questionably" gay; however, Elton John is so gay that he is listed twice, the second time with the note that he is "really gay," unlike Boy George who only receives an unexplained asterisk.

Oh, at the end of the gay list it says "In Our effort to keep this list up to date we'd appreciate your help. If you know of a band that is Gay or propogating a Gay message please email us so we can update. Donnie is handling this his email is: donniedavies@gmail.com." Then a new paragraph: "The response is overwhelming. You guys know of a lot more Gay Bands than I do. I can't keep up. Hopefully soon we'll have it so you can add them by yourself."

This is such a pathetic website, and honestly, as mad as I get when I hear about "reforming" homosexuals, and hearing hateful lyrics like "God hates a fag," I get more sad when I think about the fact that Donnie Davies is a gay guy who has told himself he is a filthy sinner and is just closing off a part of who he is. Someone got hold of him and told him that, and he believed it. You know, now he believes he's happy, and I guess if he thinks he's happy, he is happy. But the thing about spreading this venomous message to others is what makes it not just sad -- it makes it fairly horrifying. I feel like he needs another intervention.

Anyway, that's about all from here ... oh, did anyone else enjoy the State of the Union as much as I did? I'm talking, of course, about the President's very careful pronounciation of tough words near the beginning of the speech, including one correct "nuclear," which then deteriorated as he felt like he was in the swing of things. By the end it was "Tay-ran," "Bella-roose," and "nuke-yoo-lir," "nuke-yoo-lir," "nuke-yoo-lir." And what was up with the Prez signing all those autographs at the end? The people asking for them had to have been plants, don't you think?