Felipe's been trying to get keys made for his place for me but they cut them wrong or don't have the right blanks... all sorts of problems. But yesterday he finally got a working set and he gave them to me. I was teasing him about how now that we've exchanged keys we're really serious. He looked at me and said "How serious do you want to be?". I said "what?" and then he came back into the room with a little white box and dropped down on one knee and asked "Will you marry me?"



I said "yes", of course. :>D

Felipe has never listened to BNL with me because he's worried that he won't love them like I do. Apparently my fandom (fanness?) is a little intimidating. But he has heard me talk about them and the cruises and has met a few of my BNL friends and has a certain respect for the band based on what he's heard from me. And he apparently has listened to the mix CDs I've given him and likes some of the songs (though he hasn't told me which).

We were talking about how everything will be different now and no one knows exactly what the new BNL will be like. He said that maybe that's a good thing for us. That now that it's all starting fresh with this new incarnation he can share that with me and not feel like he's trying to catch up with all of the history.

It makes me more excited about this new album. He doesn't have to love BNL of course, we don't have to love the same things, but since it has been such a big part of my life the last few years it would be great to share this with him.

Plus, if he really likes the band it will be easier to arrange a trip back east for a BNL show and get-together.

Yesterday Felipe and I were literally heading out the door to go to dinner with his parents and his brother and family visiting from Chicago. Not a HUGE deal, but certainly important. I got a text message that simply said "bnlmusic.net. :(". I told Felipe to wait a minute, that I had to check something. He thinks I spend too much time on the internet, so he gave me a look. I said "give me a minute. I think the band broke up."

So I while I was kind of shocked by the news, I was glad that it wasn't as bad as I expected. I sent a few text messages back and forth, which I know he wasn't happy about and though I tried to explain that my friend was pretty upset he didn't seem to get it. Which kind of bugs me now, as his favorite band is and was Oingo Boingo. I'd think he'd understand.

Anyway, between the stress of dealing with the family thing (they like me, but it's still a little nerve-wracking) and a rather serious and very important discussion about a major issue in OUR relationship last night, I haven't spent a whole lot of time thinking about Steve leaving BNL yet. At the same time, it's sort of been in the back of my head for a while now, ever since his divorce. Sometimes a big change like that can trigger other changes. I thought the relationship between Steve and Ed seemed strained on the cruise, and Steve's new song convinced me that it was very much on his mind. I couldn't tell if he was saying that Christine was encouraging him to stay or leave. That's not to say that I think she should be blamed for this, I think she's probably been more supportive than persuasive about this decision.

All of this is speculation, of course. Based on Steve's recent behavior and his new song, but it is still only my interpretation.

As for the rest of it, I am a Barenaked Ladies fan. I am a fan of what they've done up to now, and I hope I will continue to be a fan of what they do going forward. Will they replace Steve? That's not really possible, but I do hope that they get another singer. I hope they have someone that they feel can carry off some of the songs that Steve traditionally sang. I hope that it's someone they already have a strong relationship with, so that, although there is no way someone can step in seamlessly, they can perhaps keep a little of the banter going. Not that there's been a lot of that lately. It felt to me the last few years that the banter has been a bit more Ed and Tyler and Ed talking to the audience than between Ed and Steve. It felt like Steve's been pulling away for a while. So in that sense, I do think it's the right thing for him, if not the best thing for the rest of the band or the fans. You can't sacrifice yourself for other people or soon there won't be enough of you left to do anyone any good.

Am I the only one not excited about Sarah McLaughlin on the cruise?

Could someone wake me up when we stop talking about Steve's weight?

Thanks.

The Heterosexual Questionnaire

The Heterosexual Questionnaire was created back in 1972 to put heterosexual people in the shoes of a gay person for just a moment. Questions and assumptions made of Gays and Lesbians that are unfair, are reversed and this time asked to the straight people.

This is a fun survey, but also an activist survey. Please repost this to your email list, myspace bulletin, use it in a group setting, have fun with it but also let the point be made.
( My answers )

I saw this movie a few weeks ago and I've been meaning to post about it because I loved it so much and want to encourage people to go see it. It's exactly what you'd want from a movie by Kevin Smith and Seth Rogan, but better. Seth is just the absolutely perfect Kevin Smith hero and Kevin knows how to write fantastic characters. It straddles the line between the View Askewniverse and traditional romantic comedies. If you've seen any of Kevin Smith's movies you'll recognize some of the faces, but they aren't the same characters, so people who haven't seen his movies won't be missing the joke. And if you are a fan of Jay's, you'll enjoy seeing how healthy he looks. It's nice to see him like this.

Felipe is not a big Kevin Smith fan, but he really enjoyed this movie. Not as much as I did, I think. He might buy it on DVD, but he won't want to go see it in the theater again like I do.

So go see it so that they'll make another one, okay?

Thanks.

My friends have already said most of the things I wanted to say, so I'm going to address a couple of different things.
I thought the speeches were wonderful. I thought McCain's concession speech was elegant and I appreciated his impatience with the members of his audience that booed Obama's name and his encouragement of his supporters to work with the new president. I also appreciate and believe that he is sincere about working with Barack Obama to fix this country.

The ABC commentators were saying that they were surprised by how subdued Obama was when he took the stage for his acceptance speech. I'm not. I thought it struck exactly the right tone. It communicated to the world that he was not celebrating a victory over John McCain, but an acceptance of the responsibility that had been given to him. He wants to unite the country, and you don't do that by gloating.

I respect that this man came out and did what he said he was going to do with his very first appearance as president-elect. He was honest with us. He didn't come out with the false jubilation some might have wanted, but rather the humble dignity that was more appropriate for the situation. People forget that he is in mourning. His grandmother had just died yesterday. Even though his faith teaches that she is in a better place and that he should celebrate for her, there's still a natural mourning period, and sadness that she wasn't there to share this moment that she's spent her life working so hard for.

I know I'm not going to agree with everything he does. I'm sure that we're all going to have to make sacrifices in the coming years and many of us will be cursing his name soon, but I do believe this his intent is what is best for the country. Won't that be a nice change?

If you talk to someone about Proposition 8 make sure that they understand that a "No" vote does not mean "No to gay marriage". The language is a bit misleading, and someone who doesn't read the proposition may vote incorrectly. Encourage people to take a moment to read the summaries of the propositions and be certain that they are voting in line with their beliefs*. The Title of Prop 8 is Eliminates Right Of Same-Sex Couples To Marry.

I'd hate to see this damn thing pass because a few rushed voters didn't pay attention and actually voted "Yes" when they meant "No". Although there has been a lot of advertising some people just tune it out.

*Now I am not saying that you should ask people which way they believe on this before you ascertain that they know the correct way to vote, but I also don't see why you'd want to waste time explaining the voting process to people who think we should change the California Constitution because they're scared of gay people**. It's not in anyone's best interest to do that, so why encourage them to take an action that could cost the state millions of dollars for appeals?

** Seriously, how does one couple's marriage threaten anothers? Are they afraid the gay might rub off on them? Is it that their spouse only married them because they wanted the security of marriage but couldn't marry the person they wanted, so if gay marriage is legal they spouse will leave them and marry the next gay person who walks by? Could someone PLEASE explain this "threatened" thing to me?

3rd place.

Good idea or bad?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1078449/Pictured-The-incredible-surfing-rats-taught-ride-4ft-waves.html

http://i-iambe.livejournal.com/13245.html

'cause, you know, I didn't really want to go before.

Thank you KJ, Kristen, Jen and Andrea!

Q: How weird is it to be listening to BNL live while you're standing in your room naked and dripping wet straight from the shower?

A: VERY weird!

This is Felipe's dog, Bear. He was acting listless when Felipe fed him this morning. When Felipe got home from work today, Bear was dead.

Just
that
fast.



He was a good dog.