movieguy

My agevage on a bowling team started out as 118

my score ? 118

it like old time blink

Drunk tried to steal dog's dinner

A Chinese man needed hospital treatment after he tried to steal his neighbour's dog's dinner.

The man, who was drunk, was reportedly jealous the dog ate better than him, reports the Kuaibao Daily.

The man, surnamed Lu, from Nanjing city, Jiangsu province, had been drinking alone at home.

He spotted the neighboring black dog enjoying its rich lunch, a piece of pork shank.

Lu, whose own meal was to be a small plate of fried peanuts, attacked the dog and tried to snatch away the meat.

But the dog fought back to protect its meal and bit Lu's right hand. Neighbours, who heard the commotion, sent him to the local hospital.

www.ananova.com

Welcome jamessavik

prop your feet up and enjoy

pretty good

links

Gay Couples Mark Valentine's Day With Marriage Protests

by Doreen Brandt 365Gay.com Washington Bureau

Posted: February 14, 2005 12:01 am. ET

(Washington) In Massachusetts married same-sex couples are exchanging chocolates and flowers to show their love, but the Bay State is the only one where gay marriage is legal. Elsewhere across the country, Valentine's Day is being marked today with demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience to draw attention to marriage inequality.

At statehouses, courthouses and city halls nationwide, same-sex supporters will rally as the centerpiece of Freedom to Marry Week.

Today marks the 7th year in a row that Freedom to Marry Week has been held, but this year the mood is more combative. Last year 13 states enacted constitutional bans on gay marriage - 11 of them on Nov. 2.

A number of other states currently have proposed amendments before their legislatures. Kansas lawmakers already have placed such a ban on the ballot for a statewide vote April 5.

"There's a greater appreciation this year of how much more work there still is to do," lawyer Evan Wolfson who heads the Freedom to Marry campaign told the Associated Press.

"The hits we took last year were sad but predictable," Wolfson said.

"We are at a moment of peril right now where our opponents are able to stampede people into adopting these discriminatory amendments, depriving them of the time to take a deep breath and embrace fairness," he added.

Monday's events include rallies for gay marriage in Milwaukee, Portland, Ore. and Tampa, Fla., and at the statehouses in Maryland, New Mexico and Washington state.

At the rally in Maryland, the highlight will be the daughter of anti-gay broadcaster and failed GOP Senate candidate Alan Keyes.

It will be Maya Marcel-Keyes first public appearance as a gay activist. Marcel-Keyes told the Washington Post her parents have thrown her out of the house, stopped speaking to her and refuse to pay for college because she is a lesbian.

During last summer's GOP convention Alan Keyes went on a tirade against gays and caused a stir when he labeled Vice President Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter a sinner and called homosexuality "selfish hedonism." But when asked about his own daughter he refused to discuss it. (story)

"It was kind of strange that he said it like a hypothetical," Marcel-Keyes told the Post. "It was really kind of unpleasant."

In Richmond, Va., gay and lesbian couples plan to apply for marriage licenses at City Hall, then be united in ceremonies performed by a minister from the Metropolitan Community Church.

Same-sex couples in California also plan to request marriage licenses from their county clerk's offices.

"The more people have a chance to hear how families like ours are harmed by the exclusion from marriage, the more they will embrace fairness and equality under the law," Equlity California Executive Director Geoff Kors told 365Gay.com.

On Saturday, 3,000 gays and lesbians celebrated San Francisco's short-lived gay marriages. (story)

In Houston, Texas, on Saturday, 42 gay and lesbian couples exchanged vows at Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church.

But, foes of same-sex marriage will also be out in force today. Liberty Counsel, a Florida-based conservative legal group has organized Day of Purity rallies.

In Arkansas, Gov. Mike Huckabee and his wife, Janet, will renew their wedding vows in the presence of hundreds of other couples. "The nation will be watching as we take a stand for marriage," the Huckabees' invitation said.

Arkansas last year approved a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

Liberty Counsel says that roughly 2,000 schools and church groups have signed up to participate in The Day of Purity.

The organization is encouraging participants to wear white T-shirts as a symbol of purity, and to hand out flyers to fellow students denouncing gay marriage, likening it to promiscuity and sexually transmitted diseases.

"Students are bombarded with the message that they should become sexually active at a young age and to experiment with their sexual preferences," Liberty Counsel said in a statement. "The Day of Purity offers the youth who strive for sexual purity an opportunity to stand in opposition to a culture of moral decline."

©365Gay.com 2005

www.365gay.com

News of the Weird

WEEK OF FEBRUARY 13, 2005

LEAD STORY

Most Competent Criminal: Jeffrey "Roofman" Manchester, 33, was finally recaptured after six months of inspired police-dodging in Charlotte, N.C., after having smuggled himself out of a previously escape-proof prison nearby. According to a January profile in the San Francisco Chronicle, Manchester (a handsome, athletic, personable man who got his nickname from a multistate series of ceiling-entry burglaries) built an ingenious home behind a cubbyhole at a Toys-R-Us, then at an abandoned Circuit City next door, outfitting both digs with various conveniences, such as a protective surveillance camera. The dashing Manchester volunteered at a church, befriending the pastor and dating a parishioner, who eventually helped police capture him. Said a police sergeant, "(W)e can learn a lot from him." [san Francisco Chronicle, 1-11-05]

Male Flies and Male Monkeys Are Just Dogs

In articles in recent issues of Current Biology, researchers separately studying the dance fly and the rhesus macaque monkey concluded that males will be males. The male dance fly was found by a team from the University of Western Australia to sometimes present a female with worthless tokens for the opportunity to mate with her, but by the time she discovered their worth, he had already hit and run. A team from Duke University found that the male monkey will forgo his own rewards (juice) in exchange for being permitted to view pictures of female monkeys' bottoms. [Discovery-Animal Planet, 1-11-05] [LiveScience.com, 1-28-05]

America's Real Gun Problem (all new)

The following people accidentally shot themselves recently: Joey Lujan, 22, shot himself in the head trying to show that his gun wasn't loaded (Rialto, Calif., December). Abran Godoy, 20, shot himself while tucking his gun into his waistband after a robbery (King City, Calif., November). A 20-year-old man shot himself in a femoral artery while showing off for friends (Salt Lake City, November). Latie Whitley, 34, shot himself in the face while allegedly robbing a delicatessen (New York City, December). Jeffrey Wagner, 22, shot himself while tucking his gun into his waistband after showing it to a friend (Dayton, Ohio, January). Lance Cole, 24, won $2,500 in damages from the police after an officer kicked him in the groin two days after he had shot himself in the genitals (St. Louis, Mo., January). [inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, Calif.), 12-27-04] [Monterey Herald, 11-18-04] [Deseret Morning News, 11-20-04] [Newsday, 11-27-04] [WHIO-TV (Dayton), 1-4-05] [st. Louis Post-Dispatch, 1-25-05]

News That Sounds Like a Joke

(1) According to a January Associated Press dispatch, an outfit called Rent-a-Priest supplies independent Catholic clergy to perform mass and communion on board cruise ships, even though the reason some are independent is that they're no longer in good standing. (The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said it has begun to screen out unqualified candidates for cruise line jobs.) (2) In a January CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, in answer to the question whether President Bush is a "uniter" or a "divider," exactly 49 percent of Americans said he was a uniter, and exactly 49 percent said he was a divider. [st. Petersburg Times-AP, 1-17-05] [CNN, 1-19-05]

Compelling Explanations

# Farmington Hills, Mich., elementary school teacher Nancy Seaman, 52, on trial for murdering her husband, said it was self-defense, even though a reported autopsy said he had been stabbed 21 times and struck with a hatchet 15 times. (She was convicted in December.) And University of Virginia student Andrew Alston, on trial for fatally stabbing a firefighter after a night of bar-hopping, said the victim had actually inadvertently stabbed himself during aikido horseplay (even though there were 18 stab wounds, spread among the heart, arms, back, shoulder and face). (Alston was convicted of manslaughter in November.) [WEWS-TV (Cleveland), 12-14-04] [The Daily Progress (Charlottesville), 11-9-04]

# Ms. Sandu Florenta, 18, a Romanian, was arrested for shoplifting at a Tesco store in Wrexham, Wales, in December with "four packs of frozen lamb, three fresh chickens, three packs of stock cubes, finger chillies, a packet of burgers, garlic, peppers, socks and underwear, plus almost five pounds of oranges and apples" in a special sack under her robes. She told police that not many stores in Romania have carts, and thus, this is how people shop. [Daily Post (North Wales), 12-8-04]

# Pro boxer Hector Macho Camacho Sr. was arrested in Gulfport, Miss., for a Christmastime incident in which he, feeling morose, broke into the computer store next to his office in order to get his computer (in the shop for repairs) so he could e-mail family members, and that meant climbing over a wall and onto ceiling panels, which gave way, sending Camacho crashing onto several computers. Said Macho, according to police: "I don't see myself looking too good." Later, describing his motivation for the break-in: "I guess I ran out of ideas." [WLOX-TV (Biloxi), 1-12-05]

# Alan Johnson was arrested in Taunton, Mass., in November and charged with burning his girlfriend's 19-month-old boy with a cigarette lighter while baby-sitting. Johnson's explanation: The boy went into a seizure, and Johnson, recalling his lifeguard training, thought the solution was to raise the boy's body temperature to alleviate the seizure. [WJAR-TV (Providence), 12-19-04]

Fetishes on Parade

Recent Sexual Obsessions: (1) surgical masks (Norman Hutchins, 53, was convicted in Leeds, England, in January, of tricking hospitals into sending him masks for his collection). (2) underwater photos of strangers' legs and buttocks (U.S. Army Maj. James V. McGovern was convicted in January of taking numerous such photos at the swimming pool at Yongsan Garrison, South Korea). [Agence France-Presse, 1-20-05] [stars and Stripes, 1-20-05]

Least Competent People

Kyle Hans, 24, drove his car through the front of a Target store in Fort Wayne, Ind., in January, down an aisle, where he told employees he had a gun and wanted to see his estranged wife so he could reconcile with her. When the employees informed Hans that his wife didn't work there anymore, he got frustrated and took one of them hostage, forcing the evacuation of the store and an eventual standoff with police. Officers talked Hans down, got the hostage freed and arrested him. [WISE-TV (Fort Wayne), 1-7-05]

Recurring Themes

"I don't think I've done more than two days' work in three years," said the New York Liquor Authority's director of wholesale services, Patricia Freund, explaining to the New York Post in December that she is another example of how bureaucracies deal with "problem" workers who are hard to fire. Freund was exiled to an office with no work and no responsibilities (though continuing to draw her $82,000 salary), which she said was in retaliation for raising a stink about Gov. George Pataki's Christian prayer breakfasts and Jesus-laden mementoes, which she said was discriminatory toward Jewish employees, such as her. [New York Post, 12-28-04]

Readers' Choice

Thinning the Herd: A 23-year-old woman, attempting a handstand on a hotel balcony railing in North Fort Myers, Fla., fell to her death but only after shouting to friends to "watch to see what I can still do" (January). And a 21-year-old student at the University of Nebraska Lincoln was killed when, not belted in, he was ejected from the back seat of an SUV in a crash; the student was prominent for his libertarian political views, including a defiant stand in the student newspaper against mandatory seatbelt laws. (He described himself as one of "a die-hard group of non-wearers out there who simply do not wish to buckle up.") (January) [CNN-AP, 1-18-05] [Lincoln Journal Star, 1-5-05]

Rodents in the News

In January, sanitation workers in Nairobi, Kenya, finally, after 10 years of complaints, cleaned up the Wakulima Market (the country's largest fruit and vegetable facility), dislodging an estimated 750 tons of garbage, 38 tons of human waste, and about 6,000 rats. Also in January, Cleveland paralegal Austin Aitken filed a lawsuit against the TV show "Fear Factor" for $2.5 million, claiming that the episode in which contestants ate dead rats made him ill, causing him to vomit, become dizzy, and hit his head as he ran from the room in disgust. [Agence France-Presse, 1-4-05] [Reuters, 1-5-05]

Thanks This Week to John Lynch, David Schnur, Willard Wheeler, Casey Harris, Sarah Peake, George Collins, Dale Jelinski, and many people who contributed the Readers' Choice items, and to the News of the Weird Board of Editorial Advisors.

(Send your Weird News to Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 18737, Tampa FL 33679 or WeirdNews@earthlink.net or go to www.NewsoftheWeird.com.)

COPYRIGHT 2005 CHUCK SHEPHERD

Brenda and Steve took their six-year-old son to the doctor. With some hesitation, they explained that although their little angel appeared to be in good health they were concerned about his rather small p****.

After examining the child, the doctor confidently declared, "Just feed him pancakes. That should solve the problem."

The next morning when the boy arrived at breakfast, there was a large stack of warm pancakes in the middle of the table.

"Gee, Mom," he exclaimed. "For me?"

"Just take two," mom replied, "The rest are for your father."

My Brother youngest son sent this to me and thought it would make others think

I'M GLAD YOU'RE IN MY DASH

I read of a man, who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend,

He referred to the dates on her tombstone from the beginning...to the end.

He noted that first came her date of birth and spoke the following dates

(1934 - 1998) with tears,

But he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time that she spent alive on earth,

And now only those who loved her know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own; the cars...the house...the cash,

What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard. Are there things you'd like to change?

For you never know how much time is left that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough to consider what's true and real,

And always try to understand the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger, and show appreciation more,

And love the people in our lives like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect, and more often wear a smile,

Remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy's being read with your life's actions to rehash,

Would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?

If you have received this, it means that you are truly special to the one

that sent this to you. I am glad that you're in my life and part of my

dash.

From My dash to yours

What Makes 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%? Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%. How about achieving 103%? What makes up 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:

If:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

is represented as:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

Then:

H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K

8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

and

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E

11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But,

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E

1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

And,

B-U-L-L-S-H-*-T

2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103%

AND, look how far a** kissing will take you.

A-*-*-K-I-S-S-I-N-G

1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118%

So, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that While Hard work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it's the Bullsh*t and A** kissing that will put you over the top.

ITS THAT FOREVER LOVE.... HAHA!

While on a road trip, an elderly couple stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch. After finishing their meal, they left the restaurant and resumed their trip. When leaving, the elderly woman unknowingly left her glasses on the table and, she didn't miss them until after they had been driving about twenty minutes.

By then, to add to the aggravation, they had to travel quite a distance before they could find a place to turn around in order to return to the restaurant to retrieve her glasses. All the way back, the elderly husband became the classic grouchy old man. He fussed and complained and scolded his wife relentlessly during the entire return drive. The more he chided her, the more agitated he became. He just wouldn't let up one minute.

To her relief, they finally arrived at the restaurant. And as the woman got out of the car and hurried to get inside to retrieve her glasses, the old geezer yelled to her ........"While you're in there, you might as well get my hat, and credit card.."

A couple, both 78, went to a sex therapist's office in Winter Haven, Florida. The doctor asked, "What can I do for you?" The man asked, "Will you watch us have sexual intercourse?" The doctor looked puzzled, but agreed. When the couple had finished, the doctor said, "There's nothing wrong with the way you have intercourse", and charged them $50. This happened several weeks in a row. The couple would make an appointment, have intercourse with no problems, pay the doctor, then leave. Finally the doctor asked, "Just exactly what are you trying to find out?" The old man said, "We're not trying to find out anything. She's married and we can't go to her house. I'm married and we can't go to my house. The Holiday Inn charges $90. The Hilton charges $140. We do it here for $50 and I get $43 back from Medicare." Is Florida great or what?

"Doctor," the embarrassed man said, "I have a sexual problem. I can't get it up for my wife anymore."

"Mr. Thomas, bring her back with you tomorrow and let me see what I can do."

So, the worried fellow returned with his wife the following day. The doctor greeted the couple and then said, "Please remove your clothes, Mrs. Thomas."

The woman obliged and removed her clothing.

"Okay, now turn all the way around... Now, lie down please... Uh-huh, I see. Alright, you can put your clothes back on."

While the woman was busy dressing herself again, the doctor took the husband aside. "You're in perfect health," he said to the man. "Your wife didn't give me an erection either."

Breakfast Casserole

1 pound sausage or bacon

6 to 8 eggs

2 tablespoons milk

1/2 cup shredded cheese (or as much as you like)

1. Brown sausage or bacon in skillet. Drain sausage from grease using a slotted spoon. Spread meat in the bottom of a casserole dish.

2. Break 6 or 8 eggs individually and put into a bowl. Add milk; beat well.

3. Cook scrambled eggs until done, but not dry, they should be soft. Spread on top of meat.

4. Sprinkle cheese evenly on top of eggs.

5. Bake in 350*F (175*C) oven for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Serve hot.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Gay Penguins Resist 'Aversion Therapy'

by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

Posted: February 11, 2005 5:01 pm. ET

(Bremen, Germany) Attempts by a Germany zoo to "convert its gay penguins to heterosexuality have failed the zoo's director said Friday.

On Tuesday 365Gay.com reported that the Bremerhaven Zoo had imported four female penguins from Sweden which it hoped would split up its three gay penguin couples and turn the birds "straight". (story)

But the six gay penguins were not interested in dallying with the other sex, remaining faithful to their same-sex partners.

"The relationships were apparently too strong," said zoo Director Heike Kueck.

The gay males were separated from their mates and one by one the females were introduced. The males pined for their mates until they were reunited.

The three gay couples are part of the zoo's 10 penguin exhibit. The others are apparently straight and coupled. But, for more than a year zookeepers were mystified why the three couples didn't have any offspring.

They did the usual courting dances, built nests together, appeared to have sex, and still no little penguins. Finally they did a DNA test to see if there was something genetically wrong. That is when they discovered the three couples were all male.

Kueck called the attempt to get the penguins to mate with females a form of "aversion therapy", a practice that has never worked successfully in humans.

Nevertheless she said that another attempt will be made in the spring of 2006.

Gay penguins are not unusual. New York's Central Park Zoo, has Roy and Silo, who have been together for several years. As with one of the couples in Germany Roy and Silo put a rock simulating an egg in their nest and sat on it, keeping it warm in the folds of their abdomens. (story)

Similar attempts to introduce females to Roy and Silo also failed although the two no longer spend time together. Roy for a while spent time with a female penguin but ended early this year.

Gay penguins have also been found in Japan. Scientists at Rikkyo University in Tokyo, found about 20 same-sex pairs at 16 major aquariums and zoos in Japan. (story)

Following the 365Gay.com story on the German penguins the Bremerhaven Zoo was barraged with emails from LGBT groups.

"All sorts of gay and lesbian associations have been e-mailing and calling in to protest," Kuek said.

©365Gay.com 2005

www.365gay.com

Yankee Go Home Gay Canadians Tell Same-Sex Marriage Foes

by Ben Thompson 365Gay.com Ottawa Bureau

Posted: February 10, 2005 12:01 am. ET

(Ottawa) Supporters of same-sex marriage legislation in Canada are telling conservative Christians from south of the border to keep their noses out of Canadian affairs.

Focus on the Family has reportedly sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to its Canadian affiliate to wage an anti-gay campaign and the Roman Catholic Knights Of Columbus in the US recently spent nearly $100,000 to print two million postcards now being distributed in Catholic churches across Canada for people to send to Members of Parliament.

Right-wing Christian groups have been urging their members to call long distance to Canada to tell MPs to vote against the Civil Marriage Act. One Ontario MP has said she has received 30 calls from Americans in the last 10 days.

American Christian broadcasters have also been targeting Canadians. Two weeks ago 365Gay.com reported that James Dobson, chairman of the Colorado-based Focus on the Family, in a broadcast heard on 130 radio stations across Canada denounced the government of Prime Minister Paul Martin which brought in the same-sex marriage bill.

In addition, the opposition Conservative Party has been getting help from Republicans. Several GOP advisers have been working with the Conservatives to formulate attacks on the legislation and use it as a wedge issue in the next Canadian election.

Justice Minister Irwin Cotler has said he will look at changing Canadian laws to prevent foreign interests from using their money to sway Canadian political debates. But he has conceded there may be little the government can do.

Nevertheless, Revenue Canada is examining the books of right-wing Canadian groups to see how the money pouring in from the US is being reported.

"There's a lot of money coming in from the United States to Canada,'' said Claude Cote, a Quebec spokesperson for gay-rights lobby group Egale Canada. "There's hundreds of thousands of dollars being sent from the U.S. by the Republican right to convince MPs to vote against the bill.''

Evangeline Caldwell, coordinator of the Quebec Coalition for Same-Sex Civil Marriage said Canadians should resist foreign influence.

"It's not that people from other nations can't say something but arriving with the cavalry is little bit unnecessary,'' she said. "We can take care of our own debate and we are doing so.''

A vote on the marriage bill is expected this spring.

©365Gay.com 2005

www.365gay.com

Best 36

First Grader Punished for Bag of Dirt

By: Tony Hensley

Sikeston, Missouri --A Southeast Missouri first grader finds herself in big trouble after playing with a plastic bag she found on the playground.

It happened last tuesday during recess at Mathews Elementary in Sikeston, MO.

The girl's mother says her daughter used the bag to make her friend a present. But, her teacher didn't see it that way.

Tuesday Heartland News spoke with 6-year-old Michaela Boyd, and her mother Michele. They tell Heartland News teachers confused a hand-gathered gift of nature's goodies with a bag of marijuana.

"There was nothing in the bag i just found it on the ground." Said first grader Michaela Boyd.

After finding the bag much like the one disposable utensils come in, Michaela says she decided to make her friend a bag of goodies, "They said what did you make this out of. and what did you tell them. I said out of dirt. And what else. I made it with rocks, clover and dirt."

Her mom, Michele, says after Michaela put the mixture into the bag, she tied the top with a purple ponytail holder and gave it to her friend saying,"here's a bag of dirt."

After recess was over the student gave the bag of dirt to their teacher.

Michele says after meeting with the teacher and principal, she was told that the bag of dirt, "looked like a bag of weed."

Michaela says, "They said it was kind of a drug. I don't know what they are I only see cigarettes. That's all I say."

Heartland News spoke with superintendent Stephen Borgsmiller about what happened here on the playground last Tuesday and he says while he can not comment on this particular case given the childs age. He did tell me that after gathering all the information an assessment was made and now they are moving on."

Michele says she doesn't deny what her daughter did. But she does disagree with the two-day in-school detention. "They said it would be on her school record as far as disciplinary that she made a look alike drug but I don't feel like that's right. Because she didn't do anything wrong."

Michele says her daughter served her two day, in-school detention last Thursday and Friday. And while she's still upset with the schools actions, Michele is not considering moving her daughter to another school.

links

Pizza Burgers

Prep: 10 min, Cook: 10 min.

* 3/4 lb. lean ground beef

* 1/2 lb. sweet Italian sausage, casings removed

* 1/3 cup black olives, sliced

* 1 tsp. Italian herb seasoning

* 4 slices mozzarella cheese

* 4 slices Italian bread

* 1 Tbs. olive oil

* 1/2 cup purchased pizza sauce, warm

Prepare grill. Combine first 4 ingredients and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl. Form into 4 patties about 1 inch thick. Grill patties about 5 inches from coals, about 6 minutes per side, until just cooked throughout. About 30 seconds before removing burgers from grill, top each with a slice of mozzarella. Brush oil on each bread slice and lightly toast on grill until golden. Top toasted bread slices with warm pizza sauce, then a burger. Eat with forks and knives.

You start with 501 points, you throw dart to reach 0

links

Newsom Blasts Dems For Not Supporting Gay Marriage

by Margo Williams 365Gay.com Boston Bureau

Posted: February 9, 2005 2:03 pm. ET

(Cambridge, Massachusetts) San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom got a reception usually reserved for a head of state Tuesday when he addressed students at Harvard University.

Speaking at the John F. Kennedy School of Government Newsom dismissed accusations that his decision to allow same-sex marriages helped reelect President George W. Bush and motivated voters in 11 states to approve constitutional amendments banning gay marriage.

"That train had already left the station," Newsom said. "This was going to be used as a wedge issue regardless of whether or not some crazy mayor was sworn in in San Francisco or not."

In a speech frequently stopped by applause and cheers, Newsom said his issuing of some 4,000 same-sex marriage licenses last year was akin to the actions of Rosa Parks during the civil rights movement

“At the end of the day it’s all about people,” he said. “If you’re going to tell ten-plus million people that they are secondary citizens…I found that fundamentally wrong.”

Newsom wasn't afraid to bash his own Democratic party either.

"I can't stand my party right now. Is it political expediency? Is it accommodation that we're after? Or is it about standing up on principles and values?"

Nor was he afraid to take on the leading LGBT spokesperson in the party, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass). After Newsom began allowing same-sex couples to marry and the issue headed to the courts, Frank accused the mayor of jumping the gun and called for a more gradual change.

But Newsom told students that politicians can't be afraid of going against popular opinion.

"You can't wait for public opinion to move social justice forward," Newsom said, adding that gay marriage is an inevitability - pointing to Massachusetts where same-sex marriage became legal last year.

In a question and answer session the mayor was asked if same-sex marriage could not have a detrimental effect on families.

“We’re talking about marriage here. It is an institution of stability,” said Newsom in response.

Outside the packed room Students for Mass Equality, a Harvard campus organization, was busy recruiting new members.

©365Gay.com 2005

www.365gay.com

Fire engine used to collect pizza

A Sydney fire station allegedly missed an emergency call because one of the crew was using the only fire engine to pick up a pizza.

The New South Wales Fire Brigade has launched an inquiry into the incident at Maroubra fire station, reports ABC News.

After picking up his pizza, the fireman allegedly picked up some friends and took them for a ride.

During the time the fire engine was away, the station received an emergency call and was unable to respond.

Assistant Fire Commissioner John Benson insisted there was no risk to the community as two other fire crews responded to the alarm.

"This is extremely rare - I mean I would say that this incident is unheard of in the New South Wales Fire Brigades in regards to utilising fire appliances in an inappropriate manner and as I said it's being thoroughly investigated," he said.

But state opposition emergency services spokesman Andrew Humpherson said: "This is not a humorous matter, this was a fire truck and somebody could have died."

www.ananova.com

Beef Stew ..

Slow Cooker Style ..

1 1/2 lb stew beef

2 tbsp flour

4 potatoes (diced)

2 celery stalks (sliced)

3 carrots (sliced)

1 onion (chopped)

1 clove garlic (minced)

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp paprika

2 cups beef broth

Cut stew beef into 1 inch cubes if necessary . Place in slow

cooker and toss with flour until evenly coated . Add remaining

ingredients and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours ..

Serves , 4 to 6 .

If you don't like garlic , you can leave it out