Prince of Persia

Today I finally got around to watch 'Prince of Persia the Sands of Time'. Kenny had gotten it on blu-ray for his birthday in September, but for some reason we never got around to watch it. Today Kenny handed me a bunch of movies and 'Prince of Persia' was the one I picked.

The movie stars one of my favorite actors Jake Gyllenhaal and I knew it was based on a video game. I figured it would be like the Mummy movies that I really enjoyed. The movie starts out kinda slow in the beginning, but picks up midway and is action packed until the end. The movie is cool and some of the fight scenes were quite amazing. One thing I truly enjoyed is the fact that you keep guessing who the really bad guy is. This movie had some great SFX and I really liked the cinematography. In the end it was exactly what I expected: a fun adventure, action, SFX movie.

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, here a short synopsis:

A rogue prince (Jake Gyllenhaal) reluctantly joins forces with a mysterious princess (Gemma Arterton) and together, they race against dark forces to safeguard an ancient dagger capable of releasing the Sands of Time - a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world.

Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Just got back from watching the third installment of 'Chronicles of Narnia'. I was really looking forward to the third film...and it didn't disappoint. I actually liked this film better than the 2nd movie 'Prince Caspian'. This film was a fun roller coaster of a movie filled with great special effects, a simple and understandable story and some good acting. The two main kids have really grown up especially Lucy, and I also enjoyed the introduction of Eustace. The only downer was the fact that they used again the 'redemption concept' to resolve the conflict between good and evil. The 'redemption concept' really doesn't do much for the story and it actually brings the story down. There has to be a better and more creative way to resolve the conflict between good and evil. If they would have gone a different route here, that would have not only made a really excellent movie but also enhanced the story. That way the last battle scene wouldn't have been that two dimensional and predictable. Other than that I really left the theatre quite satisfied.

I hope the do make a fourth movie with Eustace and his adventures in Narnia and that way at least finish the story of the four main children.

Since they only played the 3D version and the matinee ticket was $ 13.50... well it was fairly expensive, especially considering that the 3D doesn't enhance the movie at all. But I really didn't care too much about that, since I loved the movie that much and it definitely was worth every penny!!

For those of you who have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, here's a short synopsis of the movie:

Lucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace where they meet up with Prince Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship 'The Dawn Treader'. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world.

Doctor Who XMAS Special 2010

First let me say that I'm a huge Doctor Who fan. I loved it from the first episode on, when it started re-airing in 2005. I absolutely loved this XMAS Special and I think that the story is one of the best of all Doctor Who episodes. Steven Moffat has written my other favorite episodes "Girl in the Fireplace" and "Blink". With "A Christmas Carol" he wrote another outstanding episode. I've enjoyed all previous XMAS Specials, but this one captured that special something. The acting was great, and Matt Smith continued to impress me with his performance as The Doctor. It's as if he was born to play this character and he is fast becoming my favorite Doctor!!

Michael Gambon did an excellent job playing the "Scrooge" of this story. One think Steven Moffat does excellent... writing characters. All his characters are real, engaging and you care for them instantly. This story was outstanding and Moffat did an superb job of blending humor and sadness together. And of course I loved the fish and the excellent CG!!

I can't wait for the next season of Doctor Who to begin!!!

XMAS Day 2010

Today Kenny and I had to get up quite early, since we had to pick up a friend (Lydia who was visiting from Switzerland) as she was going to join us the XMAS Day Celebration. Lydia was staying in a hotel inHollywood and we had to be at Kenny's Mom around 11 am. We gotto Lydia's hotel around 9.30 am, what was way quicker than we expected, since there was hardly any traffic. When we headed out to Kenny's Mom at Newport Beach there was still only very light traffic and we got there around 10.15 am... way earlier than we expected.

We had a very good visit with Kenny's Mom, Stepdad, Grandma, along with Kenny's Brother, Sister-in-law and Nephew. We had a nice Christmas lunch with ham, turkey, corn, peas, mash potatoes, gravy, rolls, cranberry sauce and fin

ished it off with pump

kin pie. Kenny's nephew, Kenobi, managed to stay awake to a open a few presents. Chuck's (Kenny's stepdad) youngest son Christopher came over to visit and brought along his boyfriend Josh.

We enjoyed each others company till about 4 pm. Then we packed up and headed over to see Kenny's Dad. We got to Kenny's Dad around 5 pm and his Christmas Dinner was almost ready. We had turkey, ham, corn, mash potatoes, gravy, rolls an

d cranberry sauce. For desert we had planned for pumpkin and apple pie... but for some reason we forgot completely about desert. It was a very yummy dinner, although we had the same thing for lunch.

After dinner we sat down to open presents. Every year Kenny's Dad and Brother go way over board with presents... but this year is was completely crazy.

But it's not all about thegifts, it's also about spending time with family and that is always nice. Kenobi now being 19 month is getting a little more out of XMAS. Kenny got him a bag of 150 plastic balls and Kenny's Dad got him a big with 100 plastic balls. It goes without saying, that Kenobi loves balls and that they were all over the house... but he was loving it.

It was fun sharing an "American" Christmas with Lydia. We left

around 8.30 pm, dropped Lydia off at her hotel in Hollywood and got back to our house around 10.00 pm.

All in all it was an exhausting but fun filled Christmas!!

Click here to check out the Pix of XMAS 2010 on my Facebook Page!!

XMAS Eve 2010

Later in the evening Kenny and I opened the presents that we had gotten each other and those that my family had sent to both of us. That has become somewhat of a tradition, since we spend XMAS Day with Kenny's family.

We knew pretty much what we were

getting and it kinda takes the fun out of it. The only surprise were the gifts that my family and my friend Sandra had gotten for us.

I had already forgotten a few of the presents and so there was a little of a surprise element when opening them.

All in all it was a good night. Tomorrow will be a long but fun day!! Merry XMAS Eve!!

Click here to check out the Pix of XMAS 2010 on my Facebook Page!!

It starts to feel like Christmas

LMAO!!! That joke is absolutely hilarious!!

This statement might possibly be true in another universe...in another dimension...or in another reality, but certainly not in this one!!

I haven't felt less 'christmas-y' in many, many years. Quite frankly this year I really couldn't care less about that bogus holiday. I haven't cared about XMAS decoration this year at all. If they are there or not there really doesn't make any difference to me. I simply couldn't care less. If this year Christmas happens or doesn't happen... well I couldn't care less!!

Besides all of that Christmas with 70 or 80 degrees feels more like Easter, but certainly doesn't feel like Christmas. Here are the ingredients for a 'real' Christmas as far as I'm concerned:

Temperatures between O and 15 degree F. Snow and lots of it. The smell of fresh made punch. Hanging out at a real 'Christkindlmarkt' with good friends, drinking Glühwein, while it slightly starts to snow.

That's a real Christmas as far as I'm concerned!!

XMAS Party in the Hollywood Hills

Although it was raining cats and dogs Kenny and I weren't going to miss Steve and Gary's annual XMAS party. They live up in a beautiful house in the Hollywood Hills overlooking Los Angeles. It's always a little of an adventure to get up there, but with the rain it made it even more adventurous. We got there about 1 hour late and the party was already in full swing. These kinds of parties are nice, as we get to see friends that we don't get to see as often as we would like to. It was a great party with good food and wonderful friends.

Skype Call with Family

Today my family finally got a hold on me, and since my mom was at my sisters it was the perfect opportunity for a skype call. First we tried about twice to get a video call to work. But we were having slight issues with the internet speed... and knowing the speed of our internet connection, that really didn't surprise me at all. So we did just the regular skype call and that worked perfectly fine.

It was great talking to them, since it has been at least a couple of month. It was great catching up with them, on what was going on at their end. I found out that they were having their XMAS celebration this year for the first time on the 25th, since this is the earliest my sister, her husband and my two nephews can make it out to my parents. It was great to hear that they're all doing fine and I found out that, if everything goes according to plan, they all will be visiting us from April 4th to May 5th. Haven't gotten more travel details from them or what their detailed sightseeing plans are... but that they plan on visiting is awesome and it will be the first time that I get to see my second nephew in person.

All in all it was a great 1 hour long skype call!!

Sudden Clarity

A couple of days ago I had one of those days, where absolutely nothing seems to go right and everything is going of my nerves. To be quite honest that was more than me just blowing up. The describe the entire thing as pretty much a major meltdown would be accurate. It seems that lately the time between meltdowns gets shorter and shorter.

I could have blogged about that right away, but that would have only resulted in an angry rant. Now that I've had time to think things through for a couple of days, there's one thing that is absolutely clear: Things need to change and so they will change... otherwise I'm just giving myself either a heart attack or a stomach ulcer.

Lately the morons in Washington D.C and absolute stupidity of American politicians have been pissing me off. No more of that!! To blow, to get pissed off about something like that would implicate that I actually care. The truth of the matter is, that I don't care about that. I'm way beyond that point!! If anyone thinks, that I take the useless twaddle of American politicians seriously... well think again, I don't take it seriously.

From now on the only thing American politics are good for, is for my personal entertainment... and that entertainment value is going to be huge. In the future I will comment on American politics with absolute sarcasm and pure cynicism!! The entertainment value of that should be definitely substantial!!

VET Visit

Well today I finally took Daisy to the vet. To be quite honest this appointment was a little overdue. But with all the stuff going on lately, there never seemed to be time and Daisy's Bordetella booster shot was really overdue . So today we finally went. As always Daisy was super excited to go for a ride in the truck. As soon as we hit the intersection where the Vet is, the whining started. Boy she so hates that place. We had to wait about 15 minutes to get into the exam room. After about 10 minutes she calmed considerably down and it gave here time to socialize with 2 other dogs. Yes people you heard it right. Daisy is actually socializing with other dogs!! 2 years ago she would have put up her "Mohawk" and try to get after the, that want's to socialize with her. Just shows you that dogs do recover from very bad experiences, even if it takes a long time.

So waited for about another 10 min. in the exam room. Well, Daisy still wasn't a happy camper, but she endures it. Since I brought a stool sample, the Vet didn't have to bother her with that. For most part she's in very good shape for her age. The muscles are in perfect shape. So are her teeth, what means she doesn't need any dental work done. That made me quite happy. The Vet confirmed my suspicion, that she has the very slight onset of cataracts. At this time it shouldn't cause her any vision issues. The one thing that I have noticed is, that she spends a lot of time just sleeping on here doggie bed. It's not like she can't move and she doesn't seem to be in any discomfort either. She's excited when I'm getting ready to take her for a long walk or a hike and she doesn't have any problems going for a 3 hour hike. During the hike she's fine and she really enjoys it. But once we get back she goes to here doggie bed and doesn't want to move too much at all. My guess would be that this is the onset of arthritis. So to help her joint tissues and to generally improve her quality of the Vet put her on 2 supplements: Welactin Omega-3 and GlycoFlex 2. That should support her joint tissues and help with the stiffness. But it might take 6 to 8 weeks to see real results.

After we were done with the Vet, we waited in the waiting room to take care of the bill and for them to get the 2 supplements ready. This gave Daisy time to socialize with 2 more dogs. Well that 1 beagle was a little on the too excited side and Daisy wasn't a big fan of that.

As usual Daisy couldn't wait to get out of the Vet quick enough...she really hates that place.

Vasquez Rocks - South

Since the weather was nice today and it wasn't too hot...somewhere in the upper 60's, I decided to take Daisy for a hike to Vasquez Rocks.

This time I wanted to explore the more southern part of Vasquez Rocks. So I parked the truck at the southern parking area and we headed out. We followed parts of the Pacific Crest Trail until we reached almost the 14. Since we had only been at the park for about 1 hour I decided to check out the western flank of the park. So we followed one of the trails along the western flank. When I had the chance to take a trail down to the southern parking area, I should have done so. But I decided to follow the western flank a little further, thinking that I could cut across at any point. Well, lets just

say that was a slight error in judgement. What I didn't realize is, that I was heading towards that part of the western flank that backs up towards Agua Dulce Canyon Road and that's not the same part of the western flank that you see from the parking area. Turns out that you have to cross a deep ravine to get back. In theory you could cut across if you don't mind so

me serious climbing, but having the dog with me that was not an option.

So I had to hike pretty much to the end of the western flank and then hike through the ravine to get to a trail that brought me back to the southern parking area. After about 3 hours Daisy and I made it back to the truck.

All in all it was a great hike and Daisy enjoyed herself as well. I took some great pix that I've uploaded to my Facebook Page. Click here to check it out!!

Thanksgiving Dinner

This year we went to Kenny's brother and sister-in-law for Thanksgiving. We were responsible for the deserts, so Kenny had already bought yesterday 2 pumpkin and 1 apple pie and this morning he made a large batch of rice krispies.

Dinner wasn't until 5 pm . So we left our hours around 1 pm and it normally takes us about 1 1/2 hours to get to their place. But of course this is Thanksgiving and everyone is trying to get out of town...and we were stuck in traffic for almost 3 hours. We finally made it to their house around 4 pm.

Dinner was served at 5 and it was fantastic. We had Turkey, Ham, Mash Potatoes, Corn, Roll, Cranberry Sauce, Green Bean Casserole and Stuffing.

Lora (Kenny's sister-in-law) also invited some of her family and it was great hanging out with them, as we don't get to see them very often.

All in all it was a fun night... We left around 9.30 pm and made it back home by 11.

Trailer: Doctor Who - Christmas Special

I just watched the Trailer for the Doctor Who Christmas Special. Loved it. Can't wait to see the entire episode. Really missing Doctor Who!!!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt.1

Normally Kenny and I don't do midnight screenings. The last midnight screening we did was at least 4 years ago. But Kenny's friend Troy thought it would be a cool thing to see it at midnight, and that's exactly what we wound up doing.

We thought that getting by 10 pm to the movie theater would be a piece of cake. But things never quite work out as planned. Kenny got off work at 7 pm and had the worst traffic driving back home. He made it home by 8.30 pm. We had a quick dinner, got dressed and by 9.15 we hit the road again. Everything was going quite well until we hit the 5 / 170 Interchange. Suddenly we were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. We made it to the movie theater by 10.30 pm and got our tickets. By that time they had already let people into the theatre and it was packed. We tried to find 3 seat together... but we were out of luck. So we chose 3 seats in the 4th row from the front. While we were waiting for the movie to start, Troy called that he was stuck in traffic as well. at around 11.45 pm he was about to get onto the 110 and I thought that there is no way that he can make it to the theatre in time. But to my complete surprise he made it to the theatre with 15 minutes of preview to spare.

Here are my thoughts about the movie:

I went into the movie with literally no expectations at all. If I recall it right I had seen the trailer once.

• I loved all the action scenes, but some of them seem just to quick and too jerky. Not sure how different it would look from a little further away.
• I loved the interaction between Ron and Hermione.
• Ginny's kiss with Harry while George walking in was absolutely priceless.
• Kreacher and Dobby's effects were absolutely amazing.
• The opening of the Locket SFX was awesome and Ron's reaction...absolutely perfect!
• The snatcher action scene was great. A little too jerky for my taste, but I know that they were trying to go for a frantic look.
• The torture scene at Malfoy Manor was absolutely chilling.
• Dobby's death really didn't effect me emotionally.
• Voldermort breaking into Dumbledore's grave perfectly done and a great way to end the movie.
• My only complaint would be speed the story moves along. Is a little too slow for my taste.

Doctors Visit

Today I had an doctors appointment. To be honest I didn't expect much good news anyways. As I was pretty sure that I was having slight issues with my blood sugar levels.

But there are still some good news:

My viral load is undetectable and my T-cell count is with 1380 very good.

So now to the bad news:

• LDL is too high
• HDL is too low
• Triglycerides are too high
• My blood pressure is too high (140/93)
• My blood sugar level is 114
• Folliculitis

That my LDL is too high is not particularly new. It has been that way for quite some time now. I was hoping that eating healthier and loosing 9 lbs would have helped. Guess not so much luck with that.

I hoped that the HDL levels would go up by eating healthier. Guess not so much luck with that one either. I'm taking already meds for my high triglycerides on my high LDL. So far that hasn't been working to good. Part of the problem can be Atripla, as that prevents parts of the Lipitor form being absorbed. So now my doctor doubled dosage. From now on I will be taking 40 mg of Lipitor.

My blood pressure has always been a little on the high side, but usually it was around 130/85. Now with it being at 140/93 that is definitely something to keep an eye on.

I've pretty much know for a couple of weeks that my blood sugar has to be elevated. Intense fruity smell are the tell tale signs of borderline diabetes... and I really don't like that idea at all. Being not even 40 yet and already starting to have issues with diabetes, is way too early for my taste. In 1 month I have to go back to my doctors to have my blood sugar levels checked again, at which point we will have to decide on how to precede further.

On top of that I have something called Folliculitis. In essence it's an inflammation of one ore more hair follicles. I have it on my neck and it makes me somewhat look like a '40 year old teenager'. My doctor prescribed a medicated soap... and that will hopefully take care of the problem. If not it will need to be treated with anitbiotics.

All in all the news were pretty much all bad!!

Neighborhood Meeting - Round 3

Today we had another Neighborhood Meeting at one of our neighbors down hill. On the agenda was pretty much how many people were willing to go forward with the lawsuit.

Turns out that only 5 of the 20 people living along Yucca Hills Road were willing to contribute funds to the lawsuit.

The guy who is doing the attorney work pro bono wants to have at least 10 or 12 people on board to go forward with the lawsuit. For him it doesn't really matter if they all will contribute funds, as long as they are on board and willing to sign a declaration that they have been having issues with the 1 guy on Caprock Road. So we decided that we will try to get a few more people to sign the declarations in the next few week before making any decisions on how to precede further!!

A absolutely Black Day

The Midterm elections were an absolutely back day. This is the only conclusion you can come to. Before going into the details of that election disaster, I'll be taking a look at CA Propositions first.

• Prop 19 would have made sense from a fiscal and from a law enforcement point of view. That's why it didn't pass. Fact is the CA Electorate is not going to pass anything that actually makes sense.
• Prop 20 on the other hand was the dumbest possible idea, that's exactly the reason why it passed. Welcome back segregation, welcome back!! On the other hand Proposition 20 is perfect if you in fact plan to slowly set up a fascist dictatorship!!
• Prop 21 failed, because it would have made sense and been a good idea... apparently you can't have that in California!!
• Prop 22 passed... of course, because it's a stupid idea. I hope the CA Electorate is pleased that they gave away local control and opened the door to the exploitation of senior citizens. Great job, you moronic idiots!!
• Prop 23 failed not because of the issues involved, but because Texas Oil Companies have terrible reputation. That's one of the few bright spots.
• Prop 24 didn't pass, because it would have made sense and would have held the big corporations accountable and pay their fair share. Well in CA you certainly can't have anything that makes sense!!
• Prop 25 is the actually surprising thing. It makes sense and it did pass. Nobody could be more surprised about that. As that outcome should stop the budget gridlock in Sacramento.
• Of course Prop 26 passed... since that thing is at least as damaging as Prop 23 and at least as evil. Voting NO on Prop 26 would have been the logical thing to do... and we certainly can't have any of that!!
• Prop 27 failed. Well voting YES on 27 would have been the right thing. It would have ensured fair representation in DC... Apparently the CA Voter prefers unfair representation, the reestablishment of Segregation and the slowly introduction of a de-facto fascist dictatorship. Way to go, morons!!

Well the Midterm elections were an absolutely disaster. There is no way in getting around that. The real issue is not really that the Republicans won the majority of the House and the Democrats held onto a very slight majority in the Senate. That's not really of much importance. The way more important thing is that this country has made a complete turn to the right... I would even say to the far right!!

The way more disturbing thing is the huge success of the TeaParty. I know what those people are about... and I have seen a movement like that before: Hitler and the Nazis!!

Let me refresh your historical memory... When Hitler rose the first time to power he had only won about 30% of the votes... and the political establishment were certain they could control him. We all know how that turned out in the end.

The year 1930 and the year 2010 have absolute similarities. In 1930 the Nazis started their rise to power. The same as happening with the TeaParty in 2010. If history repeats itself in less than 3 years the TeaParty will control 30% of House and Senate and the GOP will be the big enabler of the TeaParty. The GOP might believe, that they can control/influence the TeaParty, but in the end they're just kidding themselves. Within less than 10 years this country will be a fascist dictatorship. It's quite troubling, but still not that what makes this election absolute disaster.

Yes, it is bad that the Democrats lost the majority in the house. From my point of view that's a rather minor issue. The way bigger issue is that 2/3 of this country made a sharp turn to the right and in large parts to the extreme right. That is bad, but still not a terrible issue. What is way more troubling than all that are the implications that come with that:

Any Democrat, regardless if he's running for the House, Senate or for President will have to appeal to the right wing voter. Any Democrat who would be doing so will offend the center-left and left Democrats. That fact makes a real change in political power in the near future very unlikely. Besides that one has to consider that GOP and TeaParty alike ran a very successful campaign using mostly hate and fair based arguments. In 2012 they can run pretty much a carbon copy of the 2010 campaign... as they have still someone to blame for no progress at all: the current administration. I don't pretend that I could predict the future... but the outlook for the next 10 years is very, very black!!

As bad as that all is, there are certain 'big' issues that are way more important to me. Let's take a quick look at them:

• The Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA)... forget it for the next 20 years!!
• DADT Repeal... forget it for the next 20 years!!
• Repeal of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act)... you can forget that for the next 20 years!!
• Immigration Reform... you can completely forget about that as well!!
• In the next 20 years the LBGT community won't be seeing any progress, but lots of regress of current LBGT rights instead!!

I'm not about to make any decision now. I want to see what the 9th Circuit is going to do with the CA Prop 8 Appeal and what's going to happen with the Massachusetts lawsuit against DOMA. I want to see what the 9th Circuit does with those 2 lawsuits. It's not like I believe that this will really make any difference. It will prove to me if the 9th Circuit makes decision based on law or if they rather keep themselves a door open for the coming change. Even if the 9th Circuit and the Supreme Court were to take the position of the Plaintiffs... it's not going to make any difference. A conservative/ultra conservative legislature is not going to make any equality decisions at all.

All of that is interesting and frightening at the same time, but still doesn't address the 'core-question': Living with the knowledge, that in 20 years from now some equality improvement possibly might come... is that really good enough to base a life on it???

Happy Halloween

Today Kenny and I went to our friends Tom and Ervin's Halloween Party. Tom has this every year where we watch cheesy horror movies and enjoy the company of friends.

I opted not to dress up. We got to Tom and it was great seeing some friends we haven't seen in a while. We snacked and visited until the movie came out. It was a Hammer films with Christopher Lee called "Dracula A.D. 1972" and of course way horrible. Best part about going to this part are the comments everyone makes during the show... after the show Martin started a Time Warp dance and got several people to join him. It was a lot of fun. They started a second movie but Kenny and I called in the night as we had a long drive home. It was a great nights of food, friends and cheesy movies.

NO on Prop 23

NO on Prop 26

Increased Property Tax

We got our property tax bill yesterday and realized they were due at the end of the month... not sure what we were suppose to do, as our property taxes are part of our mortgage that we pay every month. So Kenny called Bank of America to ask. Good thing is they were aware of them and planned on paying for them by Nov. 1st. Bad thing was when she told Kenny the amount $1139.25 twice a year, which was last years amounts it wasn't the same amount on this new statement. It is now $1895.94 twice a year. ..that's about $1500 more a year in property taxes. And because of the increase our monthly mortgage is going to have to go up to cover the taxes. Now we have to wait for BofA to get back to us and let us know how much it's going to go up... We're expecting at least $125 extra a month, which is going to hurt us. I plan on calling the Assessor's to find out why the taxes went up to much from last year but in the end there really isn't anything we can do... I mean we have to pay property taxes, whatever amount they are...

YES on Prop 25

YES on Prop 27

YES on Prop 24

NO on Prop 22

YES on Prop 21

NO on Prop 20

YES on Prop 19

Does It get Better ???

Today I watched a video made by Google LBGT employees, titled 'It gets better'. That brought up the question, if it really gets better. Click here if you want to check out the video!! There's a very short answer to that question:

NO !!

It absolutely doesn't get better at all!! As long as the underlaying problem doesn't change... it won't get any better. People who actually believe that it gets better, just because you get older, are just kidding themselves!! The only thing that actually changes is, that you learn how to better deal with the crap, that society throws at you. With the time you get better ignoring the crap and not letting it drag you down. But that certainly doesn't mean that its going to get any easier.

All the speeches that have been given that 'it does get better' are all politically motivated. Fact is, it doesn't get better. Fact is, the progress in LGBT equality in the United States within the last 40 years is basically nonexistent !! All other pro-western democracies are making progress in the LGBT equality area. I'm not talking about progressive western countries... I'm talking about countries that used to be way more conservative than the United States. Even those countries are moving forward!! So, what the fuck is wrong with the United States ???

• Problem #1 is, that the United States are not a democracy... they're in fact a dictatorship.
• Problem #2 is, that Democrats and GOP are equally bad.
• When it comes to LBGT equality issues, there is literally no difference between GOP and Democrats.
• Neither party wants progress... they only need the LBGT vote to win elections.
• Both parties make phony promises... and they have no intention to ever live up to those promises.
• Why they LBGT keeps going back to those parties over and over again is incomprehensible.

For the LBGT Youth I have only 1 piece of advise: Get out of the country as long as you can, it's only going to get way worse, than it currently is!!!

If we were to meet in 200 years from now and look at the LBGT issues in the United States... we will be seeing exactly the same thing than we do today. Nothing will have changed, no progress will have been made!!!

Black Out

Well we have been having some rain for the past 2 days. Yesterday evening we finally got heavier rain fronts moving through the Antelope Valley. For most part it was pretty uneventful. Well that changed at 2.05 am. I was about 10 minutes into watching DS9 episode 'Destiny' when a fairly heavy rain front moved in and the rain was coming down fairly heavy. I grabbed my Blackberry and started tweeting about it. I had about 1/2 of my tweet finished when the power went out. Well that certainly didn't deter me from finishing the tweet. I just had to type the last hash tag, when Daisy came walked up to me, as she really doesn't like the high pitched beep of the smoke alarm. So I got up... without power the electrical recliner doesn't go down by itself, so I climbed out of the recliner without knocking over the side table with the soda on it and moved towards the kitchen. I bumped first into the fan and then into the coffee table. When I got to the kitchen Kenny came out of the master bedroom using his cellphone as a light. I went into the laundry room and grabbed the flashlight.

I remembered that in on of the drawers should still be a lighter... a leftover from the days when I used to smoke. I found that lighter fairly quick and light one of the candles in the living room. Kenny went back to bed and I was tweeting about the blackout. This blackout was different than the once we had before. Usually we only loose the power on the hill, that we're living on. This time Sierra Colony and all properties along Sierra Highway were without power as well. I tweeted that sitting in the living room by candlelight might be romantic, but is really boring.

Right after that it hit me that I had a fully charged iPod... so I went over to the entrance, grabbed my iPod, laid down on the couch in the living room and was listening to music.

About 1/2 hour into the blackout I saw lightening strikes going down over Sierra Pelona. I watched it from our back porch, and since the ground had already gotten a good soaking I didn't have to worry about the lightening strikes causing wildfires. By 3.10 am the smoke alarm started beeping, what was driving Daisy crazy and the power came back on.

I killed the candle and went to reset all the clocks in the kitchen, when we lost power the second time. Once again I was standing in the dark... luckily I left the flashlight on the kitchen counter. I grabbed the flashlight and reignited the candle again. The second blackout only lasted for about 5 or 6 minutes. After that we kept power.

Living pretty much out in the boonies blackouts aren't that uncommon, especially not during late fall and winter. It always amazes me how an minor event, like looses power, is turning out to be quite an inconvenience and how much we in fact take electricity for granted.

There is a lesson to be learned here: If rain is expected to move in make sure that your cellphone and your iPod are fully charged. The cellphone is your only remaining connection to 'civilization' and the iPad is the one thing that keeps you entertained during a blackout!!

National Coming Out Day

National Coming Out Day (NCOD) is an internationally observed civil awareness day for coming out and discussion about gay, lesbian, bisexual, asexual and transgender (LGBT) issues. It is observed by members of the LGBT communities and their supporters (often referred to as "allies") on October 11 every year, or October 12 in the United Kingdom.

With 11 teen suicides in the past few months due to gay bullying and sexuality confusion, with all the hate that is being spewed by this new Tea Party group (financed and back by Mormons and Texas Oil) and all this anti-gay marriage crap it's more important then ever to come together as a community and show our support for all those still in the closet to afraid to open that door.

Compared to what a lot of people go through, my coming out was fairly painless. I knew at least from the age of 12 on that I was gay... but it took me 3 years more to fully come out.

I am a GAY Man and I'm PROUD of it!!

Final Well Repair Bill

Well today we got something in the mail that I wasn't looking particularly forward to... the Final Well Repair Bill. The bill I was expecting was somewhere in the neighborhood of $ 4500 and more. So I was pleasantly surprised when we opened the bill and it was 'only' $ 2584.

It's still a lot of money, but far lass than I was expecting it to be and so much less than it could have been. Now we have a new pump and a new motor and for the next 10 to 15 years the well should be running without any problems. 'Fun stuff' like this is just part of being a homeowner in a rural area.

Fixing the Well

Those of you guys who read my Blog regularly probably know that Roadrunner (a Well Serica Company) was supposed to pull the pump last Friday. Well that never happened and they didn't call when they were coming instead.

To make a long story short... after 2 additional calls to them they finally showed up today around noon. So they start pulling out one well pipe after the next one and after a little over 500 ft they finally got to the pump. Now we know that our well is about 520 or 530 ft deep... and that's actually less deep than I would have thought. If I had to guess, I would have estimated to well to be somewhere between 600 and 700 ft deep.

After some examination turns out that the motor is bad. They put in a 2 horse power pump and apparently there's less water draining to the pump than the pump is actually able to handle... and that is what in the end burnt out the motor. So we replaced the pump with a 5 gallon/minute 1 1/2 horse power pump. The well pipes are still fine and should be good for at least another 15 years or so. After that the put everything back in and a little after 3 pm they were done. We don't know the exact cost yet, but it's somewhere around $ 3,000. But that's part of owning a house.

After the well people had left we took a look at the pump and the flashing indicator light told us that the pump was running. So we walked up to the holding tank and we could hear the water gushing into the holding tank... and that was a noise that made me really happy!!

A weird Dream

Last night I had one of the most bizarre dreams in a very long time. Usually I can't recall my dreams anyway, but for some reason this one was stuck in my memory. (The actual parts of the dream are printed in bold letters, while the text that's printer in regular font is my commentary).

I get up 6.30 in morning an prepare tea. That by itself would be quite odd, since I don't get up at 6.30 in the morning and I certainly don't have tea... unless I've a really bad cold.

Shortly thereafter my handyman arrives. Turns out to be porn star Stevie Cruz... and he arrived in the Voyager Delta Flyer. You would think that someone arriving in the Delta Flyer would be a little out of the ordinary, but that seemed to be completely normal. Apparently hiring a porn star as handyman is nothing out of the ordinary. I'm sure he's good with tools, but those tools are not usually used in home remodel.

So we went to work and started with the remodel of bedroom #4. Funny thing is our house doesn't even have 4 bedrooms.

First my handyman and I tear all the cabinets out of the bedroom. Apparently there used to be a kitchen in the bedroom. But I leave the the stove in there. After that we start tiling the feature wall, but we still don't remove the stove... we just tiled over it. Neither of that did strike my handyman as being out of the ordinary.

Next we cut a hole in the floor and put in a staircase... and suddenly you have the option to swim out to the hot tub. At the time it seemed to be the most logical thing to do.

After that we put in a wet bar, where the kitchen used to be... but now the stove (that we tiled over) has now become a wine fridge with a kegerator on top of it. Apparently noting that needs to be questioned either.

Next up was to put the bed in. Once everything was complete I ended up with a crossover between between bedroom, dungeon, wet-bar and screening room. I was mighty proud of the accomplishment.

After that we said good bye and my handyman left in the Delta Flyer.

Once I woke up it occurred to me that there was one part of that dream that was particularly bizarre: You hire a porn star as handyman and you don't get to make out with him. That has to be the definition of absolutely bizarre!!

Desert Thunderstorm

Thunderstorm

Tonight we had thunderstorm with everything a good thunderstorm needs: lightening, thunder and a little rain. Well, Daisy didn't like that idea at all. She hates lightening, but the thunder really freaks her out.

After we had finished watching episode 3 & 4 of True Blood, Kenny went to drop off the Netflix DVD at the mailbox. He had just started to drive off the property when I heard Daisy bark through the screen door. That just struck my as particular odd, as she never does that. So I went to investigate what was going on. Suddenly a black Lab starts walking up to the house. At first Daisy had her Mohawk going on... that wasn't too surprising, but finally they two dogs smelled each other through the screen door and Daisy was fine. Both dogs were hanging out there until Kenny got back from the mailbox. During the thunderstorm one of our neighbors dog had gotten out and was still pretty freaked out and panting heavily. Luckily the black lab had a name and phone number attached to his collar. So Kenny called and we mad arrangements for our neighbor to pick her dog up.

Apparently Daisy is getting better with getting along with other dogs.

Update 2: Well Issues

Today we got finally word from Roadrunner (the Well Maintenance Company). Considering our approximate well depth it should be about $ 900 to pull the entire assembly out. That's something we pretty much knew already.

In case the pump is the culprit and needs to be replaced the cost would be somewhere around
$ 5,000+. Can't say that I'm happy about that... but there is no way around that. On Friday Roadrunner will be coming out and start pulling out the well assembly. The should take them somewhere around 6 hours. Once that is done we will have a better idea what the culprit is and what it will cost us to fix the problem.

I will keep you updated on that!!

Update: Well Issues

After having it made through the night without any water... the first thing Kenny did was to call at Lunde's (a local water company), to have 4000 gallons of drinking water delivered to hold us over. By 9.30 am the water truck used our fire hydrant to pump 4000 gallons into the holding tank. That really went surprisingly quick and cost us $ 80 and should be good for about 3 to 4 weeks.

Kenny had also called Roadrunner (well maintenance company) as well. In the early afternoon the well guy showed up. He told us that our well pump is only pulling with about 50% capacity... and that explains why the holding tank was empty. There can be several reasons for that:

• The motor of the pump can be damaged.
• The pump itself can have a blockage.
• There could be a damage to one of the electricity wires.
• There could be a blockage in the well pipe (somewhere between well pump and pressure tank).
• The water levels could have dropped, so that the pump no longer reaches the water table.

Without pulling out the entire well pipe and examining pump wires, pump and well pipes... there is no way to tell. The cost of that could be as much as $ 800, depending on how deep the well is. After that we will hear what the verdict is and how much it will cost to get the well working again.

I will keep you guys posted on the progress!!

Well Issues

Last night before heading to bed Kenny wanted to get for himself a glass of water... well, and there was no water at all! Once Kenny told me and I simply couldn't believe it. So I went to the faucet to see for myself... and it was completely dry. So we grabbed the flashlight and headed out to investigate further.

I know that I heard the pump starting around 6 pm or so... and once we got to the pump shed the pump was still running. I know that the 5000 gallon holding tank was completely full, when I checked it a couple of month ago. So we headed up in the dark to the holding tank... and the tank was bone dry. So we went to the pump shed and the motor is still running. By that time the pump had been running for about 4 hours non-stop and the holding tank load is still 0.

I know there can be several reason for that:

• The pump can be broken.
• The pipe leading to the well can have a blockage
• The well can be dry

As long as it's only the pump, the repair costs shouldn't be that bad. If we need to have the well re-drilled... well that can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Tomorrow we will call one of the local water companies to have the holding tank refilled. That's a temporary solution until we can figure out what's wrong with the well and how we can fix the problem.

I will keep you guys posted on that!!

Neighborhood Meeting - Round 2

Today we had another neighborhood meeting to further decide how to precede with the 'nutjob' on Caprock, who's been giving everyone problems. So we met at one of our neighbors house and discussed the issue. Another neighbor had pressured his title insurance company to produce a map or any other official document, that clarifies the whole easement issue. We now have a document that has been officiated by the county. This document spells out an easement along what is now Yucca Hills Road long before that patch of land even had been developed and subdivided into parcels of land. What pretty much means that the easement predates any current landowners claim. Sounds great in theory, but in reality that doesn't mean much... especially knowing that 'nutjob'. In order to be able to solve the entire issue we need what is called prescriptive easement. For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about here the definition of a prescriptive easement.

A prescriptive easement arises if someone uses part of your property without your permission. A prescriptive easement involves only the loss of use of part of a property, for example a pathway or driveway. Payment of property taxes is not required, as it is to obtain title by adverse possession. Adverse possession of a prescriptive easement involves the loss of an entire property by open, notorious, hostile adverse and continuous use.
The legal test to acquire a prescriptive easement of another owner is that the use must be (a) open, not secret, (b) notorious, clearly observable, (c) hostile, without the landowner's consent and (c) continuous, without interruption for the number of years required by state law. For example, the minimum hostile use varies from 5 years in California to 30 years in Texas.
The most common prescriptive easement arises when a fence is erected several feet on the wrong side of a boundary line. If the hostile user meets all the requirements, after the required number of years, a permanent prescriptive easement results for the strip of land. Prescriptive easements can be shared, that is, the hostile use need not be exclusive. Use can be shared with the legal owner and/or other hostile prescriptive claimants.
To perfect a legal prescriptive easement, the hostile user must bring a quiet title lawsuit against the property owner and prove all the open, notorious, hostile and continuous use requirements.
If, after purchasing your property, you suspect that a neighbor is using land with belongs to you, that person or neighbor being a "hostile user", you can choose to grant permission to your neighbor thus preventing a permanent prescriptive easement from arising. Permission should be documented such as by a letter to the hostile user.

Once the court has awarded a prescriptive easement, it becomes part of your title. That would solve the problem with that 'nutjob' once and for all, since he would no longer have any rightful claim to the disputed stretch of land.
For now we've decided to send out an agreement to all the neighbors on Yucca Hills Road to see, how many people want to join the lawsuit. If I counted right there are at least 7 property owners in agreement, that a lawsuit should be filed. Considering the time it takes to get all the necessary paperwork together, considering the fact that one of our neighbors does it pro bono and considering the fact that every property owner on Caprock and Yucca Hills Road has to be officially served with the lawsuit... we're looking at early December when the lawsuit can be filed with the court! And the litigation process takes somewhere between 14 month and 2 years.

I will keep you guys posted on the progress!

Kenny's 40th Birthday

Today was Kenny's 40th Birthday Bash. Kenny got up at 7 am to get a head start on cleaning and getting things ready for the BBQ Party. I got up at 10.30 am and helped him with the top of the tent. I held the tent while Kenny nailed it to the deck and taped the joints. We did a really good job as the tent stayed the entire time where it was supposed to stay. The tent came in very handy once the temperature got above 100.

After the tent Kenny and I continued cleaning up the house. Around Noon Kenny left to pick up some last minute supplies. I just got out of the shower when the first guest started to arrive. So I spent about 40 minutes hanging out with Kenny's uncle Robert. Around 12.45 Kenny got back from the store and more and more people started to arrive.

Kenny's brother was working at the BBQ, but Kenny still didn't really have time to chill out and relax. Suddenly someone mentions birthday cake and it hit Kenny and I that we both completely forgot about the birthday cake. Kenny started to call people and I mentioned to him to call our realtor/friend Mary. She was gracious enough to pick one up... and pretty much saved the day!! Thank you so much Marry!!!

Around 3 pm it just got to hot outside... it was about 108 F... and so we went inside, turned on the AC, sung happy birthday and Kenny opened his birthday gifts. Around 5ish people started to leave. By that time Kenny actually got really time to hang out with people and chat with them. Soon there where only a handful of people left and we went back out on the deck, since it was cooler now. So Kenny and I got to spend one on one time with Troy, Luis and Will. Around 7.30 Luis left and by 8 pm Troy had left as well.

All in all the party was great, about 40 people showed up... and everyone seemed to have fun. Surprisingly Daisy was in a particularly good mood and she didn't mind the big crowd at all. She even let 4 or 5 people, she had never met before, come up and pet her... and that's huge for her!!

Diet Management

I've known for quite some time, that my diet regimen is pretty bad. And that I'm overweight is not really a surprise either. Turns out that my current BMI is 27,9... and that's pretty much a disaster. That was the main reason for me to change something. But there was another reason: When I stepped the last time on the scale I weighed 208 lbs and that almost gave me a heart attack!! I'm still not going to start working out, mainly for 2 reasons: First of all with the onset of rheumatoid arthritis working out is anything but fun and rather counterproductive. The second reason was that I've seen the results Kenny has been having with his workout regimen. It just doesn't seem to deliver the results that you would expect.

So the only way to get some results is the diet. So I sat down an looked the my diet during a average week. Turns out that I eat roughly about 2 to 2.5 servings per meal. That certainly explains my being overweight. There was one result that surprised me a little. Turns out that I eat on average 12 times per week meat... and that isn't really helpful with rheumatoid arthritis.

I know that I should cut down my meat consumption to to about 3 or 4 times a week. But having gotten used to eating that much meat, that's way more difficult that I imagined it to be. For now I've chosen a compromise. I've cut down the meal sizes to about 1.5 servings. I know that is still too much, but for now it has to do. Then I've cut out all meat of all lunches and have them replaced mostly with salads, veggies and veggie soups. And of course I watch a little the amount of carbohydrates that I eat per meal. So far that has been working pretty good. A positive effect was that I have lost 2.5 lbs in the first 4 days. I was quite pleased about that.

Once I've gotten used to my 7 meat servings per week, I will try to slowly cut my meat consumption down to about 3 or 4 times per week.

With the beginning of fall and with cooler temperatures I intend to take Daisy hiking on a more regular basis. Apparently moderate hikes are something to work best for the onset of rheumatoid arthritis and it will be very good for our dog as well.

I will keep you guys posted on the progress!!

Lesbians Glow in the Dark

Equally hilarious & definitely a MUST Watch !!!

LESBIANS GLOW IN THE DARK from visual concepts on Vimeo.

Gays are Magnetic

That's really hilarious!! Definitely a MUST Watch!!!

GAYS ARE MAGNETIC from visual concepts on Vimeo.

True Blood

Everyone has been talking about True Blood and Kenny rented it and today we finally sat down to watch episode #1. I still wasn't completely sold on the entire idea, but agreed to watch the first episode. After that I would decide if I was going to continue to watch it or not.

We watched it and then a few moments later we watched the second episode and would have continued to watch if there were more then 2 episodes on that disc.

Needless to say I LOVED IT.

Though it's been out for a while I didn't really know much about it.. I mean I knew it was about vampires and that the main characterSookie was telepathic. But that was about it. I didn't know the Vampires "Came out of the Caskets" and were fighting for civil rights. Which was AWESOME because it pretty much mirrors gay people and how they are fighting for their rights, minus the undead, killing people part. :) Lot's of blood, which I expected and didn't mind. Lot's of sex which I don't mind or course.. but I guess I'm not use to it in TV shows, though I did watch Sex and the City a bit. But the one thing that really surprised me about the first few episodes was the humor.. both Harry and I laughed out loud, though out both episodes. There was some great dialogue.. and I liked how you cared about the characters so quickly. The main characters were charming, funny and charismatic. I mean we've only seen two episode but when Sookie was getting . attacked you just wanted Bill to come and rescue her and kill that couple. Which he does in the next episode but man I was hoping he would make them suffer a bit.
Anyways... I'm bummed that there are only two episodes per disc and that it will take at least 2 days to return the disk and get a new one.. I might have to go out and buy me theDVD's for my Birthday unless I can find a friend who has them already.

I can't wait to see more of this series.

Late Night Visitor

Last Night I had, what you could call a late night visitor. I had to be around 3 am and I could clearly hear someone taking pieces out of the dog bowl. I knew for a fact that I couldn't be the dog, since Daisy was asleep. So the only reasonable explanation was, that the field mouse is again on the prowl.

This particular mouse appeared for the first time a couple of days ago and I've seen her late at night twice on the kitchen floor. In both instances she looked at me, turned around and disappeared under the dishwasher. So far this mouse has managed to avoid the mouse traps.

So this night I went to investigate further. Turns out that the mouse steals the dog food out of the bowl, carries it underneath the old kitchen cart in the pantry and eats it there. So I grabbed the big flashlight and point it at the mouse. You would think that would get her attention, or she would have at least the common decency to stop eating. Not this mouse. This one has the gall to continue eating, while I put the flashlight on her. She just looks with the beady little eyes at me probably thinking "screw you, I'm safe underneath that kitchen cart'! So much for Daisy being a guard dog!!

The first thing I did is to move the doggie food bowl onto the counter, where the mouse can't reach it and tomorrow I'll be setting a mousetrap underneath the kitchen cart!!

Little Big Berlin

WOW!! Absolutely incredible!!

Neighborhood Meeting

Today Kenny and I went to a Neighborhood Meeting at one of our neighbors who happens to be a lawyer. On the agenda was the 'idiot' on Caprock Road, who apparently doesn't quite get the meaning of an 'easement'. If memory serves me right we had already one meeting about the very same issue at another neighbors house about 3 or 4 month ago. At that time we all agreed that we would be taking any further legal steps against the 'nut'. Over the past few month that guy has gone from being just annoying, over accusing, to verbally assaulting and threatening people. So some sort of action is definitely required.

One of our neighbors happens to have a sort of prescriptive easement on his property deed. He will have his paperwork by LacFD and Regional Planning checked, if this is in fact a prescriptive easement from the county road to his property. Regardless of the outcome... as far as I understand the definition of the Prescriptive Easement, this would only apply to him and all people officially residing on his property. So it wouldn't help anyone else.

The way I see it we will have to file a lawsuit against everyone on Caprock Road to have the court decide once and for all, that all property owners that have to use Yucca Hills Road have a prescriptive easement. Once that has been accomplished the prescriptive easement will become part of the deed and the issue will be over.

By the time the meeting ended about 2/3 of the people attending had given their statements about their personal experiences with that 'nut'. It was decided to meet again in 2 weeks to see what the outcome of the investigation of LacFD and Regional Planning is and what legal action - if any - will be taken next. I will keep you guys posted on that.

Happy Fairy Tale Day

Here we are again, facing the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 fairy tale. That tale is not only getting annoying but has gotten quite boring as well!

After 9 years it is time to grow up, move on and get the hell over it!! The constant yammering and whining over a minor skirmish, that's barely worth being mentioned at all, is absolutely ridiculous!! People it's time to get over it.

Let me be brutally blunt: The World has spent the past 9 years listening to the American government feeling sorry for themselves. We have had it!!

Once the Taliban have killed 250.000 US civilians, then you can start with the complaining again. Until this time comes it would be appropriate to shut the hell up!!

Phone Call with Family

Today I finally got around to calling my mom and wishing her a happy belated birthday!! She was really happy about that. We ended up having a phone conversation over Skype that lasted for about 1 hour and 15 min. We were talking about how the vacation went, they just came back from... and a ton of other stuff. It was great hearing, that both of my parents are still able to go hiking, although at a decreased difficulty and intensity level. Considering that they're both 72, that's small accomplishment. It was interesting hearing about the changes that are taking place in the mountains, where they spent their vacation at. The one thing that was kinda sad is, that the general loss in glacier mass is quite substantial. Guess I'll have to visit certain mountain groups earlier rather than later, or there won't be any glaciers left.

It was definitely great getting caught up on how the rest of my family and relatives are doing and getting a quick overview about the things that have been going on in hometown. All in all it was lots of fun.

I just wish I would have to opportunity to hang out with them on a regular basis!!

Mom's Birthday

Today is my Mom's 72 birthday!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

WII

So it begins... I guess that would be the best way to describe it. If I remember it right, yesterday we received our WII console in the mail. Today when I got up I found Kenny busy playing WII. We spent the better day of the afternoon playing WII Resort games. Okay we did take a break for lunch and dinner and we did watch 1 episode of Eureka.

Once the News were over I was back to playing a little more WII. The term 'little more' can be a little deceptive... as I played a couple of hours.

This is way I normally don't play video games... as they're way to addictive. I guess I will have to teach myself to limit my time playing video games, otherwise get anything done.

How on earth did we ever manage to live without a video game addiction ??

Core Identity

Recently I found myself confronted with the question "What's left once you've sacrificed your core identity?".

I'm not quite sure what exactly triggered it, but that would be beside the point. I found myself thinking about the "Venediger Gruppe". The result of that was nothing short of a shock treatment.

I used to go hiking there a lot. You might even call me someone who used to be someone of an expert regarding that mountain group! I used to be able to name every single mountain top. I used to be able to name every single glacier and sub-glacier. I used to be able to name every single trail by name. Of more than 90% of the trails I even knew the average hiking time. I used to be able to name all the mountain huts in that particular mountain group.

Now I barely can get the major mountain tops together. I didn't even try my luck with the glaciers, trail names and average hiking times. That by itself would have been absolutely terrible. But the worst thing was still to come. That happened when I only could name about 2/3's of the mountain huts. That was a pure shock treatment for me.

Most people most likely won't get the issue that's at hand here. For me that's way more than forgetting certain things. This is a symptom that I've started to compromise and sacrifice my core identity.

Fact is that I'm an mountaineer at the core. That's what I am. Fact is that thinking about that particular mountain group used to make me happy. For me it is a place where I feel truly at home and can experience true peace. Forgetting about major parts of that mountain group, tells me that my core identity has definitely been compromised... and I really don't like that idea at all!! In the past few years I have been making so many compromises and so many sacrifices that I don't even really know who I am anymore. A different kind of persona has emerged you might say. When I look at that I not only absolutely dislike it but it almost makes me wanna throw up!!!

That got me thinking about "what's left once you've sacrificed your core identity?".

The answer to that question is quite sobering. Well you do still exist after having sacrificed your core identity. But I would hardly call that a life. You do exist... but that's pretty much it. Without your core identity you are nothing more than a empty, superficial shell with no soul. If such a life is worth living, well that's something that everyone has to figure out for themselves. If I had to sacrifice my core identity in order to keep the status Q alive, well then I would rather take a gun and shoot myself!! That's a life absolutely not worth living, as far as I'm concerned!!

Fluid State

Once you turn 40 it's a good time for an in-depth examination of your life. It is a time where you have to look at things and examine if they're still appropriate. This is actually a very interesting time. On the one hand you might this time as exciting, while it can be frightening at the same time. I guess the term that would describe it best would be "fluid state". It's a time where everything is 'liquid', everything is in transition. The outcome of that evaluation can not yet be determined. It's a time were every possible outcome is conceivable. It is quite similar to your 20's. At the time you get your first job everything is possible every direction is conceivable. If you screw up or go in the wrong direction it's not really a big deal. You have more than enough time to change things or to go in a different direction. As long as you're between 20 and 40 it really isn't that big of a deal, as you have almost all the time in the world to change things. Once you get 40 things are a little different.

Once you turn 40 you have to decide what you want to do with the second third of your adult life. In order to do that several questions need to be answered:

• What do I want to do with the next 20 years?
• In which direction do I want to go?
• What do I hope to accomplish in the next 20 years?
• Do certain things have the same importance than they used to have?
• Are there things in my life that add little or no value to its quality?
• Are there things that should be removed to increase life quality?
• Are all things in my life open to re-evaluation?
• What is more important Quantity or Quality?

After all the above question have undergone an in-depth re-evaluation and have been answered, only then a final decision can be made.

I admit it's definitely an interesting time. It can be exciting and frightening at the same time. Everything is possible, but nothing is certain. Everything is fluid, moving and in transition.

Happy Birthday

Today is Kenny's Dad's Birthday!!

Happy Birthday, Dad!!

Family Visit

Today Kenny, Daisy and I went to visit Kenny's mom. it had been quite a while and she was having a small BBQ. Kenny's brother, sister-in-law and Kenny's nephew were visiting as well. Since we brought Daisy along we wound up staying a little longer as we usually do. Daisy is usually fine staying by herself for up to 10 hours. But since it takes us about 2 hours to drive there and 2 hours to drive back... that leaves only a fairly short time to actually visit.

It's always nice visiting them and Kenny and I don't get to see them that often. It was really fun to see Kenobi experiencing the sand and the ocean for the very first time.

All in all it was quite a fun day!

Prop. 8 Repeal

Today the CA Prop 8 (the ban on gay marriage) has been repealed. It is a step in the right direction... nothing more and nothing less!! I do understand that people are excited about that, but I still don't think that it was that big of a victory. Fact is that only the previously existing law will be restored. Sorry people, but that's not what I call a big victory!! And of course the backers of Prop 8 got once more a gift, the repeal will not take effect till Friday.

All that is quite nice, but it diverts attention from the real issue. Fact is that Prop 8 should have never ever become law in the first place. Fact is that all Christian Churches are guilty of a blatant violation of the separation between state and church. That suddenly doesn't seem to matter anymore, nor is it being addressed in any way. It is my considered opinion that the right to vote should only be granted, if a person has a certain IQ and passes a test of general political knowledge! If that would have been done, California would have never ever ended up in that mess. The legislature is equally to blame for signing something as stupid as Prop. 8 into law. They did know but, but still had to crawl in the ass of a certain, completely idiotic voter group, just to ensure their re-election. So the situation hasn't really changed, this country still hasn't made it into the 19th century!!

Everyone who thinks, that with the repeal of Prop. 8 they've made a huge step towards marriage equality, let me tell you this... You're just kidding yourself!!!

Considering the time it will take for Prop. 8 to go through Appeals and Supreme Court... considering how long it will take for the federal marriage law and all directly connected laws to be changed... It would take at least another 15 to 20 years to accomplish marriage equality. And that is actually a positive spin and doesn't take into consideration that nobody would attempt to kill that bill.

Considering the direction this country is heading, there won't be any marriage equality... at least not in our lifetime!! That's a fairly realistic view, without being too pessimistic!!!

Midlife Crisis - an Interesting Read

Question: What is a Midlife Crisis?

Someone once said to me, "If it weren’t so cliché, I'd think I was having a midlife crisis." Nothing is cliche or trite about a midlife crisis. If you talk to middle-aged men and women who have experienced divorce, you will find that many of them will tell you their spouse changed overnight and became someone who discarded all that was once important to him for a new life that was all about what he wanted.

Answer: A midlife crisis is experienced between the ages of 40 and 60. It was first identified by the psychologist Carl Jung and is a normal part of the maturing process. Most people will experience some form of emotional transition during that time of life. A transition that might cause you to take stock in where you are in life and make some needed adjustments to the way you live your life. Most seem to come through the process smoothly without making major life changes.

For some, a midlife crisis is more complicated. It can be an uncomfortable time emotionally which can lead to depression and the need for psychotherapy. Those who have a hard time with this transitional stage might experience a range of feelings such as:

• Unhappiness with life and the lifestyle that may have provided them with happiness for many years.
• Boredom with people and things that may have been of interest to them before.
• Feeling a need for adventure and change.
• Questioning the choices, they have made in their lives and the validity of decisions they made years before.
• Confusion about who they are and where they are going.
• Anger at their spouse and blame for feeling tied down.
• Unable to make decisions about where they want to go with their life.
• Doubt that they ever loved their spouse and resentment over the marriage.
• A desire for a new and passionate, intimate relationship.

Most people who have a difficult time during midlife and go into crisis mode do so because of external factors. They may be experiencing stress in their life that makes the transition more difficult or they may have childhood issue that were never dealt with that come to the surface during this time. Some external factors that may cause this time in life to be problematic are:

• Debt:

It is easier to accumulate debt due to the availability of cards and loans. We are bombarded by credit card companies and it is easy to find yourself with large balances owed. We live in a society where it is commonplace to be living above our means. Finding yourself middle aged, in debt and facing retirement can add stress to an already stressful time in life. A normal reaction would be to seek help from a debt management company or consolidate your loans. A person who is finding it difficult emotionally during midlife might find it easier to walk away from their family in order to rid himself of what he feels is the cause of all the debt.

• Significant Loss:

The death of a parent or family member can cause grief, which is difficult enough to come to terms with, without having to also cope with the feelings of a midlife transition. Put the loss of a loved one with the feelings that accompany midlife and the whole process becomes bewildering and overwhelming.

• Avoidant Personality:

If a person has a tendency to avoid conflict in their personal relationships, suffers from feelings of inadequacy, are emotionally distant and has low self – esteem they will find midlife transition harder to navigate. This personality type has a deep fear of feeling shame and rejection. Such feelings will keep them from seeking help should their emotions become overwhelming. More than likely, they will run from their problems instead of trying to find solutions to them. It’s this personality type that normal ends up in divorce court during midlife.

Whether there are external factors that make the process more difficult or not, there is an internal process that is gone through. If a person lacks understanding of the process, he may find himself making irrational decisions he may later regret such as leaving a job, divorcing his spouse and throwing away the security that he built during the first part of his life.

Errands and a Movie

For this morning I had a service appointment for my truck scheduled, as my RAM was due for an oil change and the for the 18.000 mile service. We left around 9 am and I got to the Dodge Dealer at 10 am and it would be several hours before they would be done with the truck. So Kenny and I decided to have breakfast at a Denny's nearby.

After breakfast Kenny and I decide to see a movie at the Winnetka 21 theatre, while we were waiting for the truck. We decided to see the Sorcerer's Apprentice. I really don't know why it was doing not so well at the box office. I really liked the movie. It had a great story and for most part the story was being told a fairly quick pace. The SFX were absolutely great and I loved the action sequences as well. It even had a love story built in. So it pretty much had what every good summer movie needs. Although I'm not a big Nicholas Cage fan, I think he was really doing a great job in that movie.

If you guys don't have a clue what I'm talking about, here's a short synopsis:

Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) is a master sorcerer in modern-day Manhattan trying to defend the city from his arch-nemesis, Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina). Balthazar can't do it alone, so he recruits Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel), a seemingly average guy who demonstrates hidden potential, as his reluctant protégé. The sorcerer gives his unwilling accomplice a crash course in the art and science of magic, and together, these unlikely partners work to stop the forces of darkness. It'll take all the courage Dave can muster to survive his training, save the city and get the girl as he becomes The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

After the movie we checked with the Dodge Dealer, but my truck wasn't ready yet. So we headed to the Northridge Mall. While there we just had to go to the Apple Store and both, Kenny and I, got to play around with an iPad. I'm really sure that there will be an iPad in the near future for me! After strolling trough the mall we finally decided to have lunch in the Northridge Mall at a place called Adelina's Mediterranean Grill. Although it's fast food it was very delicious! While we had lunch Kenny read a facebook message from one of our friends congratulating us to our 2nd wedding anniversary. Otherwise my better half would have completely forgotten about it. Is it weird that I don't feel upset or sad about that ?? Not quite sure about that.

After lunch we headed over to the Dodge Dealer and waited for the car to get ready. Around 5 pm Kenny headed home since Daisy had been locked up inside for almost 9 hours. I opted to not have my car washed at the dealer, since I would have to wait for another 30 min. Since we live on a dirt road, having your car washed really defeats the purpose. So I got home by about 6.30 pm.

The Real Fascists

Wildfires

Today we had the 2 Wildfires burning quite close to us. The Briggs Fire was burning about 7 miles south of us and the Crown (Valley) Fire was burning about 2 miles north-east of us, what is almost in our backyard.

Clash of the Titans

Both Kenny and I wanted to see this movie when it came out this summer but because of vacations and schedules we weren't able to... so when it came out on DVD this week we knew we had to pick it up. Last night with our friend Thomas from Ireland we watched it and again I have to ask, as I did with The Last Airbender, why was there so much negative feedback for this movie. Now I know folks complained about the 3D as this was one of those films that was changed to 3D afterwards but if I did see this in the theater I wouldn't have seen it in 3D anyways.
I thought the SFX were cool, the story was the same as the original with a few tweaks and additional characters. The action scenes were fun and entertaining.I really enjoyed the 3 witch scene the make up was awesome, and the Medusa scene was well done. I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It was one of those fun entertaining roller coaster summer movies and I'm glad I got it on Blu-ray so I can watch it again and again in the future.

For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, here's a short synopsis:

The mortal son of the god Zeus embarks on a perilous journey to stop the underworld and its minions from spreading their evil to Earth as well as the heavens.