Foiled at every turn

I had a super-duper busy week full of just tons of great things. My plans for a mental health day this past Monday were foiled at 8:30am when I was told that some equipment of mine caught on fire over the weekend. So I trudged into work to inspect the charred remains.

I was OK with working Monday because I had a backup plan. A killer blizzard was supposed to hit Des Moines Tuesday. I told everyone to stay home and planned to skip the gym and sleep late. Plus Tuesday was the day that the Iowa Supreme Court heard the gay marriage case (I wanted to watch the simulcast of the court presentation in the late morning followed by trashy daytime TV all afternoon). Well, the killer blizzard was, in fact, warm rain. Dammit! Therefore I could not avoid my only meeting of the day at 8am. And once at work - there is no way to get out before 5:30pm. It just doesn't happen.

So I seriously put my foot down. I was committed to take the day off on Wednesday (I mean, how hard can it be to get a day off?). I'd enjoy the Day without a Gay. Well, it being "one of those weeks", half my lab was sick and we have very firm deadlines to meet before X-mas. So I had to work in lab all day to help out. It was actually fun (so I did it again on Thursday and Friday). Actually, I'm pretty cute in goggles and a lab coat. So for the past 3 days, I tortured the lab with super-fierce cha-cha remixes, bumbled experiments, and tried to figure out where to put the disco ball. By Friday afternoon - they were seriously questioning how I had made it through grad school and hoping that I would go back to doing whatever it is that I do in my office.

Some good stuff happened this week though:

1. Manuscript is headed out for review - only took 9 months to write. It is always like getting a weight off of your shoulders to get a manuscript out.

2. Went to a new restaurant called Proof in Downtown - great ambiance, wonderful downtown view from huge plate glass windows, and the food was pretty good. Last night was a trip to Italy! First course: Yummy seafood salad. Second course: Ravioli in a tres tasty sauce. Third course: Duck lasagne. Fourth course: Spiced gelato and a small cakish thing (the cake did not work). 40 bucks per person for the prix fixe. Carly (the owner) came over and visited for a bit - she and Bubba swapped Africa stories.

3. Went to film viewing on Monday sponsored by OneIowa. There was a mixer at the art house cinema's lobby. The short movie that was produced by OneIowa and concerned gay marriage. It was a collage of people talking about their views of why gay marriage should be legal. Overall, it was pretty good and local media was there.
There was a request for donations which was tactfully put at the end of the presentation.

4. Tuesday night was another mixer - this one was to thank Lambda Legal for their role in arguing the case before the Iowa Supreme Court. The mixer was held at the Pappajohn Center - a poured concrete architectural disaster. Lambda Legal folks chatted with the crowd and did some quick thanks to OneIowa and Iowa in general for all the support on the case. Local media was there and overall it was a nice event. and request for donations was tactfully at the end. Proof (See item 1) did the catering - I overheard several queens chattering about how good the food was. Carly, corner the gay market and you will do quite well!

5. HRC did cover the Iowa marriage case - in their blog.

Overall - I thought that OneIowa did a great job this week of highlighting the Iowa Gay Marriage case and creating some opportunities for people to be involved.


HRC went into full crisis mode this week over Pat Boone.

Pat's quote:

"...there is a real, unbroken line between the jihadist savagery in Mumbai and the hedonistic, irresponsible, blindly selfish goals and tactics of our homegrown sexual jihadists."
- Pat Boone, December 6, 2008

I actually think that Queer Nation (does it still exist?) should change their name to Sexual Jihad. It has a certain snap to it. So HRC sends out an e-mail with a very clever donations strategy:

Boone and his buddies continue to stir up fear, even if they have to lie. It's exactly how they passed the California marriage ban.
We need your help to stop the radical right from painting a movement about love and dignity as violent and radical. We need your support to stay strong, smart, and nimble, to combat these growing attacks with the simple truth: all we want is equality.
Make a donation to HRC on behalf of Pat Boone. Your gift helps HRC combat these lies – and sends the message that our call for equality cannot be silenced.
We'll even send Mr. Boone a note with your first name and gift amount to let him know you've donated in his name.

Ummm - are you actually serious? I'm not donating ANYTHING in Pat Boone's name. And who cares about Pat Boone anyways? Why not send out an e-mail about the Iowa Supreme Court Case instead??? Whatever.


Jimbo sent me a funny e-mail about the HRC/Pat Boone drama.

'sigh'

HRC: "OMG PAT BOONE IS SO MEAN!!! BUT YOU CAN HELP!

1. DONATE TO US!
2. SIGN UP ON OUR MEMBERSHIP LIST!
3. DONATE TO US!

OMG PAT BOONE IS SO MEAN!"