Daddy on the Edge of "Like"

Okay, this will have to be a quick post. Daddy has decreed that the bedrooms of Daddy's daughters have reached Defcon 2 in terms of their complete disorganization and just plain mess, and therefore must be thoroughly sorted and sterilized. This means, of course, that the act of "helping them", my sudden damsels in distress, will take up most of my day, but I wanted to say something before I go, and that is this;

The new facebook is not the Devil.

Here are a few possible candidates for the devil;

Any of these guys - you want to tell me they got triple 6's etched in their skulls, I'm with you. I don't trust any of 'em - especially the big, dopey one (and the purple dinosaur creeps me out, too.)

But there's one guy that's been getting a lot of heat lately, and I think we really need to state for the record that he, in fact, is not the Devil.

This is Mark Zuckerberg, the big brain behind Facebook. Facebook is that social networking site that, since it's inception, has been completely free to it's users. It is that internet hub that has reconnected countless multitudes of people, made daily personal contact with friends easier than ever, and allowed even a forgetful social misfit like Daddy to "remember" everyone's birthday. When a child went missing recently in our area, it was through Facebook that we put the word out and received updates and the news that he had been found. When natural disasters strike in other parts of the country, or the world, it is through Facebook that I communicate with my friends and loved ones, ensuring that they are okay. Two years ago, when Daddy hisself was lying in a hospital bed, warm wishes, thoughts and prayers came to me through my Facebook feed, and it did my heart a world of good.

Speaking of doing good, while it's easy to vilify this kid for (gasp!) trying to make his product better, let's take a quick look at what else he's done lately.

That was last year. Here's a little something that he's done recently;



Yeah, okay but....he's messing with my feed!! I can't find my recent stories! I'm going to Google Plus!"

I've heard stuff like that from a lot of my friends lately. Admittedly, I was a little put off when I first saw the changes; it's like someone rearranged the furniture in your house while you were sleeping, and now you're running into everything. But, after you wake up, find your coffee maker and have your morning joe, you might start to look around your redesigned digs and realized that the new way has a lot going for it. Daddy recently took on the new role of "early adopter", something that I am usually severely averse to - but I was curious. So I grabbed the developers app for the new Facebook profile page and dove into the future.

And the future looks cool.

That's the new Facebook Timeline. It takes some getting used to, but Daddy thinks it's pretty awesome.

Change...is inevitable. In most of our lives, we want change - we're always looking for the next, the better, the more advanced...and that is as it should be. The more we learn, the more we grow...the more we grow, the more we change. And that's...okay.

I started this talking about daughters, so I'll end in a similar vein. Here's another Daddy on the Edge with his daughter. The video made Daddy cry a little, and that too, is a change...for the better.

See you on Facebook,

Daddy

Daddy on the Edge of a Venti Bold idea

If you know anything about Daddy, you know that Daddy has a strong, mildly unnatural, almost romantic bond with his Starbucks coffee. It puts the Ying in my Yang, it is the jen nais to my se quoi. It had me at "Hello"...my Starbucks...completes me.

I didn't know much from Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks; I probably knew as much about him as Snoop Dogg knows about his weed dealer - the man puts out good product, aight? As long as I get my daily fix, everybody's happy - I don't need to know from the corporate infrastructure.

Turns out though, this Howard Schultz is a pretty impressive guy. Not because of his coffee company, as huge as that is. So, what makes him so impressive? This...

August 15, 2011

Dear Fellow Concerned Americans:

Our country is better than this.

Over the last few weeks and months, our national elected officials from both parties have failed to lead. They have chosen to put partisan and ideological purity over the well-being of the people. They have undermined the full faith and credit of the United States. They have stirred up fears about our economic prospects without doing anything to truly address those fears. They have spent a resource even more precious than the dollar: our collective confidence in each other, in the future, and in our ability to solve problems together.

As leaders in business, we have watched all this unfold, first with frustration and then with dismay. Like so many of our employees and customers, we are gravely concerned about the current situation. Today, with both humility and urgency, we propose to do something about it.

First, we aim to push our elected leaders to face the nation's long-term fiscal challenges with civility, honesty, and a willingness to sacrifice their own re-election. This means not kicking the can anymore. It means reaching a deal on debt, revenue, and spending long before the deadline arrives this fall. It means considering all options, from entitlement programs to taxes.

This is what so many common-sense Americans want. That is why we today pledge to withhold any further campaign contributions to the President and all members of Congress until a fair, bipartisan deal is reached that sets our nation on stronger long-term fiscal footing. And we invite leaders of businesses – indeed, all concerned Americans – to join us in this pledge.

We also believe in leading by positive example. And we believe that while the long-term fiscal challenge is serious, even more painful to millions of Americans today is the immediate crisis of jobs. Tens of millions are unemployed and underemployed. Right now our economy is frozen in a cycle of fear and uncertainty. Companies are afraid to hire. Consumers are afraid to spend. Banks are afraid to lend. Record levels of cash are piling up in corporate treasuries, idling. That cash is not being used to expand operations, train new workers, underwrite new ventures, or spark innovation.

The only way to break this cycle of fear is to break it. The only way to get the country’s economic circulatory system flowing again is to start pumping lifeblood through it. That is why we today issue a second pledge. Our companies are going to hire. We are going to accelerate growth, employment, and investment in jobs.

We do this because we want to set in motion an upward spiral of confidence. We are not waiting for government to create an incentive program or a stimulus. We are not waiting for economic indicators to tell us it’s safe to act. We are hiring more people now. We invite leaders of businesses across the country to join us in this pledge as well – and to bring their stakeholders into the effort. Confidence is contagious. The best thing we can do now is to spread it.

This is a time for citizenship, not partisanship. It is a time for action. We don't pretend that our two pledges are quick fixes. We just believe that in this moment of great uncertainty, the government needs discipline, the people need jobs – and leaders need to lead.

Our country is better than this. Let’s get things moving now.

Respectfully,

Howard Schultz

Take the Pledge
Clicking on the "TAKE THE PLEDGE" button will take you to the Facebook page of "Upward Spiral 2011", a platform the Schultz has created for action inspired by the letter. As of this blog post, there have been 209 pledges to withhold campaign contributions and 43 pledges to hire. This is how it's done, people. When the game is rigged, refuse to play...and take your money off the table.

Take the Pledge. Be part of the solution. And order me a Venti.

Daddy

Daddy on the Edge of Rediscovering Daddy

Daddy forgets a lot of things.

Birthdays, where I left tools, whether or not I closed the garage door before I left the house (and then I have to drive back and check - it's been closed...every time), but lately, I managed to forget something pretty frigging major -

I forgot who I was.

The reason behind this amnesia was the last house I worked on. It's been called The Pit, My Little Crack house, Casa del Fakakte - It was The House That Ate My Soul. What started out as "a little paint and cleanup" turned into a major re-build, and every day there was more and more found that needed to be rebuilt. As the job grew, it got hungrier...and angrier...at me. First it came for my optimism. I always try to see the glass as half full as opposed to half empty. The House took my glass and shattered it on it's crumbling rubble foundation. Then it came for my physical strength, my self esteem and my sanity. It filled my every day and invaded my dreams on a regular basis.

I became a machine - working 7 days a week, sometimes 12 hours a day, dealing with new, ridiculous, often ludicrous circumstances on an almost daily basis. Work was all there was. Work. Deadline. Code. The Domino Effect of lining up all the different trades in order so that they can all get their work done. Over the last three months, waking up at 3am to a brain that was already thinking at eight miles a minute was a nightly occurrence. Wake up at 3am, assess how fast my heart was beating, followed by focused breathing and prayer to slow it down, then toss, turn, drift in and out of semi-sleep, focus on breathing some more, and then give up and get up at about 5:30. This was my every day.

And it sucked. Boy oh boy, did it suck.

You know those times on Star Trek, where the shit has hit the fan so bad during battle that they divert all available power to the shields? The only thing they don't take power from is life support. That's how the job was - divert every part of yourself to the job, stopping only long enough to feed yourself, sleep and hose yourself off on occasion. Every day, bit by bit, things start to slide. The things that make you "You", fall by the wayside. Writing this blog, spending time with my family, volunteer work, performing on stage, my physical health - all of those things took a back seat. Now, you can do that for a couple of weeks, maybe even a couple of months without too much damage. But this was months, and months...and months - and that can fuck with who you are on a basic level.

It's basically done now - ironically, I'm now at the "paint and cleanup" stage - and not a moment too soon. This job has had a detrimental effect on me, and I need to heal - spiritually, mentally and physically. This is a part of that healing - writing this blog. "Daddy on the Edge" was one of the casualties of this job, and I am trying to breathe life back into it slowly. I want to thank all of you who have kept reading - especially those of you who I don't know personally. ;)

I also want to thank those of you who read my alter ego's work in the Nyack-Piermont Patch. If you are unfamiliar, this is the place where Daddy lets his parental, less acerbic, G-rated prose roam free. If you haven't already, you can check out my latest article here.

Another part of Daddy that had nearly been lost forever was the performing side. Regular readers of this blog will remember back in April, I devoted a week of this blog to "Haywire", an original web series created by Scott Klein. Klein took the "Best Suspense Feature" award in 2009 at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival for his feature film, "Cry" and has brought that same sense of suspense to Haywire. Daddy managed to snag a regular role on the series, and it was one of the few things that kept me sane over the past year. Web series episodes are generally about ten minutes in length. You can watch nearly the entire first season of Haywire (previews included) in less than an hour and a half, and it's definitely worth watching. You can view the series on Koldcast TV by clicking here or, for those having technical trouble with Koldcast, you can view Haywire's YouTube channel here.

These are a few of my favorite things. These are a few of the things that make Daddy, "Daddy". Daddy wants to stick around here for a long, long time and that's where y'all can really help me out. It has been determined that I need a new line of work. If you like any or all of the links above, sharing them, "liking" them, tweeting, favoriting, commenting, hitting the "Google Plus One", forwarding them - doing anything that you can do to help spread the word and popularity of these projects might actually enable me to make some real money off these gigs and quit my day job. And that, my friends, would be a lifesaver.

Thanks for being a part of my world,

Daddy

Daddy on the Edge of The Future

Okay, maybe not the definitive future, but one possible future...a brighter day, if you will. A better tomorrow, if you'll allow. Kyle Reese said, "The future is not yet set". John Connor sent a message to his mother saying that, "There is no fate but what we make."
Am I quoting the Terminator films? Hell, yes. Daddy is a time travel junkie and those lines soothe me like the warm hum of a Flux Capacitor when you hit 88 miles per hour.

But I digress. My point is that the future as it stands right now looks like a cross between morose and downright terrifying. Lately, I have watched my government representatives just completely and utterly trash everything good about our country in some ridiculous, childish attempt to please all of the people all of the time. And they all say, they ALL SAY, THEY ALL F*CKING SAY that they're doing the will of the American People. Well folks, that is a pile of bullshit and you know it. The American People didn't want our countries credit rating slashed, anymore than we want our own personal credit ratings messed with. The American People don't want you to gut Social Security and Medicare - we want everyone to pay their fair share. And please, please, PLEASE don't tell me that the mega rich are "job creators" and therefore should continue to get tax breaks. These millionaires have had these tax breaks in place since, what - 2003??? Based on your "job creator" mantra, unemployment should be at about 2%, what with all these rich folks getting to keep all that tax revenue for all those years and doing all that hiring. But that's not what's happening, is it? Seriously, Washington - how fucking stupid do you think we are? Tax breaks made things WORSE, not better. Highest prosperity in my lifetime has been in the Reagan and Clinton years, when tax rates were at their HIGHEST for the wealthiest Americans. I don't know what makes me want to throw up more - that you really think we're stupid enough to believe that nonsense, or that it seems like y'all are starting to believe it as well.

By and large, it would appear that our elected officials are more than willing to throw this country under the bus for money, or approval, or to have everyone like them. The US Government, with a few exceptions, has turned into the cast of High School Musical. (and yes - Eric Cantor is Sharpay).

That's not the movie I want to see. And I'm really not grooving too much on the President's portrayal of Gandhi, either. I'm sorry, but Obama the Peacemaker, Obama as King Solomon, Obama as the Great Uniter just ain't working out...for the majority of Americans, anyway. It's working out great for the Republicans, since they hold their breath until he gives them everything that they want and then he thanks them for "reaching across the aisle in the spirit of bipartisanship". Nope, not the movie I wanted to see, and not the role I wanted to see him in. Y'know how I'd love to see our current President? A little something like this;

That's the shit. The verse even works referencing the Republicans. But that ain't gonna happen; I wish it would, but it won't. Our current President is just too cool to lose his shit - it seems to be easier to just give the country away to the Koch Brothers. So, the Tea Party still runs the asylum, the debt ceiling gets held hostage, and the people who put the batshit in batshit crazy are all fighting to be the Republicans main squeeze in the 2012's.

Well, Daddy is sick and tired of it. Frankly, I've got enough to deal with without having to worry about Standard and Poors ratings or the fact that a potential Presidential nominee can work a corn dog like Jenna Jameson. So, rather than wait around seeing how this low budget Greek tragedy is gonna play itself out, Daddy is going to attempt to influence the outcome. Life Coach and motivational speaker Tony Robbins says that everything is a cause set in motion. Getting up and going to work is a cause set in motion. Not getting up and going to work is a cause set in

motion. Everything you do or don't do can have a great influence over your life and the lives of those around you. He also says that thoughts become words, words become deeds, and deeds become results, but you have to see it through.

So, I've been having this thought lately, and after putting it through the Google, it seems like others are having it as well, so it's already got some energy behind it. I, and others like me, remember when we used to have people in charge that could actually have balls AND make sense at the same time. Like this guy;

Yeah, that's the stuff. Now, check out this guy;

Wow. That guy just gave me...hmmm, what's the word? Oh, yeah....

HOPE.

Business as usual just ain't gonna cut it anymore, my friends. That's why Daddy is changing his party affiliation to Independent and is ready to throw his support 100% behind this ticket, as soon as they agree to make it a reality;

It's time...for some real Change.

Let's do this, guys.

Keep Hope Alive,

Daddy

Daddy on the Edge of Countdown

Daddy loves me some Keith Olbermann.

I don't know what happened at MSNBC; I don't care. Olbermann has a new home on CurrentTV - here's his take on the whole marriage thang;










Welcome back, Keith.

Daddy

Daddy on the Edge of Weddings, Equality and "Evolving"

This past Friday, history was made. This past Friday, Republicans and Democrats came together and voted "YES" on same sex marriage in New York. The lead up to this was something to behold. On one hand, Republican Senator Roy MacDonald said,

"You get to the point where you evolve in your life where everything isn't black and white, good and bad, and you try to do the right thing," McDonald, 64, told reporters.

"You might not like that. You might be very cynical about that. Well, fuck it, I don't care what you think. I'm trying to do the right thing.

"I'm tired of Republican-Democrat politics. They can take the job and shove it. I come from a blue-collar background. I'm trying to do the right thing, and that's where I'm going with this."

Wow. Just...Fucking...Wow. Watching a Republican come around to that way of thinking, and say something like that so openly, so honestly - well, it makes Daddy a little less jaded.

Than we had this;

At a White House briefing, Press Secretary Jay Carney stressed that the president had been nothing but consistent in saying that his position was "evolving" on the topic.

"What I know is what his position was during the campaign and what it is now," Carney said. "He’s been very clear about it. He was very clear in the campaign. He’s very clear about the fact that his position is evolving. I don’t have anything to add to that."

Wow. Just...Fucking...Wow. Evolving? Really, Mr. President? That's such an incredibly "un-Progressive" way of putting it.

In this same article, it says that Obama believes that gay marriage is an issue best addressed by the states. Well I gotta tell you, the states have been doing a bang up job of it so far. Here's a map of how the states feel about gay marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships;

Laws regarding same-sex partnerships in the United States

Same-sex marriage¹

Unions granting rights similar to marriage^1,2

Legislation granting limited/enumerated rights¹

Same-sex marriages performed elsewhere recognized¹

No specific prohibition or recognition of same-sex marriages or unions

Statute bans same-sex marriage

Constitution bans same-sex marriage

Constitution bans same-sex marriage and some or all other kinds of same-sex unions

---

¹May include recent laws or court decisions which have created legal recognition of same-sex relationships, but which have not entered into effect yet.
²Same-sex marriage laws in California are complicated, please see the article on same-sex marriage in California.

Looking at this map, I think I may slap the next person who uses the phrase, "Separate but Equal". Separate? No Doubt. Equal? No Chance. And how could there be real equality? I mean, look at what people have said about gay marriage;


(This is a direct re-print of an article written by Eric Zorn for The Chicago Tribune - Check it;)


MARRIAGE ISSUE JUST AS PLAIN AS BLACK AND WHITE

By Eric Zorn

Statement No. 1: Same-sex marriage must be forbidden, said the Republican senator from Wisconsin, "simply because natural instinct revolts at it as wrong."

Statement No. 2. An organization opposed to gay marriage claimed legalizing them would result in "a degraded and ignoble population incapable of moral and intellectual development," and rested this belief on the "natural superiority with which God (has) ennobled heterosexuals."

Statement No. 3. "I believe that the tendency to classify all persons who oppose gay marriage as 'prejudiced' is in itself a prejudice," grumped a noted psychologist. "Nothing of any significance is gained by such a marriage."

Statement No. 4. A U.S. representative from Georgia declared that allowing gay marriages "necessarily involves (the) degradation" of conventional marriage, an institution that "deserves admiration rather than execration."

Statement No. 5. "The next step will be that gays and lesbians will demand a law allowing them, without restraint, to . . . have free and unrestrained social intercourse with your unmarried sons and daughters," warned a Kentucky congressman. "It is bound to come to that. There is no disguising the fact. And the sooner the alarm is given and the people take heed, the better it will be for our civilization."

Statement No. 6. "When people of the same sex marry, they cannot possibly have any progeny," wrote an appeals judge in a Missouri case. "And such a fact sufficiently justifies those laws which forbid their marriages."

Statement No 7. Same-sex marriages are "abominable," according to Virginia law. If allowed, they would "pollute" America.

Statement No 8. In denying the appeal of a same-sex couple that had tried unsuccessfully to marry, a Georgia court wrote that such unions are "not only unnatural, but . . . always productive of deplorable results," such as increased effeminate behavior in the population. "They are productive of evil, and evil only, without any corresponding good . . . (in accordance with) the God of nature."

Statement No. 9. A gay marriage ban is not discriminatory, reasoned a Republican congressman from Illinois, because it "applies equally to men and women."

Statement No. 10. Attorneys for the state of Tennessee argued that such unions should be illegal because they are "distasteful to our people and unfit to produce the human race. . . ." The state supreme court agreed, declaring gay marriages would be "a calamity full of the saddest and gloomiest portent to the generations that are to come after us."

Statement No. 11. Lawyers for California insisted that a ban on same-sex marriage is necessary to prevent "traditional marriage from being contaminated by the recognition of relationships that are physically and mentally inferior. . . . (and entered into by) the dregs of society."

Statement No. 12. "The law concerning marriages is to be construed and understood in relation to those persons only to whom that law relates," thundered a Virginia judge in response to a challenge to that state's non-recognition of same-sex unions. "And not," he continued, "to a class of persons clearly not within the idea of the legislature when contemplating the subject of marriage."

To sum up: Legal recognition of such marriages would offend tradition, God, the sensibilities of the majority and the natural order while threatening conventional marriage, children and the future of our
civilization.

The quotes are culled from a Boston University Law Review article and a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, though I did take the minor liberty of changing the subject of the strangled rage, fear and righteous indignation.

Everywhere I quoted the speakers referring to same-sex marriage, homosexuality and heterosexuality, they were actually referring to interracial marriage and their views of black people, white people and the proper interaction thereof. And yes, that includes statement No. 6, which in original form articulated the old white supremacist belief that offspring of whites and blacks were--like mules that result when horses mate with donkeys--sterile.

The quotes date from 1823 to 1964 and, though the sentiments look hatefully ridiculous to us in 1996, they had sufficient appeal and staying power that 15 states still criminalized black-white marriage until the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously overturned those laws in the appropriately named 1967 case, Loving vs. Virginia.

Those whose unaltered words today resemble statements 1 through 12 above, take note. The stench is familiar. The future is listening.

I guess it's a good thing that certain states "evolved" before others; otherwise, the President's parents wouldn't have been able to get married.



That was candidate Obama who said, "My job as President is going to be to make sure that the legal rights that have consequences on a day to day basis for loving, same sex couples - that those rights are recognized and enforced by my White House and my Justice Department". Those rights have not been recognized to the degree that they should, Sir. Half measures do not work. More needs to be done. More always needs to be done.

While I agree that you have gone further than most Administrations, the fact still remains that a very large portion of Americans are legally treated as second class citizens, because of nothing more than who their brain chemistry tells them to be attracted to, and their courage to not hide that part of themselves from a hating, self-important, incredibly self-righteous faction of fellow Americans.

There will always be those citizens demanding that we continue to discriminate against the LGBT community. They are fashioned from the same material that went to war over the right to keep slaves, felt completely justified denying women and blacks the vote, and saw themselves as chosen by God to keep blacks and whites from taking the vows of marriage. They are the simple minds, the spoiled children of this country - and it's high time we stopped catering to their every whim.

Liberty and Justice For ALL, Mr. President. Time to start living the message.

And, if all that wasn't enough, here's the Golden Girls.





Be Proud,

Daddy

Daddy on the Edge of Pride and Prejudice

Daddy has been working on a big ass blog post that summarizes the news and views of today's Republican Party - the working title is "Daddy on the Edge of the Republican Caca" and I should have that for you shortly.

In the meantime though, i had to put this out there; in researching Republicans and the darndest things they say, I came across this little gem. At first, I honestly thought they were joking, but it's all too real how they feel. Here it is - the latest, greatest Republican Talking Point:

The White Man is being Oppressed.

Don't believe that they're saying this? Here ya go - from CNN:

• A recent Public Religion Research Institute poll found 44% of Americans surveyed identify discrimination against whites as being just as big as bigotry aimed at blacks and other minorities. The poll found 61% of those identifying with the Tea Party held that view, as did 56% of Republicans and 57% of white evangelicals.

You can read the whole story here.

It makes me wonder if the whites who think they're being oppressed (Rush Limbaugh among them), have a clear understanding of exactly what the word oppressed really means. Here's a little lesson of oppression, good people of WhiteTopia - tell me if any of this rings true for you -


White people are not federally protected from workplace discrimination in the private sector. In other words, you can be fired just for being White.

White people are not allowed to give blood. White blood is suspect and cannot be trusted.

White people cannot adopt in most states. If a White couple were to adopt a child, it would increase the likelihood that said child would become maladjusted. White people have poor judgment and are bad role models.

White People's children cannot go to certain schools. Catholic schools will deny a child entry if the parents are White. Being White is a sin in the eyes of the church.

White people can't live in certain communities. The Fair Housing Act lends no protection to Whites when purchasing, renting, or leasing a home. Landlords can deny you a place to live, or make you pay more because you are White.

White people cannot marry in most states. This affects the following areas of your life - Social Security benefits, veterans' benefits, health insurance, Medicaid, hospital visitation, estate taxes, retirement savings, pensions, family leave, and immigration law.

White people cannot be Scout Leaders. I know; why the heck would you want to? But there it is. White people are a bad influence on...tying knots, I guess.

White people cannot serve in the military as White. You can serve, and die for your country, but if you admit that you are White, we will boot you out. Maybe we'll kill you.



Now, you have to know that if any of this were true, the entirety of FOX News, the KKK and the Koch Brothers would have waged war. Things like this don't happen to The White Man.

But they happen to gays, lesbians and the transgendered very day.

Daddy comes from a long history of WASP's - my family has been a part of this country since the 1600's and, although there are plenty of tough times, I could never, ever say that we have been oppressed - that we have been so actively denied the rights and privileges afforded to every American, simply because of who and what we are. The idea that this nonsense is being injected into the public debate is ludicrous, and it has no place in serious, adult discussion.

But, as I said, there are people in this country that are being discriminated against on a daily basis. I'm going to their Pride celebration shortly. For those not in the know, from Wiki -

"LGBT pride or gay pride is the concept that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity. The movement has three main premises: that people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity, that diversity is a gift, and that sexual orientation and gender identity are inherent and cannot be intentionally altered."

In a world that tells them they should be ashamed, they stand proud. In a world that tells them to change and be normal, they stand as God made them, being true to their Maker and themselves. In a world that tells them that they are less than, they stand up and show that, not only are they not "less than"...

They're Fabulous.

Happy Pride Y'all,

Daddy