Bookshelf Snap Shot 02

Earth Postage Stamps--Peacemaker Series #'s 16 through 19

Wednesday Holiday Ha Ha

Tuesday Turkey Tee-Hee!

What I'm Reading #43

"The Kid" by Sapphire is the continuation of the story of Precious and her son, Abdul, which she began in the novel "Push." "Push" was transformed into the movie "Precious" by Lee Daniels to much well earned critical acclaim. "The Kid" begins with an ending: Precious has died of AIDs, and her 9-year-old son, Abdul, is left to fend for himself.

Told in 4 books, this stream of consciousness mostly first person narrative jumps us across Abdul's life from age 9 to 13 to 17 to a murky ending where the compelling confusion in the mind of the protagonist became my own as I struggled to find meaning and hope in a life so beautifully composed amidst a world of indifference and self-interest. Not for the faint of heart, but deeply, powerfully enriching for anyone with a heart.

"Our" Children

I learned about the work of the Ali Forney Center in New York City today via a story on NPR. http://www.npr.org/2011/11/20/142364493/young-gay-and-homeless-fighting-for-resources

The need is SO overwhelming. The center conducts outreach to homeless youth with a focus on GLBT-yaddayadda youth. I just sent them a generous donation. Won't you check them out, listen to the story on NPR and consider doing the same? I am gay. Maybe you are, too. Tonight hundreds of GLBT youth who have been thrown out are planning another night of surviving homeless. We have an obligation to "our" children. Check it out, won't you?
http://www.aliforneycenter.org/

Lego Mania Journal

Lego Invitational up-date!

I met my friend Mary at our rendezvous local at exactly 8:54 AM. She marveled at the clarity of my directions and easy of location... ;-)

We joined a rather motley crew of mostly adult men, a few ladies and as many kids as women when the doors at the Lego Store opened an hour ahead of schedule for our exclusive orgy of Lego-mania. ALL of the sets just released were there. First day of sale to the public and my mind was spinning. Fortunately, I had Mary to anchor me. Her first visit to this murky world of Legophilia, she only hoped to get one of the Christmas village sets.

Together we did a paced general reconnaissance of the premises and then she cut me loose to my own devilish passions while she made a more personal pilgrimage to the thing she planned on buying. I have to say, I glanced briefly in her direction with a look of utter admiration. How does one hold such a state of discipline in the presence of rabid brick decadence?

The feeding frenzy had started, boxes were being piled up for purchase by my fellow invitees. Moments before we had just been strangers standing in a line, and now they were becoming before my very eyes my mortal enemies. Cretins with grabby progeny and/or a spouse in tow. How could they know what I know? The need! The raw need!!!

"Randy."

Huh?--oh, thank goodness, it's Mary.

"Yes?"

"I don't know which one of the kits to buy?" She bought both. I'm sorry, it's not my fault! . . . Okay, it IS my fault.

I felt the sweat trickle down my back as I stood before the cashier awaiting the perk of the magic discount sicker to be revealed. 50%, 20%, or 10%? The guy in the other aisle just got 20%~Damn! What does that do for my odds? Me? 10%....

In the end we emerged into the still blue morning and fresh air of a mid-November day with the majority of it ahead of us. I was headed back to Takoma Park, and Mary to her family in Gaithersburg. With a hug, we acknowledged the thing we'd just experienced. I opened the back of my king cab Nissan Frontier pick-up and stuffed the space with my bulging bright yellow Lego Store bag full of booty.

EPILOGUE

Well, I just did some calculating, too; and, I also saved $154.00 in discounts and freebees! Basically, the Legos I came away with only cost me 63% of what they would have otherwise. As any addict will tell you, I'm gonna go for it sooner or later and to get such a bountiful fix at a discount of 37%. Well, that puts things into a whole different perspective, now, doesn't it? And can I also say, I was one of 30 people in the WashingtonDC/Virginia/Maryland metroplex to be invited to participate in this event (#20 to be specific). I don't know if I should be flattered, amazed, or just expect someone to toss it in my face when my friends finally gang up and hold an intervention for me!

Pride Birthdays and Memorials for the Coming Week ~ November 20th to 26th!

Earth Postage Stamps--Peacemaker Series #'s 13 through 15

Three more peacemakers to join the series begun with Bob Marley.

National Parks

Vintage posters from some of the National Parks I have had the please to visit and explore. Top down they would be: Arches National Park, UTAH; Rocky Mountain National Park, COLORADO; Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TENNESSEE/NORTH CAROLINA; Mammoth Cave National Park, KENTUCKY; Acadia National Park, MAINE; and Blue Ridge Parkway, VIRGINIA.

Earth Postage Stamps--Amazing Species Series #3

Buntings are so colorful, unassuming, and live in both hemispheres. Their songs are cheery and bright.

Autumn Leaves: Korean Dogwood

My Zoo Orbs ~ Lion Pride & Leopard Glade Binary Systems

The final two major orbs in my zoo are dedicated to specific animals: The African Lion and Leopard. They are the largest enclosed environments for either animal in captivity. Like all other orbs in my zoo, they are also the home to other animals.

The leopard glad has a circumference of 125 meters and a height at its apex of 97 meters. The Lion Pride orb is larger with a circumference of 265 meters and a double domed height of 152 meters.

The inspiration for both comes out of central-east Africa and places like the Serengeti and Garamba National Parks in the People's Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania. The basic layout is grasslands with tall acacia trees and smaller shrubs and thorny scrubby trees around ponds of water with reedy grasses.

The two orbs are located in the extreme north eastern corner of the zoo and a center for the remembrance and study of extinct species is attached to the Lion Pride orb.

Lion Pride Orb: The Mammals

Leopard Glade Orb: The Mammals

Lion Pride Orb: The Birds