6 years and counting. love you! (:

"I'm 54 years old, and I'm sick of waiting," said Benson, who has been with his partner, Duane , for almost 20 years.

Benson moved beyond protesting and took action: He drafted a bill, identified chief authors and cosponsors, took the bill to the revisor and had it submitted for reading. Currently, the bill has 14 sponsors in the House and five in the Senate, the maximum allowed.

"There are a lot of legislators here who support marriage equality," says Benson. "Some who are in unsafe districts are even willing to lose office in order to see marriage equality become reality in Minnesota. They have told me this. They're an inspiration."

I don't know where to start. Citizen activism, a citizen stepping up and thoroughly participating in this democracy to claim equal rights, politicians actually doing the right thing and standing up for equality, the list goes on. I'll be over here cheering and crying with joy and admiration.

I had a point, but I think I lost it somewhere along the way while thinking about the Dettori Tenores 2004 I tasted tonight (tasting order: Bianco 2006, Bianco 2003, both vermentino; Tuderi 2003, Tuderi 2004; Tenores 2004; Rosso 2004; Moscaddedu 2006). It was a gorgeous, deep, ruby red color with a warm and refreshing flavor (my wine vocab, it is not so extensive. Nor sophisticated. Nor wine-literate, actually.). Losing my train of thought has been a common occurrence of late; there was wine tonight, wine and beer last night (dinner at A16 and celebrating marriage equality!!!!); and hitting the bars with the SF alums last weekend. I love wine and going out in the hot weather that's been rolling out recently, the intense heat is a body memory linked with wine, pasta, pizza, and hanging out with friends until the wee hours of the morning. It feels right (more memories and unconscious habits from Rome kicking in).

Oh, right. I was watching the video that Pocochina linked and just cried with joy. The four California Supreme Court justices in the majority decision affected the lives of thousands of people for the better yesterday. I am still deliriously happy when I think about it. I printed off the majority opinion today and I'm going to go read it--when I saw the court officers(?) carry out copies in the video, I started crying, realizing that those papers, those words, are not just letters and sounds. They are the lives of real people, who are now free to marry their loved ones in the eyes of the state of California. They are the lives of real people, whose oppression and harassment the court recognized as legitimate evils of the same type as racism and sexism. The decision, the freedom, the bold cry for equality is an ever-springing fountain of joy deep inside that lifts my whole spirit.

So I'm going to go read the decision because I want to know every single word. I want to grasp them and burn them into my soul, where no one will ever be able to erase them. These are my rights, goddamnit, and I will hold onto them fiercely.

"Feel like smothering you with a big hug." : Prabuddh, just like that.

"Oh, and am having this hairstyle disaster...so if you make fun or laugh or do nething of a similar nature u shall not live to see the the sunrise or even set for that matter." : Bhangi, bimbo mood. Lol.

"Don't know where I'd be without you." : Prabuddh. :)

"Job done. Col Bhardwaj over and out." : Mandy, My guardian angel.

"So, what abt our picture together?" : Some ass with lame pickup lines.

"U are the hots...urs hairs are like the flames...they burnings my hearts." : Meghna, crazy msging during slow classes.

"Mad woman on speed pills, get 2 a doctor before you hurt someone bad!" : Ishan. Just.

life's getting better. cos i'm alr guaranteed free medical check-ups and mcs when jy officially becomes a life-saver(: whee hope more ppl receive their good news from Med soon!

anw the string of numbers above is my nus app number. and i'm kind of sick of jus waiting to see what they are going to offer me. haha but not like it's gonna change my mind.

the past working week has improved. i've been feeling more and more productive by the day. and i actually like being busy in office, cos slacking sucks all my energy. oh but anw in nus, i got to know a fellow working-while-waiting-for-uni friend, Jade! we like to walk around the school when we're given nothing to do (yikes boredom sucks). and we always get lost on purpose (and sometimes not)! haha. i'm so thankful for this coming long weekend nonetheless!

sorry that this entry is all jumbled up, but i need to pen down whatever gets to me first!

anw anw ytd my sis and i went double-movie sprint. What Happens in Vegas and Accuracy of Death. the former is a much greater movie, at least for us though it is the typical-and-predictable-but-v-enjoyable kind of movie. The second Jap movie is to the cheem side, it's a bit tough to really understand what the movie wants to convey to its audience haha. and we reached home at around 2am.

and for what's going to happen in the following days...(((:

today: SMU School of Accountancy talk later with Sui.(: and dinner meet-up with the ex-NUS-Study-Gang. haha it's been a while since i met all of them!

tmr: family lunch at Peach Garden to celebrate Ethan's birthday. and nothing for the rest of the day!

vesak day: canoeing team outing at ECP! ;DDDD whee! we're gonna have lots of fun cycling, blading and doing many other stupid things like we've always done. (:

now i guess i need to wash up, read the papers and wait for parents to come home with some breakfast.

have a good long weekend everyone! *reminder: love life.

Who's sitting down their children and explaining things to them they probably don't give a shit about? And shouldn't? Let them go ride bikes and play with old cigarette butts out by the pool. Wait that last thing may have just been my parents.

I was raised with a sort of regular moral compass, devoid of hellfire or sin, and by the time I knew what gay meant, I would've been more concerned with the fact that they weren't treated fairly than anything else. And as far as having direct knowledge of how they did the dirty? Never occurred to me. Perhaps this is why I have no problems with it now. I mean, think about it. If you're a parent who's all concerned with the abominable sin of homosexuality, your conversations are going to involve, well, the "abominations" of homosexuality. To lay all that on a kid at a young age is pretty unnecessary and, well, gross. We all thought straight people birds n' bees stuff was weird too. But look at us now, we can't get enough! However, if we weren't so inclined by hormones, we may never have gotten over the shock of the "thing" going into the "down-there." It would still be simultaneously haunting our dreams and weirding us the fuck out. A classic hallmark of unresolved issues. It's not closeted homosexual tendencies (calling every homophobe a closet case is misguided and hurtful to actual gay people. Are all racists secretly black too?). Don't lay that shit on your kids. Don't make them weird forever. Just let it be and they'll have more compassion than repression.

I forgot my point. Oh well. I'll just say that in the last few years I've felt pretty short-changed history wise. Why did we have to grow up in the age of peak oil, global warming, terrorism and 24 hour news channels? When I was a kid I used to feel sorry for the people who lived and died in the Dark Ages, and I've sadly realized this may be the equivalent. But yesterday I felt happy, because something good happened.

Bogen tager udgangspunkt i rejsen som et symptom, en allegori og et vidnesbyrd om og for det moderne menneske. Skrevet som rejser bevæger bogen sig ned i religionspsykologiske, teologiske og kirkehistoriske overvejelser om menneskets skabthed og troens natur. Det betyder, at bogen i sin rige enkelthed handler om at komme til sig selv og finde sig selv hos Gud. At Guds syn på os med alt hvad det indebærer af bod, tilgivelse, syndserkendelse, gudsbilledlighed osv. er det, der også på en indre måde kan hjælpe os til at "finde os selv", som det vist nok hedder på klamskt.

Det er en meget, meget dejlig bog, hvor Wikström forlener en tro på Gud med sin store viden og på bedste måder viser hvordan "almindelig" videnskab i høj grad kan medvirke til at understrege gode bibelske pointer. En bog om at når vi kommer til Gud kommer vi også til os selv. Og nu må jeg vist hellere vende tilbage til mit BA-projekt.

After a 3 and a half hour trip in the car from London (we moved 4 miles in 2+ hours because of the traffic, even though we left early), I was about losing the will to live. And then we got there and I stepped into my room and all worries left my little head. My bed was huge. HUGE!! I say. I could lay across it width ways, stretch my arms above my head, and still not have any of me hanging off the end, and I am pretty tall. And the linen. I want the linen. And the pillows that mould to your head. At night I lay in the middle and stretched out and it was just bliss on a whole other scale. If I could somehow have fit that bed in a Mary Poppin's-esque bag I would have.

And! Two baths, in my bedroom. Not bathroom, bedroom. You go up a step and there's a wet room floor and two deep deep baths facing each other. I guess if you have a loved one you can take baths at the same time and talk. Sadly I didn't have time to have a bath, not that I'm really much of a bath person anyway, but I might have given it a go. The tv even turns around so you can watch it while in the bubbles.

I got very excited about the mini-bar but decided possibly the £4.00 jar of jelly beans and £1.50 Mars Bar might have come out of my own pocket, so managed not to. Was even more excited by the fact that there was real milk in the fridge and not those horrid carton thingys that are gross.

And we should all have someone bring us breakfast, with lovely croissants and toast and jam and the biggest pot of tea ever. I have had so much tea the past two days I think I'm becoming even more addicted. If that's possible.

For once there was lots of food that I liked, for lunch and dinner, which is so unusual. And I had the best sticky toffee pudding I have ever had in my life. It was divine in the extreme.

So, if you are ever in Cambridge and feel like treating yourself, I recommend this hotel. And ask for either the Wolf Blass room (which was mine) or Brown Brothers (this was my boss's and she had her own screening room, complete with lounge chairs, big screen and play station). Another room had its own well, but that would have caused me more worry than anything else I think.

I've come home with 6 bottles of various toiletries and so will at least be smelling like the Hotel du Vin for some time to come.

So, 8 sessions into a new trainer (named Kelly) and I am feeling and looking amazing! She is pushing me and working me harder than I imagined I could push myself. She is motivating and supportive and I am so glad I have a female trainer now rather than a guy. Such a difference!. I am taking advantage of the fact that business is slow and I am squeezing in an extra training session per week and working out in between, too. I am seeing changes in my body. My lovely shape is coming back - and, I feel more confident than I have in a long time.

And, the biggest bonus?!? 18 free sessions! Yay! See what a little *complaining* can do? Out of the 23 clients that Franco screwed, only three of us complained and received out $$'s worth in sessions back. After all, I paid for a *certified* personal trainer... and, they did not deliver.

As it goes, I've taken the transformation a tad out of order, but who cares!?!?!? It is all coming together now... and I could not be happier.

Instead wait until something has brightened up your day. In my case, good music. Then when you're feeling better, try the clothes on again for another look. You'll find they might not look as bad this time around.

Also find a nice boyfriend that makes you feel instantly better with just by hearing his voice.

YEAH GOOD STUFF.

Shame it's really only worth £2. ¬.¬

Now, i'm not really into Drum 'n' Bass. In fact I hate most of it. My brother likes to play it loud and I feel like i'm having my head kicked in.
But Pendulum are like the Prodigy. You don't have to be into that kind of music to like them. The music just makes you happy, whatever your tastes.

In the past few weeks i'd been hearing loads of people talking about the new album they've just released. I wasn't really bothered about hearing it so I didn't download it or buy it.

But today my brother told me some amazing news. Pendulum are going to be playing in the pub just down the road from me. Yes, that's right. Pendulum are coming to sleepy North Wales. £5,000 is being paid to have them here. And my brother is the one designing the fliers.

To celebrate he burnt me a copy of their new album "In Silico" and it is BRILLIANT.

From the very first song you just know it's going to be good.

Yıldız falı, kahve falı, el falı gibi her çeşit fal hurafedir.

Hadis-i şeriflerde buyuruluyor ki:

"Falcının, büyücünün söylediklerine inanan, Kur'an-ı kerime inanmamış olur." Taberani

"Fal baktıran, falcıya inanmasa bile, kırk gün namazı kabul olmaz." Müslim

Cinci hocanın cinden kurtardığına inanarak, ona ücret vermek caiz değildir. Çalınanları, kaybolanları bilirim diyen ve buna inanan da kâfir olur. “Bana cin haber veriyor, onun için biliyorum” derse, yine kâfir olur. Çünkü cin de gaybı bilmez. Gaybı yalnız Allahu teâlâ, bir de onun vahiy ve ilham ettikleri bilir.

Cin, bu iki yoldan öğrendiğini haber verirse, “Bana falanca evliya bildirdi” derse küfür olmaz. Cinden arkadaş edinip, olmuş şeyleri ona sorup, ondan öğrenmek ve bunları başkalarına bildirmek de caiz değildir. Çünkü cinlerin gördüğü şeyleri doğru anlatıp anlatmadığı bilinemez. Cincilere ve büyücülerin, söylediklerine, yaptıklarına inanmak, bazen doğru çıksa bile, Allah’tan başkasının her şeyi bildiğine ve her dilediğini yapacağına inanmak olup, küfürdür.

Büyü öğrenmek de, öğretmek de haramdır. Müslümanları zarardan korumak için öğrenmek de haramdır. Hayırlı iş yapmak için de haram işlemek, büyü çözmek için büyü yapmak da caiz değildir. Büyü yaparken, küfre sebep olan bir şey yapmak küfürdür. Böyle olmazsa, büyük günahtır.

Hadis-i şerifte (Büyü yapan ve yaptıran ve bunlara inanan bizden değildir) buyuruldu. (Bezzar)

Burçlara göre fal açmak da hurafedir. Her burçta doğan aynı karaktere sahip olsa, bütün dünyadaki insanlar burç sayısı kadar yani 12 karakterli olurlar. Aynı burçta doğan iki kişiden biri âlim, diğeri zalim, biri sert, öteki yumuşak olabilir. İnsanların karakterlerini burçlar tayin etmez.

Halk arasında, Zodyak (burçlar kuşağı) üzerinde yer alan 12 takımyıldıza "burçlar" adı verilir. Zodyak, gökyüzünde güneş ve başlıca gezegenlerin yolu üzerinde bulunduğu tasarlanan hayali bir kuşaktır. Burçlar kuşağı olarak da söylenir.

Güneşin burçlara karşı olan durumunun değişmesi yüzünden, bugün burçlardan hiçbiri kendi adıyla anılan bölgede bulunmamaktadır.

Bu yüzden 20. yüzyılda Güneş, 1 Ocak’ta Oğlak burcunda olmayıp Yay burcundadır. Bu nedenle de burçlarda doğanların belli bir karakter sahibi olduğu söylenemez.

Gazetelerdeki burç sayfalarını okumak caiz değildir.

* * *

Evet, burçlara göre karakter tahlili tamamen bir hurafedir.

Evet, burçlara göre günlük haftalık hadiseleri önceden haber vermek asla caiz değildir.

İslami bir kılıf kuşanmış bir gazetenin eki... Allah rızası için abone olanlara, Allah rızası için abone yaptıranlara sahip bir gazete...

Müslümanların "himmetleri" ile kurulmuş, Müslümanların "himmetleri" ile yaşayan gazete...

Dinimize hizmet(!) bayraktarlığı yapıyor....!!!!!!!!!!!

Toz kondurulmayan çok büyük "Gönül İnsanı’na" sahip......!!!!!!!!!!

Zaman Gazetesi-Gençlik Eki'nin Fal ve Hurafe "Hizmet"i Devam ediyor... Rezaletler zincirine yeni halkalar eklenmeye devam ediyor...

"Hizmet" den geri kalmayın...

* * *

Bakınız bu köşe, akrep burcu için ne demiş:

Sezgilerinizden ziyade mantığınıza itaat etmeniz gereken birtakım döngüler sarmalının içinden geçiyorsunuz. Bu demek değil ki daha çok para kazanacak ve daha çok harcayacaksınız. Sadece kötü günlerin bir süreliğine geride kaldığını söyleyebilirim.

Çok istifade(!) ettik...

"Himmet geceleri" düzenlensin, astroloji köşeleri artırılsın....!!!

Tek tek burçlar verilmiş, altına tarihleri yazılmış.
Bilmeyenlere bu hurafeler öğretilmiş.

Bir sömürü bir kandırmacadır, sürüp gidiyor. Karşıda aşkla bağlı bir güruh, ne denilirse yutuyor...

Yukardan emirler geliyor, böyle yapıyoruz, çünkü böyle böyle... Falan filan...

Papa, papaz kucaklıyorlar, "gizli müslüman" deniliyor.
Bir dedikodu, bir göz boyamacılık...
Herşeye bir kılıf bulma yarışı...

Ama güzel dinimizde net emirler var.
Kimler ne kadar sulandırmaya çalışırsa çalışsın, hakikate bağlı bir topluluk devamlı olacak.

Küfürse küfürdür, haramsa haramdır.

Hangi "gönül eri(!)" yaparsa yapsın.

Har dog også godt nyt - fra d. 16. juni er jeg mor til et børnehavebarn. Bassen har fået plads i en børnehave i nærheden og kunne i grunden starte nu, men af hensyn til eventuelle kriser venter vi til Dennis er kommet hjem fra kursus.
Så passer det også supergodt med, at han har fri i to uger og kan være der i fald den ene eller den anden dreng ikke bryder sig om den nye situation.
- Det bliver første gang siden Kristoffer var lille, at de ikke skal være sammen hele eller det meste af tiden.

Og i morgen skal jeg til møde på AOF. Og til gynækolog. Og så kommer Dennis hjem.
Og så er der pludselig kun 4 uger til det er slut.

Tiden går meget hurtigere denne gang.
Måske fordi man ved, at det er sidste gang og at der, efter denne omgang, kun er et par små kurser på Fyn tilbage.
Det bliver dejligt, gør det.

Har lige logget på min mailbox. For første gang i et par dage. Til 78 mails hvoraf de fleste er fra Facebook og noget reklame jeg ikke har fået smidt i spam endnu..
Godmorgen!

Candid, sometimes gritty and more often than not at least mildly amusing, Simonne's blog is everything a great blog should be and proof that you don't have to be Robert Scoble (nice redesign, hey?) to build a substantial and loyal following.

Anyhoo, today Simonne published the post we'd been hoping for all along. Even though I already knew what it was going to say (I don't get all my news online folks) I was mesmerised when I read the words. It was like watching the final episode in a long-running TV series where you finally find out who the villain is, the hero proves his innocence, the castaways leave the island (yeah right!), and that annoying 'will they or won't they' couple finally do it - you're watching it unfold on screen but can't quite believe your eyes 'cos it's just too damn big a deal to really be happening, right?

But there is was...

First and foremost, congrats to Simonne and Al. You're going to be fantastic parents and I'm going to be a fantastic uncle/godfather-type guy. Driving lessons, man-to-man talks, cigars, poker and beer pong a specialty. But I don't do shitty nappies. Don't even ask. I mean seriously - we're good friends and all, but you gotta draw the line somewhere. And I did. No shitty nappies.

I'm having a hard time expressing it clearly, but I have this strange sensation of having been a part of something huge, simply by being a regular reader of Simonne's blog. By reading her thoughts and the reactions of her online friends I was part of something that only happened and existed online - something so much more than words on a screen and at the same time almost totally unrelated to events in the real world. It was (is) kinda surreal.

When I finally figure it out properly I'll let you know. In the meantime, I have no doubt Simonne will continue to eat cake for breakfast (because she can) and am looking forward to future tales of shopping, pregnancy, shopping, motherhood, shopping and ... you get the picture.

Q: Do you think infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery?

Anyway, I grabbed her sleeve and babbled excitedly and mostly incoherently about her sweater while she was very gracious about being attacked by a crazy person. Turns out? That was possibly one of my best crazy moves ever. Since then, Emily and I have been IBFF (Internet Best Friends Forever) and we talk just about every day. And when she gets around to blogging? She is quite the hoot. And photographer. Just check out all her pictures from her travels to down under. Oh! And she is totally not afraid to travel by herself, which I think is awesome.

Anyway, when Em couldn’t convince me to leave last minute and head up to MSW, she sent a little bit back to me after she went.

And she totally gets me.

6.6 ounces of extremely soft and absolutely decadent Merino.

The cute little origami stars were a bonus. Plus there was also this:

More yummy goodness that is as of this post, nearly gone.

Inside that paper is some of the best smelling soap ever. Apparently really good smelling soaps are made by cute French guys. Who knew? Also, those TastyKake Butterscotch Krimpets are just about gone. And while Emily said she sent enough so that I could share, I'm the only one here who likes butterscotch so I have been decadent and indulgent and there are now only 2 packs of krimpets left and THEY ARE ALL MINE! Mine, I tell you! AH AH AH AH!

Of course, I couldn't let her send me stuff without sending her something in return and I did and I hope she enjoys it as much as I have loved and enjoyed all the scrumdilliumptious decadent goodies she sent me. Thanks Em! You are the best.

Also, this post was brought to you by the word DECADENT.

I knew that Kou Matsuo had the song card up his sleeve to deploy at some point, so I was just waiting for it. Little did I know to the extent. Red Garden-style singing in a more attractive (and amusingly aurally pleasing) package. Kure-nai impresses me more every week. What's next? It turns that Ginko, Yuuno, and Shinkurou are already dead?

I'm assuming this should be the post where I frivolously self-congratulate myself on reaching 2000 hits, in a month plus less than a day in this blog's very life. It's a larger number than one thousand, so it must be important.