Sean & Stefan’s Neighbors

(San Diego, CA) Starbucks has recently introduced a new version of their logo which features a topless mermaid with her legs spread, which has caused outrage from a nation wide Christian media watchdog organization. The Resistance, with has over 3000 members nationwide, is boycotting Starbucks across the country saying their new logo is inappropriate.

“The Starbucks logo has a naked woman on it with her legs spread like a prostitute,” explains Mark Dice, founder of the group. “Need I say more? It’s extremely poor taste, and the company might as well call themselves, Slutbucks.”

ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THIS ????

Slutbucks....lol I am kinda of a coffee whore.

History of the Bucks Logo

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Did you want fries with that?

nobody@vox.com(emily sears) — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:50:51 -0700

NO. For crying out loud, pick a new vegetable to abuse!

On other fronts,

There are very few general life topics I'm not willing to look at and discuss on an objective level, so sometimes I forget other people see them as verboten, or too personal or whatever. That sort of confuses me because one thing is one thing, and the other thing is the other thing. But anyway. Since it's possible that you didn't want my thoughts on the nature of multiple orgasms showing up in your neighborhood comments section, I'll apologize for that now. I mean, I think it's an important topic, women's sexuality and the understanding of it, and the more open discussion the better. But again, anyway. It was mixed in with more prurient stuff, and that could mean it was misconstrued.

Less objectively, I do feel like talking about sex today, in the more prurient sense. Since I cannot do that here directly, at least in the way I have in mind, I will have to do it indirectly, as I continue my Vox posting marathon today.

Hah! You thought I hadn't noticed I've been here all day. It was largely intentional, though, and I may do it again tomorrow. I gave myself a little mini-vacation, you see, to just goof off and try to relax. And I'm in a sharing, talky sort of mood. Even though typing and adding media to Vox drives me absolutely bonkers, I persist.

So I have a couple of good books from the library, but Hour of the Gun is coming on in a minute. James Garner in 1967? Made of sex. Even with a moustache. I will semi-watch this movie while composing more haiku. I have been on a haiku bend this week.

No, I get on those, seriously. This set isn't any good, at all, but I have been known to bust out a poetic one now and then. It could happen again.

haiku that blows, and not in the good way:

empty space to fill

pillow pressed between my legs

ache for your return

hover silently

lips take life from nectar sweet

lily blossoms full

drawing you inside

thirstily I take my share

savor fluid's tang

waking in moonlight

shattering sleep illusion

emptiness remains

okay, it's midnight now, (don't worry; it didn't actually take two hours to write that crap,) and when Letterman is over, David Boreanaz will be on Craig Ferguson. Not literally, of course. But in honor of the TV show that made David Boreanaz the household name he is today, here is a sexy song. I decided it was easier to get it off the "FaceTube" than go from iPod to hard drive to Vox, (well, plus, I loved this concert, and would rather watch Dave sing than just listen to him, given the choice,) so you get a video:

Depeche Mode - The Dead Of Night

On the record, this song has a much harder, edgy-sounding instrumentation, but the video is mixed to pump up his voice, I guess.

Time to wind this up, as Craig is on now. He commands my full attention. I leave you with this picture of me taken with a camera phone shortly after I turned 40.

Meoncannon

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And now a word from our sponsor, Tide with Bleach Alternative

nobody@vox.com(AmazonMama) — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:16:50 -0700

I think this is my son...

Its pictures just like this that make me somewhat thankful I work at night and am lucky to not have the onus of bathing this filthy mess of child. When my hubby said "oh yeah, the bathwater was black tonight" during my nightly call home to bid the children good-night, I assumed he was just mincing words. But, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words...and so indeed it is. Special thanks to my neighbor Ti Ti for capturing this priceless moment of boyhood history.

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Best quote from The Office season finale

nobody@vox.com(Crush-Monkey) — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:46:58 -0700

Tonight I watched more TV than I have watched all week. Three hours. One hour of Ugly Betty, one of Grey's Anatomy and one of The Office.

The quote that made me laugh the most during The Office was this one:

Michael: What's the group, that were from Scranton and made it big? Was that U2?

Jim: Yes

Bwa hahahahahahahahahahah!

Ok, tired and need sleep. More tomorrow!

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Meanwhile, on the steps of the California Supreme Court

nobody@vox.com(Jamison) — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:39:13 -0700

The SF Chronicle was at the courthouse for the California Supreme Court ruling today for reactions. You can spot San Francisco City Hall, where all of this began four years ago, kitty-corner in the background.

California Gay Marriage Ruling

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Vox Hunt:公園

nobody@vox.com(Ganesh) — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:18:44 -0700

公園の写真を見せてください。

白山パノラマ

････････････････････････････････････････････････････････････････・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・国立公園・・・・・・・・。

三脚使えばよかったな。

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Score one for all humans in California

nobody@vox.com(emily sears) — Thu, 15 May 2008 19:35:22 -0700

California's top court legalizes gay marriage

Email this Story

May 15, 9:15 PM (ET)

By LISA LEFF

(AP) Domestic partners Davis Osterkamp, left, and Larry Martinez kiss near a Castro District street car...
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - California's Supreme Court declared that gay couples in the nation's biggest state can marry - a monumental but perhaps short-lived victory for the gay rights movement Thursday that was greeted with tears, hugs, kisses and at least one instant proposal of matrimony.

Same-sex couples could tie the knot in as little as a month. But the window could close soon after - religious and social conservatives are pressing to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November that would undo the Supreme Court ruling and ban gay marriage.

"Essentially, this boils down to love. We love each other. We now have equal rights under the law," declared a jubilant Robin Tyler, a plaintiff in the case along with her partner. She added: "We're going to get married. No Tupperware, please."

A crowd of people raised their fists in triumph inside City Hall, and people wrapped themselves in the rainbow-colored gay-pride flag outside the courthouse. In the Castro, long the center of the gay community in San Francisco, Tim Oviatt wept as he watched the news on TV.

(AP) Jon Davidson, legal director for Lambda Legal, left and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa...
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"I've been waiting for this all my life. This is a life-affirming moment," he said.

By the afternoon, gay and lesbian couples had already started lining up at San Francisco City Hall to make appointments to get marriage licenses. In West Hollywood, supporters planned to serve "wedding cake" at an evening celebration.

James Dobson - chairman of the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family, which has spent thousands of dollars to get the measure on the ballot - called the ruling an outrage.

"It will be up to the people of California to preserve traditional marriage by passing a constitutional amendment. ... Only then can they protect themselves from this latest example of judicial tyranny," he said in an e-mailed statement.

In its 4-3 ruling, the Republican-dominated high court struck down state laws against same-sex marriage and said domestic partnerships that provide many of the rights and benefits of matrimony are not enough.

(AP) Molly McKay, right, of Marriage Equality Rights USA, hugs her partner during a rally inside City...
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"In contrast to earlier times, our state now recognizes that an individual's capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual's sexual orientation," Chief Justice Ronald George wrote for the majority in ringing language that delighted gay rights activists.

Massachusetts in 2004 became the first, and so far only, state to legalize gay marriage; more than 9,500 couples have taken advantage of the law. But the California ruling is considered monumental by virtue of the state's size - 38 million out of a U.S. population of 302 million - and its historical role as the vanguard of many social and cultural changes that have swept the country since World War II.

California has an estimated 108,734 same-sex households, according to 2006 census figures.

"It's about human dignity. It's about human rights. It's about time in California," San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, pumping his fist in the air, told a roaring crowd at City Hall. "As California goes, so goes the rest of the nation. It's inevitable. This door's wide open now. It's going to happen, whether you like it or not."

Unlike Massachusetts, California has no residency requirement for obtaining a marriage license, meaning gays nationwide are likely to flock to the state to be wed, said Jennifer Pizer, an attorney who worked on the case.

(AP) Lesbian couple Robin Tyler, left, and Diane Olson, pose for a photo at the law office of their...
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The ultimate reach of the ruling could be limited, however, since most states do not recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. Nor does the federal government.

The conservative Alliance Defense Fund said it would ask the justices for a stay of the decision until after the fall election in hopes of adding California to the list of 26 states that have approved constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage.

"We're obviously very disappointed in the decision. The remedy is a constitutional amendment. The constitution defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman," said Glen Lavy, senior counsel for the organization.

Opponents of gay marriage could also ask the high court to reconsider. If the court rejects such a request, same-sex couples could start getting married in 30 days, the time it typically takes for the justices' opinions to become final.

Attorney General Jerry Brown, whose office had argued to uphold the ban, said Brown will work with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state agencies to implement the ruling.

(AP) Graphic shows same-sex relationship laws by state; 2c x 3 5/8 inches; 96.3 mm x 92.1 mm
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The case was set in motion in 2004 when the mayor of San Francisco - the unofficial capital of gay America - threw City Hall open to gay couples to get married in a calculated challenge to California law. Four thousand wed before the Supreme Court put a halt to the practice after a month.

Two dozen gay couples then sued, along with the city and gay rights organizations.

Thursday's ruling could alter the dynamics of the presidential race, as well as state and congressional contests in California and beyond, by causing a backlash among conservatives and drawing them to the polls in large numbers.

A spokesman for Republican John McCain, who opposes gay marriage, said the Arizona senator "doesn't believe judges should be making these decisions." The campaigns of Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton said they believe that the issue of marriage should be left to the states.

Ten states now offer some form of legal recognition to same-sex couples - in most cases, domestic partnerships or civil unions. In the past few years, the courts in New York, New Jersey and Washington state have refused to allow gay marriage.

Outside the San Francisco courthouse, gay marriage supporters cried and cheered as news of the decision spread. Jeanie Rizzo, one of the plaintiffs, called Pali Cooper, her partner of 19 years, via cell phone and asked, "Pali, will you marry me?"

California already offers same-sex couples who register as domestic partners many of the legal rights and responsibilities afforded to married couples, including the right to divorce and to sue for child support.

Citing a 1948 California Supreme Court decision that overturned a ban on interracial marriages, the justices struck down the state's 1977 one-man, one-woman marriage law, as well as a similar, voter-approved law that passed with 61 percent in 2000.

The chief justice was joined by Justices Joyce Kennard and Kathryn Werdegar, all three of whom were appointed by Republican governors, and Justice Carlos Moreno, the only member of the court appointed by a Democrat.

In a dissent, Justice Marvin Baxter agreed with many arguments of the majority but said that the court overstepped its authority and that changes to marriage laws should be decided by the voters. Justices Ming Chin and Carol Corrigan also dissented.

California's secretary of state is expected to rule by the end of June whether the sponsors gathered enough signatures to put the amendment on the ballot.

Schwarzenegger, a Republican who has twice vetoed legislation that would have granted marriage to same-sex couples, said in a statement that he respected the court's decision and "will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling."

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Associated Press writers Terence Chea, Jason Dearen, Juliana Barbassa and Evelyn Nieves in San Francisco and Liz Sidoti in Washington contributed to this report.

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A good review of Speed Racer ...

nobody@vox.com(Mark) — Thu, 15 May 2008 19:20:38 -0700

The more I think about the movie, "Speed Racer", the more I realize that I actually thought it was pretty cool. In an IMAX theater, or on a home theater with a large flat-screen and cool surround sound (which I don't have), it would be really awesome.

I hated reading all the bad reviews of it so I thought I would post a good review of that seems to get it right ...

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1738497,00.html

That review is from TIME magazine.

It's sad when movies are not appreciated in their time. A good example is "Blade Runner", which is one of the best movies ever to me, but it's lifetime gross is only about $32 million (and it was re-released recently).

I'm not saying "Speed Racer" is as good as "Blade Runner", but the visuals of "Speed Racer" blow most movies away.

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