Super Awesome Blog

The short answer is yes. For a longer answer, read Lisa Neff’s article at 365GAY.com – it’s enlightening. Not only does the Salvation Army passively discriminate against gays but they also actively lobby Congress to fight equality for gays.

When you see that red kettle just keep on walking… why don’t you give money to a charity, local or national, that doesn’t discriminate? Here are some good options:

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Goodwill Industries

Lambda Legal

One Iowa

Check your local area and see if there are any causes worthy of your support. A little change can do a lot of good – just make sure you like where that change is going!

Over 100 different performances of the play The Laramie Project will be performed across the nation this week in remembrance of  Matthew Shepard, a gay man who was  savagely murdered 11 years ago.   The play was created shortly after Matthew’s murder and was based upon interviews of people who knew him or were involved in his murder investigation.  It’s pretty powerful stuff, so if you’re an easy crier bring some kleenex.

Often people who become symbols of a cause can seem a little less human – I think he’s remembered more for his death than his life.  Some things you might not know about Matthew’s life:

“Matthew Shepard was born in Casper, Wyoming to Judy Peck and Dennis Shepard. He attended Natrona public schools including Crest Hill Elementary School and Dean Morgan Junior High School. He later attended Natrona County High School from his freshman to sophomore year, before transferring to The American School in Switzerland. After graduating from high school in 1995, he attended Catawba College and Casper College before he relocated to Denver. Shepard then became a first-year political science major at the University of Wyoming and was chosen as the student representative for the Wyoming Environmental Council.

He was described by his parents as “an optimistic and accepting young man [who] had a special gift of relating to almost everyone. He was the type of person who was very approachable and always looked to new challenges. Matthew had a great passion for equality and always stood up for the acceptance of people’s differences.”

Because of his sexuality, Shepard faced physical and verbal abuse. In 1995, during a high school trip to Morocco, he was beaten and raped, causing him to withdraw and experience bouts of depression and panic attacks, according to his mother. One of Shepard’s friends feared his depression caused him to become involved with drugs during his time in college^.”

-Wikipedia

Critics have tried to draw the hate out from the crime, saying drugs had more to do with it than homophobia… which I personally doubt.  Even if drugs were involved it’s pretty clear homophobia was a factor.  Either way it tarnishes Shepard’s memory and that’s a shame.

It’s pretty clear history is going to proclaim him a martyr for gay rights.  Let’s not forgot that he was a real person as well.  A kind human being with thoughts and feelings, people he loved and people who loved him.

Before I start what is likely to be interpreted as an anti-bicycle rant I want to make something clear.  I have three goals when I drive my car:

1. Don’t kill anyone.

2. Don’t die.

3. Get from point A to point B.

Now, as I write this I just got home after nearly running over a man on a bicycle driving at about 5pmh on one of the busiest roads in town.  He was in the middle of the right lane driving like he was a car. The bicyclist was slowing down traffic in the right lane, causing everyone to change lanes to go around him, conjesting traffic in the left lane and nearly causing some accidents there too!  I was furious.  Not only was the man seriously constipating traffic he was endangering his own life and others.

This was one of several near misses I’ve had over the last month.  Earlier last week I saw a bicyclist ride up to some cars at a red light, weave in and out around them, and run the red to take a left through a busy intersection.  Remarkably he didn’t die. There are many more examples and I’m sure you’ve seen a number yourself.

Now, in case you’re not familiar with the differences between a “car” and a “bicycle” here’s are some before and after pictures of a rear impact to both classes of vehicles to help illustrate my point:

Above is a 2010 Ford Taurus.  On the left is how the car normally looks, and on the right is how the car looks after a rear collision.

Above is a typical bicyclist riding on the road like he’s in a car.  On the right is what a bicycle looks like after getting hit in a rear collision.

You don’t want to see the bicyclist.

I love my bicycle.  I ride it whenever I can, but when I do I try to be cautious and defensive.  Bicyclist need to stay to the right on streets, and only ride on them if no sidewalk is available.  It’s for everyone’s safety.  Simple as that.

My boyfriend and I have been trying to find an apartment in our town for sometime now… the goal is a nice 2 bedroom in a good neighborhood for about $700.  You can get a mortgage for a $100k house for about that much a month, so you’d think we’d be able to find something decent.  However, even as the hour gets later and the dreaded move out deadline approaches, we have still had no luck.

This is a college town, so most apartments have an enormous ebb and flow of residents on the July 31st -> August 1st.  If you don’t rent your apartment by August 1st, chances are no one is going to be moving into it.  I had thought that as the 31st approached that landlords would be desperate to get tenants to fill up the apartments and prices would go down.

It does not, apparently, work that way.  Instead, property owners hold on to the property and maintain it while it accrues value, then sell it several years down the line to someone else who does the same thing years later, creating cash flow.  Tenants who live there merely provide extra cash, pay for the help, etc. So you have lots of unoccupied units and landlords who will not budge on the prices.

This has resulted in a very pissed off SAB Guy.  I suspect that in a few decades my town will be littered with very nice, overpriced, and very empty buildings as far as the eye can see.

Hurumph.