Christmas Meme

Here are the questions:

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Pretty wrap, mostly, though bags are not out of the question. I like to challenge myself to see how creative I can get with what I can find on hand and what I have found on sale. And I reuse a lot of stuff. If I get pretty ribbons from people or really nice wrap, if possible, they are saved to reuse the next year.

2. Real tree or Artificial?
Depends on my life. I used to always say real. But I live in SoCal and after a couple of years of real trees at WAY too expensive prices getting dry after a day, I opted for a fake tree that I paid for once and can reuse every year without fear of fire. Note: Even fake trees lose needles.

3. When do you put up the tree?
Usually Thanksgiving weekend, though I've been known to do it around December 15. Depends on my life - am I working a lot, do I have the energy and hope to clean the apartment and pull out the stuff.

4. When do you take the tree down?
Never before Epiphany - January 6, which is the 12th day of Christmas.

5. Do you like eggnog?
Yes, I do. So there.

6. Favorite gift received as a child:
As a young kid - a barbie apartment. Though just a few years later, at around 12, I got my favoritest gift ever - a desk and stool. The desk was really simple and my grampa made it using our old crib as some of the materials. The stool was just a wicker stool. They lasted for years. Still had the desk when I was in college, but I was moving and didn't have room to move it and gave it to a roommate. Shouldna done that. Kept the stool and it finally fell apart about 10 years ago.

7. Hardest person to buy for?
Men. Most men in my life - gay or straight - I just can't seem to hit their gift vibe. I try. But typically, what they want, I can't afford. And they aren't interested in the cute little decorated nailfiles I found on sale at the general store down the street that make my girlfriends squeal. Got my dad a trainset, small, mind you, one year, only to get a, "yeah, it's okay."
Men.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
Most of the women I know, but especially my sister. I always see things that I think she'll like. THe trick is to not just buy for her.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
At one time I had a home made one that I made while in grade school out of homemade dough clay that I painted and shellacked. It lasted for years until I think one year it got left in my trunk and the trunk had a leak in it. Now I have some tiny wood ornament I hang on my tree. I haven't seen a nativity scene I'm willing to spend money on. Most look too too to me. I prefer a nativity scene that might be a little more modern - pared down. Simple shapes, not too much detail. The kind of scene where someone could look at it and easily think that it could be anyone in there - any young girl looking at her baby and scared man who doesn't know what to do with a family.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail, if possible. I like real mail. Positive, real mail - not just bills. And I'm sure other people do too. And in case you think it's a waste. I don't think so. All the card I get, I reuse. I save the ones with real notes in them, but the others, I cut up and reuse the next year for gift tags.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
A plastic lobster accompanied by a plastic seagull on a plastic post. I have no idea why my friend thought it was funny. But he did. So I laughed when he gave it to me as if I understood, cuz I didn't want to hurt his feelings, and then donated them soon after.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
Christmas Carol with Alistair Sim
Holiday Inn with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire
Miracle on 34th Street - both 1946 and 1994

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
All year round, but especially after CHristmas when all the sales are on. I keep a gift cupboard and whenever I'm on a trip or at a sale and see something that I know would make a good gift later, I get it then. Put it in my cupboard, and then bdays and Christmas are not so much of a hardship.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
I usually end up donating presents I don't care for. Typically, if I don't care for them, I don't think anyone else will either.

15.Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
My cranberry relish on toast. I also like to have a little smorgasborg I share with the cat - whatever I can afford that's cold cut like and cheesy.

16. Lights on the tree?
I like white lights, mostly, but I also really like bubble lights. A lot of them have burned out. I need to replace a string or two, but haven't been able to afford to. Maybe I'll find some on sale after Christmas this year.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
Christmas Carol or Christmas Song? I have quite a few. Love the Wexford Carol and the Boar's Head Carol. Good Christian Men Rejoice and COventry Carol and many others. ALso like songs like White Christmas, Old-Time CHristmas, and many others...

18.Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Depends. This year staying home. But sometimes I travel up north for Cmas.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Now Dasher! Now Dancer! Now Prancer and Vixen!
On Comet! On Cupid! On Donder and Blitzen!
And sometimes Rudolph. And don't forget Olive. And Rudolph's younger brother.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Angel. But not the angels you think. Again - ultra modern where it is shape and form that suggests angelic-ness. I grew up with this angel mom got at a drugstore that I've never been able to replace. It was simple. Cone, head at top. Wings, and a halo. In bright tin painted blue and gold. Angels have no gender and are not children. They are separate beings with their own classifications. We shouldn't impose what we think we are on them. So, I like just the simple suggestion of angelic-ness.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Christmas morning. It ruins it to do it all on the Eve. Though it's okay to open one on the Eve.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
Having to apologize to all my cynical friends that yes, in fact, I REALLY DO LIKE CHRISTMAS, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
Orange kitties is one. Pretty shoes is another. Angels. Instruments. Motion ornaments that you hang over the lights so they'll move (heat propelled). Whatever is pretty.

24. Favorite item of holiday wear?
I have wreath earrings I like a lot. And at this time of year (Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years) I can freely wear a lot of the blingy, sparkly stuff I have without having to make an excuse for it.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
I would like the world to come a little closer to love, peace, and understanding. I would love for my sister and dad to declare a truce. I would love for Prop 8 to be repealed and people's eyes be opened to the harm that prop does. But if you're really interested, check my Amazon wishlist. It's long and there's lots to choose from.

26. On a scale of 1 to 10, how many lights (like the Griswalds) do you have outside?
None. I live in an apartment. I have a couple of strings of lights I keep up around the windows year round. I don't turn them on often, except at Christmas. I like pretty sparkly lights.

29. Favorite Christmas tradition?
Doing stockings for my mom and sister.

30. Non-stop Christmas music radio station?
THere's a clear channel radio station I only listen to around after Thanksgiving that has tunes that I listen to when I'm tired of my own, and there's Live365 online that has Christmas year round. The clear channel station tends to be a bit smarmy and play the same stuff over and over again - usually that shitty song about the red shoes.

31. Stockings or not?
YES!

32. Pie or Cake?
Pie if it's good and cake if it's good. But I prefer cookies and candy and scandinavian/germanic breads. Pralines, pfefferneuse, liebkuchen, tortone, and stuff like that.

33. Do gift cards make good gifts?
Not this christmas. You don't know which company is going to go belly up next. Get them a Visa or American Express gift card that they can spend anywhere.

34. What is your preferred spelling for the Jewish Festival of Lights?
I grew up with the H beginning, but respect the C beginning.

The Family that Protests Together...

Has the best bellbottoms!

On Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 10:30 AM, I joined my friends and several thousand others across the United States to march for marriage equality. We were in downtown LA, the area between City Hall and the LA Times building. There were many speakers at the event. Alec Mapa was the MC. Mayor Villaraigosa gave a speech in English and Spanish. Rev. Eric Lee of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was there and have a speech. Several LA Council members, Rocky Gelgadillo, the prosecutor gave a speech. Lucy Lawless gave a speech. I saw Pauley Perrette (Abby from NCIS) making her way through the crowd.

This was an incredible event, almost too much to write about coherently. You can read more about the different rallies all over the US on Towleroad. Towleroad has a gallery as well if you want to see some of the pics from the protests around the US.

This was to be a nationwide, and even global wide, protest of Prop. 8 and other laws like it. I am proud of the Angelenos who showed their support no matter what the orientation. One woman spoke about how the proposition basically nullified her entire family - her two gay dads and lesbian mother, as well as her sister, are not considered a family. Yet, they raised her. Her mother was more worried about whether or not she’d be hurt at the protest than what the protest was about - just like any mother. Her fathers, like any parents, took she and her sister to school, gave them snacks, went to parent-teacher conferences and have raised two beautiful girls. But there are people in the world who don’t think that counts. For some reason some people fear that perfectly non-threatening family.

Ignorance leads to fear and fear to hate and discrimination. If you don’t understand why two people of the same sex fall in love and want to get married, then ask them! They will give you the same answers people of the opposite sex would give. If you don’t understand why people are so angry about not being able to marry, then ask them and they will explain it to you. And you will hear the same explanation you’d get from people who were banned from marrying from one another because they were different races or different religions.

One of the signs I liked the most (besides the one my friends had showing how they’d been together for 19 years - more than most marriages) was the socialist looking “Defend Equality Love Unites.” I think that was the best message because it’s true. All you need is love.

If you believe in marriage equality, I urge you to raise your voice and let others know. Try going to rallies and marches, it's a good bonding experience. Volunteer for phone banks. If going to protests and rallies isn't your thing, then write your congresspeople, write letters to the editor, blog about it, host open discussions where people can ask and discuss this without getting villified, talk to your neighbors and family about. As one speaker yesterday said, make this the most interesting Thanksgiving you've ever had.

Poetry Published in Electric Velocipede!

Electric Velocipede is a scifi/steampunk type journal and it is publishing two of my poems, The Story and Homemade Rosewater. EV is a print journal, but it has some of the poetry and fiction online if you want to check it out, including my two poems.

So, take a look. Hope you enjoy!

My New Prop. 8 Litmus Test

While I’m happy about the results of the presidential election, I’m deeply disappointed with the results on Prop. 8 here in California that changed the state constitution to take away the rights of people of the same sex to get married. So, I’ve decided I need a new litmus test for where I will and will not spend my money. From now on, if I am going to pay someone a significant amount of money my question will be 1) How did you vote on Prop. 8 or 2) How do you feel about gay marriage? or 3) How do you feel about separation of church and state?

If I get any answer implying they voted for Prop. 8 or are against marriage equality for everyone or think it's okay to get their religious beliefs legislated then they will not get my money. I know I can’t do that with everything, but with those things I have a control over, I want to try to stick to that. Maybe if I vote with my piddly little dollars, or if others pay with their dollars, people will finally understand that you can’t legislate belief systems.

If you believe abortion or gay marriage or birth control is wrong, fine. Believe it. But don’t force the rest of us into your belief system. This is a country that was founded on the separation of Church and State. And part of the Declaration of Independence is the Pursuit of Happiness. I think marrying the person you love, no matter what their gender, qualifies as Pursuit of Happiness!

And if you insist on trying to legislate your belief system then remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees. Give to God what is God’s. Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. Separation of Church and State - right there.

Also, considering much of the funding for Yes on 8 was from out of state, I’ve decided to write my representatives. If a sovereign state is deciding a constitutional issue, it should be against the law to accept funds from outside the state for that campaign.

My best friend was at a Marriage Equality protest last night. You can read about it here.

Find your representative here.

Find your congressperson here.

Take a break from the election

Check out the chocolate articles on Chocolate Zoom!