Sputnik Sweetheart

I love weekends with no plans. I'm on my way in my journey to read many books this summer. I just finished reading Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami. He's a Japanese writer and his books are translated into many languages. I really enjoyed this book. The plot twist took me by surprise. I love when that happens. The theme of this book is about human longing and relationships and what becomes of relationships when our desires aren't met.

This book is part of my collection of books written by Asian authors that I'm reading to learn more about the various Asian cultures and history. I think that part of the world is truly mysterious to me since my western eduction didn't focus much on it. My preference for learning is to do it through reading fiction. I believe that there is a great deal of truth in fiction. What I learned from reading Sputnik Sweetheart is how similar Japanese culture is to our own. Yes, I've seen Lost in Translation and, yes, the images of Tokyo are a lot like a modern city in the U.S. But the movie isn't about Japanese people or their habits or culture. It's about human longing. Hmmm....

Anyway, you can't know all there is to know just by watching one film or reading one book. That's why this journey will continue for some time. It's way more fun than reading a history book. Another great Asian, Chinese to be more specific, author is Anchee Min. She writes during the time of Mao and the Cultural Revolution. She's an amazing writer and I've learned a lot about the history of the Communist Party in China through her work. Of course, these aren't history books, so don't be turned off. The plots are wonderful and I always feel so satisfied when I finish one of her books. I can't even recommend one over the other, but I'll try. I really loved Wild Ginger and Becoming Madame Mao. But Red Azalea was the first book I read of Min's and it will always have a special place for me.

Anyway, my next book is ... well I'll just write about it later.

Try an iced latte with your summer reading. Yum.

Kudos for Trudeau

G.B. Trudeau, author of the political comic strip Doonesbury, has taken on the topic of MST in this week's strip. MST stands for Military Sexual Trauma. Here's the strip, reprinted without permission.

GBT doesn't assume he can really take the perspective of a MST victim, but he brings attention to the issue in a very sensitive way. His desire to write about the ills of our society is very respectable. He could always come up with a story to mock W, but he continues to explore uncharted territory. That's all I want to say.

p.s. He also has a great forum for soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. It's call the Sandbox. I think it's wonderful that he provides a space where they can describe what's happening in their own words.

How I got my start in caffeine

After you reach a certain age, you can't remember the first time you drank coffee. It's been a part of my life so long, I don't remember the first sip. But I know that first taste occurred at a young age.

Coffee is a big part of family life (even dysfunctional ones). Like most adults, my parents drank coffee every morning. But the coffee moments that have the most significance are the after-dinner coffees with my grandparents. Like clockwork, when we finished eating, we had coffee. No, they weren't serving me coffee. They served me coffee-flavored milk. And it was good.

It was enough to give me the taste for coffee. And as I got older, my coffee-flavored milk became milky coffee.

Because I knew I liked coffee, and because my parents drank it every morning, I decided in high school that I would also drink it every morning. Now, what I considered coffee then, is actually something I consider quite blasphemous now. Brace yourself. My parents drank instant coffee. And used powdered creamer. Yep. Horrible, right? Yet, I always strove to create the perfect cup. In the evening, I would set up the cup so that all I had to do was pour in the hot water. I would put in a teaspoon of coffee (or whatever serving it was), a teaspoon of creamer and sugar and I'd stir it all together so it was blended. Then when I poured the hot water in all the flavors would blend.

It sounds disgusting now. Fake coffee and cream. Yuck. And sugar in my coffee. Yuck. However, that's how it started. I drank that concoction a long time. I'm not exactly sure when the transition to real coffee happened. I wasn't averse to drinking brewed coffee, but I just didn't know anything about it. Things changed when I got a job at a cafe. There was an espresso machine there. And brewed coffee. Around the same time, I developed a taste for espresso drinks, similar to the coffee-flavored milk I used to drink as a kid. For a while, I was drinking breves daily. That's intense. Espresso and steamed cream. The size of a latte. Yum. Decedent. And drinking those can lead to weight gain so I don't recommend making a habit of it.

The first cafe I worked at wasn't so focused on the coffee part. But then I went to work in a French-inspired bakery/cafe. There we served Cafe La Semeuse. It's good ... and expensive. But that was the place I discovered really good coffee. And really good espresso. And there was no turning back. I bought the best coffee-making machinery I could afford (and there are many options from basic to fancy). I bought a coffee grinder so that I would never brew pre-ground coffee again. And I embarked on a life-long journey to find good beans.

Now I've already confessed in previous posts that I drink ground coffee. So you can imagine that my journey has taken a few turns, mostly due to the necessity of rising early for my job. There's nothing that turns an overnight guest away more than the sound of the coffee grinder at 4:30 AM. Something told me I had to grind the coffee in advance and that just led to buying it already ground for me.

So that's my story. I think coffee is an acquired taste, and my journey has some bad chapters in it, but who's doesn't?

Happy brewing.

Gotta tend the earth...

... if you want a rose. (Indigo Girls, Hammer & a Nail.)

Today is my day to garden. I love to tend my vegetable garden. It's so rewarding to work the dirt and nurture plants.

This year's garden has cucumber, tomato (grape, yellow pear, early girls, and steak), yellow crookneck squash, red bell peppers, zucchini, and herbs (basil, thyme, rosemary, cilantro). Right now, I'm waiting for the grape tomatoes to ripen. There are many. We also have a zucchini and some cucumbers growing. And there are many buds on the other tomato plants. Fruits of my labor. Real fruit! That's gratification.

It's so satisfying to work in the yard. I think it's the feeling of creating something from the earth. Or nurturing something that's alive. Pruning, cutting, tilling the soil, weeding. All day long, five days a week, I sit at a desk under fluorescent lights, the life seeping out of me. When I get home, the garden reminds me of life and growth, reinvigorating me. It allows me perspective on the days I sit in an office, not creating or growing anything.

Actually, I have plants on my desk. I give them a lot of attention. One is a Christmas Cactus, one is a Peace Lily, and I don't know what the other two are called. I talk to them, water them, give them plant food. They are like an oasis on my desk. A reminder that beyond the walls of the office, and the concrete of the city, a lush green world awaits waiting for attention. They are brave plants to be surviving office life.

I just finished reading Falling Boy by Alison McGhee. It was a really good book. It's been a while since I sat down to read a good book and this reminded me that I love to read. It wasn't a book that changed my life, but I enjoyed reading it and I thought it was well written. It's about a boy, Joseph, who is paraplegic, living in a new town and working in a bakery (one of the reasons I liked it, since I, too, used to work in a bakery/cafe). The two people he interacts most with are a brother and sister who have some interesting issues and have this desire to see Joseph as a superhero. The story of the brother and sister and Joseph's past unfolds in the book. It's a short book (208 pages) and worth the read.

Career Day

Sometimes we laugh at things because they are just painfully true. That's why I love this Dilbert strip.

That's me, spending forty hours a week in a cubicle, pretending that the fluorescent light is really the sun and that my computer screen is a window into the world. Luckily, I don't have the idiot supervisor that uses fear to coerce work. But my office is rows of cubicles in what are called "six packs." That's how they come, like a six pack.

I feel like I'm being warehoused. Aged to retirement. In the summer, we try to get out of the office. Our work (which shall remain a mystery) requires it. But in the winter, we're like bears that hibernate. I rarely see the sun and suffer from seasonal affective disorder because of it.




But the upside of it all, if you can call it that, is the camaraderie that I have with my coworkers. It's like we're surviving the warehousing together. Something a little more mild than POWs.




And, I shouldn't have to say this, but I will, one key component to survival is coffee. The caffeine flowing through your blood reminds you you're alive and kicking.




Baltimore was beautiful today. It was 80 degrees with a fabulous cool breeze. You could drink hot or iced coffee and be comfortable. The evening cooled down to 70. I wouldn't guess this is a Baltimore summer, but I know that ever oppressive humidity is on its way.

Coming up in future posts I'll talk about Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City and possible third party presidential candidate. I'll also discuss how Starbucks has worn me down.

7-Eleven Coffee

Like most people, I need to have coffee to start my day. I usually prepare a pot at home to get me through my morning routine. But I often find that's not enough to get me started at work, so once I get to work, I buy another cup of coffee. 7-Eleven coffee.

The coffee station at 7-Eleven is brewing like mad between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. They must have at least fourteen different pots with all sorts of flavors. This isn't coffee that's been sitting around waiting for takers. A 7-Eleven employee mans the station brewing constantly. I drink the hazelnut.

But why 7-Eleven? You probably think I have no other choice, but not so. Actually, on the same block there is a Dunkin' Donuts and, wait for it, a Starbucks. But for my morning fix, I drink 7-Eleven. Hazelnut.

Let's get the easy one out of the way. Dunkin' Donuts. Their coffee isn't actually that bad. However, why do they insist on fixing it themselves? I don't like for others to put cream in my coffee (except for my sweetheart who knows just how I like it). Just because I like cream in my coffee doesn't mean I want my coffee to look pale. There is an exact shade of creaminess that only I know. Therefore, I've never been happy with a cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee. And frankly, even though the coffee is not that bad, it's really not that good either. Dunkin' Donuts does donuts, and coffee is an afterthought. I don't like afterthought coffee.

But why not Starbucks? I mean, Starbucks is all about coffee, right? Well, yes, I suppose. Starbucks is the McDonald's of coffee. There's no room for variation. There's an exact formula for coffee and coffee drinks. I don't believe that's how coffee should be made. Coffee is a personal experience. A person who makes coffee or espresso drinks should understand the art of coffee and feel a connection between themselves and the drink they are creating. But Starbucks doesn't want that. Most chains don't want that. They need consistency to sell their product. They want you to know that no matter which Starbucks you enter, you will get the same taste every time. And the taste of a regular cup of joe just isn't that good. I don't agree with the Starbucks brewing technique. I don't know what they do, but I don't like the results. The coffee is either too bitter or acidic. I like a smooth, full-bodied coffee. Starbucks coffee tastes burnt or stale to me. Now, if I want a latte or iced latte, I will go to Starbucks. But I don't drink those everyday. For my morning jump start, it's got to be a regular cup of joe.

Okay, so given that I'm a coffee snob, how do I bring myself to drink regular ole coffee from 7-Eleven? I like the simplicity of it. They know they are brewing just regular coffee. And they know how important that coffee is to the scores of coffee drinkers that come in every morning. They have that connection. Someone is there to watch over the coffee counter, wipe it down regularly, brew coffee as soon as it's needed, wipe down the counter again, make sure the cream is full, make sure you have everything you need to make that essential cup of joe. It's just that simple. Is it good? Well, it's not great. It's not that kind of coffee great that you get at a good restaurant after a fabulous meal. Or that kind of bagel shop great where the folks know a bagel tastes better with a great cup of coffee. But it's definitely good enough. And I just drink the flavored kind to make up for the lack of quality. It's a psychological trick, but it works.

You'll find that my coffee snobbery works in mysterious ways, but after a while you'll catch on to what I find important in the world of java.

So today is a very happy day for me. My partner, Caroline, just returned from a 10-day trip to Finland during which time we didn't get to communicate that much. I missed her terribly. But this morning we woke up together and everything felt right and normal again. Driving into work, I felt really good. When I stopped into 7-Eleven, they had bananas at just the right ripeness, and that made me even happier. So when I got to the counter, I decided today would be a good day to buy a scratch-off lottery ticket. I could feel it would be a winner. And it was! $2. That's a 100% return on my money. Life is good.

He's not going to win, but...

...I love him.




I never heard of Senator Mike Gravel from Alaska until this debate (South Carolina). Even after two terms in the Senate, he believes in peace and he's a radical (comparatively). Listen to what he's got to say. I wish he could be rewarded for his positions with votes, but we don't vote for ideas anymore. Not at this level. Barack and Hillary have already been ordained as the two we get to choose from. I don't have a problem with either of them. I like them both. But they will never say anything too creative or go out on a limb.

Our process for picking candidates guarantees we'll never get anyone that strays too far from the center. The differences will be nuanced. Of course, I desperately want to see a Democrat in the White House, but it's mostly because of what they won't do rather than what they will do. They won't appoint a justice to the Supreme Court who doesn't agree with Roe v. Wade. They won't sign the Federal Marriage Amendment. They won't use gay issues to divide the nation.

But (sadly) I doubt they will provide health care for all. I doubt our schools will improve under a Democrat. The nuance here is that I know under a Republican, we won't have health care for all. I know our schools won't improve. You see the differences are pretty small.

But I don't know if I can survive another term of Republican arrogance. I don't know if our country could survive it. So take a look at Senator Gravel, and dream, just for a second, that our candidates will have such brave ideas. And then just wait and see who wins the fundraising war.

Coffee tip #5: Today was a heat advisory day, with temperatures reaching 100 degrees. For the die hard "don't water down my coffee" iced coffee drinker, try making coffee ice cubes. Put those in your iced coffee and never experience watered down coffee again! Or, put some toothpicks in the ice tray and make coffee popsicles. Yum!

Afraid of the lights

When I was a kid, I was afraid of the dark. Who knew what horrible monster was waiting to snatch me? Now, that I'm older, I'm more afraid of the lights. What's brought on this 180? Baltimore Gas and Electric, aka BGE.

June 1st marked the beginning of the 50% rate increase BGE customers are now paying. Already expensive bills are now 50% more. Our elected officials, who spent most of last summer campaigning and promising to stop this rate increase, spent last winter doing absolutely nothing to help their constituents. I believe they were all on vacation June 1st when the rate increase took effect. I'm pretty angry about it, if that's not obvious.

Nevertheless, I'm stuck with this rate increase and now a new phobia. I've been walking around the house, turning out the lights in every room. I cook in the dark, only allowing light in the kitchen after I burn myself. Halogen light bulbs, programmable thermostats, whatever it takes. Light-Nazi.

I've put a heavy blanket over the bedroom window to prevent the sun from heating the room. The bedroom is the hottest room in the house because it gets the most exposure to the sun. Luckily the house tends to stay cooler than the temperature outside, but I keep the AC set at 80 degrees to make sure it's not running all day. Typically that setting is sufficient, but when I came home yesterday, the air was running. It was that hot!

BGE says try not to use appliances during peak hours, so I wake up around midnight to start the laundry. Also, I set the dishwasher to run in the middle of the night.

Did you know that computers are energy hogs? I've changed the settings on my laptops to reduce power usage. I don't really need to see the screen all the time anyway.

Global warming isn't helping either. It's rained maybe two times in the last two months. The drought has parched the grass and plants. And the lack of clouds hasn't given the sun a break in a long time. I've got a book on Native American rain dances. I'll be practicing that later.

Onto another topic, I have three cats. This is going to sound like a commercial, but I've struggled with litter box odor. It seems like no matter how often it's cleaned, the litter box always makes my basement stink. Since the basement is also like a den and I spend a lot of time down here (trying to stay cool), that smell drives me crazy. I typically don't like sprays because they are too perfumy and don't mix well with litter box odor. Well, I found something that works great! It's Oust Air sanitizer. I'm not kidding. It's supposed to eliminate odor and it really works. And it smells good. I bought the outdoor scent and it smells so good. It's my new favorite thing. I highly recommend it.

Finally, coffee tip #4. It's hot outside and you want a refreshing iced latte. When you make iced latte, pour the milk over the ice before putting in the shots of espresso. If you pour the espresso over the ice first, the ice will melt and water down the coffee. Or you could pour the ice into the already prepared latte, but I find that to result in splashed coffee.

Baltimore needs more drag queens

Happy Pride, Baltimore! It's that time again to celebrate our queerness. I love this time of year. It's my favorite month (starts off with my birthday). It's my favorite season. And right in the middle of it, we have this great celebration.

Pride!

My favorite thing about Pride is the display of outrageousness. But this is where my hometown disappoints. Baltimore is home to some scary drag queens. Listen, I love drag queens. The effort that goes into transforming oneself and then entertaining us is amazing. Or not. In Baltimore, our drag queens leave something to be desired. And I think the problem is that there just aren't enough of them. Competition breeds creativity. Well, we lack competition here in Charm City.

Pride weekend is the time for queers to show what they are made of, to be the most outrageous we can be. I was disappointed that the block party, which should bring out the freakiest of our folk, really lacked any sense of grandiosity. The best we had to offer was these three lovely gals (sorry for the poor quality, took the picture with my phone). The one on the left was very impressive with her headdress of fresh flowers.

There is some hope for us who love drag queens. Andora Te'tee (shown above), Miss Gay Maryland 2006, is truly lovely. I met the fellow behind Andora years ago, before he was 21, and he aspired to be a drag queen. And he followed that dream to its fullest and truly embodies the energy of a glamorous woman. You can see the effort he makes to look like a woman. I love it.


Baltimore drag is like the ugly, illegitimate child of Washington, DC and New York. We try so hard to get attention, but we just don't get it. Despite our challenges, there are those in this town dedicated to keeping hope alive by hosting drag shows and providing a venue for our struggling drag queens. The Hippo is the center of our drag community. They are the proud sponsors of the Miss Gay Maryland contest. They even plan drag king shows when kings are available. Friday nights are Female Impersonation night. And there's always a drag queen on hand for Gay Bingo.


I'm not trying to be over critical here. Goodness knows those drag queens are (at times) more feminine then I'll ever be. I just think Baltimore needs to get over its low self-esteem. Baltimore can be home to a thriving, creative gay scene. Let's just do it instead of going to DC or New York to get our fix.

A few things about coffee beans

Big coffee tip #3.

Many coffee drinkers are completely unaware of how their caffeine fix comes into being. Most know that coffee originates from berries, that are defruited and roasted. But what the hell are all the names about? What do they tell me? For a good summary of coffee, look here.

But there's a few things you should know for your own preparation. First, coffee beans should have a strong aroma. The roasting process brings out the aroma of a bean. If your beans don't have a strong smell, they won't have a good flavor. It will taste like water dressed in brown.

The second is color. The best beans are dark colored. A lot of people feel that the darker the bean, the stronger the coffee, but strength is only partly about roasting. Mostly strength is a result of preparation. So stick with the darkest bean. The darker the bean, the better.

Finally, beans should be oily. Roasting brings out the oil of a bean. A well roasted bean will be oily and the oils will add body and flavor to your coffee. When making espresso, the oil results in the crema which is the light colored foam on top. A sign of good espresso is the creamy consistency of the crema.

So what does all this mean to you? You buy your beans in a bag, you can't tell what they look like until you get home, right? Well, you should take a closer look. Bad coffee beans can result in a bad coffee trip. Shaking and headaches are the result of bad beans.

For the best cup of coffee, buy your beans whole and grind them right before brewing. I'm not going to get into the different grinds here, but for regular drip, I'd grind it about ten to fifteen seconds. Then brew with cold water. The amount you use will determine the strength of your coffee. Some recommend two tablespoons for every 6 oz. cup. That's a bit too strong for me. I usually use about 1.5 tablespoons for every cup.

Achieving coffee perfection takes a lot of dedication, and time. Frankly, if you came to my house, you'd see I buy my coffee already ground. I drink Peet's coffee. This company dedicates itself to the greatness of coffee, so I leave my coffee well-being in their hands. I haven't been let down yet.

Finally, for all you flavored coffee drinkers, a little piece of important trivia. Flavored coffees are made from the weakest (as in quality) beans. Now, I'm not getting snobby here. I drink flavored coffee myself, but you should know what you're getting into when you drink that hot java. If you want to stick with a better brew, but still want flavor, add a shot of flavored syrup.

Enjoy!

Another victory for gay marriage!

Today is a great victory for gay marriage. The Massachusetts state legislature defeated a bill that would have sent an amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman to referendum. Since the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that gays and lesbians are entitled to marriage under the state's constitution, forces have been mobilized to take that right away by amending their constitution. The process to amend the state constitution takes several years. By defeating the amendment in the legislature, the process to amend the constitution will have to start all over.

It's already been three years since gay marriage was legal in Massachusetts. At this point, everyone has issue fatigue. Gays got married and life as we know it hasn't altered dramatically. The country is finally focusing (at least more so) on issues of real importance, like the disaster in Iraq. Most of the country is looking forward to deciding the next president. Most of us are not looking to turn back time and take away the right to marry from gays and lesbians.

This change will take time, but it's happening. We're witnessing a slow revolution and full equality and citizenship for gays and lesbians is not far off. That sounds pretty lofty, but I can't help but feel hopeful that after all these years living under an oppressive administration, we're finally gaining ground. This is despite having the Republicans in control for so long. If Bush couldn't stop our progress, the next president won't be able to. And I doubt the next president will put so much emphasis on these social issues since it hasn't done much to help the American people.

Maybe I'm just dreaming, but it feels good.

Peace, man.

How to get your news

I'm a political junky and a bit wonkish. I read three newspapers daily. Not cover to cover, actually, especially not cover to cover. No, each daily provides a specialty and each daily provides a different fix.

The Baltimore Sun gives me my dose of local news. I read two sections of the paper - the Maryland section and the Opinion section. I used to read the editorials, but I don't bother anymore. I do read the Letters to the Editor. The Letters section is the most read section of the newspaper. I'm interested in public opinion on local issues. Just a note, you have to read that section with a grain of salt. The editors of the Letters section have to publish a "balance" of letters. So even if they get 100 letters supporting an issue and 10 letters opposing the issue, the paper will publish 2 of each. Never the less, since it is the most read section of the paper, I read it.

I get my political news from the Washington Post. Being in the nation's capital, the Post has an advantage over other papers. The Post can get behind the scenes in that way that a hometown gal can give you the best tour of her town. And, I have to admit, it's a little gossipy. And I like that. I like it when we get a little caddy with the politicians. Also, I think the Post has the best editorial cartoonist - Tom Toles. Check out the way he draws George Bush!

Finally, I get my national and international news from the New York Times. The great thing about the Times is the in-depth coverage of the issue or event. When I haven't followed an issue, I go to the Times to get caught up. Sometimes the articles read like dissertations, but its worth it. My other favorite feature of the Times is Paul Krugman. He's an economist and his column is published on Tuesdays and Fridays. Krugman is a great columnist. Don't worry about the economist part, he writes about all sorts of stuff, and best yet, he calls Bush a liar and an idiot and then proves it. What I must object to, and if anyone with pull at the Times reads this, take note, what the hell is this Times Select crap? The website used to be 100% accessible, then one day someone decided to take some of the best features and charge you to look at them. That ended my love affair with Paul Krugman's columns, because I refuse to pay eight bucks a month to look at a website.

So that's the line-up of morning newspapers. When I want to add a little variety, I add the L.A. Times or the San Francisco Chronicle.

Recommended beverage for newspaper reading - hot coffee, light, no sugar.

Resuscitating the Immigration Debate

When the U.S. Congress doesn't know how to solve a problem, it resorts to what it does best - nothing. Everyone can agree on one thing - illegal immigration is a problem. But the agreement ends there and rather than compromise on a solution, many agree the best solution is no solution at all.

I don't have much of an opinion on the immigration debate. Well, at least not an informed one. I feel uneasy that I want to see immigration reform and so does President Bush. Maybe that's the extent to what we have in common. I don't understand all the issues. (Maybe Bush and I have that in common too.) When the bill died in the Senate, I read the Washington Post to learn more about what happened. The Post had a great summary on the debate, but it may be a little too simplistic. I also heard an opinion from a conservative group on NPR.

What I (think I) understand is that the U.S. has approximately 12 million illegal immigrants living in the country today. Rather than putting a whole bunch of money into extracting these illegal immigrants, the bill would provide them with a legal status to live in the U.S. The compromise in the bill is that Congress and the President would also fund additional immigration measures that prevent this situation from arising again. Also, some folks in the Senate want to help the families of immigrants by providing access to the U.S. as well. Apparently, that would add up to an additional 850,000 (not an exact figure) immigrants into the country.

It seemed like there was a coalition of Republicans and Democrats working to get this bill passed, but at the last minute, Republican holdouts stalled the bill indefinitely. "We can't give a free pass to those illegals who have been living in our great country and sucking up our great services," I'm guessing was the bottom line.

I think there are good arguments to be made on both sides. The myth that illegal immigrants don't pay taxes has already been disproved. But do immigrants use more services and remain persistently poverty-stricken? The conservative think tank (Grassfire.org? Search All Things Considered) said so. They said that immigrants that have come to the country after 1978 have remained poor while those who immigrated prior to 1978 lifted themselves out of poverty.

But those who are immigrating to the U.S. are doing it to make a better life for themselves. It's not malicious. They aren't intentionally stealing our goods and services. They are seeking opportunity. And that's the spirit our country was built on.

My bottom line is that a problem still exists and those we pay to solve national problems with policy refuse to do their jobs. Maybe they should be deported.


Coffee tip #2
How often does coffee drip from your coffee cup even though it has a lid? When you buy coffee, make sure the hole you drink from on the lid is not directly over the seam in the cup. It will drip all over you.

The ABCs of Isaiah

So Isaiah Washington was fired for using a gay slur. I guess I get to comment on this because I'm gay too. At least that's what my co-worker thought when she asked my opinion. I'm a Grey's Anatomy fan. I don't like to admit it that much, but one of the reasons for my newest t.v. addiction was the relationship between Isaiah Washington and Sandra Oh (a.k.a. Burke and Wang). They were a respite from the annoying whining of the title character, Meredith Grey.

But I'm not posting a critique of the t.v. show. I want to talk about the incident which led to Isaiah Washington's departure. The slur was uttered sometime in October. Several cast members were interviewed on various talk shows and Isaiah denied using the slur. I assume he did use the slur. I think it's a good assumption. He's admitted needing some kind of "rehab" which I guess is Hollywood's newest way of trying to get out of being held accountable for stupid shit.

But the point is that he used the slur months ago. Months ago. If ABC was so offended by it, why wasn't he fired then? How convenient that months of perpetuated drama surrounded the show and then after the season ends, Isaiah is fired. Clearly, ABC milked all the free press it was getting out of the controversy and once the season was over, there was no need for him.

And if T.R. Knight hadn't been gay, no one would have cared that Isaiah said "faggot." It's just that he got caught saying it about a real gay person. Why aren't we asking for resignations when anyone uses that word to degrade someone? Because ABC doesn't really care. No one does. You can say anything you want, but don't put the network in an awkward position by saying in front of the actual slurred party.

This isn't about which words are okay to use and which ones aren't. This isn't even about the gay and lesbian community. Who is served by firing Isaiah? Is our cause furthered any? I don't think so. If we are to really move forward from bigotry, we have to have dialogue. Before Isaiah was fired, he said he was doing some soul searching and he scheduled a meeting with GLAAD. Dialogue. Now no one will talk about the meaning of the word "faggot" and why it is a hateful, sometimes violent, word.

If dialogue had occurred, we could have tackled a number of issues, like racism and homophobia. We could have made a new and strong ally for our cause. Instead, we've lost that opportunity. Who's the real winner here? ABC. They got a great season out of Isaiah and then they can look politically correct by firing him. Who loses? The rest of us because we achieved nothing. We didn't create an opportunity from this conflict. Again, we're put back in the closet not to be heard from again until someone utters the word "faggot" in front of a real life gay person.

Welcome

Welcome to the Caffeine Diary. I hope you will find this blog informative and entertaining. The name "Caffeine Diary" comes from the Dar Williams song "Spring Street." I thought this appropriate for my blog since I have dedicated myself to the pursuit of caffeine excellence. Also, caffeine can inspire rants and I have plenty of those. But for now, here's a caffeine tip:

Summer is approaching (and feels like it's here right now) and iced coffee drinks will be all the rage. To achieve excellence in iced coffee, try this:

Step one: Brew a pot of your favorite coffee (make it extra strong). As soon as brewing is complete, turn off the burner and pour the coffee in a pitcher.*

Step two: Allow the coffee to cool to room temperature. This will prevent condensation from changing the coffee once it is placed in the refrigerator.

Step three: After coffee has cooled to room temperature, refrigerate overnight.

Step four: Pour chilled coffee in a tall glass with ice and enjoy black or with cream and sugar. Enjoy!

*For those of you who enjoy sugar in your coffee, add sugar to the coffee in step 1, stir until it is dissolved.

To achieve iced coffee excellence, please, please do NOT pour hot coffee over ice. This only creates nasty watered-down coffee. Not excellent.

Today it is supposed to reach 99 degrees in Baltimore. Perfect for a nice cup of iced coffee... (However, extremely dangerous to your skin and lungs. Stay inside.)