The REAL story in Rachel Maddow vs. Rand Paul over the 1964 Civil Rights Act is that SHE does not have equality and the Left doesn't care

Here is actress Kelly McGillis, who came out as a lesbian several months ago, from a recent interview — she is about the only lesbian or gay person besides me who is pointing out that the current issue regarding minority rights is that gays and lesbians comprise the ONLY minority that is not equal: Discrimination …

Moe, I LOVE bagpipes!

Well, after all, the bagpipes ARE a double reed instrument, like the bassoon, which I play. The first bagpipes I heard in person wafted over the small campus of Guilford College, in Greensboro, North Carolina, where I spent my summers from 1968-70 when I was in high school, attending the Eastern Music Festival, which is …

Elina Garanca sings 'Chanson Boheme,' 'The Gypsy Song,' from 'Carmen'

Slow version: Fast version: As I noted in an earlier post, mezzo soprano Elina Garanca sang Carmen in the Metropolitan Opera’s January 2010 production of Georges Bizet’s Carmen, which I saw in May on PBS. I love the intelligence, humor and playfulness that Ms. Garanca brings to Carmen, that her Carmen is a woman of …

Elina Garanca as Carmen unites heaven and earth

Mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca as Carmen sings the “Habanera.” On Sunday (May 16, 2010) I happened on PBS’s series, “Great Performances at the Met,” featuring the January 2010 production of Georges Bizet’s Carmen. I haven’t seen many productions of Carmen, but I have the feeling that this is one of the best of all time because …

Why we want to live, why we want to work, why we want to play

Last night I watched a video linked by dear Jenny, The Bloggess, on the most powerful motivators for jobs that require cognitive abilities, rather than mechanical ones. Then tonight I was looking for a few laughs before bed and after perusing LOLCats it popped into my mind to visit Cracked.com, where I came across a …

How Maryland Democrats destroyed their state's thriving film industry

I was waiting for Dad at the dentist’s office this afternoon — there’s a root canal in his future — and I picked up the May 2010 issue of Baltimore magazine because a story about Maryland’s film industry caught my eye. Not too long ago, the Baltimore-Washington area was third in the country after Los …

UPDATED: Dale Peterson for Alabama Agricultural Commissioner — and best campaign ad of 2010!

I picked this up from Allahpundit at Hot Air and don’t have any political insight to add, except that I LOVE THIS GUY!!! Oh, and for the city slickers: Peterson has the rifle because a lot of farming consists of shooting varmints that are eating your crops. Also, on the general subject of farming and …

I nominate Jennifer Westfeldt as Hollywood's new queen of rants

This is a scene from the 2001 movie, Kissing Jessica Stein, which wound up on the cutting room floor. It is one of the vignettes of clueless men dated by the title character, Jessica Stein, played by actress Jennifer Westfeldt, who co-wrote and co-produced the movie with her co-star, Heather Juergensen. Here’s a transcript of …

Crowdrise is a new social fundraising Web site

Today a friend sent me a link to Crowdrise, a new Web site to assist individuals and charities in fundraising and volunteering. It was founded by the actor, Ed Norton, and launched on May 12. My friend is promoting the page for the David Lynch Foundation, which is raising money to pay for school children …

Conservative milbloggers call for Congress to repeal DADT by December 2010

I spotted this in my headline feed for Ace of Spades HQ — the post is by-lined by Gabriel Malor, who is gay. It’s also in a post by Ben Smith at Politico. I don’t know if it first appeared at the milblog, Blackfive, but I link it below and if you follow the link, …