This happens occasionally to me, and it defies explanation.  Why should I suddenly begin hearing about someone who is so responsible for so many things. 

Democratus was the first to suggest that everything was made up of atoms and he had a lot of really keen ideas.

Why is it that I, a self-proclaimed smart guy, have never heard of him until recently, and now suddenly he’s all over the radio, and in books that I’m reading.

There is a name for this phenomenon, but I don’t recall it, and can’t come up with a comprehensive, but brief, search query to search for it.

Here are some loony theories:

1. Time travel.  Democritis is a modern person who went back in time and used modern knowledge to become a famous and respected philosopher.  Or he was acted upon by a modern person who gave him such knowlege.  Interesting to think about, huh?  If time travel is possible, might this be the way it presents itself? This is my favorite theory.

2. It’s a conspiracy. The Ministry of Truth (reference to 1984, not real paranoid delusion) is working to create the personage of Democritus.  They’ve placed him in encyclopedias and have begun putting references to him in the media…  People all over the world are reacting like me, saying…hmmm…well, I must be out of touch…  But no!  They aren’t!  He never existed before a few months ago!  This is eerily possible.

3. Coincidence.  This seems unlikely, doesn’t it?  How can a person go their entire life without hearing a word (this guys name) and then suddenly start hearing it all the time?  Could they just be avoiding it?  How can the name go through pop culture and what are the odds that I could, in years of reading and studying, have avoided it? 

I don’t know what to make of it.  I just know that it’s happened more than once.  I’m going to have to start keeping a list of the people and things that do this…

Who do you think?

I like the video because it treats a same sex relationship as normal.  One of the members of the band is gay, and in this video the members are all singing love songs to their romantic partners…and Stephen Gately is singing it to his male romantic partner. 

Equality rocks.

For now, check out some of the songs from it you can find on youtube..

Alanis is officially my favorite Musical Artist…

The video I’ve put up is from the album, called Not as We and it really touches me. I’ve had to start over from square one so many times in my life, as I’m sure many others have…It reminds me of my mother and Shaun the first…  The moment on the beach where she is comforting and being comforted by herself hits me pretty hard…

Check out this song, Not As We:

]]>New Photoshttp://www.shayalon.com/journal/2008/12/8/new-photos.htmlShayalon2008-12-08T22:19:30Z

Hey all

Wouldn’t it be nice if I’d update this thing once in a while.  I’ll get around to it…

For now, I have some new photos on my flickr site.  I have been loving my new camera and have been playing a bit. 

www.flickr.com/shayalon

Allright.  The word that’s been going around a very angry gay community lately is “No More Mr. Nice Gay.”

California voters approved, narrowly, legislation which removed the right to marry that had been granted in california.

Thousands of marriages will be effected.

I’m not going to go on about hate, but this initiative was spearheaded and largely funded by the LDS church.  Now, I know Mormons that support gay rights.  There were many very vocally supportive Mormons during the fight.  So my anger is not at the Mormons who did not support Prop 8, but at the institution, which I now consider an enemy to my freedom.

Also worth mentioning is that the measure passed with overwhelming support from the black community, which seems to have forgotten what it was like to live in oppression, seems to have decided instead to try it’s hand at oppressing.  Of course, I know that there were many people in the black community who did not support this H8, but to those who did: Shame on you!

Join me and hundreds of thousands of others across the country AS WE VOICE OUR OUTRAGE!

JOIN THE IMPACT is organizing protests in every major city, and some minor ones.  Find yours here…

http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/?t=anon

We cannot let this pass.  We MUST FIGHT!

Click on the FIGHT the H8 banner above for more info!

I was often approached by people repeating the republican planted idea that “Yeah, Barack Obama is a good public speaker, but he doesn’t have a stand on the issues.”

Its is, and has always been, pure BS.  I even had staunch democrats approach me with this little gem during the primaries and even after.  

Barack Obama’s website has, and always has had, his stance on the issues.  I was reading through them again this morning and decided I’d share a few of them with you.

1. Civil Rights: The most important thing to me, has always been equality.  Equality for race, gender, sexual orientation, and everything else.  Inequality leads to societal ills.  People who aren’t treated equally often have to resort to other, less than legal, means to get by.  Some of Obama’s goals in this area are to:
   1. Address salary discrepancies.  For every $1 made by a man, the average woman makes .77.  The discrepancy grows when you focus on race, black women make .67 and latinas make .57 to the male dollar.  Why is this?  What can be done about it? 
   2. Drug courts: I love this idea.  Our prisons are full of people who’ve done nothing more than use an addictive substance and carry it around with them.  Others who’ve sold the addictive substance might spend many years in prison for a crime in which there was no victim. I’m not talking about violent crime here.  I’m talking about first time users, people with addiction problems, and people who aren’t involved in gangs (thanks for helping me clarify that, Carrie.)  What needs to happen here is education.  The psychological issues that lead to drug addiction need to be dealt with.  When someone is arrested, they should be given the option of getting clean first.  Money must be spent on this.  Drug users/dealers are not evil and they aren’t throw away people.  The prevailing attitude that they ARE throw away people certainly is detrimental to recitivism rates.  If the judicial system treats you like you’re a failure, then you pretty much have any proof you need that you’re a failure.  Why make any attemps afte that point to succeed?  People who are addicted to drugs need help.  The reason that they’re using the drugs needs to be addressed and they need to be given a more positive way of dealing with that issue, which is usually some issue of emotional pain which is deadened by the drug.  We need to have more compassion for drug addicts instead of scorn.
   3. I have personally been fired from 2 jobs simply because the management found out that I was gay.  Not because I did anything negative in the job, just because the management was either forced by outside pressures to fire me, or were directly discriminatory.  There needs to be a law on the books which says that firing a person because they are gay or transgendered is unacceptable.  This kind of discrimination should not be allowed in ANY sector of employment (especially those receiving federal funding).  
   4. I have to go to class now.  I’ll be back with more later.  This is going to be a VERY long Entry…

I’m kind of numb.  It is an historic moment.  I will remember it always.

John McCain gave a heartwarming concession speech, and regained some of my respect.  Though Sarah Palin still gets some of my contempt for the negativity of her campaign.  I hope the republican party takes this as a message to clean up their act.  Stop acting so damn selfish and realize that there are many people in this country.  Some are poor and need our help and to help them is NOT socialism.

Anyway, not gonna turn this into a rant. 

CONGRATULATIONS BARACK OBAMA!!  CONGRATULATOINS JOE BIDEN!!

On to the NEW WORLD!!

Across from me is a guy whos been talking loudly on his phone for the last hour.  

What drew my attention to him was his statement:

“Hell, no, I’m not going to vote, that’s just opening the doorway to jury duty.”

I am having to keep myself from openly glaring at him. 

People that don’t want to participate in society should probably go live somewhere outside of it.  I would LOVE to have jury duty.  I can’t imagine not voting!  There are a lot of things I can do to help society…

Hmm.  I suppose if he doesn’t care for his fellow society members, he’s probably a republican anyway…so maybe it’s for the best.

Of course, I don’t know them, but I know about losing a mother to cancer and I know what Mr. Obama is going through.  With the stress of the election and the death of his closest family member, Mr Obama is going to have a lot on his mind in the next couple of days.

My heart goes out to him.

Ron steps back in the past to send an important message: