21

One of my favorite songs of all time is Alanis' "21 Things I Want in A Lover".....since the day I heard it years ago. She lists the specific qualities she wants in a romantic partner. After much thought, I came up with my own list. Why I am sharing this, I don't know. Maybe some insight into my quirky ways.



21 THINGS DANIEL WANTS IN A LOVER

1. Nerve. Being willing to not be afraid to try new things in life. This means not being afraid of social or cultural situations that are new to you. This means not having comfort zones and social crutches. Get under my skin in a good way by being confident and being a man.

2. The ability to use logic and reason and make decisions based upon these methods and not emotion or something just "feeling right."

3. Respect for family and knowing when to keep them close and when to let them not interfere with your own life.

4. Being true to your word.

5. Being both masculine and feminine.

6. Not being a Republican is something you're proud of.

7. Having religion is fine, but not if you think it's the only way to enlightenement or an afterlife. This also goes with respecting my belief in no god my that god which is my own will and power.

8. A reader of books. Magazines too...but the tabloid ones don't count.

9. Appreciates the nuances of lyric and note in music so that it touches the depts of your soul in ways you can't describe or even attempt to think someone could understand.

10. Being comfortable in the big city and just as happy to be in Kentucky with me on the family farm in the peace and serenity of silence and slower paces.

11. Your eyes light up when you talk about your career or the passions you are following in your life.

12. You volunteer.

13. You challenge me and yourself. You also let me challenge you. You like it.

14. You understand that a relationship often entails doing things you don't want to do just to make the other person happy. You see me doing this for you.

15. You like scary movies.

16. You are happy at the opera, ballet, theatre, redneck tractor pull, county fairs, country festivals in Kentucky or the South, and you appreciate good country cooking and the people who cook it. And sushi just as much.

17. Candlelight is something you truly appreciate.

18. You want to make the wold a better place.

19. You value direct, frank, non-sugar-coated relationships.

20. You're an amazing kisser.

21. I just realized 21 is not enough. I need a lot more room.

friends across party lines? yes and no

Could an African-American man be friends with a white man in 1955 who was politically against the black dude's rights against segregation? I doubt it.

Can I be friends with someone who disagrees with me on separation of church and state? Yes.

Can I be friend with someone who disagrees with me on separation of church and hate? No.

Could I be friends with someone who disagrees with my stance on womens' abortion rights? Absolutely.

Could I be friends with someone who tells me I don't have the right to marry the personI love with the same legal parameters as a straight person? No.

Could I be friends with someone who disagrees with me on welfare programs? Yes. Education? Yes. Healthcare? Yes.

Can I be friends with someone who votes to take my rights away as a tax-paying equal citizen under the law and make me second class? Hell no.

Period.

I have no problem admitting I like Enya.

It could be worse. It could be Yanni. Or KennyG.

But then again, she is still a musical powerhouse.

She is Ireland's best-selling solo artist and is officially the country's second biggest musical export after the band U2. Her works have earned her four Grammy Awards and an Academy Award nomination, and she is also famous for performing in 10 different languages during her lengthy career. She is worth well over $300,000,000.00.

I remember the first time I heard Enya, I was in 7th grade and riding in the back of Rebecca's mom's van coming back from a UK game and Rebecca and I fell asleep in the back listening to "Shepard Moons".....good times.

So, the new Enya holiday CD is wonderful, typical Enya, with some surprises and very beautiful, peaceful, and perfect.

But I'm sick of her wardrobe!!!!! I'm sick of her videos.

Yes, I know there are more important things to worry about, but if Enya puts out another CD with her on the cover in an absurdly long dress....and the dress is always draped out to the side...with her in a pensive state....I may just scream. And on the Amarantine cover...are those leggings? Who walks around in leggings under a 40' long red satin cape-dress-train-gown-coat-blanket-comforter-curtain thing? GIVE ME A BREAK!!!

And if I see one more Enya video where she's walking around slowly among the fog and the mist, through rainforests or touching the wings of butterflies in childlike amazement (Irish Mariah Carey anyone?), among rolling hills with castles in the distance (granted, she does live in a castle...yes, her, Madonna, and Jane Seymour have castles...but Madonna and Justin did not shoot a video of themselves walking on the water in the moat!), while drops of rain fall from the stars and horses appear out of nowhere....I WILL SCREAM AGAIN!!!

I dare you to check on youtube for Enya videos and find one without a horse/unicorn, raindrops, fog, butterflies, monk attire, or moonlight.

Now, things may be turning around...as one of the videos from the new CD is called "Trains and Winter Rains" and it shows Enya riding a subway or taxi around a major city at night and it's very romantic and sexy for those of us who have our holidays in the concrete jungles...but yeah...she has a long ass curtain on. Girl gonna get mugged looking like that.

**On a side note, the new CD is very good, if you want some different holiday music not like the rest and my recommeded downloads are:

"Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel"
"Trains and Winter Rains"
"Dreams Are More Precious"
"My! My! Time Flies" (this song is very much a departure for her)

I just think she needs a new look. She needs to update. I mean...um...check this out:

friends across party lines? yes.... and no....

Could an African-American man be friends with a white man in 1955 who was politically against the black dude's rights against segregation? I doubt it.

Can I be friends with someone who disagrees with me on separation of church and state? Yes.

Can I be friend with someone who disagrees with me on separation of church and hate? No.

Could I be friends with someone who disagrees with my stance on womens' abortion rights? Absolutely.

Could I be friends with someone who tells me I don't have the right to marry the personI love with the same legal parameters as a straight person? No.

Could I be friends with someone who disagrees with me on welfare programs? Yes. Education? Yes. Healthcare? Yes.

Can I be friends with someone who votes to take my rights away as a tax-paying equal citizen under the law and make me second class? Hell no.

Period.

american

TO MY REPUBLICAN, DEMOCRAT, LIBERTARIAN, GREEN, INDEPENDENT FRIENDS:



I have never been so proud to be an American.

I have never been so full of hope. I have never been so full of terror.

We've sort of been here before. Republican, or Democrat...we've been here before. History will be made. We will have a man of color as president or a woman as vice-president.

We must unite this time and end these 8 years of division.

America is a joke around the world. Travel the globe and see for yourself. In Peru, I saw graffiti everywhere: "Bush is a murderer"......sad thing is, most Americans don't know much about the rest of the world and what's really going on. Even more sad...they don't seem to care that much either.

I don't agree with abortion. I think it's a terrible process and I think it's wrong. At the same time, I think pornography is wrong and objectifies people and sexual relationships. But participating in either is a personal choice. I can't tell a woman who is raped or a victim of incest or who may day if she goes full term that she is to be denied the right over what happens in her uterus.

I don't support abortion choice in all cases, and it's not all black and white the way Sarah Palin seems to think. Everyone is not so blessed with a supportive family to help them raise a child. The same people who are against abortion are also against paying welfare to a 16-year-old mother to feed the child they want to force her to birth.

Where is the sense in that? Can you really have it both ways?

It has seemed to me that most of my Republican friends are voting for a Republican because they are afraid about how taxes will affect THEM, how oil-digging will affect THEM, how abortion laws after THEIR religous balance, how gay rights affect THEIR religious balance, how immigration affects THEIR comfort zone.

It seems to me most of my Democract friends are voting for their chosen candidate based upon what affects the environment, womens' rights, human rights, tolerance, dying soldiers, unjust wars, racism, sexism, poor healthcare, and the future of our childrens' planet.

Out of all the reasons I voted for Barack Obama, only ONE has to do with me.

I am a taxpaying American. I am also gay. I should have the right to love and marry whomever I choose. My dearest friends who are lesbians or gay men should be able to love who they choose with the same rights under the law as anyone else.

To those who say that marriage is between a man and a woman and the word marriage can only mean this and that you can't change it, cause it's always been that way, I have this to say:

Until 1920 voting meant: a white man who owned land casting a ballot for office.

They changed what that word meant when women were given the right to vote. Women were not allowed to vote for religious reasons as well as political reasons (read the Books of Timothy and find out how). Do you think women would be happy saying they are not allowed to vote, they are allowed to "decision make" but it should be called something different since men "vote" and the word can't be changed to mean more than it did?

Women, are you ok with not "voting" but just "decision making?"

Yeah, that's what I thought. So, I'm not cool with domestic partnerships.

If you want to take your Bible seriously, don't forget the parts that tell women to keep their mouths closed.

Voting did not always allow Blacks the right to vote. The word changed again.

Marriage was not always legal between race lines. The word changed again.

Marriage is not a religous or Christian term. It's a legal term.

Back to my point....I support the right to have an abortion. This does not affect me, seeing I have no uterus.

My mind can't wrap it's self around the following fact: NONE OF THE 9-11 HIJACKERS WERE FROM IRAQ. Zero. All but one were from Saudi Arabia and the other one was from Egypt.

Dig deep and tell me why we did not invade S.A? I want an answer to this question.

I want to know why Republicans think that if you are against the unjust war, you don't support the troops. It's quite the opposite. If I didn't care about the troops, I would not so passionately want them home and alive.

I truly hope the Republicans love their gas-guzzling SUV's and their materialistic, gluttonous, lifestyles. I hope they love thinking that the legal system and the executive branches of government should blur with religion.

I'm also so sick of people saying the founding fathers and forefathers were all about Christianity, and God and making sure this was a Christian nation...it's simply not true:

"I do not find in orthodox Christianity one redeeming feature." - Thomas Jefferson, 1788

"Christianity is the most perverted system that ever shone on man." -Thomas Jefferson, 1786

"The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession. I could never give assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma." -Abraham Lincoln

"Religious controversies are always productive of more acrimony and irreconcilable hatreds than those which spring from any other cause. I had hoped that liberal and enlightened thought would have reconciled the Christians so that their religious fights would not endanger the peace of Society." -George Washington, 1792

"The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason."-Benjamin Franklin, 1758

"Lighthouses are more helpful than churches." -Benjamin Franklin, 1758

It's very hard for me to be friends with Republicans....I guess I feel like they are looking me in the face and telling me I am not worth it...I am less than them...I don't deserve the same rights. It's so hurtful and painful to see this reality. It's not about disagreeing over politics, it's about blantantly trying to take away my rights.

A slave and a rebel supporter were never really friends.

I can't wait to stand in Obama's presence tonight. I can't wait for this to usher in a new era of hope and human rights. I can't wait to hold hands with my true friends and shed tears together over something so importanly moving.

We are tired of Republicans trying to keep us down. Trying to make decisions for everyone else.

I pay taxes.

Muslims pay taxes. So do Jews.

We all are members of this country and no one's religion should trump anyone else's in the arms of government.

I want to share with you a poem that Maya Angelou wrote for the United Nations. It seems so fitting and still gives me goose bumps when I read it:



A Brave and Startling Truth

We, this people, on a small and lonely planet
Traveling through casual space
Past aloof stars, across the way of indifferent suns
To a destination where all signs tell us
It is possible and imperative that we learn
A brave and startling truth

And when we come to it
To the day of peacemaking
When we release our fingers
From fists of hostility
And allow the pure air to cool our palms

When we come to it
When the curtain falls on the minstrel show of hate
And faces sooted with scorn are scrubbed clean
When battlefields and coliseum
No longer rake our unique and particular sons and daughters
Up with the bruised and bloody grass
To lie in identical plots in foreign soil

When the rapacious storming of the churches
The screaming racket in the temples have ceased
When the pennants are waving gaily
When the banners of the world tremble
Stoutly in the good, clean breeze

When we come to it
When we let the rifles fall from our shoulders
And children dress their dolls in flags of truce
When land mines of death have been removed
And the aged can walk into evenings of peace
When religious ritual is not perfumed
By the incense of burning flesh
And childhood dreams are not kicked awake
By nightmares of abuse

When we come to it
Then we will confess that not the Pyramids
With their stones set in mysterious perfection
Nor the Gardens of Babylon
Hanging as eternal beauty
In our collective memory
Not the Grand Canyon
Kindled into delicious color
By Western sunsets

Nor the Danube, flowing its blue soul into Europe
Not the sacred peak of Mount Fuji
Stretching to the Rising Sun
Neither Father Amazon nor Mother Mississippi who, without favor,
Nurture all creatures in the depths and on the shores
These are not the only wonders of the world

When we come to it
We, this people, on this minuscule and kithless globe
Who reach daily for the bomb, the blade and the dagger
Yet who petition in the dark for tokens of peace
We, this people on this mote of matter
In whose mouths abide cankerous words
Which challenge our very existence
Yet out of those same mouths
Come songs of such exquisite sweetness
That the heart falters in its labor
And the body is quieted into awe

We, this people, on this small and drifting planet
Whose hands can strike with such abandon
That in a twinkling, life is sapped from the living
Yet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistible tenderness
That the haughty neck is happy to bow
And the proud back is glad to bend
Out of such chaos, of such contradiction
We learn that we are neither devils nor divines

When we come to it
We, this people, on this wayward, floating body
Created on this earth, of this earth
Have the power to fashion for this earth
A climate where every man and every woman
Can live freely without sanctimonious piety
Without crippling fear

When we come to it
We must confess that we are the possible
We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world
That is when, and only when
We come to it.

-Dr. Maya Angelou

pizza pizza

I made pizza tonight.

Whole wheat crust.

Olives, mozzarella, basil, sauce...AND I MADE THE GRILLED CHICKEN MYSELF FIRST.

Yeah, it was a Martha moment.

Here's the before baking and ready-to-eat photos.

not to h8te

Selena, my cute little straight friend down the street wrote this blog and I was so moved by it, I'm posting it here. It's about the horrible Proposition 8 that the self-righteous Christian Fundamentalists (although not people who are Christ-like) are trying to get pushed through in California:



In California, a wonderful thing happened not too long ago : Gay marriage was legalized! Now, in the upcoming election, there is a proposal (Prop 8) that is asking voters to repeal the new amendment to California's Constitution.
If passed, the proposition would "change the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California." A new section would be added stating "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

A little background here:

Throughout history, and even today, families arranged marriages for couples. The people involved didn't and don't have much to say about the decision. Most couples didn't marry because they were in love, but for economic liasons.

The notion of marriage as a sacrament and not just a contract can be traced St. Paul who compared the relationship of a husband and wife to that of Christ and his church.

The Council of Trent decreed in 1563 that marriages should be celebrated in the presence of a priest and at least two witnesses. Marriage took on a new role of saving men and women from being sinful, and of procreation. Love wasn't a necessary ingredient for marriage during this era.

Years later, the Puritans viewed marriage as a very blessed relationship that gave marital partners an opportunity to not only love, but also to forgive.
Many people hold the view that regardless of how people enter into matrimony, marriage is a bond between two people that involves responsibility and legalities, as well as commitment and challenge.

In a 1948 ruling the California Supreme Court became the first state court in the country to strike down a law prohibiting interracial marriage. It was the only state supreme court to do so before the United States Supreme Court invalidated all such laws in 1967. The California Supreme Court held that:
"Marriage is ... something more than a civil contract subject to regulation by the state; it is a fundamental right of free men.... Legislation infringing such rights must be based upon more than prejudice and must be free from oppressive discrimination to comply with the constitutional requirements of due process and equal protection of the laws"
This opinion was later cited by the Court in 2008, in support of the right of individuals of the same sex to marry.

Now, a group calling themselves ProtectMarriage.com, have created the "California Marriage Protection Act." This, should it pass, would overturn the Court's earlier decision of making same-sex marriages legal.


According to the group's website : "The Supreme Court's decision to legalize same-sex marriage did not just overturn the will of California voters; it also redefined marriage for the rest of society, without ever asking the people themselves to accept this decision. ... By saying that a marriage is between "any two persons" rather than between a man and a woman, the Court decision has opened the door to any kind of "marriage." This undermines the value of marriage altogether at a time when we should be restoring marriage, not undermining it.


Hmmm....let's just be clear here...


Straight people have done such a wonderful job of defining what "good marriages" should be - from getting married "for fun" in Vegas (a la Ms. Spears), or beating spouses in domestic disputes, or simply divorcing each other instead of working things out (a marriage starting out today has about 41-43% chance of ending in divorce) - that traditional "marriage" values should be the basis of how things should work for everyone else. I see.

So, if Gays can't marry, then I hold that neither can Blacks to Whites and vice versa. Nor can Jews and Christians..because the Bible says : "A believer may only marry "in the Lord" (that is, to one of the same faith: Genesis 24:37)"

In all honesty, with all of the wars, famine, disease, poverty, and disasters going on in the world, why is this even an issue?

substance over glamour

Sen. Barack Obama has missed the most votes of any Democratic presidential hopeful in the Senate over the last two months. What is he being paid for? Did I miss something?

Obama has also missed votes on a Democratic priority, the expansion of the federally funded State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) as well as a vote on a resolution that condemned MoveOn.org for running an ad in the New York Times attacking the top general in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus.

OBAMA HAS MISSED OVER 10% MORE VOTES THAN HILLARY CLINTON.

BY THE WAY, JOHN MCCAIN HAS MISSED 58.5% OF VOTES. (OF COURSE THIS ISN'T ABOUT MCCAIN SINCE I WOULD NEVER VOTE FOR SOMEONE AGAINST GAY EQUAL RIGHTS, A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE, ETC, BUT I HAD TO POINT OUT THAT HE IS BEING PAID TO DO A JOB HE MISSES ALMOST 60% OF THE TIME.)

Hillary Clinton's recommendations to help Americans caught in the sub-prime mortgage mess are far-reaching. She has called for a moratorium on foreclosures, a freezing of interest rates, the use of federal subsidies to help homeowners keep up with payments and restructure loans, and augmented regulation of the financial industry.

Senator Obama has come up with an alternative plan, which, by contrast, does none of these things but tinkers around the edges. He backs a bill against mortgage fraud, supports an average $500 tax credit for homeowners and endorses additional funding for a limited class of homeowners. This is a tepid response to an enormous tragedy.

In many ways, Senator Clinton is to the left of Senator Obama. Hillary Clinton has outlined a program of universal health insurance -- meaning that every person in America would be covered. By contrast, Senator Obama's plan is more restrictive and would leave 15 million people uncovered. Lastly, Hillary Clinton is a fighter for change. Senator Obama, on the other hand, is a self-described conciliator. What Democrats want today, however, is a battler, not a motivational speaker. They have suffered enough from the vicious blows of President Bush and the Republicans. What the party needs is a nominee who will take the contest directly to the opposition. Come the Fall showdown, a candidacy of "friendly persuasion" is going to be swiftboated into oblivion.

Both senators have voiced criticism of the way President Bush has conducted operations in Iraq.

Yet when they were given the chance to enact Sen. Russ Feingold's measure ordering Bush to withdraw most U.S. troops by July 1, 2007, both Clinton and Obama voted "no."

Obama didn't take a seat in the Senate until 2005, so he didn't vote on the 2002 congressional resolution authorizing Bush to use force in Iraq. Yet, over and over he has manipulated the American public by saying he didn't vote for the war. Well, of course he didn't! He couldn't when he wasn't even in office yet!

On Congressional Quarterly's tally of how often senators support Bush's positions on issues coming before the Senate, in 2005 Clinton earned a 31 out of 100 rating (with 100 meaning totally supportive of Bush) and Obama got a 33. So, if you hate Bush....um....read that part again.

A New Hampshire delegate said it is Obama's attractiveness and eloquence that causes some people concern. "That's what some people worry a bit about — the glamour rather than the substance."

MY OTHER REASONS (AS IF I NEEDED ANY MORE):

In Arkansas she was instrumental in straightening out their school system - taking it from one of the worst systems to a role model used by other troubled schools on how to improve public education.

In 2006, she led the fight to kill the anti-gay Republican constitutional amendment that for the first time would have added laws to the Constitution that would INCREASE discrimination.

She was one of the key Senators who fought to give our military badly needed raises and increase in benefits. For being such flag wavers, it was the Republicans and Bush who resisted these attempts to show our military how much we value and appreciate them.

Since 1974 she has been fighting for a woman's right to choose.

She is fighting to lift the ban on stem cell research to cure devastating diseases.

Vows to protect next generation by paying off national debt.

In 1965 she brought black classmates to her until-then all-white church.

Since 1995 has criticized China's human rights abuses.

In 1972 worked as a lawyer suing white-only schools, working with Marian Wright Edelman on enforcing school desegregation in the South.

Will end don't ask, don't tell in the military, "Gay soldiers need to shoot straight, not be straight."

Supports civil unions, with full equality of federal benefits.

Voted YES on adding violent crimes based on victim's sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes.

Rated 96% by the NAACP, indicating a pro-affirmative-action stance.

Freedom of Speech: Voted NO on recommending Constitutional ban on flag desecration.

Voted YES on repealing tax subsidy for companies which move US jobs offshore.

Voted more funding and stricter sentencing for prosecution of hate crimes.

Wants to establish an education "Bill of Rights" - Establish right to education from pre-school thru college.

Since 1998 has fought publicly to keep art and music programs in public schools. "Arts education is needed in our schools."

Voted YES on spending $448B on education & debt reduction instead of Bush's tax cut for the rich.

Wants to "Remove energy dependence on countries who would harm us."

Called on U.S. to ratify Kyoto; and fund more mass transit.

Voted NO on drilling for oil in the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve on national security grounds.

Voted YES on targeting 100,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles by 2010.

Voted NO on Bush Administration Energy Policy.

Voted YES on banning drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Voted YES on factoring global warming into federal project planning.

Rated 0% by the Christian Coalition (my personal favorite).

Voted NO on allowing lobbyist gifts to Congress.

Pledges to support $50B for AIDS relief in US and world.

Says, "Torture cannot be American policy, period."

Voted NO on extending the PATRIOT Act's wiretap provision

Voted YES on requiring CIA reports on detainees & interrogation methods

Voted YES on preserving habeas corpus for Guantanamo detainees.

Voted YES on limiting soldiers' deployment to 12 months.

Voted: No salary increase for Congress until minimum wage increased.

Would accept minimum wage as president. (Love this one too)

Voted YES on increasing minimum wage to $7.25.

Voted YES on restricting employer interference in union organizing.

Voted YES on increasing tax deductions for college tuition.

marathon time!

You may or may not have heard. But, it's true. Yes, I'm nuts. I am going to be running in the Honolulu Marathon again this year in order to raise much needed money for the AIDS Foundation.

I am calling on you to dig into your heart and your pockets and help me help those who suffer from a most terrible disease. My pledged goal is to raise $5,000.00 by July 1st.


I can't begin to put into words how gratifying it was to raise over $5,000.00 in 2006 for the AIDS Foundation and know that the donations were going towards medicine, hospice care, food, childcare and so much more. The AIDS Foundation helps to ensure that families with HIV/AIDS and children with HIV/AIDS receive care, nutrition, counseling and costly medication.


When I ran the 2006 Honolulu Marathon on behalf of this great cause, it was the most difficult process I have ever undertaken in my life, thus far. 6 months of training (which included long runs on Saturday morning at 7am every week), much personal expense on gear and more aches, pains and blisters than I can count culminated in a goal I wasn't even sure I could reach. Once I crossed the finish line and a family with HIV was there waiting for me (and the other AIDS Marathoners) to thank us, with tears in their eyes and complete gratitude, I knew I was doing the right thing. And somewhere, deep inside, I knew I would do it all over again.

I have a full 6 months of training ahead of me. Our first run (3 miles) is in a couple of weeks and then every Saturday we increase our miles to 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23, and 26. Yes, we train all the way to 26 before the marathon! Did I mention, I am not a runner? I was never a runner! It's only due to the fact that it's for a good cause and I am young and able…how can I say no?


I am counting on your support. Remember, I am doing my part too. A summer of training. Every Saturday morning for 6 months. Not to mention that I am running a marathon uphill!


NO AMOUNT IS TOO SMALL. If you can give $1,00.00, great. If you can give $5.00, great!


You can donate a number of ways:


ONLINE
Go to www.aidsmarathon.com
Click the blue tab that says "DONATE"
On the next page, click "CHICAGO"
In the "search by participant number" box enter my number: 4012
The next page should tell you that you are on the donation page for Daniel Kinkade. If not, you are donated for someone else!
You can click any of the donation amounts listed, or enter your own amount in the box and then click "DONATE"
You will then enter your information and follow the donation process online
You can print the confirmation page for your tax records at the end

CHECK
Please make check payable to "AIDS Marathon-Chicago"
in the memo line of your check enter: Daniel Kinkade-4012
Please mail to: Daniel Kinkade, 432 W. Belmont, 407, Chicago, IL 60657
Your cancelled check is IRS proof of donation up to $250.00. Any donation of $250.00 will receive a required receipt in the mail in a few weeks.

THANKS SO MUCH!

from 2002

CLANDESTINE

the Blue Devil
taunts my joy

he purges upon
my days and nights

and forces blood
into combustion.


as a jackanapes
he is arrogant

he tries to make me
his merchandise

and there is no merit
for knowing him.


this high plutocrat
points his finger

into my heart
and into my brain

to tell me how
I must listen to him.


my fear of living
in the openness

his demanding and
his pulling down

drags me back into
secret depression dark.


dkk 2002

quatre

Inspired by Jake's blog...here's my collection of answers to the "fours".


Four jobs I have had in my life:
Disc Jockey
Pianist/singer in a buffet restaurant in my hometown in KY
Visual stylist
Church pianist

Four movies I would watch over and over:
Notting Hill
The Exorcist
The Silence of the Lambs
Amelie

Four places I have lived:
Chicago, IL
Birmingham, AL
Louisville, KY
Indianapolis, IN

Four TV shows I watch:
Family Guy
Martha
Nip/Tuck
The Riches

Four places I have been:
Peru
Hawaii
Cape Cod
Mexico

Four people who email me semi-regularly:
Brenda G.
Brenda B.
Megan
Hillary

Four of my favorite foods:
Peanut butter & jelly with fritos in the sandwich (don't hate!)
A1 sauce on anything
Greek salads
Jamba juice

Four places I would rather be right now:
At the beach
Somewhere slower than Chicago
Playing with my nephews
In bed with Madonna

Four things I look forward to:
Hawaii this weekend
My next marathon
Arriving
10 year high school reunion

Four regrets:
Letting someone hold me back for London in 2001
Being too hard on the Peruvian
Investing in the wrong airlines
Paying to see "Meet the Robinsons

he's going down

thurs morning 4:00am

Wednesday night, I snuggled into bed at 11:30pm. I had worked out for three hours (marathon season) and I was compeltely exhausted.

I sleep with a white noise machine, a ceiling fan going, an air purifier humming and a humidifier gurgling. Needless to say, my bedroom has a nice din while I sleep. It keeps the noise from the street out.

4:00 am Thursday morning. I hear a drunk bitch in the hallway with about 5 other people yelling and fighting. They're drunk off their asses.

I forgot to mention that I live in a vintage building that has three feet of solid concrete between each floor and 2 feet between the walls. It's very quiet building.

THIS WAS LOUD.

They are yelling and screaming and laughing. Then they start fighting and from what I could hear it dwindles down to a guy and girl. I can hear that he's being violent with her, calling her names and pushing her against the wall. I wasn't about to get involved. Wasn't going to get all up in that drunk ass mess.

15 minutes go by and I stick my head out the door and say, "Do you mind?"

The prick answers, "Yeah we mind."

I shake my head and go back to bed.

15 more minutes. I stick my head out the door.

The prick says, "What are you looking at?"

I reply, "I want to see who to call the landlord about."

He says, "Go back to bed before I kill you, faggot."

OH NO HE MOTHERFUCKING DIDN'T! DON'T MAKE ME TAKE OFF MY EARRINGS!!! I breathe. I calm down and shut the door.

I live in Boystown in Chicago. It's the gay district. He is probably the only straight guy in my building. I find it so funny and sad that straight men seem to think that calling a guy a faggot is the worst thing they can say.

For some reason, I take it as a compliment. I want to reply, "Why, yes, I am cultured!"

...he's still going down.

noise in my head

I've been meaning to do something with iMovie on my MacBook Pro for months...last night I spent a few hours figuring it out. I made this movie about my thoughts and feelings on the current state of our world. Perhaps I want to think there's hope at the end of these darker days? Don't be too critical, it's my first try!

who knew?

who knew?

I spent the day with a friend at the movies after crawling out of bed this morning around 11am. A long sleep is sure to happen when you’re drugged up on Benadryl.....damn allergies.

Anyway...we saw three movies, and on our way out, we realized that I lost my brand new Marc Jacobs sunglasses and she lost her hat and scarf. We ran back up to guest services and of course knew we were taking faith on a long shot.

But, someone had actually turned them all in.

Who knew that kind of courtesy was still out there? I think I can ride this high for a couple days.

what you don't really know...well..maybe...unless...

Someone at work was talking about how none of her friends knew her....really knew her. Of course she was exaggerating and was specifically speaking about how quite often her friends are shocked to hear certain things about her likes, dislikes, favorite activities or beliefs. Then, of course, I thought I should blog about this very topic.

What do most people who know me, not know?

Let’s see.....

1. I loathe gaggles of teenage girls or packs of frat boys in my presence. Even though these two demographics are so different in life stages, they both misuse the English language at the most elementary level of abuse and they both show off for their peers at the expense of the common decorum and the worst...the loud laughter. I have been known to change CTA trains or buses to avoid either group.

2. My firm belief is that serial killers should not be put to death. They should be studied.

3. Most would call me a liberal, and I usually am.....but I am pro-life in most cases. I tend to think "a woman’s choice" is....what is the word? Oh, yes, hogwash. Or baloney. Or bullshit. Pick either redneck poetic description. This is not to say I have not held the hand of more than one friend while she was in the middle of carrying out this most unenviable of choices.

4. As much as the cultured Francophile in me hates to admit it...I would choose Hawaii over Europe any day.

5. I think some of the most revered bands and singers--such as The Beatles, U2, and The Rolling Stones--are overrated quite often.

6. I see no problem with wearing or buying fur. For me, the issue is not killing the animal for fur, it’s the way the animal is treated up to that point.

7. I have no issue with animal testing for medicinal/life-saving reasons. Yes, if you have kill every Brazilian red ant to cure cancer...kill the fuckers. But let the serial killers live. I never said this was logical.