Renoir said, "In painting, as in the other arts, there's not a single process, no matter how insignificant, which can be reasonably made into a formula. You come to nature with your theories, and she knocks them all flat."

Relationship With U.S. Like "Brokeback Mountain" Story Taiwan's President Says
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
February 24, 2006 - 12:00 am ET

(Taipei) The President of Taiwan says that the relationship the island nation has with the United States is like the message in "Brokeback Mountain", the Academy Award nominated film by Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee about two cowboys in love.

"It motivates us...to understand all of us are bound to make difficult decisions in life, yet we must strive to dispel prejudice...and seek ways to reconcile and cooperate with one another," President Chen Shui-bian told a gathering of more than 500 American business leaders in Taipei.

"There is a 'Brokeback Mountain' in each and every one of us."

"I deeply believe that the common pursuit of a 'great new world' by both Taiwan and the United States will guide us to a place where universal values - democracy, freedom, peace and prosperity - can be fully realized in the world we share," Chen told the business leaders.
While touting his government's economic policies he made no mention of his plan for future relations with the People's Republic of China.

"Brokeback Mountain" has been playing to packed theaters in Taiwan where Ang Lee is highly revered.

But, across the Taiwan Strait in China the film has been banned by government censors.

www.365Gay.com 2006

"Brokeback' shirts sell for more than $100K

The shirts worn by the stars of "Brokeback Mountain"—which play a major part in the film's powerful climax—garnered a record $101,100.51 for Variety, the Children's Charity of Southern California, in a recent eBay auction. The previous record was held by the car used in "Herbie: Fully Loaded", which sold for $24,002. Gay philanthropist and Hollywood memorabilia collector Tom Gregory placed the winning bid. "It's the ultimate prop from an extraordinary movie," said Gregory in a statement. "The fact that the proceeds benefit Variety made it even more compelling." Variety provides lifesaving and life-enriching assistance to abused, addicted, physically challenged, neglected, and underprivileged children in Southern California.

(www.Advocate.com)

Today's Word: Gound (Noun)

Pronunciation: ['gawnd]

Definition 1: The extraneous matter that collects in the corners of the eyes during sleep (often called "sleep" itself in the U.S.)

Usage 1: We cannot imagine how the English-speaking world has survived for three centuries without a word for this common natural substance. The word for it seems to have fallen into the crack between the 17th and 18th centuries. But now yourDictionary has brought it back again. Ta-da! We might as well resurrect the adjective, "goundy," too—and will the verb be far behind? "My eyes gounded up so remarkably over night I can barely see to dress this morning. Maybe I should stay in bed."

Suggested usage: If English has a word for everything, why do we use the same word, "sleep," for sleep and the substance left in the eyes by sleep? It would be a shame to lose this useful little workpony forever: "If you can't see that your shirt and pants do not match, you had better get the gound out of your eyes." Once we have reestablished it, we can manumit it to new heights of metaphoric glory: "I think Ermaline has an accumulation of gound on the brain not to see that school librarian is the perfect job for her."

Etymology: This word has been around forever, though probably not with this meaning. In Old English and Gothic it was "gund" but apparently is too peripheral to allure the etymologists.

(Today we thank—I think—Pierre-Louis Houle of Montreal for rescuing this little lexical chap from the dustbin of time.)

—Dr. Language, www.yourDictionary.com

Bikers combat antigay protesters at military funerals

(Associated Press, Feb. 22, 2006)

Wearing vests covered in military patches, a band of motorcyclists rolls around the country from one soldier's funeral to another, cheering respectfully to overshadow jeers from church protesters. They call themselves the Patriot Guard Riders, and they are more than 5,000 strong, formed to counter antigay protests held by the Reverend Fred Phelps at military funerals.

Phelps believes American deaths in Iraq are divine punishment for a country that he says harbors gay people. Protesters from his Westboro Baptist Church carry signs thanking God for so-called IED explosives that are a major killer of soldiers in Iraq.

The bikers shield the families of dead soldiers from the protesters and overshadow the jeers with patriotic chants and a sea of red, white, and blue flags.

"The most important thing we can do is let families know that the nation cares," said Don Woodrick, the group's Kentucky captain, at that state's Fort Campbell. "When a total stranger gets on a motorcycle in the middle of winter and drives 300 miles to hold a flag, that makes a powerful statement."

At least 14 states are considering laws aimed at the funeral protesters, who at a recent memorial service at Fort Campbell wrapped themselves in upside-down American flags. They danced and sang impromptu songs peppered with vulgarities that condemned gay people and soldiers.

The Patriot Guard was also there, waving up a ruckus of support for the families across the street. Community members came in the freezing rain to chant "U-S-A, U-S-A" alongside them.

"This is just the right thing to do. This is something America didn't do in the '70s," said Kurt Mayer, the group's national spokesman. "Whether we agree with why we're over there, these soldiers are dying to protect our freedoms."

Shirley Phelps-Roper, a daughter of Fred Phelps and an attorney for the Topeka, Kan.–based church, said neither state laws nor the Patriot Guard can silence their message that God killed the soldiers because they fought for a country that embraces gay people.

"The scriptures are crystal clear that when God sets out to punish a nation, it is with the sword. An IED is just a broken-up sword," Phelps-Roper said. "Since that is his weapon of choice, our forum of choice has got to be a dead soldier's funeral.

"Westboro Baptist Church is not affiliated with a larger denomination and is made up mostly of members of Fred Phelps's extended family. During the 1990s, church members were known mostly for picketing the funerals of AIDS victims, and they have long been tracked as a hate group by the Montgomery, Ala.–based Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project.

The project's deputy director, Heidi Beirich, said other groups have tried to counter Phelps's message but none have been as organized as the Patriot Guard.

"I'm not sure anybody has gone to this length to stand in solidarity," she said. "It's nice that these veterans and their supporters are trying to do something. I can't imagine anything worse—your loved one is killed in Iraq, and you've got to deal with Fred Phelps."

Kentucky, home to sprawling Fort Campbell along the Tennessee line, was among the first states to attempt to deal with Phelps legislatively. Its house and senate have each passed bills that would bar protesters within 300 feet of a funeral or memorial service. The senate version would also keep protesters from being within earshot of grieving friends and family members.

Richard Wilbur, a retired police detective, said his Indiana Patriot Guard group comes to funerals only if invited by family. He said he has no problem with protests against the war but sees no place for objectors at a family's final goodbye to a soldier. "No one deserves this," he said. (AP)

Associated Press material © Associated Press. .

For the first time in many months I did some creative writing this week. It felt wonderful. I made some very good revisions to two short stories that I'd been meaning to get back to.