Wanna-be Quiche

Why yes, I am eating this directly out of the dish while still
wearing my pajamas and sitting on my balcony,
because... single. 

This morning my alarm went off to a wide-awake and in pain Snookums. Allergies did something to my sinus cavity last evening which swelled into my brain area and exploded into a shitty headache. Hardly any sleep all night... I called in sick to work. No way. 

I WANT COMFORT FOOD!

The fridge is pretty full, and I wanted to be creative. Must-go onion and green pepper started off the party. Early morning thought of a spinach salad in my future reminded me of some frozen spinach which should be used soon. 

Peeking in the freezer brought a little squeal of joy... I have a small packet of Katenschinken (lardon - small cubes of the outer cuts of bacon - slightly smoked - mostly fat)!

Oh, this is shaping up fast!!

Lardon in the skillet, onion follows with a bit of coconut oil to lubricate (soft now, not solid - summer is coming!), green pepper, then the mostly thawed and squished (to get the water out) spinach. 

Salt (light, the lardon has enough), pepper and a little Herbes de Provence (well, it does kind of feel like quiche territory, should mix well). Put the veggies in a small casserole dish. 

Three eggs were mixed and poured over the veggies. 

What is missing? Cheese. Damn. No shredded cheese of any kind. Just one lonely Baby-Bel and some Saint Albrey (soft cheese, like Camembert). Why not? Separated up two portions of the creamy stuff and spread over the top. 

Baked at 240 C for 10 minutes until the top got satisfyingly brown and then rolled it down to 200 and popped a piece of alu foil over the top to stop the brown. 20 minutes more at 200. 

The end result was enough for breakfast and half saved back for lunch. I’ve popped it in the ‘fridge for now, but will give it some time at room temperature before I have lunch. 

Improvement suggestions?

I was thinking a bit of chopped or grated potato would make it more filling if need be. The cheese worked out better than expected and added a creamy feeling and flavor. 

Altogether satisfying!

AND, I’ve managed to dictate all of this text with only minor editing changes. 

Snookums Thrown Together B-fast Wanna-Be Quiche 

50 grams lardon

Small white onion chopped 

Small green pepper chopped

Frozen spinach - big handful

Three eggs

Cheese to cover

You may be right... I may be crazy...

This morning while preparing for work I checked my weather app which showed -1c / 30.2f and just a few puffs of precipitation clouds in the sky. Looked outside and see that overnight we got a little snow, but it was only sticking in the grass and not on the sidewalks/streets.

OK then... good to ride to work. (hate the subway and will do almost ANYTHING to avoid it)
Pack my office clothes in the backpack, suit up in winter bike gear and walk outside. Shit. Small snow flakes are falling all around me. Oh well, it isn't TOOO bad. Besides I'm all suited up. If I go back in and change, I will be late for work.

Check app again. There is no way this will continue. It is a freak snowcloud like the ones we had yesterday; they dropped a few flakes and then stopped. Decision made... press on.

Cautious and slow it goes the first half of my journey, then I start to realize that the flakes are getting bigger and bigger... Hmm. They start to stick to the bike. Cute. I like the look of the white on blue. Of course the windshield is also getting a good coating... um... this could be a problem. I pull to the side and take this photo before clearing the windshield. 

Bruno and I made it to work just fine with no incidents. AND I took one of the cutest photos I've made with him so far. It's gonna be a good day!

What would you have done? Would you have gone back inside, changed clothes and taken alternate transportation?

A majority of republicans back restrictions on carbon pollution, but GOP lawmakers aren't listening

POLL: REPUBLICANS BACK LIMITS ON CARBON
An AP survey finds half of Republicans back restrictions on carbon pollution, even as GOP lawmakers vow to undo environmental regulations they claim harm the economy.

Well DUH. 
That ending should read a little different, "... undo environmental regulations they claim harm THEIR CORPORATE MASTERS".

Individuals who think that Republican politicians have the voter's interest in mind are delusional. 

Sure, the party platform makes a big deal about those scary gays, abortion, religious freedom, pledge of allegiance in schools, and whatever hot topic FOX news and the pollsters say their constituents worry about the most. But in the end the Republican party is all about money, power, and how to get more of both.

When was the last time that the entire Republican party got seriously behind any kind of anti-abortion legislation? No, in reality these folks may talk about Christ, but they have a different master, corporations.

By touting themselves as the "traditional values" party, the GOP have fooled the electorate into following them like the "sheeple" the working class seem to be. Once the election is won, "traditional values" fly out the window in the interest of the almighty Dollar.

Before I get off of my soapbox, I have to say something about the idiot in the Kansas Governor's mansion. Billionaire Koch brothers money just recently bought and paid for a second term of Sam Brownback. 

Brownback was a U.S. senator for 14 years and a 2008 presidential candidate. He pushed through legislation which cut taxes and spending, eliminated state jobs, denied a higher percentage of applications for welfare, while tightening abortion regulations and easing those pesky gun regulations.

He promised that these actions would stimulate economic growth, create jobs and STABILIZE the Kansas budget. But now the state shows a revenue shortfall of more than $300 million. The poverty rate has increased, and the state's economy expanded a total of 2.3 percent over the past two years... less than half the rate of the four surrounding states. On top of all this lovely news, the state's credit rating has been downgraded.

Just yesterday the Governor's office responded with how they intend to deal with the problem... by cutting even more public services and... wait for it... rolling that shortfall into 2015. 

Way to go Gov!

OK, I'm off of that soapbox. 
I will blame waaaay too much coffee and 30 minutes to kill for this abnormally political post. 

When Black Friday Comes...

I really wanted to be early to work this morning...

I really wanted to be early to work this morning... but then the sky exploded.

Since moving to the city, I've learned to love streetlights.

... and one more from right outside my office on the Kurfürstendamm.

Making me even later, Mimi decided to stop off and visit with some friends. 

Actually Mimi has quite a crush on this big fella.
Truth be told, so do I.
When Mimi gets tired of enjoying the Berlin streets with me,
I think it will be a guy just like this...
or at least a close relative.

I mean, look at that behind... Supergeil!

Oh well, I was only 20 minutes early this morning,
not the hour that I had hoped for. 

As the saying goes, "the journey is the reward".

Casey Kasem, the creator and voice of the long-running radio show "American Top 40" has died... another mentor of a generation of radio jocks who changed the way we listened to music. 

People ask me why I wanted to go into radio way back when. Perhaps it was the idea of living like Dr. Johnny Fever or any one of the other crazy folks from WKRP in Cinncinatti.

But most likely it was deeper than that. Guys like Casey Kasem reached into our everyday lives and taught us so much.

The man who taught American kids to count to 40... Backwards. 

Every Sunday morning at 10:00 my local station would play the four hour countdown of the most popular hits on American charts that week. "Counting down the hits from coast to coast". Beyond playing the music, he always weaved a bit of a story between the songs. Never was it some tidbit about which musician was sleeping with whom - he was more gentle and classy than that - but more of an informational feeling. 

I'll never forget the day he taught me (ahem, and of course anyone else listening... but it felt like he was talking to me) about some Police lyrics. In the song "Wrapped Around Your Finger", there is a phrase which was always confusing; 'You consider me the young apprentice, caught between the Scylla and Charybdis'. That sunny Sunday morning Casey explained that was a "fancy-schmancy" way of saying "between a rock and a hard place". Of course he gave me more of the story; something to do with Greeky mythology and a narrow passage of sea if I remember correctly.

I also enjoyed the “long-distance dedications,”, even if it was just to put a smile on my face while hearing this soppy stuff. In this schmaltzy segment Casey would read a tearjerker letter from a sad, lovelorn soul hoping to reconnect with another person far away by dedicating a favorite song. Lovesick stuff generally, but as a former boss of mine would say, "It is certainly shit, but it is good radio shit".

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/living/star-magazine/article571470.html#storylink=cpy

His distinctive voice, the feeling that he was taking just to us, the smile that came through the microphone... years before I knew what he looked like, in my mind's eye, he was beautiful. He had me at number 40.

Now that I look back I realize that it wasn't so much the music which kept me listening; it was Casey. It was the comforting velvet warmth in his voice, and genuine interest in the charts and pop music he played which made me a life-long fan.

Radio was better for having known you, Casey. Keep reaching for those stars.
 

 

Do you remember the day you chose to be straight?

Do you remember the day you chose to be straight?

No, I suppose that you don't.

Just like I don't remember the day I chose to be a lesbian.

The reason?
Because we didn't choose.
Simple as that.

However, I do remember the day I realised that I was different, also the day I understood that I liked girls the same way all my friends liked boys, and I will never forget the day it was hammered home that all of these feelings were best kept under wraps... each one of these days happened before my 7th birthday.

Today I was in a friendly conversation with an older man who lives in my neighborhood. We wave on sight, and if we are near to each other we take a few moments out for a bit of conversation. 

We were talking about the hot weather and how Berlin really doesn't see so much of this kind of heat. We talked about our last towns... his in Bavaria, and mine in Kansas. He said that he missed snow, and I said that I missed exciting weather (I have a thing about thunderstorms, and European weather just doesn't have enough to suit me). 

After this he asked the question which so many come to eventually, "Why did you come to Berlin?". 

Since it has always been important for me to be open about these things, I gave him my stock answer, "I fell in love with a wonderful lady Berliner". 

Like many people who do not know me well, he was taken aback. His gaze intensified as the wheels started turning. After all had been put to rights in his brain, he popped out with one of the more creative responses I've heard, "Soon you will realise that you want children, and another woman cannot give you this; then you will choose a nice man and settle down". 

You need to know that I'm 46 years old, which puts me out of the child-bearing years... but to an octagenarian, I'm just one of those "kids", I'm sure.

In the end his assertion that I would change my mind later is just a variation on the "you're just in a phase", idea... which has always bugged me.

I'm so sick and tired of the old ideas that homosexuality is a phase, a choice, and/or a sickness which can be cured. The same goes for the idea of 'gay recruiting'. If you are really straight... do you think you can be 'turned' gay?

Were heterosexuals born that way, or did they choose it? I have been known to ask them what they think. Often they are agasp! "Boh! Well, I never chose to be straight, I am just this way". Why should my answer be any different?

If it were simply a matter of conditioning, then everyone would be straight. Mom and Pop are just the beginning.Try and imagine the world in topsy-turvey mode. Imagine every TV show, book, magazine and movie tells you that you should be GAY. You know you aren't, you know that you won't be happy that way... but everyone and everything is telling you that is your path. How would you handle it?

All of this conditioning, all of this peer pressure to be straight, every indication around you telling you to be one way... yet you are most decidedly headed in a different direction. This is what it is like to grow up homosexual in a heterosexual environment.

Turns out there is substantial evidence of genetic and prenatal components involved in sexual orientation, not to mention the hundreds of species which exhibit same-sex behaviors. In the end it has been proven time and again that a combination of genetic, hormonal and social factors determine sexual orientation and that the only "choice" made by people like me is whether to ignore the way we are and conform to society's expectations; or to live our lives as we feel most comfortable.

Rather than try to explain all of these factors to this nice man who was still wearing his customary smile, I told him that with two women in the relationship, there are twice as many possibilities for babies... if we were so inclined. We laughed it off, and went on to discuss his grandchildren who had come for a visit on the previous long weekend.

To my mind, being gay is no more of a "choice" than being left-handed and has many similarities.  

What do you think?
What day did you choose your sexual preferences?
 

It's Official! June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month in America.

American President Barack Obama has taken an inclusive move forward by releasing a proclamation declaring June to be lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Pride Month.

I've watched two administrations in the 80's and early 90's which managed to blame us AND ignore us during an epidemic, then in the middle 90's when a supposedly gay-inclusive president signed both Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT), and Defence of Marriage Act (DOMA). On to the 2000's as another administration called for a Constitutional amendment denying human rights for gays. 

It is nice to feel that in the White House sits a man who acknowledges and understands our humanity and basic civil rights.

Perhaps I should take a moment to reflect on what has just happened. Consider how unlikely this event would have been even five or ten years ago. It would have seemed like some kind of science fiction theme fifteen or twenty years ago, Gene Roddenberry could have written this. 

Look back and consider how much progress we have made over the last few years with the fall of DADT, the steady march of marriage equality, immigration benefits, federal changes in transgender related policy regarding gender marker changes, the striking down of DOMA, as well as the recent rulings around veteran's benefits for same-sex spouses.

Now the so-called Leader of the Free World has taken this step in the most public way possible. He has asserted that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals are full and equal human beings who are worthy of dignity, respect, and the full protection of the law.

Once again I am very proud of President Barack Obama. I am also incredibly proud of my gay, lesbian and trans brothers & sisters. So many have stood up and proclaimed that they won't take second-class citizen status any more, and thankfully people are listening. 

Here is his statement in full.

As progress spreads from State to State, as justice is delivered in the courtroom, and as more of our fellow Americans are treated with dignity and respect -- our Nation becomes not only more accepting, but more equal as well. During Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month, we celebrate victories that have affirmed freedom and fairness, and we recommit ourselves to completing the work that remains.

Last year, supporters of equality celebrated the Supreme Court's decision to strike down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act, a ruling which, at long last, gave loving, committed families the respect and legal protections they deserve. In keeping with this decision, my Administration is extending family and spousal benefits -- from immigration benefits to military family benefits -- to legally married same-sex couples.

My Administration proudly stands alongside all those who fight for LGBT rights. Here at home, we have strengthened laws against violence toward LGBT Americans, taken action to prevent bullying and harassment, and prohibited discrimination in housing and hospitals. Despite this progress, LGBT workers in too many States can be fired just because of their sexual orientation or gender identity; I continue to call on the Congress to correct this injustice by passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. And in the years ahead, we will remain dedicated to addressing health disparities within the LGBT community by implementing the Affordable Care Act and the National HIV/AIDS Strategy -- which focuses on improving care while decreasing HIV transmission rates among communities most at risk.

Our commitment to advancing equality for the LGBT community extends far beyond our borders. In many places around the globe, LGBT people face persecution, arrest, or even state-sponsored execution. This is unacceptable. The United States calls on every nation to join us in defending the universal human rights of our LGBT brothers and sisters.

This month, as we mark 45 years since the patrons of the Stonewall Inn defied an unjust policy and awakened a nascent movement, let us honor every brave leader who stood up, sat in, and came out, as well as the allies who supported them along the way. Following their example, let each of us speak for tolerance, justice, and dignity -- because if hearts and minds continue to change over time, laws will too.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2014 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists, and to celebrate the great diversity of the American people.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.

BARACK OBAMA

Want to read a bit of my "Why I came to Berlin" story?
Here is a blogpost which has most of the 411.

And Still I Rise

Because I loved her
Because she was my spiritual Mother
Because she opened my eyes to oppression and how to peacefully resist it
Because she showed me what a human being can overcome
Because she opened the door for me to better understand humankind
Because I love her books, her voice, her philosophy, and her spirit...

For all these reasons and so many more; I will mourn Maya Angelou.

I am saddened by her passing, but her words dance still in my heart.

Still I Rise
Maya Angelou, 1928-2014

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

For the tiny minority still reading, here are some favorite quotes:

• Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option.

• If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain.

• There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story.

• I do not trust people who don't love themselves and yet tell me, 'I love you.' There is an African saying which is: Be careful when a naked person offers you a shirt.

• We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.

• You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.

• My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.

• I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

• I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass.

• The love of the family, the love of the person can heal. It heals the scars left by a larger society. A massive, powerful society.

• Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently.

• Nothing will work unless you do.

• It's one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.

• I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way (s)he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.

• Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.

You don't have to be a brain to be boss, just an Asshole.

When the Body was First Made,
All Its Parts Wanted to be Boss... 

THE BRAIN SAID : Since I control everything and do all the work I should be boss. 

THE FEET SAID: Since I carry man where he wants to go and get him to do what the Brain wants, I should be boss. 

THE HANDS SAID: Since I must do all the work and earn all the money to keep all the rest of you going, I should be boss. 

THE EYES SAID: Since I must look out for all of you and tell you where danger lurks, I should be boss. 

And so it went with the Heart, the Ears, and the Lungs. 

Finally the Asshole spoke up and demanded that he be boss. All the other parts laughed and laughed at the idea of an asshole being boss. 

The Asshole was so angered that he blocked himself off and refused to function. Soon the Brain was feverish, the Eyes crossed and ached, the Feet were too weak to walk, the Hands hung limply at his side, the Heart and Lungs struggled to keep going. 

All pleaded with the Brain to relent and let the Asshole be boss, and so it happened. All parts did the work and the Asshole just bossed and passed out a lot of shit. 

MORAL: You don't have to be a brain to be boss, just an Asshole.

Years ago I saw this text on a poster in Spencer's Gifts (ya'll Americans remember Spencer's, don't ya?). Every once in a while it pops into my head in daily life. It is oh. so. true.
P.S. This isn't about my boss, just about anyone who is in control simply because they are an asshole.