A Rubber Door is dead - long live A Rubber Door

Hello all. As you've read on this blog, I've been unhappy with the way blogger has been working recently, so I've done something about it. The all new A Rubber Door is just one click away.

Please update your links (the name of the blog is still A Rubber Door).

Just hold tight

I've had it with blogger so somewhere over the next 2 weeks I will be moving my blog. I'll let everyone know when it's ready, but until then - the posts might be light here.

Church of the Big Sky: An Open Letter to Blogger Support

I've lost patience with blogger. Over the past few months, the amount of time it has been down is unacceptable. I know it's free - but the level of service they've been giving recently isn't even worth that.

I suggest all Blogger users to post a link to this letter on their site and then also post a comment at the link as your way of signing it and showing support. The only way it gets better is if we raise a little noise.

Church of the Big Sky: An Open Letter to Blogger Support

Techonrati tags:
blogger, blogger sucks, fix blogger

Great start to the morning

It's not even 10 yet and it already looks like one of those days. Rushing to the train to find that my main route to the station is closed I have to take a detour. Taking the detour I get stuck behind a school bus. Get to the station on time I realize I forgot my iPod, yogurt, and vitamins.

All minor, but all annoying. Hope it gets better from here.

Funny thing on the train though. There are these people that are always on the train, and they look smart, and I always imagine them having funny intelligent type conversations. Well today I was sans iPod and I got to hear their conversation: wrestling, Playstation, and the best comment of the conversation "I saw Deuce Bigalow this weekend and laughed my ass off." Now there's nothing wrong with any of that - I've been known to watch WWE every once in awhile, and while I despise Rob Schneider everyone is allowed their guilty pleasures, and I own a Playstation - but it's just funny how when I couldn't hear them, I created my own dialogue in my head.

I feel like I just found out Santa Claus isn't real.

My fellow Americans

What I'm about to say would get Ann Coulter's panties in a bunch, but here we go: there are times when the actions of my fellow American embarrass me and the Geno's Steaks controversy is another example of that.

I just saw a news report that if accurate seems to indicate that most people are in support of the Geno's steak English only policy. I don't know why this surprises or upsets me - I think I should be beyond the point of expecting Americans to be enlightened. In general we are uneducated, insulated, bigoted bunch. Some of the comments that I heard were downright insulting "why should I have to press 1 for English?" or "everyone else had to learn English, why can't they?"

Who said these people aren't trying to learn English? What ever happened to just giving a helping hand? In a worldwide economy why can't we just be more accepting of other people's differences?

Well I can speak English rather well, and you know what I have to say to Geno's? Fuck you.

Welcoming a new week

Last week was a good week to be a blogger with Ann Coulter rearing her ugly head, the gay marriage bill going down to defeat, and all sorts of other fun stuff to shake your head at.

Wonder what this week will hold? Haven't heard from Pat Robertson in awhile.

It's a good week for...

Bigots. Everyone is using gays as a convenient scapegoat. Ann Coulter is on the rampage (she's a bigot against liberals. How fun would it be to lock her and Michael Moore in a room - he'd eat her).

And this morning I read a great story about how Philly Cheesesteak institution Geno's Steaks has a sign in there window stating "This is America - When ordering Speak English". Being a life-long Philadelphian, I can see the irony in some idiot from South Philly with a 9th grade education, telling people how to speak english. Oh I can hear it now: "Yous guys needs to speak good english. Hey Geno, gimme a boddle of woorder widdat cheesesteak wid wiz to go."

Note to any traveler coming to Philly: no self respecting Philadelphian gets their cheesesteaks from Geno's. Geno's Cheesesteaks suck. As do Pat's and Jim's. If you want a good cheesesteak, try Tony Luc's or just go to the Italian Market and try one there. Don't give a bigot your business.

Technorati tags:
Philadelphia

Ann Coulter coming out of her shell

Ann Coulter in her book says that the widows of those that died in the 9/11 attacks are "reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by grief-arazzis."

Well it's about time someone called out the truth. And I'm glad that Ann Coulter finally stood up to these so-called victims.

In the spirit of her statements, here are some other issues I wish people would address.

• Puppies. Yeah, yeah - they're cute and cuddly. So what? I'm so tired of the left wing conspiracy promoting cute and cuddly. Some of us don't want that.
• Katrina victims. We get it - you have no place to live. Your loved ones are lost and maybe dead. Maybe you shouldn't have elected Democratic leaders. They lied to you. You can't trust them. Put your trust in the Republican party.

• Murder in America. Hey, if you don't have the common sense to get out of the way of a bullet, then I have two words for you - natural selection.
• Cancer victims. Don't get me started.
• Sufferers of hate crimes. These get too much publicity by the democratic devils in the media. If people had the good sense to be born white then there wouldn't be any problems.

In general I am so tired of victims. All their bitching about dying and such is so 1983.

Technorati tags:
ann coulter, politics

What happens when politics get in the way

I've been meaning to post about the bill that was defeated today trying to pass a constitutional amendment on marriage. I don't even want to talk about the validity of this, although I wonder all the time why conservatives are so worried about what other people do in their bedrooms? I mean isn't the over 50% divorce rate or all the fatherless children growing up more of a threat to the American family? I digress.

My complaint today is - isn't there something else more important for Congress to be thinking about? We're in Iraq with no end in sight. Some of our soldiers are being accused of atrocities. There's a nuclear standoff with Iran. A major terror threat in Canada. Yet our Republican leaders have chosen this as their primary subject this week. George Bush even used his weekly radio address to push for this on Saturday.

Why can't we have a government where the debate is about things that matter? I don't mean to say that gay marriage is something that doesn't matter. I honestly think if you're lucky enough to find someone you want to spend the rest of your life with, you should be allowed to do so legally regardless of gender. My issue is that we need to prioritize and focus. This bill was never going to pass. The only reason it was even put up for a vote was so that the conservative base could be energies. As if bigots need to be reminded they're bigots.

Every day another reminder that we need to be rid of the current administration.

Technorati tags:
politics, George Bush, Republicans, Gay Marriage

RIP the 5th Beatle - Billy Preston

One of my favorite songs growing up was Nothing from Nothing so it comes it great sorrow to hear that Billy Preston died today of kidney illness at the way too young age of 59. As much as I loved that song and remember seeing as a child on Saturday Night Live, I didn't realize how much of an integral part he played with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. His biography is well worth the read.

It's telling that at the age of 23, when a lot of us are still figuring things out, that the Beatles turned to him to help smooth out their issues.

Man - if there is a heaven, there's a great party going on.

Technorati tags:
Billy Preston, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones

The duck-o ate my alien

How awesome is this picture? Maybe this is the first sign of the Duck Rebellion I've been talking about for years.

You know some UFO geeks are absolutely freaking about this one. The x-ray is up for sale on ebay, I couldn't find the auction it, but did find this one.

Technorati tags: duck alien

I need a little help with math

I read the following in an article about The Break-up

However, it was women who dominated the The Break-Up audience, which Universal reported was 67 percent female, compared to 30 percent male, and equally split between below and above 30-year-old ticket buyers.

Obviously a large percentage of hermaphrodites saw this film.

Technorati tags: The Break-up

Just after I proposed

Just after I proposed
Originally uploaded by speener.

A friend asked me for a pic. Here's a pic. I had just proposed - hence the deer in the headlight look on both of our faces.

Faith is loud

While on vacation one of our housemates was accosted by some one who decided to share his faith in Christianity with her. He would not stop until she had to say "Leave me the fuck alone". This on top of the Kansas "minister" that has been protesting at funerals of homesexual Iraq War dead and I just wonder why these people can't just keep to themselves?

Why is their opinion so important?

Anyway - I'm having a hard time getting back in the blogging groove since I've returned. I'll get back to normal soon enough.

I'm back

Recap of my vacation, Amazing Race Style:

1 Engagement
3 TV Finales (Desperate Housewives, 24, and Lost - comments to come)
6 States
12 Hardees
537 Songs played on my iPod
800 Miles

I'm back to Conshohocken with still a 3 day weekend to go.

The best things I saw on my vacation:

Proof I was in the South
















Finally saw some wild horses

What happened on my vacation...

Nothing eventful. Oh yeah - I proposed to Kristen on Friday night, and she said yes (on a trial basis) ;)

Had this brilliant plan to replace Kristen's menu with a menu I had written up. It was personalized and brilliant. The only problem is - she didn't read the menu - kind of just skimmed it. So I'm sitting realizing "wow, I'm going to have ask her." Which I did in ham-handed way, but it worked. We were also sitting at half-moon tables, so getting down on one knee was out of the question (thank god).

Then we went to see a filming of "Decades in Rock" - Elvis Costello with Fiona Apple, Billie Joe Armstrong, and Death Cab for Cutie. Great show that almost brought me to tears when Elvis did Fiona's song I Know. Maybe the single best performance that I've seen.

We then headed from AC to Duck, North Carolina for the week (so maybe not a whole lot of updates this week).

Those damn hippies!

The end of Amazing Race 9 wasn't as tense as the Amazing Race 7 end but it was still entertaining. My prediction of the frat boys was off but the hippies deserved to win - I love the brain teasing end rewarding brains over brawn.

I would love CBS to do an Amazing Race reunion after every season end - the same way Survivor does.

Still too many finales to go.

amazing race

Thom Yorke solo CD coming

Looks like Thom Yorke of Radiohead will be releasing a solo cd. Also sounds like it will be like Kid A/Amnesiac. And no - they're not breaking up.

The following message was sent to the Radiohead fan list...

this is just a note to say that something has been kicking around in the background that i have not told you about.
its called The Eraser.
nigel produced & arranged it .
i wrote and played it.
the elements have been kicking round now for a few years and needed to be finished & i have been itching to do something like this for ages.
it was fun and quick to do.
inevitably it is more beats & electronics.
but its songs.
stanley did the cover.
yes its a record!
no its not a radiohead record.
as you know the band are now touring and writing new stuff and getting to a good space so i want no crap about me being a traitor or whatever splitting up blah blah...
this was all done with their blessing. and i don't wanna hear that word solo. doesnt sound right.
ok then thats that.

i think its out in july and im pretty certain XL are going to put it out.

love thom

www.theeraser.net

radiohead, Thom Yorke, 2006 Music

Amazing Race - Coming in for a landing

The season finales are dwindling to a few including tomorrow night's Amazing Race two hour end. I have to say if any of the three win, I'll be fine with it. This year's big bad MoJo was vanquished last week. No more crying ("this is the hardest thing I've ever done"). No more bitching (yields are unfair). No more seeing Monica bounce I mean run - damn it! Just the frats pretending they're not gay. The hippies following and begging. And Ray and Yolanda (no nickname) being ignored as a threat.

My prediction: I'm not feeling the hippie love, although I'd like to see them win - they make crucial mistakes. Ray and Yolanda - maybe but I'm going with the frats - then they can come out of the closet as they star in the next season of Queer Eye.

amazing race, television