Breaking: Polls Close on Which Ass is Better

The poll on "Which Ass is Better" has now closed.

The voters have spoken, the votes have been tallied and the results are in.

24 approved votes were cast.
15 voters (62.5%) prefered Bock's Ass 2.0,
8 voters (33.3%) prefered Bock's Ass 1.0 and
1 voter (4.2%) didn't notice any difference.

Asked for a comment on the results of the poll the Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm, prince of Cascade Falls, Sovereign Ruler of the Commonwealth of Southern Enchantment Region and Outer Territories and finally UN appointed Protector of the Solace Island and Mount Whitney sims in SecondLife, responded with a smirk and said: "Dammit, there is no way of pleasing them! Did you see that one blind geezer didn't even notice a difference? I don't know why I even bothered. From now on I am simply going to please myself and bugger them if they don't like it."

Fact vs. Fiction

I saw this on someones timeline on Facebook yesterday, but cannot remember whose.

The humble carpenter Jesus of Nazareth and his teachings have been completely distorted throughout history, especially for political purposes.

Jesus has been turned into a fictional character by those who most adamantly purport that he was the son of the almighty deity and claim to follow his teachings to the letter, the fundamentalist "born-again" Christian sects and their politicized branches.

Preachers of these sects and politicians of the Conservative and Christian Democratic parties all over the world and the Tea Party movement in the United States have through the ages used Jesus as a vessel to further all their bigoted and discriminatory inclinations and putrid purposes.

It is refreshing to sometimes remember the carpenter as he actually was, according to the testimonials in the New Testament. It is, however, sad that I as an atheist should need to remind the "true-believers" of the facts about their deity. They have utterly misused the man and his teachings.

If it were not for Christians I would most likely be a follower myself, but of the man not the deity

India: Government Asks For Court Review

Through Joe Jervis at J.M.G. I see that the BBC News website (url to full article)  today has this encouraging news.

"The Indian government has filed a petition in the Supreme Court asking it to review its decision to reinstate a 153-year-old law that criminalises homosexuality.

The government asked the court to review its order saying it believed it "violated the principle of equality".  There has been outrage over the ruling seen as a huge blow to gay rights. There have been street protests and many activists and even government ministers have criticised it. The Supreme Court order on 11 December overturned a landmark 2009 Delhi High Court ruling which had decriminalised gay sex.

In its ruling, the Delhi High Court had described Section 377 - the colonial-era law which says a same-sex relationship is an "unnatural offence" and punishable by a 10-year jail term - as discriminatory and said gay sex between consenting adults should not be treated as a crime.
But the Supreme Court said it was up to parliament to change the law and the courts did not have the mandate to rule on it.

"The government has filed the review petition on Section 377 in the Supreme Court today. Let's hope the right to personal choices is preserved," Law Minister Kapil Sibal tweeted on Friday.

In its petition filed in the Supreme Court, the government says "the position of the central government on this issue has been that the Delhi High Court verdict... is correct".

The Supreme Court's earlier order was widely criticised in India. The president of the ruling Congress party Sonia Gandhi described it as "an archaic, unjust law" and Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the ruling had taken India "back to 1860".

---

Let's maintain our support for our Indian brothers and sisters up and keep hoping that something good comes out of this.

Donna Summer - Love To Love You Baby (Giorgio Moroder & Chris Cox Remix)

(via Joe Jervis@http://joemygod.blogspot.com/)

Enjoy this cool remix of an old classic, and remember this is the last day to vote in my poll concerning which of the two versions of my ass you think is better (url). Vote, vote, vote, if you haven't done so already!

Mark the Day

This was indeed a day to remember!

Oh, a federal judge in Utah also struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional.

District Court Judge Robert J. Shelby in his decision said: "Few questions are as politically charged in the current climate. This observation isespecially true where, as here, the state electorate has taken democratic action to participate in a popular referendum on this issue. It is only under exceptional circumstances that a court interferes with such action. But the legal issues presented in this lawsuit do not depend onwhether Utah’s laws were the result of its legislature or a referendum, or whether the laws passed by the widest or smallest of margins. The question presented here depends instead on the Constitution itself, and on the interpretation of that document contained in binding precedent from the Supreme Court and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Applying the law as it is required to do, the court holds that Utah’s prohibition on same-sex marriage conflicts with the United States Constitution’s guarantees of equal protection and due process under the law. The State’s current laws deny its gay and lesbian citizens their fundamental right to marry and, in so doing, demean the dignity of these same-sex couples for norational reason. Accordingly, the court finds that these laws are unconstitutional."

Unexpected Visitors

While my brother Dej was away from his keyboard yesterday - eating, sleeping or hooking up with some able bodied man on Grindr - as usual leaving his avatar parked on his western porch, he had two unexpected visitors.

The visitors were two draft horses of tall stature, heavy boned and a muscular build, with broad, short backs and powerful hindquarters that showed they were extremely well equipped for pulling.

I am curiously  checking what Internet porn Dej's avatar is looking at

Tom, who has loads of animal avatars in his Inventory, had shown Guyke and me where to buy a puppy avatar and two horse avatars, one a draft horse and the other one an Arabian thoroughbred. As the hour was late European time Guyke left us and Tom and I returned to Southern Charm alone to unpack my loot.

I had promised Guyke that we would unpack the horse avatars together, but in my excitement I couldn't stop myself after having customised my puppy, with Tom's help, so feeling a little ashamed I went ahead with the drafter but saved the thoroughbred for unpacking together with Guyke. (I hope you can forgive me, Guykechen!)

When we were all done I wanted to show off my new avatar to Dej. We went over to the northwest corner to where Dej was sitting, but as I have already told you he was alas AFK. Instead I took a few pictures to show him later on.

Tom and I moved on to the barn to meet and greet with my bulldog Bilbo, who was quite pleased with some company as I have neglected him a bit lately. The three of us had a nice time and chatted away awhile until we all felt that we needed to get some sleep.

Lingonberries

Lingonberries are as common in the food life of a Swede as ketchup is to an American. We use the delicious berries with almost everything edible, with the possible exception of soups and pickled herring (and I am certain that there are some who do that too).

There are two basic ways (and a million varieties) to prepare lingonberries for your meals, either as Crude Stirred Lingonberries or as Lingonberry Jam, where the first is mostly preferred by adults and the latter by children of all ages (some of them are also referred to as "childish adults").

I will share both the standard recipes with you.

Crude Stirred Lingonberries (Which are called "rårörda lingon" in Swedish).
Ingredients
1.0 [any weight or volume quantity you prefer] fresh or freshly frozen lingonberries
0.0-0.5 [same weight or volume unit you used above] granulated white (or brown) sugar

Preparation (approximately 10 minutes)
Clean the berries in water (the debris flows). Pour the berries in a sieve. Drain.

Mix with sugar little by little to moderate sweetness according to your taste. Stir gently until the sugar dissolves and the berries become mushy but still remain whole. Alternatively serve without sugar.

Pour into sterilized jar(s) with tight fitting lid(s).

Note
1. Crude Stirred Lingonberries have a shelf life of no longer than two months. Therefore, do smaller amounts at a time and freeze the rest of the lingonberries for future preparation.
2. Go easy on the sugar, I personally prefer a bit of the sour tang that you get with less sugar.

Lingonberry Jam (which is called "lingonsylt" in Swedish)
Ingredients
1.0 [any weight or volume quantity you prefer] fresh or freshly frozen lingonberries
0.1 [same weight or volume unit you used above] water
0.3-0.5 [same weight or volume unit you used above] granulated white sugar

Stabiliser: Pectin (powder)

Preparation (approximately 40 minutes)
Clean the berries in water (the debris flows). Pour off the water.

Place the berries in a pot and add water. Heat slowly on medium-low heat. Let simmer for 15 minutes. Skim off.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sugar a little at a time. Stir occasionally until sugar has dissolved. Let the jam again simmer for 10 minutes on low heat.

For firmer jam: Add pectin according to directions on package.

Remove from the heat and let stand a few minutes. Skim off well and pour over into sterilized jar(s). Screw the lid on while the jam is still hot and turn the jar(s) upside down. Then attach the lids tightly and nicely.
---

Homemade preparations of lingonberries in cute glass jars can be used an appreciated gift to the hosts when you are invited to a Swedish home. You can of course be petit bourgeois also and bring a bottle of wine or a small bouquet of flowers instead...