Happy Birthday Michelle!!!

birthday pictureMichelle with stuffed cowDecember birthdays can be a drag especially when folks give you the combined “this is your birthday AND your Christmas gift” speech. But not today. My baby will be spoiled.

Michelle woke up this morning to find some birthday cards from her sister & myself along side a stuffed cow. (Michelle LOVES cows) I just dropped her off to get a manicure and after lunch I’ll take her to the spa for a stone massage. We’ll kick back this afternoon before heading out tonight for dinner at The Melting Pot an excellent fondue restaraunt. (Hmmm… chocolate covered strawberries)

My baby receives only the best. Heh, and it isn’t even Christmas yet… *snicker*

Time to stir things up a bit.

Dawn has made some comments recently about the issue of Pro-Choice. I thought I’d drop in my two cents as most people think I just party all the time and couldn’t care less about social issues. (You know who you are)

I think Pro-Choice hasn’t made an impact because most people feel “that would never happen to me”. Pro-Life currently has the advantage of strong political clout and extremists on the religious right who are more than happy to harass people who would dare venture into an abortion clinic (abortioncamsDOTcom). It’s easy to be Pro-Life and shake your finger at immoral sexual behavior. If a couple gets pregnant “they deserved it”, “they shouldn’t have been having sex to begin with”, or any number of God driven justifications. But the fact is accidents happen, women get raped, men get trapped and both sexes can be irresponsible when it comes to bedroom behavior.

I agree that Pro-Choice is not Pro-Abortion. I also believe that abortion shouldn’t be used as a means of birth control. I’m not sure what I think anymore of it being called “a woman’s right to choose”. I would rather see it as “a couple’s right to choose”. I know it’s idealistic, but just because it’s a woman’s body doesn’t mean she bares the sole burden. It’s a reality for many sure, but why enforce that behavior by isolating women even more? Any man is capable of providing emotional & spiritual strength during a pregnancy and should be encouraged to do so.

Most of the movies I’ve heard or read about on the topic involve a woman protagonist struggling on her own endowed with this heavy responsibility. Where are the movies that show men involved in the same crisis? If you’re attempting to sway public opinion and rally support wouldn’t you want to include all races & genders?

I think it’s “a woman’s right to choose” because there haven’t been any role models or stories that men can identify with. Personally, I know guys who’ve dated women that had abortions without telling them, who had partners that lied about birth control or STDs. These things don’t just happen to women. I also know guys who stood by their girlfriends/spouses/lovers when told about an unexpected pregnancy. And Chuck & Ken aren’t alone, there are plenty of single fathers out there doing the best they can.

On a personal note, just because I’m Pro-Choice doesn’t mean I’m a sexual deviant or completely without faith in God. But if someone else chooses to have an abortion, they have to live with the consequences not me and if it is a sin then shouldn’t God be the one to punish them? If you force people to have babies that don’t want them do you really think that child will grow up in a happy & healthy home environment? There are already enough children in foster care being railroaded by the system, why would you want to condemn more innocents to that?

If society educated men & women to be more responsible for themselves and share more as a couple then perhaps Pro-Choice wouldn’t be seen solely as a woman’s right to choose. And maybe one day society wouldn’t care about Pro-Choice vs. Pro-Life because people would be more responsible period.

HUMOR – Three Princes

Michelle got this in her e-mail tonight:

Once upon a time there lived a king. The king had a beautiful daughter, the princess. But there was a problem. Everything the princess touched would melt. No matter what; metal, wood, stone, anything she touched would melt.

Because of this, men were afraid of her. Nobody would dare marry her.

The king despaired.

What could he do to help his daughter?

He consulted his wizards and magicians. One wizard told the king, “If your daughter touches one thing that does not melt in her hands, she will be cured.”

The king was overjoyed and came up with a plan. The next day, he held a competition. Any man that could bring his daughter an object that would not melt would marry her and inherit the king’s wealth.

Three young princes took up the challenge.

The first prince brought a sword of the finest steel. But alas, once the princess touched it, it melted. The prince went away sadly.

The second prince brought diamonds. He thought diamonds are the hardest substance in the world and would not melt. But alas, once the princess touched them, they melted. He too was sent away disappointed.

The third prince approached. He told the princess, “Put your hand in my pocket and feel what is in there.” The princess did as she was told, though she turned red. She felt something hard. She held it in her hand. And it did not melt!!!

The king was overjoyed. Everybody in the kingdom was overjoyed. And the third prince married the princess and they both lived happily ever after.

Question:
What was in the prince’s pants?

(Scroll down for the answer)

M&M’s of course. They melt in your mouth, not in your hand.

Pablo Francisco at The Improv

Dean LewisMichelle & I made a trip to the Improv this evening to see Pablo Francisco. Wish you could have been there. It’s a rare event when all three comedians are dead on, but I almost passed out from lack of oxygen I laughed so hard.

The show opened with Dean Lewis, a local favorite at the Improv. Dean provided some humorous insights such as “You ever notice that people who need guns to protect their stuff own a bunch of crap?” or “Don’t you hate it when you flip off the driver next to you then you don’t make the green light?”. He was a terrific warm-up for the rest of the night.

The surprise of the evening was Michael Jr. Normally the featured act is mediocre at best, but Michael put on a fresh performance that had Michelle & I in stitches. Michael JrComedy requires good jokes, smooth delivery, comedic timing and the ability to develop a rapport with your audience. Michael delivered like a veteran performer. We look forward to catching him again soon.

The evening capped with our headliner Pablo! What a great show! Not only was the crowd good (I feel bad when any comedian gets stuck with a bad crowd), but it was great to see Pablo mix up his act. He’s one of the few comedians I’ve seen that has so much material that each show I go to seems like a new event. We snapped pictures after the show and Pablo gave Michelle a free CD. What’s great is he has a new CD coming out January 2003!Pablo Francisco

OK, must get sleep now.

And Your Here Because?

Sarah needs a new title. I need a new layout. Will it make that much of a difference to you? There aren’t many sites that I look at on the `net (I just don’t have the time), but the ones I do it’s strictly due to content. Whether it’s cool photos, great writing, good music or just new faces, I might have a comment about the design, but I certainly wouldn’t stop visiting a site because of it.

I know a lot of sites out there have excellent design, MUCH better than anything I do here. But then a lot of sites have nothing to say, but “WOW, look at the really kewl design I made” or “Brand new layout – Woot!” If that’s all a site has to offer my interest is lost pretty quick.

Sarah’s site reminds me of those yummy chocolate oranges my Mom has over the holidays. Who cares about the shiny foil wrapper? It’s all about the chocolate baby.