SAME-SEX DIVORCE LIMBO
I guess it follows that, if the powers that be are so steadfastly against gay marriage, they’d be just as opposed to gay divorce.
It’s actually not “their worst nightmare” — it perfectly follows the lack of acknowledgment for homosexual unions. If you’re not recognized as married in the first place, then you certainly can’t follow on to divorce.
Still, there is some irony in not letting gay people at self-repudiate the sacred institution. An absurd situation all around.
NEEDLESSNESS IN DICTION
Why do I bristle whenever I hear the phrase “needless to say”?
Because I invariably feel the urge to counter it with, “Then don’t say it”.
I understand what’s being conveyed, but really, you need to preface it with a really powerful set of statements for the impact to really come through. More often than not, people use it as overkill, trying to give their following argument more strength than it really has.
I’m reminded most of a long-ago colleague, who dropped her “needless to say”-s with abandon, especially when crafting formal written pieces. It came off as a verbal crutch. Probably the cause for my distaste for the phrase now.
HUMAN CATBIRD SEAT ON BROADWAY
I have qualms about exploiting the homeless. Not to mention their well-trained, head-sitting cats. But this particular member of the underclass invited me to take this picture, in exchange for giving him a dollar. Probably the best-spent buck I’ve doled out all week, even though my crappy cameraphone delivered a blurred result. (Bigger-but-still-blurred version on Flickr.) I ran into this guy on upper Broadway, I think at the corner of 64th. I’m pretty sure I’d seen him before, complete with the walking-while-cat-balancing act, but I can’t be sure. Hard to believe I’d forget a sight like this.