I heard a rumor about a virus going around that sounds like a low-grade flu: fatigue, upset stomach. It could partially account for the fact that five full-time employees didn't make it in to work today, though migraines and doctor's appointments and tests account for the rest. Even some fairly bouncy and energetic student workers were feeling deathly blah. I've had something like that most of this week, which is why I haven't been able to focus on writing, or on much else; I have a couple of unfinished posts in draft mode. But it seems to be receding, and I seem to able to concentrate better, so tonight I'm just going to throw down some short bits. The weekend is nigh, and I hope to be more productive starting tomorrow morning.
Today a friend sent me this link to a story about another professional right-wing bigot who turned out to have a Secret:
Early Wednesday morning, State Sen. Roy Ashburn (R-Calif.) was pulled over and arrested for drunk driving. Sources report that Ashburn -- a fierce opponent of gay rights -- was driving drunk after leaving a gay nightclub; when the officer stopped the state-issued vehicle, there was an unidentified man in the passenger seat of the car.Of course this is a Dog-Bites-Man story -- is anyone really surprised anymore when an antigay politician turns out to be a closet case?
The Sideshow reports some bad news: the blogger known as Jon Swift has died, suddenly and too young, at 46. Swift (he took his name from the author of "A Modest Proposal," and could have been a role model for Stephen Colbert) was not only a good satirist, but a generous supporter of other bloggers. He stopped updating the blog early last year, but it's still up there. And his friend Jason Chervokas mentions casually, in a way that makes it clear that it really is not a big deal, that Swift (or rather Al Weisel) was gay. Even though I know that being gay is just a granfalloon (as shown by the fact that Weisel, Ashburn and I are among its members), I'm still pleased when a witty and intelligent writer turns out to be part of the same one as me.
