I wish I could actually vote on this

Once upon a time in Austria there was a draft for a Registered Partnership Act. The minister of justice, a social democrat, had worked it out with several lobbies from the pro- and anti-gay marriage sides. Granted, the draft didn't include adoption, social security, health care and several other points of importance to Austrian LGBT people and their lobbies. However, after many months of fighting between left and right as well as among the major LGBT lobby groups said justice minister presented the draft for assessment by all stakeholders (a common legislative process in Austria) before the draft would go to the Council of Ministers to be formed into law.

But let's rewind to the assessment phase for a moment where all the political fun took place. Knowing well that adoption was out of the question anyway LGBT lobbies began criticizing the absence of social security rights etc. That was to be expected. One super right wing party bashed the draft in general since they see no need for equal rights - not a surprise either - while the other super right wing party smartly kept their mouth shut, probably because there were too many rumors among journalists and gays that the party leader was a closeted homosexual.

Not surprising though not quite expected were also the remarks that came from the conservative, catholic church-influenced party in coalition with the social democrats. They seemed to have realized earlier that there was no way they could forever oppose gay relationship recognition, but decided they weren't going down without a fight. Not all but some, many, party members began debating that while the queers should totally get some model of recognition no way where they gonna get it in a registrar's office or share a common name if they want to. While some were completely against holding the ceremony at a registrar's office some said they just "didn't want a ceremony with all the bells and whistles". Because that's what heterosexual people do. They plan big parties at the registrar's office - apparently. And here some people really believed that was a church-thing and not a registrar's thing - but what do they know, after all they're not allowed to get married so you can't really blame them for not knowing about weddings, can you?

Thus continued the discussion about where those homosexuals were to be wed not-quite-married-please-call-it-something-else and other "issues" the conservatives had with the draft until the planned discussion of the issue of gay partnership equalization in the Council of Ministers was moved from June to August. And in the middle of all this the coalition broke, Austria voted again and now the social democrats and the conservatives have been fighting for five weeks about such basic things as whether they'll actually manage to form a working government at all.
The issue of gay marriage? Droned out by politics.

And that is how once upon a time Austria almost got the worst same-sex relationship recognition ever seen.

ack.

I was so exhausted last nigh I had to barf. I hate barfing. I could never support an eating disorder involving vomiting. How do ppl do that on purpose, regularly? no offense, but uch...

need sleep. must sleep in.
unfortunately there's construction work going on in our building. meh.


I know I know, I'm complaining again although I had decided to cut back on it. but seriously, I had to throw up because I'm overworked (and maybe because I eat shitty unhealthy food all day). how bad is that?

toilet paper musing

I don't understand why my toilet paper displays depictions of sea life.
Is that supposed to soothe my soul while I'm on the loo? Make me dream of distant shores while I take a dump? What the fuck are marketing people thinking these days?

on writing

Yesterday Wil Wheaton wrote the following in a blogpost: "I want to be a writer with a capital W, though, and it drives me crazy that I can't just make something up and take a reader on a journey through someone else's life the way I do with my own."

That reminded me of something: I want to write fiction, but I can't. I can make a story out of anything. Something remotely amusing that happened to me - I can tell it to you in a way that can make you roll on the floor laughing. Seriously. I just seem to be unable to invent stories, characters. I've occasionally been so lucky to have a fleeting idea, but if I actually sit down to write, create - nothing comes. The muses don't exactly knock on my door on a daily basis.

I've spent a lot of time writing poetry, even good poetry, and a couple of short stories. I know I can write. I know my way with words. Really well, as a matter of fact. But what use is it to me if I can't create anything longer than a page for lack of content?

food principles

finn's mum has a birthday next week so we went to the obligatory "the grandparents want to have some kind of get together, never mind if the birthday person wants to"-event at finn's parent's house yesterday. We arrived for lunch, and then at about two p.m. the grandparents arrived for coffee and cake. The blissfully unsuspecting person that I am I dug into two slices of cake and half a slice of strudel. I hadn't even barely begun to process all that food when at half past four these people put a dinner of cold cuts on the table.

WTF?

of course no one else but me was astounded by this practice. And of course I ate as well, after all there were really yummy foods. But we decided not to have any more dinner when we came home to our place, bursting at the seams we were...

More than two years, and I still don't get her family ;)

great, now apple is evil too

is this political? uh oh. this is a personal rant. I hate iTunes. Lately it doesn't let me properly access the iStore anymore. want my podcasts, buggers!

countdown to my own private armageddon

I just had to take this


OK, mine looked different. I actually had to drink a bottle of that stuff. tastes pretty sweet but at the end of the bottle I already resented the sweetness. yuck. now I'm basically waiting for it to start. make room! the toilet is mine!

sorry for those who are oh so easily disgusted by all things human. I really have to take this with humour. for my own sanity's sake.

speaking of humour: how grand is it that the supplement on the picture is called "evacuant kit"? what the fuck? "We're evacuating the bowel! Women and children first!" ???

question of the day?

why is starbuck's smallest drink size called tall?