Danny Doom’s Booze Cabinet

Lily on the radiator, heatin’ up.

The great Irish satirist Jon Swift has posted his Best Blog Posts of 2008, which aren’t his own best posts but instead the best posts of bloggers as chosen by the bloggers themselves. Got that? I hate to look back, myself, so when Mr. Swift came calling for my best post I chose the one most recently completed, which happened at the time to be the “Unity, Sanctity, and Bigotry” post from a couple of weeks ago. Perhaps there were some other gems that I passed over but in a year of such excitement and history it would be impossible for me to pick just one!

Anyway, cheers to Jon Swift and his act of kindness and unity. Check out his blog, which he explains in this way:

“I am a reasonable conservative who likes to write about politics and culture. Since the media is biased I get all my news from Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and Jay Leno monologues.”

At my wedding in June I made a speech of sorts, drunkenly, with the ocean behind me and the tequila in front of me. I was still in the middle of a week in Cancun that ended up going about as perfectly as I could ever have hoped for. The speech, unprepared, most certainly off the top of my head, basically was my own version of the “I have a dream” speech, but much more selfish and having nothing to do with the good of mankind–well, almost nothing.

My dream centered on a trifecta of sorts that I was pretty certain at that point would happen, one being the birth of my baby, another the election of Barack Obama, and the third being a World Series victory by the Cubs. All were to occur in this great magical fall in which I turned an iconic age and would cement this year as the greatest year ever for me, so far.

As we now know, only one of those things let me down. It was the only thing that I had no control over whatsoever. The Cubs blew it. Apart from me getting on the field and hitting for Alfonso Soriano, the Cubs were doomed, as always. Good thing I left the Bears out of it. But that hardly matters now anyway.

I had a hell of a year. I got married, had a baby girl, and saw Barack Obama win the presidency. I’ll add to that the release–on vinyl–of my band’s record and the fun that went into that, including two choirs assembled (The Hoyne St. Legion of Doom Choir and The Prize Beagle State St. Choir), two fake protest photo shoots (in Logan Square and Humboldt Park), and the many guests and friends who helped us out on various instruments and devices.

I still haven’t figured out a lot of things but for once I feel like I can end the year and not bitterly throw it out. It didn’t totally suck! It was a pretty awesome year for me personally, and so thanks for that if you were with me. And: 23 days or so left before George Bush is no longer president! How much more can I ask for?

Milk at Midnight #4

bite-size stars obediently dance in your brain -they couldn’t be that small in real life but when the explosion’s over you’ll have evolve-melted into an angel that can’t even see stars, ’cause whaddaya know, you’ll be livin’ in one – so that’s where they were hiding heaven!

- 12/12/08 Empty Bottle

Thax Douglas

From Chicagoist.com:

The following ten groups released albums or EPs that we believe launched them far above the roiling masses making up the Chicago music scene.

Coming in at number 3…your favorite and mine…the one, the only…Milk at Midnight! Thanks Chicagoist and Tankboy!

It’s halftime of the Bear-Packer game and so no, I’m not in a good mood. What a garbage team. They don’t deserve to make the playoffs, yet every team that had to lose yesterday did, and the Bears are still playing like shit. Maybe that’s why I am reading this hippy-dippy post from Melissa Etheridge and finding it hard to take seriously. See, she met Rick Warren and…he’s a fan! (“He had most of my albums from the very first one. What? This didn’t sound like a gay hater, much less a preacher.”)

Sorry, but I am not going to be a part of the mushy liberal–wait, no you’re not going to run it straight up the middle again, are you? Thank you! A pass…TD! 14-10 Packers. I’m as sick of runs up the middle for one yard as I’m am of this whole dreamer philosophy that people like Etheridge espouse. Let me guess: she’s a Scientologist?

Whatever. “He said he regretted his choice of words in his video message to his congregation about proposition 8 when he mentioned pedophiles and those who commit incest. He said that in no way, is that how he thought about gays.”

Gosh, if he says so! Etheridge sounds like Charlie Brown right before he lined up to kick the football. Speaking of that, it’s in the 4th guarter now and the Bears are trying to tie it up. Fourth and one! Oh no, a run up the middle for…one! By a nose! Come on! Punch it in! There it is! Tie game with three minutes to play. Way too much time for this Bear defense to blow it.

Or the special teams to blow it. A horse-collar tackle out of bounds? How stupid can you be, Adrian Peterson? And so the two-minute warning comes as the Packers are well into field goal range. By the way, not a drop of booze over here for me. Just plain old reality and the misery that comes with it. Or the misery that a Bears game brings.

Here comes the FG try with 25 seconds left. Block! And so we go to OT. Unbelievable. And the Bears win! Baby Olivia demanded my attention right at the end but I saw it all with her in my arms. Ahh, now what was Melissa Etheridge saying? Peace, love and flowers? Yeah! I’m in, baby, I’m in! Thanks to the Packers for letting the Bears win, despite it all!

Never got around to this on Friday so why not start off this holiday week with a nice cold margarita from El Cid?

I understand that this is silly at some point. Ultimately it is meaningless. BUT! Or should I say, BUTT…it is NOT about agreeing with each other all the time, as both Obama and Warren have defended themselves by saying. Please. That is not it at all.

It’s that Warren compared legitimizing/legalizing gay marriage to legitimizing incest, child abuse, and polygamy. That goes beyond a difference of opinion; that’s ignorance–dumb, bigoted ignorance–and I would not reward it with an invitation to what will be–should be–one of the unifying historical events of our time.

In the end Obama will win, because it’s smart for him to do: invite people who think differently to bring them in the fold, and possibly gain an even wider acceptance from people who wouldn’t normally be inclined to. So I know why he’s doing it. And I know that it is this quality about him that makes him everything that Bush was not. And it’s even a reason that I voted for him–a true uniter, not a divider.

BUT…we’ve  got to draw the line somewhere, and I draw it at megachurch pastors being elevated from cult status bigotry to Inaugural Speaker Guy. From the looks of the storm that has erupted over this choice, I think that this point has been made. So we’ll see what happens next.

UPDATE:

Just saw this from Christopher Hitchens:

As Barack Obama is gradually learning, his job is to be the president of all Americans at all times. If he likes, he can oppose the idea of marriage for Americans who are homosexual. That’s a policy question on which people may and will disagree. However, the man he has chosen to deliver his inaugural invocation is a relentless clerical businessman who raises money on the proposition that certain Americans—non-Christians, the wrong kind of Christians, homosexuals, nonbelievers—are of less worth and littler virtue than his own lovely flock of redeemed and salvaged and paid-up donors.

A president may by all means use his office to gain re-election, to shore up his existing base, or to attract a new one. But the day of his inauguration is not one of the days on which he should be doing that.

But if we must have an officiating priest, let it be some dignified old hypocrite with no factional allegiance and not a tree-shaking huckster and publicity seeker who believes that millions of his fellow citizens are hellbound because they do not meet his own low and vulgar standards.

In a few years, when gays are able to legally marry each other everywhere with the full benefits that straight couples are allowed, we will see that the positions held by Mr. Warren and his cult are primitive and bigoted. Just like any other civil rights issue that we as a nation have overcome, this too with appear in the rearview mirror as a wrong that has been corrected.

Obama asks us to come together with those who we disagree with on social issues, and I wonder how it is that we are supposed to do that. Is it not an insult to have those who believe homosexuality can be “fixed” invited as an integral part of a gathering in the name of unity? I’m pretty sure that Rick Warren and his cult members can be fixed–positive in fact–but that’s their business, isn’t it? I’m not going to get on their ass about it; evolution moves quicker in some than others.

Let’s be honest about this: the reason that these people are so afraid of  gay marriage is because some gibberish in a book told them it was wrong. Or because a man in a pulpit read from a book that told them it was wrong, someone like Rick Warren or Jerry Falwell, or maybe even Jeremiah Wright.

Reality proves otherwise. There is no absolute sanctity in marriage–certainly not in hetero marriage; there is only sanctity in a union if they choose to honor it, gay or straight. Get off the high horse unless you want to own Elizabeth Taylor’s eight marriages, you sanctimonious fuckers.

I stand by my original reaction:

I’m all for the unifying nature of Obama’s presidency and the possibilities that that may bring, but I believe that it is incumbent upon certain elements to prove worthy of such outreach. Rick Warren? Not so much.

I have an odd appreciation for this picture of Morrissey, perverse as it is. This would be the cover of his new album, “Years of Refusal.” Yeah, that’s how I felt about kids too, until now. Somehow I don’t think Mr. Morrissey is ready yet. Or ever will be.

By the way, I did not know there was a Lost Highway record label. I can think of another band that should be on that label.

I’ve had zero problems with the transition moves of Barack Obama, but now Rick Warren? This fucking tool of the religious right is going to give the invocation at his Inauguration? I’d rather he choose Rev. Wright than this chump. I’d rather he choose…well, I can’t think of any religious figure I’d rather he choose. How about None?

I’m all for the unifying nature of Obama’s presidency and the possibilities that that may bring, but I believe that it is incumbent upon certain elements to prove worthy of such outreach. Rick Warren and the gay-baiting religious right are not even close. Fuck. Them. Let ‘em stand out in the desert and wait for their water!

Why is it necessary to inaugurate the President of the United States with a religious nut? Can’t you leave them out of this for once? God, I’m so sick of religion in this country.

UPDATE:

This is what I’m talking about:

Statement by Rea Carey, Executive Director
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

“President-elect Obama campaigned on a theme of inclusivity, yet the selection of Rick Warren to give the invocation is a direct affront to that very principle. This was a divisive choice, and clearly not one that will help our country come together and heal. We urge President-elect Obama to withdraw his invitation to Rick Warren and instead select a faith leader who embraces fairness, equality and the ideals the president-elect himself has called the nation to uphold.”

You can’t get rid of these pigs soon enough:

“It is regrettable that they had to die,” Gaffney said, “but I believe they did have to die,” citing Hussein’s chemical, biological, and nuclear capabilities. “The danger was inaction could have resulted in the death of a great many more Americans than 4,000. And that’s the reason I’m still delighted that we did what we did.”

Gaffney’s regret/delight refers to the soldiers that fought and died in an unjust war. My instant reaction is that I’d like to chop off his fingers and feed them to the wolves.

“So what?”

- George W. Bush

I think that this article in The Daily Beast may be one of the most important of our time; it is called “The Return of Chest Hair.” Finally! “Chest hair has returned with a vengeance as the sign of sex appeal and virility.” Truer words hath not been spoken.