Xyre » california

California voters, remember November

Sam — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:36:16 +0000

Those of you who vote in California—but really, everybody—should pay special attention to the proposition to amend the state constitution to outlaw gay marriage in that state. (Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few weeks, you’ll know that on Monday, a ruling by California’s State Supreme Court went into effect, legalizing marriage between same-sex couples.) If passed, it would probably invalidate thousands of legal and happy marriages overnight. So for the love of Pete (as it were), don’t let this proposition pass!

Please check out what John Scalzi has to say about this issue:

Make no mistake that supporters of the “California Marriage Protection Act” will be voting to destroy existing marriages. Every single person who says they support this initiative should be made to understand that is what they are going to do, and be made to acknowledge that fact. Every person who is on the fence about the initiative should be made to understand that this will be the consequence. Same-sex marriage is not some theoretical construct in California; it exists. And while no marriages will end if the “California Marriage Protection Act” fails, many marriages will end if it passes.

It does not profit anyone to ignore this reality, nor to ignore the shameful irony of claiming this act somehow “protects” marriage. It doesn’t. So don’t.

California didn’t end when gay marriages became legal. The sky didn’t blow up and the earth didn’t split open and devour those whom God found out of His favour. Teh Geighs aren’t destroying the world. Don’t let this proposition destroy their right to love.

Road Trip Update: El Paso

Sam — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:05:09 +0000

The Road Trip of Awesome, which began a few days ago—sorry I couldn’t tell you about it, Internet, but the blog was broken for a while there—has already taken me from Vancouver through Seattle and Portland, to San Francisco for a while, to Los Angeles, and today to El Paso after a major drive across California, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Total distance covered so far: about 4000 km (2500 mi).
Total money spent on gasoline: don’t want to think about it.

To sate your insatiable appetite for road trip photography, you’ll just have to wait until more photos can be taken, edited, and uploaded. You can visit the full gallery here; as for right now, please allow me to whet said appetite with a few choice tidbits:

Tomorrow: Ciudad Juárez and then San Antonio!

California Supreme Court affirms gay marriage

Sam — Thu, 15 May 2008 17:30:30 +0000

The Supreme Court of California has just handed down a ruling that gays and lesbians have the fundamental right to marry and form families just like all other human beings!

In a 4-3 decision, the justices said the state’s ban on same-sex marriage violates the “fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship.” The ruling is likely to flood county courthouses with applications from couples newly eligible to marry when it takes effect in 30 days.

It’s about damn time. California has had domestic partnerships for a while, but these don’t carry all the benefits of marriage when it comes to taxes, immigration, medical benefits, and so forth. The California state legislature had passed two laws allowing gay marriage, and Schwarzenegger (remember him? the Governator?) vetoed both of them. Yet this is the man who also has said that he’s against a citizen-driven initiative to amend the state constitution to prohibit gay marriage, which looks like it’s going to be on the ballot before voters in November. Hopefully the presidential election in a “blue state” such as California will drive up the number of people who turn up not simply to vote for a president but to vote against this homophobic ballot proposition. A massive, well-funded, and well-organized effort to get voters to do both these things will be necessary starting very soon.

But for now, let’s rejoice in this ruling from a Republican-dominated court. Thank goodness there are still a few people out there who recognize that human rights should not stop with heterosexual couples.

Silly place names in the Pacific Northwest

Sam — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:48:48 +0000

I have long thought that the Pacific Northwest (i.e. Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, and some of northern California) possesses the most ridiculous place names of anywhere in North America (and possibly the world). Much of this is a product of local Native languages, as it is all over North America, but some of it is just human silliness. Some of the pronunciations are reasonable (enough), but some are maddeningly unintuitive and therefore—rightly or wrongly—employed as shibboleths to identify ‘true’ PNWers from everybody else (mostly Californians, even those who moved to the area years ago and are now locals).

If I’ve left anything off this list that you feel merits inclusion in such a, uh, worthy list, please leave it in a comment.

Silly-sounding place names

Agassiz, BC (pronounced ag-uh-SEE)
Aloha, OR (pronounced uh-LO-uh)
Boring, OR
Champoeg, OR (pronounced sham-POO-ee)
Chehalis, WA (pronounced sha-HEY-liss)
Chilliwack, BC
Cle Elum, WA
Coos Bay, OR (pronounced so that coos rhymes with goose)
Coquitlam (and Port Coquitlam), BC
Ekalaka, MT (pronounced ee-kuh-LAH-kuh)
Estacada, OR (pronounced es-tuh-KAY-duh, like the name Kay)
Esquimalt, BC (pronounced ess-KWAI-malt)
Issaquah, WA (pronounced IZZ-ah-kwah)
Klickitat (and Klickitat County), WA
La Center, WA
Moscow, ID (pronounced MOSS-koo)
Nisqually, WA (not to be confused with Old Nisqually, WA)
Onalaska, WA
Osoyoos, BC (pronounced oh-SOY-yooz)
Owhyee, ID (pronounced oh-WHY-yee)
Pe Ell, WA (pronounced like the letters P and L)
Puyallup, WA (a true shibboleth: pronounced pyoo-AL-up)
Sequim, WA (pronounced skwim)
Skamokawa, WA (pronounced ska-MOCK-a-way)
Snohomish and Snohomish County, WA (pronounced snow-HO-mish)
Snoqualmie, WA (pronounced snow-KWAL-mee)
Sprague, WA (pronounced spreyg, in one syllable)
Steillacoom, WA (pronounced STILL-a-koom)
Squamish, BC
Wahkiakum County, WA
Walla Walla, WA
Whatcom County, WA
Willamette and the Willamette River, OR (another classic shibboleth: pronounced to rhyme with dammit)
Yreka, CA (pronounced why-REE-kuh)

However, the one Cree village in Québec definitely deserves to be on this list too: Whapmagoostui, PQ. Also, Woonsocket, Rhode Island, is pretty good.

On the way to California

Sam — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 06:12:30 +0000

Northern California viewed from the air en route from Vancouver to San Francisco at daybreak is a fine enough sight, if you happen to like lots of rolling brown hills. The hills are brown because the vegetation is so sparse: aside from the inevitable pine trees, all there really is on the hillsides is browner grasses and bare dirt. And the hills don’t so much roll as thrust upwards and outwards in very large clusters. It almost looks as if someone has scooped up some dirt and squished it together between her fingers, dropping it back onto the ground in great heaps. Millions of years of plate tectonics have more or less dictated that California—its northern part together with its south—is destined to receive pretty much the ass end of the deal when it comes to geology. So if you happen to be fond of endless miles of not-so-gentle slopes and somewhat uninspiring evergreen forests—and I know more than a few people who seem to be—then the hills of Northern California would be for you.