My parents were/are uber Catholic (but the jesuit kind so it wasn't that bad...) so they named me "Thomas" after my father and maternal grandfather and "Joseph" because I was born on Saint Joseph's day. A couple of years later they must have been on a bit of a celtic kick as they named my brother "Brian" - the first in the family we know of... and second name "Charles" after my paternal grandfather and my father's eldest brother (also the godfather). John was born a year later and was going to be Patrick John as the folks were still going with the NY Irish thing but changed their minds at the last second and went with John Patrick for no reason they can remember or will talk about. Michael Richard came about a year and a half after that and by that time my mom was too tired to give a rip about the rest of the family and just like the name Michael. The Richard part is a mystery.

Check out the history of theatre and performing arts in gneral in America and, especially, abroad. Men often played the female part and Opera had a tradition of using castrati as the soprano.

Naturally, it's a helluvalot more complex then that, but there you go for a start.

Magnolia is non-pro-GBLQT? Is that a subtle differentiation from being anti-GBLQT? And the U-District? Mag may vote a shade of pink (if not red) but is hardly a hot-bed of right wing "family values" or any such other crap.

Broadmore, to my understanding, is entirely private property (a gated community) and not a suitable location.

While I am a poor representative of the GBLQT community I would say there is nothing wrong and a lot right about having some sort of real celebration among and with people of like minds. Celebration for the sake of celebration for the GBLQT is an overtly political act in and of itself when set in the context of the level and kinds of discrimination and state sponsored terrorism the community has endured in the past. A lot of gays of yesteryear were killed/beaten/tormented/ostracized/etc so that the gays of today can throw it down with out fear. Sometimes. In some places. It's the community's duty to have a big gay ass celebration to honor all those went before.

Have fun.

Blow him. As your blowing him, stop for second and tell him about your massage issue. Continue blowing.

yes. It can go into your compost bin according to Seattle Public Utilities. However, they do refer to "food soiled" newspaper and seem to prefer that you recycle it.

If you wish to compost it at home it may be a bit of a pain in the ass. Paper is compostable at home but is all carbon and so would need some nitrogen source (urine works well). Also, it mats and squeezes out the oxygen needed for aerobic composting. You'd be best off shredding it and turning the pile regularly.

BTW- to my knowledge, it has been quite a while since news ink was toxic.

You are outta luck, lazy-ass. And you will get little sympathy from most folks, I would suspect. However, I can empathize a bit and suggest ear plugs. If it is the scream of the two cycle motors on the blowers and the weeders that are waking you ear plugs do a pretty dang good job of blocking out the worst of that sort of noise.

Those motors are a nuisance I often find unacceptable myself. They are also eco-killers and put out as much pollution as an SUV- if not more. And they are responsible for the hearing loss of thousands of unfortunate landscapers.

Have you tried to just talk to the crew? They are on a weekly maintanance route and may be open to doing you a solid and hitting some other properties first before getting to the one next to you.

You could also talk to the property managment company that operates the building. While they may not wish to influence thier schedule you may be able to talk them into getting rid of the lawn and going with beds. Unlikely, but what the heck.

Ultimately, though, I'd have to side with the landscapers on this one. Spring and Fall is when landscapers make their nut and they need to bust ass to do so. They get up early and work hard all day.

I doubt that the entire crew is illegal and even if they were there are plenty of other day laborers that the company can hire if these get scared off.

Having a woman look reeeeeal extra purty while taking me out for dinks sounds pretty awesome right from the get-go.

Does he have a motorcycle? Can you guys two up for the night and cruise around looking for mischief to get into? Hugging yourself reeeeeal close to him on the back of the bike while looking reeeeal purty CAN NOT MISS if he is at all into you as more than a friend.

There is a drive inn theater in Auburn, IIRC. If it's open, take the bike and a picnic. this weekend should be beautiful. Wine, chease, bread, grapes, olives, salumi, etc. All very doable on the cheap.

The last good baklava I had was at the Ballard Farmer's Market.