Peter's Place

Six years ago, today, my grandmother's corporeal existence terminated. I know that she is still with me, in another presence, and her memory is well alive. But I miss her, terribly. I love you, Elizabeth "Betty" Zoel Frank, wherever and however in the Universe you now exist.

This morning I wrote my grandfather's obituary, based on notes that he had provided for the purpose. I went with my sister and my father's brother to the funeral home to arrange for services and what not. The funeral director made a few changes to what I had written, and added in the last two paragraphs (advising as to the arrangements that were made). It cost nearly $1,000 to run the obituary for one day in The Journal News (you don't want to know what the total cost of the funeral came to...): Sidney J. Frank, Jr. , a 60 year resident of Rye Brook, NY died at home June 28, 2008 surrounded by his family. He was born April 6, 1921 in Greenwich, CT to Sidney and Mary Selzer Frank. Raised in Rye, NY, Sidney graduated from Rye High School in 1938. He served as a corporal in the US. Army Air Corps during World War II. He married Elizabeth Zoel of Port Chester at Our Lady of Mercy Church on April 9, 1944. They were married 58 years at the time of Elizabeth's passin...

My grandfather just died. :(

My father just called me. I think I posted how my grandfather had three heart attacks and a stroke last summer. I know I've posted about his melanoma. Well after his heart attacks and strokes last summer, apparently they decided to do nothing about the melanoma. On Monday, my father told me that my grandfather went to the doctors as his legs weren't working and he was getting worse, and they "discovered" that his legs were covered with the tumors from the melanoma. The oncologist decided not to do anything about it because he's lived long enough. So now my father just called and said that the priest was coming to administer last rites and he's apparently unconscious. It's going to take me around four hours to get up there, as I have to take three separate buses. Last weekend my younger brother, John, who's a paranoid schizophrenic with bi-polar disorder, decided to self-medicate as he had stopped taking his medications. He felt a need to "become ...

The Sierra Club has an interesting video/commercial out urging us to take action against Climate Change . I'm placing it here for your convenience, and also because I thought it was pretty damned cool.

Am-I-Dumb.com - Intelligence Test

So Mom paid for me to get my hair done today--finally! Here's the most recent picture I have of me before the cut (it was taken approximately one month ago so you'll have to imagine my hair approximately another half-inch longer, not that you can really tell how long it was in the photo because my hair becomes curly when it gets long--stepping out of the shower with my hair soaking wet, my hair would hit the nape of my back (you know, that spot between your shoulder blades where there's like a "hole" in your back right below the shoulders), which is pretty darned long--and I hadn't bothered to shave in a while): And here we are this afternoon, after the cut (Mom took this photo of me with my camera phone, a Sprint Sanyo MM-8300 -- completely outdated but I'm waiting for the 2.0 megapixel camera phones to come out before I upgrade): And here we are inside; I took this one myself, so it's not quite as good, and the lighting was kinda crappy. Plus it'...

MTV Networks launches video hub for gay community | Tech news blog - CNET News.com From the article: "This is the kind of content that has only been available at art houses," Sherman said. "But the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) audience, can now check out content that has never been available to them nationally." Some of the full-episode shows that can be found at Logoonline.com are Big Gay Sketch , Noah's Arc , and Outlaugh Festival on Wisecrack . Documentaries include Elephant in the Room and The Two Cubas . There are also short clips, news, and music.

One of my Gather.com buddies pointed out this article to me and straight away I noticed a glaring error. I tried to find a forum to post a comment to the article, and instead could only find a general e-mail address to the web site; I couldn't even find a link to e-mail the individual interviewer/research fellow. I appreciate that this web site is providing both sides of the story; however, I hold firm the belief that it is a journalist's responsibility to do their fact-checking and point out any errors or omissions in the facts contained in their publication. Here's the e-mail that I sent to Pew Research : Hi I couldn't find a way to comment on your articles. I write specifically in reference to your article entitled " Two perspectives on gay marriage ." There is a factual error in Senator Santorum's argument. He states, See, I think that's the foundational flaw with this whole debate. The law is as it has been for 200-plus years, and so the burden ...

I wrote this during one of my hospitalizations, in honour of my niece, Jennal. Kidspeak Dribble dribble dribble drazzle drip drip drip PLOP drip drip drip drazzle drizzle drizzle fizzle. Putt Putt Putt Revvv Putt Putt Rev Putt VROOOOOoooooommmmm Putt Putt Pfizzle Putt Puff Puff Puff Singularity Puff Puff Drip Puff Mechanics Puff Puff Puff Quantum Equations drive Linear Compression algorithms Puff Putter Putter Puff Piddle Puff Puff Pfwiddle diddle little Middle Meddle Faddle Little Fiddle Schwimm Schwamm Faddle Faddle Meddle Middle Little Fiddle Synchronized Sycophant Symphonies Swing in the Breeze of Exhaust created by Temporal Drive Machinations Parliamentary Proscribed Penundrums Expertly Executed by Deus Ex Machina Semper, Semper, Excelsior! Veni Vidi Vici (Fiddle Puff Faddle Drip) Make headway to the mainstay (Puff Puff) And don't stray (Waddle Widdle Waddle) 'Lest one day (Widdle Widdle Waddle) you won't be around (Drip Drop Drip Drip) to see another May (Fiddle Drop ...

I just posted an article on the death of Mildred Loving over on my other blog site, Gather.com. Read about it over there, comment here, there, wherever. But most importantly, please take a moment of your time to remember this great, strong woman who stood up in the face of injustice and fought for what she believed to be right and just.

    Sent to you by Nite*Star via Google Reader:     Manage Depression At The Worksite via Psych Central News by Rick Nauert, Ph.D. on 4/9/08 Depression is estimated to affect more than six percent of the working population. When people with bipolar disorder and other forms of depression are included, the true rate is even higher. Unfortunately, only half of workers suffering from depression receive any form of treatment, and less than half of these receive care consistent with current treatment guidelines. The issue is discussed in a series of new studies found in the April Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Authorities call for an integrated, evidence-based approach to manage this common, chronic, and often recurrent disorder. The 15 papers in the issue, prepared by experts in their fields, are presented as part of the ACOEM Depression in the Workplace Project, a joint venture of the ACOEM Occupational Mental Health Committee and the ACOEM...