Halloween....
Originally uploaded by martine.locke
Need I say more....?
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
The things we do for love....
The things we do for love....
Originally uploaded by martine.locke
I hopped in the van and was just about to take a photo of the amazing display of little leaves on our windscreen when Dionne accidently hit the wipers and schmushed them all off. In what my heart can only describe as a beautiful, romantic expression of love, she jumped out of the car, into the rain, and tried to get the leaves all back in their display. I laughed with tears in my eyes and she raced around the car with a happy grin on her face creating her art.
Have I said lately how lucky I am? Have I said lately how grateful I am? Do you know that this is the person that sweeps me off my feet with the way that she loves me, with the way that she teaches me and learns with me, with the way that she goes through this journey with me.
I am so damn thankful to the universe that I want to stand on a mountain top and tell the whole world...
so here I am.
At least telling people (most of whom actually don't need to really hear it AGAIN), in my world, shouting from my mountain top.
I held my belly as I laughed and realized that THIS was the photo I wanted. The most spontaneous, beautiful, romantic expression of love.
Sigh.....
Xxm
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Hmm
Hmm
Originally uploaded by martine.locke
I wonder sometimes what Roarshack would say about the things I see in shadows and clouds and well, light shadows on tables in fancy restaurants. My brain is fairly active all the time, sometimes too much.
D and I went out for a hike at Fort Benjamin State Park yesterday, just to help pull ourselves back a notch and get us reconnected with the earth and nature. We have a nazillion things going on all at once, all of them amazing and thrilling, but stressful nonetheless. So getting outside on a beautiful day, surrounded my beautiful trees and the beauty of my love, was just what I needed.
I want to do it again right this second, but the pouring rain is a little bit of a downer.
We just bought a house. A beautiful bungalow that reflects both of us and we are on our way to the final inspection right this second. We have two days after closing to get everything sorted before we drive to New Orleans for our cruise and then off to Australia. This life is never boring. But I must say, I look forward to it being a little boring when we get back....or at least being able to breath a little deeper.
All good mates, all good.
Wish us luck
Xxm
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Her...
Her...
Originally uploaded by martine.locke
My girl. The woman who continues to sweep my feet off the ground. The woman who I will marry at the end of March. The woman I just purchased my first home with (yes, we found one and yes our offer was accepted on it). And the woman who I celebrate today....the day of her birth 40 years ago.
Tis she, who I adore and love and cherish and celebrate......
Xxm
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Hallelujah...
One of my favourite songs to sing and this time there was an AMAZING audience ready to sing along....they bring tears to my eyes every time I listen to it. Thank you blessing me with your voice....
Monday, October 19, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
The change...
The change...
Originally uploaded by martine.locke
Its amazing to watch fall, well, fall....I have to say, its really one of my favorite times of the year. Albeit a little chilly out this way.
Life is busy over here. Getting ready to go on our cruise with Sweet next month, getting ready to head back to Australia for 2 months, looking for a home and trying not to get discouraged too much, buying wedding rings and wedding invitations and planning for next year. Its been a little stressful to say the least.
Anyway, all of that was a little bit of info into the reason why blog posts are a little far between these days.
My brain is a little tired by the end of most days and I feel like I have little to say.
Everyone keeps telling us that we will find the right home, sometimes I lose faith in that a little. As we sit here outside probably our 25th house, surrounded by the beautiful colors of fall, I take a minute to breath....and release.
Xxm
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Judge refuses to dismiss gay marriage ban lawsuit
'borrowed'.....or 're-pasted' should i say, from the Journal Register in Philly.
===================================================================
By LISA LEFF
Associated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A federal judge challenged the backers of California's voter-enacted ban on same-sex marriage Wednesday to explain how allowing gay couples to wed threatens conventional unions, a demand that prompted their lawyer to acknowledge he did not know.
The unusual exchange between U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker and Charles Cooper, a lawyer for the group that sponsored Proposition 8, came during a hearing on a lawsuit challenging the measure as discriminatory under the U.S. Constitution.
Cooper had asked Walker to throw out the suit or make it more difficult for those civil rights claims to prevail.
The judge not only refused but signaled that when the case goes to trial in January, he expects Cooper and his legal team to present evidence showing that male-female marriages would be undermined if same-sex marriages were legal.
The question is relevant to the assertion by gay marriage opponents that Proposition 8 is constitutionally valid because it furthers the state's goal of fostering "naturally procreative relationships," Walker explained.
"What is the harm to the procreation purpose you outlined of allowing same-sex couples to get married?" Walker asked.
"My answer is, I don't know. I don't know," Cooper answered.
Moments later, after assuring the judge his response did not mean Proposition 8 was doomed to be struck down, Cooper tried to clarify his position. The relevant question was not whether there is proof that same-sex unions jeopardize marriages between men and women, but whether "the state is entitled, when dealing with radical proposals to make changes to bedrock institutions such as this ... to take a wait and see attitude," he said.
"There are things we can't know, that's my point," Cooper said. "The people of California are entitled to step back and let the experiment unfold in Massachusetts and other places, to see whether our concerns about the health of marital unions have either been confirmed or perhaps they have been completely assuaged."
Walker pressed on, asking again for specific "adverse consequences" that could follow expanding marriage to include same-sex couples. Cooper cited a study from the Netherlands, where gay marriage is legal, showing that straight couples were increasingly opting to become domestic partners instead of getting married.
"Has that been harmful to children in the Netherlands? What is the adverse effect?" Walker asked.
Cooper said he did not have the facts at hand.
"But it is not self-evident that there is no chance of any harm, and the people of California are entitled not to take the risk," he said.
"Since when do Constitutional rights rest on the proof of no harm?" Walker parried, adding the First Amendment right to free speech protects activities that many find offensive, "but we tolerate those in a free society."
Walker made clear that he wants to examine other issues that are part of the political rhetoric surrounding same-sex marriage but rarely surface in courtrooms. Among the questions he plans to entertain at the trial are whether sexual orientation is a fixed or immutable characteristic, whether gays are a politically powerful group, and if same-sex marriage bans such as Proposition 8 were motivated by anti-gay bias.
The lawsuit over which Walker is presiding was brought by two unmarried same-sex couples. They have since been joined by lawyers for the city of San Francisco.
Attorney General Jerry Brown, who was named as a defendant, has taken the rare step of agreeing with the plaintiffs instead of arguing to uphold the voter-approved law.
In allowing the case to move forward, Walker said significant questions remain about whether the California measure, which was approved by 52 percent of voters in November, unlawfully violates the rights of gays and lesbians to equality and due process guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution. The measure overturned a state Supreme Court ruling earlier in the year that legalized same-sex marriages.
An estimated 18,000 gay couples wed before the law took effect. In May, the Supreme Court declined to invalidate Proposition 8 but upheld the existing same-sex marriages.
Chad Griffin, a Los Angeles political consultant who spearheaded the lawsuit, said after Wednesday's hearing that he was thrilled by Walker's ruling, "which brings us one step closer to the beginning of a federal trial where we will be able to prove the unconstitutionality of Prop. 8."
Cooper said he, too, would be ready to address the issues Walker outlined, though he declined to comment on the grilling by the judge.
"We all heard it, and we haven't had the benefit of reviewing it," he said.
Andy Pugno, general counsel to the coalition of religious and social conservative groups behind Proposition 8, said that after losing the election, supporters of same-sex marriage were trying to persuade the judge to substitute their views for those expressed by voters.
"What really is happening is the voters who passed Proposition 8 are essentially on trial in this case, and they continue to be accused of being irrational and bigoted for restoring the traditional definition of marriage," he said.
===================================================================
By LISA LEFF
Associated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A federal judge challenged the backers of California's voter-enacted ban on same-sex marriage Wednesday to explain how allowing gay couples to wed threatens conventional unions, a demand that prompted their lawyer to acknowledge he did not know.
The unusual exchange between U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker and Charles Cooper, a lawyer for the group that sponsored Proposition 8, came during a hearing on a lawsuit challenging the measure as discriminatory under the U.S. Constitution.
Cooper had asked Walker to throw out the suit or make it more difficult for those civil rights claims to prevail.
The judge not only refused but signaled that when the case goes to trial in January, he expects Cooper and his legal team to present evidence showing that male-female marriages would be undermined if same-sex marriages were legal.
The question is relevant to the assertion by gay marriage opponents that Proposition 8 is constitutionally valid because it furthers the state's goal of fostering "naturally procreative relationships," Walker explained.
"What is the harm to the procreation purpose you outlined of allowing same-sex couples to get married?" Walker asked.
"My answer is, I don't know. I don't know," Cooper answered.
Moments later, after assuring the judge his response did not mean Proposition 8 was doomed to be struck down, Cooper tried to clarify his position. The relevant question was not whether there is proof that same-sex unions jeopardize marriages between men and women, but whether "the state is entitled, when dealing with radical proposals to make changes to bedrock institutions such as this ... to take a wait and see attitude," he said.
"There are things we can't know, that's my point," Cooper said. "The people of California are entitled to step back and let the experiment unfold in Massachusetts and other places, to see whether our concerns about the health of marital unions have either been confirmed or perhaps they have been completely assuaged."
Walker pressed on, asking again for specific "adverse consequences" that could follow expanding marriage to include same-sex couples. Cooper cited a study from the Netherlands, where gay marriage is legal, showing that straight couples were increasingly opting to become domestic partners instead of getting married.
"Has that been harmful to children in the Netherlands? What is the adverse effect?" Walker asked.
Cooper said he did not have the facts at hand.
"But it is not self-evident that there is no chance of any harm, and the people of California are entitled not to take the risk," he said.
"Since when do Constitutional rights rest on the proof of no harm?" Walker parried, adding the First Amendment right to free speech protects activities that many find offensive, "but we tolerate those in a free society."
Walker made clear that he wants to examine other issues that are part of the political rhetoric surrounding same-sex marriage but rarely surface in courtrooms. Among the questions he plans to entertain at the trial are whether sexual orientation is a fixed or immutable characteristic, whether gays are a politically powerful group, and if same-sex marriage bans such as Proposition 8 were motivated by anti-gay bias.
The lawsuit over which Walker is presiding was brought by two unmarried same-sex couples. They have since been joined by lawyers for the city of San Francisco.
Attorney General Jerry Brown, who was named as a defendant, has taken the rare step of agreeing with the plaintiffs instead of arguing to uphold the voter-approved law.
In allowing the case to move forward, Walker said significant questions remain about whether the California measure, which was approved by 52 percent of voters in November, unlawfully violates the rights of gays and lesbians to equality and due process guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution. The measure overturned a state Supreme Court ruling earlier in the year that legalized same-sex marriages.
An estimated 18,000 gay couples wed before the law took effect. In May, the Supreme Court declined to invalidate Proposition 8 but upheld the existing same-sex marriages.
Chad Griffin, a Los Angeles political consultant who spearheaded the lawsuit, said after Wednesday's hearing that he was thrilled by Walker's ruling, "which brings us one step closer to the beginning of a federal trial where we will be able to prove the unconstitutionality of Prop. 8."
Cooper said he, too, would be ready to address the issues Walker outlined, though he declined to comment on the grilling by the judge.
"We all heard it, and we haven't had the benefit of reviewing it," he said.
Andy Pugno, general counsel to the coalition of religious and social conservative groups behind Proposition 8, said that after losing the election, supporters of same-sex marriage were trying to persuade the judge to substitute their views for those expressed by voters.
"What really is happening is the voters who passed Proposition 8 are essentially on trial in this case, and they continue to be accused of being irrational and bigoted for restoring the traditional definition of marriage," he said.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
why?
watch their faces as they sing....
and then tell me again why they are taking music out of schools?
xxm
The joy....
This is a photo from the balcony of our show last night with the wonders at indy indie. It was a full house of people ready for everything. We laughed, we cried, we sang our hearts out and bloody hell, it was a fantastic show. I turned to dionne at the end and said I wanted EVERY show to be the same way. Oh to find people like the crew here in Indy for every show. Women who want to support and believe in the beauty of independent music...who love the fun of putting on a fun show.
We spent today basking in the glory of a fun show while moving across the city looking at houses, attending the irvington farmers market and the indyimpact.com rally for Coming Out day today. It was a great day.
Thank you to all the folks who turned out to the show. Who came with their hearts on their sleeves, ready for a fun night. Thank you to Cathy & Joyce, the indy mummas, and Heather & Cassie, Rhonda and Bonny and our great mate KC who came down from chicago to help us. For all the work they do in our world, we say thank you....and that doesn't seem to be enough.
xxM
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Indy Show
This is the dance I secretly do...because the show tomorrow night in Indianapolis is pretty much sold out. There are a few tickets available online RIGHT now if you don't have them. Seats are limited to the first 100, which are gone, and the rest is standing room.....so come if you don't have tickets, but maybe bring a cushion to sit on.
Tickets presale are $20...on the door $25.
Go now, www.indyindie.com and save $5 bucks....
Yay! We are excited to play and now...it's back to dancing (and cheering on the Fever from here....GO FEVER!!!) (womens basketball for those who don't know....)
xxM
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
The view from here...
The view from here...
Originally uploaded by martine.locke
Pre game....wow, the excitement is palpable.
Fever FEVER
So who knew.....
Who knew that I would be excited about a basketball game. Even as I type that I am surprised by it. But yes, it's true.
I am.
Tonight the Fever play what could be the championship game. I think that's the right terminology. Whatever the right words are...it's big, it's exciting...and we have tickets to go. Totally stoked.
And I am surprised by my own excitement.
We have a week of making custom pieces and pieces for our cruise in November (think 200 pieces!!), still looking for houses which will become our home AND rehearsing for our show this Saturday Night.
Don't Forget!! Check out www.indyindie.com for tickets - and to save $5 per ticket if you pre purchase now!
It will be a HUGE night.
But right now, I have a giddy feeling in my tummy for the game tonight.
And I am still shocked.
xxM
ps - I stole this photo off the fever facebook page...they just uploaded it. I will send one from the game tonight too to show the place filled to the brim with screaming fans.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Trio of crazies....
Trio of crazies....
Originally uploaded by martine.locke
This is our fine funny friend Lisa Koch (as opposed to furry friend - which those of you in Australia know all about.) we just saw Lisa's show Dos Fallopia at the Phoenix Theater here in Indianapolis.
I think I laughed so hard that I actually squirted a little.
We are doing a show with Lisa this Saturday night, which will also be our last Midwest show for this year. This show will be a hoot...
Check out www.indyindie.com for tickets - and to save $5 per ticket if you pre purchase now!
It was a fun night in Indy. Good comedy, good sushi, good company. The fever won and we have tickets to the game on Wednesday night to watch them win the final!!!
Xxm
Thursday, October 1, 2009
The Beauty....
Sometimes, after driving for hours and hours, being bored shitless by the travel and the smell in the car and the same-ness of the road... something like this happens. A moment of beauty falls across the sky and it makes me stop and smile and breath and remember the astounding amount of wonder there is around me. And it makes me thankful...thankful that I could have been in that exact place at that exact time to be able to capture that moment.
A moment that won't ever occur again.
xxM
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