The South American nation of Columbia has gay marriage now.  Sort of.

Yesterday’s ruling goes farther, giving gay couples all the benefits and responsibilities enjoyed by heterosexual common-law couples.

Gay and lesbian couples can claim common-law marriage after living together for two years.

The ruling alleviates discrepancies in the areas of military pensions, social security benefits and property rights.

Several prominent lawmakers support giving more rights to gay and lesbian couples, Bogota’s Mayor Luis Eduardo Garzon and prominent Senator Armando Benedetti among them, reports the Washington Post.

This part threw me:

Gay people are often called desechables, which translates to disposable people.

When I visited Brazil as a kid, the disabled were called handicapped in America and deficientes, or deficient people.

via Colombia Establishes Equality For Gay Couples | On Top Magazine :: Gay & Lesbian News, Entertainment, Commentary & Travel.

All the week’s briefs that are fit to tweet:

Travel

• thinking about trips to Rio, Buenos Aires, Vancouver & Melbourne. Someday! #
• See Resume, See Door, See Applicant Run: why really stupid crap from recruiters should make you stand your ground or walk http://bit.ly/NsjC #

Career

• got email request from the joint chiefs of me at day job for my delivering training to the Bangkok office via web. Would prefer miles or OT. #
• with the market being what it is, it will be another destination on my resume of cities where I will have trained and coordinated training. #
• At an ILTA lunch meeting regarding Office 2007 in law firms. The meeting is in Microsoft HQ in downtown Los Angeles. #

Around Town

• at the Griddle Cafe for a quick breakfast before work with Dad. Slow service & empty. Staff was with police because of attempted robbery. #
• Brought out the space heater & turned it on. Layered another coverlet on bed. Wrapped myself tightly. Realized winter is early this year. #
• the construction going on inside the new Kitson store on Melrose is going fast. Pretty soon there will be more celebs & even less parking. #
• meeting my Dad for breakfast which I’m doing a lot since he moved out. He used to meet me for Chex before work when he was my age. #
• Three piece string band playing Oasis on Canon Doctor in Beverly Hills outside Crate & Barrell. Very cool! #
• Another three piece band, but jazz on Canon Drive in Beverly Hills across the street from the Gap. Badges show it’s a Beverly Hills effort. #
• Left a happy hour party with major food at McCormick & Schmick’s in Beverly Hills. Beggar woman asked for cash or food. I gave her 20 wings. #
• in Los Angeles it’s 55 F in the shade & 60 F in the sun. Didn’t wear a jack walking to lunch so staying on the sunny side of the street! #

Television

• CNN: Bush kisses Streisand during hug. She didn’t barf, so it looks like he went back for seconds on the lips. She bent back to get away. #
• decided not to go to CPK for lunch today. Sliding glass door opening into the bar area would have effectively meant air conditioning. Not! #
• BSG returns in 5 weeks. BSG Webisodes available at mobile.scif.com/bsg & scifi.com. #
• watching Heroes. The cheerleaders parents really, really look 16 years younger with the time travel. Is there a 1 day botox? Can I get some? #
• seeing there’s a plot point on Heroes for a Japanese dish — tamogayaki, I had to wikipedia it because it might be delicious to try it soon. #

Blogosphere / Twitter / Social Networks

• sweet compliment tonight on my Tweets / Facebook updates. Friend said she had a rough day, read my parasailing drag queen update & laughed. #
• seeing Magilla Gorilla, reading Sookie Stackhouse #4, sipping iced tea & eating habanero mango chicken chilli at the Griddle Cafe with Dad. #
• I’ve been going through recent followers. One has a blog post with this line: Innuendos of whoredom and fornication can be seen everywhere! #
• Reading an article called RSS: Really Simply Shallow (against RSS feed reading). If you read blogs a lot, do you agree? http://bit.ly/NQY3 #
• Mobile Facebook Tip: when friends’ updates merit a yap, don’t Wall — use Facebook’s mobile site & Comment. More fun to join commentary. #
• Petty or not? Debating unfollowing two people recently added on Twitter have humongous avatars when viewed from TinyTwitter. #
• Can updates be bitchy? Default MySpace update: “is in your extended network.” I changed it to NOT & appended “spends more time on Facebook.” #
• have decided just today to auto-follow everyone who follows me after reading @guykawasaki ‘s post. Saw him speak when I was 13 & he’s great. #
• Noticing that on Twitter, Direct Messages arrive much faster by text than by email. Sometimes 10-60 minutes faster! #
• my aunt sent me an email urging women to wash new bras because of flesh eating bacteria. Thanks, great way to finish breakfast! #
• I’ve spent 62940 Seconds or 1049 Minutes or 17.48 Hours or .73 Days with 2098 Tweets on Twitter! Grandma did more. http://tweetwasters.com #

Marriage Equality

• U.S. Supreme Court lets stand VA ruling enforcing Vermont court order awarding child-visitation rights to a lesbian mom. http://bit.ly/17wYs #
• Blame The Gays: NY Senate Deal DEAD, Anti-Gay Dems Cut Off
  http://tinyurl.com/5ejovz #
• I agree, INNUENDOS of whoredom and fornication are bad. Let’s trade them in for the real, unvarnished and indisguised things. Praise Jesus! #
• my new favorite Twitterfriend is @wshakespeare — the Bard shows 140 characters are enough for immortality several times a day! #
• wondering if anyone on the web has done a cost benefit analysis of buying an XM portable device for car & home versus iPhone & Pandora. #
• Joe the Plumber: McCain appalled me – & Joe dumbfounded us. We found him, he was dumb.
  http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16385.html #
• only 1 present from an employer says, “I love when you’re alert.” A Starbucks gift card. Addict of tea with soy, so bribed into alacrity! #

Technology

• If you’re looking for a new WordPress theme, this article has 70 Free or Premium Themes: http://bit.ly/M2tn #
• Watching a movie in a bar without sound. Computers are important to the plot. DOS! Looks like 1909. Should have used Macintoshes! #
• thinking that Twitter & Facebook updates are a modern day miracle connecting us with very dear friends who we might not see everyday. #
• just started making plans with a friend to catch up after the holidays, which means next year! Where did 2008 go? Whoosh! And… scene. #
• reading How Twitter’s competitors do what it doesn’t http://bit.ly/kLVn #
• noticing the guy in front of me at the lunch meeting has on his BlackBerry home screen an image of someone else’s butt crack. #
• Exxon has gas for $1.79 in West Hollywood. Feels like time travel or mental regression for suppressed memories. #
• When you allow people to text you from your website, you know that you’re a texting ho! http://www.BriefEpisode.com #
• made an offer on a domain for $125 earlier this week. Still haven’t heard back. Kinda hoping no news is great news. #
• Steeling myself for meeting when I walk in the door. Settling details for my working with translator in Bangkok for remote Thai trainees. #
• Ex-Mormon Jon Powell calls on musicians & artists to stop licensing their work to groups associated with the LDS Church. http://bit.ly/sUTo #

Celebrity

• Sexy S&M pin-up star Betty Page dies in LA at 85. Many great pics on the web. Search results in this link may be NSFW. http://bit.ly/EeMi #
• After midnight it’s so hard to decide anything. Go home? Sober up & sleep it off? Have one more? Grav tacos? Hot dogs with bacon? Decisions! #
• I like your turn of phrase, news from noise. Sometimes news feels like noise, though! @Scobleizer #
• Read 83 Must Read Articles for Bloggers http://bit.ly/2Dk8 — I’m finding interesting new blogs to explore by looking at theme gallery pages. #
• OMG!!! http://www.GetSnuggie.com commercial for a blanket with sleeves commercial. Family roasting marshmallows looks like a monastery of monks! #
• Looks like the Museum of Television & Radio in Beverly Hills was bought out or renamed as the Paley Center for Media. Ending of an era? #
• Seeing new Doritos Collisions: zesty taco & chiptole ranch released when I just conquered my nacho cheese flavor addiction. Must. Not. Try! #
• At Hollywood & Highland, an arrangement of flowers stands on the star of Beverly Garland. Wonder who she was & if it’s her birthday. #
• Sipping a cosmo & watching a movie with a very young Alan Alda. Waaay before MASH. He looks very cute! And there’s an adorable dog, too! #
• Oprah’s in the news, confessing she has weight problems, it’s up & down for 20 years. Hello? Think we didn’t notice? We just didn’t care. #

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All the week’s briefs that are fit to tweet:

Fashion

• watching men’s winter 2008-2009 fashion shoe. All models are dark blonds with high boots, long messy hair, eye liner, & sashes with medals. #

Travel

• on board SouthWest for Palo Alto! Big day up & back training people how to do TOAs with new application. #
• landed in San José Grabbing cab to Palo Alto for quickie mandatory meal break & non mandatory omlette & Starbucks before morning training. #
• had a dream this morning about a friend who was seeing the whole world, westwards, so Los Angeles was her first stop. Good seeing her again! #

Marriage Equality

• reading about California Senate, Assembly Resolutions Against Proposition 8 http://tinyurl.com/59uyga #
• lining up at SouthWest in San Jose after working in Palo Alto. Homeward bound to Los Angeles! Busy day, good times. #

Around Town

• saw a 50 something guy in a yamulke walking down the middle of Melrose between June & Highland on his cell phone. Walker can you hear me? #

Battlestar Galactica / TV / Heroes / Around Town / Celebrity / TV

• BSG fans: Katee Sackhoff is on Law & Order tonight on NBC! And don’t forget: BSG returns to Sci Fi January 16th! youwillknowthetruth.com #
• leaving downtown Los Angeles & heading back to West Hollywood. Early start means early finish for once! #
• poster on the Los Angeles subway for Zagat’s new mobile site feautures the BlackBerry Bold. I feel so out of date. And underfed! zagat.mobi #
• reading: CNN – O.J. Simpson to go to prison. About time! #
• just saw Zachary Quinto from Heroes at the Arclight using his in real life super powers to slide down the bannister. He was a fun waiter. #

Nightlife

• chillaxing with a martini glass that’s half full. Can’t wait until it’s fully not full! The holiday season of drinking has begun! #
• at the Los Angeles CD release party for Circus by Brittany in West Hollywood. Not a fan but vibe is interesting. #
• at Hollywood & Highland for the morning commute. Grown man on scooter. Disturbing somehow. #

Blogosphere

• at ILTA trainer meeting. Speaker is from BigLaw 2.0 — he also has an Unclaimed Persons Facebook group. #
• today I received an email from Utterli.com — they have better imports to Pownce. Ten days before Pownce goes offline forever. Ironically. #

Technology / Gaming

• looking for a secret Santa gift for a World of Warcraft fan. Has to be polite enough for office giving. Ideas, anyone? I’m a n00b. #
• at office holiday party hoping my number comes up for the two raffles. Wish me luck! Or more free drinks! #
• drinking last drink of the night. Listening to a fun remix of “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from the cinema adaption of the Broadway musical Hairspray. #
• thinking that Sprint’s new phone called the Rant has a very unfortunate name. What’s next? The BlackBerry Tantrum? #
• finishing breakfast in West Hollywood before heading to Arclight Cinema Hollywood to see Twighlight. Might be Twink Lite but looking forward to it! #

Shopping / Fiction

• went on a mini binge at Borders: bought the 3rd & 4th Sookie Stackhouse novels & Twighlight in paperback. Vamps are us! #
• OH: meet “James, the abs model. His fitness calender is available inside.” Only in Los Angeles. #

Marketing / Environment

• just saw an ad against clean coal technology. http://www.ThisIsReality.org — very weird ad. Trying to be ironic but just kinda dumb. #

Politics

• thinking how tired Obama looked at Meet the Press. He looks like he’s aged after winning as much as Bush has his whole presidency. #

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