EqualityCamp—held January 3rd in San Francisco--was a pilot event to bring Web 2.0 geeks who know the lessons of the Web well together with activists for marriage equality and equal rights for gays.So, if you’re straight, do you care about marriage equality? Do you want the gay and lesbian couples you know to be able to make the same civil, legal commitment to get married that straight, heterosexual couples can? Or are you afraid supporting marriage equality will lead to marrying too many same sex couples in your church, or a general decline in cultural values?

Some Hidden Choices in Breast Reduction by Natasha Singer, which is most insultingly a part of The New York Times' "The Price of Beauty" series, explored the different options women are offered - and not offered - after a mastectomy. I'm sure that readers will be shocked - shocked! - to hear that women are not always informed of the different types of breast reconstructions available because some procedures are less profitable for doctors and hospitals than others. Profit above women's health? Who wouldda thunk it? Sigh.

A continuation of last week's post......

This was intended to be a short piece about how Chip Saltsman distributed a CD with the political parody "Barack the Magic Negro" set to the tune of "Puff the Magic Dragon," and how people were angry at him and Mike Duncan at the RNC got his days-of-the-week panties in a bunch, but I decided that to write something short and sweet was a) impossible for me to do and b) an insult to the intellectual integrity of this issue.

Journalist A.C. Thompson, writing for The Nation magazine, documented that white vigilantes shot black men at will during Hurricane Katrina in Algiers Point, part of the City of New Orleans, and no one has been investigated, much less prosecuted. Furthermore, associated video of white men boasting about their deeds indicates the men acted with police approval.

Observant Jewish homes have been lighting the Chanukkah menorah since Sunday night. This eight-day holiday is almost at its conclusion.

You know how you can only remember seven of the eight reindeers' names? Or 11 of the 12 Jewish tribes?Well, I find that "year in review" posts work in the reverse: I never have trouble coming up with what to review. The trouble is in keeping the review to a manageable size.

2008 was a crazy year. While there was too much unfortunate news regarding race and racism to discuss, there were a number of positives, such as the presidential campaign and election of the first African-American President, the first African-American First Lady, and the news-worthy black, Latino, Asian and South Asian political pundits, scholars, visionaries and yes, celebrities who finally got their names in the spotlight when in other years, they were ignored.

How does one provide 'context' for a cultural chaos called India? The "a country where marriages are still arranged" has worked well thus far. 'Poverty' and 'slums' also provide excellent context. 'Colorful' is not bad either. And the 'call center' was reigning supreme for a while.

Lately, facing personal life storms, I hadn't given hope of a happier New Orleans much thought. I'd run my errands around town and even ventured into the French Quarter at night since returning last year, but my travels to the city's heart were not for pleasure, just work or duty-related tasks.Ten days ago, however, I sat in a car with my aunt, cousin, and daughter, driven as a lady of leisure to see a show at Harrah's Casino on Poydras Street, and that's when I took it in, signs of normal New Orleans. Dare I say a happier New Orleans?

Ahh, the Christmas staff party.