Remember this photo of "the Afghan girl" from the 1985 cover of National Geographic? I remembered they had found her a few years back but this was the first time I've seen the video. Imagine how many women have her same story, my heart breaks for so many Afghan women.

This past Sunday I did something I've never quite done before; I went to a hotel, ate, drank and talked about life... with other adopted people. Oh no, this was something I've never experienced.

Sunday was the official day of the Adoptee Rights Demonstration which was held in Louisville, KY this year. Unforunately, I missed the march, I tried to make it but there was just no way as my car has a personal vendetta against me and is on vacation at the auto repair, so I had to hitch a ride and thankfully, made it in time to finally meet my favorite people.

I can't begin to explain the emotions I was feeling on the drive there. When I started walking toward the restaurant, my stomach was in knots. I got there and immediately saw Claudia Corrigan D'arcy's red hair, there my people were, sitting together in one location. Theresa Hood was the first one I saw and hugged. These fellow adoptees know my life story, my personality, my politics, my religion, or lack thereof, my thoughts, yet to see everyone in person was so, so amazing yet so nerve-wracking at the same time. I couldn't think anything but 'they're going to ask me to leave' and 'they're going to hate me'... I know, how insanely adopted of me. Those thoughts could not have been farther from how I knew they would make me feel. I was seriously home with these amazing people.

I was there for only 19 hours, but it felt triple that amount of time. So in 19 hours, I got to have a real honest conversation with more than one person (which is so rare, isn't it?), drink some "il bastardo" wine, hug Linda Gambino, share a bed with Claudia (whom has to be coolest mom on the planet), and earned the affection of Jeni's adorable dog Gracie.

There were so many I wish I could have spent more time with, but I just want to thank Jeni, Claudia, Theresa and Diane for listening to my story and giving me that validation and kindness that is much appreciated. I cannot thank you guys enough.

I cannot wait to see you all again next year in San Antonio (and we thought the Ohio Valley was hot...).

For those of you who want to learn more about Adoptee Rights, donate and see photos/video from the protest, visit the main page here.

I'm too into the World Cup to blog. I have zero inspiration to write anything about anything. Keeping up with the games are long stretches of boredom and laziness followed by moments of sheer joy and terror. I'll be back if/when USA goes home...

I'm going to attempt the life experiment of... doing the exact opposite of what I would normally do. I don't mean a strawberry margarita instead of a coconut. Or Sarah Palin over a rock in a box.

I mean real life choices.

This should go great.

I will take a coconut margarita though.

Ok -- I just want to dedicate one small post to reclaim my blog's prohibitions in blogworld. I've had this blog for about two months now. Since I am an adoptee, when I signed up, adoption-related issues are what I sought to write about at least some of the time and will continue to.

I will never moderate comments (unless I attract a real wayward fruit from the crazy train) because this is the internet, it's not supposed to be moderated and I'm not afraid of someone else with an opinion. After all, there are plenty of self-righteous crazies who have discovered the perks of blogging while buying children in bulk from third world countries at the same time.

But I just want to clarify because I've been getting some very annoying and not-very-original posts and personal emails from biased readers regarding my, so far, very brief posts about my views of my life as an adoptee and the whole business in general. These posts/emails are coming from people whom are not adopted themselves, but have adopted brothers, sisters, cousins, ex-girlfriends, dogs and neighbors.

I'm all for debate, in fact, I go looking for argumentative debate, it's a personal hobby of mine. But I prefer to argue with people who can form, you know, an actual thought in their head; a thought that's based on fact, research and maybe even personal experience if we're lucky.

So just a heads up to pro-adoption readers -- please, do continue to read my blog, I'd be very happy to hear your opinions and exactly how you formed those opinions... but if you base my life on what you know of your own adopted child's or your friend's aunt's daughter's adopted child, I'll have to kindly rip you a new one.

I will always be in love with Al Pacino.

Growing up as the only adopted member of a predominantly Irish family, my unquestionable Italian-American heritage was more than obvious; my dad used to tell me my face resembled a young, female Al Pacino. Most girls would find this insulting, but I loved it. I'm weird like that.

While the President is addressing the economy and employment growth today, the religious zealot voters conservative voters are having child's play regarding President Obama's "cancellation" of the National Day of Prayer ceremony. Of course, as always, they are lost in that confusing corn maze of big words and punctuation.

Not that it should matter at all, but, his administration did not cancel the actual National Day of Prayer, or the freaking pancake breakfast that accompanies it (which takes place at the beginning of the year); he cancelled the ceremony.

The ceremony did not become "tradition" until a certain other cowboy was in Office... Ronald Reagan. It is a ceremony that usually includes a "pastor" or "reverend" (hence the evangelical/baptist crowd it targets) and the President would speak in a fashion resembling a State of the Union address. President Obama did attend the 'prayer breakfast' at the beginning of the year.

But his choice of attending the breakfast and even leading the room in prayer afterward, or personally contributing to the very Christian-oriented ceremony commemorating the Virginia miners last month, is just not pleasing to the neo-cons... They may say "it's not enough", but it will never be enough for them. This particular breed of voters will continue to fight this administration even after it is finished. Many of them would sacrifice their first-born to bring the Founding Fathers back from their graves. But I don't think they'd be pleased with the rulings of them.

Conservatives, to quote Bill Maher, seem to place the Founding Fathers on the same level as Jesus' apostles, think of them all as the Rat Pack. But again, the intellectual capacity of these people becomes obvious when their painted picture of the Founding Fathers does not match up with... the actual ideals of the Founding Fathers.

Everyone Those who read know the timeless quotes made by the F.F. dudes. Benjamin Franklin said, "A lighthouse is more useful than a church"; Thomas Jefferson said, "Christianity is the most perverted system that ever shown on man", James Madison wrote, "The fruits of Christianity are pride, indolence, ignorance and arrogance in the clergy".

The Founding Fathers were free masons (oh, and slave owners as well). The scary part is, if you confronted many conservatives with these facts, the crazy half would say Obama made these quotes appear, and the other crazy half would weave some type of dead end explanation into their hypothesis.

The whole conservative cultural war in this country is being passed off as a political war. It's not a political war; if it were politically-based it would require thought and rationalism, their war is based on prejudice, status-quo and their own interpretations of a 2,000+ year-old text. This is why religious leaders become politicians. Conservatives have no solid ground. Solid ground implies hard facts, and knowledge of those facts, their form of argumentation is constant falling, grabbing branches that aren't even there.

You can laugh at the antics or shrug it off, but what makes it real and not-so-funny is how much influence it has on our nation. Politics apply to everyone.

I find the confession below hilarious. PostSecret (<-- click and indulge); it's one of the best things since the invention of zippers or sliced bread. The entire project paints the perfect picture of what human nature really is, without all those bullshit "customs" and "manners"; and keeps it short and sweet...

Two stories have been, no exaggeration, devastating, in the past two weeks. And that is the oil spill in the Gulf Coast, an accident that was initially thought to be fixable but is now been declared a state of emergency by the administration; there is currently no official plan to stop the mess that continues to roll in with the waves. The spill itself is the size of Delaware. It's a tragedy for our wildlife, and seafood businesses throughout the entire South.

You can visit the CNN Impact page to learn how you can help with the recovery in your state.

The other story... the Arizona immigration law. No matter your political stance, it is truly one of those laws that is so blatant and obvious in a racist agenda, it makes you question how much progress we've really made. This law could deport natural-born citizens whom are the children of illegal immigrants. Most of these children go to school in the US and have never even been to their parent's country of origin.

Really, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer needs to be slapped in the face with a large, wet fish.

Please help break SB 1070. Change.org is and can be influential. Take one minute to vote and send an automated letter to your local state representatives. And if you're an Arizona resident, you can really do something about it, hit the streets to protest! Wish I could.

The pro-life Catholic organization Catholic Vote continues to pump out seemingly homemade, sappy videos dedicated to a pro-life agenda to advertise their "Imagine the Potential" campaign. Some of these ads last year made it to national television. I tried to go to their site today but apparently, their website is "closed on Sundays" (I'm not kidding.)

Concerning this video, on a less important note and being an adopted person myself -- even as a kid I had memorized which celebrities and notable people were "adopted like me" (Nelson Mandela for example); but a lot of the artists, singers, actors and politicians shown in this campaign were not really adopted but raised by step parents or grandparents (Jack Nicholson, John Lennon). Of course they pulled a fast one by taking these world-changing-not-really-adopted-people for the wow factor.

That being said, their intention was obviously meant to sway the plans of the pregnant, high school mom-to-be from going to that abortion clinic downtown, because maybe her child can be adopted and grow up and free a nation.

Now, not to sound morbid or like a complete downer, but if we're going broadcast such propaganda, one must advertise the other side as well, because if the "positive" side is going to be given such value than the negative must also receive the same type of attention; we do the same with every other form of discussion or choice so why shouldn't it apply here?

A negative side of adoption, for example, is the very public fact that so many notable serial killers were adopted that it's become a psychological topic of discussion among psychology and crime enthusiasts (just Google "adopted serial killers", though you won't have to finish typing it as it is a popular topic of search on Google.)

Some will understand my sentiments but I'm full aware others would view the above facts as a contempt of the magical world of adoption as we know it. But this is what's wrong with society's view of adoption. It is viewed as a strictly glorious thing to happen. A woman in a crowded room says "we adopted a baby boy!" and the room will fill with gasps and smiles.

But the fact is that adoptees, especially as children, experienced a traumatic experience; they were abandoned, left, given up by their own mothers. This is not something to rejoice. It's something that can and should be helped, but it shouldn't ever be ignored, or even worse, celebrated... And that's just what this advertisement does, it not only celebrates it, but it condones it -- all for the sake of political favor.

I got a new puppy two weeks ago. Some man was giving him away on the street (people, don't do that). He's half pomeranian half yorkshire terrier. I call him Okie, which comes from "Okla" the Choctaw word for "red". He's mine only, my other two dogs belong to me and my parents. I consider him my first son.

This story irked me, majorly. This is what happens when one is so blinded with prejudice that it becomes difficult to catch on to the unbelievable words that are actually falling out of his/her mouth.

Amidst the Arizona immigration law debate, Republican California Representative Duncan Hunter was asked this question during a rally, "Would you support deportation of natural-born American citizens that are the children of illegal aliens?" He says he definitely would, and he makes it clear that it's "not just to be mean" but simply because the U.S. cannot afford it. So he believes the country cannot afford to take care of children whom were born here, but we can however afford, for example, George Bush's decade-long war in the Middle East for dirty money and oil.

It never, ever fails to amaze me how conservatives are able to, each and every time, muster up enough passion and motivation to constantly discriminate against non-whites, non-Christians, homosexuals -- yet be completely oblivious to a seemingly never-ending global war and domestic racial profiling, corporatism, capitalism happening right here. They are a joke, professional and successful distributors of propaganda, taking advantage of vulnerable voters and supporters who apparently don't yet have the capabilities to realize that they themselves are the victims of these same leaders they continue to support.

The massive oil spill from last week's rig explosion is expected to hit the shores of Louisiana today. After that it will spread to the shores of Alabama; all the while putting over 400 species in danger, and of course preventing humans from swimming in the Gulf.

All the while GOP superstars and "Drill Baby Drill" advocates Sarah "slutty flight attendant" Palin and Michael "I throw bondage parties" Steele have yet to comment on this major story that claimed 11 lives along the way.

Seriously this is a complete bummer.

Not that I think much of anything about celebrities (unless you're Morgan Freeman or Al Pacino) but I couldn't help but notice Sandra Bullock's face on the cover of People magazine with the caption "Meet my baby!". It could just as easily be interpreted as "Meet my new toaster oven!" or "Meet my new Cockerspaniel-Labrador mix!". And this after her chosen spouse was caught in bed with a known white supremacist marked up with permanent swastikas. Is this "adoption coming out party" her damage control for the submerged, racist, marital affair which overtook world news programs for weeks? Yes, it is.

I read an excellent article that touches on every point I would write about here, so I'm not even going to bother to avoid plagiarism. This is what's really happening with this pathetic excuse for "charity". It is not charity, it's vanity wrapped in post-racism. It's "The Blind Side" clashing with reality.

I'm not a big golf fan, but, Tiger's debacle is just another addition to the pathetic obsession America has with petty scandal. So he screwed some porn stars. That's not a ground-breaking crime. That's not even a crime.

I'm looking forward to watching this American legend take his game by storm again and maybe even win the Master's. And if he does, I wish him lots of celebration sex.

I spent about 5 hours outside today, I think even fell asleep once, because the weather is just that perfect. So glad summer is almost here; I know it's spring, but I'm a bigger lover of summer.


When I was a kid I used to get in trouble for wasting $30 of film on cloud shapes. If you look closely at this one you can see a bald man with a really long nose, no?

I love this photo, everyone loves a wholesome, sexual innuendo.

I've added a new, official belief to my already overly opinionated brain.

We're mammals. But since when does that mean we can drink from fellow mammals such as goats and cows? Is there an explanation as to why your average human being is constantly breast fed by cows, via store-bought cartons, morning, noon and night? Aren't we supposed to stick to our own species when it comes to "nutritional" bodily fluids? Why would one breast-feed her child and then slowly ween them onto cow's milk?

Your average "family" drinks 104 gallons of milk each year. And that is excluding the milk-based products that are found is pretty much everything.

Before someone satisfies their craving for some type of sugary, corn cereal, there's enough negative evidence to think twice before he/she smothers every flake or pebble in milk. The facts are pretty gross and there's not yet an explanation strong enough to persuade me otherwise.

I've never been a big milk and cheese person, but I occasionally used skim milk; yet, I've been a vegetarian since I was 18, so why was I drinking cow's milk? Soy milk is what I turned to afterward, but even Soy milk contains the same health dangers and fattiness milk does.

What bothers me is that the industry has brainwashed the readily-consumptive-public into thinking milk can, basically, perform miracles on any human. Such as... whiten teeth, make you grow, give you muscles, lose weight, even sexual endurance... All of which make certain industries ridiculously filthy rich.

Your best bet?... Almond milk. Expensive? Yes. Tastes good too, but I don't think I like milk enough to blow $8. I'd rather buy a new scarf, shoes, swimsuit or other vain garment.

My dear friend, Vanessa Pearce, was stolen from her family in India as a young child and adopted into Canada. As a result she has been through horrible trauma but has the courage to tell her story.

Please watch the video from Times Now (an English-speaking news source based in Mumbai), leave a comment and pass along as well. The story needs as much exposure as possible to help find family members.

Along with the prevention of animal cruelty and poverty, no cause hits closer to home than reversing a law that was established on pure discrimination...

I recently turned 22 years old. I was born in 1988. However, there's one thing that divides me from your average US citizen.

My birth certificate is stamped with the year of 1999. This is the year my adoption became legalized. It does not have that familiar scent that most 20+ year-old documents bear, it does not have wrinkles, grooves or discolorations that most 22-year-old birth certificates may have... The state seal of approval and issued year on my birth certificate matches that of my 11-year-old niece... According to the State Department, this is my one and only certificate of birth. I am legally prohibited from attaining my own original certificate and documentation that was assigned to me the day of my birth.

In eras before my time, adopted and/or children surrendered by their biological mother or father were referred to as "bastard" or "illegitimate" children. Merriam Webster defines the word "bastard" as:

1. an illegitimate child
2. something that is spurious, irregular, inferior, or of questionable origin
3. an offensive or disagreeable person

It is very hard for me to contain my annoyance and disagreement when explaining or speaking about this issue. Because very, very few know of it. And most are completely surprised when told.

It is the above definitions and the medieval ideals that accompany them that have produced today's "modern" law which denies adoptees in the United States basic access to their own information. It is discrimination based solely on a child's non-standardized way of entering the world.

Times have changed. What is socially acceptable of a family has changed. It's time this law caught up with today. I'm not a child, and neither is the 43-year-old American adoptee whom receives a slap on the hand when trying to gain the right everyone else has. This has nothing to do with being adopted, how much I dearly love my mom and dad, the state I live in, or where I'm from - it's about my basic right that the government believes I do not deserve - because I was born to a 16-year-old, unwed, orphaned, high school student. I look at my birth certificate and do not see a vital document, but instead a reminder that my original origins are illegitimate, and not worthy of legal documentation; and that I was not born in 1999.

God forbid I should ever run for President.

My n-mom (that's "biological mom" for all you non-adoptees) has got me hooked on a new brand of coffee. It comes in 5 different flavors; I drank "Jammin' Java" and it was yowza... "Marley Coffee" does indeed come from the Bob Marley family. Who knew they did gourmet coffee?

Buy a bag if you have some spare change. And by spare I mean $12.99.

This might come off a bit far-fetched, but I have to rant on this. Especially in light of what the Oscar films (which shouldn't have an influence at all) have brought to the huge table that is race and culture. You'll notice that I'm obsessed with social and racial issues, absolutely and completely obsessed. Not obsessed with the notions of it all, but obsessed with trying to persuade other people's mentality to what they're told is off limits, trying to get them involved. People forget the perks of living in a free country... you actually can make a difference. Forget patriotism.

The state of society right now - if you step back and look at the entire picture, you see that every problem is linked with another. The view society has of "adoption" is linked with post-racism, post-racism is linked with politics, politics is linked with culture. And it goes around and around again.

I watch CNN or BBC and realize the majority of the anchors whom are there to provide the full story, know very little about so many truths. It sounds so pathetic but I sit here in my jeans and World Cup t-shirt fiercely correcting them on inaccuracies and truths that much of society already knows. My point? A sturdy desk, pedestal, TV graphics, degrees or microphones do not make you smart, they make you lucky.

I wish some people, including myself, would gain the courage to take our talents and truths and use them for the benefit of those who need a voice the most; and others would just... sit the hell down. Especially those with brain capacities of birds.

Oh how I wish I could catch a flight to San Francisco to see this one. If you live in the SF area, please go, and report back.

... ridiculously rich, well decorated, "pose for a picture with me please?", Vera Wang, "I want to thank the Academy", schmoozing over one another, giving-political-advice-with-gold-statue-in-hand, spending tax payer's dollars for a ginormous event of self-worship... night? I think it is.

I am one of those rare, flaming liberals who actually loathes Hollywood. Yet I will buy a ticket to see my idol Morgan Freeman in Invictus or watch weekly episodes of my guilty pleasures such as Chuck and Mad Men. Does that make me a hypocrite? Yes. Without a doubt. But you know what, I'm foaming at the mouth paying off my student loans, finding an apartment, getting a better job, keeping relationships with friends and family healthy, and all the while attempting to look my best doing it... I need some down time to make sure Chuck outsmarts the computer geeks who stand in his way or which ladies the Mad Men will screw this week... because I deserve it. And because that's their job, to entertain people who carry knock-off Chanel bags such as myself. That's why they are what we call "the Entertainment industry". Unless one of them offers to pay off your student loans or works your job bagging items at the organic food store while booking you a trip to Cape Town, they're there for entertainment purposes only. Play by the rules, folks.

Yet tonight... there I will be, sitting on my couch with either a fruity alcoholic beverage or hot chocolate, watching to make sure they give Morgan Freeman the Gold; and taking whatever political, world-peace advice Susan Sarandon or Sean Penn will be giving to peasants like me up the ass. Because that's the price I pay for giving a damn. Let's hope I have enough will power to say no when Brangelina wants to adopt me simply because I liked her gown.

It's a vicious circle. But look how sparkly it is.

I'm wondering what exactly would make the perfect first blog post. No idea. So I'm just going to start with my first thought.

Religion is never too far from my mind. I've only been out of the fog that is the church for about two years now. Wait, I take that back. I was never in the fog, all my life I had watched the fog from afar as my loved ones walked into it and disappeared, all the while being told I should hold my breath, enter, and be "born again". Mentally, I was a sinner. Now I know, the religious fog stinks. Devout church-goers must have God-given peppermint sap under their nostrils.

Evolution, religion and cough syrup don't mix. They can't. How can Christians, and most all people of organized religion, deny all proven science, including archeological dates and evolution of mankind - when it is the same science that God's people adhere to when they fetch a bonus-sized bottle of Tylenol PM for a midnight headache - or why men of God whom have certain dysfunctions stock up on Cialis prescriptions from their doctors every three months? This is the same science.
How can we indulge in one side but play make believe with the other?