We conclude that, under this state’s Constitution, the constitutionally based right to marry properly must be understood to encompass the core set of basic substantive legal rights and attributes traditionally associated with marriage that are so integral to an individual’s liberty and personal autonomy that they may not be eliminated or abrogated by the Legislature or by the electorate through the statutory initiative process. These core substantive rights include, most fundamentally, the opportunity of an individual to establish — with the person with whom the individual has chosen to share his or her life — an officially recognized and protected family possessing mutual rights and responsibilities and entitled to the same respect and dignity accorded a union traditionally designated as marriage. As past cases establish, the substantive right of two adults who share a loving relationship to join together to establish an officially recognized family of their own — and, if the couple chooses, to raise children within that family — constitutes a vitally important attribute of the fundamental interest in liberty and personal autonomy that the California Constitution secures to all persons for the benefit of both the individual and society.

Furthermore, in contrast to earlier times, our state now recognizes that an individual’s capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual’s sexual orientation, and, more generally, that an individual’s sexual orientation — like a person’s race or gender — does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights. We therefore conclude that in view of the substance and significance of the fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship, the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples.

Taken from PDF courtesy LA Times.

I’ve been reading tony pierce for pretty much as long as I’ve been reading blogs. I’ve purchased his books and rooted for him all the way from the xbi to laist to now the big time latimes. He still updates his famous busblog (where he writes about women, music, and sometimes politics, sometimes religion, sometimes his job.) As the blog editor for the LA Times, he oversees that entire section of the site. That’s kind of amazing, considering the fact that he wrote a lot of revealing stuff in his blog over the years. It says a lot about LA Times’ forward-thinking editors who clearly value and respect and understand blogging. Anyhow, seeing that we’re now working in the same kind of profession (overseeing and producing online content as part of a newspaper-branded site), I wanted to get his insight on some topics.

Me: Are there any new trends you’re seeing in the blogging world that bother you?

Tony: Most of the new trends I love: Twitter, Tumblr, FriendFeed, SocialThing, because they are helping bring back the idea that the individual bloggers’ lives matter and those tools make it easier for people to share their experiences with their readers.

The only trend that bothers me, as you say, is the ongoing obsession with people trying to make money off their blogs. I am speaking of the popularity of the Make Money Blogging blogs. These blogs don’t tell the truth about blogging which is: less than one-tenth of one percent of blogs make any real money. You’re better off playing the lottery or OMG getting a second job (or a better primary job) than thinking you can either tweak your blog into some sort of money-making machine.

There are over 100 million blogs out there and about 500 people making money blogging. You have a better chance being a starting quarterback in the NFL. So if you want to blog, blog and forget about the money. Do it because you want to express yourself. If you wanna make money: get a damn job.

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My office purchased a number of Flip cameras this week, so I’ve been testing one of them out. My early impressions are very positive, especially where design is concerned. It’s about the size of a pack of menthol 100’s and very lightweight. There are a minimal number of buttons to push. The designers definitely took a page out of the Apple book, right down to the boxy packaging the Flip came in.

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Tony Pierce linked to this great photo essay featuring soldiers’ graffiti in bathrooms in Kuwait in Afghanistan.

I’m excited to see this new BIGY2GO grocery shopping program. It’s not at a store near me yet, but I hope the idea catches on and other stores start to do it.

The basic idea is this: For a flat rate of $10, Big Y will shop for groceries for you. Four hours later you can go pick up your groceries at the store.

This concept appeals to me on so many levels. First of all, I’m online all the time and happen to love online shopping. Think of it this way. If I research a recipe online, I can order ingredients right then and there. I don’t have to print out the recipe and take it to the store with me. That’s awesome.

Second of all, I have so little time these days to enjoy life outside of work. Chores like grocery shopping can sometimes fill up a whole night for me. $10 isn’t all that much to me these days if it means I can save time.

The downside is that Big Y is so much more expensive than Stop & Shop. I generally prefer going to Stop & Shop, too. And, of course, the program is not available - just yet - at a Big Y near me.

I applaud a relatively small family-owned chain like Big Y taking a chance with this forward-thinking idea, because it shows that they’re willing to try new things and that they are keeping their customers in mind. Now if they could just come down on their prices, we’d all be much happier.

I am going to co-present a class on podcasting at UMass Amherst on Wednesday night. If you were a student (or if you are a student), what would you want to know about podcasting?

AP Photo - Mike Segar

Lindsay Lohan’s bag was recovered after it went missing at Heathrow Airport.

I’m so relieved, you know, because the way the media reported that story you’d think she had something really important in that bag, like say, documents proving the existence of WMD’s in Iraq, or a secret map to where Elvis Presley and Tupac Shakur have been hanging out since their staged deaths, or maybe even the cure for cancer.

Christ. Next time I lose something I am sending out a press release.

Digitally-altered Katie Couric

Karr’s DNA doesn’t match