Bible mandates separate girl and boy toys

Last week’s announcement that Target stores would no longer mark toys and furniture as appropriate for a particular gender was met with dismay by traditionalists. The news, to make it clear, had nothing to do with clothing; the un-labeling applies to toys and furniture only. (Even the Bible is relaxed about gender and clothing; Moses, as Exodus indicates, pranced out of Egypt in a dress, with contrasting striped wrap.)

Nonetheless, this new disregard of gender resulted in outrage.

“Most disappointing news I’ve heard for a long time,” wrote a woman who apparently hadn’t heard anything about Charleston or wildfires in California or loudmouth GOP candidates. “Doesn’t anyone in your corporation believe in God, family, marriage? Does anyone read the Bible?” I believe she’s referring here to Genesis, wherein in the beginning God was so clever that he was able to make a whole pink-and-white woman out of Adam’s secondhand (baby-blue) crib.

The woman said she’ll boycott Target. “I don’t want my purchasing dollars to be used to support any more antifamily and/or anti-gender propaganda! You know, the radical liberals who espouse these ideas are a very small part of the population here in the USA.”

In a luxury box during a recent night at the opera at the ballpark, longtime supporter of the arts Sylvia Lindsey introduced a pack of kids in the group she was hosting. I’d never heard of the Young Musicians Choral Orchestra, but she said they’d be in concert at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on Friday, Aug. 7. I was picturing an outdoor concert in the Gardens as part of the Yerba Buena Festival. But when I arrived, I realized that it was a full-on formal performance.

The goal of the Berkeley group, said the program, “is to use high quality intensive musical training, academic support and personal guidance to improve the lives of talented low-income students, ages 9 to 18, from throughout the Bay Area.” The “Choral Orchestra” in the name refers to the students singing as a chorus and playing as an orchestra in the same program.

The first half of the group’s Summer Institute concert, onstage at YBCA, featured soloists — singers and instrumentalists — who are in the program. All were exceptionally accomplished, and there was even a moment of social commentary, when a group of teens sang “Gee, Officer Krupke” — a jolly song in the days of “West Side Story,” an ironic statement in this “Black Lives Matter” era. But it was the second half, which began with the chorus and then proceeded to the orchestra, that really was what the group’s all about.

It was fairly stunning to see the students arrayed on choral risers at the back of the stage, and then, after their singing performance, step down and take their symphony seats arranged at the front of the stage.

All the students are on scholarship; they are multicultural, and their music ranges from classical to jazz. Executive Director Daisy Newman shouted out to the 14 going on to college this year, and read a list of schools — including the Ivies and the most prestigious musical schools in the country — that alums have attended.

The program pays for instruments, music, lessons, transportation ... and the concert was free. The only appropriate word is “bravo.”

For the pure joy of it — and certainly for the bargain — Gary Tobin has acquired these domain names: fedupwiththedonald.co; fedupwiththedo-nald.info; fedupwithtrump.biz; fedupwithtrump.us; fedupwithtrump.com; fedupwithdonaldtrump.com; fedupwithtrump.net; fedupwithtrump.org; fedupwithtrump.NET; fedupwithtrump.co; fedupwithtrump.net; fedupwiththedonald.NET.

He says he paid from $2.99 to under $20 for these names. “Leaves me a bit shy of his ‘$10 billion’ claim, but using his approach, I’ll claim that they are worth ‘billions.’ ”

As to what he plans to do with those sites, he’s thinking that over. As a member of the media, Trump’s designated “dishonest lot,” I suggested selling T-shirts with those words emblazoned on them. But Tobin says T-shirt sales “involve ‘product’ and I’m an ‘idea’ guy.” On the other hand, sales profits might allow him to buy some politicians. “If I were Trump,” he says, “I’d actually be a little embarrassed that getting a Clinton to his wedding was the best example of buying a politician he could think of.”