Greetings, Warriors for Full Equality! I'm back from InterPride and changed in a way I've not been before.
I've been to about 8 of these InterPride conferences, where Pride organizers gather from all over the world to discuss triumphs, defeats, temporary setbacks and more. We celebrate our victories and strategize how to get around obstacles. It's very empowering to bathe in the glow of concerted efforts both here and abroad. This year was different.
Perhaps it was the showing of "Beyond Gay: The Politics of Pride" that shows me a) what I'm working toward with Jersey Pride, GAAMC, the Arts Project of Cherry Grove and more is part of a matrix of global effort and affect, b) the Butterfly Effect that even our smallest actions are related to one another, c) we influence people even in one conversation whose results may last a lifetime, d) all of the above and things we haven't mentioned
Meeting other Pride peeps has galvanized me. Knowing that my dear friend Billy Urich could have met with serious misadventure when supporting Pride in Belgrade, where skinheads were attacking people they even THOUGHT might be gay. Perhaps it's meeting Nikolai Alekseev, founder of Moscow Pride (and a fellow photgrapher) whose passion for change runs deep enough that he would do anything to make it happen and keep it happening. Maybe it's my new friends from Stockholm Pride whose grace and solid natures provide one of the safest, happiest Pride festivals in Europe. These all give heart to people just beginning to make change happen in the most hostile environments.
Grass grows through sidewalks, pride grows through adversity, we all grow through the experience.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Bloggity Blog Blog Blog
It's happened! One of the least technical of my friends is now blogging! The inspiration? The complete renovation of his home.
Benn is a storyteller and what a way he has with words - especially when those words revolve around his favorite topic. Architecture, of course! Once you get him on the topic of Frank Lloyd Wright, then even transcendent sex pales in comparison - but I digress.
Times really are a'changing when a self-confessed Luddite has a blog. Benn can tell himself his cellphone is very butch with its flashlight, but it's like a Flinstone phone - it looks like it was carved from a piece of (high impact plastic) rock. Now the Blog - the mind fairly reels.
The worst part of it is, I can no longer toddle along with a post here and then a couple weeks (or months!) a post there. The time has come to beat our swords into plowshares of words. And the high-tech gauntlet is down!
Benn is a storyteller and what a way he has with words - especially when those words revolve around his favorite topic. Architecture, of course! Once you get him on the topic of Frank Lloyd Wright, then even transcendent sex pales in comparison - but I digress.
Times really are a'changing when a self-confessed Luddite has a blog. Benn can tell himself his cellphone is very butch with its flashlight, but it's like a Flinstone phone - it looks like it was carved from a piece of (high impact plastic) rock. Now the Blog - the mind fairly reels.
The worst part of it is, I can no longer toddle along with a post here and then a couple weeks (or months!) a post there. The time has come to beat our swords into plowshares of words. And the high-tech gauntlet is down!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Wish Book for a New Generation
When we were children, the advent of the Sears Wish Book meant that our Christmas List could finally begin. After all, how would we know what we wanted to put in our letters to Santa unless we could tell him where to find our Christmas Dreams.
These days, my Wish Book lust has been eclipsed by a new love - the IKEA catalog. What dreams lie beneath the colorful glossy paper covers? How wonderful it's delivered to my home and there is even a mailer as an appetizer, reminding me to sample the main course of 375 pages of household decorative items.
The most amazing thing was that IKEA followed up the mailing with a brief survey. I managed to prevent myself from waxing rhapsodic over this odd passion of mine that began with a single bentwood chair (Poang, if you must know) that I purchased in 1987. I still have that chair, and many other items from IKEA.
Is it that nearly everything may be brought home flat and assembled with a metric hex key ("Svorn wrench" in my personal mythos)? Is it the clean lines of Scandinavian design? Is it the clever names for items? Who can say, but whatever it is, I'm hooked!
These days, my Wish Book lust has been eclipsed by a new love - the IKEA catalog. What dreams lie beneath the colorful glossy paper covers? How wonderful it's delivered to my home and there is even a mailer as an appetizer, reminding me to sample the main course of 375 pages of household decorative items.
The most amazing thing was that IKEA followed up the mailing with a brief survey. I managed to prevent myself from waxing rhapsodic over this odd passion of mine that began with a single bentwood chair (Poang, if you must know) that I purchased in 1987. I still have that chair, and many other items from IKEA.
Is it that nearly everything may be brought home flat and assembled with a metric hex key ("Svorn wrench" in my personal mythos)? Is it the clean lines of Scandinavian design? Is it the clever names for items? Who can say, but whatever it is, I'm hooked!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
A Beautiful Day for NYFOS
I'm getting a wee bit better. Only 6 days since my last post, though I think of you all often!
It's a gorgeous day today, great energy for getting job hunting tasks done. I'm treating myself to a review gig tonight at the New York Festival of Song at Merkin Hall tonight with my LCLC - Lesbian Companion (my friend Ruth) to the Lesbian Critic (that's me). Sometimes the companion varies, but the review will be out in the next day or so on QonStage.com, so look for me there.
There is a strong gathering of energy brewing and June will see a lot of stirring among the currently sluggish job market habitues. Those who are both hiring and seeking will find fruitful territory, so I've got a lot of work to do now in these last few days of May. The scene must be set for when Mercury goes direct on May 31 and reaches it's usual place in June.
Random thoughts - there is so much obfuscation in government and how much do we really know about what goes on. Specifically I'm thinking what if the HULU people are the ONLY ones telling us the truth...? Those of us old enough to remember The Monkees TV series recall an episode where there was an eye in the middle of every television set they passed - and they were the only ones (initially) not affected. What messages do we get from our TV sets and what kind of mind control will be accelerated with the digital switch? Who can say, but rent "They Live" featuring Rowdy Roddy Piper and you may be close to being on the right track.... Over and, well, OUT!
It's a gorgeous day today, great energy for getting job hunting tasks done. I'm treating myself to a review gig tonight at the New York Festival of Song at Merkin Hall tonight with my LCLC - Lesbian Companion (my friend Ruth) to the Lesbian Critic (that's me). Sometimes the companion varies, but the review will be out in the next day or so on QonStage.com, so look for me there.
There is a strong gathering of energy brewing and June will see a lot of stirring among the currently sluggish job market habitues. Those who are both hiring and seeking will find fruitful territory, so I've got a lot of work to do now in these last few days of May. The scene must be set for when Mercury goes direct on May 31 and reaches it's usual place in June.
Random thoughts - there is so much obfuscation in government and how much do we really know about what goes on. Specifically I'm thinking what if the HULU people are the ONLY ones telling us the truth...? Those of us old enough to remember The Monkees TV series recall an episode where there was an eye in the middle of every television set they passed - and they were the only ones (initially) not affected. What messages do we get from our TV sets and what kind of mind control will be accelerated with the digital switch? Who can say, but rent "They Live" featuring Rowdy Roddy Piper and you may be close to being on the right track.... Over and, well, OUT!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Has it really been a WEEK?
Greetings, Gentle Reader! It has been nearly a week since my last bloggity-blog so I need to refine my scope a bit to be more regular. On the up-side, a week is better than several!
First, Out Professionals ROCKS! Joe and Douglas were the members whom I was helping run the event and I met so many great people at all points in their careers! Since Mercury is in Retrograde for the next couple of weeks - and had just started that day - I missed the earlier train home. Drat!
It felt like someone put SleepyDust all over me! I was profoundly tired - most likely allergies. The event was stellar, the walk was great and understanding MinR, I patiently waited for the next train. There's always a reason why things happen, and at this point in my life I relax and enjoy it.
It amazes me that no matter how much I grow and change, there are some of my acquaintances who doggedly pursue remaining the same. Life is about change. Sometimes changes are good and sometimes changes are not good, but we need to ride with them and learn from them and be responsive to what's around us because as that sage philosopher Carly Simon said "these ARE the 'good old days'". Tru dat
First, Out Professionals ROCKS! Joe and Douglas were the members whom I was helping run the event and I met so many great people at all points in their careers! Since Mercury is in Retrograde for the next couple of weeks - and had just started that day - I missed the earlier train home. Drat!
It felt like someone put SleepyDust all over me! I was profoundly tired - most likely allergies. The event was stellar, the walk was great and understanding MinR, I patiently waited for the next train. There's always a reason why things happen, and at this point in my life I relax and enjoy it.
It amazes me that no matter how much I grow and change, there are some of my acquaintances who doggedly pursue remaining the same. Life is about change. Sometimes changes are good and sometimes changes are not good, but we need to ride with them and learn from them and be responsive to what's around us because as that sage philosopher Carly Simon said "these ARE the 'good old days'". Tru dat
Thursday, May 7, 2009
It's Today!
I am going to the Out Professionals B2B Networking event at The Center in NYC tonight. This combines several of my favorite things.
First, I get to take the train into Penn Station. I love tapping in to the energy there and when I emerge from below Madison Square Garden, I really feel like Midtown is at my feet. I head up-, cross- or down-town as my will, appointments and feet take me, and this brings me to my second point.
Second, I LOVE walking in Manhattan! The "long" blocks east/west give less of a sense of progress than the "short" blocks north/south, but I can pass a multitude of neighborhoods - no - WORLDS - as I traverse the city on foot. Lately I've been permitting myself a lot of extra time so I can enjoy walking past Parsons School of Design, for instance, and wonder what people are doing and thinking and feeling. What great works or ideas will be generated today?
Third, I get so much positive energy from meeting new people! Tonight I get to meet Joe Renga, with whom I will volunteer to help run the meeting. I will also get to meet 30 or more new friends and who knows what value and great things we will bring to each other's lives. Meeting new people encourages me to view the world through their eyes and that often reveals insights I would not have found on my own.
Finally, the only way to grow, to stretch, to keep one's edge is to get out in the world. If you sit in a room, it's hard to find new ways of seeing, new ways of being smart, funny, pensive, intellectual. We all need other people to expand our horizons. And that is what will keep my brain young.
First, I get to take the train into Penn Station. I love tapping in to the energy there and when I emerge from below Madison Square Garden, I really feel like Midtown is at my feet. I head up-, cross- or down-town as my will, appointments and feet take me, and this brings me to my second point.
Second, I LOVE walking in Manhattan! The "long" blocks east/west give less of a sense of progress than the "short" blocks north/south, but I can pass a multitude of neighborhoods - no - WORLDS - as I traverse the city on foot. Lately I've been permitting myself a lot of extra time so I can enjoy walking past Parsons School of Design, for instance, and wonder what people are doing and thinking and feeling. What great works or ideas will be generated today?
Third, I get so much positive energy from meeting new people! Tonight I get to meet Joe Renga, with whom I will volunteer to help run the meeting. I will also get to meet 30 or more new friends and who knows what value and great things we will bring to each other's lives. Meeting new people encourages me to view the world through their eyes and that often reveals insights I would not have found on my own.
Finally, the only way to grow, to stretch, to keep one's edge is to get out in the world. If you sit in a room, it's hard to find new ways of seeing, new ways of being smart, funny, pensive, intellectual. We all need other people to expand our horizons. And that is what will keep my brain young.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
If It Is To Be....
I keep having thoughts that echo old sentiments. Some of the sentiments should be dusted off though, like antique crystal, and held up to the light.
There's no doubt it's a tough old world and that is not going to change. My recent change in positiong - aka losing my job - is a case in point. I have a lot of decisions to make about what I want and where I am going next and it's exciting, and I want to do it correctly - watching where my steps will lead when they are in front of me, rather than behind.
Toward that end, I went to a Lifecoaching presentation at GAAMC last night and Elias Scultori had a lot to say about the source of decision-making for most people. It comes down, very simply, to "do you make your decisions out of Love or Fear". Elias went on to say that 90% or more of the decisions a person makes on a daily basis come down to that. What do YOU choose to do with the tools you have? No matter how level or not the playing field might be, we need to do the best with what we have at hand.
This might sound really common-sensical, but hearing this same wisdom from several sources - work with what you have, and make it the best that you can - is like water in the desert. I have times where I give myself over to internal and external demons, but what always brings me back is "if it is to be, it's up to me!".
I heed the call for personal responsibility. Going forward every success I have is attributable to taking responsibility for myself. It's all up to ME!
There's no doubt it's a tough old world and that is not going to change. My recent change in positiong - aka losing my job - is a case in point. I have a lot of decisions to make about what I want and where I am going next and it's exciting, and I want to do it correctly - watching where my steps will lead when they are in front of me, rather than behind.
Toward that end, I went to a Lifecoaching presentation at GAAMC last night and Elias Scultori had a lot to say about the source of decision-making for most people. It comes down, very simply, to "do you make your decisions out of Love or Fear". Elias went on to say that 90% or more of the decisions a person makes on a daily basis come down to that. What do YOU choose to do with the tools you have? No matter how level or not the playing field might be, we need to do the best with what we have at hand.
This might sound really common-sensical, but hearing this same wisdom from several sources - work with what you have, and make it the best that you can - is like water in the desert. I have times where I give myself over to internal and external demons, but what always brings me back is "if it is to be, it's up to me!".
I heed the call for personal responsibility. Going forward every success I have is attributable to taking responsibility for myself. It's all up to ME!
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