So Like Not Gross

Okay, so like, Aaron is like totally on the same like wavelength as me when it comes to music. Fer sure! Martina of Dragonette is like totally tubular, like oh my gawd. This song is like totally bitchen. It has like a super-super totally awesome beat that you can like dance to while like cruising the Galleria, with your Walkman on your ears.

Orlando

Film director Sally Potter, and actor Tilda Swinton, joined forces 18 years ago and created one of my favorite films of all time.

Orlando is a film based on Virginia Woolf's book of the same name. The film is about a character who changes genders and lives through four centuries.

The film is being re-released and I want to revisit the experience. I'm eager to see what new insight I might gain by reconnecting with a work of art with my new 18 years-older eyes.

If Orlando is not being shown in your hood, please rent the DVD. This film has beauty that will nourish your mind, eyes, and soul.

There is a wonderful interview with Sally and Tilda at the Village Voice website.

"Changing is precisely what Swinton worked hard to avoid when her male character wakes up a woman. "Transformation is not about changing," she laughs. "It's about a sustainable spirit." Or, in Potter's equally heady words: "[It's] looking for a state of being-ness through time and space and genders." As Orlando herself says while looking into the camera: "Same person, no difference at all. Just a different sex."

Click here to check it out.

What The Frak?

 
I have to admit this video gave me chills. I am always watching the skies and waiting for the signs. I've had vivid dreams of visitors from the sky throughout my life. Has the time arrived for the final proof that we are not alone to be revealed?

Click here for more information. BTW, look like the Chinese government is going to offer the cliche excuse that this was a military operation.

Slash and Burn

When I saw this recent clip of Chris, and thought about the video he posted before it, I saw a high-riding bitch slashing and burning, so that something new can grow. I'm glad he put down Barbie, or in his case Britney.

You have to be careful when slashing and burning. The journey should start at realizing that the forest has become to thick and entangled, and prevents you from being able to sow and harvest the things that will nourish you. You can't wipe it all away, because, in the small spaces there are rare things that are good.

My suggestions is to do it gradually and after careful consideration. There is good stuff in each of us, a lot of it, and we can't just think it all has to disappear. At the end of the day we choose a new path, we never truly start all over again. Instead the reality is one moves forward with an informed-hope.

I did this a few years ago, and started this blog in order to guide me through the process. I would be perfect, if it wasn't for me being human. Therefore, the me with flaws is focused on thriving, living within a purpose and being authentic; my version of perfection.

For Jun

The darling Jun is going to take some time away from blogging. Those of you in the know, are aware his blog is like good candy for me. He's all good, just going to live some life and come back to share his journey. This is for him:

Send Love To The GLBT Familia en la Isla Bonita

Thank you Kyle for this recent post. I am spreading the word. I may not always comment, but I always read your awesome blog.

A suggestion good people, after reading this post, send a note to annie.rodriguez@prtourism.com. Let her know that the good people of Puerto Rico need to get this madness under control. Oye, Ricky Martin, step up!

"A special committee to investigate hate crimes has been created in Puerto Rico, where advocates say gay and transgender people are the victims of an "epidemic" of violence.

The announcement by the attorney general was cheered Saturday by activists who complain the government has yet to invoke 2002 legislation establishing harsher penalties for crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

"I think this is a step in the right direction to start to collect statistics that are vital to curb the crisis of violence against the gay community in Puerto Rico," said Pedro Julio Serrano, a native of the U.S. territory and spokesman for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

Serrano said 25 slayings of gay and transgender people in the past eight years may have been motivated by bias -- including the decapitation in November of gay teen Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, whose killing inspired vigils as far away as New York and Chicago.

The new government committee involves agencies including the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Juan, police officials and the island’s civil rights commission, according to a statement release by the attorney general late Friday.

"With the creation of this committee, we will document the extent of hate crimes," said Attorney General Guillermo Somoza Colombani, who added that the data will help develop policies to attend to the victims.

Puerto Rico is known as a welcoming place for gays, particularly in comparison with more socially conservative Caribbean islands where LGBT people often live in hiding.

A recent string of high-profile slayings, however, has put pressure on the government. Some of the cases have received broad local news media coverage, including the April killing of a 31-year-old transgender beauty salon owner.

"It’s sort of an epidemic," Serrano said. "It’s too much to be ignored."

Source: Bay Windows

The Evolving History of Getting Married

Perhaps retail giants should lobby for same-sex marriage. They had a hand in creating the need for elaborate wedding productions in America, and created a lucrative cottage industry. Check this out.



Since May 17, 2004, over 15,000 marriage licenses have been issued to same-sex couples in Massachusetts.

Nancy Gill and Marcelle LeTourneau, along with six other same-sex married couples in Massachusetts, filed suit in 2009, claiming that DOMA denied them certain federal marriage-based benefits that are available to similarly-situated heterosexual couples in violation of the equal protection principles embodied in the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

In a pair of opinions issued this afternoon (Gill, Commonwealth), The Hon. Joseph L. Tauro agreed with Gill and the Commonwealth and held Section 3 of DOMA -- the part forbidding federal benefits to same-sex couples -- to be unconstitutional. Source: Daily KOS

Summertime

So it's now really official, summer is up and running. I just got back from the traditional family BBQ get-together for the 4th. I am the official grill master at our gatherings. I did a good job, but overcooked the chicken wings. I got caught up in a card game of Spades. It was worth it, because I won!

BTW, there is a really cool photo essay at motherjones.com. The picture above of the young Boriqua is just a sample. Click here to check it out.

When Puppetry Goes Wrong

Oye, Michael Steele, this article urged me to tell you the signs that show when you are a puppet:

- You go into life with knowing half the story, yet you signed up for a one-sided world view and left unbalanced.

- You accept a culture and systematic approach that spreads a lie that some are better than others. You then to choose to be on the side of the ones that are deemed better by a lopsided world view.

- You mingle among a circle of people that say you are better than your brother man, because, you have obtained the speech, tone, and form that is most pleasing, while delivering their message.

- You understand the acceptance of the inner-circle is conditional, and you condition yourself to be acceptable.

- You see faces that smile at you bet yet never really know you.

- You choose to let others take your unique you to redefine you.

- You get talking points which at times you are not sure if you agree, then you are consoled by them by being told to look at it from the unbalanced perspective tethered to their clear agenda.

- You finally find yourself pulled in many different directions, and not feeling grounded.

- You are told to apologize to Rush Limbaugh.

At this point you have become the puppet. Don't step down, just step forward, release the strings and go from puppet boy to man.

Activists are often born from places where they were robbed of their intellect, humanity and voice.

And The Beat Goes On

Hey good people, I finally had my long overdue meeting with my newest nephew. My brother and his family came up to NYC for a visit. This was very significant for our family because, my brother had wanted a family of his own for many years. At the age of 43 he finally was blessed with a wife and child.

It was a gorgeous day in NYC and little Anthony Jose was in good spirits. He loves to smile, and only made the smallest fuss when he was hungry. He had yogurt and hummus that day, with a side order of love from his tio and titi.

My first memory with my nephew will include dipping his feet into the fountain at Washington Square Park. This is very significant for me for this is a place where I found enlightenment, community, and water is one of the essential elements. God was present.

The proud father, my brother Anthony (left), happy baby in the middle, and me wanting to steal little A.J. on the right.

My sister Jenny and me with our nephew we been waiting for.

Glee Is The New Fame

Glee is the new Fame. How do I know this to be true? Well, watch some old episodes of Fame on hulu.com and you will understand. We have a bunch of kids that want to be stars, while each of them have some drama going on in their lives.

I was surprised to see I recalled a lot of details about the episodes of Fame. Like most kids in the early 80s, I wanted to go to that school. I opted instead for the High School of Fashion Industries, which was equally genius in terms of the creativity of the students.

BTW, a lot of the Fame's episodes didn't really hold up. I actually now feel most of the singing is really mediocre, and Bruno's original music sucks! However, it is great to see Debbie Allen in action. She always reminded me of my Titi Maria. Oh, and Leroy's body and moves still hypnotize me. I was also pleased to see that Doris and Danny still made me kiki.