My Halloween Ritual

On the night when the veil between this world and the one we pass onto for metamorphosis is at its thinnest, I lit my candle and worked my altar for the spirits of my loved ones on the other side.

I told them how I appreciated what they brought to my life and wished them peace.

Recently, my Tio Edwin and Nereida (aka Blondie), a long-time family friend, made their transition. Marcos, James and Willi, please look for them and help to guide them.

Get Into It or Step Aside

Rick Owens had a fierce show for his Spring 2014 collection. Get into this army of warrior women stepping in high fashion.

This kind of shout-out to African-American culture has never happened in a fashion show in the U.S.A.

Cher Is So Not Feeling It

"Cher was offered a gig to perform at the opening ceremony of the [Winter] Olympics and said "No." straight-up, full stop. "I immediately said no," Cher told Canadian magazine Maclean's. "I want to know why all of this gay hate just exploded over there."  -- source: Out.com

As you know, folks are not digging Russia's new antigay laws.  I give two-snaps for Cher standing in solidarity with the other folks expressing their dislike of these laws that oppress a group of human beings.

Yet, secretly I wish Cher would have showed up and flame out with a bunch of queens in a spectacular extravaganza that only Cher could serve to the masses.

Feeding My Brain

Hey Good People, I have some good news to share. I was a awarded a full-scholarship for a Masters in TESOL!  The acronym stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.

I started my class this week and I am very excited to have this opportunity to learn new ideas and theories that will take my teaching to another level.

I am also grateful that there are three teachers from my school that are part of the cohort! Oh, and we all  really get along with each other.  It is awesome to have a built-in support group along for the journey.

So, here I go again!

Random Thoughts

This post consists of my thoughts from the self-absorbed, to the serious, to the observant and then ending with a daily mantra that continues to sustain me.

• I am now totally free of credit card debt! I just paid off my final card and feel very fortunate to be able do so.  I had to turn to my cards when I was laid-off for a few months awhile back. It took some time to pay them off, but I got it done.

• Zimmerman was found innocent in a court of law, but guilty in the court of public opinion. Zimmerman disregarded his training and the words from the dispatcher when he was told told not to pursue Trayvon. Trayvon had the right to stand his ground. Oh, and the lawyers on the prosecution side should be fired for doing such a shitty job. Phew! I got that off my chest. 

• I see you yungins. I see how what came before you influences you, then you put your spin on it in order to make it your own. I now ask you to respect the elders that gave you those influences by asking questions. The answers to those question will take what you do to another level. 

• I still continue to say 95% of my mornings, "God thank you for another day. I know I am blessed. And, miracles happen every day. 

F-Off I Am Going To Do Me

If Huma Abedin is half as powerful as the women that I know, she is contemplating a way out from her hot mess of a husband. Her husband Weiner has already showed he is looking to become a freak later in life.

I think her hesitation is due to considering if Weiner will be able to pay the monthly bill for raising the offspring while keeping her comfortable and provide her status.  A classic trap.

In my opinion she would do better by telling Anthony to go fuck himself, and rely on her own gifts to pave a liberated way for her to move forward with her children by her side.

Go here for the bochinche.

When The "Other" Inspires

While looking at this piece created by artist Mickalene Thomas (click here for more), I was reminded of erotic Japanese prints of Geishas. 

This memory then brought me back to when I heard A Taste of Honey cover the Japanese love song Sukiyaki. A Taste of Honey was a R&B/Disco band that had their first major hit with Boogie Oggie Oggie, which still turns it out to this day. 

I remember as a 12 year-old boy hearing, the Puerto Rican and African-American girls at I.S. 383, in Brooklyn, singing this song during lunch. Oh how they loved singing the final verse "sayonara."

I love it when we see beauty in other cultures and it becomes an introduction to appreciating what "other" cultures have to offer to us. 

In Very Old New York

While looking at Alice Austen's photography circa late 1800s, I came across this image. It is titled The Darned Club. I bet their spirits having been jumping for joy with the recent SCOTUS activities.

"The Darned Club," named by disrespectful Staten Island men, strikes a pose of girlish friendship on the Austen House's lawn overlooking the Narrows.  Alice (left) and her three friends, Trudy Eccleston, Julia Marsh, and Sue Ripley went to school together for years, and later spent most of their time at each other's home

"The Darned Club" and its four members -- Alice, Trude Ecoleston, Julia Marah and Sue Ripley. How did it get its name? "I guess that's what the boys called it." says Alice. October 29, 1891.

click here for more. 

In Old New York

While reading one of my recent blog obsessions Jeremiah's Vanishing New York, I was turned onto photographer Saul Leiter. I am digging his work. Here are Saul's images of New York in the winter on this first day of summer.

Click here for more.

Musto's New Home

Michael Musto is back online at Out magazine. I'm glad to see this old queen has a new home where she can do her thing. I hope Musto plans on still doing the blind items that have become legend.

I wonder what his take will be on the Tony Awards tomorrow.

Click here for more.

The Ying and Yang of Teaching 12

So, as you know I am a Special Education Teacher that provides services to mainstream and bilingual students. 

Well, at my school a fellow teacher and I are at odds about how to proceed with planning a program for one of my bilingual students.

She wants to keep him in a bilingual class, and I am suggesting he goes to a mainstream class. Let me also mention, I worked with this student for two years and she has known him for only three months.

The student in question has had four years of bilingual education. Please note the majority of students in the district only get three years of bilingual education. 

We gave my little buddy and extra year to see if it would make a difference. The result is the child is illeterate in Spanish yet shows emergent reading and writing skills in English.

She mentions theories that support strengthening a student's ability to read and write in their first language, so that they can transfer certain literacy skills over when they learn how to read and write in their second language. 

Some people in bilingual education believe this approach will make it easier for a student to acquire their second language. Other folks in education say this approach is the latest trend that is fueled by politics. 

I don't really have a horse in that race. Yet, I have my own insights based on coming from a bilingual environment. In my world second language acquisition was essential for survival. 

My colleague is a middle-class white woman, that speaks flawless Spanish as a result of her four years of studying it in college. In her world second language acquisition was an enhancement. 

I asked her if these studies, she is using as a rationale for her recommendation, included students with special needs. She responded immediately with a "yes." She has yet to provide me with the studies and/or names of the authors.

I then looked for some of these studies and the disabilities that were included are often limited to Learning Disabled and/or Speech and Language Impaired. 

Moreover, the studies I've read did not provide information regarding to what degree the students have their disabilities. 

Also, what other services and number of special ed hours these children were given in order to succeed in a bilingual program that focused on "strengthening" their first language. 

Keep in mind these studies are centered around students that have spanish as their first language. If you speak Arabic, Swahili, or Mandarin, the child gets TESOL or ESL support in a mainstream class. I wonder how those children are doing. 

Now, back to the issue at hand. The challenge we have in putting together a program for this student is that he engages in selective mutism, at school, in order to deal with his anxiety. 

According to his Speech Path therapist, this selective mute behavior compromises his higher-level thinking skills, as well as, the acquisition and use of both languages due to lack of practice. 

When she and I first started to discuss this student, I went to her with data to support my recommendation. 

The data was essential is giving me tangible evidence regarding where this student is at in English, so that the PPT team could use it to design a program that is informed by academic and anecdotal data.

She took the papers, glanced at them, and put them to the side. She then went on about the theories, and used statements that started with "I think" and "I feel."

Is she fucking kidding?

Go To The Light Mark

Mark Carson, I offer my prayers on behalf of your spirit. Journey on Mark, to that divine place where all of us will have our turn at metamorphosis.

Darling Mark, do not focus on being sent to transition so violently, instead, embrace the truth that there is only love on the other side.

Marcos, you are being sent Mark, please look for him and take him on a tour.

On The Bus

It's been awhile since I shared stories about the scandalous behaviors I see on the bus. Here is an interesting moments:

Four young dudes with long greasy hair and skin tight jeans get on the bus with me. Somehow we all end up sitting in the back.

I sit on the window seat, and have three young dudes to my right, and one young dude sitting in front of me.

Dude To My Right: So she  said they're gonna be there?

Dude In Front of Me: Yeah man! Stop asking me.

Dude In Front of Me then takes out a pack of Newport cigarettes and in there are two small bags of pot.

Dude To My Right: You should let me blow you for that.

Dude In Front of Me: (turns to me) Sorry for this exhibition.

Me: You shouldn't keep that in there. What if you offer someone a cigarette and forget you stashed it in there. You either going to get busted or have to share.

All the dudes chuckle. Dude In Front of Me puts the bags in his pocket.

I then wondered whether these guys get high and blow each other when the girls aren't around. 

All Air, No Net for Jason

Reading about Jason Collins coming out of the closet has brought tears to my eyes. I really digged what he wrote in Sports Illustrated.

Jason's words seem to come from a very honest, thoughtful and brave place. That article will change the lives of many young athletes in all sports. Click here for the full article.

Don't Call It A Comeback

John Galliano is slowly returning from being exiled from the fashion-world due to the horrid anti-Semitic remarks he made while drowning his pain in booze.

Back in February, Johnny teamed up with Oscar de la Renta and added the Galliano touch to Oscar's fall 2013 collection.

And, Johnny is going to share his talents and experience in a master class being offered at Parsons.

May he stay the course and return back to a world focused on beauty, rather than engaging in habits that will summon the ugly.

Annette's Turn At Metamorphosis

When I was a young kid, around the age of 7 or 8, the local TV station showed old episodes of the Mickey Mouse Club from the 1950s.

It was during these broadcasts that I was introduced to Annette Funicello. I so wanted to hangout with Annette, hey all the other Mouseketeers seemed to hover around. Oh, I considered myself a Mouseketter at that time.

She could sing, act and dance en pointe! Yet, Annette was the beautiful and talented girl that was still humilde.

I even digged some of her beach movies. It helped that she had that cutie Frankie Avalon hanging with her. Yeah, Annette's world was not only filled with music and dance, but also cuteness.

She was another of those performers that helped me escape, a harsh childhood, and spend some time in a fantasy world.

She is now free from a body that was afflicted with MS, and can now transition to a new reality.

Ciao darling! Thank you.

Spring Has Sprung

Today, I tended to my altar in observance of the spring equinox. I cleaned it thoroughly, replenished the water, washed the stones, placed fresh flowers, served a libation, and lit a candle.

I then did my prayers and sent my love to the family and friends that have transitioned to the other side.

I also put in a request for a little miracle that will help me transition to the next chapter of my life on this plane.

Good people, may the spring rejuvenate your mind, body and soul.

Why Gentrification Sucks: Reason 242

Get into this interview that is linked below. In the interview you will learn yet another reason why gentrification sucks. Moreover, why this native NYer is often sad to see NYC's uniqueness disappear.

We are decades into seeing NYC being rebuilt for tourist and transplants, that want this city to conform, in order eliminate the unknown.

If you don't want to challenge yourself, then why travel? If you are escaping suburbia and the mall, then you shouldn't support the recreation of it in NYC. 

Ya feel me?

Click here to get into it. 

Now

Then

Blizzard of 2013

Yes, that is snowdrift covering two-thirds of my front door. Yes, that is snow almost up to my waist. Yes, I am sore from all the digging and plowing that went on today. Oh and yes, I am ready for spring to arrive.

A Young Ball Queen Is Living For...

Trust me when I say, a young queen in the ball scene is going to snatch up these Adidas poodle sneakers. She will either vogue for points in them, or walk a Lady Gaga vs. Niki Minaj category.  Click here for more info.

Thank you Musto for the kiki.