National Gay and Lesbian Task Force NYC Leadership Kick-Off

Last night, in New York City, I went to a party on 14th Street at the Design Within Reach Store.


Then I went with Joe and Aaron to Rawhide because we were in a mood for some raunch dressing. Later, at GymBar, we met this guy whose name escaped me while he showed me his collection of me-with-celebrity photos kept on his camera.

(I made one of him with Joe but it is not pretty.)

Today I woke up with a cold. I rummaged about until I found something C had stuffed in my Christmas stocking.

I've been rubbing it on my chest like a mad thing. There's no food in the house and it will be hours before C comes through the door. Camille is not happy about being forced to suffer unattended and with no audience.

Tomorrow on Bilerico: "Is This Good Thing a Good Thing?"

You'll have to go to Bilerico tomorrow to find my response to the following.

Curiosity as an American value

In his inaugural address, the new President Obama has just included curiosity in his list of saving American values. How refreshing and delightful. We have endured so many years of defensive and suspicious leadership. We have all but forgotten that our country was once strong in its curiosity about the world, its people and its horizons.

From the text of the speech:

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true.

forebearers vs forebears

In his inaugural address, the new President just used the word forebearers. While certainly more inclusive than forefathers, he could have used the more elegant noun forebears, as in My forebears were Italian. The word does however open the door to some Four bears walk into a gay bar jokes.

A Joyfully Broken Chicane

The word of the day is chicane. I just heard it come from the mouth of an NBC reporter.

Let's use it in a sentence:

With the inauguration of Barack Obama, the racial chicane of Amercian history has been permanently dismantled.

Michelle Obama's gown

This is what I would put her in. I was aiming for youthful/sexy/elegant. I think she should go with the "column" rather than the "flow". She has the body for it. I think she ought to emphasize her shoulders. I think a low neck line is better than a scoop or something higher which might be too "suit-of-armor". I think she will opt for the high waist which is something she seems to like and favors. I think the halter should be soft and gathered. Maybe shear over silk. The sheath below the waist could be slubbed silk or textured with shimmer. It should not be brocade which would be too heavy. This part has to be fluid and must follow and accentuate her movements. Overall, the color ought to be sapphire or cobalt or some mingling of sapphire, cobalt and teal. The jewelry ought to be delicate to counter her muscularity. Could be diamonds or marcasite. (I hope she doesn't do the big pearls). I think this tanzanite and diamond necklace from Tiffany & Co. would be fine. At the transition between the top and bottom parts of the gown, I've left the possibility for a thin blue satin cord/sash and even a space under the left bosom for one of those brooch/applique thingies she likes but she'd do better without.

I think the revelation is scheduled for Tuesday. I'm guessing she'll choose something by Maria Pinto.

The New Bilerico

To all of you who say that Bilerico is dry, I say check out this post from one of our new contributors. I am proud to have pushed for his recruitment. I'd walk to Buffalo in the snow for a piece of that!


PS: The directors of Bilerico had a brainstorming session last night. We've got plans I think you'll enjoy. Stay tuned.

One more. Easy on the vermouth and let's rethink that run in the park.

Doris Day Pink

I'm sure Cooper's owners won't mind. Besides, it'll wash out. Maybe.

where'd this come from?

For all you beefeaters, isn't this a woofworthy blog?

Cooper

I'll be baby-sitting a little bit of cotton fluff named Cooper for the next two days.
The breed is known to have separation anxiety, and sure enough, the little guy has spent the first hour studying the door through which his master left.

Thursday on Bilerico: His Closet is a Duplex

I haven't yet written my response to this letter, but I've got lots to say. You'll have to go to Bilerico on Thursday for it.

Message: I am a happy self-identified gay man living in San Francisco who has had a number of successful long-term relationships with men. But for the last couple of years, I been having sexual dreams and fantasies about making love with women, in addition to my continued fantasies and attractions to men. Am I cracking up, emerging from another closet or just going through a phase? Read me my beads!

Joe

Golden Globe Gowns

A good gown has to enhance the woman in it while retaining some artistry of its own, and, it has to move.

As I watched the nominees and presenters at the 2009 Golden Globe Awards Ceremony – and you can find a good compilation of the ladies in their finery here - (all the following photos are ripped from that slideshow), I found the menswear insignificant or annoying, but the women were dazzling , with “classic” as the predominant note.

I was wowed by the red-robed Eva Longoria. You had to see her walk on stage to really understand why she was the evening’s best-dressed woman. (Am I fair to judge a woman’s intelligence by the gown she chooses?)



She looked...Divine.



I’m giving a strong and surprising second-place to Drew Barrymore who justified her crooked hair. I think she’s ready to star in an Angie Dickinson bio-pic. (Did she swap purses with Eva?)



The absolute vavoom of Beyonce Knowles and Megan Fox is indisputable, but their dresses were only slavish servants to their curves.




Anne Hathaway whose skin tone always makes her look rather refrigerated seemed to step out of a John Singer Sargent painting. Third place.




Equally alluring was Penelope Cruz, but there ought to have been a necklace. Did it fall off in the limo?



I was highly impressed by Mrs. Pierce Brosnan who proved that zaftig can be sexy. She seemed perfectly comfortable in this elegant dress.



As a subcategory, the black dresses with shear panels were not so hot. Did a troop of girl scouts sew these to get a merit badge?



Finally, there is Glenn Close who did not walk on stage. She was beamed up.

those silly awards

well it's turning into a horse race for second place!
I know fifty contributors at Bilerico who would love to be the bridesmaid. Why not help them out? Vote!

class='thickbox'>Put a ring on it

The art of the insult

Once again, I call your attention to the venerable Dick Cavett.

While reading this, I was sifting through famous insults I recall, and holding them up for comparison. I kept coming back to Joan Rivers on Elizabeth Taylor. That string of burger joint jokes. As deadly and polished as those insults were, I think we could not enjoy them because of what they targeted. Not evil but weakness. When Joan turns the gun on herself in that recent commercial in which she says “Oh honey, this face has seen more knives than a benihana”, we can laugh easily because she owns the weakness targeted. I wonder if she wrote that line herself.

And there's that Dorothy Parker review of a Kate Hepburn performance in which Kate "ran the gamut of emotion from A to B". No one ever thought of Kate as weak or vulnerable, so we can laugh. I wonder if she herself laughed.

Improving the red carpet

As we head into the award show season, there is discussion about the appropriateness of rented diamonds and designer gowns in a time of economic crisis.

This provides me with the opportunity to suggest a change for which I have long pined.

Would it be too much to ask that the stars arrive dressed in the signature costumes they wore in the films or plays that earned them their nominations?

Also, would it be too much to ask that the writers of those productions provide them with pithy but dazzling acceptance speeches? The unscripted gushing of all but a few winners is annoying.

These shows are supposedly delivering the best in entertainment, folks. I'm sure Reese Witherspoon is a nice lady, but wouldn't you really rather hear her say something supplied by Bruce Vilanch or Joan Rivers?

And don't get me started about the pain of listening to non-performers accepting awards.

I know this puts a burden on Meryl Streep this year, but she could change out of the habit in her limo en route to the after-party.

Worth visiting

OK so my husband likes this blog better than all others (Including mine? Maybe. He's smart enough to say "Oh no baby, I love it in a different way.") Nico is indeed an enchanting youngster, and has something of merit to say about anything. My husband, who will eat nothing from the ocean or from fresh water for that matter, is fascinated by the fact that there is nothing Nico won't eat. A recent post offers us a newly composed Christmas carole, a link to pics of drunken Brits, some sass about Silent Night and the national anthem, and, a pic of Marie Antoinette's gallows-wear. What's not to love. Go there, but come back. I've always been jealous suspicious of smart gay children.

Tomorrow on Bilerico: "The Naked Boy Giver"

I’m making a bit of a detour on Bilerico this week to comment (with owner’s permission) on an irresistible post I read at a blog called Naked Boy Chronicles
Here’s the post abbreviated:

I have a problem letting go

I did not see the Boif this trip around.

He was insistent on seeing me and I asked him to please respect my wishes and leave me alone. I told him I was not ready yet, I am still hurt over his leaving me. So he respected my wishes and left me alone.

I just felt that seeing him would bring me down simply because he had to leave again. It was like giving someone a gift and then snatching it away. I didn't want to set myself up for that.

I felt it would be a case of him mocking me and showing off and him telling me about his wonderful life now and how he has everything now and how he never had anything here. He should read all the earlier blog posts, he had everything here: Love, respect and all my possessions and money. But mostly love.

He actually told me on the phone one time that he had nothing here and that's why he left. He said I had everything and he had nothing. Can you imagine how that made me feel? Nothing? I thought I was something.

I thought I gave him everything -- especially unconditional love. I used to joke about him leaving me and tell him that no one would take him and that after five minutes of him, they would return him. And I loved the thought. The thought of him being mine forever and always returning to me.

My problem is I get attached to people and make them family. I don't have one of those weird families that quarrel. I have a big Italian family. We outright yell, scream and go crazy and in five minutes, it's all over as if nothing happened. He and I were like that, we argued all the time, but never held a grudge.

I am not used to giving up on family members and just having them out of my life. I don't live like that. He is like family to me. I can't get over that he is gone. That's my problem. I can't let go.

Old photos

Seventeen years ago I had a few solo shows in the Wretched Little City. I was doing portraits. I wasn't using Photoshop in those days. Not even digital. Had folks lie down on the kitchen floor of our old farm house. I was surprised at the level of trust my friends placed in me with camera in hand. Here are a few from a show called A Resting Ritual. They were just about life-sized. While packing up the house I came across them after not having seen them for years.

My agent, Miss Ward, was a willing model.



This one was called She Knows the Drill. Miss Ward was not happy with the way she had applied her lipstick. As I said, no Photoshop. Women especially liked this one. T shirts and note cards followed.



C was not a willing model but he could be convinced. He actually designed the metal wavy frames in which these were originally mounted. They did some serious damage to the gallery walls. I think this was titled Housebroken or maybe Fully Domesticated. The sessions were great fun with folks holding props and lights and wondering what I had in mind. I had nothing in mind.

If you liked it....

As Beyonce recently bounced: "If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it." And that is figuratively what I hope you'll do to Bilerico, a nominee for Best Gay Blog 2008.

[Upfront disclaimer: I'm part of the Bilerico editorial team.]

As you know, I love my Joey and Andre and Andy and Pam, so why vote for Bilerico?

a) Bilerico is much more than a cut-and-paste fast food kind of gay news aggregation. The contributors present developed opinions that are not geared to a fast rabble-rousing. I often disagree with what is presented, but you know I'm the kind of person who often spends hours looking at bad art because it helps me know what is good and true when I find it.

b) They have this advice column written by an insufferably self-absorbed ex-priest who considers all questions as excuses to tell stories of his ribald past. But, he is a slightly cute from certain angles. I don't think he's real, but he seems to be working hard to keep Bilerico planted in the fertile gutter of explicit sex.

c) Bilerico was last year's runner-up. This year, they're bigger, harder and uncut and needier. Put a ring on it.

e) Tell me that you have voted for Bilerico, and I will grant you the sexual favor of your choice. Specify it in the comments section below so I can prepare.

You do know that you can vote every 24 hours.

Road Notes

To prepare for the DC beltway, study the chariot race scene in Ben Hur.

The South is different. Between Richmond, Virginia and Jacksonville, Florida, NPR disappears, and the dial is swamped with Jesus. Consumers are fed what they want.

The convenience store women are very fat, funny and call me honey.

In a South Carolina parking lot, I am sitting in my Smartcar, trying to keep the juices from a Wendy’s ½ pounder from dripping onto every other part of me by mashing it onto my mouth, when I look up to see a family stopping close to my windshield to take a photo of my car. I wanted very much to ask them to delete it and to let me run back inside to purchase the salad item. That would be what is expected of a Smartcar owner. It’s been several years since I had one of these burgers. Not changed a bit. I’ll eat another one in 2019.

The optical sensors on the urinals of the rest stops all along Route 95 are labeled Zurn. Probably a German manufacturer. Could it be that the blinking red dot is doing more than sensing motion? Is it recording? Would the rapid frisson of an expedient jerk-off confuse the dot into a wild flush? I think I might like to be a Zurn, with an endless stream of the traveling men of America unzipping before me. Zurns should come equipped with applause meters.

Best post elsewhere in 2008

This post combines politics, culture, art, design and sex. It's a summary of what we will remember about 2008 when we go back to the future. Today, you'll call it shallow, but those who sift through the past, decades from now, will study these images and note that even if no gay man received a cabinet appointment, the heart of at least one gay man was wrapped around the First Lady (Sorry Betsey Johnson. I assume you were joking.)

PS: I think she'll choose the de la Renta.

Tomorrow on Bilerico: "Third man in"

You will have to go to Bilerico tomorrow to see my response to the following (first of a series from one man on a particular subject):

Have you ever seen a 3way relationship work? Really? We tried it once and it didn't go so hot because he was more into Fred (my partner) than me. This time I was the instigator, but he seems to like Fred just as much as me and Fred feels good about it.

Thoughts?

A classic example of why America is sinking.

We've all been there.

(Sorry to be doing the cut and paste thing (no matter how amusing) but packing up a household has taken me longer than expected. It's driving me nuts, truth to tell. Just when I think I've got it all under control, I open another cabinet or go deeper into another closet. Stuff.

Which god is driving the bus?

It becomes clear that as we switch out the god we have in the driver's seat, each of the passengers will eventually and in turn be thrown under the bus. There is no universal god. Only an extremely personal one. The invocation at the inauguration ought to consist of five minutes of silence to allow each attendee to to burn mental incense to god or Santa Claus or to go outside for a smoke.

For the best reflection on this to date, read Frank Rich's You're Likable Enough, Gay People. While reading it, I asked C if Frank Rich is gay. He replied, "No. He's Jewish and a New Yorker."

(For those of you who don't get that - and I doubt there are many - the next time you take your mother or aunt to a Broadway musical, ask them if they realize how much of the National Humor is either gay or Jewish.)

The future of art

In the future the walls of our homes will undulate constantly with this sort of thing. They will be either home-made or purchased.


πάντα ῥει - panta rei - everything flows from defetto on Vimeo.

PS: You should check out all of Defetto's videos, especially Tapeworm and Hello World. I am full of envy and frustration because i don't have the ability to make this kind of thing.

Obama, read this.

This made me mad. Mad that we are behind rather than in the lead. Mad that we have to spend zillions of dollars on heat when it could be generated for free. If our country wakes up only when its wallet is almost empty, maybe our president-elect will have the brains and vision to throw some of our tax dollars into fostering this type of residential efficiency. Can anyone give me even one good reason for not doing so?

Divine Christmas

I'm glad he runs this every year.

If you had told me 30 years ago that I'd be....

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Next on Bilerico: The Vociferous American Erection

You will have to go to Bilerico on Friday morning for my response to the following:

Dear Father Tony,

This is about my husband’s “little problem” at his gym. Every time he comes home, I ask him “Was he there?” We are getting a lot of laughs out of this but my husband (straight and with a great bod) is asking me what he should do. I’m a (straight) woman so I’m in the dark about this so I’m asking you because you would know…

In the shower at the gym is a guy who is very friendly with my husband. My husband says he likes talking with this guy who is funny and smart but after they got to know each other, one day he comes home and tells me that when they were in the shower together talking, this guy got an erection in the middle of the conversation. I said “What were you talking about?” He says “the economy!” Anyway, the guy doesn’t try to hide it and my husband doesn’t know what to do so he went back to his locker and left really fast.

The thing is that now, it happens the same way every time they are in the shower together. They could be talking about anything and after a few minutes the guy gets an erection and just keeps on talking.

My husband is cool with the gay thing in general but he is not sure how to handle this. It’s like “out there and pointing at him.” He thinks he should say something. I asked him if it happens to the guy only when he’s talking with my husband or with other guys also and my husband says he has never seen it happen with other guys but it’s not like he’s looking so he doesn’t know for sure. He thinks he should say something, but what?

The Housewife.



It's up. Get on it.

The calla lilies are in bloom again...I carried them on my wedding day

Gay Rights Protester seeks husband (or something like one)

When the gay marriage protest march reached Times Square, we bumped into Stan Richardson, "Playwright and Protagonist", who was handing out leaflets and feeling desirous of a New York wedding.

He's cute and funny. (His best line is the one at the very end of the vid.)

Hey you single guys looking for a man, what are you waiting for? stanrichardson@gmail.com

I get the yenta points.

Gay Protest in New York City tonight

We froze but we marched.
From Herald Square (think Macy's and Miracle on 34th St, you hinterlanders) to Times Square. In numbers approaching a few hundred strong, the little lights of protest warmed up the night. More formal observations and video to follow tomorrow, but

a) Just as I expected and despite instructions from JoinTheImpact, this was not a silent, prayerful or chanting crowd. Out came the megaphones and all the usual shouts of "When I say XXXX, you say XXXX...XXXX! etc. (I really hate that one. It's too convoluted.) and the hey hey ho ho chant was aimed this time at having Rick Warren to go.

b) Numbers were small (<300?) but impact was high: strong sound system and a stage in Times Square.

c) Proof of the consistently amateur or naive approach to this phenomenon is the fact that the wooden podium had no sign on it with a logo and info that would show up in media coverage.

d)And this is MOST important, we need to show great respect and encouragement to the young people who are producing these events. Someone at last is doing something. The flaws are inconsequential. To not show up, despite the weather would have been unthinkable.


Go here for some pics.

Caroline says...

This Q&A for Caroline Kennedy is one of the oddest-funniest pieces of writing I've encountered in quite a while. I just finished reading the questions and answers aloud to C, and see if you can't do the same without feeling that her handlers are manipulating a Caroline sock puppet. They seem to want to create a one-name persona for her, like Cher or Charo. (I'm glad to see she's down with gay marriage, but elsewhere in the Q&A, I begin to wonder who she really is.) Anyway, if you do it aloud, use a wise-cracking 1945 Daily Planet reporter-in-fedora voice for the questions, and for the answers, use an Eleanor-Parker-as-the-Baroness-in-Sound-of-Music voice for the Caroline says answers.

Tomorrow on Bilerico: "His Man Goes South for the Winter"

You'll have to go to Bilerico tomorrow at noon for my response to the following:

Dear Father Tony,

You won’t print this, I know, but maybe you can email me your opinion. I met a guy I like but there is a problem. He told me before we met that he was really into one thing. His face in my butt. (My on-line pics show I’ve got some classic bubble butt). I chatted with him because he is gorgeous (my opinion) and I began to fall for him. When we finally hooked up, he wasn’t kidding. I didn’t see much of his face and my mattress got the rest of him if you get my meaning. He says he’s never had it so good and I really cannot complain because he is so good at it, but still. We have talked about this. I told him I want more and spelled out what I like to do. He shrugs and says that is the way he is. When we are not going at it, we have great conversation. He is very well educated and can recite English poetry for hours. I love the sound of his voice (English accent) and I feel guilty about complaining but I want what I want just like he wants what he wants. I know you are going to say that we should never go into a relationship thinking we can change someone, and I guess I did but isn’t it OK to ask him to think about me sometimes? Sheesh. Is that too much to ask? I think I should stop seeing him and I think you will say that but sometimes I think maybe there is a way to work this out so we both get what we want. That’s it. Is there a way to make it work?

Worried.

Update. It's up. Get on it.

Fashion Trend Alert - The right plaid

This year, you can donate that tired tan Burberry plaid scarf, knowing that everyone you don't want to look like is wearing it or its knock-off.

Instead, reach into the back of the drawer and find that bright red and black plaid scarf. Or, if you didn't save it, get yourself a new one. This is the scarf of the season. It can say so many things. I'm cheery! I'm nostalgic! I'm angry! I'm bloody! I'm defiant! You choose.

Pair it with a black hat and jacket as a fiery accent. You needn't reserve this plaid exclusively for the neck. We recently had the opportunity to observe this same plaid on the friendly silk boxers of a new acquaintance.

As you can see below, this plaid conjures the muse of Christmas Past but she has not yet convinced me to smile. Still ten days to go.

Big Ass Belle at her best.

What makes for that rarely encountered great piece of blog-writing?

I know it when I see it, and I see it here.

There are ways to take it apart and analyze the components, if you are looking for guidance in your own writing. You note the opening image, a speedy blur and then a rapid zoom into the person who is the focus of the piece. You note the economy of choices made. You notice the way the reader is carefully ushered along with no confusion as to where the next door leads. You note the superb attention to visual angling, background sound, and interior emotions. You note the timing.

Is it possible to learn this type of story telling? I think not. Either you have it in you or you don't. Teachers can give you polish and help you avoid excesses, but they cannot give you instincts. This is not to say that we are brilliant every time we touch the keyboard, but sometimes...and this is one of those times for Miss Lynette.

Have Yourself a Wary Little Christmas

I've written about Bob and Ray's Christmas party in previous years.

I still think it is one of the best parties imaginable. We see some folks only annually at this party. They and we do not exist for each other outside this Brigadoonular fete.

You cannot be deleted from the invitation list, except by a verified report of your death.

The food is always memorable and the bar is like a $2 hooker...oh, figure it out.

This year, I upset a twelve foot ficus tree by sitting on the edge of its pot. Its shaken leaves provided an attractive garnish to the baked ham on the nearby buffet.

Despite their request that friends stop giving them tree ornaments (their collection is rotated in its yearly presentation), I spied an Orbamament that is new and a festive pig that I do not recall.





Here are C, Rob (who spins at Nowhere every second Sunday of the month), his partner Tim who is an admirable artist and our Joey who, at some point in 2008, transcended definition.



As you'll see in this tiny vid, the energy was high and convivial, but I think there was something different in the air this year. An uneasiness about the future. A sense of apprehension. We are entering a season of adjustment. Financial. Political. Social and philosophical. We are all preparing mentally for some not-yet-defined but major surgery. You could almost smell it just above the pine needles and the warm brownies. I listened as a doctor talked about being laid off from his municipal post. There seemed to be less shimmer in the costuming. Less bravado. Less daring. It's as if we have all taken a punch and are getting our wind back as we struggle to our feet. We are far away from the last round. We'll make it. We will win. We just need to pay attention.

See C

This afternoon we stopped by the Postmasters Gallery on 19th Street to see Jennifer and Kevin McCoy’s “I’ll Replace You”, a photography and video exhibit exploring the business of exchanging viewers, artists and critics with themselves (the real McCoys).

I was eager to see this because C is featured in a large composite photo in which Jennifer poses with a number of people who are wearing Kevin’s orange vest and a wig/glasses/stashe combination that mimics his look. (In an adjacent piece, Jennifer is replaced by people who pose with Kevin.)




Can you spot the boy, even as he recreates his pose, albeit in mirror image?



Here he is.



At another gallery we saw this, for which there are no words.

Oh Ricky, you're so...whatever

Here's a picture of Ricky Martin wearing his new twin boys. What caught my attention in this photo is the way Ricky looks at us. His eyes seek out the viewer's understanding and seem to yearn for the viewer's approval. I think we've been given that look before. By Joan Crawford. The comparison stops there, as I suspect Ricky will be a much better parent than was Joan.



Here are three wonderful women who have recently become unavailable as godmothers for the twins. They are in the great Green Room together, preparing and sharing their complaints about men for when they are ushered into God's throne room where their voices will scorch the paint off the walls.

Tomorrow on Bilerico: "Reminding me why I hate Christmas"

You will have to go to Bilerico tomorrow at noon to see my response to the following:

Dear Father Tony,

Is it possible to forgive and forget?

Betrayed

It's up. Get on it.

The Honorable Barney Frank

On Saturday, Dec 6, 2008, Barney Frank spoke at a Victory Fund luncheon at The Mayflower Hotel in Washington DC. We who were at the National LGBT Blogger and Citizen Journalist Initiative were also invited.

Barney spoke about what we should demand of those who say they love us, and, about the passage of an inclusive Hate Crimes Bill, but the funny money-quote is at the end of this two-minute clip from the video I made.

Why Andrew Sullivan blogs

This essay on blogging, by Andrew Sullivan, is almost flawless.

There is but one question begged but not raised: Given the ephemeral, immediate and rapid nature of blogging, is it not performed more often than not by those afflicted with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder)? This colors not only the style of presentation, but the level of thought and discernment. A swarm of locusts descends upon and devours the whole farm in seconds before moving on. A horde of impatient shoppers breaks down the Walmart door and tramples the staff. The swarm, the horde, the blogger and the commenter. Far away, in deep woods, lives the writer, listening to snow fall.

Because of this, you probably won't take the time to read all four pages of Mr. Sullivan's essay, as did I, but I seriously recommend doing so because each new section opens a door to yet another perfectly stated truth about what we are doing here, and why this is not the same as - and will never replace - writing.

I have always thought of this as a place to practice or prepare for writing, like stretching before a run.

Mr. Sullivan tells us why he blogs. Why do you?

The Meet and Greet

The Washington Blade covered the Bilerico Meet and Greet held at a coffeehouse called ArtfullyChocolate.
You'll find the full set of photos here, but I feel this one, in which I'm with Zamna Avila of AskTheGayLatino, captures my inner ferocity or perhaps just the embers of sleep deprivation.

(And don't miss the pic of blogger friend Mike of DC seated to my right with the fabulous Nick Cargo of PageOneQ to my left.)

Busy Bees

As you might imagine, a gathering of bloggers might be understated as hyper-communicative. Even during the presentations, almost no one stopped surfing, texting, emailing, twittering, uploading, editing, posting and electronically gossiping with a pal across the room. This is not to say that we didn't absorb what was being presented. We are simply of the breed that can intake stimuli from various sources simultaneously and deliver it simultaneously to a number of unrelated recipients. The presenters seemed to understand this and not mind it.

A more cordial group you couldn't assemble.

What happens in DC may or may not stay there.

This is Nate's brief clip of an unscheduled event of the National LGBT Blogger and Citizen Journalist Initiative.
It features Mr. Rage on the dance floor of Town.


LGBT Blogger Summit Dance party from Nathan Strang on Vimeo.

Sex as God Intended

You may go to Bilerico for my review of John J. McNeill's latest book.

Nate of www.buffawhat.com

DC-A-Go-Go - 201
Originally uploaded by Buffawhat™

A self-described tech-nerd blogger, by night.

At Town

DC-A-Go-Go - 212
Originally uploaded by Buffawhat™

with Waymon of Bilerico-Florida, Zamna of AskTheGayLatino and the Bil in Bilerico

National LGBT Blogger and Citizen Journalist Initiative - Saturday afternoon

The Honorable Barney Frank spoke to us at lunch hosted by the Victory Fund at the Mayflower Hotel. (video to follow)



The Mayflower Madams: BuffaWhat, Blabbeando, Jimbo and JoeMyGod



Joe and Kate Clinton



At dinner, I sat with the Gay and Lesbian Task Force crew, names and links to follow. Seeya both in Miami!



The Bilerico reception at Artfully Chocolate

Blogger Summit- room full of Paul Reveres

Heavy on the political (which is something I mostly leave to others) but, as you'd imagine, a room full of fascinatin gay bloggers is like a day spent at the flea market at Brimfield, MA: acres of interesting stuff each piece with its own intricate history and message and life.

Regarding the political side to this, I'll summarize for you:

In the American Revolution, there was one Paul Revere. Today, in the revolution that has now begun for ownership of individual rights, bloggers are the new Paul Revere, but there are hundreds of thousands of them and they are not all shouting the same thing about the British coming. They are shouting huge heaps of overlapping static. Sometimes they pull together suddenly like a school of fish responding to the force of the current. There is no skill to this. There is only speed. You almost need to be out of the water to see, let alone control this. Nevertheless, the political bloggers feel that coalescence is within their grasp.

Here's the fabulous Mike Rogers of PageOne who is our overworked organizer (and you'll pardon me for liveblogularly skip the links for the moment):



Eric Leven of Knuckecrack and Bilerico makes a point while Nate of the blog www.buffawhat.com does something unrelated on Vimeo.



And of course, JoeMyGod and I do our duelling banjoes thing with our cameras (they are the new fans).

the DC Blogger Summit - Opening Reception

We began the weekend with a reception at the premises of the HRC (Human Rights Campaign) conveniently located across the street from the YMCA where I spent the afternoon exercising. The company was scintillating and the conversation covered everything from the the mellifluous voice of Pam Spaulding to the fact that Hillary's doctor told her she could never again wear high heels to the handsome blogger behind Ask The Gay Latino.

Here's the whole Bilerico gang, blurred because I didn't notice that I had the camera set to macro-focus.

via Tornwordo at Sticky Crows

You Are Vixen

Sexy and sultry, you're the one all the other reindeer dream about. Why You're Naughty: That fur pulling spat you got into with Dancer over Santa. Why You're Nice: Because even when you're nice, you're still delightfully naughty!

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

National LGBT Blogger and Citizen Journalist Initiative

Off to DC for the weekend. Just got the finalized agenda. This will be fun.

The pro-LGBT Galvanization of American Majorities

A fascinating and encouraging GLAAD-sponsored Harris Interactive survey has just been released to the accompaniment of a call-in question/answer session in which I participated for The Bilerico Project.

This post-election survey called The Pulse of Equality, shows that majorities of Americans are pro-LGBT rights and that public sentiment is trending toward greater acceptance.

You may read GLAAD's announcement here. It contains the startling highlights of the survey.

I also suggest you read the survey in its entirety here. It's enlightening and hopeful.

GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano said that this is the first survey ever commissioned by GLAAD. He said "We wanted something that could help media navigate the post-election narrative."

I asked Rashad Robinson, Senior Director of Media Programs at GLAAD, where in the USA he felt the strongest pockets of anti-LGBT sentiment remain. Mr. Robinson replied that the rural areas of America are the most resistant to acceptance and that the survey demonstrates that interaction with visible and identifiably LGBT folks has resulted in greater acceptance. In rural areas, that interaction is smaller.

I also asked him about the fact that the survey demonstrates that the highest levels of negativity involved not only the evangelical Christian churches, but also the male population age 65 and over. I wondered what, if anything, GLAAD was doing to reach that demographic. He replied that GLAAD has and will continue to appeal to that demographic through targeted media outreach such as sports programming. This is encouraging and I can't wait to see the GLAAD-sponsored Aussie Bum shorts on the male cheerleaders during next year's Super Bowl halftime show.

Seriously, read the survey. It will make you feel good.

Tomorrow on Bilerico: "His teeth are in the way of world peace"

You will have to go to Bilerico tomorrow morning to see my response to the following:

Dear Father Tony,

The last guy I dated was six months ago. He broke it off with me but I thought everything was going along perfect. Finally he took my call and told me the reason. Sex. He said I give really bad head. He said it was painful. He said my teeth are the problem. I go to the same dentist since I was a kid. How do I tell him to fix this without telling him why or do I need a gay dentist? There’s a guy who I think is interested but I keep avoiding him because of this. Now I’m afraid to even kiss anyone new. Can I just learn to give good head?

Shark Boy


Update: It's up. Get on it.

I don't know why I got this.

I think I'll join it just as a goof. They'll rue the day.(Although I do like limited government and private property rights, something tells me that I'd be rubbing shoulders with some "tiny" folks. Think Gulliver's Travels.)


For Immediate Release Contact: Adam Bitely
November 24th, 2008 Phone: (202) 689-9266

Dear Fellow Blogger,

It is my distinct pleasure, as the president of Americans for Limited Government, to invite you today to become a key member of the exciting new conservative “bloggers central,” NetRightNation.com.

At ALG, we recognize the critical role you as a blogger play in gathering, assimilating, and disseminating news and commentary. And I, personally, am deeply grateful to you for taking the lead in fighting some of the most important battles our country has faced over the past decade, and more.

That's why I am so pleased to announce that NetRightNation.com is providing bloggers like you, the mainstream media, politicians, and other opinion leaders free, instant access to nearly 60,000 conservative blogs nationwide. And counting.

As a complete service bureau, NRN provides you a wide new array of blogger opportunities. As a featured blogger on NRN, you will be able to post your own blogs and interface with other like-minded bloggers nationwide. You will soon be able to “claim” your blog and customize your blog profile.

Information on NRN – blogs, as well as Twitter feeds -- will be divided by state, as well as by issue, to make it easy for you and others to access. NRN will also include a sophisticated search engine function and will soon have the capability for you to subscribe to customized email blog feeds on your topics of choice. Stay tuned, for these features will soon be online!

And all of that is just the beginning. In fact, I have asked ALG's Director of New Media, Adam Bitely, to follow up on this note with a letter of his own providing you the exciting details on how NRN can help you grow your own blog.

Above all, we want to make sure NRN is all that you, an important member of the conservative blogosphere, want it to be. So, as you visit NetRightNation.com, I urge you to please give us your input on how to make it the valuable asset we are committed to providing, at absolutely no charge.

Thank you for all that you are doing. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Bill Wilson
President, Americans for Limited Government

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Americans for Limited Government is a non- partisan, nationwide network committed to advancing free market reforms,private property rights and core American liberties. For more information on ALG please call us at 703-383-0880 or visit our website at www.GetLiberty.org.