Half of the film has been shot and funds are currently being raised via Kickstarter to complete the production.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Dare To Dream
Dare to dream big. Plant seeds of innovation and inspiration. Watch us grow beyond all expectation.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Imagine A World Without Hate-Think About The Potential Taken From Ours
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Frustrating. Beautiful. Sad. Hopeful. That's what this video is to me.
Take just 80 seconds of your time to watch this powerful video, which imagines a world without racism, homophobia or anti-Semitism — a world in which the hate violence that took the lives of Martin Luther King Jr., Anne Frank, Daniel Pearl, Matthew Shepard and others did not happen.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Truth- Sadness-Beauty
Oh, how these word are me, my experience, as they are to so many others. Truth, sadness, and beauty never get old. If you don't do anything else today, watch this video and listen.
B.C. poet and author Shane Koyczan’s animated video-poem, To this Day.
“My experiences with violence in schools still echo throughout my life
but standing to face the problem has helped me in immeasurable ways,”
Koyczan says in a press release.
“I’ve spent years working to restore the better parts of my nature. I
want to cheer on the underdog, celebrate the strengths in the lonely and
outcast, and reassure the despondent that endurance is a kind of
credential for this life.”
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
The Bad And The Ugly
Business Is Booming At Oregon Bakery That Denied Lesbian Couple A Wedding Cake
Controversy Erupts As DC Comics Hires Anti-Gay Author To Pen Superman Comic
Gay Teen's Home Vandalized In Apparent Hate Crime
Assistant Principal Loses Job After Backing Gay Marriage In A Blog
Gay Military Families Still Barred From Nearly 100 Benefits Under DOMA
The First Dating Service For Hateful Bigots
Friday, February 8, 2013
'Teddy Ferrara,' Play Based On Tyler Clementi Suicide Case, Opening At Chicago's Goodman Theatre
I'm a little torn about this one. I guess it depends how the play covers what happened(or chooses not to) and how much is fiction. I'd love to know if anyone sees this what they think about it.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
The Future Is All About Loving Ourselves
Love is All You Need
I'm pretty sensitive to the dull bleakness of deep winter, as so many people are. It's that yearly time where emotionally I'm constantly struggling with the darker elements of my nature (the ones that aren't supportive and productive) that are being complimented by our short days. The sparkle and light of the holidays are recent memories and so is our snowpack; snow is always such a bright spot for me during this time, so having it gone just makes me feel more vulnerable. Parts of me are longing for the vitality of spring, but the days are visibly getting longer and it is getting easier to just let the season be what it is. These are the articles that gave me a pick up this week. They are all about loving ourselves and creating safe spaces for GLBTQ to thrive, one act at a time. The world may never be perfect for us, but hearing these stories and sharing in the love, happiness, and drive of unlikely heroes is an easy way to lift my spirits. It helps me feel good about the moment we are in and makes me feel it is a great time to be unabashedly queer. Be happy everyone!
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
Stellar Day-A Dream, And Hope
Lee Pelton: More Than a Sound Bite
This Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King From Harlem Students Will Bring Tears to Your Eyes
Obama And First Lady Spend National Day Of Service At D.C.'s Burrville Elementary School, Kicking Off Inaugural Weekend
NAACP Inspires Millennials To Give Back Beyond Martin Luther King Day
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/20/naacps-millennials_n_2506618.html
President Obama's Inaugural Coverage
"We, the
people, declare today that the most evident of truths -- that all of us
are created equal -- is the star that guides us still; just as it guided
our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall...
It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began.
For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and
daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not
complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else
under the law -- for if we are truly created equal, then surely the
love we commit to one another must be equal as well."
President Obama 2013
President Obama 2013
Full Text
Obama's Second Inaugural Address
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/01/obamas-second-inaugural-address-watch-here
Climate Change In Obama's Second Inauguration Speech: 'We Must Lead'
Friday, January 18, 2013
I Love You And Me-Comments On Male Identity In The Modern World
When I started to write this piece I was planning on just writing about marketing and advertising and how it unfortunately influences men in just as many negative ways as it does our female counterparts. The holiday season was finishing and I saw the first article about male fashion underwear and my mind started to turn. Yes, in that way. Just look at the photo above. I am a gay man. If there are men around I'm objectifying. As soon as I had time to write the piece, I ran across some of the other articles on HuffPost and saw a much more substantial piece forming in my mind, based on the reactions to each one. Just so it is understood, I really like each of the additional articles and I respect and agree each of their perspectives; I'm just using them as a jumping point for my own writing. I'm just using what they wrote to collect together my thoughts and observations on modern male identity and hopefully portray my thoughts succinctly to all of you. Read the articles below; there is some really great stuff there.
I Love You And Me-Comments On Male Identity In The Modern World
Well here it is. Another seemly innocent photo streaming into my consciousness, which promises me sex, happiness, wonder and the recapturing of my youth all in one tight package. The answer is simple. I just need to buy quality underwear this season and not just any underwear. Designers have rediscovered the color red can be used on underwear, again. If I buy these brightly hued spandex briefs, I'll be twenty again, a gorgeous blonde with golden proportions, svelte, with abs you could do laundry on, and I'll have sex appeal I haven't seen from anyone but my husband in more than thirteen years. I'll feel light and fun and won't have a care in the world. That's before I even get to the words, the few there are in the article. That's what the lie tells me. That's what I'm supposed to feel, at least if I don't have a lot of self worth, if I'm insecure abut the way I look, or if I don't have those coveted qualities and want to have them terribly. Basically, all of us. Marketing plays on using our personal needs and wants against us and it works well. The add isn't selling me red briefs, it's selling me any of the things I may want from that photograph. It's selling me needs that may not be fulfilled, dreams and memories gone by. The disturbing part though is that the ad doesn't just work on me or my age group, it works on men of every age, of every type you can imagine. Advertising is very hard to fight and the impact on body image even harder to repair.
Negative body image used to be something that was discussed only in relation to women or teenage girls. Now it is far from a problem reserved for them. It's an all out epidemic. More and more, men and boys are crushed by unfair expectations. All men, despite age, face an increasing pressure to live up to images that are lies, photos that are faked, and represent themselves in ways that are stories constructed by studios, artists, and writers, stories that were never intended to be for real people. Life isn't a TV show, a movie, or the latest novel, it isn't your favorite song, or a music video. Life isn't a glossy shot of three young models blissfully playing together in their underwear. Life is monotonous, petty, dirty, messy, and wholeheartedly imperfect. It's the opposite of all the things marketers, advertisers, and creatives throw at us. If we are ever to have better relationships with each other and with ourselves we have to stop applying those fantastical situations to ourselves and stop expecting people to be Ken and Barbie dolls, acting like June and Ward Cleaver. We have to stop buying stuff thinking it will make us feel better. It never will. People need to be more independent, more accepting, and a lot less judgmental. We need to be willing to work on relationships and work on how we feel about ourselves as men. As women have made great strides at finding their full identities over the last century, so have men, but advertising, marketing, and consumerism have soiled empowering gains men and women have made. For every glass ceiling we broke, we stuffed ourselves in boxes, wrapped ourselves in confining ideas, and insisted on having bought crap that just weighs us down. We've got to love ourselves for who we are, not what we want to be. That's lofty, but we're worth it.
I never dreamed that I would live to see a world where gender identity and gender role issues would be a part of the conversation and where limits and potential didn't have anything to do with gender and your gender identity. I never thought I'd get to see transgendered people fulfill so many dreams and see those that embody both genders not be constantly penalized for their uniqueness. I never dreamed I'd be able to marry the man I loved and be recognized by governments around the world. I learned far too late that I could be all the things I wanted to be and that I could love myself for that and find people who loved me becuase of all of those things. That's the life I want everyone to have. That's the future we should be after. Young people need to feel safe and to feel loved and to feel they aren't being judged. In the GLBTQ community there is infinite diversity. Unfortunately, there is also seems to be infinite judgement. A very bad trait I wished we hadn't adopted so voraciously in our culture. The quick judgements just diminish us and keep us from building an even stronger community. They keep us from fostering and protecting GLBTQ youth and they keep us from honoring our elders at the end of their lives. They also keep us from helping all those outside our community. Insulation is protective, but it's also restrictive.
We don't need braces on our brains or our hearts. I'm hoping that intimacy, both in public and when not in public, becomes a non-issue. It holds so many men back and keeps us from really expressing ourselves in a meaningful way, without sex being part of the equation. We also don't need to feel sexually confined because of preconceived notions based on human sexuality from centuries ago. If something turns you on, no one should able able to tell you that's wrong. As long as you act on those sexual feelings with consenting adults no one should be able to tell you it is anything but right. Trying to figure out what your feelings are and where they come from isn't so easy, nor is trying to explain them to other people.That's seems really hard for many men, but I can tell you from personal experience that locking up those feelings is a bad idea, that expressing those feelings, especially with someone(or someones) you love, well it's a great act of self love and self expression. Whether it is a different position, a place, an object, a defined fetish, or some other form of kink you are better off exploring those feelings and coming to terms with them, than lying to yourself or those your love. From personal experience I can tell you that bringing fetishes out of darkness, into your sex life isn't the end you think it is. It may take time for adjustment, but I can say from my own personal experience that I felt much more of a complete person. It made me feel truly happy to share such an intimate part of me.
We have to take control of the most intimate parts of our lives. Just as women should have complete dominion over their bodies, so should men. Without a doubt women are constantly ignored in this area, but it is rare to hear anyone call for a true equalization. There can be no gender parity without all genders being treated equally and with respect. No more fear fueled castigation about masturbation and sex, especially when we are young. No more pressure about reproduction and filling family dreams. No more misinformation about our bodies. Most certainly no more genital mutilation of male babies or hermaphrodites. No more gender stereotyping and no more talk about how someone can't do something because its has always been that way. All of this is holding us back and keeping us from being the best fathers, brothers, co-workers, neighbors, lovers, and husbands we could be. Our world needs us, the whole of who we are. We can decide to change all this, to be our own men, or we can continue to jump every time a person, a clique, corporation, or government wants us to change the color of our underwear to suit their owns ends.
Red for the Holidays
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-kleinmann/mens-underwear-red-for-the-holidays_b_2352103.html
Beauty and the Boy: The Impact of Negative Body Image on Our Boys
Beauty and the Boy: The Impact of Negative Body Image on Our Boys
Boys to Men
Why Kink Matters
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-acworth/why-kink-matters_b_2460100.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay%20Voices
Gay Male Misogyny Goes Viral: College Humor and the War on Women's Bodies
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nico-lang/gay-male-misogyny-goes-vi_b_2481769.html?utm_hp_ref=women&ir=Women
Gay Male Misogyny Goes Viral: College Humor and the War on Women's Bodies
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nico-lang/gay-male-misogyny-goes-vi_b_2481769.html?utm_hp_ref=women&ir=Women
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Keep Pushing-It's the Only Way To Win
I know sometimes efforts like these seem fruitless, but our community didn't get this far by sitting on the sidelines. Every time we push, it reaffirms that we are worthy of the same respect and treatment others take for granted. It gets the complex issues that concern our community out into the open and tells people we won't go away simply because they want us to. Every act of defiance is a celebration of our rich culture and our diverse voice and honors our histological struggle for equality. Every time we show our strength and pull together it makes it that much harder for bigots to dis-empower us and moves more GLBTQ youth out of potential darkness. It shows those who hate to be what they are, people not troubled by creating different classes of human beings and that they are perfectly willing to demean and destroy the forward development of our world. Goodness isn't a natural state on this planet, we have to create it. We are all responsible for this action; it's the only way to win. Thanks to these bold people and so many others it's just a bit easier each time.
Why Gay Couples In The South Are Applying For Marriage Licenses They Know They Can't Have
Ryan Andresen, Gay Scout, Officially Denied Eagle Scout Honors
Thursday, January 10, 2013
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