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Carlos Hazday

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  2. Carlos Hazday
    Bruce Sprinsteen has cancelled his upcoming show in North Carolina. He claims fighting bigotry and prejudice is more important than a rock show. I fell in love with him in 1976 when I went to a concert in the school gym. I'm a fan of his music but even more I'm a fan of his political activism.
     
    http://brucespringsteen.net/
  3. Carlos Hazday
    The hoopla the NFL concocts around the championship game saved the day. The contest itself was mediocre. An overconfident young quarterback was hammered in a way he hadn't been all year, by the end you could tell he had given up. Who doesn't jump on a ball after a fumble?
     
    Payton Manning should retire while on top. He's still a force to contend with at his age, but his best days are over. Remind me again why the Colts released him when they did? The man won his 200th game, more than any other quarterback ever in the league. Classy man headed straight into the Hall of Fame.
     
    The half-time show was filled with subtle reminders Levi's Stadium is home to a team from San Francisco. There were rainbow flags and colors to remind us the City by the Bay has a thriving gay population. There were flowers and tie-dye designs evoking the Flower Power generation and the legacy of Haight-Ashbury. And there was Chris Martin, wearing a GLOBAL CITIZEN shirt during the performance, evoking the area liberal, humanitarian concerns. Clips of previous performances brought a smile to my face, although the back-toback shot of The Boss and The Big Guy was bittersweet. I'll think of Clarence Clemons everytime I see or hear a saxophone for as long as I live.
     
    The commercials? Meh! Nothing special and I admit I missed a few while using the facilitiess.The old line held true: you only rent beer. Maybe it's the Miami Dolphin fan in me, but I did enjoy Dan Marino and Alec Baldwin sparring over their failure to win a championship or an Oscar.
     
    Time to switch my attention to the NCAA--March Madness is around the corner--and the NBA.
  4. Carlos Hazday

    Winter

    By Carlos Hazday,

    When the idea for the CJ series began to take form in my mind, it was never meant to be a coming of age story about CJ. César was meant to be the main character. I wanted to explore how a father and son, both gay, would relate to each other, and to a circle of mostly gay friends.
     
    Although the little bastard stole the limelight, and my heart along with it, the original intent is still very much at the center of the stories. A group of gay friends, unapologetic for their sexuality, interacting in a way not often seen in gay literature. Instead of placing the story in a small town, Washington, DC serves as the primary location for the events being related.
     
    My guys will not hide behind the old ‘my sexuality is private’ line, so often employed by closeted men. They’re willing to show their affection for each other, in private and in public, without shame. Although people tend to align themselves with others with similar traits, the men of CJ are varied. And not only based on ethnicity, religion, or economic status. Monogamy, cheating, drugs, bisexuality and group sex are all part of the story, as they are a part of real life.
     
    This is also not a purely romantic story, romance is part of it but melodrama is not. Or an adventure story, even though a couple of cliffhangers along the way may leave you panting, and ready to kill the bloody author. In the end, it’s still what I initially set out to write. The life and times of a bunch of guys who happen to be gay. And their sexuality most definitely affects how they live their lives.
     
    Winter, the third installment, will begin posting on 1 January 2016. Everyone should by now know part of the story will take place in Australia, with JP, Tom, César, Brett, and CJ spending Christmas and welcoming 2014 there. Their trip will be seen almost entirely from CJ’s point of view; his reactions to the places they visit, and the people they, meet will predominate. There’ll be a few new characters, and a couple of them will stick around long term.
     
    I look forward to hearing what readers like and don’t like. I do pay attention, and more than once, your comments have influenced future events. So please, don’t be shy about telling me what you think. The good, the bad, and the ugly―I want to hear it all!
  5. Carlos Hazday
    Kudos to all those brave enough to make the decision. There's strength in numbers.
     
    May I see the day when a person's sexual orientation is no longer newsworthy...
     
    https://research.facebook.com/blog/403359139870267/america-s-coming-out-on-facebook/
  6. Carlos Hazday

    Campbell Soup

    By Carlos Hazday,

    Guess what was added to my grocery shopping list for tomorrow. The American Family Association and One Million Moms are alreadey complaining about the ad, so I think I'm going to support the company supporting real, real, life, and buy me some Star Wars soup!
     
    https://youtu.be/7rZOMY2sOnE
  7. Carlos Hazday
    Two years ago today I joined Gay Authors.
     
    I came here following an author from another site who quickly abandoned GA. I stayed behind. I stayed because I'd discovered Circumnavigation and the CAP series. Hooked on the stories, I read, reviewed, and eventually ventured into the forums. My interactions there were less than satisfactory and after a while, I drifted away.
     
    Fast forward a year, I'd started writing a story for myself, never thinking of publishing it, but I did share a couple of chapters with a friend in New Zealand. He asked for more and urged me to post it online. I received the same encouragement from a couple of authors I corresponded with after they read the beginning of Summer.
     
    I came back to GA then, posted a sneak peek and received some wonderful advice and encouragement. My search for an editor for the story took some time but eventually Mann Ramblings agreed to work with me. I can't even remember how that came about (Can you Mann?) but boy did I luck out. I sat on the story for a couple of months while he helped me turn it into something worth publishing, it eventually went live on 1 January 2015. Guess readers liked it, the views, likes, and reviews starting coming in. Autumn, Book 2 of the series has been well received also and once again, Mann is a big part of the reason for that.
     
    While waiting for Summer to be ready, I scribbled a few other things and once again lucked out when Kitt agreed to work with me. A prompt response turned into a short science fiction tale, which left me with a couple of great characters who have now been featured in several other stories. I got big for my britches and attempted an Anthology story.
     
    Although it was well received by most readers, It garnered some sharp but honest criticism from a few experienced hands around GA. Yes, Cia, my butt still smarts from that spanking. But I appreciated those people took the time to read and comment, paid attention to what they had to say, and hopefully my writing has improved because of it.
     
    There have been ups and downs over the past two years. Sometimes I've screamed at GA and its idiosyncrasies, and become frustrated. But I'm still around and plan to remain as long as they let me. I'm looking forward to the coming year. I hope y'all keep enjoying my writing. Let me know if you do or don't. My ego's not one of the fragile ones which will get bruised if you tell me you didn't like something.
  8. Carlos Hazday
    OUT Loud At Last is a photo campaign in response to Adam Bouska's NOH8 campaign. We are “removing the tape” and celebrating the legalization of Gay Marriage in the U.S.!
    I was in NYC when the SCOTUS ruling hit the press, and I immediately wanted to celebrate by having a photoshoot. My Friends Kayla O’keefe and Schyler Conaway helped form the idea of “removing the tape” to reveal a rainbow and show our pride in finally being able to live OUT Loud At Last.
     
    Those are the words of photographer Jenna Pinchbeck, excerpted from an article in Philly Gay Calendar. To read the entire interview, go here:
     
    http://phillygaycalendar.com/pages/col.php?id=1055
     
    Pictured is Brian Sims, a Democrat representing Center City Philadelphia's 182nd District in the House of Representatives. In 2012 he became the first openly LGBT person ever elected to the General Assembly in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's 237 year history! :heart:
  9. Carlos Hazday
    From Miami Herald Obituaries
     

    By Howard Cohen
    hcohen@MiamiHerald.com
     
     
     

    On Feb. 13, the Miami-Dade Aviation Department honored “not only members of the Greatest Generation” but “the Greatest Generation Plus.”
    Three South Florida Tuskegee Airmen of the 26 surviving members of the first all-black military flying unit that was formed in 1941 were honored that day at Miami International Airport.
     
    And now there are 25.
     
    Two days before Independence Day, on July 2, Lt. Col. Personal Name Williams died at his Kendall area home near The Falls at age 97. His companion of 17 years, Rosa White, was by his side.
     
    “He made great choices in life,” White said. “This was a man who entered this world under adverse circumstances and encountered numerous others, nevertheless made decisions and choices that resulted in a level of success for himself and a record of providing assistance to others.”
    Indeed, after serving during World War II — after Congress passed an act in 1941 to compel the U.S. Army Air Corps to train blacks at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama — Williams once again served his country during the 1948 Berlin Airlift and again in the Korean War.
    “He was the embodiment of patriotism, and like his fellow Tuskegee Airmen, he faced great odds during World War II but completed his mission with a dignity and distinction that is befitting the veterans of the Greatest Generation,” Miami-Dade Aviation Director Emilio T. González said in a statement.
     

    Born in Washington County, Texas, on Nov. 2, 1917, Williams moved to Richmond Heights, a community in South Miami-Dade established for black serviceman returning from World War II, in 1949. He retired from military service in 1963. He would then reshape his adopted community in Miami.
    Williams taught physical education at Richmond Heights Middle School. Fitness and education, he decided early in life, would be means to a better future. Within two years, he was promoted to administrator, tasked with integrating Dade County public schools. He retired in 1985.
    Mentoring children became his life’s passion, according to White.
     
    “He really talked about it a lot,” she said. “He was always concerned about children and the dropout situation. He wanted to see to it that the school system had some programs for these kids who dropped out of schools. That was his big thing.”
     
    But Williams’ role as one of the Tuskegee Airmen eventually brought him overdue acclaim. President George W. Bush presented Williams and the other living airmen the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation’s highest civilian honor, inside the Capitol Rotunda in 2007.
     
    “The Tuskegee Airmen helped win a war, and you helped change our nation,” Bush told the honorees.
     
    Two years later, Williams was among the airmen who received a special invitation to attend President Barack Obama’s inauguration.
    “At the time of the draft, I was a senior in college,” Williams recalled before a group of Miami school children in 2009 while being honored by the Homestead/Florida City Human Relations Board. He told the kids of earning his degree in education from Xavier University in New Orleans in 1941 before joining the military. “All around, there are signs that say blacks and whites. In spite of the difficulties, you still carried out your job.”
    Williams was first commissioned as Second Lieutenant on Miami Beach in 1942. At Officer Candidate School on the Beach, his classmate was Hollywood screen legend Clark Gable. Williams wasn’t afforded the respect a white actor would enjoy in that era. On graduation day, families rushed the stage to pin the U.S. flag on the graduates’ beige jackets.
     
    But in Miami Beach, in 1942, blacks were not welcomed. Without fanfare, Williams calmly placed his jacket on the sand, squatted before it, and quietly pinned the flag on his jacket.
     
    He was assigned to the Tuskegee Institute, where an army doctor grounded him, citing “poor eyesight.”
     
    Call it just another one of the “oddball things” that happened as he was “trying to get [my] wings” in a segregated country, Williams recalled in a 2011 Miami Herald feature.
     
    As a captain, Williams trained Tuskegee Airmen who flew overseas to escort bomber planes across Europe. No bomber plane would be shot down while under Tuskegee Airmen protection. Though he didn’t make it overseas — “I wanted to go because if you are on the team, you want to play,” he once said — he flew at the Tuskegee Institute and served as a flight instructor until the end of World War II.
     
    “For years, I thought what else could I have done to change the course of events,” Williams pondered in a 2011 Herald feature. “The laws at the time just did not allow for much to happen. But when you look up at an airplane in the sky, you can’t tell if a pilot is black or white.”
     
    In addition to White, Williams is survived by his daughter Catherine. Services are pending, and Williams will be interred at Arlington Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Miami Tuskegee Airmen, P.O. Box 172072, Hialeah, Fl. 33017.


    Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/obituaries/article26699983.html#storylink=cpy
  10. Carlos Hazday
    The USA team gets to split $2 million for winning the World Cup. The German team who won the Men's cup split $35 million. A tad of a difference.
     
    Everything I've read tells of FIFA treating the women as the unwanted step-children. From the prize money, to accommodations, to playing fields. The almighty dollar is the reasoning behind it they claim. The ladies don't bring in the amount of revenue the men do according to the ruling organization.
     
    The number of women playing soccer in the US, from elementary school through the college ranks, is astronomical. Yet the high participation has failed to morph into ladies putting their butts on stadium seats or in front of a TV in large numbers. Men, on the other hand, will spend the day watching games and ignore anything else going on around them (or so I've been told when I forget to return calls or be on time while a game's on.)
     
    Is this one of those areas where women are from Venus and men are from Mars? Is parity possible at all?
  11. Carlos Hazday

    Born To Run

    By Carlos Hazday,

    "The Presidential Medal of Freedom is not just our nation's highest civilian honor – it's a tribute to the idea that all of us, no matter where we come from, have the opportunity to change this country for the better," Barack Obama
     
     
     
    Asbury Park Press
     
     
     


  12. Carlos Hazday
    Carlos --  
    Thank you.
     
    Last night, I congratulated Donald Trump and offered to work with him on behalf of our country. I hope that he will be a successful president for all Americans.
     
    This is not the outcome we wanted or we worked so hard for, and I’m sorry we did not win this election for the values we share and the vision we hold for our country.
     
    But I feel pride and gratitude for this wonderful campaign that we built together –- this vast, diverse, creative, unruly, energized campaign. You represent the best of America, and being your candidate has been one of the greatest honors of my life.
     
    I know how disappointed you feel, because I feel it too. And so do tens of millions of Americans who invested their hopes and dreams in this effort. This is painful, and it will be for a long time. But I want you to remember this: Our campaign was never about one person or even one election. It was about the country we love -- and about building an America that’s hopeful, inclusive, and big-hearted.
     
    We have seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we thought. But I still believe in America –- and I always will. And if you do, too, then we must accept this result -– and then look to the future.
     
    Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead.
     
    Our constitutional democracy enshrines the peaceful transfer of power, and we don’t just respect that, we cherish it. It also enshrines other things –- the rule of law, the principle that we’re all equal in rights and dignity, and the freedom of worship and expression. We respect and cherish these things too -- and we must defend them.
     
    And let me add: Our constitutional democracy demands our participation, not just every four years, but all the time. So let’s do all we can to keep advancing the causes and values we all hold dear: making our economy work for everyone, not just those at the top; protecting our country and protecting our planet; and breaking down all the barriers that hold anyone back from achieving their dreams.
     
    We’ve spent a year and a half bringing together millions of people from every corner of our country to say with one voice that we believe that the American Dream is big enough for everyone -- for people of all races and religions, for men and women, for immigrants, for LGBT people, and people with disabilities.
     
    Our responsibility as citizens is to keep doing our part to build that better, stronger, fairer America we seek. And I know you will.
     
    I am so grateful to stand with all of you.
     
    I want to thank Tim Kaine and Anne Holton for being our partners on this journey. It gives me great hope and comfort to know that Tim will remain on the front-lines of our democracy, representing Virginia in the Senate.
     
    To Barack and Michelle Obama: Our country owes you an enormous debt of gratitude for your graceful, determined leadership, and so do I.
     
    To Bill, Chelsea, Marc, Charlotte, Aidan, our brothers, and our entire family, my love for you means more than I can ever express.
     
    You crisscrossed this country on my behalf and lifted me up when I needed it most –- even four-month old Aidan traveling with his mom.
     
    I will always be grateful to the creative, talented, dedicated men and women at our headquarters in Brooklyn and across our country who poured their hearts into this campaign. For you veterans, this was a campaign after a campaign -- for some of you, this was your first campaign ever. I want each of you to know that you were the best campaign anyone has had.
     
    To all the volunteers, community leaders, activists, and union organizers who knocked on doors, talked to neighbors, posted on Facebook - even in secret or in private: Thank you.
     
    To everyone who sent in contributions as small as $5 and kept us going, thank you.
     
    And to all the young people in particular, I want you to hear this. I’ve spent my entire adult life fighting for what I believe in. I’ve had successes and I’ve had setbacks -– sometimes really painful ones. Many of you are at the beginning of your careers. You will have successes and setbacks, too.
     
    This loss hurts. But please, please never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it. It’s always worth it. And we need you keep up these fights now and for the rest of your lives.
     
    To all the women, and especially the young women, who put their faith in this campaign and in me, I want you to know that nothing has made me prouder than to be your champion.
     
    I know that we still have not shattered that highest glass ceiling. But some day someone will -– hopefully sooner than we might think right now.
     
    And to all the little girls watching right now, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world.
     
    Finally, I am grateful to our country for all it has given me.
     
    I count my blessings every day that I am an American. And I still believe, as deeply as I ever have, that if we stand together and work together, with respect for our differences, strength in our convictions, and love for this nation -– our best days are still ahead of us.
     
    You know I believe we are stronger together and will go forward together. And you should never be sorry that you fought for that.
     
    Scripture tells us: “Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season, we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.”
     
    My friends, let us have faith in each other. Let us not grow weary. Let us not lose heart. For there are more seasons to come and there is more work to do.
     
    I am incredibly honored and grateful to have had this chance to represent all of you in this consequential election. May God bless you and god bless the United States of America.
     
    Hillary

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