Former Member

Maybe Eric should record a duet with Melissa Etheridge or kd lang. Or Troye Sivan. Or any of the numerous Out LGBTQ singers and musicians. ;–) Two other possibilities: an album of duets with LGBTQ singers, or an album of covers of songs made famous by LGBTQ groups and singers. I once recorded a cassette that told a story of Coming Out in songs. It began with Smalltown Boy (Bronski Beat) and Hideaway (Erasure), proceeded on to Yes, I Am (Melissa Etheridge) and other more celebratory songs (although my cassette didn’t exclusively feature LGBTQ artists). Other songs could include Too Sexy (Right Said Fred), The One (Elton John), Careless Whisper (Wham!), Sylvester’s You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real), Son of a Preacher Man (Dusty Springfield), yet another updated version of Glad to Be Gay (Tom Robinson), Relax (Frankie Goes to Hollywood), Power of Two (Indigo Girls), Jesse Hultberg’s Constant Thing (I was Raised a Straight Boy), Legendary Children (Holly Johnson), Constant Craving (kd lang), Romanovsky & Phillips' Love Is All It Takes (To Make a Family), I Don’t Feel Like Dancing (Scissor Sisters), New Beginning (Stephen Gately), Macho Man (Village People), and numerous others. Not all of those are well-known, but that’s part of the fun – introducing overlooked and forgotten artists! ;–)

Domestic violence is related to power and control. Some batterers prevent their partners from interacting with others. Some force estrangement from friends and relatives. In many cases, the battered partner literally does not have the resources (ie money and a place to go) to leave – quite often they also need to take children with them when they leave. I've heard of one case where a woman left with her kids in such a hurry that she was only wearing one sock! In cases like that, they need shoes, clothing and hygiene products as well as food and shelter. Quite often, people who are homeless need assistance getting government ID (California state ID or Driver’s Licenses are not free for replacement or renewal) and applying for social services. These also take lots of time with long lines when applying, and more time for processing. Cellphones are a mixed blessing, necessary for modern day life, but potentially traceable by the batterer. Cellphones are also expensive unless your jurisdiction offers free phones and limited services for those receiving certain social services the way California does.

A few paragraphs in, I realized he wasn’t talking to/about another boy. My grandfathers died when I was 5 (and living in Hawaii) and 9 (and living in San Diego). But I didn’t know them because they both lived in Chicago (where my parents met and got married). I have no memories of either one of them, so I didn’t feel anything because they died, only vague sadness because that’s what everyone else was feeling. Um. Am I supposed to know what Rainbow Bridge is? ;–)

There are statistics that suggest that domestic violence happens in larger percentages in Same-Sex relationships. Outside pressures are greater for most LGBTQs than straight people and exasperate any other problems the couple has. Making it worse, domestic violence support services are not designed with our community in mind. Homeless services tend to be designed for either hetero families with children or women with children, not men with children. Straight men who are victims of domestic violence also face severe discrimination – why wasn’t he ‘man enough’ to prevent this from happening? Society thinks only straight women are victims of domestic violence. But funding for all of these kinds of services is shrinking with the US Federal government decimating social programs to balance the budget while slashing taxes for a few. Some of the programs I relied on when I was homeless a little more than five years ago have been eliminated. For many people, homelessness is just one or two paychecks away. A major illness or injury could cause bankruptcy. A fire or flood could destroy your home. Most of us don’t have the resources to cover the loss of income for more than a month or two. Getting laid off from your job and being unable to find a new one could make you homeless too. And once you’re homeless, it’s extremely difficult to get out – believe me.

And apparently the racism, sexism, biphobia, and Transphobia (plus the agism I forgot to mention) are not restricted to the US, the UK’s Independent has an article about the issue..

Okay, maybe I should have said, they will strongly suspect Bobby. He would have had the motivation to do it and the skills to discover the embarrassing facts about Scott’s parents. He also, apparently, had the time available to do it during Mark & his mother’s meeting with the Principal. ;–)

We all require and want respect, man or woman, black or white. It's our basic human right. –Aretha Franklin (1942-2018)

Plan A was kind of a nuclear option. It would have been a warning if the poster had only been dropped into Scott’s locker. Taping them to every door wasn’t just a warning, it was a major explosion! The administration will know that Bobby did it since Mark was in the Principal’s office at the time.

In 1989, when the Cypress Structure double-decked viaduct section of I-880 collapsed during the Loma Prieta Quake, ordinary residents of West Oakland (one of Oakland’s ghettoes) grabbed ladders and climbed into the wreckage to rescue people trapped in their vehicles. The vast majority of the rescued were white suburban commuters while the rescuers where mostly black. The freeway had been routed as part of Urban Renewal (ie minority community destruction) and walled off the remaining community from downtown Oakland. When it was rebuilt, the freeway was moved to surface-level in a railroad right of way that was redundant after a series of railroad mergers (UP/WP, then UP/SP). A surface street named Mandela Parkway was created in the cleared former route.

On the Good Gay Movies thread, I mentioned that I’ve met Mary Griffith, the mother in Prayers for Bobby. She is very involved in a chapter of PFLAG in the Walnut Creek, CA area. I briefly dated a guy who attended their meetings and went with him. ;–)

It was on PBS's Frontline (which was already mentioned), but Monday and Tuesday’s episodes were Our Man in Tehran. A Dutch man, Thomas Erdbrink, met and married an Iranian woman and has lived in Iran for at least 17 years. He talks to various friends he’s made over the years he’s lived there. There are discussions about the Iranian government: how the people feel about it, what they suppress, and how they deal with dissent. He tries to show a more complete picture of Iran, not just the amped up crowds denouncing the US. Also interesting is how the US is blamed by the government for everything (including a drought that dried up a river and a lake), yet the US is where most Iranians would like to emigrate to. As a Muslim country, alcohol is banned, yet it’s available enough that there is even an Alcoholics Anonymous group shown in the doc. Satellite TV is banned, yet 70% of the households have one. Iran is filled with contradictions. ;–)

I identify as Gay. I am Out. I was even Out during the two years when I was homeless (I’ve been housed for over five years now). ;–) I do not drink or smoke, so I’ve never enjoyed bars. I refuse to use apps to meet guys. I’ve never fit the profile that’s popular in The Castro. ;–) My connections to the LGBTQ community is primarily through Gay fiction sites and Frameline (the organization that produces the annual San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival). ;–) The LGBTQ community has major problems with racism, sexism, biphobia, and Transphobia. The issues are rarely discussed or acknowledged. There are groups, like Frameline, that take special care to reach out to all aspects of the LGBTQ spectrums. Most groups pay lip service to diversity, inadvertently offending others due to ignorance. These are not easy issues to overcome, but it’s important to take the first steps. Gay people are aware of how we feel when we are disrespected or discriminated against, but somehow we have difficulty realizing that we do it to others who are grouped together with us even if we don’t like the associations.

I was thinking. I’m surprised that Devon & Colin didn’t have John sleeping between them the other night. They might have been able to provide enough comfort that he might have gotten a little sleep. ;–) Buddy should be able to decode George’s notes should the worst happen and he’s killed. But we know he won’t die. Maybe he can develop a weakened strain based on Nicholai’s blood that can extend life expectancy – they could give it to the non-vampire VUN members, as part of a vaccine ‘trial’… ;–)

She should be using a Female Condom. Since it’s in her, instead of being on him, it should work even if he has a medically diagnosed micropenis. His size won’t affect the effectiveness. ;–)

I said probable broken hearts because it’s unlikely that everyone is going to be happy with whoever he ends up with. Regardless of his motivation, the guys aren’t all going to feel any better if they get dumped. They might understand why he acted the way he did, but that won’t lessen the pain.

Everybody loves Jamie. (Sounds like a TV show or two.) He needs to figure out who and what he wants before he adds any more to the string of probable broken hearts in his wake… ;–)

I’ve actually met Mary Griffith, Bobby’s mother. She is very involved in the PFLAG chapter in the Walnut Creek area. Her son’s suicide profoundly changed her.

@Wesley8890, the skinny blonde one was in Private Benjamin and played by Goldie Hawn! ;–)

GI Hoes? I thought that was the special edition Barbie in Fatigues! In multiple skin-colors and body-types, of course. ;–)

Is she the reason why you’re not a Kinsey Zero? ;–) [/sarcasm]

Back in the ‘60s, I remember playing a reverse version of Hide and Seek. One person hides and everyone else tries to find that person. The last one to find the group gets to hide next, but the problem is some people don’t look very hard in an effort to get to hide. (It might work better if it’s the first person to find the hidden person.) The big advantage to Hide and Seek is that it’s free and can be played in a public park. ;–) On the other hand, I remember playing H&S inside a friend’s house. I remember one person hiding in a closet behind a bunch of dresses and shoes (on the floor). My brother climbed up the walls of a closet (like the rock climbers who do the same thing in ‘chimneys’) and was above where the Seeker thought to look! ;–)

Do people still do LAN Parties? Or does everything happen over the internet these days? Back in the ‘90s, when you were probably still in elementary school, we used to play Bungie’s Marathon trilogy on the Macs at work. A few were connected to the network via LocalTalk, but most used a direct ethernet connection (fairly rare at the time). ;–) Owning my own Ethernet Switch, a bunch of ethernet cables, and an electrical extension cord meant that I could connect to an internet connection (and share that connection with others) at a homeless services facility back when I was homeless. The building was used by several different groups and I think the agency that paid for the connection had control of the rooms during the evening and overnight. (We were using the connection during the morning and early afternoon.) Homeless people are ingenious about locating and utilizing power outlets too. It’s amazing how many people know that BART cars have a single power outlet hiding under one of the seats (I think they were there so they could run vacuum cleaners on the carpets and fabric upholstery before they eliminated those features in favor of vinyl floor coverings and vinyl upholstery that are much easier to keep clean. The new cars that BART is slowly receiving from Bombardier probably don’t have the outlets.)

I know nothing about this composer, except he wrote this in the 1890s, and was thus a contemporary of Elgar's. The movement starting at min 18:22 is so beautiful....omg....

Instead of helping Scott to become a better person, Mr Olsteen seems to encourage him to be nasty to Mark & Bobby! It seems bullying and other bad behavior run in that family. Neither Aunt Janice nor Bobby’s father was able to get through to Mr Olsteen. But at least Mark & Bobby have four adults united on their side! ;–) The boys might not have appreciated it at the time, but forcing them to wait for an adult to pick them up was a good move on the part of the lifeguard. ;–)

That blood red field could have a black smile with fangs! )= ;–)