Welcome to my blog! You will find that the majority of my posts these days are in regards to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (lgbt) rights, but not exclusively. Hopefully you will find it informative and/or entertaining.

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There are "tags" on the right and on corresponding articles. You can click on them to filter only "gay issues," for lgbt rights, for example. Click on a title to get the direct link address. Click on my name in the upper left to return to this page.

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All viewpoints are welcome if you play nice. ;)

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Happy Birthday, Randy!!!!

Had I known that my paper would counter Star Parker's narrow-minded view with one the next day from another African American Christian with a much more open mind, I might not have bothered with my letter. ;)

http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/article1015434.ece

(And yes, I would have put up a link to Parker's column yesterday, but I couldn't get one.)

I have always loved this store ever since I discovered it at the Gurnee outlet mall. What you're seeing in this picture is about $80 worth of stuff. No single item in this photo over $10; most under $5. They have tumbled stones, wooden jewelry, glass jewelry, African masks, those Australian rain noise makers, sarongs, paper weights, carvings, on and on... There are pegs all around the walls filled with every color of jewelry imaginable.

They have a website, though many links do not work, including the locations. Last I knew, they had several locations in Florida and this oddball one in Gurnee, IL. But that was a while ago, and they may have more locations now.

The site also has some rather annoying sound effects, so you may not want to view at work. ;P

Black Market Minerals

At the one in Gurnee, the customer service people are refreshingly laid back. They don't watch you like they're afraid you'll steal something, even though it would be fairly easy to do. I guess the stuff's so cheap, they figure most people will go ahead and pay for it. ;)

This may be the last time I shop here, as homefryes and R plan to move to Las Vegas early next year (It would almost be worth the drive just to go shop there, hehe.).

Happy Birthday, belluthien!!

*GLOMPS*

( Oh, I am such a glutton for punishment! )
Vacation report will be continued tomorrow. I just can't keep quiet when this kind of prejudice shows up in my paper.

My second Pride event this year was watching Chicago’s Pride Parade on June 28th.

I thought that we would be going to the street festival after the parade, but apparently, their festival finished the day before. Had I known that, I would have insisted on going Saturday to that. I wanted to see who all was represented and talk to people about local issues.

Having watched the parade, however, I know why there is no festival afterwards: this parade is HUGE. After dancing or even standing around for the duration, it would be exhausting to man a booth after it was over. The parade started at noon and ended around 2:30, as I recall.

While we were waiting for it to start, Don and I walked around and stopped at “Gay Mart.” Fun place. I picked up a t-shirt.

As for the parade itself, it was great. I am waiting patiently for Don to load his pictures into his Photobucket account so I can link them. Since he is 6’2” he was able to get some nice shots by holding the camera above the crowd. I, on the other hand, basically got pictures of the same people with different stuff in the background. ;)

( Here are two worth sharing with you: )

Whew! It's a LONG way from belluthien's to here. I did it in two days. I should have left sooner yesterday and gotten in more miles, but I didn't want to!

Yvette, guess what I found at a grocery store in Ohio?



I don't know why they hadn't gotten around to changing it out for the new issue, but I picked one up for you. I'll get it in the mail tomorrow. *hugs*

Happy July 4th! (Stolen from zaphod_groupie.)

1. What faith were you born into or raised with (if any)?
I have always been a United Methodist. When I was a child, we attended a very small church just down the road from the farm where I lived until I was twelve. My grandparents went there as well.

2. Were you devout as a child/adolescent?
I went to church because my family went to church. As a teenager, the whole family quit going for awhile, and I began to see that not everyone believed as I did, and I began to question my faith.

3. If you are not currently practicing your childhood faith, what led you away from it?
I am still a United Methodist.

( more )

Happy Birthday, logospilgrim!!

Road trip! I'm off to see homefryes and R and later to belluthien's.

I'll pop in periodically.

Woo hoo!

Happy Birthday, tongarii!!

Happy Birthday, jyl22075!!

Best quote: Where are the studs?

Paul, my youngest brother, who has four kids - the baby having been diagnosed with Down Syndrome - has found out that their oldest boy is autistic. He will turn five this fall.

Wow.

Please keep his family in your thoughts. And if you pray, please pray for them.

Thanks.

Adam Lambert's littlest fan.

I thought this was cute.

I think it's important for you in the lgbt community to be out because people need to know you. When people know you, they learn about your humanity. You are no longer "those people." You are a friend or a coworker or a neighbor.

However, the decision to be out is a personal one. I do not have to live with discrimination and people judging me for whom I love. If you can be out, please be out, but don't be if you're afraid for your job or your home or your safety.

I've always believed that it is wrong to "out" someone without their permission.

That said, I am a firm believer in outing someone who is in a position of power, who uses that power to fight against the lgbt community. There are countless politicians who say they are for "traditional family values," but they are closeted gays who vote anti-gay.

This film exposes them.

http://www.outragethemovie.com/

It is playing in Pittsburgh starting Friday.