Tag: new york city

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reflecting on a few news items

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First up, something wonderful, because the last things are very, very disappointing. A couple of times, I have written previously about how I was really proud of athletes in the Olympics, specifically Michael Phelps, but there was one guy that I am beaming over even more. Matthew Mitcham is an Australian diver that took the gold in his event; even though it was highly favored to go to the Chinese (as all 7 other medals in diving did). One small thing… he’s gay! He was actually the only out gay male athlete to win a medal at the Olympics, and it was not only an upset victory, but he took home gold! After his medal ceremony, he ran up to the stands to embrace his mother and his partner. It’s great that the gay community can embrace another positive role model; an Olympic champion! Woo hoo! Make sure to check out the video of his performance and his medal ceremony, which apparently caused some controversy, because it wasn’t broadcast in full, and which is posted below:


Inspirational, to say the least!

Next, this harrowing revelation that HIV infection rates continue to not only soar, but that they are soaring at an even higher rate in New York City. We are more than 25 years into this disease; when are people going to take testing, safe sex, and prevention more seriously? I know that it is hard to do, but it is clear that people are ignoring something, because the increase in HIV rates cannot be described by “mistake” alone… get tested, and be safe people! YOUR LIFE depends on it!

This makes me feel so ill, that I want to violently puke. Seriously. Such a raping of human rights is disgusting, and should not be tolerated; especially in a country that we are currently occupying!!! What are we doing America? If we really want to make things better for the people of Iraq (which is continually touted as our mission), why not ALL Iraqi people?? Do the gay ones just not matter to us? It disgusts me that gay people are being treated so horribly, and being hunted in Iraq. Why can’t we offer them asylum? Why can’t we offer them protection? What are we even doing to help them? We have GOT to do something; these are freaking human beings, and they clearly have been put into a worse situation because of our actions. I can’t believe that things like this are allowed to happen; it really, REALLY lowers my faith in humanity. I will never understand how people can, a) be so cruel to their own people, and b) why we can’t do something to stop it if we are already there, ESPECIALLY since the situation they are in is a direct result of our military actions in Iraq? It’s not just gay people either, but they are actively being hunted… and it’s wrong! It just makes me shake my head, and hope that those gay people facing this “hunt” are lucky enough to get out with their lives intact. I will never ever understand religious fanaticism; it always seems to do way more harm than good.

Finally, a great piece of graffiti. Damn, sometimes, you just have to reflect, and feel good about the things that are going right in life; things could be worse.

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new york city: the trip, the story, the post that follows

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As I mentioned in my previous two posts, we went to NYC for a little vacation, and despite a horrible 10+ hour delay in LaGuardia, we are back. Fun was had, sweat was shed, feet were hurt, subways were ridden, food was eaten, money was spent, and all of that made for some great stories and good times. I have decided to give you a list of the highlights of the trip, so here we go:

downtown

  • I got engaged. James proposed to me on the top of the 30 Rockefeller building, also known as the “Top of the Rock”. It was amazing being up there, and seeing all of NYC, and then being surprised by a beautiful ring (which I picked out), from a beautiful man. I don’t know when the date is going to be set, but I need to ask him in return, so I need to come up with something as romantic as his proposal (which was uber sweet).
  • When I say above that sweat was shed, I meant it. NYC is fucking HOT in the summer. Top all that heat off with the lack of A/C in a lot of places meant that I took no less than 3 showers a day, and changed clothes at least 2 times as well. All in all, we started to acclimate by the end, but that was pretty much pointless, as we were headed back to ATL at that point. I would like to go back to NYC in the fall next time; I have only ever been when it is scorching hot, or freezing cold… I would like to see it during a happy medium.
  • When we got to our hotel, I committed a bit of a gay snafu, if you will. Upon arrival, we checked in at the desk, and I needed to ask the clerk something, so I addressed her by name; or so I thought. Her name was Liza, and I thought, “it can’t be pronounced Lie-za, it just can’t be”, so I called her Lee-za. The best part, was that she corrected me by saying, “no no, honey. It’s Liza. With a Z.” Needless to say, we got a big laugh out of that one, even though I probably lost a few gay points for not knowing the correct way to pronounce Liza.
  • As a result this trip, I’ve pretty much given James and ultimatum; the beard has got to go back down to a van dyke. The reason being, that while we were in NYC, almost every place we went, people asked us if we were twins. Now let that sink in for just a second; not just brothers, but twins!?! I know that we are both guys with beards, but seriously, twins?? I don’t see it. Either way, I don’t want to look just like my lover, so I want him back in the goatee ASAP, so we can curb this “brother” nonsense.
  • We saw two shows while in NYC: Legally Blonde the Musical, and RENT. First of all, Legally Blonde was AMAZING. It met and greatly exceeded my expectations. I saw it on MTV last fall when they broadcast a performance of the show, and when I found out that Laura Bell Bundy was still in the show on Broadway, I HAD to see it. SHE. WAS. AMAZING. If you like the movie, you owe it to yourself to see the musical; it is just as fun, and the songs are delightful. I am so happy I got to see this show with the original cast. Also, we saw RENT, which I have loved for many, many years, but I had never seen on Broadway. As with all traveling shows, they just don’t compare to the Broadway version, and as such, I had to see RENT before it ends on September 7th. RENT was one of the first musicals that I got into, and it was great to see it on Broadway. It too, was excellent.
  • As I mentioned before, walking around really was painful on the old feet. I realized that I need to get back in shape, and I am committed to doing so; especially after suffering during the trip. I hope that I can make a permanent foray back into working out regularly; and if anything good comes out of our trip, that would definitely be a great one.
  • While there, I got to hang with one of my best friends, Steve Yockey, which was awesome. I also got to meet a fellow flickr friend, Michael, for the first time, who accompanied us to a sunny afternoon on the pier, followed by dinner. I wish I could have spent more time with each of them, but time didn’t permit.
  • Overall, the trip was awesome. John was great, and a lot of fun to hang out with. We got to see pretty much everything we wanted to, and felt like we saw it all (even though we really didn’t). It was awesome seeing such spots as the Stonewall Inn and the Brooklyn Bridge, and took a lot of pictures (expect them to trickle onto flickr in the coming days!). I had a lot of fun in NYC, but I am so glad to be home; it was a great vacation, however, I need a vacation because my vacation tired me out so much! Oh well, that’s how it happens, right?

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I want to be a part of it…

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New York

New York!!!!

James, John, and I are heading to the Big Apple for a fun filled 5 days. Lookout New York, we are coming for ya!!

If you can do simple math, you should have figured out that this means I will be OOT on Friday, and as such, there will be NO FIVE SONG FRIDAY this week. I know you are sad, but look back over the glorious five song Fridays of the past, and reminisce. They will commence next week, however, so you don’t have to worry too much my dears!!!

Here’s hoping we have a great vacation, and get to take lots of pictures, and that it isn’t toooooo hot. I can’t wait!