One Love ...
I grew up near the ocean, in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York City. I loved it, the boardwalk, the penny arcade, even the jelly fish down my bathing suit and the sand in my food. Oh I miss skeeball! Eventually, we even had a subway to Manhattan. What more could a kid ask for? No matter where I dwell, NYC is home forever in my heart and soul.Politics in Art and NewsOur mainstream media have become so tabloid in nature, that they obsess on matters such as whether Obama and Hillary Clinton purposely wore matching outfits last Friday in New Hampshire, and of course on whether Angelina Jolie has actually given birth yet. There are still dedicated and courageous investigative journalists, but it takes a great deal of effort to find their stories. As a result, we the people of the USA, the most information "rich" country on the planet, are among the most ill informed among "developed" cultures (I hate the word "developed"). It's more than a humane issue; what's happening around the globe impacts us economically and in terms of our national security as well. The video below offers a brief and partial glimpse into the troubles in Africa, an entire continent in great danger of dying-literally and figeratively. It's called, "Bleeding Africa":But with all of the suffering, still they sing! Here is Nakotia motema:
Note to parents and everyone else: The Lesbian Mafia podcasts played here are rated R/X!(Yea!)
code for podomatic:
object width="320" height="315"
Click here to get your own player.
Living:Prof. Mary Daly has long been one of my (s)heros. Earning three doctorates, in the fields of Philosophy and Theology back in the 1950's, at a time when any woman would have struggled to come close to such an achievement, is reason alone for my admiration. But her challenging and (imo) brilliant books including, "Beyond God the Father", "Gynecology" and "Outercourse", plus her truly radical actions as a professor (e.g. refusing to admit men into some of her classes, one of the first to argue what was later supported by research, that women learned more effectively in the absence of male students), has placed her high on my list of historic academics and activist women. Agree with her or not, I believe Daly has earned an important place in herstory, and I'd be honored and thrilled to sit and talk with her about any of her multiple theories and views.Not Living:I may be overstating the case, I admit it, but had he lived, Harvey Milk, a San Francisco politician and gay activist, murdered along with Mayor William Mosconi in 1978, may have been as close to the type of leader as were Martin Luther King Jr and Gloria Steinem that lesbian and gay activists never have had. His courage and eloquence made him known and admired well beyond San Francisco, and his murder led to rage well beyond its borders as well. Known as "the Mayor of Castro Street", I would have liked to have met Harvey, not only to talk about movement strategy, but to thank him for helping a then young and fairly newly "out" lesbian gain far more courage than I might otherwise have.News of NoteFor those of us who admire him greatly, with his flaws and past sins, news of Ted Kennedy's brain tumor was sad news indeed. He is one of the last of the great, prolific genuine liberal members of the US Senate, and it's hard to imagine who would/could ever replace him. I'd like to add a wish here for his speedy recovery and return to the Senate, but his future is in in grave doubt, and it's a painful turn of events for the many whose issues he has championed for years. Mostly for the sake of his family and close friends, I do hope he has more well spent time ahead of him than some "experts" have suggested.Political Menace of the Month:Women's Obsession with Thinness and Media Advertising (with Jean Kilbourne)The video speaks for itselfThe Laughing Feature:Comic Paula Poundstone offers her unique and (in my opinion of course) hilarious take on all the "little" episodes that add up to our culture:Animal Rights/Rescue Section
HSUS MySpace Page | Stop Puppy Mills Website
Several very bright culture watchers have, since his shockingly unexpected death, have placed George Carlin in the "Pantehon" of modern comics/social observers: Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor and Carlin. I agree. As a lover of language, I'll always bow to his brilliance and influence on that cultural issue. He had the three qualities that, to me, make an historical comic/social commentator: he was hysterically funny, incredibly intellectual and most of all fearless. R.I.P. George Carlin, and thank you.
Popular and Classical Culture Section: My Recommendations for Your Pleasure, Displeasure, Acceptance or RejectionAs I introduce my popular and classical culture section, there is one performer I have to give a "shout out" to. I am mad about movies, always have been, and love so many actors. But there's something about Mary (Louise-Parker). I don't have words to describe what "it" is, but when Ms. Parker is on screen, movies or television, I am simply in a trance, always moved (to laughter, tears or both), and constantly amazed. For me, she stands apart from the rest. If you haven't seen her in the genious dark comedy "Weeds" on Showtime, find a way to do so! Oh yeah-and see all of her movies too. ALL of them!I'm bringing back a video I posted some months ago. The artist, Neil Young, has been among my favorites since he and I were young 20-somethings. Young, recently overcoming brain surgery to fix a life threatening condition, continues to write some of the most beautiful songs/poetry expressing a call for a humanity of equality and beauty. He and I are both a lot older and "paunchier" now, but his gifts have diminished not one bit; nor has my deep love of his songs. The video below is of Young performing a song that to me remains among his best, and most significant to me, one that still makes me cry (on its own merits and because of specific memories it evokes in me-isn't music just like that?) The haunting "Harvest Moon": Find all the women artists, lesbian & not lesbian singers, comedians and others at the best online source available: Ladyslipper Music Online Catalog & Resource Guide
Christopher Guest's (Director, Writer, Actor and Musical Genius) series of "Mockumentaries" began with the now classic film, "This is Spinal Tap", in which Neophyte Director Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner) presents this "Rockumentary" showcasing the North American tour of aging rockers Spïnal Tap. Several "send ups" have followed, including "A Mighty Wind", (the folk scene of the 1960's), and the latest, "For Your Consideration", a typically Guest scathing (but not mean) send up of Hollywood. But, as hard as it is for me to pick a favorite, I have to go with "Best in Show." If you see no other movie in Guest's top of the line send up movies, this is the one I recommend. There are degrees of improvisational comic genius (in the context of serious, meticulous movie making) ), and my less than critical knowledge leads me to offer all I have to urge you to see this film, "Best in Show": my laugh meter. I laugh at every offering in Guest's series of wonders, but I laugh the loudest and most often, in wonder of the creation before me, ingenious satire of blue blood dog show people.The show people, characters you must get to know on your own to appreciate, along with other characters in the film, are portrayed by many in Guest's usual ensemble in these films, among the best in improvisational comic actors in the business (imho): Parker Posey, Michael Hithcock, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Michael McKean, John Michael Higgins, Ed Begley Jr., Jane Lynch, Jennifer Cooidge, Larry Miller, Guest himself and perhaps the master of them all, Fred Willard. It's my recommendation for this month (week?) because I truly and deeply (and madly) believe this award winning (and multi-nominated) film will not disappoint.Clips from "Best in Show" (written by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy, directed by Christopher Guest):
"The fourth season of Emmy award-winning 'Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List' is jam-packed with Griffin performing stand-up at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C., opening the Oprah-inspired Kathy Griffin Leadership Academy in Mexico, hosting Air New Zealand's Pink Flight from San Francisco to Sydney, ministering a wedding in Queens, and frolicking with Britney Spears' boy toy Adnan Ghalib. And that's just the beginning of this season's fantastic D-list adventures." (BravoTV.com)I adore this show mostly because I adore Kathy Griffin's humor and overall personal demeanor; I also love the way she treats her staff, "Team Griffin", in such a non "A-List" way, and finally how loyal she is to "her gays" who are so very loyal to her. Congratulations to Kathy on winning this year's GLAAD award for best "Reality" show!A sampling from the fourth and latest season of this critically acclaimed "reality" show:
Recommended Book: "Beloved" by Toni Morrison"When slavery has torn apart one's heritage, when the past is more real than the present, when the rage of a dead baby can literally rock a house, then the traditional novel is no longer an adequate instrument. And so Pulitzer Prize-winner 'Beloved' is written in bits and images, smashed like a mirror on the floor and left for the reader to put together. In a novel that is hypnotic, beautiful, and elusive, Toni Morrison portrays the lives of Sethe, an escaped slave and mother, and those around her. There is Sixo, who "stopped speaking English because there was no future in it," and .... Baby Suggs, who makes her living with her heart because slavery 'had busted her legs, back, head, eyes, hands, kidneys, womb and tongue;' and Paul D, a man with a rusted metal box for a heart and a presence that allows women to cry. At the center is Sethe, whose story makes us think and think again about what we mean when we say we love our children or freedom. The stories circle, swim dreamily to the surface, and are suddenly clear and horrifying. Because of the extraordinary, experimental style as well as the intensity of the subject matter, what we learn from them touches at a level deeper than understanding." (Review by Erica Bauermeister: From 500 Great Books by Women.)Try as I might, I could not find words more eloquent than those of Erica Bauermeister to say why I recommend "Beloved" to any of you who've not yet read it. It, like all great literature, makes tough demands on the reader; but those demands, and the journey on which Morrison takes one are so worth it. Make some space and time and read this book! I believe I understood far more about what slavery did to Africans in this country from Morrison's novel than from any non-fiction account I've read.
My beloved Giants! What a game, and how sweet the ending!
Molly Ivins"So keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin' ass and celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was."Carrie Haggart, founder, owner, operator, primary care giver and guardian angel of Out to Pasture Farm & Rescue, Inc.Since she was a child, Carrie had a dream-to create a safe, healing space for sick, physically challenged, elderly and generly unwanted animals-an "orphanage" she called it. Well, with the help of her amazing husband Kevin, Carrie has turned that dream into an amazing facility that now is home to almost 100 dogs, cats, horses, sheep, goats and birds. All her charges came to her in one painful, horrid state or another. A visit to OTP reveals what Carrie's years of dedication, 18 hour days, volunteers and donors have accomplished: pain free, loving animals, who only want some love and care in return. She has truly become one of my greatest (s)heroes!My best friend is one of my sheroes. She's shown tenacity, determination and a "can do" attitude against often mega odds. She's also one of those people who brightens your spirits as soon as she walks into a room. She inspires me, makes me think and laugh a lot, and reminds me to "zip it" when I complain about petty problems. Mostly she loves me no matter what, as I do her.
The first people who dared to fight for decent working conditions and wages, many of them immigrant teenagers and pre-teens. Many were killed, seriously hurt, jailed and/or fired. But they were not afraid of the government or its police, the bosses, or any other danger they faced. They were among those people willing to put it all on the line, and at the turn of the 20th century sowed the seeds for the US Labor Movement. Sadly, it seems the sacrifices of labor/union activists are being lost in the erosion of workers' rights here and around the globe. We must get in the fight again, to honor the ones before us and to make work justly paid for and honored again for working people. And btw, if you don't like unions, inform yourself on what it's like to work without and with one around. I only know my own work experience, and I thank my union every single day!Mr. Ludwig Von B. is a hero of mine. Do I really need to explain why? To hear that glorious music in one's head, but not outside of it, and write it anyway? Heroic indeed and in deed. And what music!Helen Keller (And her teacher, Annie Sullivan), are sheroes of mine. Ms. Keller suggests why far more eloquently in her own words than I ever could: "Miss Keller, is there anything that could have been worse
than losing your sight?" Helen Keller replied: "Yes, I could have lost my vision."
The people who carried out the Montgomery, AL bus boycott are all (s)heroes to me. We sometimes find it hard to devote one day to a protest of some sort. These people stuck to their guns for 14 months! Not a single one broke the boycott, and their courage and determination helped begin to break the back of legal segregation and Jim Crow.
Harry Hay is one of my great heroes. In the 1950's, in the midst of the McCarthy era and "red scare", Hay was not only openly affiliated with the US Communist Party, but he started the first Gay Rights organization, the Mattachine Society. Words cannot express my gratitude or admiration for Mr. Hay, and what his and his colleagues' courage meant to my life.
"Harriet Tubman's life was a monument to courage and determination that continues to stand out in American history. Born into slavery in Maryland, Harriet Tubman freed herself, and played a major role in freeing the remaining millions. After the Civil War, she joined her family in Auburn, NY, where she founded the Harriet Tubman Home." (from http://www.nyhistory.com/harriettubman/life.html)
April 30, 2007 was the ten year anniversary of the "Coming Out" episode of the former "Ellen" show. To me, that episode and the season devoted to Ellen's character's not so smooth entry into "Lesbianworld" was one of the most courageous acts by an entertainer I've seen in my life. Ellen Degeneres suffered painful blowback professionally, and other serious flack. But she blazed the trail. Heroic? You bet! It's so great to see her back on top again!
Dr. Bernard Kouchner, founder of Doctors without Borders (Médecins sans Frontières).
"Since its foundation in the early 1970's, Doctors Without Borders has adhered to the fundamental principle that all disaster victims, whether the disaster is natural or human in origin, have a right to professional assistance given as quickly and as efficiently as possible," the committee said. (Statement made in awarding the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins sans Frontières.) These doctors go to the harshest places on earth, "simply" because they believe helping people is the right thing to do. That, to me, is heroic.Anne Frank. If you've read her diary, you find a child, really, who found hope and goodness in people in the most utterly hopeless and barbaric of times. That to me is beyond an heroic legacy to leave.The refugees of Darfur, and those all over the world, who despite the most horrific suffering that life can heap upon them, continue to will themselves to survive. They all make me ashamed when I think about how I whine when I am deprived of some small comfort for even a short period of time. These brave souls, victims of violent and/or corrupt people and events, refuse to give up on living, no matter how deep the physical and emotional pain. They are heroes for the ages.As a woman who became a professor, Mary Daly has long been one of my (s)heroes. Her accomplishments in the 1950's (a doctorate in philosophy and a second doctore in theology were just about unheard of. But it's the sum total of Prof. Daly's radical (in the truest sense of the word) writings, and courageous, brilliant stands about teaching which eventually forced her to resign, have impacted modest little profs like me for generations. Brilliant, courageous, determined and principled-that adds up to heroic to me."Supporting Women's Music Since 1975"..goldenrodmusic