Friday, October 28. 2005
George Takei, the actor best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu in the original Star Trek TV series and six feature films, has publicly come out to the press.
The nearly 70 year old Japanese American actor told the publication Frontiers that he has a partner named Brad and they have been together for 18 years. "I've been 'open,' but I have not talked to the press."
Takei said in the interview "It's not really coming out, which suggests opening a door and stepping through. It's more like a long, long walk through what began as a narrow corridor that starts to widen.
In the article Takei also discussed growing up in interment camps in the USA during World War II saying that he "used to begin school every morning pledging allegiance to the flag, and I could see the barbed-wire fence out there, and the guard towers, saying, 'With liberty and justice for all,' without being aware of the irony of those words.
Reading how he felt ashamed of being Japanese American and how his teacher in the interment camp would call him "Jap boy" makes this writer wonder if we will ever learn to stop persecuting. Whether skin color, nation origin, sexuality or other reasons, each generation seems to forget the lessons leraned or can't apply the idea of civil rights for one group to all people and simply rationalizes the persecution as either necessary or not really persecution (usually on relgious grounds).
Sources: After Elton Wikipedia
Tuesday, October 25. 2005
On the heels of BigMouth, I'm posting a little something about an article called “The Arts Administration” that was printed in the New York Times' Arts and Leisure section on Sunday, November 23rd, 2005. It's a letter I wrote to the paper when I was just a tad angry at their attempt to pass off campaign marketing as news.
Oh, and no, this doesn't represent the political opinions of Big Queer, but since the art world is pretty queer, I figured I'd share the letter here with you all.
Enjoy...
It’s one thing for your paper to endorse a candidate in its Op-Ed section, but quite another to use a front-page story in the Arts section as a campaign ad. Jennifer Steinhauer’s piece that will appear in the Sunday, October 23rd Arts Section of The New York Times is a blatant endorsement of Mayor Bloomberg’s reelection campaign.
Continue reading "Bloomberg Is The Greatest Supporter of the Arts?"
Monday, October 24. 2005
The following post expresses the personal political analysis and views of BigMouth, and should not be mistaken for the views of the entire Big Queer community of contributors.
I hope none of Big Queer's readers get too peeved, but I'm going to get a little New York City-centric today. We've got a mayoral election coming up that should concern all gay people, because it involves one of those so-called liberal Republicans. The one's that are "practically" Democrats, until a political career is at stake and it's time to throw some hate and heat toward the queers and watch them roast. Wolves in sheep's in wolf's clothing these people; or in the case of California: wolf-inators.
On October 14, 2005, the Empire State Pride Agenda bucked the trend of other so-called left wing and Democratic organizations, denied Mayor Bloomberg an endorsement, and endorsed Democratic candidate Fernando Ferrer. Thank the frigging gay gods! Have we already forgotten that on the same day Mayor Mike said that he supported gay marriage in the state of New York, he also appealed a court decision that would have allowed same-sex couples to get married? The man can speak out of both sides of his mouth at the same time. Even the magical press-spinning wunderkind in the White House hasn't managed that one yet.
Continue reading "Don't Buy Robber Baron Bloomberg"
Tuesday, October 18. 2005
I love Jason Mraz. I love love love Jason Mraz. There, I said it. Now, can we all just give him some more attention, please!?
I was trying to get some friends to go with me to his concert here in New York yesterday and I was baffled to realize that almost all of them don't seem to know who the heck he is. True, Mraz's music might be very poppy, and I suppose these friends of mine tend me to be a little more "mature."
But then, he's oh, so adorable.
I am not going to talk about his music here, if you want, you can easily find out all about his music everywhere. His music is easy listening, really poppy and commercial, but Mraz has such a cheery and positive character. He was the geek in school and now he calls himself a geek. He wore a pink t-shirt with the word "GEEK" in the concert the other night (well, that happens to be a concert merchandise too), where he was making silly geeky jokes and gestures all night. He is not afraid to say that he have experimented with boys when he was young. He claims to have a bisexually open mind, and if a right man came along, "then sure," he said. Now could you imagine Ricky saying that?
I adore him for being so true to who he is and he is not afraid to be something he is. People love him, because he is real. He is a geek, so big deal, he embraces it and enjoys playing with his geekiness. And I know he is not gay, but I will still be his boyfriend.
Happy Coming Out Month!
If you're gonna be anal, you gotta deal with shit. Anal sex requires prep time and let's face it haven't we ALL had embarrassing excretions during anal sex? Well, not ALL of us, but most gay men and I bet many lesbians and straighfolk have as well.
So here are some tips based on my personal experience. Keep in mind I'm not really an expert, just pretending to be one:
The basic cleansing system for butts is the anal douche (aka, enemas). These are excellent for getting the job done fast and easy. You can buy enemas at the drug store in the laxative section. Just follow the instructions on the box. The only thing is, you need some privacy to use one, and a place to lie down, prostrate, with your ass in the air or on your side. It's a good time to read porn and start imagining all the wonderful things that will happen inside your butt once you've cleaned it out.
Continue reading "Tips for Clogged Pipes"
Monday, October 10. 2005
Tomorrow is National Coming Out Day in the USA. While coming out can be seen as an ongoing process and not a one-day event it is a day that commemorates our being true to ourselves. And, if you haven't done it yet, or if you are still hoping to come out someday, tomorrow is an excellent reason to push yourself and get the hell out of your closet.
At a time when the Catholic church is planning to ban gay men from becoming priests, and many in the gay community overtly express their disdain for and/or reconsider their relationship with the Church, I have a rather inspiring story about the Church and coming out to share. It is part of my coming out story.
My parents could be considered to be rather typical and traditional Chinese parents (Oh and BTW, they are both devoted Catholics), and not surprising they weren't a bit supportive of my coming out. In fact that's a big of an understatement, they told me to die! Horrible, isn't it? Well as shocking as it might sound I know it wasn't an entirely uncommon reaction and I actually understood their harsh reaction and I chose to forgive them. They were in shock and I knew it. My dad even commented that that he would prefer me to be a druggie over a fag. (Do think about this for a second. Druggie vs. Fags.) My Dad then began sending me excerpts from the Bible, including the infamous Leviticus quote, "If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them." (Leviticus 20:13) FYI, my dad only converted to Catholicism a few years ago, while I was born Catholic and bought up Catholic. I was repulsed by his selective use of the texts, I threatened him that he would become a fundamentalist if he continued.
Continue reading "Coming Out and the Catholic Church"
Wednesday, October 5. 2005
So the pope is hunting down gay priests to stop molestation in the church instead of hunting down priests who are already known molesters, and the crystal methamphetamine problem is spiking the rate of new HIV infection, and gay people in developing nations (and here, too) are suffering unconscionable atrocities... ...and I'm going to write about closeted people? Isn't that over? That's what I think. Yes, it is. Or should be. But if it is over then why are there so many damn closeted people in North America. And why are they always up in my face? I realize I sound a little ridiculous right now, but I hate closeted people. And I'm very mean to them, especially the white ones. I came out to my friends and sisters when I was in high school, then to my parents as a Freshman in college. After being disowned and nearly homeless for three months, I started a long negotiation with my mom and dad about what it means for me to be a gay, Filipino-American man in our family. My boyfriend's parents performed an exorcism. One of my high school friends was beat up and hospitalized by his uncle. All three of us are children of immigrants and people of color, so we didn't even have the luxury of parents who had lived through the '60's and '70's in America. So if we can do it, why the hell can't all of you?
Continue reading "I'm so MEAN to closeted people"
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