All & Only

[A Washington Post reader] complained about the photo: “That...

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:43:00 -0800

[A Washington Post reader] complained about the photo: “That kind of stuff makes normal people want to throw up. People have kids who are being exposed to this crap. I will be glad when your rag goes out of business. Real men marry women.”

Real change, folks. Real change.

In other news: You make me fucking sick.

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:44:15 -0800

In other news:
You make me fucking sick.

Study: over 50 percent of LGBT youth regularly cyberbullied

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:38:16 -0800

Study: over 50 percent of LGBT youth regularly cyberbullied:

An Iowa State University survey found over 50 percent of LGBT and allied youth are victims of regular cyberbullying.

In the online survey of 444 junior high, high school and college students between the ages of 11 and 22 — including 350 self-identified non-heterosexual subjects — 54 percent of the LGBT and allied youth reported being victims of cyberbullying in the 30 days prior to the survey. Cyberbullying includes attacks such as electronic distribution of humiliating photos, dissemination of false or private information, or targeting victims in cruel online polls.

Even more alarming:

Among the non-heterosexual respondents, 45 percent reported feeling depressed as a result of being cyberbullied, 38 percent felt embarrassed, and 28 percent felt anxious about attending school. More than a quarter (26 percent) had suicidal thoughts.

The Internet is like the new playground, far from the watchful eye of teachers and out of the grip of discipline. There is a level of anonymity and unaccountability. It’s easy to say whatever comes to mind when you’re behind the keyboard: close the browser and it’s almost like it never happened. Guilt free.

Unfortunately, because of the very nature of the Internet, cyberbullying is here to stay. There needs to be a focus — especially in early childhood education — on acceptance and dealing with cyberbullying, and the LGBT community especially needs to build and publicize resources on handling, reporting, combating, and recovering from cyberbullying situations.

Origami paper fortune tellers: twisting destiny between our fingers. Holding hands against a chain...

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:41:55 -0800

Origami paper fortune tellers: twisting destiny between our fingers. Holding hands against a chain link fence. I’m always out; you’re always in. Skinned knees and butterfly stitches: fly away and live with the clouds. Race the sun against a clear blue sky. Winner gets Venus, loser gets Mars. Either way, we’re among the stars. Passed notes in the back of class. Mark Y or N and send it back. Living lives dangerous as dangerous could seem. Secret stolen kisses while our friends flew tattered kites. Thirty seconds seemed like the rest of your life. Call it love or luck or just bad timing. Whatever you call it, make sure you mean it.

Oh GOD. I’m a creep.

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:58:49 -0800

Oh GOD. I’m a creep.

You know how sometimes it just works? You throw all your words at the page and somehow they stick...

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:00:01 -0800

You know how sometimes it just works? You throw all your words at the page and somehow they stick right? You boil down what every single cell in your body was feeling into one paragraph, and read over it and think — God Damn. It feels so right; it makes so much sense. And there’s a twinge of that, “why haven’t I thought of this before?” but it’s mostly, “I finally got it.” I’m there right now.

And God Damn.

“Brick.” I forgot how hard this movie kills.

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 16:51:22 -0800

“Brick.”

I forgot how hard this movie kills.

Let’s stop being afraid of love.

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 23:12:37 -0800

Let’s stop being afraid of love.

"When I was a boy, we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders, but the present youth are..."

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:00:47 -0800

“When I was a boy, we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise and impatient of restraint.”

- Hesiod, circa 800 BC. Proof the “good ol’ days” never existed.

"You’re going to meet the most extraordinary men, the sexiest, brightest, funniest men, and..."

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:15:32 -0800

“You’re going to meet the most extraordinary men, the sexiest, brightest, funniest men, and you’re going to fall in love with so many of them, and you won’t know until the end of your life who your greatest friends were or your greatest love was.”

- Harvey Milk, “Milk.”

Note(s) to Self: It’s really not that important. Make the...

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 23:11:37 -0800

Note(s) to Self:

It’s really not that important.

Make the most of this.

They love and miss you as you love and miss them.

Be proud of her, she’s breaking out of her shell.

Learning humility is one of life’s gifts.

Let go of that which you cannot change.

It’s going to be all right.

Disconnect to reconnect.

Thinking about Saturday night movies and beer — maybe “Star Wars” because...

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:55:13 -0800

Thinking about Saturday night movies and beer — maybe “Star Wars” because I’m flying (Han) Solo. Maybe eat a couple boxes of Girl Scout cookies and write myself into a corner trying to write myself back to you. It really was a swell day in Portland.

This doesn’t make much sense (but it never really does). Said I was taking a drive to get...

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:52:20 -0800

This doesn’t make much sense (but it never really does). Said I was taking a drive to get some fresh air, but I left the windows up the whole drive. Dead silence — the kind of silence that screams at you. We are shadows of who we were. Or maybe it’s the other way around. Identify the mistakes you made in the past so you know what you’re doing when you make them again. And again. And again. Kick yourself harder the second time. Even harder the third. “Shame on you if you fool me once—” But really the shame is all mine. No one is “different” — it’s all the same problems recycled and re-imagined as something new. I don’t think I fit in with this. This doesn’t feel comfortable anymore. It’s plastic and projected. It’s fake — as fake as anything else was. It’s funny how in a single click, a single twitch of a muscle, and this will all be gone. Deleted. Like it never even existed in the first place. Not even ashes or dust (and sure as hell not memories) would remain. Done forever. People treat the tiniest things like the end of the world. Yes, poor you. Poor, poor, pitiful you. Look at what is going on in the world. Take stock in it. Realize that you are a part of THIS — not a mere cog in a machine, but an actual part. You have an effect. Realize that just by putting your hands on a keyboard every night, you are more privileged than 75 percent of the world. Now do something.

“Telephone/Dance in the Dark Medley (Live)” - Lady...

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:14:17 -0800

“Telephone/Dance in the Dark Medley (Live)” - Lady Gaga (from the 2010 Brit Awards).

I know it’s en vogue to love her, en vogue to hate her, en vogue to be anywhere but in between. Look, I know some people don’t like her style of music or her fashion choices or the boundaries she pushes or whatever. But anyone who watches this, or watches most any Lady Gaga performance, and says that she is not an artist or (at the very least) a good performer, they’re lying. Simple as that. This woman has got it.

"It’s better to be single than wish you were."

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 12:21:58 -0800

“It’s better to be single than wish you were.”

- Eileen.

I don’t much feel like working. Anyone else? The world needs to take the day off.

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:25:19 -0800

I don’t much feel like working. Anyone else? The world needs to take the day off.

Happy Valentine’s Day, ya’ll. (via sherylina,...

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:06:11 -0800

Happy Valentine’s Day, ya’ll.

(via sherylina, nedhepburn, et al.)

Have no shame. Dance it out, ladies and gents.

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:20:07 -0800

Have no shame. Dance it out, ladies and gents.

Writing. I am so out of practice it’s scary. New things coming your way soon(er or later).

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:46:31 -0800

Writing.
I am so out of practice it’s scary.
New things coming your way soon(er or later).

So much to do, so much to say — so much that’s never said at all. Real update coming for...

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:19:49 -0800

So much to do, so much to say — so much that’s never said at all.
Real update coming for those who bother to tune in.

It’s good to be back in Portland.