...And The Winners Will Be...

It's the annual high point in many gay European men's year tonight, the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest. I'm staying away from those parties because I don't like the music one bit and everything gets a bit over-the-top and "gala" for me to feel happy and comfortable.

If there was any justice whatsoever in the world this song would be allowed to compete again this year and would win this time around (mostly because of the song but a little because of the cute guitarist and, to be quite honest, the singer/composer too).


...but as I am not expecting miracles in this unfair and unjust world, my second favorite for winning tonight is this one.

I want the Russians and the other homophobes and transphobes out there to get a wake-up call and have their bigotry rubbed in their faces, so I will vote for it ten times although I don't like the song that much.

EXCLUSIVE: Interviews with Outgoing and Incoming Leads of Gay Archipelago

Yesterday, while I was taking it easy and dancing bareassed with my husband - and several other hotties - at the Boystown Beach Party with DJ Ryder Bowman, all hell broke loose as the Gay SecondLife metaverse reverberated with the news that Gay Archipelago, or "the other organisation" as it was once upon a time referred to at Second Pride meetings, had gotten a new lead.

Ricogenu Resident (right) with his partner Avacar Bluestar at the
GA Estate Owners Meeting yesterday prior to the announcement

ricogenu Resident had just been named by the GA Discovery Committee to succeed in the position as lead of Gay Archipelago being vacated by Garth Raleigh-Underby next week.

What is an avatar blogger supposed to do when he is thus caught by surprise without any pants? As your intrepid reporter I called my two friends in Instant Message to get exclusive interviews with them both. (I did most certainly not inform either of them that I was conducting the interviews in the buff.)

First off I called Garth Raleigh-Underby, the outgoing lead
Bock: Hello my dear friend! What is this news I just got?
Garth: Hi, Bock dear! :)
Bock: Have you stepped down as lead for GA?
Garth Raleigh: Actually, I did that about a month ago when I informed the Owners group that I was retiring. A Discovery Team was created to vett and interview prospective candidates prior to my official last day (February 13th). Today was the announcement at the GA Owners Gathering. Now I work with the incoming Lead, Rico (ricogenu) on transitional issues and continue to advise him.
Bock: He is a nice guy too, although I do not know him as well as I know you.
Garth You will have many chances to know him better as he wades into the deep end of the pool, so to speak. lol
Bock: LOL
Garth: As for me... I have already started taking classes on Firestorm viewer issues and am slated to begin classes on building/creating with sculpties and mesh. Things I have not had time to do for myself. And I can spend more time with friends and with Mitch. It is our 1 year anniversary today, btw. :)
Bock: OMG congratulations!
Garth: Also, Othon retired as PR/Publicity lead for the GA. The new PR/Publicity Lead is Parvin (xcept.atlas).
Bock: Big changes on important positions
Garth: Change... is essential. Without change groups like the GA become stagnant and unable to move ahead. I wanted to make sure the organization remains vital and full of fresh new ideas and ways of doing things. Now I move out of the spotlight, it was getting a bit toasty under there. LOL

Bock: I am happy for you though
Garth: This means I can come pester YOU more. LOLOL
Bock: YAY! I hope you and Mitch have saved March 8th for me and Tomais
Garth: 8th... Right, saw that on your blog, dear.
Bock: Excellent! Now you can relax and say and do whatever and tell everyone to go screw themselves - although I know you would never express it quite like that...

Next I called on Rico Resident, who according to what his partner Avacar jokingly told me was attempting to "bury a hole". 

Bock: Congratulations buddy! Best of luck with your important mission

ricogenu: Thanks Bock

Bock: I assume you are busy so I will not pester you, just wanted to tell you I you I think you will be an excellent lead for GA

ricogenu: No I am good and Bock you are never a pest

Bock: Hugs mate and *fingers crossed* KICK ASS!

ricogenu: OK I will do my utmost best at it!

This is Rico’s acceptance speech at the GA Owner's meeting transcribed (quoted from the GA WeBlog:

“Hello and I thank you very much for turning up today for this announcement. I stand before you as a very humble man, ready for the challenge that awaits me, a gracious representative to the Second Life lgbt community as a whole.

Each of you play a very important part of the Gay Archipelago mission and I look forward to serving all of you both individually and collectively.

Many of you have worked with my partner in the GA over the last 3 years, and his experience along with mine are to be explored in the very near future on the GA blog.

I appreciate the diligence that the Discovery committee carried out in evaluating my qualifications to take the reins of the GA leadership and I hope to both meet & exceed your many expectations as we move forward this year.

Please bear with me as I become familiar with each estate owner and its superlatives as I hope to learn the many great talents of our overall team.

Your participation is vital to our success and along with many excellent and acclaimed accomplishments for the GA under Garth and his team, we aim to carry that same momentum into all future endeavors that benefit our membership.

Thanks again for your commitment and dedication to the Gay Archipelago.
Sincerely yours, Ricogenu.”

Surprise, Surprise!

October 11 is the yearly celebrated National Coming Out Day. The day is observed internationally although it once started in the U.S.A.

I am celebrating the day by once again coming out to you ya'll and confessing with pride that I am indeed gay.

Now, it's your turn, surprise me in the comments!

Second Pride Renewed

We have had a couple of truly devastating months in those parts of the gay community in SecondLife that are affiliated to the Second Pride group.

The ugly election campaign and its even uglier aftermath, with the - hopefully - final manifestation when the two resigning directors removed all the landscaping and buildings on the Second Pride sim, leaving the nonprofit organizations and Second Pride itself in effect homeless. The sim was left almost completely barren and desolate, thus mirroring our pride that had been shattered by the internal strife. I couldn't even bring myself to visit the Second Pride sim when I got the news that the main building had also been removed, I knew it would be an ugly sight.

At the last board meeting Jak Calcutt was appointed as interim Build Director to see to it that the sim was ready for a few upcoming events. His workload was of course increased many times when the main building was removed the day after his appointment.

After hearing that Jak had started his work, with help from others when required, I decided to make a visit to the sim today.

I was extremely happy by what I saw. There was a beautiful new main building in place and I could see that work was still being done. While I was there I was lucky enough to be joined by the builder himself. Jak explained to me that due to the urgency a readymade building had been acquired and he was now modifying it for the needs of Second Pride and the nonprofits to see to it that all had roofs over their heads as soon as possible. Additional buildings would come later and in less haste.

I did not know Jak earlier, but while I was listening to him tell me what he was doing and was going to do I felt optimism growing within me again. Much has been lost and destroyed, but we can work on together, regroup and rebuild and start looking towards the future with hope again.

Second Pride will rise again from the shameful depths to which it has been dragged and we will be able to focus on what is important for us and on our goals again. With such pleasant, dedicated and hardworking members as Jak, and many others like him, we simply cannot fail.

I am very proud that I got a new friend today and that my pride is renewed.

"Stay"

Singer and songwriter Steve Grand posted this music video on YouTube today, it's about time for happy and uncomplicated songs about gay love.

Believe it or not, but I actually had this music video lined up and scheduled for posting today, before one of my main sources of inspiration +Joe Jervis  over at J.M.G.

Well, thats another lesson in blogging, I shouldn't have waited because when I woke up after my nap, Joe had already posted it.  *sigh*

Men Only vs. Women Only

At the moment I am thinking of something there has been some brouhaha around on the SecondLife pages on Facebook, the fact that certain clubs only allow gay men. To me this issue is really not important one way or the other, but I know it is to some of my gay friends. 

The discussion made me think about the many times in first life, and in SecondLife too, where I have been told that this or that place is not open to men this evening - or ever - because there is a lesbian thing going on or it is a lesbian place and no men are ever allowed. 

I have always accepted that and never made a fuss about it or felt denigrated or shunned. 

Why is it that places, clubs, sims, whatever that only allow gay men are seen as doing something terribly wrong, while places, clubs, sims, whatever that only allow lesbians are seen as something completely natural, tolerated and highly acceptable? Sort of, "We must understand that the girls wish to be alone sometimes, otherwise they feel overpowered by all the gay loudmouths!"

I believe we should accept and respect that a specific group, in this case gay men, sometimes wish to be among their own, with no other gender or straight people (allies or not) present. Sometimes most of us don't want to mix, it's that simple.

On other occasions - and that is most of them - we as gay men love to mix with anyone who respects us, lesbians and straight allies (women and men), hell anyone who is not overtly anti-gay .

Throwing My Pink Money Around

Pink money - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

"Pink money describes the purchasing power of the gay community, often especially with respect to political donations. With the rise of the gay rights movement, pink money has gone from being a fringe or marginalized market to a thriving industry in many parts of the Western world such as the United States and United Kingdom. Many businesses now specifically cater to gay customers, including nightclubs, shops, restaurants, and even taxicabs; the demand for these services stems from commonly perceived discrimination by traditional businesses. Worldwide in 1998, pink money was valued at £350 billion ($560 billion) across a variety of sectors — especially entertainment and consumer goods. Purchasing power in 2012 in the United States is expected to increase to $790 billion.

The economic power of pink money has been seen as a positive force for the gay community, creating a kind of "financial self-identification" which helps gay and lesbian individuals feel like part of a community which values them. Indeed, upwards of 90% of gay people support businesses which target pink money, while actively shunning "anti-gay" companies. However, criticism has been leveled at businesses which target pink money from gay groups, arguing that this segregates the gay and lesbian community from society, and holds back gay rights.

It's been considered more often than not a market exclusive for USA, UK and some places in Europe, but its extension covers a large amount of Latin America and part of Asia, making its actual earns larger by year and giving marketing options some impulse and variety."

BuzzFeed - 36 Photos From Russia That Everyone Needs To See
Dan Savage - Why I'm Boycotting Russian Vodka
J.M.G. - 1. Dan Savage: Boycott Russian Vodkas and 2. REPORT: Russian Skinheads Use Social Media To Lure And Torture LGBT Teens

---

Well, whatever the pro's and con's may be, I am not going to use my gay money on products or services owned, operated or in any way associated with Russia or Russian citizens or companies until that country's government abandons it's present official homophobic stance and continues to allow and support attacks and assaults on my Russian LGBT brothers and sisters and continues to deny them their basic human rights.

It's my money and I use it as I like, I suggest you do the same.

Alan Turing May Be Posthumously Pardoned

Alan Turing, 1912-1954
"The Renaissance Man" (Courtesy of Tumblr, Strangeland)

 "Alan Turing, the Enigma codebreaker who took his own life after being convicted of gross indecency under anti-homosexuality legislation, is to be given a posthumous pardon.

The government signalled on Friday that it is prepared to support a backbench bill that would pardon Turing, who died from cyanide poisoning at the age of 41 in 1954 after he was subjected to "chemical castration"."

Read the rest of the article at guardian.co.uk; Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing to be given posthumous pardon.
...

About time!

Gay Archipelago LGBT Summer Festival 2013

From a press release by Gay Archipelago.

PRIDE & PROGRESS' - LGBT Summer Festival, 2013

JULY 4TH THROUGH JULY 14TH, 2013

The Gay Archipelago in Second Life proudly hosts the LGBT Community at the annual Summer Festival beginning July 4th and wrapping up on July 14th!

Our Festival theme this year celebrates and reflects the simple joy of individual Pride and Community Pride as well as the tremendous Progress that has been made recently, and sometimes quickly, within the arena of LGBT civil rights around the world.

On behalf of the GA Festival Team, I welcome you all to enjoy the custom-created Dream Delta festival sim and the many events we have planned during the 11 days of the celebration.  We have the some of the finest entertainment to be found in Second Life on deck for you.  You can find the complete daily calendar at  www.ga-weblog.com  any time.

Thirteen beautiful GA estates beckon to the tourist in you to see the highly-popular 'Vistas & Blossoms' multi-sim landscape and garden exposition.  Grab your cameras, get lost in jungles and explore mythical regions in the '11 most beautiful days of Summer.'  Oh, and when have completed your grade tour, feel free to cast your vote for your favorite destination at the Peoples' Choice voting station at the Program Start Point.  There's $L33,000 in awards to be made on July 14th in this friendly and fun event.

Like to build in SL?  Think you have what it takes to take home the top prize of $L10,000?  Or perhaps you would like to watch and learn new and varied  techniques of creating a build.  Its all good in this year's LGBT Sandbox Build Contest to be held Sunday, July 7th.  Entry applications are available, open and for more information contact the LGBT Sandbox Manager, Alum Dagger.  Everyone is welcome!

Stroll through the remarkable sand castle 'Market Fair' for an unsurpassed shopping experience - and pick up unique quality free items from some of your favorite SL merchants and organizations.

You are invited to tour of one of our many exhibits hosted on multiple regions; dance to your favorite DJ's as they whoop it up to celebrate LGBT Pride Season; see Role Play from the Gay Archipelago in action; or take in one of the live performances that make our calendar shine!

Come along and hang out on our beach - meet some new friends or enjoy some time with old friends and family.

Be safe.  Be Proud! Happy Summer, 2013!

Garth Raleigh

Lead, Gay Archipelago

Your transport to the festivities

For a complete calendar of events please visit Gay Archipelago Weblog

When I Had to Put My Foot Down

It is sometimes essential to draw the line, to say "this far, but not beyond", when one is dealing with a temperamental, highly talented, creative personality - an "artiste" (French pronunciation) no less as he likes to refer ti himself - like my builder/interior decorator Butch Diavolo. The two of us usually get along famously and share the same taste in many ways.

We were looking at lamps and lighting accessories today, when he suddenly spotted a huge lamp shaped like a full scale, female figurine where her gown was a lamp and told me that we "simply had to" buy it.

I inhaled deeply, while looking at the hideous thing, and then told him with my calmest, firmest and sternest voice, "No, we definitely do not!"

When my brilliant and sometimes even sublime creative advisor heard this, he threw a temper tantrum. He told me that I was impossible to please, that my taste was lacking, that I did not recognize when something was "en vogue" and that he even - here comes the worst part - sometimes wondered if I was truly gay at all, as I did not recognize the potential fabulousness of the marvelous lamp.

To have ones gayness challenged in a dispute over a silly lamp is really hurtful. Despite that I remained adamant, whereupon he threatened to leave SecondLife on the spot and never come back as he had never, ever, in his whole life had to deal with someone as impossible and lacking in good taste as me. Luckily I have dealt with children earlier in my life, so I just pointed at another lamp and asked him what he thought about that one instead.

These god-gifted people are easily distracted, even pointing to something else and starting to talk about it helps. If that does not do it you can always start discussing their latest "wonderful" hairstyle. However, I would suggest you only use that as a last resort. After all, how often can one really discuss someones hair or where they bought it, if they got the fullpack or not and which variety of tones it comes in?

Repost: Remember Stonewall

This is essentially a repost of a post I did two years ago and last year, with  a minor update.

 

Let us always be proud and thankful to the trannies who finally had had enough of the harassment and fought back 44 years ago on June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn. We owe you, guys and girls!

Read more on Wikipedia Stonewall riots.
---

Before Stonewall

• a person with homosexual inclinations was considered to be mentally ill, 
• a person taking part in homosexual sexual activity was considered to be a criminal, 
• a person suspected of being homosexual could be abused or harassed without risk of penalty - except in the most extreme cases, 
• a homosexual parent was considered unfit to take care of his/her own children, 
• Civil unions or same-sex marriages were unthinkable. 
• etc., etc. 

All of us should always remember the gratitude we owe the trannies.

This important historical event and the birth of the movement for gay liberation and gay rights will be commemorated at the Second Pride Festival this evening with a special party. Please come back for information about this later today, meanwhile check out this post for some info about it Bock in SecondLife; Advance Notice - Second Pride Remembers Stonewall (url).

We should also remember that many of our brothers and sisters worldwide still live with the very real risk of

• being murdered, incarcerated or hospitalized, abused & harassed
• losing custody of their children 
• losing their employment 

simply for being homosexual.

Commentary: "Why Do All These Homosexuals Keep Sucking My Cock?"

"Look, I'm not a hateful person or anything—I believe we should all live and let live. But lately, I've been having a real problem with these homosexuals. You see, just about wherever I go these days, one of them approaches me and starts sucking my cock. 

Take last Sunday, for instance, when I casually struck up a conversation with this guy in the health-club locker room. Nothing fruity, just a couple of fellas talking about their workout routines while enjoying a nice hot shower. The guy looked like a real man's man, too—big biceps, meaty thighs, thick neck. He didn't seem the least bit gay. At least not until he started sucking my cock, that is." 

Read the full commentary by Bruce Heffernan at The Onion: Why Do All These Homosexuals Keep Sucking My Cock?

I love satire and this commentary was extremely funny showing the point of view of an "innocent" closet case. Oh, please let me clarify, I am not one of those gay men who believes that every straight man is just three beer bottles from a gay encounter. That's just wishful thinking by some of my gay friends and/or enemies.

Samesies

(via J.M.G. +Joe Jervis)

I agree wholeheartedly with the speaker and am also "starting tomorrow", but tomorrow never seems to come...

Second Pride: "Help Us, Help You!"

Doc Spad, (photo by GWNews)

This is an important message to all LGBT residents and non-profit groups in SecondLife from Doc Spad, the chairperson of Second Pride. 

I am happy to be able to assist in spreading the word.

Over the last year Second Pride has worked to create to reasonable and effective way to utilize the funds entrusted to it from our sponsors, members and attendees of last year’s Second Pride Festival. Last year’s Board made the decision to use these funds in-world to benefit our LGBT community here in Second Life. The Second Pride Region is the product of those efforts.

By creating a permanent place for all facets of our community to come together, share, support and learn about each other, we feel that this best advances the mission of Pride while providing each of our communities advocacy, educational,  and support groups an opportunity to be seen at the festival and have their message heard year round on the Second Pride sim. Meeting spaces, an event venue, and a message center will be available to any and all LGBT nonprofits. Office spaces and a place to showcase your group will all be provided for free. For some this may be as little as a Landmark  to your existing location, or a possible a satellite location. For those interested, we welcome you to make a permanent home on the Second Pride Region. All is provided free of charge.

I’m pleased to announce that our home is nearly complete and will be the center of the festival this year. We have also secured two additional full private regions donated for the festival. Having the festival on full private regions will allow for better control of the festival grounds and provide less lag and a better experience for all attendees. We are no longer paying Linden Labs for their limited mainland sims.

The Board , through many open public discussions with our members, has also relaunched PRISM, our quarterly LGBT community newsletter. This publication is available for LGBT nonprofits to voice their views, educate the community and “get the word out” of their work in Second Life as well as real world efforts. We have also started Second Pride Radio which streams 24/7 on multiple channels which is available for LGBT advocacy, educational, and support groups to advertise, for free, their activities and services to the community. 

second-pride.com is the official Second Pride website and we hope it will become a central clearinghouse for “all things LGBTQ” in Second Life. Soon a complete listing, to include SLurls will be available on the website so that anyone can learn about your group and all educational, support, and advocacy efforts taking place in Second Life.

Help us help you in “getting the word out” about your group and the good it is doing for our LGBT community.

We know that all LGBT groups within Second Life do not always get along, or that they do not all share the same goals or aspirations. Like Pride festivals in real life, we would hope that our pride festival will be reflective of the entire LGBT community and be a place where we can share our common goals of equality, fairness, and inclusion.  Pride is a celebration of our “gayness” and to acknowledge all that we have accomplished through our unity...it’s also a chance to look at the future and what we still have to do. We can better accomplish our common goals as a united LGBT community... join us and be part of the largest and most visible LGBT gathering in Second Life.

Let's Celebrate! 

If you are a non-profit or thinking of starting a support, advocacy, or educational group, but needs a home, Please contact me so we can show you what we are offering and how we might help in letting the rest of the community learn of your group.

Doc Spad

2013 Chairperson

Second Pride

docspadusmc@gmail.com

Love Stockholm

(via Qx.se)

Stockholm is trying to target the gay tourists with this commercial, not a bad one actually and not untrue.

Gay Porn Outlawed In Turkey

The High Supreme Court of the Republic of Turkey (Yargitay) has decided to assess oral and anal sex as "unnatural sexual acts". Through this decision the list of "unnatural content" in videos which are now forbidden in Turkey consist of  the following activities:

• oral sex
• anal sex
• group sex
• SM
• rape
• bestiality
• necrophilia

Possession, distribution and publication of videos with "unnatural content", as well as possession of downloaded material from the Internet, is punishable with four years imprisonment in Turkey.

Earlier the word "gay" (including its Turkish pronunciation "gey") and "anal" have been banned from Turkish Internet domain names. Any sites containing such words faces immediate closure. The Turkish Telecommunications Directorate in 2011 sent a list of 138 words to Turkish web-hosting firms, ruling the words are not allowed to feature in domain names and websites that do use them will be shut down.

This is a very devious way for the bigots and homophobes in Turkey to legislate, "Let´s forbid gay pornography by not actually forbidding it - which may effect our application for membership in The European Union adversely - instead we forbid the sexual acts that have to be an integral part of ever gay sex film if there is to be any sexual activity at all, except for kissing, caressing and masturbation.

Anatole France (1844–1924) French poet, novelist and journalist once said something like "La loi, dans un grand souci d'égalité, interdit aux riches comme aux pauvres de coucher sous les ponts, de mendier dans les rues et de voler du pain." (The law, in a large concern for equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets and to steal bread.)
---

Somehow all this reminds me of the homophobic Rick "Frothy Mix" Santorum, formerly a United States Senator for Pennsylvania and previously a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination. Santorum equated homosexuality with pedophilia, incest, adultery, bigamy, and bestiality. 

This lead to a sublime revenge by gay activist Dan Savage, who is also an American humorist and sex advice columnist, who with the help of his readers redefined the word "santorum" to mean "the frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex".

I encourage you all to visit Google and search for the word "santorum", in the results please check out the site "Spreading santorum"

Say It the Country Way

(via J.M.G.)

"Girls and Boys" an It Gets Better Country Song, written and performed by Richard Hefner.

I don´t really like country music that much, but to this song I might even learn the words and singalong sometimes.

Fiscal Conservatism

Quoted from ©2011 Peter Dunlap-Shohl | Frozengrin.blogspot.com

I'm always stunned with amazement when I hear or read about this or that group in the world voting against their own individual and social interests because they claim to prefer a particular politician or political party for being "fiscally conservative".

I simply cannot get into my head how it can be more important for anyone to have lower taxes, a balanced budgets or less government spending etc., than to receive full and equal human rights, the full protection of the law from harassment and bullying in the workplace and other walks of life, the right to marry the one you love or even the right to negotiate your wages the way you want or through whatever group you choose.

Cartoon by Drew Sheneman-Tribune Media Services

Taxation is not an evil in itself, not if you by taxation can ensure that your population gets decent healthcare, decent schooling, decent housing and decent social care, a decent police force, a decent defense and anything else we need from our government to feel good about ourselves as a society.

This rant was brought on today by the news that 34% of the trade unionists in Wisconsin, United States of America, yesterday voted for governor Scott Walker in the recall election. The same governor Walker who last year pushed through legislation that effectively ended collective bargaining for public employees and teachers in Wisconsin. However, I have been mulling over this to me bewildering phenomenon for some years now at different occasions, usually when I notice gay individuals or groups supporting bigoted and homophobic politicians and political parties that will not allow them full and equal human rights.

Is God Gay?

(via  SecondGAY - The Blog)

British comedian Ricky Gervais having fun with taking the Bible literally. 

"It Could Happen To You"

Thomas Lee Bridegroom (1982-2011) was an American film and commercial actor, television host and photographer.

Tom died on May 7, 2011, after a fall from a rooftop during a photo session. In May 2012, a year after his death, his partner for six years Shane Bitney Crone released this clip in which he tells us his story in order to speak out in favor of rights for same-sex couples.

...

Please follow Shane´s sound advice, "Whatever your sexual orientation, I plead with you to take the necessary steps to protect yourself and the ones you love.". That advice applies in both your first and your second lives.

I first saw this clip about a week ago on Joe.My.God. and was deeply moved by it, but still I hesitated to re-post it here for reasons of my own. After speaking with my friend Kahvy Ewing-Sands in SecondLife about it last evening I decided to post it anyway. The video is worth all the attention it can get.

I am indebted to Kahvy for convincing me this was the right thing to do!