Communication Breakdowns | johnozed

Oh I should eat but it seems I am too busy feeding the trolls on YouTube. So proud they are stuffing their faces with greasy chicken all in the name of free speech. Yes the CEO of that chicken joint is against same sex marriage. Big whoop. He’s entitled to that. And he is also entitled to donating money to anti LGBT groups like Exodus.

For those playing at home, Exodus is a quasi-religious organization that claims to heal lesbians and gay men from their sexuality. They don’t come through the process as heterosexual, they come out in a deeper closet, repressing their sexuality and sometimes marrying a person of the opposite sex who is also deeply closeted and equally repressed.

And it is not just here that Exodus does their foul underhanded deeds. Exodus big wigs have been travelling to Uganda and giving speeches to leaders there. A lot of African countries are virulently anti-gay, and having these ‘esteemed United States representatives’ telling them how gays can be cured, inflame the beliefs of these leaders when the methods of Exodus (including hitting a pillow with a tennis racquet and screaming ‘Daddy didn’t love me.’ FOR REAL) don’t work, these leaders feel that they should kill all the gays.

In various African legislatures and parliaments, Kill the Gays bills have gone up and almost part of these countries constitutions. Lesbians have been repeatedly raped in order to ‘get the gay out of them’. Gay men have been maimed and killed. Lives have to be lived in secret. This is what the main sticking point against the chicken master is about. And a good many people in this country (though the numbers get reduced every time someone comes out of the closet) want LGBT to go back and stay in the closet.

It’s not too far a guess to assume that these same people would like people of color to go back to the back of the bus. And that is a troubling statement since some people of color despise LGBT more than non-people of color. Some people of color seem to think that civil rights only pertain to them. Same sex marriage is a civil matter, therefore a civil rights issue. It has nothing to do with bullshit religion. Marriage is a civil right. The great leader Martin Luther King’s widow, Coretta Scott King came out for same sex rights and that offended a good number of congregates in those churches.

I bet if Malcolm X were alive he would be standing alongside LGBT standing for their rights. Even the latest Prime Minister of Jamaica (notoriously homophobic country) has been making inroads regarding same sex rights. It’s a long process, a long road ahead. We go over one hill and see many more hills ahead that we all have to climb.

It takes a lot I suppose to step out of one’s shoes and step into another’s. See how that other person sees things, experience what they go through. It’s not easy to do and I try to do myself but occasionally I react badly. Then hopefully I regain some sense of composure and remember to do step into those shoes. It’s unfortunate that some people can’t even conceive of someone else’s shoes.

I’m heading out to hear Mumford and Sons. Enough of these trolls.

32 I’m Your Boogie Man

Just woke up from a Xanap. It was good and longer than the 15 minute allotment I’d been having lately. This was deep and restful. Glad I did it. In fact I probably could have slept a lot longer if I did not have the foresight to set the online alarm clock two rooms away. The online alarm clock sounds like a slippery rubber puppy yapping and makes one get out of bed before it piddles on the floor. No dreams to recollect from the Xanap. It was quite a muggy day and I enjoyed the sleep in the air conditioned room.

Last night I did go out, and I was a few minutes before the storm, the derecho that was fast approaching. iTunes came out with a new Beatles collection, 14 songs that I of course had already, so I made my own version of Tomorrow Never Knows. I listened to that on my iPod on my way and had an umbrella as well as my camera stashed away in my bag as I strolled down Washington Street with my head held high. The show was scheduled to be in Sinatra Park by the Hudson River but was moved prior.

It was moved to a pub directly across the street from the Guitar Bar which Mr. Wonderful Jim Mastro had posted on Facebook. Still some people are not plugged in all the time like I usually am, and someone posted signs at Sinatra Park directing them of the relocation. With ominous skies approaching from the west, I threw the cigar I was smoking into a puddle and walked into the pub. It was in a side room, not the main part of the bar and I was directed through a door which had put me onto the makeshift stage.

Nimbly stepping over chords and wires I found Jim Mastro and asked him where Meghan was. It turned out she was not coming. She did not want the girls, Lily & Ruby hanging out in a pub, not that hanging out in a bar or a pub or a VFW Post ever did anything wrong for me. I was disappointed and went out to the sidewalk to call Meghan. She was on the other line and after explaining why she wasn’t there told me she would call me back. I stood at the sidewalk and took some pictures of the storm clouds.

The Guitar Bar All Stars started with a rip roaring version of Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash. I thought it was a little loud and went outside for a minute, after saying hello to my friend Karyn. It wasn’t raining yet and when I came back in Karyn was talking to someone else and I saw another friend, Alice who sometimes plays bass in Karyn’s band. I bought myself another Corona and bought one for Alice as well.

I did have a quick chat with Alice who asked if I was working. When I told her my situation, she remembered and wondered if there was a way to make money from this here blog, “Perhaps some advertising?” I remarked that this here blog is too personal, and the only adverts I could hope to attract would be pharmaceutical companies pushing antidepressants. Alice laughed. It would have been nice to talk to the both of them, Karyn and Alice, but it was too noisy and after the third song I bid my goodbyes.

Of course as soon as I opened the door I saw the deluge. I was off to meet Bill and luckily I had the umbrella. I rearranged my shoulder bag and opened the umbrella and headed out. The skies were full of lightning and the streets and sidewalks were rapidly getting flooded. I was a little worried about being struck by a falling tree branch rather than lightning though that was in the back of my mind. I wisely wore boots instead of sneakers so my feet were relatively dry.

The shorts I was wearing did become see through, so my black boxer briefs were plainly visible. I made it home as the storm raged, and immediately got out of my wet clothes, the boots drying out in the hallway. And that was it basically. It would have been a different, more fun scene at Sinatra Park but since we were at the mercy of the elements there was nothing else that could be done.

Today as dry once again and muggy as all hell. I had a few errands to run and after that was done I walked over to the river and did some busking. The toddlers love to stop by and watching me play, saying hello and doing whatever dances toddlers do under the watchful eyes of their guardians. Not too many people out today though I did make about $1.45, which when added to what I made the other day surpasses whatever monies I had made when I first started busking a few years ago.

Then I came home and had a Xanap which brings us to the beginning of this here blog. Currently watching the Olympic opening ceremonies with Bill and enjoying them. Former roommate Kevin has been a bit pissy about the whole thing, snarky comments on Facebook. I remember going to clubs and making fun of people who were dancing and having a good time. Then eventually I realized they were having a much better time than I was as I sat there making fun of people that were having the fun that I wasn’t having. Though I’m not dancing I am having more fun than Kevin it seems.