http://sugarbeachmusic.com/blog.html SUGARBEACH: Blog Jannis' PHPRss class - http://www.jannis.to/ Sun, 28 Mar 2010 10:53:02 -0700 http://sugarbeachmusic.com/blog.html/constance_and_gagashaking_it_up
It seems that 18 year old openly lesbian, Constance McMillen just wanted to go to her prom with her girlfriend as her date and the school cancelled the whole damn shindig rather than let her do just that. (They lost that battle by the way- A judge in Mississippi ruled that that the school violated her rights but didn’t make them reinstate the prom.)

Then I hear some woman named Sandy Rios who is the president of the Culture Campaign (what is that exactly?) calling the new Lady Gaga videos' lesbian scenes “disgusting” and the whole video “just poison for the minds of our kids.” Now call me madcap but this all sounds like fear to me. Ms. Rios’ criticism surrounds artists continuing to push the envelope and crossing boundaries.

Newsflash: that is our job. Its called art and evolution and its been going on since the beginning of time.

The ancient Greeks artists painted sexual scenes on their ceramics, many of them depicting same-sex relations and we can’t forget the Japanese Shunga Netsuke carvings (those tiny ivory figures in fabulous sexual positions), they’ve been around since the 13th century. Elvis had parents freaking out with his pelvis movements in the 1950’s—so much so that they had to film him from the waist up only to get him on TV and will we ever forget Madonna’s Sex book or planting one on the lips of Brittany Spears?

Artists have taking chances and moving our society forward by doing one thing”¦pushing the boundaries. Even the civil rights movement was nudged along with the help countless folk singers and the musical “Hair “ with its racially integrated cast in 1968.

As humans we seem crave to live in a sexually free and natural state without the suppression that governments and religions have put on us. Instinctually we know that it’s not right to be told whom we can and cannot love, how we must love them and what we view. As artists if all we do is play it safe then we are re-creating what’s already here not breaking new ground and affecting change.

So to that Vice Principal in Mississippi, here are the facts- your students cannot catch homosexuality. The only way it seems to “happen” to heterosexuals is when they drink too much alcohol or when given a long prison term.

You weren’t trying to protect your students from possibly feeling uncomfortable seeing Constance and her girl slow dance—I believe it’s your own discomfort with those frightening gays you were projecting.

Now Ms. Rios I, doubt that there has ever been one case reported where a child has become gay from watching a video. Unless they already have that inclination and then seeing it in a video is a gift to them of realizing they are not alone.

I’m sure l Lady Gaga is thrilled with all these opposes to her video hell you can’t buy that kind of publicity!

Every time one of them goes public with their fear and disgust those you tube hits turn over like a winning slot machine.

And as for our young tuxedo-wearing activist Constance, well I would say you should be very afraid of her. She knows the law and her constitutional rights and she has no respect for your rules and your homophobia-she my friends, is the new generation of gays and lesbians benefiting from the bravery and sacrifice of many generations of artists and activists who have come before her and she, with her young brothers and sisters may one day be able to enjoy a world where the words, “lesbian” and “poison” are not in the same phrase.]]> http://sugarbeachmusic.com/blog.html/constance_and_gagashaking_it_up Sun, 28 Mar 2010 10:53:02 -0700 BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD - SUGARBEACH - Blog http://sugarbeachmusic.com/blog.html/not_so_dear_uganda
”¢ Gays and lesbians convicted of having gay sex would be sentenced, at minimum, to life in prison (I’m not quite sure what other kind of sex my wife and I can have”¦perhaps they could be more specific)

”¢ People who test positive for HIV may be executed (That makes sense because living with HIV simply isn’t punishment enough -by the way make sure you include all those women who got it from their husbands and passed it to their many wives considering that Polygamy is still legal there)

”¢ Homosexuals who have sex with a minor, (anyone under 18) or engage in homosexual sex more than once, may also receive the death penalty (Now that could be tricky considering homosexual sex is a bit like potato chips”¦its hard to stop at just one)

”¢ The bill forbids the “promotion of homosexuality,” which in effect bans organizations working in HIV and AIDS prevention (The absurdity of this speaks for itself)

”¢ Anyone who knows of homosexual activity taking place but does not report it would risk up to three years in prison (Can you say”¦Nazi Germany?)....

But wait there’s more”¦

”¢ They are also proposing a witch-hunt for Ugandans that are having homosexual outside of the country. (Yep they want us to send ”˜em on back to be penalized and that includes individuals or organizations that support LGBT rights”¦Yeah we’ll get right on that!)

One of the reasons for this sudden desired genocide of the queers is supposedly an effort to control the spreading of HIV/AIDS in Uganda. However considering a large percentage of the population do not know how HIV is actually passed and only 15% of HIV is spread through gay activities, I believe it would be safe to say that lack of education”¦not the gays, is the problem here.

Of course, if this bill gets passed, I’m sure Ugandans will be flocking to the clinics for testing and treatment knowing they could face life in prison or the death penalty.

Several countries political leaders have put up opposition to this insanity, the U.S., Canada and Britain have spoken directly to Uganda’s president who was mocking the fact that all they wanted to discuss was “the gays” and a big flamboyant kudos to the Swedish government for saying that it would revoke its $50 million development aid to Uganda if the law came into effect, calling it “appalling.” The same month, the European Parliament passed a resolution against the bill, also threatening to cut financial aid to Uganda.

However, even after potentially contributing to the possible starvation of millions of his fellow Ugandans David Bahati is not deterred. “We are determined to defend traditional family values and to stop the recruitment of our children into homosexuality,” he has vowed. (Homosexuality recruitment”¦we never thought of that ”¦perhaps we could get drag queens to set up kiosks in the malls like the army does”¦with big posters saying, “ Adam Lambert wants YOU!”)

Uganda wants the right to live differently from the rest of the world with their own set of values and beliefs.

You see Uganda the problem is, there is a common understanding that people actually need to commit horrendous crimes, like murder in order to be sentenced to such stiff penalties. Oh, and there’s also that pesky little International Bill of Human Rights with the UN and surely one of those American Evangelists that are rumored to be at the root of all of this mayhem must have mentioned that commandment that is on God ”˜s top ten list ”¦Thou shall not kill.

Seriously Uganda, you cannot win with this one. So how about you go back to the drawing board and draft up a new bill that saves your international reputation and your people and try taking a step FORWARD this time.]]> http://sugarbeachmusic.com/blog.html/not_so_dear_uganda Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:05:55 -0800 BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD - SUGARBEACH - Blog http://sugarbeachmusic.com/blog.html/its_a_shame_about_your_weight_you_have_such_a_pretty_face Translation: you would be gorgeous if you were just a head.

It’s no wonder I found myself detaching from my body at an early age. I’d spend every cent I made on expensive hair products and skin care, to primp, fluff, fuss, pluck and take care of ”¦the head.

In fact I don’t actually remember having a full-length mirror growing up”¦I didn’t need one.

It got to a point where I would actually look into the corner of the room when getting out of the shower to avoid any possibility that I might catch a glimpse of anything below”¦ the head.

It all changed when my gorgeous wife began force feeding me an aquarium full of vitamins, organic foods and made me stand naked in front of the mirror and dance or at least send wooing messages of love to my body and yes, she even began playing with that one part of my body I keep locked away from world at all costs... my upper arms.

Her small, nimble fingers slide their way nightly through the covers and rest on either side of that floppy bit before I can protest or ward her off (which is pointless as those same delicate fingers turn into steel handcuffs if I even dare to try and stop her).

She rolls it, squeezes it gently and whispers, “I love this part”.

So I figure, if she can do it, so can I.

Slowly but finally, I’ve begun to look down.]]> http://sugarbeachmusic.com/blog.html/its_a_shame_about_your_weight_you_have_such_a_pretty_face Sun, 13 Dec 2009 10:28:02 -0800 BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD - SUGARBEACH - Blog http://sugarbeachmusic.com/blog.html/youd_better_brace_yourself
One of my favorite lines from the show Hairspray. Even though it refers to the struggle a young interracial couple in the 1960’s were about to face, it also applies beautifully to the homophobia the GLBT community faces all too often.

Since when is it okay to grant human rights and then just take them back? ” Oops sorry, we thought you were just as good and deserving as everyone else but we made a boo boo.”

So I’m trying figure out, what are they so afraid of? That we’ll all marry, breed more gay and lesbian children, take over the world and genocide the straights? What do intelligent people do when they are trying to decide whether a system will work for their country?

One method is to see if there are other countries with that system in place and see how it is working for them.

Did Canada’s moral fiber completely snap when the queer’s said “I do?” Did the economy collapse in Sweden when same sexes strolled down the isle? Did God cast Spain into the Mediterranean Sea upon hearing of the legal lezzy hitchings?

So what is the basis for this argument? C’mon now, we’ve all gone down the Leviticus list and unless you’re willing to give up shellfish and no longer allow divorcees to remarry, you can’t just pull this one from the pack because it suits some unresolved homophobic issues from that experiment in college you can’t seem to forgive yourself for.

USA-we love you”¦seriously”¦ many of us even look up to you and count on you to lead and be a shining example for places like Uganda who are going backwards with their policies”¦but that’s another blog”¦ and most of all we expect you to keep your word”¦liberty and justice for all.]]> http://sugarbeachmusic.com/blog.html/youd_better_brace_yourself Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:32:58 -0800 BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD - SUGARBEACH - Blog