Blatantly Oblivious!

So here we are, a week after the 'landslide' election in which Republican's took control of the House and it's become quite frustrating to hear hundreds of different commentaries on why the elections turned out the way they did. Nearly every political debate, from immigration to Don't Ask Don't Tell to President Obama to the Ground Zero mosque to gay marriage, over the past few months has all been fueled by bigotry and racism. This ignorance and intolerance is what was really voting in the booths last Tuesday, and to ignore this and pretend differently only encourages those who contribute to this train of thought.

It may not be your father's bigotry - there haven't been lynchings, segregated buses or bitter white men in flowing white robes burning crosses in yards, and even violent acts against gay men are generally universally condemned by both the Left and Right.

No, the KKK has been replaced by the disenchanted, unemployed Tea Party member who is quick to complain about the jobs that 'Mexicans' take, despite the fact that the vast majortiy of these jobs most American-born citizens consider to be beneath them. Of course in the close-minded world of a back-seat bigot, Mexican is a term used in refernce to any brown person south of the border, even if that means going as far south as Central or South America.

The new racist automatically assumes that every Muslim person in the world, no matter if they were born in Iran or Ohio, was bred to be a terrorist. And I'm sure most of them would end up being terrorists if enough ignorant people come into power and continue to promote and act upon their narrow world view. I've never understood how even the most simple person can't recall what we all learned during our elementary recess breaks - nobody likes a bully.

Bigots now hide behind their Bibles, promoting their homophobic intolerance as the word of God, while conveniently over-looking thier own sins as called out in the same book. While perhaps not committing the acts of violence themselves, they cast a net of permission amongst their children and others less restrained, which does in turn lead to acts of violence and bullying which, if not directly responsible for murder may frequently push the victim towards horrific self-destructive acts.

And somehow these bigots can get up on a stage, preach and praise their prejudices and feel that just because they haven't thrown a rock that they can simultaneously claim not to be intolertant. Of course they will claim not to be racist or homophobic - everyone universally recognizes that these are terms to describe bad people. However just because you claim to not be something does not absolve you of your sin anymore than the people who used to promote the same messages through violence.

Deeee-lite-ful!

I wasn't fully-exposed to the power of MTV until 1990, when our rural house seven miles outside my hometown finally had access to cable television. Prior to that my only exposure was the occassional glimpse at a friends home or the one weekend in which my best friend and I watched and rewatched 4 pre-recorded hours of the network that his older brother had recorded on VHS and mailed to him from Colorado.
Around the time that we finally got cable and, subsequently, MTV, I stumbled across the video for Deee-Lite's "Groove is in the Heart!", a spectacularly colorful display of 70's-esque fashion and funkadelic combined with a club-ready beat and a spectacular rap from Q-Tip, the lead performer from A Tribe Called Quest. While there was no denying the allure of the video, the song itself was transformative to me. Never before had I heard something so unique, so fun, yet so artfully structured.
For Christmas that year I asked for and received the entire album, World Clique, and while none of the other songs were nearly as radio-ready as the first, I still loved nearly every track. The quirky opening prologue quickly gave away to the ferocious "Good Beat", a hard hitting dance track that challenges the listener to refrain from letting loose.
The following song, "The Power of Love", was their follow-up single to "Groove...", and while it's lyrically fun (and, in hind-listen, aged wonderfully), I didn't find it nearly as enjoyable as "Good Beat" or the album's funkiest track, the piano & bass-driven "Try Me On... I'm Very You". Even to this day, as I'm listening to and writing this entry, I feel an urge to sing and dance along. It's a unique and catchy sentiment that I suspect could have propelled them to a follow-up hit - an opportunity lost, I'm certain.
Another fun, quirky song, is the randomly ridiculous "Who Was That", perhaps one of hte only danceable songs about dealing with a home invader - quirky, spooky, perhaps disturbing, but featuring a "good beat" of it's own.
Following World Clique, the group produced two more less successful albums, Infinity Within and Dewdrops in the Garden. The sophmore work featured a number of big beats, yet they coupled many of these lyrics with left-leaning lyrics that tackled issues from safe sex (on Rubber Lover), the environmental crisis (I Had a Dream I was Falling Through a Hole in the Ozone Layer)and the corrupt judicial systems (Fuddy Duddy Judge). Perhaps fearing that the lyrics may have scared off some fans, their final album was much less political in nature, focusing more on providing dance-ready tracks.
Admittedly I purchased and love all these albums and to this day still hope for a reunion of the members - these days it feels like America could use a good dose of Groove in their Hearts.

Pigeons and Persons

While running today, I continuously came across pigeons that refused to fly to get out of my way, choosing instead to jump or run from my path. It's a bizarre behavior that I've never understood - you've got wings - use them! Your a bird - flying is part of your job.
But then I began to think how similar humans are to pigeons. We have arms and legs to do physical labor, to walk and run, to climb and push, yet as technology improves nearly everything we conceive of is made specifically for the purpose of refraining from doing what is in our nature.
At times I wonder are these NYC pigeons, which clearly have an abundance of food and the bodies to show for it, are they too fat to fly properly? Is that the reason? And is that why, when an American goes shopping Walmart they choose to circle the parking lot for an additional twenty minutes looking for a closer parking spot in order to avoid walking and additional twenty feet?

A Great Book!!!

Just recently finished reading Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, and was blown away by the book - a true account of the Zeitoun's families many struggles during the Hurricane Katrina debacle. Zeitoun himself is a Syrian-born man who immigrated to the United States, where he met and married his blonde-haired wife, Kathy, a young, forceful woman who had converted to the Muslim faith after becoming jaded with her own Christian institutions. The two of them are raising 3 children, whom Kathy takes out of the city prior to the storm's arrival, leaving her resourceful husband, who runs and manages his own construction business, to protect and defend their home.
Obviously we are all aware of the extent of physical damage that the Hurricane and the broken levee's inflicted upon the city of New Orleans, however I was surprised to read about the rammifications upon the psyche of the not just the residents, but also the officials that were sent there to assist. Despite the factual accuracy of this book, I found myself more than once thinking about the relationship of this book to Cormac McCarthy's The Road. It becomes quickly obvious that not only does power corrupt, but that justice is frequently only in the eyes of the beholder. No matter what your political beliefs, it becomes quite clear that the federal decisions being made during that time were irreversibly damaging to America.

Passing On....(part 1)

About a month ago I woke up on a sunny Saturday morning, only to be greeted with a text message from a friend stating simply - "jeremy gillitzer died." Typically one would be surprised to receive such a message about a 38 year old man, but Jeremy was different - he'd been battling his eating disorder for most of his life, and for the last 8 or so years he had been mostly losing.
He actually played a fairly significant role in my life. Not long after starting to live openly as a gay man, we met on a flight from Miami to Minneapolis - a layover for me, a liftime destination for him. He was a non-traditional student and aspiring model and I was a young man recently self-aware, without a job and time to kill before my next life adventure overseas. I fought the temptation to just stay there in Minneapolis, promising to see him again.
When I returned to Montana and then subsequently moved for a short period of time to Miami, the two of us stayed in regular touch. I flew up to visit him for a long weekend once and while I continued to be impressed by his physical appearance, I quickly became aware that he was suffering with many personal demons. At that time, the only signs of his bulimia were the receding gums - the result of stomach acids eating away at them due to many childhood years of forcing himself to vomit. However he obssesed over working out, what he ate, limiting his cigarette smoking (two puffs, save the butt, repeat until used up), fantasized about being kept and obsessing constantly over his appearance. He was very lonely and seemed to want to spend his life with someone, and stupidly, when he asked after the first day if we could be boyfriends I agreed - mostly to put off his whinging.
Most of this took place between late summer of '97 and Christmas of that same year. In January I was leaving for the Pacific on an extended overseas trip with one of my best friends, and most of December was spent home in Alaska with family and friends prior to my departure. I hadn't given Jeremy my family's number, but considering the lack of 'Sela's' in Alaska, it was easy for him to get it by calling information. Jeremy was an obsessive guy, and I had become one of his fixations, so he called our house repeatedly, and at first I was flattered and honored. But since I was out so much it was frequently my mother who took the messages and I began to be worried about what she was thinking since I was not out at home yet. Despite my requests for him to hold off, he continued to be persistent.
After partying all New Year's Eve with friends, upon returning home after only a couple hours sleep, my mother pulled me aside and asked if I was gay. I was tired - both from the night before and the tangled web of lies I had constructed to cover my ass the last few years and I told her I thought I was. She didn't handle it well - she wasn't ready, her own life with my father was hell, and she was still in a more conservative mind set. She cried and insisted it wasn't true, that it wasn't possible, that I might die of AIDs, that I would be alone my whole life - a litany of things that I know she is embarassed about now. There was no conclusion to our conversation and while the rest of the family must have known there was a conflict, they weren't within hearing distance and there were no shortage of tears in our household at that time and didn't ask.
I left home for a day party immediately, speeding to a friends house, slamming the car door. The first thing I did was pick up the phone, dial Jeremy and tell him to never call me again. And he didn't. For nearly 4 years.
As for mom, a week later she dropped me off at the Anchorage International Airport to begin my trip overseas. Our conversations had been strained since New Years, and when I went through my carry-on, I discovered a copy of Pope John Paul II's book, along with a letter from my mom. Mom and I stayed in touch but our relationship changed for nearly 5 years. It wasn't all about me, but we stopped talking openly for 5 or 6 years.

Jitter Bug

First day jitters are to be expected when one begins a new job, I suppose. In fact, last night they kept me up for a few hours, so to add to the nerves is my overwhelming since of exhaustion that come with it. As I was approaching my new office, at Hudson & Houston, which bridges the West Village and Tribeca, I began to wonder whether or not there would be any unexpected surprises.
Thus far, no. In fact, it’s been an extremely quiet first day, as I wasn’t even put through the typical first day HR rigamorle, for better or worse. I’m not sure why this didn’t occur as there are a few questions I know that I would have. But I do have a brief meeting scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, so perhaps I’ll get a chance to ask my questions then.
My jitters have actually given way to restlessness – I’m not used to having so much time on my hands and am generally more comfortable keeping busy.
But as with all things advertising, I’m sure this could all change quite quickly.

Something New...

Hard to believe, but I'll be starting another new job tomorrow, this time at the ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi. I'm actually quite excited, as it seems as though the quality of life should be substantially better than what I just left - then one might ask, how could it get worse? I'm actually close enough that I can probably walk home in a half hour, but I've been considering possibly biking to work as part of my regular commute. A little extra exercise certainly can't hurt. Mya have to reevaluate this once the humid months hit, but tomorrow I hope to check out the storage options for a bike.
Regarding Saatchi itself, I recall while living in New Zealand that one of my big sells for one of the publications I was working on was for Qantas, which was managed by S&S, or at least at the time it was. My boss at the time was so excited for me (and really, for him) since it meant that we had a foot in the door to a major advertising firm which could, in theory, lead to some other possible buys. Of course now that I work in the world of advertising I know better - the back part of our publication featured ads for escorts and massage therapists, which would immediately kill the opportunity for the inclusion of most big name advertisers. Still, the name stuck with me, and now, starting at 9am tomorrow morning, I'll be working for them.

King-dom of Horror

All who know me well are aware of my love of all things horror, an addiction that I picked up from my mother. I still recall as a young child, coming across my mom's copy of Salem's Lot, which included in the middle, some photo's from the movie, and being fascinated by the demented looking vampire they used (clearly based on the one from the old German vampire movie, Nosferateu). I was probably only 6 or 7 at the time and not yet old enough to tackle large 'adult' books that weren't illustrated, but that image stuck with me.
Skip forward a few years, and I remember holiday shopping with my father - we came across a hardcover copy of Stephen King's recently released It, and bought it for her. It was actually quite some time yet until the holiday, so I hid the book from my mom under my dresser, yet I couldn't resist its taunting cover. Every free moment I could find, I would close my bedroom door, slowly pull out the book, and on bent knee, pour over what is truly one of his most demented books. I would keep one ear cocked for her approaching foot steps, and I'm sure that she must have caught me more than once with a guilty look on my face, having recently shoved the book under the dresser and jumping into my bed to read one of my other books. Of course now, looking back on it, I realize my mum must have thought I was up to a more personal activity, but in all honesty I think this was before I took up that activity.
In any case, ever since I fell in love with the works of Stephen King. From that moment on, I went back through his entire catalog and read everything he had done to date - Carrie, the Lot, Christine, Cujo, The Stand, The Dead Zone, The Gunslinger - the list goes on and on. Like a lot of people, I've read nearly everything he has done, for better or worse. Unfortunately, in his later years, some of the works haven't been up to par with what he has done, but I'm happy to say, having just finished his most recent book, Under the Dome, that the King of horror can still bring it, when he makes teh effort. Here's hoping he continues to bring it in the future...