Thoughts on contemporary culture
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Just yesterday, I pointed out how the budget crisis is forcing cities to undergo drastic measures to provide services. Now here comes word that the Fire Department of New York is preparing to bring back its shirtless beefcake calendar for the first time since 2008. Production of the popular calendar was halted after one of [...]
Continue reading about FDNY Resumes Beefcake Calendar So They Can Buy Equipment »
The new year always brings predictions of what to expect in the coming months. Here are some of the things I believe we’ll see in 2011: 1. A growing acknowledgment that there are communities of LGBTs and black people, not one monolithic “Community.” In the past, it was assumed that all LGBTs and black people [...]
Homophobia in sports is a problem. Despite increasing acceptance from the larger society, there are currently no openly gay male athletes in American team sports. Which makes Glenn Burke’s story so historic. Burke was a wildly talented multi-sport athlete who was compared to Willie Mays when he debuted with baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers. Yet his [...]
Continue reading about Glenn Burke Documentary Premiers Tonight »
A major criticism among the black left is that President Obama is able to get away with acts that would incur the wrath of the public if committed by a white person. Examples include his tendency to abandon independent-minded black people for political expediency (Jeremiah Wright, Van Jones, Shirley Sherrod), publicly shaming the black community [...]
Continue reading about Obama Calls Black People ‘Mongrels’ On TV »
The internet/connected era has revolutionized how we communicate, shop, and consume media. For many people, it is difficult to imagine life before text messages, Facebook, blogs, file sharing, and Amazon.com. In fact, according to Nielsen, we spend one-third of our online time on social networking sites and applications. Unfortunately, it has also revolutionized the ways [...]
Continue reading about Read the WSJ’s Series On Online Privacy »
Last night was the final day of operation for the Starlite Lounge, the oldest black-owned gay bar in New York. A fixture since the 1960s, the business was forced to close after the building was sold in 2009. Efforts to have the bar declared a landmark were unsuccessful and the Starlite was not able to [...]
Continue reading about Legendary Gay Bar Starlite Lounge Closes »
In spite of the progress made towards eliminating discrimination, there is plenty of evidence that the highly anticipated “post racial” era is more wishful thinking than reality. Consider the double standard on some recent news items: Flash mobs are innovative and fun gatherings when it’s white youth taking over public places. When black people organize [...]
You had to be living under a rock to not know about Lebron James signing with the Miami Heat. The two-time NBA MVP was the most sought-after player in this year’s free agent class, and he made the announcement on an ESPN special called “The Decision” that was watched by nearly 10 million people. The [...]
June 27 is the 41st anniversary of Stonewall, the event that marked the beginning of the modern gay rights struggle. Cities across America are holding their Pride celebrations in accordance with this historic date. To commemorate the event, The Grio has published their list of rising LGBT leaders. The article is unique because unlike most [...]
Media visibility is an issue I feel strongly about, as the representation of people in popular culture reveals much about society’s feeling towards that group. That is why I was pleased to read about Flipping The Script: Beyond Homophobia in Black Hollywood, a panel sponsored by the Writers Guild of America to discuss homophobia and [...]
Continue reading about The Baffling Case of the Flipping The Script Event »
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