Observations from the Edge J17

Today was the Martin Luther King holiday and I found my own strange way to celebrate it, riding a train south from New York to Washington for tomorrow's little get together in the nation's capital. Tomorrow is J17, the opening day of the Congress, and the day the same Congress will be "Occupied" by protesters streaming in from all over the country. Given the weather forecast and the time of year it will be interesting to see how many people actually attend but as of now, considering all the buses arriving in the morning, it looks like it will be big. The idea is to have a mass demonstration on the first day of the session and let the members of Congress know that, even though it's an election year, they waste another year of our lives at their on peril.

Although I had thought about going I hadn't actually planned on making the trip until Ash came up with the idea of my doing some work for her while I was in Washington. So that is why I found myself on a train heading south, gazing out the window at the cold landscape and cities along the way, and thinking about somebody totally unrelated to my destination. I've been told I get my love of history from my great grandfather, a man I never met. His name was Bill and he worked for the railroad most of his life. I have seen photos of him in the station he ran, those totally awesome grainy old photos that so simply show us where we came from. Everybody has them somewhere, tucked away in drawers, books, or in boxes in the attic. Those photos are a link to a past we never met but somehow feel we did. I heard someone ask today what Martin Luther King would have thought of the Occupy movement. I want to know what Bill would have thought.

While this trip is strictly for observation and photo taking it's nice to have some friends offer help should the need for bail money come into play. For the record bail in DC ranges from $50 to $100.

Observations from the Window 1.14

Lambda Legal (Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund) is the oldest legal organization in the US that focuses solely on the civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people, and those with HIV. It specializes impact legislation and includes among its victories a 1983 decision which made it illegal for insurance companies and disability laws to discriminate against people with HIV. In 2009 it won a historic unanimous decision in Iowa Supreme Court, which ruled that denying marriage to same sex couples was unconstitutional (Varnum v. Brien). This decision made Iowa the first state in the nation with same sex marriage.

Yesterday Lambda released this video which stars a virtual who's who of the antigay world. But rather than piss me off I thought it thoroughly entertaining and found myself laughing at it. I just figure if this is the best they can do I'm not going to lose much sleep
dwelling on it. 

link

Sh*t Homophobic People Say: no spoofing necessary, 100% real commentary by antigay public figures.

Observations from the Window 1.12

I was looking out the window at the rainy wet street and thinking how much better that is than the blizzard swept streets of a year ago. Sometimes rain is good, sometimes it just fits the mood.

Many times I have said how much I love a good quote and I sprinkle them liberally through my tumblr pages (Quotes). It's rare for one of them not to get a like or two and some turn out to be quite liked. Below are some of the more popular ones from the past few months. Each one has a minimum ten likes or reblogs with the first having a total of 366 so far. Taken together they seem to tell a story all their own.

(I'm going to break all the rules of writing here and not use quotation marks so they flow better or maybe because I'm an aesthetics freak as much as a quote one.)

Show me a hero, and I’ll write you a tragedy. - F. Scott Fitzgerald

She looked at me like I was crazy. Most of my lovers do, and that’s partly why they love me, and partly why they leave. - Jeanette Winterson

Yesterday’s weirdness is tomorrow’s reason why. - Hunter S. Thompson

If you want to work on your art, work on your life. - Anton Chekhov

But in the end one needs more courage to live than to kill himself. - Albert Camus

Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations. - George Orwell

One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.
- Jack Kerouac

'Think how you love me,’ she whispered. ‘I don’t ask you to love me always like this, but I ask you to remember.' - F. Scott Fitzgerald

In many ways a good quote is like a good photo. You may not agree with what the quote says, you may not even like it, but once you see or hear the quote it makes you think. It is short but with its few words it can make you think more than an afternoon of reading.

Sound bites from the past.

Observations from the Coffee Shop

Today is the New Hampshire primary and it seems a perfect moment to drop some random bits of political information on you.

The Keystone XL pipeline is one of brother's favorite things to complain, vent, and curse about. It would carry oil and diluted oil sands from northern Canada to locations throughout the US, going as far as the Texas coast. Supporters claim it would create tens of thousands of jobs. Opponents counter that it would create less than one hundred permanent jobs, wreak havoc with the environment of the mid-west, and just further our dependence on fossil fuels. Two of the main people pushing for faster approval of the pipeline are Speaker of the House John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. For the record Boehner has received $1,111,080 from the petroleum industry during his time as Speaker, McConnell received $1,277,208. Take that for what you will.

Kansas' Republican Speaker of the House Mike O'Neal sent an email to friends and supporters when he 'discovered' Psalm 109. He wrote in the email, "At last, I can honestly voice a Biblical prayer for our president! Look it up, it is word for word! Let us all bow our heads and pray. Brothers and Sisters, can I get an amen?" And what is Psalm 109? Bible.org describes it as a prayer for the punishment of the wicked. "May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow. May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes. May a creditor seize all he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor. May no one extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children." I take that to mean that O'Neal wouldn't mind seeing the President dead and I really think the Secret Service needs to look into that the with same seriousness they would if a random drunk in a random bar threatened him.

This is a short one because I can't bare Rick Santorum being in my thoughts for any length of time. I saw him on Morning Joe this morning and he said a couple of things that make me think of the words revisionist history. He called a nuclear armed Iran the greatest threat western civilization has ever known. Greater than the Islamic expansions of the 8th century, the Mongol invasions of the 14th century, greater even than Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia. Seems like more of the GOP tactic of winning elections through fear, just another excuse for another war in the middle east. Santorum also stated that he felt the working families of Pennsylvania could relate to him and his family history, I would remind the former Senator that the families of Pennsylvania showed him the door after his 2006 election campaign.

And last something only marginally political but something that may become more important as we move into the new year. Vibe is a new application for iPhones, iPads and Android that allows the user to send messages that are only visible to other Vibe users, and not to police or other outsiders. Vibe messages are anonymous, and users can control how far they are broadcast, from 150 feet to worldwide. The user can also control how long the messages are visible, they disappear after a set time period ranging from 15 minutes to thirty days thus leaving no trail.

And so it goes.

Observations from the Underworld

It honestly doesn't fit me at all but I have this love of history that came to bloom while I was studying for my degree. New York is filled with history of every kind from how Wall Street got its name to the secret galleries at Saint Augustine Church where escaped slaves could listen to church services without being seen. What really fascinates me are the abandoned stations and tunnels of the New York underworld. The MTA is in no way thrilled with people wandering around these abandoned or never used portions of New York's subway system but my friend Stacy does just that for a hobby. She told me the following story about one of her favorite spots of the New York underworld.

About four blocks north of Grand Central Terminal and 200' below the Waldorf Astoria Hotel is one of the greatest secrets of the city's modern history. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was paralyzed from the waist down from polio and was convinced that allowing the public see him in a wheelchair would end his political career. When he traveled to the northeast he rode in a specially built armored train which included a car carrying his Peirce Arrow limousine. This train would stop short of Grand Central, beneath the Waldorf, where Roosevelt would exit onto the platform already in his limo, drive into the freight elevator, and secretly enter the city.

On March 29, 1945 the secret train was sitting at the secret siding when Roosevelt died in Georgia. The armored Pullman car that carried his limo hasn't moved from that spot since.

Locked brass doors on the 49^th street side of the Waldorf, which open to a staircase leading down to the platform, are the only above ground evidence of this secret station. The neighboring doors to the elevator itself have been welded shut for years so it's a topic of debate as to whether this elevator opened onto 49^th Street only or also into the original Waldorf ballroom. To me the later seems to defeat the whole purpose of the secret siding far below. Seriously, how can you keep secret the arrival of the president's armored limousine in the ballroom?

The official designation of this hidden siding is track 61 but it was known to station workers only as the Roosevelt platform. Until just a few years ago officials from the FDR Museum and the MTA denied the very existence of the platform or the ghost train sheltered there and to this day the spur isn't shown on any maps of the subway system.

But for those who know the secrets of this underworld there is always a way in, another more secluded entrance, or an even more secret tunnel.

I think maybe it would be a totally awesome spot to celebrate New Years Eve. But I suppose I'll never know that will I?

Observations from the Edge J17

The question that is posted under the video asks "Where will you be on January 17, 2012?" Good question because I've suddenly begun to ask myself that very thing. Stay tuned.

link

"Where will you be on January 17, 2012?"

Music: Coldplay "In My Place"
For media inquiries: media@occupyyourcongress.info
Website: OccupyYourCongress.info
Twitter: twitter.com/Re_Occupy
Facebook: Occupy-Congress January 17th

Observations on 2011

link

"2011 was the year the bottom shook the top, the year the ballerina danced on the bull, and "The Protestor" was named Time Magazine person of the year. The faces in our Year in Pictures pay testament and tribute to our contribution and to the benefit of standing up and taking action."

Observations from the Gallery 1.4

A friend of mine sent me what follows in an email this morning and as much as I love quotes and politics I had to admit I had never seen it before. All she knew about it was that it had been written anonymously, photocopied, and handed out during the 1992 presidential campaign. With a little digging I found it had been written anonymously but was later attributed to artist and photographer Zoe Leonard. Leonard was a founding member of the San Francisco artists collective known as fierce pussy which described itself as a "collective of queer women dedicated to creating public art and direct action addressing issues of lesbian identity and visibility."

It's a perfect thing to read the day after the Iowa Caucus ended in a virtual tie between two men. One a habitual liar who changes his positions with the breeze and the other a throwback to the Middle Ages who would ban birth control.

"I want a dyke for president. I want a person with aids for president and I want a fag for vice president and I want someone with no health insurance and I want someone who grew up in a place where the earth is so saturated with toxic waste that they didn't have a choice about getting leukemia. I want a president that had an abortion at sixteen and I want a candidate who isn't the lesser of two evils and I want a president who lost their last lover to aids, who still sees that in their eyes every time they lay down torest, who held their lover in their arms and knew they were dying. I want a president who has stood on line at the clinic, at the dmv, at the welfare office and has been unemployed and layed off and sexually harrassed and gaybashed and deported. I want someone who has spent the night in the tombs and had a cross burned on their lawn and survived rape. I want someone who has been in love and been hurt, who respects sex, who has made mistakes and learned from them. I want a Black woman for president. I want someone with bad teeth, someone who has eaten hospital food, someone who crossdresses and has done drugs and been in therapy. I want someone who has committed civil disobedience. And I want to know why this isn't possible. I want to know why we started learning somewhere down the line that a president is always a clown: always a john and never a hooker. Always a boss and never a worker, always a liar, always a theif and never caught."

Thanks again for sending me this.

Observations on Art 1.4

As always Court sent me some new fims and videos to look at and this one I think is perfect for what I can only describe as the first brutally cold day of this winter. Personally I think I'm already in the mood for spring.


The Arctic Light from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

"This was filmed between 29th April and 10th May 2011 in the Arctic, on
the archipelago Lofoten in Norway.
My favorite natural phenomenon is one I do not even know the name of, even after talking to meteorologists and astrophysicists I am none the wiser.What I am talking about I have decided to call The Arctic Light and it is a natural phenomenon occurring 2-4 weeks before you can see the Midnight Sun...."

Happy 2012

I'm not in quite as serious a mood as I was yesterday and I would feel totally remiss if I didn't share this video after posting the Christmas edition. After watching this I'm sure I could come up with a New Years wish  or two.

link
Victoria's Secret Angels Erin Heatherton, Adriana Lima, Candice Swanepoel, Lindsay Ellingson, Doutzen Kroes and Lily Aldridge let you in on their resolutions."

Observations from the Window 1.1.12

No I'm not really sitting in the window as 2012 dawns, though it probably wouldn't be a bad spot to be. I wrote this earlier in the day and the uber geek in me set it to post at midnight. I have no idea where I will be at midnight because in all the years I have been coming to New York I have never been here on New Years Eve. I toyed with the idea of going to Times Square but I saw all the barricades and such and just thought better of it.

But anyway here I am starting my third year in the Village and my third year of writing this probably not always exciting blog. The past year was one of change for myself and for the world in general and this year promises more of the same. But before I begin to ramble off on a tangent I just wanted to say thanks for reading and I hope all your dreams come true this year.

Joyeux Nouvel An mes amis

Observations on 2011

#STATEOFREVOLUTION: A 2011 Visual Retrospective of Activism in New York – SNEAK PEEK from Rhodes Pictures on Vimeo.

Observations from the Window 12.28

Last Thursday marked the 1 year anniversary of President Obama's signing of the bill ending “Don't ask, don't tell” (DADT) and was also the 3 month anniversary of its official end. The end of DADT didn't bring the collapse of the military or the end of society as predicted. All it seems to have done is make many people extremely happy and freed gay members of the military and their straight friends from the constant fear of discovery or accusation. All this at virtually no cost to anybody and actually saving hundreds of millions of dollars that had been wasted on investigations and prosecutions, waisted on spying on our own troops. The only question remaining is does it even matter anymore? The Rick Perrys of the world be damned, there is no going back to what was in essence legalized prejudice.

As it did with the equal rights for black Americans the military might possibly lead the way for the rest of society. We were told that the open serving of gays would weaken the military, lead to a mass exodus of others, and destroy western civilization. Now the same arguments are used to oppose equal rights for all gays and the lesson learned from the military can't be overlooked. Still if you think the fight will be easier now think of General Colin Powell who was an outspoken opponent to DADT's repeal even though he directly benefited from the courage of earlier leaders.

Between the end of DADT and the legalization of gay marriage in the state of New York 2011 was a historic year. With the coming Presidential election one can argue about what President Obama promised to do and what he has done. That argument should always be made in the context of the Congress he was forced to deal with. Even though there is so much yet to do what has been accomplished shouldn't be forgotten.

If you look through history you will see that generational shifts are rarely easy and this one has just begun. Still, for me, the photo at the beginning of this post says it all. That photo of Petty Officers Gaeta and Snell's kiss was the most popular one online for days after its release with hardly a bad comment to be heard. How could there be?

As Dan Savage remarked, "Wow, just wow. I love me some smart, articulate, photogenic lesbian sailors!"

Don't we all?

Observations from the Road 12.27

Christmas always seems to come and go in a heartbeat. Shopping, stressing, and traveling and than you wakeup on the couch at 1:30 in the morning and realize it's past for another year. I always stress and get a bit depressed this time of year and this year was no different but it was better than it has been. Either I have been keeping so busy I didn't think about or it is true that time heals all things, I just didn't let it get to me this year. At the same time I had this lurking suspicion that after this year Christmas will never going to be the quite the same again. I don't necessarily mean this in a bad way, just the feeling that we as a family have reached one of those moments in time where the dynamics change. My brother with a girl friend, my sister a constantly amazing young woman who is soon to be a political science major, and me with my mind drifting off to other things.

For better or worse I now seem to be more at home in the Village than I ever have. I woke up in the middle of the night Christmas morning and never did get back to sleep. Even though I had nothing special on my mind but I couldn't stop thinking. The only theory I can come up with is that it was just too damn quiet. I love going home and go every chance I get but lately I can't stop wondering what is happening while I am there, maybe a sure sign I need more downtime.

And what was happening? Christmas Eve night about one hundred protesters held a candle light vigil outside the New York Stock Exchange. The hand made candles were a clinched fist with a raised middle finger, the flame rising from the tip. On Christmas day, in celebration of both Christmas and the hundredth day of occupation, OWS planed a potluck supper at the still fenced off Liberty Square. In a totally petty move straight out of Dickens NYPD stopped some from taking trays of cookies and pies into the park. Not to be stopped the Christmas dinner, and for some a communion, was held on the sidewalk outside the barricades.

I found this in a blog, “Just as you don’t need a tree to celebrate Christmas, you don’t need a park to Occupy Wall Street. Merry Christmas, Wall Street. You are still occupied.”

And so it goes.

A belated Merry Christmas to everybody.

The Corrs - Merry Christmas, War is Over