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fiction and musings from a gay black dude with delusions above his station

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the gar spot fiction and musings from a gay black dude with delusions above his station

Lady Day & Gil Scott-Heron

Posted on May 29, 2011 by gar

You’ve changed That sparkle in your eyes is gone Your smile is just a careless yawn You’re breaking my heart You’ve changed One of the last songs Billie Holiday recorded, accompanied by strings, horns, and an angelic female chorus singing high soprano, a delicate arrangement that only enhanced the delicate state of her voice.  Her…

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Tightly Rapt

Posted on May 19, 2011May 20, 2011 by gar

I had never heard of Harold Camping.  I am familiar with Family Radio, the station he helped to establish in the 1960s.  It was one of many evangelical shortwave stations I encountered on the dial during my long years of traveling international radio.  I paid it no mind.  Evangelical stations are typically, though not exclusively,…

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Short Story: The Burrito Kiss

Posted on May 17, 2011May 29, 2011 by gar

I saw him sitting in the bleachers looking my way.  I rationalized that he’s probably looking at the new computerized scoreboard our piss-poor high school just installed.  Everybody does, more in disbelief than anything else. I kept running around the track, eyes forward. Then I ran in front of the billboards.  They’re bright and colorful…

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Birther-gate: the silliness that ain’t silly

Posted on April 27, 2011May 3, 2011 by gar

So President Obama persuaded Hawaiian officials with a personal, handwritten note to send him copies of the sacred “long form” birth certificate so that the White House can distribute the document widely and bring a hoped for end to the “silliness” about the origins of his birth. Until this week, Hawaii officials said they wouldn’t…

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Spam, spam, spam, spam

Posted on April 23, 2011April 27, 2011 by gar

Since its launch last fall, the gar spot has received a goodly amount of traffic, some comments here and there, and . . . SPAM!  The spam comments are caught in the snare of a spam filter, an electromagnetic mesh affair that captures the little phishing spams while allowing the more wholesome content to pass through…

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No, Really, Seriously, It Was About Slavery

Posted on April 13, 2011April 14, 2011 by gar

This week Live Science published the article 6 Civil War Myths, Busted in time for the 150th anniversary of the start of the bloody battle.  The first myth busted is that slavery had nothing to do with the Civil War.  The article presents this alarming statistic: Across America, 60 percent to 75 percent of high-school…

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How Many Queer Folks Does It Take To Achieve Equality?

Posted on April 9, 2011 by gar

Groggy from lack of sleep, I rolled over early one morning just before Get Up time and put on my reading specs then turned on the Touch to read the latest headlines.  At the SF Chronicle mobile site I find this:  Demographer: US has 4M adults who identify as gay.   Really? I thought in…

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And then there were none: A Different Light, A Remembrance

Posted on April 4, 2011 by gar

It sat in a little white building nestled on a small block squeezed by Santa Monica and Sunset. I always had problems finding it exactly, and then there was the parking which was challenging even for a motorcycle.  I didn’t drive cars in those days.  It was small and crammed, the way all independent, hippy-ish…

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Brother Huey Got His Back

Posted on March 31, 2011April 17, 2011 by gar

{Editors Note:  The dialog between Jameel and Alfonso was taken from my unpublished novel Sin Against the Race.} He knew Hegel.  He knew Marx.  He knew Lenin.  He knew Trotsky.  He knew Mao.  He knew Ché.  He knew Cleaver.  He knew a whole bunch of others that none of the rest of the group knew. …

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Dame Elizabeth Taylor

Posted on March 23, 2011 by gar

Today I’ve had one word going through my head:  GEORGE!  GEOOOOORRGE! It’s impossible to represent with letter and words and punctuation the raw emotion evoked when Elizabeth Taylor belched it from her gut in scene after scene of her Oscar winning performance in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.  She was only 34 at the time, but she…

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SIN AGAINST THE RACE, a novel–Click image for info

Sin Against the Race

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Waiting for a friend. #alameda #ferry #eastbayeve Waiting for a friend. 
#alameda #ferry #eastbayeveryday
"You must not leave. You have opened a door that m "You must not leave. You have opened a door that must not be allowed to close. I'm sure you have taken a lot of grief, or probably will for what you're doing. But you changed the face of television forever. You have created a character of dignity and grace and beauty and intelligence. Don't you see that you're not just a role model for little Black children? You're more important for people who DON'T look like us. For the first time, the world sees us as we should be seen, as equals, and intelligent people--as we SHOULD be. There will always be role models for Black children: you are a role model for everyone. Remember, you are not important there in spite of your color. You are important there BECAUSE of your color. This is what Gene Roddenberry has given us."
-Dr. King on why Uhura is so important and why Ms. Nichols should not leave the show

RIP Nichelle Nichols
#legend #startrek #nichellenichols #scifi #nasa #dance #music #mlk #blm
Repost from @juliettesjoy Posted @withregram • Repost from @juliettesjoy 

Posted @withregram • @juliettesjoy Reposted from @queernation3000 CLARIFICATION: “condoms do not fully protect against Monkeypox transmission”

Source: NBC News (Chicago) 🔗 in bio

At the beginning of the HIV/AIDs epidemic, a group of gay men came together to release a set of rated risky behaviors that would guide the community on how to continue to live their lives without fear, empowered by scientifically-backed knowledge. This morning, experts warned that that we have a limited window to close the spread of Monkeypox. Cases are doubling week over week, and infections are being reported in over 74 countries. Misinformation about the spread of this virus could significantly increase the spread and will most certainly increase the stigma and shame surrounding it. 

We’re thankful for various journalists (including those at NBC-Chicago) and medical professionals who have begun the process of rating certain activities on a scale of “whether you're at-risk of contracting the [monkeypox] virus”. We’ve put it into this graphic for easy sharing. The source for all of this information is linked in my bio.

There is still much more to do.  Individual health precautions without significant government action to increase vaccine production & deployment will not work. So please, stay safe, stay informed, and get vaccinated. More to come. 

If you want to help us add additional activities or replace ones based on new information, DM @queernation3000. You can also reach us at queernationfund@gmail.com. 

#monkeypox #monkeypoxvirus #vaccine #pox #lgbt #lbgtq #lesbian #gay #bi #bisexual #trans #transgender #queer #queernews
A typical view of the Golden Gate Bridge in #summe A typical view of the Golden Gate Bridge in #summer from #Sausalito. At a birthday party for friends. 
#coldestwintersummerinsanfrancisco
Trying something new. @understoryoakland #downto Trying something new. 
@understoryoakland 
#downtownoakland #restaurant #veganoptions #dinner
Working. #writersofinstagram #amwriting #amwriting Working.
#writersofinstagram #amwriting #amwritingfiction #tea #jazz #kcsm
Really should have gotten this outdoor furniture y Really should have gotten this outdoor furniture years ago. 
#lunch #alfresco #backyard
Think of all the potential. #wordsonthestreet #se Think of all the potential. 
#wordsonthestreet #seenwhilewalking #neighborhood #walk #oakland #ilovemycity
Pride brunch. #pride #pridemonth #pridesunday #pr Pride brunch. 
#pride #pridemonth #pridesunday #prideday #pancakes #brunch
Dug up from the archives. I can’t believe we hav Dug up from the archives. I can’t believe we have to fight for this again. 
#abortionrights #abortionishealthcare #cisgaymanforchoice
Time to write more letters to encourage people to Time to write more letters to encourage people to vote. Tempus fugit.
#abortionrights #abortionishealthcare #roevwade #mymarriageisnext #voteblue #voterepublicansout
Pride flag over the Claremont Hotel. Don’t think Pride flag over the Claremont Hotel. Don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. 
#pride #pridemonth #berkeley
New outdoor dining set. #backporch #alfresco #hom New outdoor dining set. 
#backporch #alfresco #homedecor
Consulted with my editors this morning. I value th Consulted with my editors this morning. I value their feedback. 
#trees #hiking #oakland #writersofinstagram #iputmyfaithintrees
Remembering Roger Ebert on what would have been hi Remembering Roger Ebert on what would have been his 80th birthday. 
#rogerebert #writer #legend #cancersucks
Fly me to the moon (not pictured) Let me play amon Fly me to the moon (not pictured)
Let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter (the brighter one) and Mars
#backyardastronomy #jupiter #mars #predawn #goodmorning
A gorgeous day at the #oaklandgreekfestival #oakla A gorgeous day at the #oaklandgreekfestival #oakland #greekfestival #greek #music #food #ilovemycity
I used to rock the hell out of these. Cards of dis I used to rock the hell out of these. Cards of discovery and endless possibilities. I still miss them. 
#cardcatalog #library #knowledge #og #searchengine
A sunny Saturday in 1990 found my sister Tania (@m A sunny Saturday in 1990 found my sister Tania (@makeuptogoblog) and I outside of the Julia Morgan Center waiting. I had seen the great Maestro Pt. Shivkumar Sharma in LA—he even autographed an album for me. And I was studying tabla with his accompanist Ud. Zakir Hussain at the time. We couldn’t wait. But wait we did, because the maestros weren’t there. As my sister and I stood at the front of the line, they came. Ud. Zakirji was laughing and joking. Pt. Shivji looked as if he floated in as he passed and entered the theater. After we got settled in our seats, it was on. A beautiful concert with the two maestros playing rapturously, holding us spellbound. Pt. Shivji floated in like a deity and played to the heavens, taking us all with him. By far one of my favorite concerts. 

Words cannot describe how devastated I am at the great master’s passing. His gifts to music and the world are incalculable. My condolences to Panditji’s family, to @zakirhq9 , and to all who loved his beautiful music. #ptshivkumarsharma #indianclassicalmusic #santoor #rip
This makes me very happy. #oaklandgreekfestival # This makes me very happy. 
#oaklandgreekfestival #theyreback #yahoo #greek #oakland #ilovemycity
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