30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 02 - The most underrated movie

Oy. This is a tough one. I like a lot of underrated movies. Some that come to mind were underrated by me before I watched them (i.e. Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle), some of them are just barely even acknowledged to exist (Sneakers). I guess at the end of the day, I have to say...

Yep, Dark City. I liked it so much when Josh showed it to me, I ended up doing my senior thesis on it...and then used it for my Summa Cum Laude thesis that I had to defend to three different departments.

I liked it because it asked philosophical questions about the nature of the soul, about what makes us human, and borrowed lots of elements from the film noir genre. But at the same time, it told a compelling, sci-fi story with a lot of unexpected twists and turns. And, fun fact - Ebert called it the best movie of 1997. He even recorded a commentary track on the DVD. So if you haven't seen it yet, check it out.

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 01- The best movie you saw during the last year

Thanks to Madthoughts for tipping me off to this awesome meme.

"The best movie I've seen in the past year" is a tough one to answer. I'm going to limit it to "the best movie I've seen that was released in theaters in the past year" to help make that call.

Given that limitation, I think for me the easy choice is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Sure, it's fresh in my mind because I just saw it, but I think it narrowly beats out the other contender, Kick-Ass, because it was even more fun to watch.

Is "Scott Pilgrim" the greatest movie I've ever seen? No. But it blended various dimensions of graphic novels, video games, and the sheer hyperbole of my generation into a melange of fantastic, eye- and ear-popping candy that just made me giggle. It was pure, popcorn pulp that consistently surprised me in its presentation. So for all that, I give it the crown of the Best Movie I've Seen in the Past Year.

Herb Trimpe unmasks Cobra Commander

Back when I was 6 years old and my G.I. Joe figures were waging war, I used to wonder why we never saw Cobra Commander unmasked.

In the cartoon and comics, the enemy leader consistently kept his face hidden. And it made sense from a storytelling standpoint. An enemy who could not be known could not be understood. But there was a part of me that always wanted to see Cobra Commander's face sans hood or helmet.

The cartoon and comics eventually revealed it — and those reveals disappointed me. Writers of the animated "G.I. Joe: The Movie" chose to deviate from the character's established background, presenting him as less human and more alien. In the old comics, the character was often shown obscured or disguised when unmasked. More recent comics have shown him to be remarkably normal, which is somewhat disappointing. And speaking of disappointments, I still don't buy Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Cobra Commander.

So it was with great hope today that I asked the original G.I. Joe comic book artist, Herb Trimpe, to draw for me his vision of Cobra Commander unmasked. He accepted my commission request at Baltimore Comic-Con and drew for me the above sketch. Herb's unique rendition of this malevolent and scarred character immediately became my preferred version. Given a challenge that could have lessened a character through revealing the mystery, Herb instead added depth to Cobra Commander. The sketch of this bruised and beaten yet resolute villain is replete with storytelling possibilities. What injuries incurred those scars? What surgery left that metal plate? What happened to his nose? His hair? And why does it look like he's missing a tooth? There's doubtless an interesting story behind each of these traits.

Thank you, Herb. This is the Cobra Commander that I've waited years to see.

Today is Baltimore Comic-Con! Yay!

Pardon me while I go be a geek. Your regularly scheduled blog will return tomorrow at its normal time. Thank you.

Looking back: "I miss him so much"

"I miss him so much, and I wish they would leave me alone." — Kevin-Douglas Olive, surviving partner of Russell Groff

As I approach the end of my time with the Washington Blade, I wanted to take a look back at five articles I wrote that were particularly meaningful to me. Some of these articles won awards, some of these articles made readers cry and some of these articles represent my best work. Among the hundreds of articles I ultimately wrote for the Blade, these are five of which I'm most proud. I hope they resonate with you as much as they do with me.

From Sept. 29, 2006…

MAN FIGHTS PARTNER’S FAMILY OVER GRAVESITE
Parents want gay son’s body moved to family cemetery

By JOSHUA LYNSEN

Kevin-Douglas Olive still remembers talking to his partner Russell Groff about his grave.

Groff wanted to be buried in a cemetery along the gentle slopes outside Knoxville, Tenn. It was a reasoned choice. The land is close to where both were raised and large enough to accommodate a second plot.

“We had this romantic notion of being buried next to each other,” Olive said. “Forever and ever.”

But that dream is now in jeopardy. Groff’s parents, Lowell and Carolyn Groff, are trying to overturn their son’s will and move his body to the family cemetery in Severe County, Tenn.

Groff’s parents, who could not be reached this week by the Blade, have argued in court that the 26-year-old man didn’t know what he was doing when he completed his will. Olive said Groff had been estranged from his parents when he died.

Olive, a 34-year-old Baltimore resident, disagrees. He said Groff knew precisely what he was doing. And to move the body now, nearly two years after Groff’s death, is something Olive can’t bear to imagine.

“Moving him is not honoring who he was,” he said. “It’s really — it’s really disturbing.”

A Maryland court, which has jurisdiction over the dispute because Groff’s will was signed in the state, heard the case Sept. 25 and 26. A ruling is expected in October.

Olive said he’s hopeful, but increasingly anxious about the case that’s cast a shadow over his life.

“You just don’t know,” he said. “You never know how a judge is going to rule. And we won’t know for three more weeks.”

No matter the ruling, though, the case isn’t expected to end in October. Olive said if he loses, he’ll appeal, and if he wins, Groff’s parents will appeal.

And even after the appeals are exhausted, the case could continue. Groff’s parents would have to overturn separate burial instructions before they could move the body.

Olive said the legal redundancy was intentional, and encouraged by Groff.

“We drew these up because we knew if he died before me, that we would be fighting like this,” Olive said. “These documents were to protect me from his parents.”

Instead, the documents triggered a prolonged legal battle — one that has left Olive with no time to mourn the passing of the first person he “really loved.”

“I miss him so much, and I wish they would leave me alone,” he said. “I wish they would go away.”

‘He was the wisdom’

Olive and Groff met the week after Valentine’s Day in 1998, when Olive was 25 and Groff was 20.

“He was amazing. He was brilliant,” Olive said. “I was the voice, he was the wisdom.”

Their relationship bloomed, and the two moved to Baltimore together in July 2000. Three years later, they were married according to local Quaker tradition.

Olive said the blissful marriage was interrupted in 2004 when Groff, who was HIV positive, fell ill.

Groff was hospitalized in October 2004, but seemed to recover. Olive said Groff was transferred to another facility to help his recovery, but soon developed new problems.

Groff was transferred to another hospital, where Olive could only watch as his partner faded.

Olive said Groff became so weak that he couldn’t leave his bed to urinate. To best help the man he loved, Olive would hold the bedpan for him.

“This is my soul mate, so I just did it,” he said. “You don’t even think about it. You just do it.”

Eventually, a staph infection that originated in Groff’s gall bladder spread throughout his body, and on Nov. 23, 2004, he died.

“I just collapsed on the floor of the hospital, face down and shrieking,” Olive said. “Part of me knew that was entirely inappropriate, but part of me didn’t care.”

In keeping with the burial instructions signed Nov. 18, Groff was interred in the West Knoxville Friends Cemetery outside Knoxville, Tenn.

Olive said the grave, located about 30 minutes from Groff’s childhood home, was to remain simple and clean. But Groff’s mother, Carolyn, made changes.

“She made it into this shrine that really offended the sensibilities of the Quakers,” he said, “because we’re all about simplicity.”

Olive said Carolyn routinely decorated the grave. At one point, she posted a picture of Groff with his female prom date, plus a poem Carolyn wrote wherein her son essentially apologized for being gay.

“I was so insulted by seeing this,” Olive said. “She was trying to paint him as this repentive person who was heterosexual, really.”

After seeing that picture and poem, Olive said he could tolerate no more and cleaned his husband’s gravesite.

“When I cleared the grave, that was the final straw for her,” he said. “She filed the caveat and challenged the will.”

Not of sound mind?

The petition to caveat, filed in July 2005, says Groff didn’t know what he was doing when he signed his will.

It says Groff’s will was “not read to or by him, or known to him” before it was signed. The petition also says Groff was not of sound mind when he signed his will.

The petition, signed by both of Groff’s parents, asks the Maryland court to invalidate the will.

Olive said he initially thought the legal challenge was baseless, and posed no threat.

“Everything was valid, and I thought that would be enough,” he said. “But it wasn’t.”

Groff’s parents initiated a substantial legal challenge in an effort to move their son’s body to a Baptist cemetery.

Olive said he attended mediation with Groff’s parents, but the meetings served little purpose.

“They kept saying that Russell should be buried in their family plot,” he said. “I kept saying ‘It’s on paper.’ They kept saying ‘It’s not valid.’”

At one point, Olive said Groff’s parents offered to end their challenge.

“They believe they came halfway because they said they’d move him to their plot and then allow me to be buried next to him,” he said. “That’s all well and good, but that’s not what Russell wanted.”

As the dispute dragged on, a trial was scheduled and Olive was deposed. He said that step, in which an opposing attorney grilled him, was a difficult one.

“It really was hard,” he said. “They were making me feel like I was a liar and a thief, and that I manipulated my partner. It just made me feel low.”

And the focus of the discussion, Olive said, was entirely inaccurate.

“It was made into my wishes versus their wishes,” he said. “The fact that this was really Russell’s wishes was being ignored by everyone.”

At the trial this week in Baltimore, Olive twice took the stand. But even so, he said he didn’t get the opportunity to say everything he wanted.

“I didn’t get to talk about the relationship at all,” Olive said. “It was all about the will.”

Case shows consequences
of marriage inequality

Several people are helping Olive defend Groff’s will in court.

One of the witnesses, Rebecca Pickard of Baltimore, submitted a letter saying Groff was of sound mind when he signed his will Nov. 20, 2004.

She noted the will’s contents were read to him, “and he acknowledged full understanding of it before signing the document.”

Groff’s brother, Walter Groff of Salem, Ore., also has sought to protect the will. He submitted a letter saying Lowell and Carolyn never accepted Russell’s relationship with Olive.

“It is my fear that this litigation has been brought about from the emotional distress that my parents have experienced with my brother’s untimely death,” he wrote, “and problems between them that were never resolved.”

Olive said the letters have helped him defend the will and burial instructions.

“If I didn’t have all this stuff, I’d be screwed,” he said. “I’d be totally screwed.”

But even with the paperwork, Olive said the court battle has been difficult.

“I’ve learned that just because you have the documents,” he said, “it doesn’t mean too much.”

Olive said the experience has given him a new appreciation for activists seeking full marriage equality for gays.

“Our relationship was supported by so many,” he said, “but it never occurred to me how important it is that the law supports us.”

If the couple had been legally married, Olive said, he wouldn’t be talking about a court battle. He’d be talking about how much he misses his husband.

“He took care of me,” Olive said. “He really did take care of me. And I hope I gave him something equal, something close.”

Copyright Washington Blade
All Rights Reserved

Looking back: "Being bi is a blessing"

"I have come to feel that being bi is a blessing." — Allyson Diane Hamm, bisexual woman

As I approach the end of my time with the Washington Blade, I wanted to take a look back at five articles I wrote that were particularly meaningful to me. Some of these articles won awards, some of these articles made readers cry and some of these articles represent my best work. Among the hundreds of articles I ultimately wrote for the Blade, these are five of which I'm most proud. I hope they resonate with you as much as they do with me.

From Oct. 6, 2006…

COMING OUT BI IS UNIQUE CHALLENGE
Bisexuals say they’re misunderstood, ostracized

By JOSHUA LYNSEN

Gay activist Alexei Guren wasn’t sure what to expect when he came out as bisexual.

As a leading member of several gay organizations in Miami, Guren thought his announcement at age 22 in 1984 might spur some skepticism.

“But I didn’t expect the level of anger and suspicion that I had thrown at me,” he said. “Within a very short time, I had been asked to resign from most of the organizations, and lost the majority of my friends.”

Guren, who had identified publicly as gay since age 16, was labeled a traitor.

“My hurt at their anger and suspicion manifested itself in feelings of anger and betrayal,” he said, “to the point where I relocated to another state so I could begin life anew as a bisexual man.”

Guren’s story was one of many that bisexuals across the United States and as far away as Australia shared with the Blade in advance of National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11.

Many spoke of the negative reactions their announcements generated. Guren, who is now married and living in Tucson, Ariz., said he was accused of abandoning his gay friends and “seeking heterosexual privilege.”

But others, like 36-year-old Dennis Slade of Philadelphia, said family and friends readily accepted the new identity.

Slade, who came out to his mother days before flying to visit with his boyfriend, said he received his mother’s full support.

“In the end, Mom’s actions were better than any verbal response could have been,” he said. “Three days later at six in the morning, she picked me and my boyfriend up from the airport and welcomed us both into her home.”

The more than 30 bisexuals who were interviewed for this article said the mixed reactions they first received — and continue to receive as they openly live their lives — show that few people truly understand bisexuality.

Brenna Walters, a 30-year-old bisexual from Murfreesboro, Tenn., said most people are instead prone to stereotypical assumptions.

“Mostly, to the straight, I’m promiscuous,” she said, “and to the gay, I’m waffling.”

Sheela Lambert, 49, a bisexual activist from New York, said these and other misconceptions are difficult to overcome.

But as more bisexuals come out, she said more people will understand that bisexuality no more defines a person than heterosexuality or homosexuality.

“Bi people are always sexualized in our culture,” Lambert said, “when the reality is that we go to work, make toast, and make our kids do their homework just like everyone else.”

Defying duality

Bisexuality is often misunderstood, an expert said, because it cannot be easily classified.

“People in Western cultures love divisions,” said Dr. Paula Rodríguez Rust, a lesbian. “And when things don’t fit into our categories, we’re not comfortable with them. We don’t understand them.”

Rodríguez Rust, author of “Bisexuality in the United States,” said people sometimes perceive bisexuality as some “middle ground” between straight and gay.

“But there’s nothing middle about it,” she said. “It’s not an issue of half straight, half gay.”

Instead, bisexuals can find a person attractive regardless of that person’s gender.

“Gender doesn’t really come into my mind when I find out I like someone,” said Lori Carter, 19, a bisexual living in North Carolina. “On a purely physical level, I find both sexes to be appealing in different ways.”

Lambert said while she is drawn to the softness of women, she also delights in the muscularity of men.

“Gender is just not a barrier to who I am capable of falling in love with or being attracted to,” she said. “I look for similar personality qualities regardless of the gender of the person.”

Some bisexuals noted while they may prefer one gender, that tendency does not negate their bisexuality.

“I would say that sexuality is fluid,” said Nabila Marrow, a 17-year-old bisexual from Melbourne, Australia. “It changes. Sometimes we may find ourselves attracted to one sex and not the other, or to both. It’s something that we have to roll with.”

Marrow said her parents didn’t immediately understand when she tried to explain.

“When I came out to my parents, my dad asked how I know I can be attracted to females when I haven’t had any experience with them,” she said. “I said that it was simple. How did he know he wasn’t attracted to males if he hadn’t any experience with them? You just know.”

Many bisexuals noted a lack of sexual contact with one gender does not mean they should be suddenly classified as a gay or straight person.

“I could date only women — or only men — for the next 30 years and I would still consider myself bisexual,” said Ivan Boothe, 24, a bisexual in Washington, D.C.

“It’s not about filling some sort of quota in which if you don’t sleep with enough men or women then you’re in danger of losing your status.”

Unwelcome partners?

Dr. Luke Johnsen, who is bisexual and serves as acting medical director of the Whitman-Walker Clinic in Washington, said straight and gay people are sometimes reluctant to accept bisexuals as they would one of their own.

“A lot of bisexuals feel they are not accepted by either group,” he said. “I think there are multiple factors as to why this is happening, but we know this happens.”

That feeling of exclusion was noted by many bisexuals, including 28-year-old Kara Garland of Virginia Beach, Va.

“I do, in some sense, feel like I’m waiting at the gates and have not yet been allowed to enter the gay community,” she said.
Christopher Goodnough, 37, a bisexual from Greensburg, Pa., said the exclusion is sometimes subtle.

“The lack of any organized bi presence at the Pride fests I’ve been to has been a bit disappointing,” he said. “Having the ‘B’ included in LGBT is a good start, but when you pass dozens of booths selling merchandise covered with rainbows, leather colors, bear colors and lesbian themes, you’re lucky to find one sticker with bi colors. It gets a little discouraging.”

Sometimes the effort to exclude bisexuals is more overt. Keri Clinton, a 20-year-old bisexual from Walpole, Mass., said her former college’s gay-straight alliance refused to discuss bisexual issues.

“Some people in the gay community might say it is a step back,” she said. “It is not. It is a strong step forward.”

Shunning bisexuals

Mark Shields, director of the Human Rights Campaign’s Coming Out Project, admitted gays and lesbians sometimes shun bisexuals.

“I think that a lot of gay and lesbian people discount bisexuality because so many people, during their coming out process, identify as bisexual before identifying as gay or lesbian,” said Shields, who is gay.

“The really unfortunate thing is that gay and lesbian people should know — better than anyone else — that someone’s personal attraction is something that’s very personal and something that every person recognizes for him or her self.”

Many bisexuals, such as 35-year-old Allyson Diane Hamm of Allentown, Pa., echoed the sentiment.

“We all deserve that same amount of respect,” Hamm said. “It is just as disrespectful and harmful for a gay or lesbian person to say that bisexuality does not exist as it is for a right-wing fundamentalist to say the homosexuality is a sickness that should be cured.”

But other bisexuals said it’s unfair to expect acceptance from gays or straights.

Mike Killian, a 39-year-old bisexual from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said bisexuals must foster understanding before they can expect it from others.

“We aren’t exactly running to Pride parades and busting down closet doors,” he said. “If you don’t know any bisexual people, how can you learn to understand and accept them?”

David Cain, a 20-year-old bisexual from Nova Scotia, Canada, agreed.

“Bisexuals and bisexuality,” he said, “hasn’t really pierced the veil of being part and in the minds of the culture at large for more than random moments in time.”

Some bisexuals noted the few bisexual characters shown in entertainment media — such as Heath Ledger’s character in “Brokeback Mountain” and Angelina Jolie’s character in “Gia” — have only perpetuated stereotypes.

To combat these perceptions and foster understanding, Shields and many others interviewed for this article encouraged bisexuals to come out on Oct. 11.

Angelina Argueta, a 28-year-old bisexual from Sacramento, Calif., said honesty is important.

“Being who you are is the only proven happiness that you can give yourself,” she said. “Don’t hide this part of you and be miserable — be proud and strong.”

But another 28-year-old bisexual, Rose Fox of New York, said it’s important to remember that people who come out must be sensitive to those hearing the announcement.

“Remember that you’ve had a long time to figure this out about yourself, and they probably have no idea,” she said. “Tell them what you want from them, whether it’s simple acknowledgement and acceptance of you, acceptance of a new partner, a change in your relationship, or support when you come out to others. That kind of clarity will make it much easier on everyone.”

Many bisexuals said the coming out process might be stressful, but the ability to live openly and honestly is invaluable.

“I have come to feel that being bi is a blessing,” Hamm said. “I feel truly lucky to be able to be attracted to and love more than one gender. I wish more people felt the freedom and joy that being bi can bring.”

Copyright Washington Blade
All Rights Reserved

Looking back: "This week is fun"

"This week is fun, it's important." — Tim Gill, founder of Gill Action Fund

As I approach the end of my time with the Washington Blade, I wanted to take a look back at five articles I wrote that were particularly meaningful to me. Some of these articles won awards, some of these articles made readers cry and some of these articles represent my best work. Among the hundreds of articles I ultimately wrote for the Blade, these are five of which I'm most proud. I hope they resonate with you as much as they do with me.

From Aug. 27, 2008…

DEMOCRATS LOOK TO NOVEMBER AFTER ROUSING CONVENTION
Gay issues take backseat in Denver as delegates embrace Obama, Biden

By JOSHUA LYNSEN

DENVER — Invigorated by political promises and impassioned appeals, gay attendees at the Democratic National Convention this week rallied around Sen. Barack Obama in his quest to win the White House.

Gay convention delegates, elected officials and casual observers were unabashedly enthusiastic in their support for the Democratic Party and its presidential nominee, a man who has promised to enact new rights and protections for gays at the federal level.

“There’s something that’s profoundly moving for us and touches us to the core and says this is where we belong,” said David Alan Harris, a gay Denver resident. “And here’s a man who wants to label our belonging in this country in a way that’s never happened before.”

Hopeful that the November elections could mark an historic turning point in the gay rights movement, gay Democrats like Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) talked frequently about creating change on the national level.

“This election,” he said, “if we are able to elect Barack Obama president, pick up some Senate seats, pick up some House seats, we will have the majority that will enable us to do, I think, what we want to do.”

Frank told a group of gay delegates and dignitaries who gathered for lunch Tuesday at a posh downtown hotel that the “gay agenda” could soon be achieved.

“What’s our agenda?” he said with a laugh. “We want to get married, join the Army and get a job.”

Speaking at the same gathering, Michelle Obama won thunderous applause from gay Democrats when she told them that “discrimination has no place in a nation founded on the promise of equality.”

The wife of Barack Obama recalled how her husband once rallied neighborhood groups by challenging them to transform “the world as it is” into “the world as it should be.”

She asked gay Democrats to join that quest, help her husband win in November and then rejoice together as the Defense of Marriage Act is repealed and other gay rights advancements are made.

“Barack is running for president because he believes that if we work together and we come together, that we can build that world as it should be,” she said. “We can do it. And he says that in the world as it should be — what does that look like? In the world as it should be, we can work together to repeal laws like DOMA and ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ and we can oppose divisive constitutional amendments that would strip civil rights and benefits away from LGBT Americans because discrimination has no place in a nation founded on the promise of equality.”

Michelle Obama also reiterated her husband’s support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and other gay measures pending in Congress.

“In the world as it should be, anyone willing to put in an honest day’s work should make a good living and support their family,” she said. “It’s simple. And employers are held accountable for discrimination against LGBT Americans. The federal government fully protects all of us in the world as it should be, including LGBT Americans, especially against hate crimes. That’s the world as it should be.”

Stopped repeatedly during her 20-minute address by applause and cheers of support, Michelle Obama said her husband has long fought for gay civil rights.

“That’s what he did as a state senator,” she said. “Before entering the U.S. Senate, he was a champion of the law that amended the Illinois Human Rights Act in our state to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.”

She also noted her husband has long endorsed a complete repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, a stance he adopted during his campaign for U.S. Senate.

“And when he got to the U.S. Senate, he voted to protect our Constitution from the stain of discrimination by voting against the Federal Marriage Amendment,” she said. “He’s also supported in his career full funding for the Ryan White CARE Act and has pledged to implement a national HIV/AIDS strategy to combat the continuing epidemic right here in the United States.”

But she said her husband cannot foster equality alone, and challenged gay Democrats to work with him “to make the world as it is and the world as it should be one in the same.”

Because only then, she said, would gay Americans be able to fully enjoy “a life of dignity and freedom.”

Gay delegates praised Michelle Obama’s speech for its supportive message and genuine delivery. They also commended her willingness to address a gay audience the day after she gave her primetime convention speech.

“The day after she gave her big speech and all the media were following her around, she came to an LGBT event,” said Michael Huerta, a 22-year-old gay delegate from New Mexico. “That’s pretty cool.”

Huerta, a former Republican who switched parties in December, said he also appreciated the political risk Michelle Obama took by appearing at the luncheon.

“Even though we’re in the general election and the right is out to get her and her husband, she still showed up,” he said. “That more than anything is what impressed me.”

Gays ‘critical’ to election

Many other speakers joined Michelle Obama in asking gay Democrats to recommit themselves to political engagement at the national and local levels.

Alice Germond, the convention’s secretary, told gays at the LGBT Americans Caucus meeting Monday that their support could be key in deciding whether battleground states go red or blue in November.

“You will make that critical difference,” she told the crowd. “That one percent, that two percent, that three percent that we so often win states by — and you know that. And that one percent, that two percent, could well mean the difference in target states all over this country. And not just to elect Barack Obama and Joe Biden — and we will elect them — but also we shall re-elect governors, senators, members of Congress, so that we don’t have the kind of hateful legislation proposed that we have seen in the last four and eight years. We will change that.”

Tim Gill, the wealthy and notoriously reclusive gay founder of Gill Action Fund, asked caucus members to join him in helping anti-gay politicians find new jobs.

“Rick Santorum was a wonderful example of a man who needed a change in career,” he said to laughter and applause. “All of us banded together to make it happen. And there are thousands of people in this nation that are really in need of a new career.”

Gill told the convention’s 275 openly gay delegates they were right to push for change at the national level. But the man who’s poured millions into the campaigns of pro-gay state legislators said change must also be sought at the local level.

“By doing it at the local level, you give the national politicians the courage to realize that they can get elected again, voting pro-gay,” he said. “They don’t have to be afraid of being pro-gay. They can actually stand up and take a vote on gay people’s rights and it’s not a career-ending move.”

Gill noted that he did not begrudge the gay delegates enjoying the receptions and parties thrown for them this week in Denver.

“This week is fun, it’s important,” he said. “But what is the very most important thing you can do is go back and support pro-gay state legislators and eliminate the anti-gay state legislators.”

Rick Stafford, chair of the LGBT Americans Caucus, told gay delegates they also must return home with plans and tell everyone they know why Barack Obama would make a better president than the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain.

“It is our job, when we leave here and go back home, to talk to all of our community, Republicans, independents — as well as Democrats, and new Democrats, young Democrats — about John McCain and what kind of an administration he would bring.”

Frank said McCain is no better on gay issues “than Rick Santorum,” declining to back even the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a federal proposal that would bar most businesses from firing an employee solely because he or she is gay.

“He has never voted — never voted — for anything that would advance our people’s equality,” Frank said. “Not for hate crimes, not for ENDA, with or without transgender, or hate crimes, with or without transgender. He has never voted for it. He is a staunch opponent still of changing the ban on gay service members when other people have now said that the time has come to change it.”

Limited floor time

Although discussed often in meetings and gatherings, gay issues received little attention from those who spoke during the convention’s main gatherings at the Pepsi Center.

Neither of the two openly gay speakers to reach the podium dwelled on gay issues. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), a lesbian, did not mention her sexual orientation or discuss gay issues when she spoke Tuesday about the rising cost of health care. Andy Tobias, the Democratic National Committee’s treasurer, mentioned his sexual orientation during his remarks Monday.

“As a gay man,” he said, “I yearn for a president who believes in equal rights for all Americans.”

In advance of Blade deadline, the most notable mention of gay issues on the convention floor came from Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who said Obama will end the rivalries between straight and gay Americans.

“Barack Obama will close the book on the old politics of race and gender and group against group and straight against gay,” he said.

Hillary Clinton also made a passing reference to gays in her Tuesday night speech.

Despite such limited attention, many gay delegates said they were not disappointed that convention organizers chose only two openly gay speakers after allowing six to take the stage in 2004.

“I didn’t even know that statistic, because it’s not to me paramount and relevant,” said Judy Baker, a lesbian alternate delegate from New Mexico. “I don’t think it signals anything, really. When you line up people from around the United States and you have a limited number of time, you want to get the most influential and the most public people that you can to be your featured speakers.”

Delegates such as Arkansas state Rep. Kathy Webb, her state’s first elected openly gay state lawmaker, said the convention’s record number of gay delegates was a far more important statistic.

“I think it shows that we’ve done a good job as a community at getting involved in party activities — supporting candidates, running for office, raising money, going door to door, all of those things,” she said. “And I think it shows a growing awareness among the non-GLBT party folks that, first of all, our issues are important to them, and second, we bring a lot to the table.”

Copyright Washington Blade
All Rights Reserved

Awesome dice thing

Using dice to make pictures of famous people. Cool!

Looking back: "We're just not there yet"

"Politically, we're just not there yet. That's the reality that we face." — Marty Rouse, national field director for the Human Rights Campaign

As I approach the end of my time with the Washington Blade, I wanted to take a look back at five articles I wrote that were particularly meaningful to me. Some of these articles won awards, some of these articles made readers cry and some of these articles represent my best work. Among the hundreds of articles I ultimately wrote for the Blade, these are five of which I'm most proud. I hope they resonate with you as much as they do with me.

From April 18, 2008…

WHAT HAPPENED TO MARRIAGE IN MARYLAND?

Gay activists in Maryland had high hopes for this legislative session. Marriage rights seemed, for the first time, within reach. But the session ended last week with only token pro-gay measures approved. Joshua Lynsen talks to the key players to find out what went wrong.

Three months ago, Marty Rouse was hopeful that Maryland lawmakers would extend new rights to same-sex couples.

Rouse, a Maryland resident who works as national field director for the Human Rights Campaign, told the Blade in January that he and his neighbors could win marriage rights, civil unions or domestic partnerships this year.

“I feel very confident that we will be successful in 2008,” he said at the time. “Well, I’ll say cautiously optimistic. I’m sorry. Cautiously optimistic that we will see some kind of relationship recognition in 2008.”

But Rouse’s hopes were dashed after efforts to grant gay Marylanders marriage rights died in committee. Bills to enact civil unions or domestic partnerships were snubbed by activists and failed to gain traction.

In the end, Maryland legislators granted same-sex couples just a few new privileges, such as hospital visitation rights, before they adjourned last week.

Rouse, who lives near Bethesda, Md., said the session’s outcome was “extremely disappointing” to him and other gay Marylanders.

“It proves that we, as a community, have a lot more work to do,” he said last week. “Politically, we’re just not there yet. That’s the reality that we face. We’re not there yet. We do not have enough political power to win what we deserve.”

Other observers agreed, noting that gay Marylanders who dreamed of winning marriage rights this session set their hopes too high.

Vic Basile, a former Human Rights Campaign executive director who lives in Baltimore, said that “it was pretty clear right from the beginning that marriage had zero chance of passing” the legislature this year.

Part of the reason for that, said Maryland Black Family Alliance Director Elbridge James, was the marriage bills lacked the backing of state Senate President Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael Busch.

“I do not think the leadership in the House and Senate were strongly attached to the bill,” James said, “and I do not think Speaker Busch or Sen. Miller were in any way in favor of the bills or were inclined to let them hit the floor.”

Miller and Busch, both Democrats, said before the session that they would not support marriage rights for same-sex couples. Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley said he would consider signing a marriage bill, but repeatedly noted his preference for civil unions.

Stephen Clark, a professor at Albany Law School who is gay and tracks civil rights issues, said those stances should have been a warning sign to Equality Maryland and other marriage rights advocates.

“Given those constraints,” he said, “why would Equality Maryland undertake what I would call a marriage-or-nothing campaign?”

Clark said Equality Maryland made a mistake when it chose to lobby exclusively for marriage.

“When you can’t get the leader of either chamber or the governor to endorse your marriage-or-nothing strategy,” he said, “you might consider rethinking your strategy.”

‘Enamored with ideology’

Clark, who lives in Washington, said Equality Maryland would have done better to pursue a “pragmatic compromise” than fail to achieve the ideal.

He likened Equality Maryland’s decision to exclusively pursue marriage rights to last year’s move by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force to work against a federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that lacked protections for transgender people.

“Whether it’s this or whether it’s ENDA,” Clark said, “we seem to have movement leaders who are too enamored with ideology and not concerned enough about pragmatic politics.”

But Dan Furmansky, executive director of Equality Maryland, said it was important that the organization worked hardest to obtain that which gay Marylanders most want.

“Why would you ever ask for less than you deserve?” he said. “LGBT civil rights organizations aren’t in the business of saying, ‘Hey, would you consider treating me like a second-class citizen?’”

Furmansky also noted the organization, which last year lost a lawsuit seeking marriage rights for gay couples, was tasked by its donors, members and directors to aim high.

“If we had gone in asking for something less than marriage,” he said, “we might have walked out of this session with even less than what we got.”

The Health Care Facility Visitation & Medical Decisions bill and a measure granting domestic partners an exemption on recordation and transfer taxes were the only pro-gay bills lawmakers passed this session.

Equality Maryland had four lobbyists working in Annapolis this session. Their efforts were augmented by an American Civil Liberties Union lobbyist and two additional lobbyists HRC hired to help the state organization.

Rouse said HRC and Equality Maryland had a “terrific working relationship,” but went into the session with slightly different approaches.

“We were very upfront with our lobbyists that we wanted to support marriage equality, but we would also be supportive of civil unions or domestic partnerships, as well,” he said. “But the push was for marriage legislation.”

Furmansky dismissed suggestions that a different strategy could have yielded greater advancements.

“If there’s some sort of perception that we could have gotten more than what we got during this legislative session, people have to understand that it goes back to the Senate,” he said. “It goes back to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.”

The committee, which must approve any comprehensive relationship recognition scheme for same-sex couples, cast no votes this session on marriage rights, civil unions or domestic partnerships.

Among the committee’s 11 members, Furmansky said four supported marriage for same-sex couples, six were against it and one was “non-committal.”

Sens. Brian Frosh (D-Montgomery County), Lisa Gladden (D-Baltimore), Jennie Forehand (D-Montgomery County) and Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery County) supported the measure, while Sens. Larry Haines (R-Baltimore and Carroll counties), Nancy Jacobs (R-Cecil and Harford counties), Alex Mooney (R-Frederick and Washington counties), Anthony Muse (D-Prince George’s County), Bryan Simonaire (R-Anne Arundel County) and Norman Stone (D-Baltimore County) opposed it. Furmansky described Sen. James Brochin (D-Baltimore County) as “non-committal.”

“Any comprehensive recognition of relationships for same-sex couples is predicated on getting through that committee,” he said. “As long as the committee is structured as it is, the LGBT community of Maryland is going to have to find a way to creatively work around it.”

Finding a workaround

Furmansky said key to that workaround is finding a way to get a bill that recognizes same-sex couples past Muse.

“We watched during the session as he told one senator after another that he was interested in a solution, that he was open to a solution, that he would look at solutions,” he said. “In the end, he turned in the most anti-gay voting record possible. If that’s how he treats his colleagues, then it’s clear he was never really interested in anything other than the attention this issue could bring him.”

Muse, a pastor who was routinely singled out by marriage rights advocates this session for his consistent opposition to a marriage bill, drew the ire of many gay Marylanders.

But some observers said Muse might be shouldering an unfair amount of blame.

“Most likely, Sen. Muse is representative of a few too many other elected officials in his opposition to marriage,” Rouse said. “We need to convince many legislators, including Sen. Muse, that same-sex couples deserve equal rights by their elected officials, by their government.”

And to turn those politicians, James said, gay rights advocates must turn voters.

“It’s going to take a lot of hard work to get people to change their minds on this,” he said. “That’s why we need to get into the community and go door to door — to remove any misunderstandings that are out there.”

Marriage rights advocates had hoped Sen. Gwendolyn Britt, another Democrat from Prince George’s County and a staunch gay civil rights supporter, could sway Muse. But she died following a heart attack days after the General Assembly convened.

“Losing Sen. Britt was a devastating blow to our efforts,” Furmansky said. “We’ll never know how much more she could have contributed.”

To move forward, Basile said Equality Maryland must ask its allies, such as civil rights veteran and U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), to help them reach Muse and others who aren’t listening.

“Maybe that should be on the table for the planning that’s going into next session,” Basile said. “I just don’t think that we have much moral sway with a lot of the African-American religious leaders, in this case who also happen to be legislators. We clearly need help there.”

He said Lewis might be able to help turn Muse toward a more favorable — or at least neutral — position.

“I don’t know what some of these legislators would say if they got a call from John Lewis, but I think they would be hard pressed to say no to him,” Basile said. “I think that would be difficult.”

Rouse said such tactics could prove essential for activists.

“Clearly,” he said, “the legislature is not going to give us what we deserve unless we fight and play hardball to win our rights.”

Better than nothing?

Clark said marriage rights advocates might do better next session, though, if they pursued other alternatives.

“We hear a lot of talk about how bad civil unions are,” he said. “And it’s true that civil unions aren’t perfect, but they are much better than nothing.”

But some observers disagreed. Basile said it would be politically unwise for Equality Maryland to simultaneously lobby for marriage and civil unions.

“I think they had to choose one or the other,” he said, “and the reason is if you’re asking legislators to go the whole mile with you and take the greatest risk to sign their name on to marriage, but then you say we’d settle for civil unions, you sort of undercut your leverage.”

Sen. Rich Madaleno (D-Montgomery County), who is gay, also said it’s important that his colleagues understand marriage equality is the best solution and anything short of that is an “inherently inferior arrangement.”

“Hopefully, by putting people in the situation where it’s marriage or nothing, you do force people who would love to take the easy way out to make the tough decision,” he said. “And you work hard to make sure they make the decision in your favor.”

Furmansky said those were among the reasons Equality Maryland pursued the strategy it did this session.

“People who really understand politics understand that fighting for marriage is the politically wise thing to do,” he said. “If you don’t go in asking for what you deserve, you’re never going to get it.”

But when it became evident this session that marriage wasn’t likely, Furmansky said he and other activists talked with lawmakers about “what would and would not be acceptable to us in the end.”

“Legislators knew what the response would be from our organization if they passed a comprehensive domestic partnership bill,” he said, “and they understood that while it would in no way short circuit our vibrant campaign for marriage equality, that we would embrace it as an important step on the road to marriage equality.”

Furmansky said Equality Maryland did not reveal to the media such conversations were occurring because “the legislative session is an incredibly dynamic period of time.”

“Marriage equality will happen in Maryland,” he said. “It will happen sooner than people think. And it was important that the legislature understand that if they passed something less than marriage equality, it wouldn’t solve the problem.”

‘A matter of time’

Madaleno said as an alternative, though, civil unions would have faced an uphill battle at the General Assembly.

“I don’t know if you can come up with a scenario where even if we had come in with full steam ahead on civil unions that that would have gotten anywhere considering Sen. Muse was unwilling to even vote for the piecemeal bills, and clearly would have never voted for civil unions,” he said. “So I think it’s good to come in and ask for what you want.”

And just because that strategy didn’t yield the desired outcome, Furmansky said, doesn’t mean it failed.

“I don’t think you can say it failed if it moved forward,” he said. “Did some pieces of the agenda fail? Yes. Did some pieces of the agenda succeed? Yes.”

Basile agreed. He said the marriage bills “got further in this legislative session” than he would have expected by attracting 49 sponsors.

“I thought it was dead in the water when they were doing it, and I was impressed with the level of support that they got,” he said. “And they were one vote away from getting it out of committee. That was pretty impressive, I thought.”

Furmansky noted the progress made this year would benefit the campaign Equality Maryland and other marriage rights advocates are poised to wage in 2009.

“You have to respect that legislative battles aren’t won in one year on almost any issue,” he said, “and this is not a non-controversial topic that won’t require blood, sweat and tears to make it a reality.”

Clark, however, cautioned marriage advocates against blindly seeking “the stronger version of the bill knowing that is going to postpone — for probably years — the ability to enact anything significant.”

Furmansky said although Equality Maryland has not yet set its legislative agenda for 2009, the organization would consider all these variables before doing so.

“We think things out more than most advocacy organizations,” he said. “We hold strategy meetings all the time. And anyone has the right to question our sophistication, but I ask that person what they’re doing to contribute directly to the cause for equality. Our door is open.”

Furmansky also noted that while state lawmakers didn’t grant gay Marylanders the relationship recognition they sought this year, the first steps along that road were taken.

“On relationship recognition, same-sex couples in Maryland will have in a few months a number of rights they didn’t have a few months ago,” he said. “People have a right to feel impatient, but Maryland is on the path to full and equal protection for couples through a marriage license, without a doubt. Legislators say to me all the time, ‘It’s just a matter of time.’”

Copyright Washington Blade
All Rights Reserved

Looking back: "Let people serve openly"

"If you feel that we're the same, then repeal the policy. Let people serve openly in the military." — Eric Alva, retired Marine staff sergeant

As I approach the end of my time with the Washington Blade, I wanted to take a look back at five articles I wrote that were particularly meaningful to me. Some of these articles won awards, some of these articles made readers cry and some of these articles represent my best work. Among the hundreds of articles I ultimately wrote for the Blade, these are five of which I'm most proud. I hope they resonate with you as much as they do with me.

From March 2, 2007…

A NEW KIND OF FIGHT
Gay Marine who lost leg in Iraq joins effort to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

By JOSHUA LYNSEN

It was a late autumn evening when Eric Alva, now a retired Marine staff sergeant and the first U.S. service member injured in the Iraq war, decided to come out as gay.

The decision, Alva said, came after his partner noted Alva lost his right leg while defending freedoms neither man could fully enjoy.

Alva said the words his partner spoke then in their San Antonio, Texas, home have stayed with him.

“Look at the rights that people are being denied,” Alva recalled his partner saying. “And look at the rights that you are fighting for. Look at the rights that you put your life on the line for, for this country. And yet you don’t get any of them.

“He made me raise my eyebrows. Like, ‘Oh my God, you’re right.’ I’m just a second-class citizen who isn’t going to get anything unless I say something. And I’m in a position to do something.”

That’s why Alva — who was christened the war’s first hero and met President Bush after he was injured by a land mine in March 2003 — came out as gay publicly on Wednesday.

“There are certain things you do in life at a certain time and a certain place,” he told the Blade. “In my heart, I know this is the right time.”

Alva now plans to work with Human Rights Campaign as part of the organization’s renewed effort to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which bars gays from serving openly in the armed forces.

Rep. Marty Meehan (D-Mass.) introduced a bill Wednesday backed by more than 100 other House members to repeal the 13-year-old policy. A companion Senate bill is expected later this year.

“We know that there’s no place in this country for discrimination, whether it’s based on race, creed or sexual orientation,” he said. “And there’s no place for institutional discrimination codified in the federal statutes.”

‘Country has changed’

Gay activists consider Meehan’s bill, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, a key priority for the 110th Congress.

C. Dixon Osburn, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an organization that backs Meehan’s bill, said public opinion favors ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

A poll last year by the Pew Research Center found 60 percent of Americans think gays should be allowed to serve openly. In a separate poll last year of 545 soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, 73 percent of troops said they were comfortable interacting with gay service members.

“The country has changed, the military has changed,” Osburn said, “and now it’s time for Congress to change.”

But it’s unclear how Congress will react. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has indicated she supports the repeal, but a spokesperson for Pelosi said, “It’s hard to say where things are going.”

And efforts to repeal the policy could meet fierce conservative resistance.

Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth, said Meehan’s bill could “activate the grassroots conservative movement.”

“It’s the gay side that has been working so hard to change hearts and minds, whereas the conservative side has not been that engaged,” he said. “But I think that will quickly change.”

Nonetheless, Meehan, who chairs a House Armed Services subcommittee and aims for a hearing on his bill by May, said momentum to repeal the policy “is clearly on our side.”

“I don’t have any doubt that it’s just a matter of time,” he said, “and the people who are on the other side are simply on the wrong side of history.”

‘He’s still Eric’

As activists work to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Alva said Americans should support domestically the same ideals the nation is touting in Iraq.

“It’s an opportunity to really test the guidelines of what everybody always talks about in this country,” he said. “Everybody always preaches that everybody’s equal in this country — everybody’s treated the same. We’re really not. I mean, we’re not. This would be a test. If you feel that we’re the same, then repeal the policy. Let people serve openly in the military.”

Alva, who joined the Marines in 1990 at age 19, said being closeted had an adverse affect on him.

“On a professional level, no, because I knew I had a job to do,” he said. “On a personal level, in some ways, yes, because it was hard for me to live sometimes knowing that I was alone or that I couldn’t be open about who I wanted to date.”

Although he became accustomed to concealing his identity, Alva said he came out to several Marines during his 13 years in the armed forces. He was never questioned, though, or reprimanded for lying about his sexual orientation on his military application.

But he said there was one particularly awkward instance during which Alva and another Marine were having drinks at a sports bar in Burbank, Calif.

After the Marine commented on several women in the bar, he noticed Alva’s dispassionate demeanor.

“He’s like, ‘Dude, what’s the matter? Are you gay or something?’” Alva said. “And just out of response — because I already had two margaritas in me, I was buzzed — I just turned to him and said, ‘As a matter of fact,' ... ‘I am. So what do you have to say about that, jerk off?’ He just looked at me and he goes, ‘Are you serious?’ And I said, ‘I am.’”

Alva said although the man pledged to keep the secret, it was soon leaked. But the gossiping didn’t cause any harm.

“It was amazing, because people respected me and liked me more than they did him,” he said. “When he would tell people, everybody was like, ‘What’s your point? He’s still Eric.’”

But now the man who fought for fairness in Iraq will seek the same on Capitol Hill.

HRC President Joe Solmonese said Alva will serve as the organization’s national spokesperson on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” issues. Plans include public appearances, a media campaign and meetings with key members of Congress.

“When Eric Alva lost his leg in Iraq, it didn’t matter whether he was gay or straight, only that he was a courageous American serving his country,” he said. “The courage and sacrifice of gay and lesbian service members, like Eric Alva, should be heralded, not silenced.”

Alva, while relishing the opportunity, said he’s still becoming accustomed to his new role.

“Thinking that I’m going to be some poster boy, or given that title all over again — a hero — I mean, to me, I’m just wanting to be your regular, average American citizen who has a voice, who has a point to make and wants to empower other people about the rights and equality of what people really deserve in this country.”

Copyright Washington Blade
All Rights Reserved

How much is too much?

It's amazing how much Star Wars material there is available to buy some 30 years after the movies released. You could fill a room with the many books, toys, clothing, media and other miscellanea available at your average mall.

So the question is almost begged: How much is too much? A few books are pretty harmless. A knickknack or two doesn't take up much room. And matted artwork stores rather nicely when not on display. It's not hard to find space for your favorite things.

But there comes a point when a Star Wars fan even as fanatic as I must cry uncle. In our small, one-bedroom apartment, there's not what you'd call a surplus of space. As such, one eventually realizes that what can be rented should be rented. It's for this reason I won't be buying "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" on DVD. I plan to watch both seasons of the show. I've heard too many good things about it to not. But those discs will reach me via Netflix, not Amazon.

Shocked? Don't be. It's just another practicality of adult life. We all have to draw lines in the sand when it comes to our toys. Some people, for example, reach a point with their t-shirt collection where they must subtract one for each one they add. So what's your line in the sand? And how good are you at not crossing it?

After these messages…

Forgive me for going another week without a look inside my Starlog magazines. Things have just been a bit hectic lately.

Be assured that my Starlog series will resume. In the meantime, though, I give you this glimpse at sci fi days gone by.

One quest I'll be sad to miss

I was delighted to recently learn about "Costume Quest," a console RPG that smartly uses Halloween as the setting for a child's fantastic journey through a fantasy-become-reality tale. You can see the trailer below.

But then I noticed the game isn't coming to the Nintendo Wii. That's an inexplicable decision in my eyes. Realizing that the game will be released exclusively through the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 download shops, I think the game could and should have seen a full retail release for the Wii. The graphics don't seem so complex that they couldn't be rendered on the system. And the story's whimsical plot would be right at home on Nintendo's little white box.

Don't get me wrong. I'm glad the game is coming to multiple systems. The bigger the audience for games such as this, the better. But skipping the Wii? It baffles me.

Hitting the reset button

It's not a perfect metaphor for my current situation, but in some ways I am hitting the professional reset button this month.

The reset I've chosen to perform isn't one that restarts my career or zeroes out my accumulated skills and knowledge. No, I'm planning to capitalize on my background going forward. The reset button I'm pushing is one that resets my professional expectations. It erases my preconceived notions about what I should do — and where I can best thrive. The choice I've made forces me to think in new ways about new opportunities. And a lot of good can come from that. Because where I am three months, six moths or one year from today may be somewhere wholly unexpected. That's exciting.

So on that note, I'm curious: If you were to hit your own professional reset button and do something new and different, what would it be? If you could get up tomorrow and go to work anywhere, where would it be?

Social media is like French camp

(Here's my latest post on the Small Act blog.)

I recently found out a coworker and I both attended Lac du Bois, one of the Concordia Language Villages camps in Bemidji, Minn.

Finding this connection got me to reminiscing about my time there, and I was struck by the parallels between attending a language-immersion camp and diving into social media.

When you first arrive at French camp, you have to go through “customs.” They take away any English-language items you have, including books, magazines and music. It’s a somewhat shocking experience, having people rifle through your belongings and remove things that remind you of home.

I felt similarly vulnerable when I started using Twitter and Facebook. I was worried about people seeing my stuff, and whether I could adapt to the new culture presented by online communities. I felt like the tools that had served me so well in the past were being taken away, and I would have to learn a whole new language in order to fit in. Which was partially true.

Continue reading.

How iTunes lost my $20

So here's a quick case-in-point tale for anyone at Amazon who wants to cheer — or anyone at Apple who wants to scowl.

After seeing the incredibly epic and musically inspired "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" last night, Annie and I agreed that the film's music must be ours. Both albums. The score and the soundtrack. Our first inclination was to buy the albums from iTunes, so I hopped online and went to the store. I was shocked to find the score selling for $12 and the soundtrack priced at $16.

Huh? Didn't the days of paying $16 for an album end about the time Musicland went out of business? And hasn't iTunes been training you, me and every other digital music consumer for years than an album is worth exactly $9.99? Why was I suddenly being asked to pay $6 more than that for a soundtrack album? That didn't seem right to me. Or Annie. So we decided to check out Amazon. That ended up being a good idea. We were able to download the soundtrack album for $9.49 and the score album for $9.99. Score!

Thank you, Amazon, for being so competitive. You are teh awesomez.

Slave Leia in high-def? Yes, please!

Just when I thought I might be able to skip this whole Blu-ray fad, George Lucas goes and announces the Star Wars movies are being released in high-definition. And with heretofore unreleased scenes. Like this one…

We'll have to wait and see what my employment situation is like once this release hits stores, but the fanboy in me sure would like to watch these movies in high-def. On a new TV. Using that Blu-ray player I don't own.

Man, this could get expensive.

Change is good

Change is good. Just ask a proud new parent. Or an excited teenager who's driving solo for the first time. Or anyone who saw the last Star Trek movie.

There's been a lot of change in my professional life across the last nine months. There was change when Window Media collapsed and the Washington Blade closed. There was change when many of the Blade's staffers banded together to create DC Agenda. There was change when DC Agenda's owners won the rights to resurrect the Washington Blade name. There was change when we moved offices four times, welcomed new staff and freelancers, and reinvented the publication. There was change in such abundance in the days, weeks and months following the November 2009 bankruptcy of Window Media that change was one of our few constants. And those changes all proved to be for the best.

Now it's time for another change. It's time for me to leave the Blade.

I've been part of the publication across four years and five months. I've helped produce about 230 issues — including more than 100 issues as news editor. I've marched with the Blade in three Capital Pride parades, served as the newspaper's lead correspondent from a national political convention, and shared incredible stories of sadness and triumph. I have found my time at the Blade to be more meaningful, educational and rewarding than I ever envisioned. I am so happy to have contributed to its rich history.

So why am I leaving? Because it's time for me to move on. I've been thinking very seriously for several months about a career change and I believe now is the right time for me to pursue that change in earnest. Of course, stepping away from a full-time job and toward a hazy future is not a step I take lightly. There is risk involved in my choice. But risk is sometimes necessary to reap rewards. As for the rewards that I seek: new professional challenges and opportunities. I plan to stay in communications work. I most enjoy sharing and shaping messages. And because so many of those types of opportunities are in Washington, Annie and I will be staying in the D.C. area. Many of the details, though, of where I will go and what I will do remain in flux.

And that's OK. This roll of the dice is fundamentally no different than the chance Annie and I took when we moved to Washington. I had no desk waiting for me when we made that leap — just as I have no desk waiting for me as I make this leap at month's end. But it all worked out pretty well last time. I have great faith that this change, too, will be for the best.

Vote for great nonprofit panels at SXSW

Do you have a couple minutes?

If you do, I'd love to borrow them.

As part of my work in helping nonprofits succeed in social media, I've proposed a couple of panels geared toward nonprofits for next year's South by Southwest Interactive Festival.

I need your votes in order to get them selected! Thousands of panels are suggested for a mere 450 slots. I've never had a panel chosen before, despite my best efforts. You don't need to attend the festival, or even care about the festival, to vote. You just need to be awesome. :-)

Here's what I need you to do:

Vote for these panels. It’s fast and easy. (You will need to register, but it only takes a minute. I promise.)

If you want an extra gold star, leave a comment for these panels. Comments carry more weight than votes. If you’re excited about a topic, or a speaker, say so!

If you want my undying affections, share links to the panels on Facebook and Twitter.

Here they are:

Let's Go Stalking! Fun With Social CRMs
Tiny Strategies: Social Media in 60 Minutes or Less

Many, many thanks! You are all awesome and full of win.

Calculating a game's value

It's usually more of an art than a science when it comes to calculating a video game's value. How does one put a price on that nostalgic Zelda game? What is "Final Fantasy VII" worth?

But calculating a Guitar Hero game's value is fairly easy. Activision has trained me to see the value of any good Guitar Hero song as $2 — the cost to download my track of choice from their online store. Guitar Hero games come packed with dozens of songs, of course, but songs I have no interest in playing are worth nothing to me. Songs that I want to play are worth $2. So if the game has 10 songs I want to play, the game is worth $20. Easy math, right? Using this formula, I held off purchasing "Guitar Hero 5" until its price dropped to match my assigned value. The approach served me so well that this will be my standard going forward.

My first opportunity to reuse this formula will be on "Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock," which releases this fall. The game's full track listing recently became public, enabling me to assign a value to the game. I was elated to find songs such as R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" and Linkin Park's "Bleed It Out" on the list in addition to the previously announced "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen and "Self Esteem" by The Offspring. Some other tracks that made me smile were Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It," and Poison's "Unskinny Bop" and Bush's "Machinehead," plus a half dozen others. The bulk of the game's 93 songs, though, are unknown, uninteresting or downright unbearable. So what's the new Guitar Hero game worth to me? That's easy. The game's 13 interesting songs are worth $2 each for a grand total of $26 in value.

For our readers who also enjoy Guitar Hero and Rock Band games: Do you employ any similar logic in your purchasing decisions? Or is this just another example of Josh being crazy?

Freaking awesome 3-D...building...thing.

You just need to watch it. Trust me, it's worth it.

Chillout song

This is the song that I sing when I'm scared of something

Big Bang Theory panel at Comic-Con

Check it out! (Sorry for any ads you have to endure, but this is better footage than YouTube has to offer so far.)

CONvergence 2010: Cosplay Highlights - The Tick and Captain Liberty

It takes a brave man to wear head-to-toe blue spandex. I'm just saying.

Starlog: A broken 'Ring'

Long before Peter Jackson gave us his Academy Award-winning take on J.R.R. Tolkien's famous trilogy, "The Fellowship of the Ring," "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King," we suffered through three notable missteps.

It all began when Rankin-Bass Productions produced a made-for-television animated version of the trilogy's prequel, "The Hobbit," in 1977. That movie was generally well received, but rightly criticized for being somewhat confusing. It was followed by Ralph Bakshi's more ambitious — and even more confusing — theatrical release of "The Lord of the Rings" in 1978. That film, originally intended to be marketed with a "Part One" addendum, abruptly ended midway through the novelized trilogy. Although he intended to finish the story with "Part Two," Bakshi never got the project off the ground. That left the door open for Rankin-Bass Productions to steal the final act with their 1980 rendition of "The Return of the King."

In its June 1980 issue, Starlog attempted to clarify for readers this convoluted situation while drumming up interest in "The Return of the King" and nudging Bakshi's project along.

Romeo Muller, who scripted both Rankin-Bass productions, has done a good job of seamlessly joining the very beginning of the Tolkien epic to its ending. And, of course, one can always turn to Bakshi's film to get most of the early part of the story.

Bakshi's fans will be curious as to whether Bakshi still plans to complete his version of the Tolkien epic. Bakshi's office reports that production has already begun on the second part of Lord of the Rings, which will inevitably include many of the same events covered in the Rankin-Bass version, though the script has not yet been finalized.

And never would it be. Bakshi moved on to other projects, bringing a sad end to Hollywood's first effort to adapt one of the 20th Century's greatest works. Thank goodness Peter Jackson did "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy justice two decades later.

CONvergence 2010: Cosplay Highlights - Commander Riker

The great thing about this costume is it's being worn by an old buddy of mine from my
Rochester Radio Theater Guild days, Pat Sheehy. At first when I saw him, I thought,
"Man, that guy is the spitting image of Jonathan Frakes," and then I realized I knew him!

Imitation, flattery, yadda yadda

If imitation is the highest form of flattery, the creators of "Little Big Planet" for PlayStation 3 must be really, really flattered by "Create" from Electronic Arts. The game for Nintendo Wii and other platforms is slated to hit stores in November.

I'm no expert on "Little Big Planet," having only spent a couple hours playing the game, but the many similarities in style and presentation between these two games are too obvious to ignore. One quite obviously begat the other. It's probably the biggest case of "me too!" that I've seen in the industry since "Rock Band" succeeded "Guitar Hero," spurring "Band Hero."

My only question is how quickly will Sony be filing the derivative work lawsuit against Electronic Arts?

CONvergence 2010: Cosplay Highlights - The Penguin

Brilliant classic Penguin from "Batman."

We live on the Thunder Plains!

Last week, we had saw some really cool lightning. We were on our balcony and this thunderstorm was totally focused on just one cloud (from our vantage point, anyway), and there was near-constant lightning in that cloud. We caught about a minute of it on video. And, just to be cute, I set the video to the Thunder Plains music from Final Fantasy X. Enjoy.

CONvergence 2010: Cosplay Highlights - The Bowler and the Blue Raja

Marie and Michael Porter went as characters from "Mystery Men." Love the level of detail in these costumes!

A reason to watch PBS

I don't often watch the Public Broadcasting System channel. The few times it's caught my attention has been in the midst of pledge drives, so I only get three minutes at a time. That's not the best method to retain an audience.

But I'll be watching the channel this coming weekend when it airs a recording of Video Games Live, the touring orchestral production that plays some of the best tracks from popular video games. The show airs in many major U.S. television markets this month and a full lineup is available at Video Games Live.

Recorded at the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, the show features the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, a 34-voice chorus and a rock band playing themes from "Super Mario Bros.," "The Legend of Zelda," "Sonic the Hedgehog," "World of Warcraft," "StarCraft II," "Halo," "Final Fantasy," "Chrono Cross," "Castlevania," "God of War," and "Civilization IV." The 90-minute program also includes a selection from "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith," but I promise not to hold that against them because the program is being broadcast in HD. Although that doesn't make any difference on my old television, I know some of you will be happy.

Viewers in my neck of the woods can see Video Games Live on Thursday, Aug. 5, at 11:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 7 at 9:30 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 8 at 2 a.m. and Friday, Aug. 13 at 1 p.m.