Mike Alvear's Urge & Merge

….Making the U.S. seem as advanced as a third-world country.

From NPR:

Argentina legalized same-sex marriage Thursday, becoming the first country in Latin America to give gays and lesbians all the legal rights that marriage brings to heterosexual couples.

After a marathon debate that lasted more than 16 hours, the vote was 33 in favor, 27 against and 3 abstentions in Argentina’s Senate. Since the lower house already approved the bill and President Cristina Fernandez is a strong supporter, it now becomes the law of the land.

The bill passed despite a concerted campaign by the Roman Catholic Church and evangelical groups, which drew 60,000 people to a march on Congress earlier this week. But opinion polls in Argentina show support for legalizing same-sex marriage at 70 percent.

Of course, it’s McDonald’s in FRANCE, but still. Here’s the video:

A lot of straight folks won’t understand why this scene from GLEE stunned so many gay viewers. Most of us have uneasy truces with our dads (if we’re out at all), and it usually follows something along the lines of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, We Know.

So to see this almost primal scene of a dad defending his gay kid, a dad who himself has struggled to accept him…

I’ll let the video speak for itself:

My good friend Jonathan Lerner, a writer whose musings on food, art and design is known to millions of minions, released his second novel last month. Steadfastly refusing to write an autobiography about his time in the Weather Underground (pissing off those of us who are fascinated with the Timothy McVeighs of the Left), he wrote, instead, a novel set in the time period. Here’s a great description from Artscriticsatl.com:

Lerner’s second novel, “Alex Underground,” plays out against this tumultuous era of American history. Alex and his comrade-in-arms, Doug, members of the fictitious Raucous Caucus, instigate a violent incident on campus, then run away to evade arrest. Eventually they flee to Canada, take a ship to Castro’s Cuba, toil in the hot sun for a couple of months in homage to the Communist ideal, then make their way to a decaying Havana. Here, too, begins Alex’s personal quest as a repressed gay man desperate to uncork his homosexuality, deeply in love with his charismatic straight friend.

When he and Doug separate for security reasons, Alex is bereft of the object of his passions and the novel’s emotional core dissolves. Alex’s solitary travels through Europe see him struggling to reckon with his sexual identity, a fugitive turning tricks for a few dollars, picking up men in grungy bars and restrooms. He always has his eye on the money, and it’s hard not to feel more repugnance than sympathy for his situation. Soon enough, his unease turns to a voracious, omnivorous hunger for sex that he compares to an addictive drug.

You can order Jonathan’s book here (It’s a terrific read). For a true-life account of his Weather Underground days (GRIPPING) click here (it’s in an essay he wrote for The Washington Post).

GLEE creator Ryan Murphy is leading a boycott of Newsweek after one of its columnists said openly gay actors playing straight characters alienate audiences.

Calm down, Ladyface. The columnist has a point. It is hard to believe Sean Hayes as a womanizer in Broadway’s Promises, Promises without seeing his swishy, gayed up character in Will & Grace. And it is hard to believe GLEE’s Jonathan Groff (the openly gay Broadway star) as Rachel’s love interest without thinking, “Why’d they cast the gay guy as her boyfriend?”

Newsweek’s columnist–who’s openly gay, by the way– didn’t suggest that gay actors stay in the closet (as Rupert Everett does). In fact, he writes, “For gay actors, why should sexual orientation limit a gay actor’s choice of roles?” His point, and it’s a good one, is that it often does.

GLEE’s creator went Sue Sylvester on the writer, calling the column “Shocking…hurtful…blatantly homophobic” and demanding that Newsweek apologize to all its gay readers.

Well, I’m a gay Newsweek reader and I’d like an apology from Ryan Murphy. Because instead of Read the rest of this entry »

This is a total turnoff to me, and I’m attracted to guys on the slender side. But slender to me means 30-32 inch waist. Does this now make me a chubby chaser?

From New York Magazine:

Next month, the British mannequin maker Rootstein debuts their latest male form—the “Homme Nouveau,” feminized and not so hearty, with a 35-inch chest and a 27-inch waist. Perfect for the trendiest, string-beaniest clothing, sure. But there’s evidence that the new paradigm has given rise to male anorexia.

The best stats from the story:

Dimensions of Rootstein’s Male Mannequins:
1967: 42” chest, 33” waist
1983: 41” chest, 31” waist
1994: 38” chest, 28” waist
2010: 35” chest, 27” waist

From the Biology of Technology blog:

“Hot shirtless guys and scantily clad girls running on the side of the road are MUCH more of a distraction and hazardous than cell phones. So let’s pass a law against hot people running. They’re already hot so why do they need to run anyway? Of course, non-hot people may continue to run and should continue to do so. Until they become hot, then they must stop.

If I cannot be trusted as an adult to do two things at once like talk on the cell and drive, then I cannot be trusted to not be distracted when hot people are running on the sidewalks of busy streets.”

I’m not sure I agree with blogger Rick Howington on this subject (the data’s pretty clear–you’re much likelier to get into an accident with a cell phone than without), but I like the way he reached into his inner Teabagger anger and pulled it off. The real danger, in my view, is watching hot people running while you’re driving …to pick up your date!

Read the rest of Rick’s post + watch a hilarious video on the subject

As I watch the continuing lunacy of the right wing reaction to passing healthcare reform, I thought, “Hey, wait a minute, that’s how a lot of guys react when their wives try to pass Sexcare Reform.” Nobody likes third party intrusions into their personal life.

The fears are frighteningly similar:

Read the rest of this entry »

A few months ago I decided to write my memoirs, a project I knew was going to bring me closer to an amazing turning point in my life. From the moment I wrote the first phrase I was sure the book was the tool that was going to help me free myself from things I was carrying within me for a long time. Things that were too heavy for me to keep inside. Writing this account of my life, I got very close to my truth. And thisis something worth celebrating.

For many years, there has been only one place where I am in touch with my emotions fearlessly and that’s the stage. Being on stage fills my soul in many ways, almost completely. It’s my vice. The music, the lights and the roar of the audience are elements that make me feel capable of anything. This rush of adrenaline is incredibly addictive. I don’t ever want to stop feeling these emotions. But it is serenity that brings me to where I’m at right now. An amazing emotional place of comprehension, reflection and enlightenment. At this moment I’m feeling the same freedom I usually feel only on stage, without a doubt, I need to share.

Many people told me: “Ricky it’s not important”, “it’s not worth it”, “all the years you’ve worked and everything you’ve built will collapse”, “many people in the world are not ready to accept your truth, your reality, your nature”. Because all this advice came from people who I love dearly, I decided to move on with my life not sharing with the world my entire truth. Allowing myself to be seduced by fear and insecurity became a self-fulfilling prophecy of sabotage. Today I take full responsibility for my decisions and my actions.

If someone asked me today, “Ricky, what are you afraid of?” I would answer “the blood that runs through the streets of countries at war…child slavery, terrorism…the cynicism of some people in positions of power, the misinterpretation of faith.” But fear of my truth? Not at all! On the contrary, It fills me with strength and courage. This is just what I need especially now that I am the father of two beautiful boys that are so full of light and who with their outlook teach me new things every day. To keep living as I did up until today would be to indirectly diminish the glow that my kids where born with. Enough is enough. This has to change. This was not supposed to happen 5 or 10 years ago, it is supposed to happen now. Today is my day, this is my time, and this is my moment.

These years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within and that this kind of truth gives me the power to conquer emotions I didn’t even know existed.

What will happen from now on? It doesn’t matter. I can only focus on what’s happening to me in this moment. The word “happiness” takes on a new meaning for me as of today. It has been a very intense process. Every word that I write in this letter is born out of love, acceptance, detachment and real contentment. Writing this is a solid step towards my inner peace and vital part of my evolution.

I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am.

RM