10.20.08
Posted in E's Thoughts, Gay Portal, WIOD 610 Radio at 8:55 am by pikapp44
I heard this discussed on the radio last night. I know it’s not a story about gays, but it’s so important to everyone and gays could do a lot to save the horses by calling their Senators and Reps in Congress telling them to put an end to the rounding up and euthanasia. The BLM is using our tax dollars to kill the horses.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is rounding up healthy wild horses planning to euthanize them. The BLM wants the horses off grazing land used for cows.
Wild horse advocates fear the free-roaming legends of the West might vanish from the ranges within five years if the federal government continues to round them up, as they’ve done in Red Rock Canyon.
At a news conference Monday, they said they will petition Congress to force several federal agencies to stop most roundups and return horses now in some holding facilities to historic ranges.
They also don’t want “excess” horses euthanized, as Bureau of Land Management officials have suggested might be necessary.
“How can we let our government destroy the last of what we have?” said Karen Sussman, president of the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros, wrapping up the weekend’s Wild Horse and Burro Summit in Las Vegas.
Any hope for keeping viable herds in Clark County have already been quashed by emergency roundups by the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service in recent years. No viable herds now exist near the Las Vegas Valley.
About 35 horses roam the south end of Red Rock Canyon, about a dozen are left on Mount Charleston, and no horses or burros are in the Muddy Mountains or Gold Butte, based on estimates by the National Wild Horse Association.
Sussman, speaking to reporters at a corral near the Western Trails Equestrian Park, said it takes about 150 horses to maintain a genetically viable herd and 75 percent of the nation’s herds have fewer than that.
She said the herds are rapidly declining and many will be zeroed out in five years, even though BLM officials disagree.
“I think that’s an erroneous statement,” said Doran Sanchez, communications chief for the BLM in Nevada.
Barbara Wolin, a Las Vegas wild horse enthusiast who was one of about 75 summit participants, said the BLM should put horses back in herd areas that are being used for ranching and other interests (cow grazing).
“I just want to see the horses handled properly and given their just due. They need their place on the range,” she said.
“I don’t think they’ve made the effort to do what they need to bring some relief for these horses,” Wolin said about the BLM.
Laurie Howard, who has served on the boards of a number of wild horse advocacy groups, brought her pinto mustang, Coco, to Monday’s news event. She wants Congress to intervene so that wild horses won’t be euthanized.
“We’re only hoping that the BLM will listen to our suggestions,” she said.
Howard said BLM Deputy Director Henri Bisson seemed to be leaning the way of advocates who called for a halt to the roundups and understood their concerns for wanting to return gelded horses to historic herd areas and pursue better birth-control methods for mares.
“He was very receptive to everything, but he’s on his way out,” Howard said, noting that Bisson plans to retire early next year.
“One of the things we’re concerned about is that (BLM) wild horse specialists are trained properly and that the management is trained properly” and that they understand that family bonds among horses shouldn’t be broken, Howard said.
Sanchez said even if there are gathers next year, the horses that are left have a 20 percent reproduction rate. In a few years there would be too many horses for the ranges to support, especially in Nevada, where wild fires have taken a toll on forage and water is scarce.
“It’s imperative to maintain the overall health of the range and not only for wild horses and burros but also for permitted livestock and wildlife,” he said in a telephone interview.
Sussman said the BLM’s estimates of 29,500 wild horses in 10 Western states is off by as many as 15,000.
Sanchez said, however, the BLM’s count is accurate.
In Nevada, the BLM estimates about 16,000 are in the state, mostly in central and Northern Nevada. Those in Southern Nevada represent 2.5 percent of the nation’s wild horses.
Meanwhile, federal holding facilities are at capacity, adoption outlets are saturated and the BLM is considering exterminating those that are declared excess. The BLM’s budget for wild horses is not expected to increase and bureau officials say they are left with no choice but euthanasia to curb holding costs.
Nearly 74,000 horses were taken off the nation’s ranges between 2001 and 2007. Some 44,000 have been adopted, leaving about 30,000 in holding facilities.
“This is a force that has to be reckoned with,” Sussman said about the BLM’s roundup practices. “They have not been an agency we can rely on.”
Permalink
09.05.08
Posted in E's Thoughts, Gay Portal at 5:45 am by pikapp44
Today we attended a seminar given by Matthew Skallerud, President of Pink Banana Media. Matt joined us for lunch. Matt is a fantastic guy. We enjoyed each other’s company and heard many interesting stories.
We learned a lot about advanced features of the Internet including blogs, social networking sites, online video and more,
PinkBananaWorld.com and it’s companion site PinkieB.com, are new sites launched in January 2008, designed to bring the best of today’s Internet technologies and experiences to GLBT users worldwide, including integrations with Flickr.com, MySpace.com, FaceBook.com and more… integrations with a distinct gay & lesbian flair!
Pink Banana Media can offer you Banner Advertising and E-Mail Marketing opportunities to help promote your business to the online GLBT community.
PinkBananaWorld.com: Bringing the GLBT audience worldwide news, blogs, podcasts, photos and videos from a wide variety of content sources from around the globe. Also bringing together an online member’s various personas on MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and more… using RSS and XML to deliver the best side of our GLBT members to their friends, family and new acquaintances found on PinkBananaWorld.com.
www.PinkBananaWorld.com
PinkieB.com: GLBT Social Networking and Online Community web site
Permalink
Posted in E's Thoughts, Gay Portal at 5:38 am by pikapp44
Today we attended a seminar given by Matthew Skallerud, President of Pink Banana Media, where we met Richard, manager of advertising on IGLTA (International Gay and Lesbian Travel). Richard joined us and Matt for lunch.
We learned that IGLTA is the Gay & Lesbian Traveler Portal. It’s the world’s leading travel trade association. It’s committed to growing and enhancing its members’ gay and lesbian tourism business through education, promotion and networking.
Travelers can search, contact and utilize our members around the world for all your travel needs.
Businesses can join IGTLA association and find themselves on the forefront of gay and lesbian travel.
IGTLA members offer: accommodations, airlines, car rental, cruises, travel agencies and more.
IGLTA newletter blog is the voice of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel.
www.iglta.org offers a complimentary internet link and listing that advertises your business, location, and contact numbers. It also includes: website banner advertising opportunities, our global calendar of events, and a consumer portal to find your business.
Permalink
04.10.08
Posted in E's Thoughts, Gay Portal at 4:23 pm by pikapp44
Pride South Florida’s Pride in the Sun festival, which will be held in Fort Lauderdale’s Holiday Park on Saturday and Sunday, April 12 and 13, promises to be one of the largest Pride celebrations on the East Coast, attracting thousands with dance tents, more than 250 vendors, Florida’s largest display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt and nationally recognized entertainers.
Permalink
01.17.08
Posted in D's Thoughts, E's Thoughts at 1:49 pm by pikapp44
Pink Banana World is a new GLBT website that’s the best. It offers, Blogs, Podcasts, GLBT News and lots more.
Pink Banana World focuses on the more advanced features of the Internet including blogs, social networking sites, online video and more, helping companies navigate this ever-changing world from both a mainstream and a GLBT outreach.
The company’s flagship website, PinkBananaWorld.com, and it’s companion site PinkieB.com, are new sites launching in January 2008 designed to bring the best of today’s Internet technologies and experiences to GLBT users worldwide, including integrations with Flickr.com, MySpace.com, FaceBook.com and more… integrations with a distinct gay & lesbian flair!
Permalink
09.07.07
Posted in D's Thoughts, E's Thoughts, Gay Portal at 4:45 pm by pikapp44
Gay Franchise is the premier source for Gays and Lesbians to identify Franchisors who understand the value of diversity and recognize the need to open their doors to new and diverse markets.
It’s dedicated to expanding America’s economic growth by connecting the GLBT business community with equality-minded Franchisors.
Research shows that Gay and Lesbian consumers spend their dollars with companies that have progressive policies.
Owning your own franchise is exciting, but being “out” at work is even better. So whether you currently own a business or are thinking about taking that leap, GayFranchise.com is now available to provide you with the resources you need to make the right decision.
GLBT Business links and resources are featured on GayFranchise.com
Permalink
06.04.07
Posted in D's Thoughts, E's Thoughts at 1:30 pm by pikapp44
We read about the lesbian who sued eHarmony. We decided that she should have used PrideDating.com. That company is new and hot and it would have helped her meet her next partner.
Permalink
04.12.07
Posted in D's Thoughts, E's Thoughts at 8:07 am by pikapp44
gir(L) magazine brings the gir(L) community together in a way like no other magazine has been able to do. Jackie and Shelly’s first publication was “Captain’s Table” a South Florida boating magazine that was sold to focus on their passion “THE PET PLANET” magazine. It informs readers as to the needs and issues concerning our pets.
gir(L) magazine provides information on restaurants, doctors, doggie daycare, business, travel, lesbian events, art, theatre, politics to name a few.
Permalink
01.17.07
Posted in Advocate Articles, E's Thoughts at 4:02 pm by pikapp44
Grey’s Anatomy star Katherine Heigl was not pleased with fellow cast mate Isaiah Washington’s comments following Monday’s Golden Globe Awards. During an interview in the press room after the show’s best drama win, Washington denied his involvement in a heated on-set incident in October during which he allegedly used a homophobic slur.
”No, I did not call [costar] T.R. [Knight] a faggot,” Washington said. ”Never happened; never happened.” Rather than soothing the situation, his comments left Heigl seething.
”I’m going to be really honest right now: He needs to just not speak in public. Period,” Heigl told Access Hollywood at a Golden Globe after party. ”I’m sorry, that did not need to be said. I’m not OK with it.”
She called the comments ”hurtful,” characterizing the incident as one that should be handled privately among the show’s cast and crew. ”I don’t think [Washington] means it the way he comes off,” Heigl said. ”But T.R. is my best friend…. I will use every ounce of energy I have to take you down if you hurt his feelings.”
Knight, who said soon after the October fracas that he is gay, appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show Tuesday to discuss the original incident and Washington’s recent comments. ”He referred to me as a ‘faggot.’ Everyone heard it,” Knight said of the October squabble.
Comments from Heigl and Washington were set to air Tuesday on Access Hollywood. A call placed afterhours Tuesday to Washington’s representative was not returned.
Permalink
01.15.07
Posted in Advocate Articles, E's Thoughts at 12:43 pm by pikapp44
Even before its highly anticipated opening, the glitz-and-glam celluloid fest known as Dreamgirls was already blasting headlines. Is Dreamgirls really based on Berry Gordy, Diana Ross, and the Supremes?
But with all this whirl of Motown costume and camp, let us not forget who created this project—a dancer-choreographer-director born in 1943 in Buffalo, N.Y., the son of a Russian-Jewish mother and a Sicilian-Catholic father—Michael “Mickey” Difiglia, a.k.a. Michael Bennett.
By 18, he was a dancer on Broadway; five years later he was a fully credited choreographer. In 1971, with Stephen Sondheim, Hal Prince and James Goldman, he cocreated Follies. In 1975, he gave us the legendary A Chorus Line, followed by the 1981 groundbreaking hit Dreamgirls.
He learned his craft firsthand from the theatrical gods, from dancer and choreographer legends Jerome Robbins, Michael Kidd, Marge and Gower Champion, Agnes DeMille, and Bob Fosse. He worked with Hal Prince and Stephen Sondheim. But unlike his idols who reigned over the Broadway theater for decades, with plenty of time to create their lasting legacies, Bennett died of AIDS-related cancer at 44.
In 1983, Bennett said, “The Actors Fund wanted to give me their award for lifetime achievement, and I said don’t give it to me—I don’t want it. I’m only 40! This isn’t my life’s work yet.”
Given his constant exploration of mortality—the death of a career equaling death itself—perhaps he heard the whispering of his own ghosts; perhaps he saw something else in his mirror other than a youthful twin waving back at him. That mirror was a recurring theme in Bennett’s work. Not merely a theatrical device that he frequently incorporated into his stagings, Bennett’s mirror reflected memory, longing, denial, and distortion, particularly in his three seminal works of Follies, A Chorus Line, and Dreamgirls.
Set on a mirrored, multi-angled raked stage, the legendary number of “Who’s That Woman” from Follies became a high point in Bennett’s then-rising career: Older women sing the tangled duet with younger counterparts, who wear mirrors embedded in their costumes. From a plain opening solo, the song escalates into a nightmarish whirl of discordance as age and realization come bearing down on the elderly actress who was once a “somebody.”
The stage production of Dreamgirls. In the act 1 closer, as Effie White bellows out her declaration of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” she is vanquished by a wall of mirrors as the Dreamgirls overtake the stage. In an echo of what happened to Supremes singer Florence Ballard, Effie is cut from the act by her manager/lover because she is physically and vocally too overbearing; Effie, again reflecting Ballard’s life, dies nearly destitute in her early 30s.
But actress Jennifer Holliday, who played Effie in the original Broadway production, refused to go along with her character’s death in the script. Since Bennett couldn’t find a satisfactory replacement for Holliday, he relented and gave Effie a second chance. With 11 Tony nominations resulting in six Tony awards, including Best Choreography for Bennett, Best Actress for Holiday and Best Book for writer Tom Eyen, the musical’s happy ending paralleled an even happier ending for the production itself.
Flash-forward to 2006 and the excited hype-hype-hooray of the film Dreamgirls. Written and directed by openly gay Bill Condon, who was in the last row of the top balcony on the opening night of Dreamgirls in December 1981, he has dedicated the film to Bennett. As he should. Not only is it important to remember Bennett, but to be reminded that nearly 20 years after his death, the disease that ended his life continues to take countless others.
Permalink
« Previous entries