2014

20 years beyond 1984. What did we think it would be like? Flying cars? Food pellets? Cars that turn into briefcases? Or just Big Brother monitoring our every move? Well, we got one of those things. Unfortunately, it isn’t any of the cool, techie things that we thought it might be. We got the monitoring without the flying cars. I… Read more →

Being Bohemian

While walking through our favourite neighbourhood in Toronto, the writer and I strike up a conversation about bohemianism. I contend that he could “never be truly bohemian. Never just get up one morning, pack two bags, and leave.” By which he responds – “I could if there was a list and a plan” (presumably written before bed the night before… Read more →

Things I Learned at the Caffe

The scent of coffee lures you in, while the camaraderie you experience from the patrons makes you want to return and, perhaps, become a regular. In all public spaces, there are annoyances to be had, but in the caffe these annoyances become quirks. In this environment, all people are equal, and we co-exist in a space where improvement is inevitable.… Read more →

Find Your Calling

For 24 years, I have worked in customer service, in one capacity or another. With that many years under my belt, I can say that I have become pretty damn good at it. I am excellent at smiling through the bullshit of unreasonable requests. I am a master of making the people on the other side of the counter or… Read more →

With Liberty and Justice For Some

We live within the confines of our environment. Although there are dreamers amoung us, the majority of the human race just goes with the flow. This is why it is so hard to come up from our country’s racist past. Why is it so difficult to look at a situation and really see it for what it is? Mainly because… Read more →

Evolving Out of Racism

How do we live here? How can we continue forward knowing that this has happened and continues to happen. Paula Dean is not the first racist to be “found out” and she will not be the last. The problem lies in the fact that she cannot admit she was wrong. That is because she doesn’t believe that she was wrong.… Read more →

Quick post: Oregon

Within this world of coffee and eggs, the people sitting next to me are, in years, younger, but in attitude quite a bit older than me. They had their sandwiches, no coffee, and discussed where their next stop would be. First the Verizon store, then groceries, then the beer merchant. Oy. Yuppies in training. It isn’t the places, but the… Read more →

Words

Today, we saw change on a grand scale. DOMA was killed. Prop 8 was killed. LGBTQ folks can move forward with the struggle, with a little bit of it behind them. I am there too. Fighting for equality for ALL. Until we have it, there is no rest. Until we understad how our words pierce through others, we can never… Read more →

On Allies and Cataloging Practice

While watching my favourite weekend morning show, the Melissa Harris-Perry show on MSNBC, I was struck by the idea of cataloging practice and how it can be demonstrative of a critical point in social movements. This moment of clarity, however fleeting, made me giddy in knowing that I may have truly found my calling. Finally. So, to better demonstrate my… Read more →

What Is A Family?

This week, the supreme court will hear arguments to overturn both the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8. These two pieces of legislation have brought injustice to a segment of the population for many years now and it is time to end the inequality. A poll that came out this past week showed that in the 20… Read more →

The Scene That Was

“Through the fear of being real, through the fear of being really you…”  Tones on Tail – Go! When I was in college (the first time around, in the 90’s) I spent most of my time doing only a few things.  Singing, drinking coffee, working a crap job or two in the customer service industry, and going to bars.  Since… Read more →

What’s Wrong With Indiana?

This past week, in the State of Indiana, a new bill was introduced for consideration to again attempt to install the requirement of a transvaginal probe for women that are persuing an abortion. This is a travesty, considering it is an additional hurdle that needs to be overcome just to exercise the right to choose. Bigger than this, however, is… Read more →

Why I Am A Feminist

I am a feminist because I believe that people of all genders are equal. All human beings, no matter what gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or creed, are equal. We all live on the earth and we are all homosapiens. We also all have to perform basic bodily functions, such as eating, sleeping, hydrating, and eliminating waste, on a daily… Read more →

Finally

Five years. That is how long it has been since GBSB officially closed its doors. Even though First Niagara took over the GBSB customers, the culture and time of GBSB was over. Since February 2008, many things have changed in my life. Looking back now, I can see that I have been stuck in a haze that I have been… Read more →

De-cluttering

In an attempt to simplify my life, I have decided to better organize my surroundings. This begins at home, with my apartment. The writer and I have quite a bit of stuff from 11 years of living in the same place. When we moved back to Buffalo, from Rochester, we had few items that we brought along, but over the… Read more →

Positivity

It is the last day of 2012. The year has had great ups and downs for the writer and me, but we have persevered. Now that we are at the end, it is good to look back, reflect on the previous experiences, and move on. The moving on part is the thing that I most look forward to. Taking stock… Read more →

Creativity

Over the years I have lost sight of my creativity. It still exists and once in a while I use it, but overall I feel like the day to day creative is gone.  Music, writing, web design, dance, beading, barista.  There are so many creative ways in which I am able to express myself, but I tend to put all… Read more →

2005.10.30 – what if?

What would our country (the United States) be like if we hadn’t lost JFK, Martin, Bobby, Malcolm & Lennon? Would we have true equality? Would we see less of a gap between the upper class and everyone else? I feel that our country would be much more well adjusted if we didn’t have so many senseless losses of great leaders… Read more →

2008.9.24 – since we are here

A couple of weeks ago I wrote an entry on my blog – rise up buffalo – about the demise of Backwash. Talking about the better days, I lamented the onset of newer technologies and how Backwash had been a jumping off point for most of the writers under it’s wing. Now I have been proven wrong. Like a phoenix from the… Read more →