A video showing the evolution of the world’s tallest buildings:
Has your mail been slower lately? It’s not your imagination, the new Postmaster General admitted he’s slowing it down. It’s all an effort to discredit voting by mail, BTW.
Back to federal again, Biden vows to allow the military to display pride flags again. With their new ban on Confederate flags (you know, the traitors that killed members of our military), it also banned pride flags (you know, currently serving members of our military).
And some local bad news, protesters at a Pro Police Rally decided to chant about killing queer people. Because no where is actually really safe, sadly.
Okay, some good news. AOC delivered an amazing rebuttal to the lawmaker who insulted her and gave a fake apology. Worth a watch!
I listen to a lot of podcasts. Some are serious, some are funny, some are long, ongoing narratives, and some of those I’ve listed below don’t exist anymore (but you can listen to their archives, I’ve marked them with an asterisk). I hope you find something that will be entertaining and educational! Aside from being in some broad categories, and trying to keep the ones that no longer updated at the bottom of each section, there’s no real rhyme or reason how they’re listed.
News video
Anderson Cooper 360 – News from Silver Fox!
The Rachel Maddow Show – I’ve always said that Maddow is one of the best interviewers on TV, and she doesn’t disappoint. Sadly no longer the full show, so no Cocktail Moments.
Queer
Making Gay History – Interviews from the people who have made queer history. So important to our history!
Attitudes! Throwing Shade – A look at feminist and queer issues, by two comedians and their guests (and special voice characters), now with a new name.
The Sewers of Paris – Interviews with gay men about the media that changed their lives.
Queery – Hosted by comedian Carmen Esposito, in-depth conversations about language, theory and other topics of interest to the queer community.
Homophilia – In-depth conversations with gay men about their love lives, queer theory and how they survive the world, a new favorite!
12 Gays of Christmas – Interviews with 12 people in the queer community about their favorite holiday media.
Outsports – Multiple podcasts all in one feed, I listen to their Olympics coverage, Five Rings to Rule Them All.
Outward – New podcast from Slate about queer issues.
Queer Theology – Weekly look at the lectionary through a queer lens.
Queens of Adventures – Dungeons and Dragons and Drag Queens!
Queens of Adventures Legends – One shot and stand alone D&D adventures with drag queens!
I’m From Driftwood – Based on the amazing video series of the same name, a historical archive of queer life.
*Sparkle and Circulate – The podcast of the International Order of Sodomites featuring long-form interviews with the most interesting people.
*UnErased – Companion podcast to the movie of the same name, looking at ‘conversion therapy.’
*The Six Pack – No longer updated (partially due to Dave Rubin’s turning into a right-wing nut job), but a podcast in six parts with recurring segments, interviews and “Craigslist Missed Connections Set to Love Songs.”
*Bend Over and Take It – No longer updated. Gay news from Pittsburgh.
*Queers and Beers – Sadly no longer updated, but a fun look at queer culture over a couple beers.
*Karl’s Kaschemme – European podcast about queer life and relationships.
*QueerPGH – Local queer news.
*Yeseterqueer – The history of our community.
*My Gay Life – Not the best audio or editing, but interesting conversations about facets of the queer community.
News
The Good News Podcast – Good news delivered every day from the team that brings you Cards Against Humanity!
The Postindustrial Podcast – Podcast companion to the newsletter and magazine about life in Postindustrial America.
WTF Just Happened Today – Podcast companion to the daily newsletter.
For the Love of Parks – Podcast from the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy
Slate Political Gabfest – A weekly look at the biggest stories in politics, presented in roundtable format.
Slate Culture Gabfest – A weekly look at the biggest stories in culture, presented in roundtable format.
GOTMFV The Sit and Spin Room – Politics from twitter comedians, now with a new name.
Full Release with Samantha Bee – Samantha Bee sits down with a guest for in-depth interviews.
Our America with Julian Castro – Castro was my first choice during the 2020 primary, I’m really enjoying hear his take on politics.
*The Deciding Decade with Pete Buttigieg – Another pick from the 2020 primary, Mayor Pete has an eye towards the future and the long game, and we need more Millennials in politics.
*You and Me Both – Hilary Clinton leads discussions with various political thinkers.
*In Fact with Chelsea Clinton – Chelsea Clinton interviews leaders, usually in the public health sphere.
*The Topical – Daily news from The Onion.
*Positiviteeny – Hope, support and inspiration, in ten minutes or less!
*Made to Fail – The process of how bad republican policies have destroyed the country systematically.
*Bag Man – Rachel Maddow’s research into the story of the removal of Vice President Agnew.
*Thinking CAP – Political conversations with some of the brightest minds on the left (with a special emphasis on immigration law).
*Trends Like These – A more in-depth look at the news stories you see trending each week.
*With Her – No longer updated. The podcast of the Hillary 2016 campaign. Includes a two-part epilogue about the release of her book, “What Happened.”
*Pittsburgh Post Gazette True Crime – True crime from Pittsburgh. The first season looked at two similar but possibly unrelated murders, slated to start a second season (and will change album artwork).
*The Pittsburgh Record – Podcast version of ‘Eat This, Read That.’
Communication
Convince and Convert – Short-form, communication podcast.
Clear + Vivid – Alan Alda interviews people who have used clear communication techniques to make a positive difference in the world.
Science Clear + Vivid – A 10-episode mini series focused on specific scientific topics.
For Immediate Release – Long-form news and case studies from the communication world.
Marketing Over Coffee – Another short-form communication podcast.
Write-Minded Podcast – Writing podcast co-hosted by the Executive Director of NaNoWriMo.
*Pitchwerks – How to pitch and other communication topics.
*The Poet’s Voice – Poetry read and analyzed by actor Joshua Sasse.
Nerd
Dragon Talk – The official podcast from Wizards of the Coast about Dungeons and Dragons. Watch out for the falling rocks!
Tiny Matters – A science podcast about things small in size but big in impact.
Champions of Lore – B. Dave Walter and Erin M. Evans (and Treavore), talk about the lore of the Forgotten Realms.
Acquisitions Incorporated – Home game from the official D&D Team and Penny Arcade
NASA’s Curious Universe – Interviews with the scientists at NASA!
Houston, We Have a Podcast – Official podcast of NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
The Dragon Reread – A read-along podcast of Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time.
Bone Stone and Obsidian – A show about my favorite DnD setting, the Burning World of Athas: Dark Sun.
DM to GM – How to run tabletop RPGs
Dumbgeons & Dragons – A realplay podcast of Rise of Tiamat.
Freakonomics Radio – Looking at the world around us through science, answering some unexpected questions.
Sudhir Breaks the Internet – From Freakonomics, in-depth look at various tech topics.
Freakonomics, M.D. – Taking the freakonomics model and applying it to medicine.
Minute Earth – The makers of the Youtube series explain science in short videos weekly!
Hello, Internet – Two friends who spend their time making Youtube videos discuss a myriad of topics.
Nintendo Voice Chat – IGN’s Nintendo news show.
Kill Every Monster – Looking at and improving every monster in the D&D Monster Manual.
Puck Soup – The latest hockey news and discussion.
A Great Day for Hockey Talk – Historical discussions from The Penguins.
The Scoop – News podcast from The Penguins.
Writing about Dragons and Sh*t – The crew from Champions of Lore talk about writing!
Newcomers – Comedians watch media franchises for the first time (First season was Star Wars, second season is Lord of the Rings, third season is the Fast and the Furious).
The Friendship Onion – Billy Boyd and Dom Monaghan look back at filming the Lord of the Rings.
SciShow Tangents – Lightly competitive science game show from the team that brings you SciShow on Youtube.
Sidenote – Science news from the couple that brings you ASAPScience on Youtube.
This is Not for You – Each episode looks at one page of the book, “House of Leaves.”
Word Matters – Podcast about words and their meanings from Merriam Webster.
*The Hidden Djinn – The fascinating history of Djinn stories.
*The Way of Love – Podcast of the Episcopal Church and Bishop Michael Curry.
*A is for Anthropocene – Podcast from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
*The Dungeon Economic Model – Short-form ‘how to’ series about setting up a dungeon to attract adventurers to bring gold into your town.
*Nintendo Power – Official podcast from Nintendo of America.
*Why am I Telling You This? – Podcast of the Clinton Foundation.
*Here’s The Deal – Podcast of the Joe Biden campaign.
*Field Study – The intersection of sports and society, from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
*History: The Shequel – Historical women and how they changed history.
*The Soundtrack Show – Learn about music theory and how composers use music to tell the stories that directors do with their visuals. Includes special movie track episodes.
Running
Mostly Harmless Running – Podcast hosted by my friends and teammates, and I’m a guest on an episode!
Negative Splits – Stopped listening after they decided the hill to die on was that nurses shouldn’t have to be vaccinated against COVID. Trash.
The 1609 Podcast – A friend of mine was on this show! They usually talk about specific races.
Between 2 Pastries – Conversations with two nutritionists and rethinking our relationship with food.
*Science of Ultra – The science behind running and training for ultramarathons.
*Human Race – No longer updated. An amazing podcast focused on the personal, inspiring stories of runners triumphing over adversity.
*The Runner’s World Show – Being retooled, on hiatus. The podcast from the magazine, “Runner’s World.”
*Average Runner Podcast – Another fun running podcast.
*Brew / Drink / Run – Friends who all homebrew, drink craft beer and run talk about those topics.
Entertainment
Dominant Stories – Empowering stories and reworking our thinking
Getting Curious – Jonathan Van Ness looks at something they’re interested in each week.
The Atlas Obscura Podcast – Exploring the most interesting sights and sites in the world.
AwesomeCast – Awesome stuff! And recorded locally!
Parks and Recollection – Rewatch podcast of Parks and Rec.
Second in Command – Rewatch podcast of VEEP
The Touch Base – Rewatch podcast of The Nevers
Supernatural: Then and Now – Rewatch podcast of Supernatural
Bad with Money – How to get your finances in order.
Groceries – The team from Attitudes! goes grocery shopping.
Reply All – Long form stories about the Internet.
Forked Up – The podcast from Bad Manners. Great food and political topics.
The Sporkful – It’s for eaters, not for foodies.
Death by Dying – Tales told by the Obituary Writer from a small town in Idaho.
@ the Symphony – Rebroadcast of the radio interviews with the Symphony from WQED.
The Laverne Cox Show – The actress and activist has in-depth conversations.
No Such Thing As a Fish – The four best facts from the last seven days, and everything else that spirals out from those. Highly recommended.
Stuff You Should Know – Depends on the topic if I’ll listen or not, but always educational.
American Shadows – The dark corners of American history.
Laurel Highlands Happenings – Radio broadcast about the Laurel Highlands.
Undressing Bridgerton – Felicia Day and Tom Lenk discuss Bridgerton.
Undressing The Witcher – Felicia Day and Tom Lenk discuss The Witcher.
Till Death do us Blart – Recorded once a year for all eternity, the hosts review Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2.
Why Won’t You Date Me? – Comedian Nicole Byers asks, ‘Would you date me?’
The Ron Burgundy Podcast – Hosted by the legendary Anchorman.
Lore – Sometimes the strangest stories are true, and these haunting tales are no exception.
Grim and Mild Presents – From the creators of Lore, short seasons focusing on one topic.
Fanti – Examining the things that we love that are problematic.
No Stupid Questions – A conversation examining the questions we take for granted.
Question Box – The gameshow of shockingly personal questions.
Cabinet of Curiosities – Quick stories about some of the strangest, but true bits of history.
My Brother, My Brother and Me – An advice show for the modern era, complete with absurd questions from Yahoo! Answers.
Shmanners – Modern manners, as well as the historical significance of cultural norms.
St. Elwick’s Neighbourhood Association Newsletter Podcast – Podcast of the British neighbhourhood.
Burning Man Live – Coming to you live from one of the Multiverses.
Hello from the Magic Tavern – Improv comedy set in a tavern in a fantasy world.
*In a Walled City – Music sets from Disparition, of Welcome to Nightvale fame.
*The Neighborhood Listen – Comedic interpretation of posts from NextDoorNeighbor.
*Our Plague Year – The Nightvale team chronicles our time with COVID
*Conversations with People Who Hate Me – Talking with the people who leave hate and vitriol online.
*Death in the Afternoon – Podcast from the Order of the Good Death.
*The Anthropocene Reviewed – John Greens reviews aspects of the Anthropocene on a five point scale.
*In the Heights: El Suenito – Three-episode mini series about the making of the “In the Heights” movie.
*Small Triumph, Big Speech – A fundraiser podcast that celebrates the little victories.
*Bunker Buddies – Comedians and amateur-preppers look at how to prepare for various apocalypse scenarios.
*The Room Where It’s Happening – On (almost certainly permanent) hiatus. A show about the love of the Broadway musical, “Hamilton.”
*Unobscured – The dark history of mentalism in the United States.
*Man Up – Figuring out how to be a good man while tearing down toxic masculinity.
Mental Health
Depresh Mode with John Moe – The followup project to Hilarious World of Depression
Sun in My Face – Daily reflections from a favorite yoga instructor
CSN3M – Podcast of Case Specific Nutrition.
Champions of Psychology – Sister podcast to Champions of Lore, taking a look at different psychology and therapy topics.
Pro You – I don’t listen anymore (the audio got screwed up), but a podcast about self improvement and personal training.
*The Hilarious World of Depression – A look at laughter and how to cope with depression.
*Defeat the Stigma – Interviews about mental health issues.
Serial
The Orbiting Human Circus (of the air) – My absolute favorite podcast. The behind the scenes story from the radio show at the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Beef and Dairy Network – A totally true (fictional) look at the beef and dairy herd industry, filled with intrigue, murder and espionage. Absolutely hilarious.
Wooden Overcoats – Scripted comedy about competing funeral homes on a small British Isle.
Welcome to Nightvale – Public radio from the quiet, southwestern town of Night Vale, where literally every conspiracy theory is true. All of them.
Good Morning, Nightvale – The official recap show of “Welcome to Nightvale.” The hosts are starting from the beginning, looking at each episode of the show.
The Land Whale Murders – British murder mystery caper, very humorous.
Harsh Reality: An in-depth look at a British reality TV show scandal
Within the Wires – Secret messages in recordings reveal an alternate history of the world.
Mission to Zyxx – Improv comedy podcast about a spaceship crew in the far reaches of space.
The Wanderer – A dark, fey adventure
Moonbase Theta, out – The story of shutting down a Moonbase and the politics involved.
Rise of the Veiled Alliance – D&D campaign set in Dark Sun.
The Adventure Zone – The brothers from My Brother, My Brother and Me and their father play role playing games!
Critical Role – The podcast of the streaming show, professional voice actors play D&D!
Black Dice Society – Ravenloft (Horror) D&D game run by B. Dave Walters!
Wizards and Lizards – D&D game run by a friend of mine in New York!
Bridgewater – Dark mysteries bubble to the surface in the northeastern US.
Dark Heights – A dark mystery surrounding sorcerers and magic.
Who is Cam Candor? – Fictional podcast set in the near-future about the famed figure of podcast fame.
*Toxic: The Britney Spears Story – Unraveling the conservatorship of Britney Spears.
*Alice Isn’t Dead – Starts slow, but a great show once you’re into it. A woman crosses the country searching for her wife.
*The Apology Line – Series about the art project of the same name that ran in 1990’s.
*Limetown – Ten years ago, 300 people disappeared from Limetown. This is their story.
*Bubble – New scripted show about monster hunters.
*The Walk – Pulled from the smartphone game of the same name, walk the length of Britain to save the world.
*Victoriocity – An amazing steampunk reimagining of Victorian London.
*Uncover: The Village – Season 3 of ‘Uncover’ about the serial killer targeting gay men in Toronto.
*The Angel of Vine – Detective mystery story told by Joe Manganello.
*The Bright Sessions – Now a series of books, described as ‘If the X-Men went to therapy instead of fighting baddies.’
*The Far Merdian – A lighthouse takes its inhabitants to a new location each morning.
*The Report – Breaking down The Mueller Report.
*The Two Princes – A gay fairy tale.
*Adventures in New America – Class, race and future neo-vampires all collide in this story.
*Caravan – Trying to survive hell.
*Dreamboy – Saving a zebra and hooking up with the neighbor, all overlaid drug use and surviving Cleveland.
*Serial – A story told weekly. The first season was better than the second, but still worth a listen for the depth of reporting.
*S-Town – Examining lives lost and the culture of ‘Shit Town, Alabama.’
*Missing Richard Simmons – Six-part documentary about the disappearance of Richard Simmons that I got hooked on almost immediately.
*Running from COPS – From the Missing Richard Simmons team, a look at the making of and influence of the show COPS.
*MarsCorp – Comedy about the failings of the company trying to terraform Mars for human settlement.
*It Makes a Sound – Trying to make sure that the world doesn’t forget the music of Wim Faros.
*Homecoming – Scripted drama featuring some big names, lots of political intrigue.
*36 Questions – No longer updated. Three-part musical which had a horrible script (but a great cast), can’t recommend it.
NSFW
Distorted View Daily – I’ve listened since 2005, crazy news and bizarre audio from around the Internet with media darling, Tim Henson.
Savage Lovecast – Based on the syndicated newspaper column, ‘Savage Love,’ Dan takes sex and relationship questions and brings in guest experts.
Steamy Stories – Silly, quick stories from the team that brings you the Steamroom Stories youtube channel.
My Dad Wrote a Porno – Brilliant, cringe-worthy and hysterical. Three friends are amazed at the lack of grammar, self-awareness and basic anatomy.
RISK! – A slightly outrageous storytelling podcast. The guests are usually great, although I hate the host’s storytelling style.
The Recon Podcast – UK podcast from the gay website of the same name.
*Watts Your Safeword – A funny look at mostly ‘101’ type subjects.
*Pounded in the Butt by my Own Podcast – A new celebrity guest reads a ‘classic’ Tingler each week.
*Kinsey Confidential – Short questions and answers from the Kinsey Institute for Sexual Health.
*BubbyBub – A spinoff of Distorted View, focusing on created audio.
*NoSafeWord and Ungagged – Podcast from the pacific northwest about consent, safety and events. Ungagged is hosted by the younger guys and touches on more ‘101’ type subjects.
We’ve had some good SCOTUS rulings lately (And some bad ones), but buried detail in the earth-shattering workplace discrimination ruling is the Trojan Horse that we’ll be seeing next: religious liberty laws. This fight is far from over, but for now, we can celebrate the bit of ground we gained.
Happy Guy Fawkes Day! (one of my annual posts). For the love of all that you hold dear, make sure you have a plan and go vote today (and a year from now)! Do it for the people you love who at this point don’t see a future. We’re all depending on you.
It’s essential that we, as humans, are able to communicate with one another. That is, after all, why babies start to cry, isn’t it? It’s a form of communication and communication is the root of our civilization. Not everyone is good at it. Some people don’t like it, some people don’t develop the skill. But those that do develop it have a distinct advantage. They can do more, get more, share more, learn more. Currently, I am employed in a hospital and I see the benefits of having good communication, good people skills every day. I see how successful doctors and nurses and aides alike earn the trust and approval of their patients, and I see how less successful people struggle in getting their patients to trust their words and their motives. And that can make all the difference. If I am giving a patient information about how to care for themselves when they go home and I berate them and belittle them while explaining the proper way to get up from a seated position to standing with a walker, the chances that they’re take my instruction home and use it are slim. They will resent my words and my methods. If I take the time explain and I remain calm, pleasant and relatable, my patient is far more likely to respond positively and, thus, use what I have taught them at home. For me, good people skills are an integral part of what I do now and, since I was recently accepted into a Nursing program, what I will do in the future. Patient education aside, being able to relate to, effectively sympathize with, listen to, and helping my patients be more comfortable with me as their caretaker is a primary goal of mine. Since patients are more than just their disease, it only seems logical to work with the person themselves. Thinking about how patients may perceive things can help me adjust and better help them. This doesn’t just apply to my interactions with patients. Every part of patient care requires a team; from physicians, to the lab, to the aides, to the pharmacy. There are so many people to work with. Part of being a part of this team, too, requires being able to both give and receive feedback. Have you done something right? Have you a need to improve on something? It’s about growth. It’s also about saying “thank you.” People don’t say that nearly enough. Being coachable also means being respectful of those around you. Learn from everyone and thank them every time. When I am done with a shift at my hospital, I will find those that I worked with and thank them for their help. It’s important to me and to them to know that a) they have helped me learn and grow and that b) I appreciate what they have done for me, whether it was big or small. This positive feedback pays for itself in mutual respect and the increased possibility of a repeat learning session. Be what you say you are. There is nothing to be gained if I tell everyone how nice I am and then I bash people’s lifestyles or tastes or condition. Be that “thank you” every single time: say it and mean it. I try so hard to thank those who I maybe care a little less for working with. Just because we aren’t best friends outside of work does not mean that I cannot learn something from the, even it’s it what not to do. Be what you say you are and people will react more consistently as well. I am applying for Activia Training US scholarship because the folks there are generous enough to have it. The link for this scholarship can be found here: https://www.activia.co.uk/scholarship-us. I suggest you check it out.
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, which launched the modern LGBT-rights movement.
If you’re not familiar with the riots, here’s what happened:
We owe everything to those brave trans-women of color, homeless youth and drag queens who launched the riots and the queer revolution.
People ask why we celebrate pride. NoFo writes it much more eloquently than I ever could, here is an excerpt:
We’re proud because despite relentless persecution everywhere we turn—when organized religion viciously attacks and censures and vilifies us in the name of selective morality, when our families disown us, when our elected officials bargain away our equality for hate votes, when entire states codify our families into second-class citizenship, when our employers fire us, when our landlords evict us, when our police harass us, when our neighbors and colleagues and fellow citizens openly insult and condemn and mock and berate and even beat and kill us—we continue to survive. … We’re proud because—thanks to the incredible bravery shown by gay people who lived their lives openly in the decades before us—we can live our lives more and more openly at home, at work, with our families, on our blogs … and even on national television. … We’re proud because after all we’ve been through, the world is starting to notice and respect us and emulate the often fabulous culture we’ve assembled from the common struggles and glorious diversity of our disparate lives.
We’re proud because this weekend we’ll celebrate with drag queens, leather queens, muscle queens, attitude queens and you’d-never-know-they-were-queens queens, and together we can see through the “pride” in our parade and enjoy the underlying Pride in our parade.
Quite simply, we’re proud that we have so much to be proud of.
We can take some time, and even in the face of hatred, bigotry and discrimination, we can carve a place in this world, claim it our own and celebrate.
Because even if Pride doesn’t change many minds in the outside world, it’s our PARTY, darlings. It’s our Christmas, our New Year’s, our Carnival. It’s the one day of the year that all the crazy contingents of the gay world actually come face to face on the street and blow each other air kisses. And wish each other “Happy Pride!” Saying “Happy Pride!” is really just a shorter, easier way of saying “Congratulations on not being driven completely batshit insane! Well done, being YOURSELF!”
We can celebrate the community that we have, the radical acceptance that we embody and the fact that we’ve survived. We have a chance to come together, remind ourselves we belong to a larger community, have some fun and take back our city; just for a little bit. We know that hatred will continue, but still we march forward. We have pride because it helps those coming after us. In the words of Harvey Milk, it gives the next generation hope:
And this is a chance to celebrate the fact that I’ve survived. A chance to celebrate the fact that I’m a proud gay man. And even that act, powerful unto itself, has hopefully made a difference.
The most important and powerful action a person can make is to come out to those around them. Then the LGBT community isn’t a scary abstract anymore, it has a face. If you know someone who is openly LGBT, you see their humanity. You can understand that we’re not asking for anything special, just the same rights everyone else is guaranteed by the constitution. A chance to be happy. A chance to live the life we want, surrounded by those we love.
“Many of us want to, and will: when a gay, lesbian or transgendered kid isn’t at special risk of being brutalized or committing suicide. … “When a gay person’s central-casting earnestness and eloquence aren’t noted with excitement and relief, because his or her sexual orientation needn’t be accompanied by a litany of virtues and accomplishments in order for bigotry to be toppled and a negative reaction to be overcome.”
We will stop talking about coming out when it’s not news anymore, when the last barriers have finally been broken down. We’ll stop screaming for our rights when we’re finally treated as equals by our government. We’ll only stop telling our stories when they don’t matter.
The anniversary of Stonewall comes just two days after marriage equality came to all 50 states (and the anniversary of decisions in Lawrence v. Texas and Windsor v. United States), a major piece of the equality dream the our predecessors had 50 years ago. In 11 years, we went from no marriage rights to full equality across the country. We still have a lot to fight for, The Equality Act being at the top of that list, but for now, we can celebrate the ‘thunderbolt’ of equality that we have achieved:
So we keep fighting for progress, wherever we can. We celebrate our advances and keep chipping away at our obstacles: and this month we can celebrate both, as well as the individuals that make up our amazing community.
In light of the Orlando massacre, it’s more important than ever to celebrate Pride. To not be intimidated by the hate, but to instead keep rising, demand equality and fight for our very right to exist. What hurts the most about Orlando may be the reminder that even our own spaces, which we thought were safe, aren’t. Or maybe they never really were, not while hatred and prejudice still exist. But as we face, united, the epidemics of gun violence and homophobia, we can at least take solace in the fact that we, as a community, know how to win epidemics.
This is the first year in history where we (at least in the United States), have less rights than we did last year. The horrific and systematic attacks by this administration, and Republicans across the country, has shown that we cannot take anything for granted. But we are resilient, and we are a community. We’re a chosen family.
We’re proud of how far we’ve come. We’re proud to keep fighting. We’re proud.
Happy Guy Fawkes Day! (one of my annual posts). For the love of all that you hold dear, make sure you have a plan and go vote tomorrow. Do it for the people you love who at this point don’t see a future. We’re all depending on you.
Yesterday’s writing was the podcast page, if you haven’t noticed, I finally go that up and running!
So, reading through all the news that came across my feed today, the world is a mess. More than normal. That probably won’t change in the near future. So instead today, I’m just going to leave you with something to make you happy. A youtuber who I love put together this amazing medley of music from Super Mario. This is also a great reminder how astonishingly beautiful the music from Super Mario Galaxy is:
My goal for Camp NaNoWriMo has been to get back into the habit of writing each day. I’m sure it won’t be something I will keep up in August and September, as I’ll be putting in more miles to train for the GAP Trail Relay, but not only do I love NaNoWriMo, I also love the people I’m sharing a virtual cabin with for camp.
So far this month, I’ve been able to get just about caught up on my RSS feeds, have done some neglected work on my website (although still have lots to go, but the month is young!) and generally enjoyed getting back into this habit.
Today, while I had plans to wake up early and go running, my body had other ideas. And that’s okay, when I did wake up, even though the temperature was great, I had no desire to drive to the park to go run long. So hopefully tomorrow I’ll go early to yoga and get a loop or two in before stretching (and then going to the Pittsburgh Pirates Pride game).
So instead, I was super productive around the house today. Lots of laundry, brewing beer, some baking, weeding and some great self care: right now I’m sitting on my deck, enjoying the beautiful weather and clear blue sky, sitting under my new deck umbrella with an iced coffee and listening to some podcasts on a little bluetooth speaker. Really, just a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.
And writing this has been fun, a ltitle different than my normal writing: an actual blog! I’ll be walking down the street to a friend’s for game night later, but for now, enjoying this space is exactly want I want to be doing.
Edit: Still working on a good way to add posts from my phone (with pictures), but I’ll keep working on that this month! Hopefully you enjoy the view from my deck though!
