problem with the catholic church

I have a lot of problems with them.

An abortion is a big decision for a woman. But its not up to anyone but her because its her body.  She is not the Catholic churches, priest’s, her husband’s, father’s or grandfather’s property. Its the woman’s body, it belong to HER and HER alone.

“In 2007, Bishop Thomas Tobin asked that Representative Patrick Kennedy, son of the late Ted Kennedy, not partake of Communion at mass in a disagreement over Rep. Kennedy’s stance on abortion rights.”
from LezGetReal.com

the raffle is back!

20th Gallery X Raffle  and Auction Gala
Saturday, Nov. 28, 7pm
Fundraising fun to benefit Gallery X!
Preview of items up for raffle begins on November 18th!

no sex in RI.

For those not in RI, indoor prostitution was a big issue. It was legal until recently. I understand that human trafficking and exploitation is wrong, however, there are healthy expressions of sexuality that are not exploitation. Sex is natural, people have been doing it since humans walked the earth.

I received the following in an email from From RI Citizens for the Arts:

The Arts Affected by new Sex Trafficking law
During the recent 2-day session of the General Assembly, the legislature passed amendments to the state’s “sex trafficking” law.  This law has possible negative implications for the arts community.  The legislation includes a definition for “sexually explicit performance” to mean “an act or show, intended to arouse, satisfy the sexual desires of, or appeal to the prurient interests of patrons or viewers, whether public or private, live, photographed, recorded, or videotaped”.  Further the legislation holds any person found guilty of, among other things, recruiting, employing, transporting, or persuading a minor to participate is punishable by up to 40 years in prison.   The subjective nature of the definition and its broad implications can be detrimental to the arts community.  As our colleague Steven Brown at the RI-ACLU points out in a letter to us:  “From an MTV video, to the filming of Lolita or just about any teen sex comedy, to the display of artful photography of minors – involvement in any of these activities in Rhode Island may now be a felony”.   This language was added in House Judiciary Committee late on the first night of the 2-day session, and then passed in the Senate on the final day.  Once we heard of the bill from the RI-ACLU, RI Citizens for the Arts embarked on a phone campaign and lobbying effort to Senator Rhoda Perry (D-Providence), the lead sponsor.   While the bill passed, both Senator Perry and Senator Maryellen Goodwin (D-Providence) have offered to sponsor an amendment to the bill in the coming session, seeking to adjust this language.  RI Citizens for the Arts will continue to pursue this with the legislators.   Further, the RI-ACLU is considering a legal challenge to the law, and has asked members of the arts community to consider being plantiffs on the suit.

projo article: http://politicsblog.projo.com/2009/11/ri-aclu-directo.html

Thankfully, the Sex at the X show, that I am curating at Gallery X, is taking place in New Bedford, MA.

dream castles

As a child, I’d sit in the backseat of my parent’s car and dream.. dream, dream, dream. I had a lot of time to do so as they loved taking ride around town and beyond. In this day and age that seems like a complete waste of gas. Anyhow, one of my favorite places for us to drive by was Royal Mills, in Warwick, RI. It looked like this big gorgeous stone castle to me. I used to always wonder what it was like inside. I always felt a thrill at passing by it.

Even as an adult, in college (when I took the photos) I was in awe of the buildings. I took these photos on Christmas Eve, 2000. It was freezing cold, I wasn’t wearing gloves, and I had to park across the street, in the elementary school parking lot, and dodge traffic to get across the street to take the photos.

When I found out they were converting them into apartments my first thought was: “I want to live there!” Then I found out how much it cost in relation to my paycheck.

thursday stuff

I finally got to check out the new restaurant at AS220 today. While I will sorely miss the place that was there prior, whose name I could never seem to get right in the first place Tiquera (?), well now the new place is just called “Food at As220.” I should be able to pronounce and remember the name. Though I have to admit, I used to call the old place “The Mexican restaurant at As220.”

I was a bit disappointed that the vegetarian version of the empandas was not available as anything involving sweet potatoes sounds good to me. I had to settle for the pulled pork with ginger, and squash emapanda – it wasn’t really settling, as I couldn’t decide anyhow, they made the decision easier. It was delicious. I’ve never had an empanda before, which is something I mentioned to my girlfriend as I was chowing down. I do plan on having them again. At $4, you could order all the ones on the menu simultaneously, if they are serving the carnivore and vegetarian versions on that day.

Also, in case you haven’t heard…. Gallery X is having a raffle:

We’re seeking donation for our 20th Gallery X Raffle  and Auction Gala
Saturday, Nov. 28, 7pm
Fundraising fun to benefit Gallery X!
for info: http://www.galleryx.org
Preview of items up for raffle begins on November 18th!

the wonderful world of 1930-something.

I am entranced, thrilled, in a dreamy daze every time I pick up a book written by Anaïn Nin. It doesn’t matter if I’ve read it several times over, every word just seems like the greatest, most profound thing to be put to paper. She was a genius.

“I never have seen as clearly ass tonight that my journal writing is a vice, a disease…I got my journal from its last hiding plce under my dressing table and trhew it on the bed. And I had the feeling that this is the way an opium smoker prepared his pipe. The journal, lik a fragment of myself, shares my duplicities. Where has my tremendous fatigue gone? Occasionally I stop writing and feel a profound lethargy. And then some demoniac feeling urges me on.” – Anaïs Nin

in thinking about my future…

“…you fall in love with people’s minds.” Hugo Guiler to Anaïs Nin

I’m pretty sure I truly need a challenge, something to wake me up creativity and intellectually. Something to be excited about! Something to wrap your brain around in the morning when the alarm goes off or those moments before drifting off to sleep. Why be bored with boring surroundings, people, the same boring routine?! I’d rather be dead or sleeping or daydreaming! I need stimuli, like the brain needs it and causes dreaming. I start to daydream when un-stimulated, I’m a creative, intellectual person – I just need that stimulation, because without it I don’t understand the point of breathing.

While in college, I feel, looking back, that I was full of life,hope. Upon graduating into the horrors of our failing economy, I fell…I was bored. My art didn’t sell like I hoped, many of my paintings collecting dust in the basement, under my bed, ect. I had to start holding myself back so as to not create so much – what an idiot! I feel into this routine, my hope dashed, the life sucked out of me. This year, its back, back with a vengeance, I don’t know what woke me up to it. It wasn’t just meeting my girlfriend, she helped wake me up I must admit…. but other factors as well, maybe it was casting off the old doubts? just saying to myself: you know what? who cares if I paint a million paintings this month that don’t sell. Life isn’t always that great, and holding one’s self back on purpose is just plain dumb and a suicide of sorts.

new!

I’ve added my graphic design work for anyone who cares to view it. To whet your appetite.. here’s a piece I did for a design job that didn’t pull through… it was for a local bar’s Service Industry Night. I guess they decided not to SIN anymore… c’est la vie… its tough going freelance kids.

Human Rights

I can’t understand why it bothers some, right-winged Christians to give us the same rights that they have. They clearly do NOT practice what they preach. They haven’t read a history book either, as the same people who are discriminating against the GLBTQ community were once discriminated against themselves. I wonder how the people who are living today would feel about that. Also, the term “Catholic” comes from a Greek word meaning “universal” look it up, it was in my MAT study guide and its in the Oxford dictionary. I guess these folks don’t know or care about that one. Or that “Jesus” allegedly taught about love, compassion and acceptance. They should all be ashamed of themselves… they are bigots.

From the Human Rights Campaign: “A deep and bitter disappointment from Maine yesterday: Maine voters have passed a devastating Proposition 8-style measure overturning the state’s marriage equality law.

Our hearts are with everyone in Maine who fought so hard to win recognition for their families. The legislature passed marriage equality earlier this year, but a divisive anti-LGBT campaign to scare voters seems to have worked.

It is infuriating to see that the same fear-mongering ads that were used to pass Prop. 8 a year ago have triumphed again at the expense of so many. This is a terrible loss.

Although we lost our battle in Maine, we will not allow the lies and hate – the foundation on which our opponents built their campaign – to break our spirits. We are on the right side of history and we will continue this fight with even more vigor.

Our friends at No on 1/Protect Maine Equality waged a strong and smart campaign. Thousands of volunteers exposed hundreds of thousands of Mainers to the real lives of same-sex couples and their families – many for the first time.

I am angry. But more importantly, I am determined that with the anger I feel today from this outcome in Maine, we’ll rise ever stronger to demand equal treatment under the law and equal respect for our relationships in Maine, California, New Jersey, and every state in the Union.

And in other state elections yesterday…

• In Washington state, voters appear to have cast their ballots to approve Referendum 71, a measure that would expand domestic partnerships to have every state-level right and benefit afforded to married couples. I feel confident that when all of the votes are counted, it will be clear that the voters of Washington chose to provide equal rights and benefits to same-sex couples and their families.
• In New Jersey, Governor Jon Corzine – endorsed by HRC – has lost his re-election bid. He has been a strong ally for LGBT people in New Jersey, and he had pledged repeatedly to sign a marriage equality bill that could still be passed by legislators later this year.
• In Virginia, HRC endorsed Creigh Deeds for governor and placed 20 staffers at work in key delegate races. Deeds unfortunately lost his bid for governor, but there will be new pro-equality voices in the House of Delegates next year.
• In Kalamazoo, Michigan, right-wing groups wanted to make sure it stayed legal to fire or refuse housing to someone just because they’re LGBT. 65% of Kalamazoo voters disagreed and voted to approve Ordinance 1856, expanding the city’s existing anti-discrimination law to include sexual orientation and gender identity.”

dressing up and down…

I am still stuck in Halloween mode, then again, one of my favorite things to do is dress up. I love clothes: vintage clothes, comfy clothes, dress-up clothes, pj clothes, clothes, clothes, clothes. I like checking out what other people are wearing, sometimes I wonder why they are wearing what they are wearing, sometimes I feel a bit envious.

I can see why Cindy Sherman does what she does, because allegedly, she just likes to dress-up. I used to play dress-up as a child, clearly I have yet to outgrow it. I start planning Halloween in August. I take pictures of myself (which my girlfriend enjoys) in various styles of dress… though I seldom dress like a whore, even for Halloween… which brings me to women dressing like whores on Halloween. Now, I admit, I once dressed as a hooker, as a joke on Halloween when I was 15. And at age 29 or so, dressed as a dominatrix, though the costume wasn’t really slutty, because a dom can be mostly covered up.

Anyways, this was the first year that I went to Providence on Halloween. I was interesting just to people watch, while not driving down the streets, trying to avoid the hordes of people. I fully understand the concept of donning a different persona for one evening, so maybe these women are your typical ‘good girls’ who think a short skirt/shorts, spiked heels and cleavage make them look ’sexy.’ Actually they all ended up looking like clones.

I’m all for being sex-positive, but this wasn’t it. Dressing like a whore for Halloween isn’t empowering, I felt a bit bad for them. They were doing it to attract attention, possibly of men. Its the promise of being/feeling sexy and one that may not always be fulfilled. I know, I’ve bought into sexy underthings.. they ain’t getting you laid, or bringing you eternal, or momentary happiness. Your just going to have pretty underwear and/or sexy clothes.

Maybe that was all the clothes they had? Maybe they were protesting the law finally banning indoor prostitution in RI? (a much debated issue that I found trivial and frivolous for my tax dollars, but that’s another topic for another time)