Queer Ramblings

The argument will probably rage on for years. Biological, environmental, both? The article below makes you want to go check out all of your friends’ hair to see which way their whorl really goes! Read the rest of this entry »

… which is Welsh for “silver”. She is sleek, sexy, and purrs when I get her started. I have her picture as my screen saver on my computer and iPhone. I love her! Oh, did I mention she is my new Harley??? Oh yeah, I just bought myself a Harley Davidson XL883N Iron Sportster.

I decided on the base model as I want to do the customization details myself. I am having a total blast! For those of you who don’t know, I like skulls. So, I have a friend who owns a sign shop and I had him make a vinyl decal of our “Danger is Dangerous” skull and I put it on my back fender. Talk about total bad ass! I have so many more plans for her and I can’t wait until she is finished.

Of course I will be riding her wearing our shirts … doing some advertising as I know everyone will be staring at her as I ride by. I’ll be sure to post about my adventures. Check her out …

BLOG should stand for ‘BackLOGged’ because that’s what I am right now.

backlog (noun)
an accumulation of something, esp. uncompleted work or matters that need to be dealt with.

My apologies for the lack of blogging [and social networking in general]. 2009 started off with surgery and a pretty big move. I promise I will do better!

This shirt is a labor of love! Let me explain …

I have always wanted to compete in a bodybuilding competition. I have talked about it for over 15 years and the time has finally come. I am in the best shape of my life and ready to take the plunge and step on the stage. Am I nervous? Yep. As hell. But I know I’ll be ready when the time comes.

So you’re probably asking yourself, “What does this have to do with a t-shirt?” Well, let me tell you. While in the gym working out one day I was told that I am danger. Now, being the smart-ass person I am, I looked at the guy that said that and said, “Yep. And Danger is Dangerous!” Well, I thought that was pretty cool so I asked Rhonda to design a shirt … kind of a uniform of sorts …. to wear in preparation for my competition. After hours of hard work this is what she came up with. She doesn’t get paid … she did it for me ’cause she love me.

So that’s the story. What does danger mean to you? Are you dangerous enough to wear one?

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Christopher W. attended the rally in Portland and sent us a photo of him sporting a So Gay shirt. Thanks, Christopher!

Feel free to email photos of yourself wearing a QRT shirt at a Prop 8 protest/rally (or any other event) and we will be glad to post it here.

Transcript:

Finally tonight as promised, a Special Comment on the passage, last week, of Proposition Eight in California, which rescinded the right of same-sex couples to marry, and tilted the balance on this issue, from coast to coast.

Some parameters, as preface. This isn’t about yelling, and this isn’t about politics, and this isn’t really just about Prop-8. And I don’t have a personal investment in this: I’m not gay, I had to strain to think of one member of even my very extended family who is, I have no personal stories of close friends or colleagues fighting the prejudice that still pervades their lives.

And yet to me this vote is horrible. Horrible. Because this isn’t about yelling, and this isn’t about politics.

This is about the… human heart, and if that sounds corny, so be it.

If you voted for this Proposition or support those who did or the sentiment they expressed, I have some questions, because, truly, I do not… understand. Why does this matter to you? What is it to you? In a time of impermanence and fly-by-night relationships, these people over here want the same chance at permanence and happiness that is your option. They don’t want to deny you yours. They don’t want to take anything away from you. They want what you want — a chance to be a little less alone in the world.

Only now you are saying to them — no. You can’t have it on these terms. Maybe something similar. If they behave. If they don’t cause too much trouble. You’ll even give them all the same legal rights — even as you’re taking away the legal right, which they already had. A world around them, still anchored in love and marriage, and you are saying, no, you can’t marry. What if somebody passed a law that said you couldn’t marry?

I keep hearing this term “re-defining” marriage.

If this country hadn’t re-defined marriage, black people still couldn’t marry white people. Sixteen states had laws on the books which made that illegal… in 1967. 1967.

The parents of the President-Elect of the United States couldn’t have married in nearly one third of the states of the country their son grew up to lead. But it’s worse than that. If this country had not “re-defined” marriage, some black people still couldn’t marry…black people. It is one of the most overlooked and cruelest parts of our sad story of slavery. Marriages were not legally recognized, if the people were slaves. Since slaves were property, they could not legally be husband and wife, or mother and child. Their marriage vows were different: not “Until Death, Do You Part,” but “Until Death or Distance, Do You Part.” Marriages among slaves were not legally recognized.

You know, just like marriages today in California are not legally recognized, if the people are… gay.

And uncountable in our history are the number of men and women, forced by society into marrying the opposite sex, in sham marriages, or marriages of convenience, or just marriages of not knowing — centuries of men and women who have lived their lives in shame and unhappiness, and who have, through a lie to themselves or others, broken countless other lives, of spouses and children… All because we said a man couldn’t marry another man, or a woman couldn’t marry another woman. The sanctity of marriage. How many marriages like that have there been and how on earth do they increase the “sanctity” of marriage rather than render the term, meaningless?

What is this, to you? Nobody is asking you to embrace their expression of love. But don’t you, as human beings, have to embrace… that love? The world is barren enough.

It is stacked against love, and against hope, and against those very few and precious emotions that enable us to go forward. Your marriage only stands a 50-50 chance of lasting, no matter how much you feel and how hard you work.

And here are people overjoyed at the prospect of just that chance, and that work, just for the hope of having that feeling. With so much hate in the world, with so much meaningless division, and people pitted against people for no good reason, this is what your religion tells you to do? With your experience of life and this world and all its sadnesses, this is what your conscience tells you to do?

With your knowledge that life, with endless vigor, seems to tilt the playing field on which we all live, in favor of unhappiness and hate… this is what your heart tells you to do? You want to sanctify marriage? You want to honor your God and the universal love you believe he represents? Then Spread happiness — this tiny, symbolic, semantical grain of happiness — share it with all those who seek it. Quote me anything from your religious leader or book of choice telling you to stand against this. And then tell me how you can believe both that statement and another statement, another one which reads only “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

—

You are asked now, by your country, and perhaps by your creator, to stand on one side or another. You are asked now to stand, not on a question of politics, not on a question of religion, not on a question of gay or straight. You are asked now to stand, on a question of…love. All you need do is stand, and let the tiny ember of love meet its own fate. You don’t have to help it, you don’t have it applaud it, you don’t have to fight for it. Just don’t put it out. Just don’t extinguish it. Because while it may at first look like that love is between two people you don’t know and you don’t understand and maybe you don’t even want to know…It is, in fact, the ember of your love, for your fellow **person…

Just because this is the only world we have. And the other guy counts, too.

This is the second time in ten days I find myself concluding by turning to, of all things, the closing plea for mercy by Clarence Darrow in a murder trial.

But what he said, fits what is really at the heart of this:

“I was reading last night of the aspiration of the old Persian poet, Omar-Khayyam,” he told the judge.

“It appealed to me as the highest that I can vision. I wish it was in my heart, and I wish it was in the hearts of all:

“So I be written in the Book of Love;

“I do not care about that Book above.

“Erase my name, or write it as you will,

“So I be written in the Book of Love.”

I’m proud to say I have been a die-hard Mac user since 1992. This statement from Apple makes me even prouder:

Apple is publicly opposing Proposition 8 and making a donation of $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign. Apple was among the first California companies to offer equal rights and benefits to our employees’ same-sex partners, and we strongly believe that a person’s fundamental rights — including the right to marry — should not be affected by their sexual orientation. Apple views this as a civil rights issue, rather than just a political issue, and is therefore speaking out publicly against Proposition 8.

Here is the logo that Apple used from late 1976 to early 1998. I’m thinking they should go back to it. =)

This week I received the following email from a Canadian customer:

Hey Rhonda, bought a tee a while back: Butch-O-Matic: just add tools. Ok, so here’s the story you can share:

My straight friend took the Braun handheld blender to my right boob (I thought she was kidding) and proceeded to cut up my shirt. My boob and nip made it out just barely OK. She is devastated and I let her know life is too short to worry about these things. I have made her promise to come on to your site and get another shirt. Please tell me you still have some because I don’t see them listed.

Thanks a bunch,
Caroline

Caroline:
Thanks for sharing! Please tell your friend that ‘just add tools’ is not meant to be taken literally. I hope you will hide your power tools and lock the liquor cabinet the next time she comes to visit.

Yes indeed, we still offer that shirt and in celebration of you still having a complete set of boobs and nips, I have decided to offer the Butch-O-Matic shirt for $15 today only!

For the first time ever the Ad Council — on behalf of a nonprofit organization in New York called the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, or Glsen — is introducing ads meant to tackle a social issue of concern to gays and lesbians. The campaign seeks to discourage bullying and harassment of teenagers who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender and will consist of television and radio commercials, print and outdoor ads and a dedicated web site devoted to the campaign (thinkb4youspeak.com). Some spots feature celebrities such as Hilary Duff and comedian Wanda Sykes.

A poster from the campaign:

An excerpt from the campaign’s website:

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) teens experience homophobic remarks and harassment throughout the school day, creating an atmosphere where they feel disrespected, unwanted and unsafe. Homophobic remarks such as “that’s so gay” are the most commonly heard; these slurs are often unintentional and a common part of teens’ vernacular. Most do not recognize the consequences, but the casual use of this language often carries over into more overt harassment.

This campaign aims to raise awareness about the prevalence and consequences of anti-LGBT bias and behavior in America’s schools. Ultimately, the goal is to reduce and prevent the use of homophobic language in an effort to create a more positive environment for LGBT teens. The campaign also aims to reach adults, including school personnel and parents; their support of this message is crucial to the success of efforts to change behavior.

A video from the campaign:

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Here at QRT we take negative homophobic slang, embrace it, and take it for our own. We have offered a “So Gay” t-shirt for quite some time. Right now you can get your very own for $18.

Our “So Gay” design: