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Workshops and Class Registration Now Available Through EventCreate!
You can now register for classes and workshops with Event Create, including payment! Here’s the link for the upcoming Fiction Essentials workshop.
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The Weekly Readlines March 8
BIG CUP: THE WEEK’S TOP STORIES
BREAKING: Biden scorches a win with his State of the Union, reminding a country that needs it of the dangers ahead. Will we stop hearing about his age and his imagined infirmities? Perhaps in the real world where it’s needed. In the right-wing bubble? Not so much. Bravo!
2024 is now set to be among the longest years in memory. Barring the arrival of a species-ending comet, Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee. Joe Biden, as the incumbent, will face him in another cage match for the gerontocracy. One of these two men will occupy the White House for the following four years. And to think we once had a president named Obama who was younger than me.
Nikki Haley has dropped out of the race, with her expected genuflection coming soon. Even Mitch McConnell, stepping down as Senate Minority Leader, having at one time affixed blame for the assault on the Capitol squarely on Trump, and having allowed his wife to endure Trump’s and racist slurs, has kissed the ring in record time. I wouldn’t call what they’re all kissing a ring.
To absolutely no one’s disappointment, fashion hound and senatorial obstructionist Krysten Sinema has announced her retirement. Don’t let the changing booth door hit you in the ass on the way out.
LGBTQ NEWS
GLAAD Releases 2024 Voter Poll: 94% Of LGBTQ Americans Are Motivated To Vote
California survey seeks insights on LGBTQ older adults – Q Voice News
AARP-Backed LGBTQ+ Bill of Rights Takes Effect for Oregon Nursing Homes
As a Catholic Doctor, I Know Gender-Affirming Care Is Essential for Transgender Youth.
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Cathy’s Wealth of Health: Essential Oils for Mental Wellness
Narration provided by Wondervox.
By Cathy McNease, Dipl CH, RH
Essential oils are amazing for relieving uncomfortable emotions and feelings, and they work fast. The olfactory route to the brain connects the scents almost immediately. I always keep floral oils such as Lavender, Jasmine or Neroli (orange blossom) with me so that I can have an immediate reset in case a stressful event occurs. I put 1-2 drops in the palm of my hand, rub hands together, then cup them around the nose, and inhale my way to peace. I take several slow, conscious breaths. In my home office and bedroom, I like to use an atomizer for the essential oils to put their scent into the room.
I have learned so much from my Aquarian sister and essential oils expert, Tiffany Carole.* Her classes and presentations using essential oils on specific acupressure points are inspiring and informative. I will share some of what I learned from her and have been passing on to my patients. For class details and exquisite essential oils, including diluted ones for children and sensitives, please check out her website at monara.org. You can also access her classes on YouTube.
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Home Advantages: Redoing the Raised Bed Garden
What? Another new feature at LGBTSr? Of course!
Home Advantages will be a semi-regular feature highlighting our efforts to keep up a small house in the New Jersey woods, whether it’s redoing a vegetable garden or unclogging a bathroom sink! Follow along this year as I undertake small improvements here and there, and show you how you can, too! – Mark (and Frank)
How does your garden grow?
The wooden raised-bed garden frames I installed a few years ago rotted out. I’d wanted to revamp the garden anyway, and that gave me the opportunity and incentive I needed. I’m replacing them and reconfiguring them with green metal frames, much better. One down, two to go.
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Adventures in Gardening: The Pleasures of Raised Bed Gardening
Narration provided by Wondervox.
By Mark McNease
Gardening is good for the soul as well as the soil. There’s something about planting and watching your vegetables or flowers grow that gives you a feeling of accomplishment.
I’m in the process of renovating our vegetable garden. We have a large back lawn, and when we first moved here permanently from New York City, I wanted to create a real vegetable garden, not the sad attempts we’d made when we were only here on weekends. I ordered three wooden raised bed kits, comprised of six 4×4 rectangles. I then immediately made the mistake of putting two of these adjacent to each other, as 8×4 beds, forming one large 8×8 box. That would be all right, if you never needed to weed or prune or in any other way work within the growing area. I had the sense to put the third long box several feet away, so you could walk between them.
Three years passed. The wood rotted. The soil wasn’t producing very well. And this year I decided to redo the whole thing. The rotted wood has all been pulled out, but the mounds of dirt remain. I’m 65, I don’t shovel snow in the winter, having read stories every year about people my age suffering heart attacks while they shovel their walkways. I’m not interested in dying in my garden, like Vito Corleone in The Godfather. If the dirt had to be moved, it would be by someone else.
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On the Map: Cruising the Caribbean on the Anthem of the Seas (Includes Slideshow and Video)
By Mark McNease
Reprinted from LGBTSR.com
On the Map is a feature at LGBTSr offering travel reviews and experiences.
If you know us, you know we love to cruise, and we’ve been doing it for the 17 years we’ve been together. Now that we’re both retired from the 9-5 world (I prefer the word emancipated), we’re cruising even more. We went to Canada last October, with stops in Boston, Portland, Bar Harbor, Halifax and St. John. We’re heading on another cruise in May, but in the meantime … we just did an 11-nighter to the Caribbean, on Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas.
Cruising is one of the most popular ways to travel and relax at the same time. Cruises offer a variety of benefits that make them appealing to people who like just chilling out at sea, and people who love visiting ports and taking excursions. You can get it all on a cruise, and it’s one of the most affordable getaways available. If you didn’t want to spend any extra money for food, you wouldn’t have to. It’s included! We like going to some of the specialty restaurants, and I enjoy eating locally for lunch, but there’s food available on the ship 24/7.
Five ports in five days!
I love sea days, when we have the entire day and night just to relax, do activities on the ship, encounter people we’ve made friends with on the cruise, and … nap! I’m a big napper. If I can’t get an hour’s sleep in the cabin, I’m happy to recline in a chaise on deck or by the pool, and settle in for a good read and a snooze.
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Mark S. King Among Playwrights Featured with National Queer Theater’s ‘Write It Out’ at New York’s LGBT Center
Reprinted with permission from Mark S. King’s My Fabulous Disease
The Emotional Triumph of Playwrights Living with HIV
You should know the end of the story first, because the ending demands to be heard. It took place last month in the largest event space at The LGBT Center in New York City, where hundreds of people were excitedly greeting each other, grazing at the food table or sitting in rapturous anticipation for a unique evening of theater.
Over the course of the next two hours, seven pairs of actors would take turns on stage, presenting individual scenes filled with insight, humor, and moments of joyful, sometimes painful truth.
The night was a triumph. There was laughter, emotional silences, nods of recognition and roars of approval. Those roars were only multiplied when, after the final scene, the playwrights who wrote the seven scenes were invited to the stage.
The playwrights were new to this. Some had never before written a theatrical scene. Some had traveled across the country to be there. And each and every one of them was living with HIV. They stood together, holding hands, while the packed audience cheered thunderously. It is a sound that would ring in the grinning playwrights’ ears for days to come.
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Podcast Pick: LGBTQ History Alive, with Ronni and Kelly (First Up: Kate Ullman, Activist and co-founder of The L-Fund)
If you haven’t listened yet to Ronni Sanlo and Kelly Watson’s LGBTQ History Alive podcast, fasten your headphones!
LGBTQ History Alive with Ronni and Kelly
“LGBTQ+ people have a long rich history. It offers hidden stories that we never learned in school, and it acknowledges that the LGBTQ+ community is far more diverse than we ever imagined! Our sheros, heroes and they-roes call us to remember. Dr. Ronni Sanlo and Dr. Kelly Watson share the history with guests who’ve made that history happen. Join us each Monday where LGBTQ+ History is ALIVE! Courses and books may be banned in other places but not here. Our history will NOT be hidden, not with us two old lesbians on guard!
Meet the two old lesbians – us!
Ronni Sanlo , Ed.D., is a retired UCLA professor and LGBTQ Center director, founder of the award-winning Lavender Graduation, and editor of the four volume This Day in LGBTQ History. Kelly Watson, Ph.D, DDS, is a retired recovery center director and business professional, and still and always involved with 12 step recovery.”
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Savvy Senior: How to Fight Back Against Age Discrimination in the Workplace
Narration provided by Wondervox.
By Jim Miller
Dear Savvy Senior,
What are the steps to take to fight against age discrimination in the workplace, and where can I turn to for help if I think I’ve got a case?
Passed Over Paul
Dear Paul,
If you believe your age has cost you in the workplace – whether it’s a job, a promotion, or a raise – you have options for fighting back. Here’s what you should know along with some steps to take against this illegal workplace activity.
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The Twist Podcast #249: 2023 in the Rearview
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose with a look back at an incredible year – the good, the bad and the meh.
Enjoy The Twist on Libsyn, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and TheTwistPodcast.com.
Copyright 2023 MadeMark Publishing
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The Weekly Readlines December 23
New logo, new year (almost)!
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump cannot be on the primary ballot because he incited and supported the January 6 insurrection, in violation of Article 3 of the 14th Amendment. SCOTUS will have to decide the issue, and it’s nobody’s guess how that will go.
Wisconsin’s Supreme Court threw out the GOP-gerrymandered maps that had given them an undemocratic lock on state government.
Americans remain pessimistic, blaming it on President Biden because … why not? Many of them hope an unhinged, maniacal dictator will heal their booboos and bring sunshine upon the land. The clock is ticking!
And morning people probably have Neanderthal genes, something I’ve always believed about myself as I hurry out of bed at 5:00 a.m. Merry Christmas.
GRAB BAG ‘O HEADLINES
In Russia, Parents Are Having Gay Children Abducted To Be ‘Cured’
Washington PostFrom Drag Bans To Sports Restrictions, 75 Anti-LGBTQ Bills Have Become Law In 2023
BBC News -
New Promo Video for ‘Hell to Pay: A House in the Woods 1 and 2’
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Savvy Senior: Tips on Caring for an Aging Parent
Narration provided by Wondervox.
By Jim Miller
Dear Savvy Senior,
Where can I turn to for caregiving help? I help take care of my 80-year-old father and work too, and it’s wearing me out.
Worn Out Wendy
Dear Wendy,
Taking care of an aging parent over a period of time – especially when juggling work and other family obligations – can be exhausting. But help and resources are available. Here’s what you should know.
Identify Your Needs
To help you determine and prioritize the kinds of help you need, a good first step is to make a detailed list of everything you do as your dad’s caregiver and the amount of time each task takes. Identify the times when you need help the most and which tasks others might be able to do for you.