-
Heat stress especially acute for seniors
Personally I’d be happy in a climate that never got over 80 degrees, but that’s not going to happen. As heat rolls over the country (with more to come), just a reminder that it can be especially dangerous for older folks. If you are one, or you love one, or you just know one, keep it in mind.
From LargoPatch:
Although living in the Sunshine State means being able to enjoy warm weather and sunny days almost year-round, residents of Florida know that spending the summer here isn’t always easy. As beautiful as summer may be, the heat it brings is not something to be taken lightly.
According to the National Weather Service, heat causes more deaths per year than floods, lightning, tornadoes and hurricanes combined, making it the number one weather related killer in the United States.
Of even more concern is a report from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that states that seniors are more prone to heat stress than younger people. That puts Largo’s 34 percent of seniors 60 and over, based on the U.S. Census 2005-2009 American Community Survey, in the danger zone. Summer heat index values averaging 98 seniors need to take extra precaution to avoid heat related discomfort or a heat stroke.
]]> -
TNT raises Dallas from the grave
I was never a Dallas fan, but I have to applaud the original cast on this new version coming on TNT. It’s good to see them still kicking.]]>
-
Music review: A Tribute to Billie Holiday
By Steve Barnes
I guess that the first thing to be said about any Billie Holiday tribute is that it’s a good thing. Any time that contemporary listeners are encouraged to pay some attention to one of the greatest singers ever recorded is a plus, especially if those listeners are led back to the source.
But having said that, exactly how good of a thing is A Tribute to Billie Holiday (StormVox Records), which was released last week? A compilation of 13 versions of songs associated with Holiday—by artists ranging from ‘80s standby Boz Scaggs to recent Grammy winner for Best New Artist Esperanza Spalding—the CD walks a fine line between overly earnest embalmings of songs and versions that manage to point out the relationship between 21st-century R&B and the world that Holiday inhabited.
A Tribute to Billie Holiday has its roots in what might seem to be a strange source. It’s the brainchild of actor Peter Stormare, whose credits include the Coen Brothers’ Fargo and the TV series Entourage. According to the CD’s liner notes, Stormare’s interest in Holiday’s work started when he read her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues, when he was a teenager in Sweden. That probably accounts for the overall structure of the CD, which mixes up the songs with excerpts from Holiday’s book, read by Angela Bassett.
But while Holiday’s life story was a sad one, and her bouts with drug abuse certainly have some cautionary value, those things have very little to do with why we should still listen to her music today. Holiday was a master at finding the story inside of a song’s lyrics, and at working against the grain of its melodic line just enough to make a listener stand back and get some perspective on what the song is about.
That’s a tough feat for a singer to pull off, and it’s one that defeats a few of the singers here. Two young jazz singers, Erin Boheme and Renee Olmstead, offer up versions of, respectively, “Them There Eyes” and “Good Morning Heartache.” Neither version is bad, but they are both much too blandly comfortable. There’s no sense of tension between the singer and the song. Aside from the fact that Billie Holiday sang these songs, there seems to be little connection between the tracks and Holiday’s recordings.
That’s not to say that what we want to hear is a singer trying to mimic Holiday’s style, but something that exhibits a similar sense of adventure is definitely a reasonable request. Three young performers do have some success with that. Rocco DeLuca delivers “Lady Sings the Blues” with a contemporary R&B croon that suits the song more than you’d think. Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds gives “Strange Fruit” a dreamy, slightly detached arrangement that sets up a nice contrast with the song’s subject material. And Esperanza Spalding’s slow, airy version of “I’ll Look Around” (you can hear it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayNWPRD5LY4) is probably the best thing here.
Rickie Lee Jones also does pretty well with “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.” The only artist here who has an immediately recognizable style, Jones does what projects like this really ought to. She inhabits the song with her boho-chick persona without losing the song’s spirit. It’s a suitable analogy for what Holiday does with her material, and it’s something that A Tribute to Billie Holiday could have done with a little more of.
But if you want to listen to some tributes to Lady Day that really hit the mark, there are quite a few available. Among the best: Carmen McRae Sings Lover Man & Other Billie Holiday Classics, Rosemary Clooney’s Tribute to Billie Holiday, Etta James’s Mystery Lady and Abbey Lincoln’s Abbey Sings Billie. They’re all examples of how a great singer’s influence can live on without becoming imitation.
And of course you can always listen to Lady Day herself. My own opinion is that two of her last albums, Songs for Distingue Lovers and Lady in Satin, are her best—but that’s a minority opinion. If by some chance, you haven’t listened to her before, there are several compilations that can give you a good overview of her career. Lady Day: The Best of Billie Holiday has 36 of the best tracks from the early years, when she was recording for Columbia Records. And for the midcareer highlights, The Complete Decca Recordings has 50 tracks she recorded from 1944 to 1950. Her later career at Verve can be sampled on Lady in Autumn—The Best of the Verve Years. But with Holiday, any place you start is a good place, and once you start, you’re almost sure to keep on going.
Steve Barnes is a freelance writer based in New York City. His work has appeared in such publications as ARTnews and the Wall Street Journal.]]> -
Binational couple faces separation under DOMA
The Obama administration, having declared DOMA unconstitutional and dropped its defense of the law, continues to process deportations of non-citizen partners.
From Stop the Deportations:
On July 13 in San Francisco, Doug Gentry and Alex Benshimol, a married California couple who have been together for six years, will face every same-sex binational couple’s worst nightmare: a deportation hearing. As anyone following this issue knows, for years there has been little hope for same-sex binational couples seeking to reside together in the United States. Many binational couples are legally married like Alex and Doug, but they are still treated as legal strangers in the eyes of the federal government. There is only one reason Doug and Alex are facing deportation proceedings at all. That reason is DOMA, a law that the President of the United States himself has determined to be indefensible and unconstitutional. [SNIP] As readers of this site know, for decades, and certainly since DOMA became law, LGBT binational couples have fought discrimination in US immigration law. At best, our foreign partners and spouses have managed to stay in the US with temporary visas related to work or study. But even those lucky few are, like all others, deprived of access to a “green card” on the basis of their relationship with their life partner, no matter how long or how committed that relationship is. Binational couples cannot build a future together and live with tremendous insecurity, even though many are raising U.S.-born children together. Far more often couples are forced to live apart in different countries or they are exiled to one of the more than 20 countries in the world that respect our families. Perhaps the greatest number are those forced to live in the United States in the shadows with constant uncertainty; fear of deportation and ruin hanging over their heads. This destroys marriages, and tears apart our families. It is a humanitarian crisis that must come to an end.
]]> -
NOM to protest on first day of New York marriage equality
I suppose we should pray for them.
From their call to protest on what would otherwise be a happy, joyous occasion:
Governor Cuomo and the New York Legislature imposed same-sex marriage on New York with no vote of the people. Voters in 31 other states have been able to decide the definition of marriage for their states, but New Yorkers have been denied that right!
Stand up to protest the redefinition of marriage and demand your right to vote!
If New York is going to change the definition of marriage, it should be the People and not the politicians who make the decision!
Let the People Vote! Join us on July 24 in NYC, Albany, Rochester and Buffalo to let your voice be heard! Additional details coming soon…]]> -
A child reacts to gay couple (and leads the way)
As the song from South Pacific so poignantly told us sixty-two years ago, you’ve got to be taught to hate and fear. This little boy hasn’t had his lesson yet. Here’s hoping he never does.]]>
-
Whoopi and The View discuss the Iowa GOP pledge
-
Mexico City sees 33rd annual Pride Parade
I’m not one to diminish the work of activists prior to that fateful night at the Stonewall Inn in 1969, but I’m reminded every year, as we see just how far and wide our equality movement has spread, how seminal that event was. It’s especially significant to see this in places like Latin America, where homophobia remains the rule, not the exception.
From Americas Quarterly:
Thousands convened along the Paseo de la Reforma to participate in Mexico City’s 33rd Gay Pride Parade recently. Adorned in colorful flags and angel costumes and chanting loudly amid peals of music, people of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) orientation marched and danced in demand of respect for sexual diversity in Mexico.
The motto this year was “Laws without Discrimination for the Whole Nation”—referring to the drive to take the progressive LGBT policies that exist in Mexico City (Distrito Federal—D.F.) and expand them across all of Mexico. In December 2009, the Asamblea Legislativa del Distrito Federal (Legislative Assembly of Mexico City) permitted gay marriage in Mexico City, making it the first city in Latin America to do so. The policy has been in effect since March 2010.
“We want the entire Mexican Republic to have all the advances that have been won in the D.F.,” said Octavio Perez, 26, of the Gay Pride Parade’s organizing committee. “That is basically the essence of the march.”
Although the Mexican capital has made venerable progress with regard to LGBT rights, homophobia within the country remains virulent. Between 1995 and 2008, the nongovernmental organization Letra S has documented 628 registered homicides connected to homophobia, as quoted by the Mexican National Commission of Human Rights. Moreover, 52 percent of Mexican lesbians, gays and bisexuals consider discrimination one of the main problems they face, according to a recent survey conducted by the National Council to Prevent Discrimination (CONAPRED). The same survey also notes that homosexuals and bisexuals admit that they encounter the most intolerance from the police and religious groups.
]]> -
Study finds massage can be better than medication for back pain
Two areas of my body tell me another year has passed: my knees, and my back. A new study finds that massage can be more effective in the short-term for back pain than taking medications.
From USA Today:
Massage therapy may be better than medication or exercise for easing low back pain in the short term, a new government-funded study suggests.
Seattle researchers recruited 401 patients, mostly middle-aged, female and white, all of whom had chronic low back pain.
Those who received a series of either relaxation massage or structural massage were better able to work and be active for up to a year than those getting “usual medical care,” which included painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants or physical therapy, the researchers found.
Lead study author Daniel Cherkin, director of Group Health Research Institute, said he had expected structural massage, which manipulates specific pain-related back muscles and ligaments, would prove superior to relaxation or so-called Swedish massage, which aims to promote a feeling of body-wide relaxation.
Structural massage, which focuses on soft-tissue abnormalities, requires more training and may be more likely to be paid for by health insurance plans, which may equate it with physical therapy, said Cherkin.
“I thought structural massage would have been at least a little better, and that’s not the case,” Cherkin said. “If you’re having continuing problems with back pain even after trying usual medical care, massage may be a good thing to do. I think the results are pretty strong.”
The study, funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, is published in the July 5 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.]]> -
GOP presidential hopeful Gary Johnson says Iowa pledge is offensive
This is the sort of thing that gives me hope for the future of the Republican party. I have conservative, Republican sisters who nonetheless support my equality, and I think the day is slowly coming when anti-gay and Republican are no longer considered synonymous.
From the 2012 Iowa Caucuses:
Republican presidential candidate Gary Johnson thinks the pledge that an Iowa Christian conservative group is circulating is offensive because it condemn gays, single parents, divorcees, Muslims, women who choose to have abortions “and everyone else who doesn’t fit in a Norman Rockwell painting.”
The Family Leader, a conservative advocacy group led by Sioux City’s Bob Vander Plaats, last week introduced a pledge that calls for fidelity to one’s spouse, vigorous opposition to anything but monogamous one-man/one-woman marriage, a cooling off period for those seeking a fast divorce, earnest legal defense of the Defense of Marriage Act, rejection of Sharia Islam and all other anti-woman forms of totalitarian control, recognition of the benefits of robust childbearing and reproduction, action against any illegal pornography, and protection for women from forced prostitution and forced abortion.
[SNIP]
Johnson in a news release and in a speech at the Conservative Leadership Conference in Las Vegas Saturday said the pledge gives Republicans a bad name.
“Government should not be involved in the bedrooms of consenting adults. I have always been a strong advocate of liberty and freedom from unnecessary government intervention into our lives,” he said in the written statement.]]> -
U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner says GOP program cuts a tax hike on seniors
I saw a little bit of Secretary Geithner on ‘Face the Nation’ Sunday morning but missed this bit.
From UPI.com:
WASHINGTON, July 10 (UPI) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Sunday Republican demands for spending cuts would act as a tax increase on senior citizens and middle class.
Geithner said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that addressing the budget deficit solely through spending reductions would result in higher out-of-pocket costs for Medicare that would have to be born by fixed-income seniors.
“The average cost of Medicare for the average beneficiary when fully phased in would go up by $6,500 a year,” Geithner said. “That’s like a $6,500 tax increase on elderly Americans.”
The secretary said President Obama and the Democrats were sticking to their guns on spending cuts and tax increases because they saw Medicare and Social Security as “basic commitments” to retirees.]]> -
Interview: Kimberley Joy Ferren (Kjoy)
Kimberley (left) and her partner Corinne I met Kimberley through our mutual friend (and my longtime collaborator) Rick Rose, who also writes for this site. I loved her energy, her eagerness, and her photoart! This is a get-to-know with her and I’m delighted to give readers the chance to find out who Kjoy is, what’s she’s about, and to enjoy her energy as much as I do. You can see her photoart here. – Mark You’ve joined lgbtSr as a regular columnist/blogger and I wanted to introduce you by way of an interview. Can you tell us where you live and how you got there? Kjoy: As noted in my bio, I’m a native Californian, born in San Francisco (an influence to being gay?), but I grew up less than an hour north of Hollywood in Thousand Oaks. When we moved there it was still very much a prairie behind our house and several westerns were filmed there, and the sets stayed behind for playing in. Once my mom drove us to see a huge wagon train scene with Indians attacking and we ended up ruining the shot. My mom high-tailed-it out of there before they could catch us and send her the bill. Later I went to Ventura Jr. College then to Long Beach State University, then three years in St. Louis, MO. When that relationship ended I rushed back to SoCal and been here ever since. For that last 17 years I’ve been a “Valley Girl,” (San Fernando Valley) and for several years lived literally behind the famed Galleria in Sherman Oaks (“Like fursure!”). Four years ago, Corinne and I moved with our big dogs to a small adobe style house in the small city of San Fernando (VERY hard to find a place that allows big dogs in LA). The Latin flavor of this community has been a huge influence and subject of my photography and photoart. It is a town where old school is attempting to modernize and the townspeople are struggling with the transition. I’m proud to be a part of the movement forward. I say I am “a gringa with a Latin heart.” You and your spouse have been together 16 years. How did you meet? Kjoy: I met my sweetheart at the West Hollywood club, GirlBar. We had mutual friends. At the end of the night all friends danced together and I thought she was cool. The next week my friend and I are dancing, and from behind, I see a hot womyn in jeans and cowboy boots, and when they turn I realize it’s the same womyn from the week before (I couldn’t remember her name). Anyway, it’s the end of the night so I go pull her on to the dance floor. When the night ends I handed her my business card and use the oddest pick-up line, “Call me I’ll make you dinner.” Corinne says she went to her friends and said, “Do I look like I need to eat?” Our first date ended up with me taking her to a gay Alanon meeting. Talk about a cool chick! It was actually my therapist who encouraged me to give her a chance (the relationship before that ended due to their alcohol abuse). I finally made her that meal and we’ve been together ever since. Lucky me! What’s the best thing about being with someone for 16 years? Any downside? Kjoy: The best thing is that you don’t have to be pretty all the time. You can wear underwear instead of lingerie (except to date nights of course!) and you don’t have to worry about make-up and your hair being “hot” at all times. You can relieve gas, eat messy foods, not panic if you’ll gain weight or they’ll judge you. Not that being healthy isn’t important, it just falls down the list and you welcome elastic-banded sweats over can’t breathe going-out jeans. It is also about having sides of the bed and knowing each other’s pillows and then spooning to sleep and waking-up with your best friend and not freaking-out about bad breathe (well sort of, but you don’t rush out of bed over it). And to tell the truth, Corinne still takes my breath away even when she’s just sitting on the couch with the dogs watching a Dodger game. The downside of years together is that you get COMFORTABLE. This is a very dangerous word/situation in any relationship. You forget the little things, the hugs, kisses, touches, asking about the day AND LISTENING (my bad). I have to remind myself to CHERISH this amazing womyn, not just love her. Especially now that we’re over 50, life choices matter. You need more than just a playmate, but a partner. And it should be someone you can laugh with, and often. Life’s too short to not have joy in it (just because it’s my middle name doesn’t mean I’m not crabby at times). As a couple you need to stop the pulls of life and kiss and hold each other. Awesome. You got into photography later in life, as you talk about on your website. Can you say a little about pursuing a passion when society might think we should be settled into our cubicles of whatever making? Kjoy: Growing-up I was always jealous of the arty out-going kids. I wanted to be them but was afraid. I used to say to my mom, “They live on the other side of the line.” Though I pursued careers where I had artistic say and input and even some of my photography and film edits were used for music covers and music videos, I didn’t see it as art, but part of my job. So when I hit 50 it really was a landmark by age and an epiphany as an SR. I had a second-half to look forward to so what was I going to do with it? When my friend gave me his used Nikon Coolpix and a copy of Photoshop, and I started to shoot and play with the images in the computer, then got amazing feedback, I realized that for the first time in my life I had truly stepped over that artistic line. I also believe that being an SR gave me the gumption to test the waters and actually walk into La Galleria Gitana in San Fernando and ask how one gets to show their work – and then did. It really was, and continues to be, about JUST WALKING THROUGH THE DOORS and stepping over those lines. If I had continued to be afraid I would not have gotten into my first show. I just hoped to show a couple pieces, but was asked to show 24 (both prints and canvas/giclees) and was given my own room! WHO KNEW! I also write (screenplay and playwriting). One day I saw a previously closed theater reopening so I WALKED IN and now I am coordinating their playwrights’ reading series (it is being run but two gay men also going for it after years of wanting their own theater!). DO IT! What’s there to lose? We already have Depends in our future so no need to stay off the pot (so to speak). GO FOR IT! You’ve expressed a refreshing enthusiasm for writing for this lgbtSr audience. What makes it interesting for you? Kjoy: I have always been a writer. It was my way to escape a volatile household. In writing I could be anywhere and anyone and have romances with womyn, a say it was just fiction. As a publicist I wrote to promote others. As a screenwriter/playwright there is always the challenge of “making it.” What intrigued me to write for lgbtSR.com was that here I get to revel in my age, that I get to be an open lesbian, that I get to write what matters to me, or just write for the fun of it, and share an at times playful and wa rped look at getting older in the gay world. I feel privileged to be part of this site that will grow and be a forum for the many SRs out there loving life, and struggling with the sagging and aches and the freedom of not giving a shit anymore. We’ve lived it honey. We have the right to own it and sell it and flaunt it! And know what? I’m still 30 in my minds-eye as long as I avoid the mirror! My own decision has been to live as fully and appreciatively as I can, in honor of the many fine men I knew in my 20s who didn’t live long enough to write a blog post for this site. What advice would you give to the LGBT over-50s who might think fun stops at 49? Kjoy: What is fun anyway? Most times now I’m too damned tired to get all made-up for a night out and feel unattractive and don’t want to deal with the young lgbt world outside. But then I regroup, and remind myself that just because I don’t go out amongst the young that I didn’t quit. Hell no! I just stay in my sweats and turn on the Go-Gos, or B-52’s or Prince, or whoever was the music of your time, and dance like a damn-fool in the middle of my living room with my womyn and the dogs – or alone. Afterwards I take Advil or drink some wine and all is fine. Other times I just allow myself to be the lump on the couch and just enjoy it. Okay, yes it is hard to accept that we don’t have the perfect body anymore (though some still rock it!), and that we may be overweight, wrinkling here and there, have aching joints, and not able to pull off the hip styles of the day, and due to all of this we then become reticent to go out to “gaytown” believing the younger set will be judging, even laughing, at us. But then again, maybe not. Think back. Don’t you remember being young and seeing those older lesbians and gay men and WANTING THEM and WANT THEM TO WANT US. Truthfully I thought they were amazing. I wanted them to teach me. So I say we owe it to all those past SRs who inspired and entranced us, and taught us, and be there for the young of today. Show them that AGE DOES NOT MATTER, we are going to have a hellava good time on the dance floor no matter what jiggles and some of them will be turned-on by it – really. And once we’ve had our fill, we’re going to just dance out the door of that club and take that attitude in to creating our dreams, be it an artist, a perfect job, build online endeavors (go Mark!), travel the world, become chefs, produce films and plays, or use our knowledge to improve the world – WHATEVER! I’m living proof it works! Join me! When we get tired and need a break? We’ll just find a recliner or a poolside cabana and enjoy the view til’ we get our second wind.]]> -
Psychiatrist comes out after 40 years
I knew I was gay as a small child, officially came out at 16, and would consider myself as having never been in. But I know it’s difficult for a lot of people, and coming out later in life has its own struggles (as opposed to, say, coming out in high school in a small Indiana city, circa 1976).
From ABC News:
Growing up in the Iowa farm belt, Dr. Loren Olson always thought of himself as “heterosexual, with a little quirk.”
He wondered why he had to work so hard at masculinity and attributed his feelings of being a “man-imposter” to the death of his father in a tractor accident when he was 3.
Olson went on to have a satisfying 18-year marriage and two daughters but, inside, he always knew something wasn’t quite right. He describes “always editing my behavior and thoughts.” But long after many men acknowledge their sexual orientation, he came out after the age of 40.
In his new book, “Finally Out: Letting Go of Living Straight,” Olson, now 68 and semi-retired psychiatrist, examines the lives of closeted gay men, many of whom have sex with other men but deny they are homosexual.
“These men lead hidden lives and that’s a very lonely place to be,” he said. “They feel like they are one secret away from losing everything they love.” Olson describes it as “a kind of sexual purgatory,” and many turn to drugs and alcohol for solace.
Continue reading]]>