Gay Cousin Teddy

Yesterday marked the 39th annual Chicago Pride Parade. Normally I would be in attendance, sitting on a curb with a luke-warm cocktail or beer, cheering on the gays as they paraded by. This year, however, was different. Instead of taking a seat as a spectator, I was part of the marching contingent in this years festivities. Specifically, I marched with fellow supporters of Barack Obama. Organized by Jamie Citron and Kevin Hauswirth, supporters of Barack Obama showed up with amazing spirit and enthusiasm to represent his message at the Chicago Pride Parade. 

Being part of a parade as large as this one is nothing short of amazing. The experience of walking through hundreds of thousands of people, by itself, is truly incredible. But to do so with fellow queers and queer allies all rallying around something so personal and important to me is simply stunning. There are certainly words I could use to express how it feels to be a part of something like this. However, those words would simply not do the experience justice. I found myself completely captivated in the moment and as fired up about this election year as I ever could be. 

From the Fired Up, Ready To Go cheers to the “Obama Dance” we all learned, our group was completely energized for 2+ hours. Marching with so many people wanting change and pumping the crowd up as we went along the route was incredible. And while the haters were certainly present, the spirit never died. 

Here’s a video someone in our contingent shot while marching. at 1:04 you can see me to the right of the car walking backwards with my hands up in the air. I have the pink “I’m out for Obama” t-shirt on and jeans. You can see a bit of the “Obama Dance” and some “Yes We Can!” cheers! 

Yes We Can. 

As I stated earlier, yesterday marked the anniversary of the Stonewall Inn Riots in New York City. It is the reason why we celebrate the pride we have as a community in the month of June. Instead of a traditional throwback video for today, I wanted to bring something kind of gay, kind of fierce, and kind of inspiring. As many of you know, Patti Labelle inspires me constantly and is probably one of my all-time favorite musicians. Her live versions of Somewhere Over The Rainbow are notorious and frankly quite perfect for today’s selection. 

Here is the incomparable Ms. Patti Labelle singing Somewhere Over The Rainbow in 1985. Not only is the performance amazing, you have to love that hair. This is considered by many as her best live performance of the song, and I might have to agree. Stick around until the end to see her last few notes and her wonderful dance moves! Happy Pride. 

Today marks the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York City. On June 28, 1969, members of the NYPD entered the Stonewall Inn with a warrant investigating illegal alcohol sales. Though the bar had been raided frequently, that evening proved to be different. As many in and outside the bar began to fight back and resist, rioting and chaos ensued. Considered by many as the catalyst for the modern Gay Liberation Movement, Stonewall is the reason why we celebrate “gay pride” in the month of June. 

I often hear people questioning the necessity of a gay pride parade in the year 2008. If you live in a city like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, or San Francisco, acceptance of the GLBT community seems like a no brainer. Why have a parade for something that isn’t such a big deal anymore? Right? But if you sit down with someone who lives in Mississippi, that person might have an amazingly different outlook. 

Everyday people identifying as queer, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, same-gender loving, etc., are discriminated against in many different ways. The GLBT population still is disenfranchised when it comes to the protections of their families, regardless of the advances made in many parts of the country. Children like Lawrence King continue to go unprotected in schools that are supposed to keep themselves safe. The Transgender community can’t even count on pro-gay lawmakers to stand up for their rights in times of political pressure. Until all of that and much more is solved, the celebrations of our community continue to be necessary and important. 

Gay Pride is a celebration of the uniqueness of members of it’s community. It celebrates everything we are and everything we want to become. Many will argue that Pride celebrations have become to commercialized with endless corporate sponsorship. But do those people remember when corporations refused to advertise within our community? While there are still many homophobic companies and executives who refuse to do business with the gay community, there are many who celebrate and applaud us. Miller Light continues to fund our parades, poor money into our communities, and resist calls from anti-gay groups calling for boycotts. But yet we have a problem with them advertising on a float? 

Clearly, my point of this rant is that Pride means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Whether you live in a liberal and progressive community with the ability to live openly as you wish, or in a community that has not caught up with the times, you should be proud of the work that has been done and excited about the work that needs to follow. So celebrate your pride as you feel comfortable. If you’re not wanting to be a part of the parade and festivities, then stay home and celebrate as you wish. But let those who want to take our pride to the streets continue to do so. 

Happy Pride. 

If anyone remembers this video, you’ll definitely win some points from me. I had originally planned to post something else (sorry Jason), but this song popped into my head while in the shower. It took me forever to remember the name of it, but I managed to find it. Today’s video is a song called Nu Nu by Lidell Townsell (1992).  Townsell was a Chicago House artist who gained a bit of mainstream success with this track. 

I remember going to a record store at age 11, trying to find this single. I searched a few stores and finally found it, with my brother’s help. It’s kind of amazing how little memories like buying a cassette tape stay with you.  

Dear Readers,

Let me start out by saying that I’m completely ashamed of myself as a blogger. In fact, I can’t even call myself a blogger at the moment as clearly I don’t blog! This week has been crazy as I’ve been in the process of moving to the glorious neighborhood of Andersonville in Chicago. Hopefully my faithful readers will forgive my incompetent blogging skills demonstrated over the past week. Yesterday I finished the move and became an official resident of my favorite Chicago hood. How exciting right!? I’m also very close to my friend and fellow blogger Rick! Tomorrow I return to the blogosphere prepared to win you all back.  Promise!

Love,

Teddy

I’m starting to wonder if 1993 might have been one of the best years in music. There isn’t even a reason to wonder why my 7th and 8th grade dances were so cool. Anyway, this weeks video is Ditty by Paperboy, of the album The Nine Yards (1993). I think my favorite line has to be “If I was a vacuum I’d be suckin’ up competition.” 

Betsy, this one was for you. 

Obviously I’m not and obviously I don’t have to explain this video. If you were, perhaps, thinking of voting for John McCain (Bush Lite), then this video might be of some use to you.

More from the filmmaker here.

Remember the days of making mixed tapes for your junior high or high school! I recall making a tape for my girlfriend (yes girlfriend) in 4th grade with a lot of paula abdul, debbie gibson, and janet jackson (among others). Does anything really say preteen love more than a mixed tape?  In my head I can still see that maxwell tape with an “I love you” message written on the front.

Melissa, if you’re still out there, i’d love to see that tape. Oh and by the way, you turned me gay.

I suppose in the days of digital music, the act of making a tape is certainly lost. And while kids today are surely burning cds, or perhaps creating an iTunes playlist to share with their main squeeze, I still long for the personalization of the mixed tape. For those of you who share this nostalgia with me, check out the site Cassette From My Ex. It’s a blog of mixed tape playlists and the stories attached to those mixed tapes. Thanks to Lisa for sending me this link. I’ve spent too much time reading through this already! Classic site.

I found this video on a number of blogs this morning and had to share. It’s a little ditty about the double talking, not straight talking, John McCain. As you can quickly see, it’s very reminiscent of the old School House Rock videos. The video is courtesy of Lunatics and Liars. Pretty cute!

I grew up on Schoolhouse Rock, and to this day remembering the lyrics to Three’s The Magic Number, How A Bill Becomes A Law, and Conjunction Junction. For a trip down memory lane, I’ve posted a few videos after the jump.

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I thought today, as the dust settles from the marathon finish that was the Democratic Primary season, would be a good time to revisit my first Barack moment. I remember watching the speech above and saying to myself, “this man might be president someday.” I’m not sure anyone thought it would be this soon, but that possibility is quickly turning into a reality. The video above, from the 2004 Democratic National Convention, needs no explantion. It was the first time most Americans were introduced to Barack Obama, and the moment I was first inspired by the man soon to be our next president.

E Pluribus Unum. Out of Many, One.