Entries from April 2006 ↓

Today is Earth Day. At one time this international day of awareness about the environment, ecology and conservation had a much higher profile here in the U.S., but now in an age of sport utility vehicles coupled with rising fuel prices, relaxed or unenforced environmental safety standards, and global warming, government acknowledgement of the day seems hypocritical if it comes at all.

There are activities going on across the country and around the world however.

Organized labor news similarly fights for public attention. This past week here in New York, doormen and building superintendents in some of the city�s more upscale neighborhoods, members of Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ averted a strike by reaching agreement with the Realty Advisory Board, which represents building owners. They may work in affluent neighborhoods but they certainly can�t afford to live there, and the issue as usual was over a living wage and benefits. (I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Local 32BJ. In 2000, when I was on strike for 5 months as a member of the Screen Actors Guild against commercial producers, 32BJ members came to our rescue one day on the picket line in a display of unity that literally brought tears to our eyes.)

But a new radio show on Air America hopes to give working people a voice. Workin’ It is a weekly, one-hour radio magazine focusing on working life in America. Hosted by comedienne, author, and former union organizer Jackie Guerra, the program promises to make you think, laugh, and do something about the declining state of workers’ rights. It debuts today and if you miss it, you can listen online or even subscribe to a podcast. It is produced in partnership with the workers’ rights advocacy organization, American Rights at Work.

While opponents of the war in Iraq gear up for a major march next week, a new documentary opened this week about an anti-war movement from an earlier era, not of civilians but of military soldiers during Vietnam. Sir! No Sir! debunks the popular notion that opposition to the Vietnam War occurred only on college campuses or on America�s streets. A quite widespread network of dissenters grew among the ranks as men were drafted or joined but later became disillusioned about the purpose for the war and this country�s ability to end it successfully. Not unlike grumblings being heard today.

The film is in limited release nationwide.

Finally, because it is never too early to talk football, my Giants scored a major coup today, signing former Washington Redskin LaVar Arrington to a 7-year $49 million contract. He�s gonna get a chance to sack Redskin quarterbacks at least twice a year now.

And the world goes round and round.

Capricorn Horoscope for week of April 20, 2006

In his book False Alarm: The Truth About the Epidemic of Fear, Dr. Marc K. Siegel argues that our circumstances are far better than we’ve been conditioned to believe. In fact, only a fraction of our culture’s histrionic pessimism is justified. Alas, the collective delusion that life is totally messed up has seeped into your personal life (as it has into mine and everyone’s), tainting even your most intimate moments. But in the coming weeks, it’s crucial that you fight to undo the brainwashing. Opportunities will be coming your way that will remain inaccessible if you’re too busy indulging in knee-jerk cynicism. So please resist the hypnotic temptation to look for the worst in everything. Be a fiercely buoyant nonconformist. Make this Nietzschean principle your watchword: Optimism tends to engender good health, while pessimism leads to morbidity.

From Free Will Astrology

Regular readers know that I am spiritual, not religious. I have many issues with organized religion, particularly Christianity as practiced in the United States, as I see too many practitioners pre-occupied with secular political issues instead of teaching love, compassion and spiritual uplift that I believe to be the true message of Jesus Christ. I am particularly bothered by those of many faiths, not just Christianity, who use their religion to justify acts of violence and oppression of others who believe differently. As a result, I don�t often find myself inside a house of worship.

I did this Easter Sunday however, largely because a friend was one of the ministers conducting the service. He�s young man I first met years ago when he was an outreach worker for the youth program of Gay Men of African Descent. I saw another side of him years later, when he taught me Reiki. Our paths have crossed over the years as we both work in the non-profit social service field here in NYC. Still more recently, I heard he had suffered a major tragedy when he fell four stories down an elevator shaft, breaking many bones and spending a long time in the hospital and physical therapy.

So it was a pleasant surprise to receive an email a few weeks ago to discover he was fully recovered and had been moved to follow a calling to the ministry. He and three of his seminary school graduating classmates were conducting their first public worship service and he was inviting me to attend.

What I experienced was an interfaith service that incorporated Buddhist principles, African drumming, chanting, sermons and storytelling, singing, meditation and other non-traditional practices. It was multi-ethnic, LGBT-affirming, relaxed and informal (the ministers even kidded each other during individual presentations) and so unlike the strict, obedience of the Catholicism I grew up in. Dare I say it, it was a fun service. We never had fun in the Catholic church. And the messages conveyed today�not preached, conveyed�were just what I needed to hear right now.

I�m not sure when or where I�ll have an opportunity to attend another such service. I don�t know if their ordination entails assuming a position at any established church. But I am interested in having more experiences like this one.

We�re enjoying lovely spring weather this weekend in New York but there still aren�t enough interesting things happening in my life to fill a blog entry. Other bloggers have posted noteworthy items however, so I direct you to them.

Andres at Blabbeando attended Saturday�s march in Brooklyn to keep up public awareness about the still unsolved murder of Rashawn Brazell, on what would have been his 21st birthday.

Earl at Prometheus 6 always has a wealth of news and information. He tips us to two items on immigration, one warning Black people about the real impact of anti-immigration legislation, the second provides an eye-opening assessment of the economic effects.

Professor Kim is another great news source I like to read. She�s been covering the Duke lacrosse alleged rape incident. She�s got an interview with Duke professor Mark Anthony Neal who shares his thoughts on masculinity and sexual violence.

Scottie at AfroerotiK, usually writes about sexuality and eroticism, but instead has a few pointed comments to make about use of the �N� word in the Black community.

Few bloggers stay on top of current events like Rod, and he�s got news of a stage production down in DC, written by a local playwright, addressing the DL phenomenon from a different perspective. Folks in the nation�s capital are advised to check it out.

Finally, James has made it back to the Bay Area after his vacation in New York. In addition to being a jazz fan, he�s a brilliant photographer and has posted shots from his trip to his Flickr account. He can make the most ordinary subject look like a work of art.

Happy Easter everyone.

(Note: Links connect you to PDF files.)

While there are days when I�m either bored or stressed by my 9-5, at the end of the day (like today, for instance) I know there�s a paycheck and health benefits waiting for me. I can pay my bills and get sick at the same time.

If I were still a struggling actor or had made the full leap to underpaid, overworked food service industry worker, and were plying my trade here in NYC, I might not be so lucky.

Two studies released this week speak to the difficult conditions facing artists and restaurant workers in New York, and they ain�t pretty. A report by the Freelancers Union on how arts funding overlooks the needs of individual artists, showed that 75% of creative workers avoided seeking medical care as a result of being uninsured and 58% save nothing towards retirement each month.

Meanwhile, a survey conducted by the New York City Restaurant Industry Coalition drew a link between public health and working conditions in the city�s restaurant industry, basically showing that when employers cut corners by understaffing their kitchens, not training workers for their positions and forcing them to continue to work while sick or injured, it puts all of us at risk. Examples cited in the report talked of food handlers cutting themselves and being forced to continue working, possibly contaminating the food they served to customers.

It�s hard y�all. Kinda makes pimpin� look easy.