Some great links for we progressives:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYqQ9xaGvlg&feature=popular

Word of the day:

ascii - well it's more of an acronym (SP?) -- but here's the gist of it:

American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII), pronounced /ˈæski/[1] is a coding standard that can be used for interchanging information, if the information is expressed mainly by the written form of English words. It is implemented as a character-encoding scheme based on the ordering of the English alphabet. ASCII codes represent text in computers, communications equipment, and other devices that work with text. Most modern character-encoding schemes—which support many more characters than did the original—have a historical basis in ASCII.

Historically, ASCII developed from telegraphic codes. Its first commercial use was as a seven-bit teleprinter code promoted by Bell data services. Work on ASCII formally began October 6, 1960, with the first meeting of the American Standards Association's (ASA) X3.2 subcommittee. The first edition of the standard was published in 1963,[2][3] a major revision in 1967,[4] and the most recent update in 1986.[5] Compared to earlier telegraph codes, the proposed Bell code and ASCII were both ordered for more convenient sorting (i.e., alphabetization) of lists, and added features for devices other than teleprinters.

ASCII includes definitions for 128 characters: 33 are non-printing, mostly obsolete control characters that affect how text is processed;[6] 94 are printable characters, and the space is considered an invisible graphic.[7] The most commonly used character encoding on the World Wide Web was US-ASCII[8] until 2008, when it was surpassed by UTF-8.[9]

 

SAN DIEGO WEATHER: Beautiful!!! MOOD:

SAN DIEGO: DAY 1

Today I went to the birthday party of my cousin's son in Mira Mesa [what-a-place-ah]. There were excited children everywhere, running around, screaming, jumping in a giant air-filled bubble castle with super hero's printed on the sides. I have never seen so many gifts for a small child in one place before. The spacious living room was brimming top-to-bottom with shiny plastic and paper boxes and bags with bows and cards and colorful cellophane and tissue paper filling every space from corner to corner, floor to ceiling.

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I thought to myself, on this beautiful San Diego day following my recent return from New York, with all the hardships, and all of the difficulties (at times even to find food to eat), that this was not necessarily the healthiest way to celebrate the birth of a young child. Call it jealousy -- from remnants of fragmented early childhood memories, of my family scraping by (surviving on watered-down milk, oatmeal and school lunch programs), or call it my liberal education from New York University where I graduated with honors in the study of Social Justice and Truth, or call it an extension of the experience of fear and discomfort from hunger while living in New York, waiting for my food stamps application to be approved -- but I was a little baffled at the spectacle of so many gifts for just a single child (most of which he would outgrow within six months to a year).

Based on these numbers, It seems to me that when according to the World Health Organization, there are currently 963 million people across the world that are hungry, and every day, nearly 16,000 children die from starvation -- that as well-intentioned my cousins were, and as wonderful the memories of this special day would be for their son -- the decadence of the event to me was over-the-top, maybe even ethically questionable.

Don't get me wrong, we all enjoy a chocolate cake and gifts on that special day; we all want to have nice things and friends and family around for those special moments in our lives -- and we all deserve happiness (life is hard enough with out celebrating every now and then. Whether young or old it's important to have fun and to enjoy the good things in life. And I believe this is especially important for kids to have memories of the moments in their lives like birthdays.

But I also think that we as a society should reflect on our consumption and habits, which often ignore the inequality and the problems of hunger social injustice in our world.

 

>>CLICK HERE for a breakdown of nations and malnourishment

 

A note from a close friend who is thinking of a move to Los Angeles, ironically, only 60 miles from my home town:

___________________________________________________________

Better day today. Looking promising. I just dont know what to do... Move ot manhattan or move out of ny!
LOL.
Im hating the idea of the ny summer weather and winter weather...

RESPONSE:

Hey kido -- try not to worry too much -- at least so far as you are worrying about the same thing that many, many boys like us have, for ages it seems -- in which fabulous city do we want to live and spend our lives? Well at least the lives we have before we are completely wrinkled and depending on Depends. It's a tough decision.

Let me offer some ideas that might help; at least looking back on my own experience of first living in NYC, I would have appreciated similar ideas from a friend (I'm glad I did what was right in that case).

When I first moved to New York City I had a dream job with NBC News, and was able to get into a prestigious school program at NYU -- that was years ago... And most people aren't offered such optimistic and generous opportunities quite so easily at a young age (though I did work hard to get there!).

But even with those opportunities in my life (and even though I did follow through by keeping a full-time/full-time schedule along with the Honor's Society (I have to brag a tiny bit), I was terribly depressed at first. I really wanted to return home.

I didn't realize that it takes most people a full two years to fall in love, or to completely hate (for that matter), a new city in which to live. I remember calling home exhausted and crying because I was so lonely and depressed. I felt lost in this maze of a city that felt so cold, harsh and unfriendly. But all that changed after nearly two complete years.

By then I had grown so much, I learned so much, I had so many wonderful opportunities to learn, to grow, to develop -- and I had made so many friends -- no matter what neighborhood I was in (from Upper East Side to UWS, from Chelsea to the East Village, SoHo to Harlem, Wall Street to Midtown, I knew I had a friend nearby that I could call upon for a coffee, for a drink, for dinner, for Opera in the Park. The same might be true for you if you stick it out a bit. I suggest that if you have an opportunity -- do everything you can to live and spend time in the Village. Surround yourself with progressive and thoughtful people who will make you expand your comfort zones. That's what New York is all about; and the days in which I pushed myself to think differently and to keep moving forward, even when things were tough (those days were fuel for much more rewarding accomplishments that came in the future).

Try to give it some more time, and continue doing what you're doing -- get involved in athletics teams, social groups (like 20-Somethings NYC), volunteer with GMHC, GLAAD and join Out in Television and Film (I think they are still around).

You are a wonderful person with a lot of talent to share with the world -- and what better a place to share your talents than the Big Apple. Just keep positive and give it a little more time if you are able.

All that said... You also have to do what you believe is best for you, what is moderate and practical. For me, I'm realizing that I have to think SMARTER, and not HARDER. I can't go with my heart this time -- the heart says stay in New York. I need to take some classes that will assure that I can pull ahead professionally in a field that I am passionate about. I will buckle down and then return when the time is right (my plan and hopes are for a return in September).

I hope this helps a little. Keep your head up kido. You are doing a wonderful job. Just stay focused on your goals, connect with as many people as you can, and follow the right combination of heart and ration when you make your upcoming decisions.
Lastly – I know what you mean about the weather. LOL. While I’m a firm believer that anyone who makes a decision to live some place based solely on the weather , versus all of the other attributes that the place may have, I also believe that New York has some of the worst Summer weather in the country (well outside of Chicago – or Chi-ghetto as we like to call it).

We can talk by phone or over coffee sometime if you want. Not sure I'm much help though.

Hugs and more hugs.

Damien

 

April 19, 2009

WEATHER:
52°Sunny

MOOD:

__________________________________________

SUMMER:

Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.  ~Russel Baker


A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.  ~James Dent

April 19, 2009

WEATHER:
60° Cloudy

MOOD:

 

 

__________________________________________

SAYING GOODBYE AT MUSTANG'S

Today I said goodbye to a close friend of mine -- though I know that he'll be back, I feel for a reason that I won't. Have you ever felt that moment in which you say goodbye to someone, and no matter how many times you look back and say goodbye again, it's not enough? You keep looking back, and they are looking back, and it feels as if you will never see him or her again... You know the person will be back home again -- that they're just going away on business -- but they seem to be going forever...

I suppose that's how I felt this afternoon. We had brunch at a trendy little Upper East Side Mexican restaurant called Mustang's.

I had eaten there twice before. Once with the same friend, a very prominent New York-based architect named Andre, who was leaving town again -- but the previous time I ate there was also with him -- when I had just returned to New York from some r and r in California. Just as I prepared to start my new job at Columbia University -- the same job from which I was recently laid off. Andre offered a warm and comfortable Upper East Side apartment for me to stay in until I moved into my new place with Faria and her seven year old puppy-dog. I remember walking into Andre's place just after flying in from San Diego; it was so large and spacious, and uncluttered -- it was like walking into the Taj Mahal, but on the 18th floor of a luxury high rise on 86th and Third.

The door men were so friendly to me. And I was so happy for a moment.

He took me that first night I had arrived (fresh in new clothes and luggage bags thanks to mom) for dinner and drinks at Mustangs, and then to a little piano bar nearby for more cocktails and merry-making. And I was so happy for a moment!

The first time I was at Mustang's was also a bitter-sweet moment of my life. I had just found myself living on the Upper East Side once again after about seven years of living downtown in the Village. I lived in a tiny space inside a pre-war brown-stone building with staircase outside the front door. I offered to help the little Chinese lady who lived there with taking out the garbage once a week in exchange for what she called a discount on my rent. But I didn't realize at that moment that then, again, I was on my way out. I was so depressed that questions like whether or not I wanted ketchup on my hamburger were baffling. Needless to say, I took a friend of mine and treated him to dinner as a gesture of thanks for all the times that he took care of me during out weekend night-life adventures. I was so happy I could do this for him; but at once, I was scared to death of the impending loss of independence I would soon face. And I was feeling perhaps what I'm feeling today -- the sense of temporary loss that comes with losing a close friend, or a beloved relative (even if just for a period of time).

As I sat there during our early spring-time brunch this morning, on the sidewalk of Second Avenue at 85th Street, with Andre across from me, and my best friend Raymond and his friend Michael to the right, I found myself filled with envy as we spoke of all the wonderful things they would do to keep occupied as their lives continued on in New York without me. (I haven't been completely honest in this entry. I am going back home to California, once again, to study. New York beat the crap out of me for a third time! And I am still too proud, too hurt, too saddenned, too depressed to admit this to myself.)

As I sat there listenning to the wonders of the museums during their Friday night socials, to the benefits they'd attend that require a four-hundred dollar donation, I felt for the first time in a while, the sense that I was no longer in the game that is New York. I was no longer a player.

Will I return? Will I go home, just for the summer, and rebuild my spirit and ego so that I can return to this city of contradiction, diversity and excitement. Time will only tell. But for now, I am quitting the game and cutting my losses. Maybe San Diego this summer will bring with it both education and romance, life and excitement. Maybe, just maybe, more than I would have been promised had I stayed. I still have optimism. Just a bit...

April 16, 2009

WEATHER:
61° Sunny

MOOD:

April 15, 2009

WEATHER:
48° Drizzle and Clouds

MOOD:

Felt a bit under the weather today, was difficult to motivate to do much of anything... So I guess I'll stop here. LOL.

April 14, 2009

WEATHER:
55° Drizzle and Clouds

MOOD:

MY FIRST BLOG ENTRY

It's a simple entry for the first -- I just want to honor my favorite TV commentator Mr. Keith Olbermann, who spoke at this year's GLAAD Media Awards in New York -- I was fortunate enough to have nose-bleed tickets to the event with my best friend Raymond. I'm a huge fan of Mr. Olbermann. I also want to include in this blog entry clips as well as some appreciation to GLAAD -- an organization that I have been a volunteer or ticket holder for the Los Angeles and New York GLAAD Media awards for the last seven years. GO GLAAD!

Enjoy these clips:

Clip 1:


Clip 2:

Here is a GLAAD PSA:

 

Click HERE to see one of my favorite nights as a GLAAD Media Awards volunteer -- I was back stage with Jessica Lange on my birthday at the 16th Annual GLAAD Media Awards ;-)

Yes she was quite drunk when she offered the award to Allen Cumming, but she was so fabulous!

BTW: Yes, that is me behind Jessica Lange on the Red Carpet during television coverage of the 16th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York:

Lastly -- here is a link to a letter I wrote to Fox News regarding a recent Glen Beck comment...