In honor of this holiday, I am presenting some of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s own words. He was a truth teller and an activist in the best sense possible, not just on behalf of civil rights but for race relations, peace, and economic justice. I ♥ him. Here he speaks for himself: “As I [...]
-Martin-
19
January
January
killing
15
January
January
Killing was an act of contact. It was messy and spawned existential questions along with real, visible, grotesque pain and suffering. People started thinking of ways to keep the blood off their hands while still being winning participants in power plays of exhilarating life and horrifying death. People started using stones in mobs of collective, [...]
graphic poem
5
January
January
a super hero in a comic book city donned a costume of glasses and bright blazers / fought with human strength / supplied by a supply of drugs / and pride wore a crown of defeat every night / driving toward comic book towers brightly lit, banked against an ominous sky / at home, [...]
Gay Rights – LTE links
22
November
November
My letter to the editor was published in BR’s Advocate on Friday, Nov. 20, and was the latest in a chain of letters discussing gay rights and discrimination. Here are the links below to the first few letters, and the link & text of my response. Thanks to everyone for the positive response! Letter: Reader [...]
spooktacularity
2
November
November
Sometimes it’s good to get outta BR, paddle in the swamp at night, go to the city and…put on a costume, give candy to strangers, fake-film people with painted cardboard and dance to techno while two male witches have words. Word of advice: if you can’t get a cab, best to just walk. If you [...]
hyperbolic rant on acting actors
18
October
October
*this post is inspired by the recent announcement that the balloon boy saga was a hoax. his parents met in acting school. enjoy.* (a monologue) I used to always say that I hated actors. This meant I hated artifice, pretense, and facades. I hated attention-getting melodrama. I hated the praise lauded on acting as talent, [...]
teaching
18
August
August
In honor of the beginning of a new school year, here is an essay I wrote upon my resignation as a teacher, and a different resignation as someone whose ideal job is to teach. Our city is experiencing a strikingly high murder rate this summer–disturbingly high, and guess what? Blame for our society’s ills belongs [...]
.peace.
21
July
July
One thing that I DON’T miss about teaching is dealing with students’ misguided attempts at self-defense and justice. My momma says if someone hits me hit back! That’s what our presidents say, too, it is commonly agreed upon. Then again, Marvin Gaye said only love can conquer hate, and Dr. King said only light can [...]
new roads
4
June
June
My skepticism of democracy’s efficacy has always stemmed from my belief that what is popular is not always what is right. That being said, one recent Saturday I decided to participate in a part of the democratic process. I picked up a friend of mine in Addis, and with our drive-thru daiquiris in the cupholder, [...]
www.ilovechelseas.com
30
April
April
When my mother moved to Baton Rouge in 1974 from Gainesville, Florida, she felt like she had gone back in time twenty years. She went from a town of longhaired, liberal hippies to one of conservative crew cuts and good ole boys. When last year I decided to move back here, she worried that I [...]