Wednesday, February 28, 2018

"Gay PDA Is Okay!"


"Love Lives On The Edge...  Live Fearlessly"




"Selfie Love..."


"Selfie Love" - those beautiful, grainy, out-of-focus self-pics that capture the truth of true love...



"The Views To Love..."










"A Little Sane Advice..."


“If you ask a stupid question, you may feel stupid; if you don't ask a stupid question, you remain stupid.” 

― Tony Rothman



"It's True, Lovers Do Start To Look Alike..."


Amongst gay couples, it's often referred to as "A Boyfriend Twin"

"While you may be familiar with the old saying, “opposites attract,” in reality, what the heart wants is someone who resembles its owner and that resemblance increases the longer two lovebirds stay together.

University of Michigan psychologist Robert Zajonc conducted an experiment to test this phenomenon. He analyzed photographs of couples taken when they were newlyweds and photographs of the same couples taken 25 years later.

The results showed that the couples had grown to look more like each other over time. And, the happier that the couple said they were, the more likely they were to have increased in their physical similarity."


Read more about this interesting phenomenon here...


"Fear Eats the Soul"



"The Truth About Who We Are..."


Aaron, Visual Artist/Nonprofit Administrator, San Francisco
by thegaymenproject
photo by Kevin Truong

Aaron, in his own words: "What does being gay/queer mean to you?

This question understandably has had an evolution to it. I think when I was younger it was about seeking the freedom of loving and being intimate with anyone your choosing-- not bounded by gender or person. Obviously my preference was other men, but being gay/queer was about seeing beyond that binary. In many ways, that's still very true, however-- I think as we move forward equality in larger strides than in past decades we're challenged to re-examine that notion. To me as I turn to my 30's and we face the blow back to the 2016 elections --we must remember more than ever our truth-- and further more the importance of living more authentically than ever before. That is the spirit of being queer to me. That power is so incredible and so mighty that we have granted ourselves that right and freedom. Let us never let that go.


When I learned about my own HIV+ diagnosis in 2013, that was understandably a trying time. I found that my own generation and (sometimes) community was the most judgmental, and that shocked me. It was often other males in their 20s that were the harshest critics. Responses of stigma to overall apathy or an inability to relate, were common. Often I was met with silence or confusion in those cases, which mostly revealed an uneducated youth who largely believed that HIV is not a huge modern day risk. And to be honest, I suppose I felt the same at one point, so I can't blame them. My diagnosis came right before the popularity and availability of PrEP-- and sometimes I think of that reality and it's painful. Painful to know that I was short an opportunity to avoid the life long health battle that is now in front of me with the reminder that there are no promises in life. Though in that silver lining, there has been the upmost clarity. I can think of a landscape that was once perhaps shrouded in 5 mile visibility-- but now I live seeing this unlimited horizon. I've never known the gift of being able to see clearly in every direction, and as time weather's on i'm realizing what an extraordinary gift that's become. HIV/AIDS gave me that.


I came out in seventh grade, but not exactly by choice. Remember that show on MTV titled Undressed? I loved it. It was the first time beyond porn where I personally had access to seeing two men together on screen-- But unlike porn, there was intimacy and vulnerability. I used to tape various scenes of this show on VHS to re-watch later-- in which my mother eventually found when she mistakenly put on thinking it was last week's episode of American Idol that she taped. wrong.
She called me down from my room to ask me what this was, to which I felt I couldn't lie, so when I told her she simply cried and thanked me for being brave in telling her. I love this story.


(The gay/queer community in San Francisco is) Enchanting, I like to think of it like the novel "Tramps Like Us."

(Advice to my younger self) Don't change a thing."



"We Were Always There..."




"Same Gender Loving People - No. 2974"


"To Be Together In The World, This Is Love..."

Positive images of people like me... The truth of the matter is that we all need to see people like ourselves. So everyday, I'll post a photo, drawing or some other artwork that depicts Same Gender Loving People as what we are... Only Human.



"The Truth About Love..."


Love creates, love cements, love enters and harmonizes all things.

- Edward Bulwer-Lytton



"The Artist's Corner..."


"Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky"
Oil on canvas
Ilya Repin

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

"Gay PDA Is Okay!"


"Love Is Love...  Live Fearlessly"




"Unintentionally Gay...?"


Am I the only one that thinks this is exactly what it looks like...?



"The Truth About Love..."


I think love is serious. It's like an invention: sometimes it lies deep down inside you, great and quiet--and at other times it racks you and keeps you from sleeping.

- William John Locke



"Same Gender Loving People - No. 2973"


"Love Is Sometimes Simply Being Together..."

Positive images of people like me... The truth of the matter is that we all need to see people like ourselves. So everyday, I'll post a photo, drawing or some other artwork that depicts Same Gender Loving People as what we are... Only Human.



"We Were Always There..."




"It's True, Lovers Do Start To Look Alike..."


Amongst gay couples, it's often referred to as "A Boyfriend Twin"

"While you may be familiar with the old saying, “opposites attract,” in reality, what the heart wants is someone who resembles its owner and that resemblance increases the longer two lovebirds stay together.

University of Michigan psychologist Robert Zajonc conducted an experiment to test this phenomenon. He analyzed photographs of couples taken when they were newlyweds and photographs of the same couples taken 25 years later.

The results showed that the couples had grown to look more like each other over time. And, the happier that the couple said they were, the more likely they were to have increased in their physical similarity."


Read more about this interesting phenomenon here...


"Fear Eats the Soul"



"The Truth About Who We Are..."


Jose, Journalist, Madrid, Spain
by thegaymenproject
photo by Kevin Truong

Jose, in his own words: "Being gay should not be anything special. For me being gay does not mean anything. I'm just simply me. It is not a value in itself, nor a curse or blessing. It is another feature, such as red hair or as being tall or short. However, I understand and am glad that many people who felt persecuted by their sex lives celebrate their homosexuality with pride, and I like to see people who have not felt persecuted celebrate their sexuality against the intolerance of others.



My greatest success is being happy and being able to create a bubble in which the pettiness and pessimism is out. That is my greatest success over any professional achievements. Apart from that, as a professional, I am proud to have published in the largest newspaper in my country, having written a book, having shot a short film that defined my way of seeing the world.


I did not leave the closet because I've never been inside. I have been lucky to have always been who I am. I remember the first time I felt excitement seeing a man was watching Kurt Russell in Big Trouble in Little China.



The gay community in Madrid, and very much the protest and street fighting for the rights of all, is very funny and open to people of all communities. The gay who comes to Madrid, after only a few days, feels born in Madrid. Madrid is a place where anyone who feels persecuted in his small town or village can come and be happy.


(Advice to my younger self) Be patient and work hard."



"The Views To Love..."








Love is a journey through life together...



"Just Because..."


As Black History Month draws to a close, just a reminder of how despite all the fears, in Barack Obama, America had her best on display for the world...


"Fear Eats the Soul"



"The Artist's Corner..."


"Drink"
Casein on paper
Jane Fisher



Monday, February 26, 2018

"Gay PDA Is Okay!"


"Celebrate Love...  Live Fearlessly"




"A Little Sane Advice..."


“You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” 

― Ray Bradbury



"The Whisper Of Truth..."


The Whisper app allows users in anonymity to share secrets.

"Fear Eats the Soul"



"Adam and Andy..."


I love James Asal's "Adam and Andy" strip
our lives really are like this.

"The Views To Love..."