"This Made Me Smile..."

This is something I was actually told by my father as a child...

After a while, when we'd visit Sears, he stopped letting me visit the toy department by myself because he'd always find me admiring Barbie's gay BFF, Ken

What...? You didn't know Ken was gay!

Well, what's this then?

Despite being banned from the toy department, it was no great loss, there was always the guilty pleasures of the Sears Wish Book every Christmas

I also remember admiring Big Jim here... 

And wondering what else he could do with that "karate chop arm action"

"The Artist's Corner..."

"Saudade"

Oil on canvas

Pat Kelley

What I Like About This: The artist has perfectly captured the look of his chosen title for this work... Saudade is a Portuguese word that means a deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound melancholic longing for something or someone that one cares for and/or loves. Moreover, it often carries a repressed knowledge that the object of longing might never be had again. It is the recollection of feelings, experiences, places, or events that once brought excitement, pleasure, and well-being, which now trigger the senses and make one experience the pain of separation from those joyous sensations. Saudade describes a feeling both happy and sad, and is approximated in English by the word  bittersweet. (Wikipedia)

"We Were Always There..."

What I Like About This: Yet another studio pose of two men (circa 1890s) with a relationship of some kind where we're left to wonder, Who were they to one another...?  But you can absolutely see love and affection between them and so perhaps they are what we imagine.  We'll never know, but we do know that, "we were always there..."

"A Little Sane Advice..."

True

"Same Gender Loving People - No. 4534"

"The Happiness Of Love And Togetherness..."

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.

"A Sunday Thought To Ponder..."

Don't know your enemy? Click here or above to learn about Tony Perkins

 "For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind."

Hosea 8:7

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

Quote by Sun Tzu

"The Views To Love..."

What I Like About This: You won't recognize them, but here are Max Parker & Kris Mochrie, two British television stars who found true love in each other. These photos were taken as part of their engagement celebration and I like these candid shots of them together because they show us that love gives us the freedom to be who we are.

"The Artist's Corner..."

"Portrait of Paul Robeson"

Oil on canvas

Randall Davey 

What I Like About This: Few remember or know of the life and accomplishments of Paul Robeson, the subject of this work by acclaimed artist Randall Davey, but you should.  Paul lived an incredible life and was a man well ahead of his time... I like this portrait because the artist has revealed Paul to be a man comfortable with who he is, bold, brave, proud and unapologetically a black man, in a time when black men were still called "boys" and lynching for so-called "disrespect" was still a regular occurrence in America.

Of all Paul Robeson's accomplishments, the one which I find most hauntingly appealing to me was his talent for singing and his rich bass-baritone lilt is moving to me to this day...

"We Were Always There..."

Click the image to enlarge

What I Like About This: Sometimes it's quite obvious when you're looking at a couple who were in love, and at other times it's nearly impossible to discern who they might have been to each other.  This photo falls into the latter category... When I come across photos like this, I look for context clues that reveal the truth.  This is a studio portrait from around 1910, so it might have cost as much as a day's wages, so clearly having their portrait taken was a purposeful undertaking. Then there is the way they're dressed, fine suits with silk ties, handkerchiefs and even boutonnieres, so it's clear that they were intent on showing that this was to commemorate an occasion of some importance.  Perhaps, one of them is the other's best man and this a pre-wedding day photo?  But then again, I prefer to believe that they were actually each others "best man" and that what we have here is a loving couple recording their relationship for time and posterity.  I could be wrong, and we'll never know, but I do know that "we were always there..."

"A Little Sane Advice..."

This reminded me of things my father used to say...

"Same Gender Loving People - No. 4533"

"Summer Days Were Meant For 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 Hateful Truth Today..."

Usually, I'm proud to be a Michigander, but then there are some days when I'm left shaking my head and quoting Dorothy...

"There's no place like home, there's no place like home..."

Why Residents of One Michigan Town Voted to Defund Their Own Library

WDET.ORG

August 25, 2022

Nick Austin

The vote was intended as a show of displeasure with a selection of LGBTQ-themed books the library had on its shelves.

This month, voters in Jamestown Township voted to reject renewal of funding for their city’s public library.

The vote occurred after parents raised concerns about a book located in the adult graphic novel section. The graphic novel, “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” includes illustrations of sex acts while telling the story of the author’s coming of age as nonbinary.

The west Michigan township library board will put a slightly adjusted millage on the November ballot in hopes of a different outcome to prevent the library from closing.

“Of the people who voted no, almost every one of them said, ‘oh no, the library will never close.'” — Ron French, Bridge Michigan

Read the rest of the story here: Detroit Today - WDET.org