One Year Later...

It was one year ago that a young football player from the Pacific Northwest came out to the world in the pages of Outsports, one day after coming out to his team.  That young man was Conner Mertens, who became the first active NCAA football player to be openly Gay.  It has been an incredible year for Conner who has gone on to befriend and mentor other LGBT athletes, had an outstanding year as the place kicker for Williamette University in Oregon, participated in the LGBT Sports Summit sponsored by Nike in Portland, his boyfriend (another LGBT athlete at another school) came out publicly and his year culminated with his being named Outsports' Male Hero of the Year Award for 2014.  To celebrate his anniversary, Conner got together with Cyd over at Outsports to relate his Two Favorite Moments in the Year Since Coming Out.  I will let you read Conner's words for yourselves, no spoilers here, lol.  Congratulations on a fabulous year, may you have many more Conner!

Your Musical Moment for today features the Musical talents of David Garrett whom I introduced you to on the Evening Concert Saturday.  I presented his crossover concert then, but today David is demonstrating his mastery of the classics.  Today, David is in Concert at the Philharmonie in Berlin with the Festival Strings Lucerne under the direction of Adrian Prabava.  His performance is of the Violin Concerto in D Major by Johannes Brahams.  As an Encore he plays La Campanella, Opus 7 by Nicolo Paganini.  You may join David over on my tumblr for his performance of Beethoven's Violin Concerto at the Verbier Festival in 2011.  Don't forget to check out the Hottie of the Day! while you are cruising around over there.  Thanks for the visit, see you again soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

Wassup This Week?

I am feeling much better today, having gotten some much needed R & R over the last 24 hours.  I will continue to take it easy for the rest of the day before heading in to truck night at 10 PM.  I will be working the over night shift on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the foreseeable future so I am glad those two days are sandwiched between two days off.  Hopefully I will be able to adjust my sleep schedule enough so that I don't end up losing sleep over this.  Enough about me, what else can we talk about today? Oh yeah, I know!

If you are a semi conscious male (and quite a few female) being with any passing interest in sports, you know this is Super Bowl Week.  The week leading up to the big game in Prime Time on Sunday between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots.  Even if you have no interest in sports and you have watched any show on NBC, then you too are aware of the hoopla.  I must be honest and say I am less  than thrilled with this year's participants, neither team is on my list of favorites and neither one of them are the Cowboys.  So sue me, I love my Cowboys.  

All that being said with Super Bowl XLIX looming large on the horizon, this may turn out to be the 'gayest' Super Bowl ever.  SB49 is the first SB where the NFL has issued media credentials to a Gay Media Outlet: Outsports.  Cyd Zeigler will bring you all the Phacts From Phoenix and provide the Gay Prospective from the Press Box of the world's biggest sports spectacle.  Then NBC has jumped on the inclusive bandwagon adding the team of Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski  to bring you their own particularly Phabulous Phoenix Commentary all week.  For that extra dose of 'the Gay' for the SB, check out the Gayest Logos in NFL History.  Then for you serious football fans or SB commercial fans here is the Gay Guide to Super Bowl XLIX to give you all Phab Phoenix Phacts.  Those links should get you started on this weeks excess of media attention given to this annual event.  I suppose I must watch, for the commercials if nothing else.  I just wish it would end in a tie and no one would be crowned champion this year.  Yeah, like that's gonna happen.....

Your Musical Moment for today features 6 Quartets for Flute, Violin, Viola and Cello by Federigo Fiorillo.  Although Fiorillo was born in Germany, his father was a Neopolitan who made the rounds of Europe as a conductor and director for many important personages and their orchestras and who gave Federigo his first musical lessons.  Today's performance is by Ensemble a l'Antica and the play list includes Quartets in F, D, C, G and A Major but the performance begins with Quartet Number 6 which is the only one in which Fiorillo wrote in the Minor Key of E.  Over on my tumblr you may 'cello out' with the Complete Cello Concerti of Giovanni Battisita Cirri while checking out the Hottie of the Day!  Thanks for the visit,  see you again soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoy! 

Three Stories

I slept in this morning after a rather long, very busy day off.  However after a quick look over my news feeds, I found three stories that I would like to share with you this today.  The biggest news story comes out of Florida where Marriage Equality began yesterday.  The Huff Post has the photos to show Here's What Same Sex Marriage in Florida Looks Like.  Response from supporters was overwhelming joy and wedding ceremonies while that of opponents was lukewarm at best.  We should not forget about the rest of the opponents of Marriage Equality, they are a devious lot and will plot some other strategy to fuck with us folks.  For now though, congratulations to loving couples all over Florida who have now gained the Freedom to Marry!

You all know that I have long been a supporter of LGBT youth in any way that I could.  It is always heart warming to hear young people tell their coming out stories.  This is especially so  when their stories illustrate the importance of the support of friends and family for those struggling with their sexuality or gender identity.  From Outsports come the story of Will Mansfield, a senior in high school who plays on the school golf team.  His story: Ex-girlfriend convinces high school golfer to come out on Facebook.  Now he's just one of the guys perfectly illustrates this point, the courage to overcome one's fears is strengthened when friends and families stand by them rather than reject them.  

Parental acceptance and support to an LGBT youth can make the difference between life and death, literally in too many cases.  This is especially true when the youth in question is Transgender.  Most Transgender kids know early on how 'different' they are.  Parents who show acceptance and love when their children begin showing non-traditional gender behavior prevents that youth's desire to suppress their true selves.  This enables the young person to grow into their true selves much more easily and with a great deal less fear.  BuzzFeed brings us this story: Transgender Teen Shares Coming Out Story With Inspiring Birthday Photos.  The old saying, a picture is worth a thousand words, is spot on the mark when reading this story abut Milo, a 15-year-old transgender boy, who gets special birthday pancakes every year from his parents.  These parents definitely got it right.  Would that all parents be that supportive to their LGBT kids.  

The telling of our stories, the illustrations of our being just people.  Undeniably different, not better or worse, just different.  That is what has gained us our progress since 1969.  It is so much harder to hate someone you know than some vague representation of your personal fear.  I will continue to share as many of these stories as I can to encourage everyone to be true to yourselves.  Please know: You are not alone & you are loved! 

You Tuesday Musical Moment features four Violin Concerti by Johann Sebastian Bach.  Numbers BWV 1042, 1041, 1052 and 1056a are beautifully performed by the Ensemble Aglaia under the direction of founder Cinzia Barbagelata.  You may also hear Bach's Partita for Solo Violin Number 2, BWV 1004 performed by Hilary Hahn over on my tumblr.

Then here to lead you down the garden path into passionate desire is this collection of sex on a stick.  These Tuesday's Temptations range from long and lean to hunky and hairy.  You will find them preening for you below the play list.  Of course I am a bit of a pepper belly, greatly preferring muy espicio hombres desde sur del norte.  You may enjoy a taste of Bernardo Velasco, Your Hottie of the Day! over on my tumblr.  Thanks for the visit, see you again tomorrow.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

One Last Look

This year is rapidly coming to a close.  This being New Years Eve and all, we have one last chance to do or say something in 2014.  As if you did not already know, I am a tremendous sports fan and am passionate about the NFL and especially my Dallas Cowboys.  My last look back at 2014 involves two sides of the same coin in the biggest sports story of the year.  I just so happens that the story comes out of the NFL and my Cowboys play a part in it.  Yesterday, Outsports announced its final two 2014 year end awards, both of which reflect the two sides of the NFL coin.  Let's start with the good side of the coin before we get to the bad and ugly on the other side.  

Outsports announced Michael Sam as their Person of the Year.  No other person or story rocked the news pages as well as the sports pages like the story of Michael Sam.  Michael,  who after successfully completing his Senior season at Missouri as SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year came out publicly simultaneously in the New York Times, the ESPN Sports Network and Outsports.  This set in motion the drama that is continuing to this day.  Michael was drafted by the St Louis Rams, but not until almost the end of the last round, far further down than someone of his talents and pedigree should have.  Ultimately the Rams cut Michael as if anything the Rams are knee deep in high cotton when it comes to defensive lineman.  So the cut was understandable on that factor.  

This is where the Cowboys come in.  The Cowboys, a few days after Michael was cut by the Rams, signed him to their Practice Squad.  Michael worked hard to improve his skills and did not prove to be any distraction in the locker room, on or off the field.  Unfortunately, Michael was never called up from the Practice Squad, has since been released by the Cowboys and is currently out of football.  Michael still retains the dream of playing in the NFL and is actively working towards that goal.  He also does not believe it is solely his skill set that has him as the only NFL rookie with a similar pedigree without a spot on a team.  Neither do I.  While I do not believe my Cowboys to be homophobic and that Michael could have contributed on the defense this year, the powers that be were working behind the scenes to limit the amount of history that Michael was going to make this year and that was not to include an appearance in a regular season game.  As much progress as has been made in pro sports in general and the NFL in particular, we still have a long way to go.  No matter how far that journey takes us, Michael Sam's place in NFL and LGBT history is already set in stone.  Let's hope he can add to the story in the very near future.  

The other side of the NFL coin was personified by Outsports Asshole of the Year.  I could not agree with their selection  former NFL head coach and current NBC NFL Analyst Tony Dungy more.  Dungy's vociferous homophobic rants in the wake of Michael Sam's coming out were based on the Evangelical Christian Handbook of Homophobia.  Dungy was also the public face of the Old School NFL cadre whose morality was always based more on money than morals.  It is a shame that those such as Dungy and his backward thinking should continue to have so great a public forum to spout dreck and drivel about persons or things of which he has no genuine knowledge.  Dungy is unapologetic and recalcitrant in his homophobia and so richly deserves the moniker Asshole of the Year.   

For your final Musical Moment of 2014, I have chosen the Quartet for Violin, Viola and 2 Cellos in A Major by Russian Pianist, Composer and Music Professor Anton Arensky.  Today performance is by the Music Department of Stony Brook University represented by Soovin Kim, Violin; Nicholas Cords, Viola; Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir, Cello and Colin Carr, Cello.  You may also hear Arensky's Piano Trio Number 1 in D Minor performed by the Beaux Arts Trio over on my tumblr.  

I have some super hot selections for this years final Wet Wednesday collection full of svelte studs scurrying about the beaches and pools or steaming up the showers of the world around us.  These guys will make you want to take your clothes off and get wet all over right along with them.  You will find them awaiting your perusal below the video.  Then if your thirst for wonderful wetness still abounds, try slaking it a bit with the Macho Mojito Hottie of the Day! over on my tumblr.  Thanks for a great year, join me again tomorrow  as we begin another year's journey that is Nichevo.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!