Today I took my first ever trip to a luthier: Tanen Violins in Inwood. They were recommended to me by our church organist, who also plays viola in a local orchestra. Joe (the violinmaker) had laid out eight bows for me to test based on what I had told him I was looking for when…
This morning I saw RuPaul on a repeat of the Queen Latifah Show, and I fell in love with him all over again. I love that man in all of his problematic, arrogant, empowered complexity. Most celebrities keep their imperfections on the down low while hinting at them with vague statements like, “I’m not perfect,” or, “I’m…
There are a lot of negative vibes out there in the world. United States government representatives are hating on the working class, hating on immigrants, hating on domestic spending, hating on LGBT people wanting to be treated with the same respect and given government protection as any other marginalized group. There is even homophobia from…
I watched the Henry Louis Gates, Jr. special on PBS where he traced 3 African-American celebrities’ lineage back before the civil war. To my surprise it didn’t upset me all that much. More than upset, I was intrigued with the people uncovered in Gates’ search, particularly the unnamed people in the photos used during his…
