UPDATE
The Equality Ride indeed met and enjoyed fellowship (see related post: March 20) with students on the Baylor campus in Waco.

However, the hospitable cuddly bear atmosphere turned creepy when plainclothes cops arrested a number of riders along with a Baylor student while the group was chalking messages on a school sidewalk.

Chalking seems to be an acceptable mode of public communication on the conservative campus, so these arrests are curious, and the bail set at $2,000 (ex-SQUEEeeeeze me???) is outrageous.

A number of photos of the chalking and arrests (click through to the last few photos) have been posted by Eq-Rider/blogger Adam Britt.

… is our mother, too. Mother Earth: this big, bluish, floating ball of life with its limited natural resources and a bunch of Americans chugging black smoke clouds of SUV and Mickey-D, littering the land with all that damn packaging, while those gray-hairs on the Hill are too weak-in-their-Depends to face global warming and its implications on our life and our society.

Then, along came Gore with his planet-hugging movie in the mainstream, this former-Veep leading the eco-charge for clean livin' and sustainability. Hooyah!

Yesterday, Mr. Gore marched right into Congress armed with 500,000-plus signatures from concerned American citizens (like me and you) who support immediate government action in taking on the climate crisis here and now! Watch the video of his hearing to see how it went.

To show his gratitude for the great deal of support throughout this challenge, Gore is saving a block of Live Earth (a 24-hour concert scheduled for July 7, 2007) tickets for those who signed their name online. Check out that sample line-up: Pharrell, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Snoop Dogg, Lenny Kravitz, Snow Patrol, Black Eyed Peas, Kelly Clarkson, Melissa Etheridge, Bloc Party … the list goes on.

"Oh my God. Let's get some shoes."
My friends tell me I am months late [almost a year … – ed.] in finding this online gem. Better late than never, I say. Brave the intro.

Growing up a Presby, I implicitly understood that "don't-ask-don't-tell" vibe. It's what emanated from our congregation, a bellowing group of tight-tied straight-laceys who just loved and adored our wonderful, flamboyant choir director Lloyd … but-lordy-no, would they ever acknowledge the fact that he had a male partner. They just turned their heads.

Homos and religion; they go together kinda like a rottweiler at a Vienna sausage farm. So, I'm just glad someone is actually talking out loud about it. Here in Austin, progresso-Texas, at the upcoming early-April '07 Presbyterian Seminary Colloquium: "Whom Shall We Send? Whom Shall We Not? The Church's Struggle With Homosexuality," the seminarians will be talking about it... out loud.

Can we get an amen?

[original post March 15]

The Equality Ride kids, a bus full of earnest gay-rights activists touring conservative college campuses across the country will indeed make it onto campus and pay a visit to the fine folk at Baylor University in Waco.

Originally the school's admin was not going to allow the visit from the group of touring SoulForce activists. But calmer heads prevailed and the university will allow a visit as long as the group is sponsored by Baylor students.

And there is a willingness to open up dialog by a courageous batch of Baylor Bears (as in the official Baylor mascot, not the other sort … though we feel compelled to point out that their mascot support squad is curiously called the Baylor Bear Backers. Um, yeah.). Good on 'em.

The meetings shall commence Monday, March 19, 11:30am.

See UPDATE above, March 22.

Latest flash from the National Association of Kirk/Spock Love: After decades of creaming in your kling-ons you hot li'l K/Sers, finally, some Trek fic will go where no man has gone before: a Gay Star Trek Love Story.

Mr. Sulu, honey, you are wanted on the bridge.

I love them. I love the Lesbians on Ecstasy. (And I'm not the only one.) I will always dance like a spaz when they play. I will always have to put my hat in my back pocket and wake up with a sore neck. I will always jump like a giggling schoolgirl, grabbing at all the glow sticks lead hot-dogger, Frankie (or Lynne T, hot, you mighta heard her spin over IDKE), is chucking at the crowd, with this devilish grin. I will always be silly with glee, jumping up and down over and over again, in synch with these four Canadian rockers, dancing my heart out while they match the sentiment with what you expect from them, a sweaty, deep, dark electro-thrash of a good time. Mmmm.

More later. Because love doesn't fade.

HOME!

Don't know about anyone else there, but when the Octopus Project started playing with Black Moth Super Rainbow (they just made an album together), the energy started swirling, whipping around, kids started jamming in, taking up space like Japanese high-rises, anywhere we could fit, and there, pushed up against the wall, barely catching a glimpse of the audio-visual extravaganza, I felt the floor give.