In celebration of Gay Pride, Love and Positive Energy – I decided to share some music videos that have thought provoking messages, are relevant in terms of the songs message or simply make you feel like you want to dance. Whether you identify as gay, straight, bisexual or transgender – let your true colours fly and do it without judging someone else’s authenticity. Now let’s celebrate PRIDE by spreading love and positive energy into the world:
NOTHING REALLY MATTERS (REMIX) – Madonna
YOU DON’T KNOW – Cyndi Lauper
FEEL WHAT YOU WANT – Kristine W
FREE – Ultra Nate
POWER OF LOVE – Deee-Lite
PROUD – Heather Small
MODERN LOVE – Rupaul
A LITTLE RESPECT (HMI Redux) – Erasure
AFTER ALL – Billie Ray Martin
GLASS & PATRON – FKA Twigs
BRING THE NOIZE – M.I.A.
LIGHT IN PLACES – Peaches
LIVING FOR LOVE (Remix) – Madonna
Let music move you towards creating positive change in the world. Allow LOVE into your heart and live with positive energy within your heart.
HAPPY PRIDE to everyone!!!
Together, we can make the world a more positive one!
There is nothing like music to change your mood. Music makes you scream, shout and dance! Music is inspiring and can change your mood thereby changing your health. Moving and dancing to music gets the blood flowing and helps to reduce fat – possibly creating a physical change. It can also be calming and thought-provoking providing bringing balance to your emotional state.
Here is a list of songs that make I love singing aloud to and make me really happy (in no particular order):
From the album: SHINE, released only in Japan May 3, 2004 (EP and remixes) released in USA May 2002
For more information about each of these artists (link included below each video/audo post – please visit their respective websites. To purchase any of these songs or album, please visit their websites or iTunes.
Let music move you emotionally and physically…..but most of all….HAVE FUN!!!!
Together, we can make the world a more positive one!
Here are some of my favourite moments of the past year………
PEOPLE/EVENTS
THE ARREST, DETAINMENT and RELEASE OF THE ARCTIC 30
The crew of the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise took part in a peaceful protest at Gazprom’s oil rig to call attention to the threat of oil drilling and climate change. The ice is retreating and oil companies are moving north to drill for the same stuff that’s driving that melting in the first place. It’s madness.
These brave activists looked at the scientific evidence of man-made global warming and the threat it poses to the Arctic, and decided to do something about it. A freelance photographer and videographer were there simply to document their protest. Just as in years past, the resolve and courage required to win a better future for our children requires personal sacrifice, a sacrifice the Arctic 30 are now making. They made their stand in the interests of us all.
Here is a list of names of those HEROES who were brave enough to peacefully protest climate change and drilling for oil in the Arctic:
Peter Henry Willcox (United States), Miguel Hernan Perez (Argentina), Camila Speziale (Argentina), Colin Russell (Australia), Ana Paula Alminhana Maciel (Brazil), Phil Ball (United Kingdom), Kieron Bryan (United Kingdom), Alexandra Harris (United Kingdom), Frank Hewetson (United Kingdom), Anthony Perrett (United Kingdom), Iain Rogers (United Kingdom), Alexandre Paul (Canada), Paul D. Ruzycki (Canada), Faiza Oulahsen (Netherlands), Mannes Ubels (Netherlands), Anne Mie Roer Jensen (Denmark), Sini Saarela (Finland), Francesco Pisanu (France), Cristian D’Alessandro (Italy), Jonathan Beauchamp (New Zealand), David John Haussmann (New Zealand), Tomasz Dziemianczuk (Poland), Roman Dolgav (Russia), Denis Sinyakov (Russia), Dima Litvinov (Sweden), Marco Weber (Switzerland), Gizem Akhan (Turkey), Ruslan Yakushev (Ukraine), Andrey Allakhverdov (Russia), Ekaterina Zaspa (Russia).
BARACK OBAMA’S SPEECH at THE NELSON MANDELA MEMORIAL SERVICE
YEB SANO’s CLIMATE CHANGE SPEECH AFTER TYPHOON HAIYAN
MALALA YOUSAFZAI – INSPIRING STORY and ADVOCATING FOR WOMEN’S RIGHT TO BE EDUCATED
ENTERTAINMENT
Some of my favourite cds of 2013:
M.I.A. (Matangi), Nine Inch Nails (Hesitation Marks), Daft Punk (Random Access Memories), Kanye West (Yeezus), Atoms For Peace (Amok), OMD (English Electric), Alison Moyet (The Minutes).
Some of my favorite videos:
LADY GAGA and RUPAUL
DAFT PUNK featuring PHARRELL WILLIAMS
ATOMS FOR PEACE
NINE INCH NAILS
MADONNA – SECRET PROJECT REVOLUTION
LGBT ISSUES
The powerful story of love as told by Shane Bitney Crone in the great documentary – BRIDEGROOM (A hopeful Oscar contender). Here is the movie trailer:
Edie Windsor (LGBT activist) on shortlist for TIME’s ‘Person of the Year’ along with: Bashar Assad (President of Syria), Jeff Bezos (Amazon founder), Ted Cruz (Texas Senator), Miley Cyrus (Singer), Pope Benedict Francis (Leader of the Catholic Church), Barack Obama (President of The United States), Hassan Rouhani (President of Iran), Kathleen Sebelius (Secretary of Health and Human Services) and Edward Snowden (N.S.A. leaker). President Barack Obama was TIME’s 2012’s Person of the Year.
COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET and LIVING THEIR AUTHENTIC LIVES
Jason Collins (NBA player), Tom Daley (Olympic Diver), Raven Simone (Actress, The Cosby Show), Bob Harper (The Biggest Loser), Wentworth Miller (Actor, Prison Break), Earvin Johnson III (NBA’s Magic Johnson’s – of son).
Not only are these individuals risking their careers by issuing a statement that they are gay, bisexual or lesbian – they may be empowering other individuals who are gay to do so. Many LGBT people are shunned from their friends, families and communities because they are born gay. This leads to high rates of suicide and homelessness in the community. So if these people – empower others to live their authentic lives, I applaud them whether they intentionally or unintentionally wanted to become role models for others in the LGBT community.
What were your favourite moments of 2013 and how have they helped create a more loving, compassionate and positive world? Let’s make 2014 the year of the peaceful protest! Let’s start our REVOLUTION OF LOVE and be more compassionate to animals, our planet and to each other!
Together, we can make the world a more positive one!
How was it like for me to hide part of my true authentic self? I was born gay, so why was I trying so hard to hide this amazing part of myself…..well, here are some of the reasons I refused talking about my sexuality:
I didn’t want my family to be ashamed of me.
I didn’t want to lose any of my friends.
I didn’t want to be kicked out of my parents house.
Society invoked violence against the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-gender, queer) community – so why would I want to endure that?
Gay people were going to hell.
Gay people get AIDS and die.
Gay people are not “normal”.
Gay people are not equal to normal heterosexuals
Gay people are “dykes”, “faggots”, “sissies”, “pussies”, “gross”, “pedophiles”…..
So why didn’t I stay in the closet? I was tired of trying to please everyone else but myself. Once I embraced my homosexuality as part of my true authentic self – I was able to live my life with more clarity, honesty and authenticity. No longer was I trying to hide who I was, no longer was I imprisoned by my desire to be what everyone else wanted me to be. I was free, I was whole, I was finally me. I was no longer afraid – I came to peace knowing that some people in my life (including family) would not accept this part of me but I didn’t care because there was nothing wrong with me.
I hope that there will be a day where gays and lesbians don’t have to ‘come out’ anymore because there is nothing to come out from. ‘Coming out’ isn’t for the sake of making other people feel better – coming out, for me, was a way for me to liberate myself from the fears and stereotypes that society imposed on gays and lesbians. If people accepted me already – why wouldn’t they embrace me after I empowered myself to live my true authentic life? People fear what they don’t understand. People are also slaves because of their religious beliefs and believe that the “sin of homosexuality” is an abomination. Not very Christian is it? (Please see my previous post ‘The Bible Mythology’ on many of the other things Christians should not be engaged in).
So – should we care when a celebrity comes out? Absolutely! What is the difference between homosexuals and heterosexuals (no this isn’t a joke)? Nothing but our sexual preference! As I have said many times before….I didn’t just decide to try being with men one day – I just knew I liked them and wanted to be with them in every way. If it was that easy for me to choose to be gay – then it must have been a choice for heterosexuals to be straight. Think about it – if, all of a sudden, I made the decision to be gay – then every other straigh man or woman could make the same decision as I did. Celebrities, athletes, politicians, and anyone else in the public eye should use their celebrity status as a platform to potentially save the lives of many individuals who struggle so hard in their decision to come out and live their authentic lives. Whether you are homosexual or heterosexual – we all want the same things – to be happy, to contribute to the community, to help those in need, to love, to be compassionate and to spread positivity into the world.
I love all those who have paved the way for me, like gay icons – Harvey Milk, Liberace, Elton John, Carole Pope, Boy George, Jimmy Sommerville, Holly Johnston, Divine, Rupaul, George Michael, Barney Frank, Rachel Maddow, Ricky Martin, Ellen DeGeneres, Jason Collins, Dan Savage, Gareth Thomas, Greg Louganis, Cazwell, Frank Ocean and so many others. I also love those who have continued to support the gay community and in our fight for equality, people like; Madonna, David Beckham, Bill Maher, Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Cho, Joy Behar, Adam Levine, Chris Evans, Michelle Visage, Lady Gaga and so many other wonderful people.
Coming out isn’t easy – despite what others may say – coming out is about finally being able to face your fears and to go against everything that you believed to be true. Coming out is a realization that there was never anything wrong with you and only in those that instilled their hatred, ignorance and fear about homosexuals into society. Coming out is brave, liberating, joyous, loving, wonderful, strong and honest but, most importantly, coming out is about loving yourself.
Enjoy these videos:
Together, we can make the world a more positive one!
I am sure that many have heard the news that pro NBA player – Jason Collins has proclaimed that he is gay! Here are comments that people have made about this news:
“I’m proud to call Jason Collins a friend.” – Bill Clinton (via twitter)
“When I see you I’m gonna hug your knees so hard.” – Ellen Degeneres
“This is what role models are made of. Here’s to a time when it’s no big deal.” – Ricky Gervais (via twitter)
“Thank you for not being afraid to speak up and speak out. Thank you for your courage.” – Representative John Lewis (via twitter)
“Hey @JasonCollins34 I’m still gayer than you!” – Rupaul (via twitter)
“So proud of you, Jason Collins! This is a huge step forward for our country. We’ve got your back!” – Michelle Obama, FLOTUS (via twitter)
“Collins has led the way to freedom. Yes, freedom — because that closet is completely and utterly suffocating. It’s only when you come out that you can breathe properly. It’s only when you come out that you can be exactly who you are. Collins’ action will save lives. This is no exaggeration: Fully one-third of suicides among teenagers occur because of their sexuality. Collins will truly affect lives, too. Millions of kids will see that it is OK to be gay. No need for shame, no need for embarrassment, no need for hiding” – Martina Navratilova (Sports Illustrated column) – Martina came out in 1981 at the height of her pro-tennis career.
Not all of the news was positive though…..here are what non-supporters have said (again, hiding behind religion to justify their bigotry and ignorance):
“Personally, I don’t believe that you can live an openly homosexual lifestyle or an openly, like premarital sex between heterosexuals. If you’re openly living that type of lifestyle, then the Bible says you know them by their fruits. It says that, you know, that’s a sin. If you’re openly living in unrepentant sin, whatever it may be, not just homosexuality, whatever it maybe, I believe that’s walking in open rebellion to God and to Jesus Christ. So I would not characterize that person as a Christian because I don’t think the bible would characterize them as a Christian.” – ESPN sportscaster Chris Broussard
“I will guarantee you if the ownership of whatever team is thinking about bringing him back or thinking about trading for him – and they go to the players on that team and they say ‘how do you feel about an out, active homosexual being in the same locker room sharing the same shower facilities with you’ they’d say ‘no way. I don’t want that. I don’t want some guy, a teammate eyeballin’ me in the shower and my wife does not want that.” – Bryan Fischer (AFA – America Family Association)
Here is Jason Collins first interview after ‘coming out’ on Good Morning America:
I focused on the positive comments because it is that feedback that matters. Those who make negative comments are hiding behind their fear of what they don’t want to understand. Some of my (gay) friends have made comments such as; “big deal, there are many courageous individuals that are not in the public eye that ‘come out’ every day and don’t even receive half as much attention”. Yes, many individuals come out everyday – which is also great. However, it is not everyday where a pro-athlete decides to risk their future career by announcing to the world they are homosexual. Jason Collins coming out IS a big deal. As Martina Navratilova indicated in her Sports Illustrated column (see comments above). In addition to this giving our LGBT youth the courage and strength to come out and live their true authentic lives – it may also inspire other pro-athletes to stop denying their right to live their true authentic selves.
Looking back – I wonder how much earlier I would have come out had some of my role-models made such an important and public statement. Never-the-less, Jason Collins news is wonderful, inspiring and important for reasons that heterosexuals may not understand. One such reason is that gay youth, men and women may not feel a disconnect and alone when there is such a high-profile role model in the public eye and that there are others that are just like them.
Jason Collins did not come out to seek attention – he come out to truly live his authentic life and in doing so, has probably saved the lives of so many who are struggling with their own sexuality.
Together, we can make the world a more positive one!
COALITION OF POSITIVE ENERGY 