Unneeded Gay Suicide Victim

Friends and family are mourning the death of Jack Reese, a gay Utah teen who took his own life last week after allegedly being subjected to anti-gay bullying at school.

Though details of the 17-year-old Reese’s suicide are scarce, his boyfriend Alex Smith spoke frankly about the repeated [...]]]> From Huffingtonpost.com:

Unneeded Gay Suicide Victim

Friends and family are mourning the death of Jack Reese, a gay Utah teen who took his own life last week after allegedly being subjected to anti-gay bullying at school.

Though details of the 17-year-old Reese’s suicide are scarce, his boyfriend Alex Smith spoke frankly about the repeated bullying the teen had experienced at school. Smith, 18, reportedly recalled the incidents at a community event earlier this week at which a bullying film was being screened.

As one official is quoted as telling Ogden OUTreach off the record: “It happens here about once a week, but officially, you know, it doesn’t happen here.”

An obituary describes the teen as having been ”very good with computers and loved to play his X-Box games.”

“Jack loved animals and will miss his cat, Cat,” the obit continues. “He was also very good with kids and loved taking care of them. Jack was learning to speak Japanese and loved anything to do with Japan. He was also very good at drawing and photography.”

A Facebook group in memory of the teen has been established. “His suicide has impacted so many people,” one user wrote. “I HONESTLY hope things will change because of this, but I also wish that it didn’t have to come down to this for awareness to actually be seen in others who decide to bully others for their sexuality.”

The local chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)expressed its sympathy to Reese’s family in a statement:

“Today, along with the leaders of PFLAG Ogden and the entire community, PFLAG National mourns the loss of Jack Reese as well as the other young people in the Ogden community who have died in similar circumstances. The local chapter of PFLAG along with a broader caring group of adults have been working together tirelessly to address issues of the importance of family acceptance to the youth in this community and similar communities all over the state; sadly, the death of Jack Reese is a reminder that there is still much work to be done.”

As Pink News is reporting, OUTreach announced that an urgent meeting will be held on May 1 to address LGBT bullying and suicide in northern Utah. A candlelit vigil will be held May 1 at the conclusion of the event in memory of Jack.

I had to upgrade since I was sick of seeing the reminder for a month but I knew I would have to change a few background PHP files so that the Flickr parts would still continue to work.  I figured out which ones to fix and now things should work fine.  Let me [...]]]>

Myself

I had to upgrade since I was sick of seeing the reminder for a month but I knew I would have to change a few background PHP files so that the Flickr parts would still continue to work.  I figured out which ones to fix and now things should work fine.  Let me know otherwise.  I just looked at the above photo and realize I probably should shave soon.  I am lookin a bit scruffy.

President Obama won enough delegates yesterday to secure the Democratic nomination. In the past year, the campaign has built the largest and strongest grassroots campaign in American history. Our staff and volunteers are organizing across the country, talking to their family, friends, neighbors [...]]]> OFACA MESSAGE OF THE DAY – A Clear Choice in November

President Obama won enough delegates yesterday to secure the Democratic nomination. In the past year, the campaign has built the largest and strongest grassroots campaign in American history. Our staff and volunteers are organizing across the country, talking to their family, friends, neighbors and co-workers about what’s at stake in this election. Now that the Republicans have finally settled on Mitt Romney, voters will face a very clear choice this November.

President Obama is fighting for an economy built to last and restoring economic security for the middle class. He’s rebuilding the economy on a foundation of the fundamental values that made America great – values like fairness and opportunity. He believes in the simple idea that America prospers when we’re all in it together – when hard work pays off, responsibility is rewarded, and everybody has a fair shot, does their fair share and plays by the same rules.

Mitt Romney has a different vision. Instead of asking everyone to do their fair share and making investments we need for an economy built to last, Romney would slash taxes for corporations and the wealthiest Americans, let Wall Street once again write its own rules, and balance the budget on the backs of the middle class.

Romney’s policies are no better than his record. Romney supports the Ryan budget plan, which would end Medicare as we know it to pay for tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. Romney’s own budget plan would increase the deficit by $5 billion over the next decade and pass on that debt to the next generation.

Happy Birthday Chuck Norris-72 Sharon Stone-54 Jasmine Guy-50 Prince Edward Windsor-48 Carrie Underwood-29 ; 1965 Neil Simon’s play “The Odd Couple” opened on Broadway in New York

Happy Birthday Charles Gibson-69 Juliette Binoche-48 Emmanuel Lewis-41 Kerr Smith-40 Brittney Snow-26 ; 1959 Mattel’s Barbie doll made [...]]]>

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Happy Birthday Emilio Estefan-59 Adrian Zmed-58 Steven Weber-51 Summer Cummings-45 Chaz Bono-43 Andrea Bowen-22 ; 1789 – In New York City, the first Congress of the United States meets, putting the United States Constitution into effect.

Saturday, March 03, 2012

Happy Birthday Jennifer Warnes-65 Miranda Richardson-54 Glen Friedman-50 Julie Bowen-42 Matt Marsden-39 David Faustino-38 ; 1847 Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Friday, March 02, 2012

Happy Birthday Mikhail Gorbachev-81 John Irving-70 Gates McFadden-63 Laraine Newman-60 Jon Bon Jovi-50 Bryce Howard-31 ; 1917 Puerto Ricans were granted U.S. citizenship.

Thursday, March 01, 2012

Happy Birthday Robert Clary-86 Harry Belafonte-85 Robert Conrad-77 Alan Thicke-65 Catherine Bach-58 Ron Howard-58 Tim Daly-56 Justin Bieber-18 ; 1790 Congress authorized the first U.S. census

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Happy Birthday RIP Dinah Shore (1916–1994) Tony Robbins-51 Antonio Sabato Jr.-40 ; 1916 – Child labor in South Carolina, the minimum working age for factory, mill, and mine workers is raised from twelve to fourteen years old!

Funky Colors

Happy Birthday Little Richard Penniman-79 Joan Didion-77 Morgan Brittany-59 Margaret Cho-43 Photo Larry-37 Amy Acker-35 Nick Stahl-32 Frankie Muniz-26 ; 1901, Walt Disney, the pioneer of animated cartoon films and founder of the Disney theme parks, was born.

Natalie Wood case reopened due to book

We may “friend” more people on facebook or twitter or google plus, but we have fewer real life friends – the kind who would help us out in tough times, listen sympathetically in person no matter what, lend us money or give us a place to [...]]]> I agree with the findings of the article which follows.

We may “friend” more people on facebook or twitter or google plus, but we have fewer real life friends – the kind who would help us out in tough times, listen sympathetically in person no matter what, lend us money or give us a place to stay if we needed it, keep a secret if we shared one.

Read more:

Cornell Study on Friends, Real vs. Virtual.

Oh yes it does in the winter time quite often actually.  Sometimes it even starts in November as illustrated in the following photo.  And my thoughts on drivers that freak out in Los Angeles when it does rain.  I have lived in Chicago, Portland, and LA now for 10 years. I [...]]]>

Wilshire at Western

Oh yes it does in the winter time quite often actually.  Sometimes it even starts in November as illustrated in the following photo.  And my thoughts on drivers that freak out in Los Angeles when it does rain.  I have lived in Chicago, Portland, and LA now for 10 years. I speak from years of experience, knowledge, truth. People here in Los Angeles are clueless even without rain. Traffic is horrific always, and if you add rain to the equation, total disaster. However, as Sister Buffy would say “Los Angeles people do not focus outside the four walls of their vehicles because then it is not about driver/me”. Everyone here has a mild to severe case of NPD!  There actually is a newer mental disorder that I believe is listed now in DSM V which is called “Unspecific Hollywood Generalized Personality Disorder”.  I find that fact alone Hilarious!  I think you have to live in Los Angeles for several years and get exposure to these people often to comprehend the sociology of it all here locally.  I often try to explain it to people that do not live here and never do they quite get it.  That is all for now.

Nameste!