I currently reside in Scotland, where I recently completed my PhD in music at The University of Edinburgh.

During my lengthy career as a musician, I have performed extensively as keyboardist in live theatre, including over 400 performances of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s show Cats for the Really Useful Theatre Company directed by Trevor Nunn and Phantom of the Opera for Cameron Mackintosh Limited, as well as musical director for independent productions, such as Frank Holden’s big band in Scotland.

I have worked variously as an orchestrator, composer, conductor, musical director and record producer for many different clients, including Edinburgh University Encounters project, EMI Music, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Caroline O’Connor, Sir Robert Helpmann, Sir Howard Morrison, and have had my orchestrations performed and recorded live at the Sydney Opera House, the Royal Albert Hall and Garrick Theatre London, Capetown University South Africa, the Hawaiian Theatre Honolulu, the Australian Embassy, New York and the Sala Accademica di Santa Cecilia in Rome.

I have also been orchestrator, associate composer and session conductor for over twenty television documentaries, mini series, feature films and albums which include the Oscar winning Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Aria award nominee album Cash Landing for EMI Music and the Triple Platinum award winning Australian Broadcasting Corporation album Come In Spinner.  In the process of recording TV and film scores and commercial albums I have conducted studio orchestras including the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for the film Frauds starring Phil Collins.

For a full account of my professional career and commissions, please refer to the Career Narrative and Portfolio sections of this site.

Ironically enough, it was a fellow gay man who had used the word in an e-mail to yours truly. That started me thinking about the words we use, and the power behind them, both latent and implied.

I was actually quite appalled at the use of the word, and the subsequent attempt to justify its usage. In his mind, it CLEARLY couldn’t ever be mistaken for the word “Gay” even though they are pronounced the same, because naturally only a bigot would assume they were hearing the word “Gay” rather than the less offensive “Ghey”.

A lengthy discussion ensued, and was dropped after we each realized that neither of us were going to change our views on the word. Later that day as I was BARTing home, I saw something staring at me from the seatback in front of me that made me realize once again that homophobia is still very much alive and well.

If we as a community dis-respect ourselves with such language, how can we ever expect outsiders not to?  If we label ourselves, can we expect any less from our straight counterparts?

I’m still not entirely sure what this all means to me, but I do know that I have a newfound sensitivity to hearing our community referred to as “gays” rather than “gay men” as I feel that such behavior makes it easier for us to be marginalized.

Needless to say, the graffiti was promptly removed, but the image will stay with me as a testament to the fact that even here in the Bay area, we still have a long way to go.

He is still registered as a Democrat.

He supported Al Gore quite vocally, along with many other members of his family.

He also ran, twice, as a Democrat, for Mayor of Topeka. (1993 and 1997).

In 1992  he ran in the Democratic Party primary for U.S. Senate. Phelps won 31% of the vote…in a state that runs closed primaries.

For those of you unaware, a closed primary is one in which only those registered to a party can vote. In Kansas the chairman of the political parties may grant registered independents the right to vote in their primary, but an independent can only vote in one primary in any given election, either Democrat or Republican.

So presumably, unless voter fraud is horribly rampant (something liberals, or at least the New York Times opinion page, deny virulently), 31% of Democratic and Independent voters in the state of Kansas believed that Fred Phelps would be a good Senator.

Now I’ll grant you, this is Kansas we are talking about. Part of the Bible Belt, not far from the Bible Belt state I grew up in. On top of that, I know that political feelings vary from state to state. I live in Arizona, where 75% of the liberals are probably more ‘conservative’ in their beliefs than any East Coast conservative.

And they would probably leave East Coast liberals wondering how they belonged to the same political party.

But they are still Democrats.

So what is my point in all of this?

My only point is that hate does not have a political party. Morality does not have a political party.

You can be a registered Democrat and hate gay people, soldiers, the military, America, and anyone who doesn’t fit into your view of how society should be.

And you can be a registered Republican who wants freedom and individual rights, who loves everyone equally for who they are, not who they sleep with, and acts with honor and integrity.

There are differences between how we approach politics, that does not make one side moral and the other immoral.

It makes us different and, despite what some make think, our differences make us stronger.

Democrat does not equal tolerance and compassion.

Not anymore than Republican equals bigot and hate-monger.

That is the realm of our personal beliefs and actions, not the realm of our politics.

Fred Phelps makes that obvious enough.

This day last year, the godfather of the Ugandan gay rights movement, David Kato, was horrifically beaten to death. Over 100 activists and family members publicly gathered in Kampala today, facing hostility and stigma, to remember David on this bitter anniversary.

“We are here to celebrate and thank God for our beloved friend and human rights activist David Kato,” gay rights campaigner and  former Anglican bishop Christopher Senyonjo told the crowd.

From the AFP: “It is not easy when a loved one dies but thanks to all the friends inside and outside Uganda who worked with David … when I get down they lift me up and help me,” said Nalongo Kisule, Kato’s mother. 

While the “Kill The Gays” bill has been stalled, homophobia still runs rampant throughout Uganda. However there is a lot of pressure coming to Africa from the around the world to clean up how they treat their people.

Additionally a documentary about oppression of gays in Uganda ,Call Me Kuchu, raised enough funds through Kickstartr and should help raise awareness at it’s debut in the Berlin Film Festival on February 11th.

Call Me Kuchu – Trailer from Call Me Kuchu on Vimeo.

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Everyone needs a reason to smile, so here’s an awesome It Gets Better music video set to Lady Gaga’s ‘Hair’, produced, directed, and edited by the multi-talented Colton Boettcher!

Why am I so eager to separate myself from that area, and why am I urging you to shun it? Because it seems every state needs a sphincter where the unpleasant inhabitants must congregate, and Anoka-Hennepin is it for us (well, and a few other places: states aren’t restricted by metazoan anatomy, and can have many sphincters). This is one of the areas that elected Michele Bachmann; it’s been in the news lately because it is the center of a wave of teen suicides, where bullying is common and gay kids are often the target. 

Parents in the district have put pressure on the school board to adopt a list of actions they’ve drawn up.

In a throw-back to ignorance, bigotry, and prejudice, they demand the following:

And whereas school officials would be liable for violating parental rights by subjecting a child to homosexual and related conduct indoctrination…

And whereas legal liability exists for the tort of negligence if it is proved that homosexual activists and organizations were granted access to students under responsibility and that students suffered physical or mental harm…

1. A new division within the student support services and a special section on the District 11 website devoted to student of faith, moral conviction, ex-homosexuals and ex-transgenders…

3. That District 11 administrators and staff work closely with pro-family and ex-homosexual and ex-transgender organizations to provide ongoing training to school counselors, school nurses, social workers, school psychologists, prevention specialists, student learning advocates and a number of secondary principals and principals….

4. Provide professional development opportunities in which philosophical, pedogogical, and political assumptions of GLBT advocacy are critically examined.

7. Provide the history of gay-related immune deficiencies and acquired immune deficiencies and the medical consequences of homosexual acts.

Professor Myers is none to happy to have people like this in Minnesota. He wants to be sure you recognize that this craziness does not reflect the entire state.

Read the entire blog, here.

Photo: GayUSAthemovie

The site Gay USA has posted excerpts from the notes left by EricJames.  (Suicide claims another LGBT youth: Eric James Borges, 19)  In them, he requests that $500 go to Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation, $500 to the Trevor Project, and $521.56 to the Human Rights Campaign.

Also posted at the site are excerpts from the eulogies given by William “Van” Vanlandingham, and the woman who took him in after he was kicked out of his home by his parents, Jennifer McGuire.

McGuire pulled no punches in her eulogy.

 “I am not going to avoid the elephant in the room.  He tells his story better than any of us could in his short film and “It Gets Better” video, but I need it to be spoken out loud – and said for him… his parents tortured him – there is no other word to describe it.  What he shared in his video was the tip of the iceberg, and that’s only compared with what he shared with me, and I am sure there was more.

His parents tortured him by not protecting him from the extensive bullying.  His parents tortured him through their relentless, extremist religious teachings.  His parents tortured him with shame and intolerance and emotional and physical abuse that most of us can’t even begin to imagine.  And yes, I blame them, and not just a little, but for a majority percentage… His parents killed him.”

Full story at Gay USA.

Holy wow. This is a poll from CBS showing how many people approve of President Obama’s proposals during the State of the Union Address. I’ve never seen an approval rating so high before!

From CBS:

The president had more success convincing viewers that his economic proposals would lead to job growth and increased success on the international playing field: 75 percent of viewers said they thought the president’s plans would make America more competitive in the world economy, and 75 percent also said they thought the plans outlined in his speech would create jobs. That’s up from 55 percent before the speech.

The optimism and confidence in the President’s ideas really got through to the public! Lets go 2012! Read the complete poll here.

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So remember that super awesome Australian same-sex marriage ad It’s time.? No? Well take another look, it’s well worth a watch. Now that you’re caught up, our favorite guy from the American Foundation for Equal Rights, Matt Baume, interviews Washington DC college student Daniel Wein who is trying to get that heartwarming ad on T.V. in the States.

If you feel like supporting the project, you can donate at the Facebook page here.