Why the Pope REALLY resigned…really!

Sign seen on Industrial Place just off Sunny Dunes, a gay strip in Palm Springs. Pope’s joint here seems to be a het titty bar. Who knew his holiness dabbled in such ventures? Interesting times.

Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits (BAAITS) 2nd Annual Two Spirit Powwow!

You’re invited: Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits (BAAITS) 2nd Annual Two Spirit Powwow!

This year’s event will take place Saturday, February 2nd in Oakland, starting at noon. For directions and more information, visit the BAAITS website.

Last year’s groundbreaking powwow attracted over 500 people, and made history as the first and only public Two Spirit Powwow in the world.

A Powwow is a public gathering with Native dancing and drums, seeing friends and family. It is a cultural event, large and crowded at times, yet intimate. It holds a place in the hearts of the Native community, and BAAITS offering up this Powwow in the name of Two Spirit peoples is truly an honoring. The overwhelming response of our allies honors and recognizes the work and important role of the Two Spirit community.

We welcome all Two Spirit people as well as allies. Come one, come all. All dancers and Drums are invited to join us. Special dance categories this year will include a Switch Dance (Women take on the male roles, and vice-versa) and a Duct Tape Special, in which the dance regalia is made of duct tape and found objects. There will be contests for dancers, fry bread and Indian tacos, crafts and gifts for sale, a raffle, and most of all – community!

Min the Mighty Old Rock-hard God

This 3000-plus year old limestone monolith is over life-size and honors Min, an Egyptian male fertility god whose worship preceded the dynastic era and which continued through it.

Saint Sebastian of the Sunroom…

Novy makes Art…and he don’t stop!

An ancient ritual: Beating the Bounds for Gangdays…and whipping some boys on the way.

Beating the Bounds: an ancient ritual still practiced today in the British Isles. Communities traditionally reinscribed the boundaries of their parishes by walking the edges carrying sticks, pounding on the boundary marking stones. In an era before maps were common, when literacy was rare, these annual events (also called “gangdays”) were intended to impress upon everyone where community boundaries lay. Since resources were allocated according to parish, it was vital that the knowledge was passed down accurately though successive generations. It also helped keep the neighbors in line. To reinforce the lesson, the gangs would (and d0) stop occasionally to literally beat the knowledge into the boys. Sometimes, the youngsters would also be flung against the rocky stiles. All in good fun! Part of a suite of jolly old British customs that includes flogging the peg boys.

If you remember nothing else….

Good words for today…or any day. Remember and you are. Forget it and you’re fodder for fool-catchers. And in today’s economy? Well…

Happy 4/20 at 4:20, 4/20!

Dionysius of the Emerald Triangle makes a cyanotype self-portrait. Cool! The Buddha Nature grows his own. It takes one to Noh one. Happy April 20, green heads! And Hi, Kid. For Green Man Cumming, the Spring Equinox version, click here.

Malay Gays face Conservative Islamic Foes…but are backed by Islamic Renaissance Friends

As Malaysia moves into its election season, religious conservatives in the Islamic majority country are using the “proliferation of the LGBT problem” as a political weapon. According to an article in the Bay Area Reporter: “A large anti-LGBT demonstration is scheduled in Dataran Merdeka Square, Kuala Lumpur on April 21.” That is Saturday. Gay Malaysians have good reason for concern. They also have some interesting friends. House speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia recently rejected a motion that would have banned LGBT people from serving in Parliament. International outcry derailed a move to ban representation of unconventional sexualities in publicly funded media. And Dr. Ahmad Fuad Rahmat of the Islamic Renaissance Front is explicit in his support. He says, in a passionate defense of the (successfully) banned Queer Arts Festival Seksualiti Merdeka: “We are living in a heterogeneous society full of diversity. In order for a society to mature, it must be able to remodel itself to be inclusive in nature. There should be no discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation, irrespective of race and religion. Every single citizen has the right to live and express his or her conviction without fear.” Hear, hear! Click here for the entire text. As of this writing, sodomy is punishable in Malaysia by up to twenty years in prison. For something fun and sexy (homoerotic sandwich cookies!) from Malaysia, here.

Green Man cumming: Spring Equinox Cali Yaoi Bara Manga from JoJo Mendoco

Shooting shoots and flowers. Summer, Fall, Winter to cum. Rinse; repeat. We go Pop! More JoJo Mendoco here.

Fucking Bats! Seriously.

Spring brings a cluster
Furry brown activity
Making more of us

The Buddha Nature drops dope rhymes. Photo postcard collection of Gay Highwaymen.