FiercePoet Blog | Events | Let’s Shake up the Season

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Thursday the 15th of December, 2005

Let’s Shake up the Season

Let’s Shake up the Season
with a
Holiday Party!

December 16th
7:30 p.m.

Martinis and Merriment
Munchies and More

at the home

of
Robert T. Kenmore
Birmingham, AL
(e-mail for directions)

r.s.v.p -

Munchies, Martini’s & Punch provided; if you have another favorite Holiday drink, bring some to share with everyone.

The rest of the story...

Posted by rtkenmore at 01:36 PM on the 15th of December, 2005.
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Thursday the 17th of November, 2005

We’re not gonna pay… RENT!

Well I can’t say that I know people in high places but I can say that it pays off to be nosey sometimes. I e-mailed the local radio station WQEN 103.7 The Q yesterday inquiring about whether they knew of or were sponsoring any midnight viewings of Rent. They usually sponsor a midnight viewing of the bigger openings and I figured they were the best place to start after calling four local theaters all of which stated they would not be having a midnight screening.

Well, it turns out that it definitely paid off to e-mail The Q. I got a prompt reply back from Tommy Chuck (the afternoon personality) that asked for my name, address, numbers & DOB. He said I would have 4 tickets waiting for me at the station. Now that in itself is not the bid deal. The big deal is that it’s for a Tuesday evening Private Screening before the release on Wednesday. I’m very much a happy person now. Almost giddy I might say.

I can’t wait. I’m getting so excited about seeing Rent on the big screen finally. It’s been way too long to have to wait. After seeing it on stage 5 times (which certainly isn’t enough), it’s about time for the movie. And even better than just the movie being out is the fact that this will be my first time to see several of the people who originated thier roles in the original Broadway version.

I’m counting down the minutes....

Posted by rtkenmore at 02:15 PM on the 17th of November, 2005.
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Thursday the 16th of December, 2004

I Don’t Want To Be…

So the show was awesome. I wasn’t all that thrilled with Suburban Love Junkies but they were good. Had I known their music beforehand, I’m sure I would have enjoyed them much more. But I have to admit, I went to see Gavin, not SLJ.

Gavin took the stage a little before 9 and immediately had the audience (well, all of us there for the show at least, more on that later). He played the usual songs from Chariot - Follow Through, Just Friends, [Nice To Meet You] Anyway and others. Of course, he played Chemical Party with a little Papa Was A Rolling Stone & my favorite addition now, Proud Mary. The one song I wish he would have played just simply because it has become my favorite in the last month is Belief (as noted a few entries back). As for the people who apparently were not there for the show, yeah, Gavin pretty much stood up at one point and told them to go fuck off. There was a crowd of people at the back bar who insisted on incessently talking and I’m pretty sure he was getting pissed. It was a private show in the fact that only people with tickets were allowed in so if you had no intention of going for the show, why the fuck go?? I think he may have even played a shorter show than he intended because of the “assholes” as he liked to call them.

Even still, I got to meet Gavin after the show which was a pleasure. I even got myself my own autographed cd booklet. Of course I had him autograph the lyrics to Belief. Yeah, I was a happy boy.

Gavin Degraw Autograph

Well, until the 11th of January (Gavin Degraw at the Fathom Club in Chattanooga), I guess the CD will have to do.

Your-thrilled-to-be-back-in-the-social-swing-of-things-gay-blogger.

Posted by rtkenmore at 01:13 AM on the 16th of December, 2004.
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Monday the 2nd of August, 2004

Pass it On

Pass this information on to everyone you know. Show up. Make a statement. Do something. E-mail the link; IM the link; tell people the info.

Vigil Information Link

Everyone needs to show up so that we can be seen and be heard. We, as a group equal in stature to every other group in these United States, need to be seen and heard in this state. We’ve been ignored and pushed to the side for too long and it’s time to stop.

Speak out and tell people that you will be heard. Leave a comment and encourage others to do the same.

I can’t help but quote one person here with something that has been ringing in my ears since I first heard it:

Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there’s not a liberal America and a conservative America—there’s the United States of America. There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I’ve got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don’t like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America. - Barack Obama, DNC 2004

We need to stand up for ourselves and our rights. George W. Bush is certainly not doing it for us.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Now the last time I checked, it still stated all men. Unless Bush has secretly changed the wording to “only heterosexual, pro-death penalty, pro-life, etc. etc. blah blah balh”. Yes, I guess this in a way has turned into a political rant. I haven’t and don’t intend to get into too many of those but sometimes it happens and I can’t fathom the thought of having this man in office another four years. I’m not saying I’m completely thrilled with Kerry as a choice but to me, the only choice is against Bush.

Posted by rtkenmore at 11:47 PM on the 2nd of August, 2004.
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Where is the Love?

HATE CRIMES VIGIL
TUESDAY, AUGUST 3 AT 7:30 PM
ALABAMA STATE CAPITOL (Dexter Avenue Steps)

During the last two weeks, at least two men have been killed in Alabama due to their sexual orientation.

Scottie Joe Weaver, 18 of Bay Minnette, was beaten, strangled, stabbed, partially decapitated and burned. Capital murder defendant Robert Holly Lofton Porter expressed his hatred of homosexuals and told others he wanted to kill Scotty Joe Weaver days before the victim was killed, according to a lawyer representing co-defendant Christopher Ryan Gaines.

Roderick George, 40 of Montgomery, was shot in his car on Tuesday evening and died Wednesday. Anthony T. Johnson has been charged with capital murder in George’s slaying. He told police that the shooting was brought on by “inappropriate sexual advances” from George.

THE SILENCE MUST END – THIS IS NOT ACCEPTIBLE!

Hate crimes are committed to cause fear and panic within a community or group. Such crimes are intended to send a message that an individual and their kind will not be tolerated.

The recent debate over marriage equality has empowered bigots and scared insecure cowards into striking out.

In July, an Austin Texas man, was tortured, beaten and strangled for two hours while his four attackers quoted the Bible and referred to “gay marriage”. As the suspects destroyed the victim’s home, they screamed, “We’ve done this before and we’ll do it again. This is what we do to AIDS-ridden fags.”

WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE? WHERE ARE OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS, WHERE ARE THE VOICES CONDEMNING THIS BEHAVIOR?

Join Equality Alabama Tuesday evening to say NO to hate and violence!

“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere.” - Elie Wiesel, 1986 Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech

Posted by rtkenmore at 01:47 AM on the 2nd of August, 2004.
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Thursday the 1st of January, 2004

Happy New Year

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?
And here’s a hand, my trusty friend
And gie’s a hand o’ thine
We’ll tak’ a cup o’ kindness yet
For auld lang syne

Posted by rtkenmore at 02:00 AM on the 1st of January, 2004.
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Sunday the 21st of December, 2003

Awe, the taste of Success

Our office/client Christmas Party was a tremendous success this year. After stressing out for a month over the decorations and planning of the party (and there are plenty who can testify to that), everything came together wonderfully. I have to thank my part-time job for some of the ideas though. But the centerpiece, oh, it was all mine. People would literally walk into the room and their mouths would drop. I was walking around like a giddy little school girl most of the night after I started hearing some of the comments from guests.

After planning and executing this party, I’m actually seriously considering doing Event Planning on the side now. I had considered it before and blew it off as a whim. I had several very affluent people tell me how wonderful everything looked. One guest who I’ve known for years as she was (and still is) a Kindergarten teacher when I was just a wee lad actually ask me to do her daughters wedding. (Keep in mind, the daughter is 17 and not getting married anytime soon. She just wanted to go ahead and start planning.)

I really needed Saturday night once it was all said and done. It was definitely a bright spot in a very stressful holiday season thus far.

.: The Poet :.

Posted by rtkenmore at 01:56 PM on the 21st of December, 2003.
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Thursday the 23rd of October, 2003

The Laramie Project

I can not be more thrilled than I am right now. I, out of curiosity, ran a search for “<script I knew it was something I HAD to direct?because of its truth, its message; but above all for its love for life?”

Just five short years ago, Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old University of Wyoming student, was kidnapped, severely beaten, tied to a fence, and left to die on the outskirts of Laramie?victimized because he was gay.

In an uncanny coincidence, Theatre Huntsville’s auditions were scheduled on the five-year anniversary of this attack. Meanwhile, Deal had contacted Judy Shepard, Matthew’s mother, asking if she would write a letter to be read at auditions.

She happily replied: “I am writing to offer my personal support and the endorsement of the Matthew Shepard Foundation for the production of ‘The Laramie Project’...now more than ever, the efforts of your organization and others like it, offer the hope that discussion of events like these will lead to understanding, acceptance and respect for the differences that exist between us.” Then she added, “Thank you for having the courage and conviction to tell this story on your stage.”

Actually, the stage is partially responsible for the growth of Matthew’s legacy. For 18 months following the murder, Mois鳠Kaufman and fellow “Tectonic Theater Project” members repeatedly visited Laramie, conducting more than 200 interviews with those directly or indirectly connected to the case.

This led to a disturbing, yet spellbinding script, which chronicles the town in the murder’s aftermath, including the trial of the two young men responsible. But this is more about Laramie, the people, than Shepard, the victim: what happens when the unexpected and unconscionable rips a town apart, thrusts it under the media microscope, stamps it a “hate crime” hotbed, and destroys its people’s trust?

Can it happen again?

Ironically, this soul-stirring script provides some answers, but prompts new questions in its search for closure.

Don’t miss “THE LARAMIE PROJECT!”

* (Excerpt taken from Theatre Huntsville website.)

Posted by rtkenmore at 12:22 AM on the 23rd of October, 2003.
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