Summer Sun Day (Possibly in the Rain)

The big bad weather man, who has been such a total dick to us this year, has threatened the day and the weekend with summer storms. That’s ok – I’ll take a summer storm over a winter storm any day of the year. We are due to visit Missy and Joe and their sons Cameron and Julian this weekend, and nothing can dampen our spirits. We had such a lovely time last year, we’ve been looking forward to this for a while.

In honor of that, and the start of this summer season, another summer song to set the scene and theme. This is ‘Summer Sun’ by Koop.

HEY, SUMMER SUN
YOU ALWAYS SMILE
CLOUDS IN THE SKY
YOU NEVER MIND
HAPPY OR SAD
YOU ALWAYS SHINE
NEVER BEFORE
I’VE MET YOUR KIND
LOVE HAD NEVER GOT A HOLD ON ME
UNTIL YOU STEPPED OUT OF A DREAM
MY LIFE ONCE A MISERY
NOW YOUR LOVE HAS SET ME FREE

This is a great song for lounging by the pool, or waking to a sun-drenched morning. Ideal for a summer brunch or an afternoon cocktail. Slightly fizzy, a little effervescent, and bubbly beyond belief. Summer haze, summer daze. The sun makes a lot of us just a wee bit giddy. Giddy is good. Giddy-up.

HEY, SUMMER SUN
YOU ALWAYS SMILE
CLOUDS IN THE SKY
YOU NEVER MIND
HAPPY OR SAD
YOU ALWAYS SHINE
NEVER BEFORE
I’VE MET YOUR KIND
LOVE HAD NEVER GOT A HOLD ON ME
UNTIL YOU STEPPED OUT OF A DREAM
MY LIFE ONCE A MISERY
NOW YOUR LOVE HAS SET ME FREE
HEY, SUMMER SUN
YOUR LOVE’S DIVINE
NEVER BEFORE I’VE MET YOUR KIND
AND NOW YOU’RE MINE
AND NOW YOU’RE MINE
AND NOW YOU’RE MINE
AND NOW YOU’RE MINE
Continue reading ...

Tiny Threads: An Insignificant Series

Sadness is a pile of fallen peony petals you never got to smell.

#TinyThreads

Continue reading ...

Jazz in July: In Our Own Voices

A good party has a good cause. One of the highlights of the Capital Region’s summer season is the ‘Jazz in July’ event as put on by In Our Own Voices. Taking place on Sunday, July 21 from 5 to 8 PM at the Rivers Casino & Resort, this is always an exhilarating afternoon and evening of fundraising, and a way to recognize the individuals and organizations and businesses who work to create a safer and more inclusive environment for LGBT People of Color. This year’s event aims to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. 

The mission of In Our Own Voices has been “to work for and ensure the physical, mental, spiritual, political, cultural and economic survival and growth of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People of Color communities.” That’s a tall task, especially in today’s worrisome world, but they’ve managed to accomplish much of it thanks to the guiding force of a dedicated group of individuals.

Tandra Leone gave a powerful speech at a recent Pride Month Celebration presented by the New York State Office of Diversity & Inclusion Management – a testament to those New York State workers who have been steadfastly living our lives openly, bringing our diversity and strengths to the workforce. As the Executive Director of In Our Own Voices, Ms. Leone has been at the forefront of working towards a more inclusive and diverse community, one that values our individually-distinctive talents and backgrounds, and one that finds its greatest goals are only met when we work together, raising each other up.

Giving voice to a community that has been egregiously and systematically silenced and ignored is a noble cause, but it requires a great deal of resilience and persistence. The wounds of our country’s history run deep, and such fissures are not easily mended. As Ms. Leone extolled, if justice is the ultimate goal, we must begin on a much smaller plane – the simple demand for dignity and equality one step at a time.  We must stand in solidarity with all of our brothers and sisters. We can only honor equality when we embrace our differences.

In Our Own Voices has consistently fostered the development of a diverse and inclusive community. Check out their website here and then get your tickets to the Jazz in July event. A party is always better when it’s for a good cause.

{Jazz in July will take place on Sunday, July 21, 2019 from 5 to 8 PM. Rivers Casino & Resort is located at 1 Rush Street, Schenectady, NY. Find tickets here.}

Continue reading ...

On This Lovers’ June Night

MAGIC IS THE MOONLIGHT
ON THIS LOVERS’ JUNE NIGHT
AS I SEE THE MOONLIGHT 
SHINING IN YOUR EYES 
CAN’T RESIST THEIR POWER
IN THIS MOONLIT HOUR
LOVE BEGAN TO FLOWER
THIS IS PARADISE …

Despite what you may be wishing, I’m not going away this summer. ALANILAGAN.com will not be taking its summer break as I’ve done for the past two years. Don’t get me wrong, I loved those breaks. Love loved LOVED those breaks. But I have to admit, I’m a Virgo, and I like structure, and without this personal sounding board I felt a little lost at sea. This place has become, for better (for me) or worse (for you) a diary and calendar of sorts.

Because of that, I’ll be able to spread out some summer songs – and a summer song means something different for everyone. Mine are born from any reason such as the time they were released, the sentiment, the melody, or a couple of sunny references. We begin with ‘Magic Is The Moonlight’ and I’m partial to Julie London’s version of it. As the pool water glistened hazily in the background, and the night breeze gave us a little relief, I played this song to lure summer to stay as long as she would deign.

LIVING IN THE SPLENDOR
OF YOUR KISS SO TENDER
MAKES MY HEART SURRENDER
TO YOUR LOVE DIVINE   
MAGIC IS THE MOONLIGHT
MORE THAN ANY JUNE NIGHT
MAGIC IS THE MOONLIGHT
FOR IT MADE YOU MINE. 

Will she stay with us a little longer, having arrived so late? She is welcome to linger, beyond September, beyond October… let her balmy embrace last. It’s been so long in coming, we don’t want to rush anything. Take your time… make it slow… 

As for our summer schedule, we are also taking it slow and perhaps slowing things down. There will be daily posts, they will just be a little lighter in tone and length – the sort of thing that can be read on your phone while lounging by the pool or sea, or while riding in the car with the windows down, wind blowing through your hair as you adjust the stereo and someone brings you to some glorious summer destination. 

This will be a place of respite for when the days get too hot and unbearable. At the moment, such heat would be a welcome novelty, but I know that by the end of next month some of us will be looking for cooler reprieves. Let this be such a sea of cool tranquility. 

LIVING IN THE SPLENDOUR
OF YOUR KISS SO TENDER
MAKES MY HEART SURRENDER
TO YOUR LOVE DIVINE 
MAGIC IS THE MOONLIGHT
MORE THAN ANY JUNE NIGHT
MAGIC IS THE MOONLIGHT
FOR IT MADE YOU MINE.

Continue reading ...

Tiny Threads: An Insignificant Series

Honey syrup cures many an ailment: bland tea, bitter cocktails, and/or not-quite-ripe fruit. Try some, you’ll like it.

#TinyThreads

Continue reading ...

Madame X Massacre Masterpiece

Madonna takes an important stance for gun control in her latest video masterpiece for the ‘Madame X’ opus. ‘God Control’ is probably the most amazing track on the album – a dark, dreamy disco diatribe against one of American society’s most tragic epidemics. Directed by Jonas Akerlund (see also ‘Ray of Light‘ and ‘American Life‘) it’s a powerful time-rewind piece of videography that rivals her best work – and as Madonna is one of the world’s most striking video-makers, that’s saying quite a lot. It’s like the tragic step-sister to ‘Deeper and Deeper‘ – or the long-lost bitter cousin of ‘Music‘ – or the darker baby brother of ‘Hung Up‘. Still, it stands on its own as a masterful piece of storytelling, and a chilling indictment of the gun-obsessed society into which our country has denigrated. Most of us remember the horrific mass shooting at Pulse nightclub. How long until it gets even closer? 

This is your wake up call. Gun violence disproportionately affects children, teenagers and the marginalized in our communities. Honor the victims and demand GUN CONTROL. NOW. Volunteer, stand up, donate, reach out. Wake up and insist on common-sense gun safety legislation. Innocent lives depend on it. Join me in supporting the following organizations: https://everytownresearch.org/

https://marchforourlives.com/

https://www.gaysagainstguns.net/

https://www.sandyhookpromise.org/

https://www.hrc.org/

https://www.thetaskforce.org/

https://transequality.org/

http://www.ncadv.org/

https://www.onepulseforamerica.com/

https://ceasefireusa.org/ https://marshap.org/

Continue reading ...

Tiny Threads: An Insignificant Series

Those days when you can’t decide if you have a real stomachache or if your pants are just squeezing your balls too tightly.

#TinyThreads

Continue reading ...

Before the Pride Parade Goes By

Once upon a time I breathed a sigh of relief. It was the night that New York State passed marriage equality. Only the year before, Andy and I had had to go to Boston to get legally married. We drove into Albany to celebrate, and as we neared Rocks, I felt a burden lift from my shoulders, a weight to which I’d grown unnoticeably accustomed. It had always been there, and I had never known

When you’ve spent your entire life being told, in explicit and furtive terms, to be silent, to be quiet, to be less, the first taste of true freedom, of genuine equality, is an enthralling relief. We exhaled that night – an exhalation decades in the making – and the state of New York suddenly galvanized something in some of us that we’d never even known was there. A sense of worth that I had long pretended I didn’t need.

The same thing happened when we watched from afar as the White House was lit in the colors of the rainbow and marriage equality was made the law of the land. The exhalation. The sudden lifting of a burden that was still somehow there.

With the current administration, I feel those burdens being placed on some of us again. With every murder of a transgender person, with every refusal to fly the rainbow flag, with every appointment of an anti-LGBTQ judge, I feel the burden get heavier. We have come too far and fought for too long to go back. And so I resist as best I can. In little ways and little words. In posts like this that maybe someone in need may read and recognize themselves, offering a resonance that might be the extra push someone needs to stop crying, or stop hurting themselves, or stop dying.

In our daily life, we must refuse to be anything less than who we are.

It is our right to become what we were meant to be.

It is our right to find happiness.

It is our right to live as we wish.

Such a simple concept, why it should be so fraught with enemies is incomprehensible to me.

This weekend, World Pride comes to New York City, and the parade looks to be one of the largest the world has ever seen. Until such time that we don’t have to fight, until that day when we have all achieved equality without question, reservation, or condition, then we need Pride. Perhaps now more than ever.

Continue reading ...

Tiny Threads: An Insignificant Series

Co-worker: You don’t need a coat.

Me: Yes. I do. I’m dainty.

#TinyThreads

Continue reading ...

Upon Further Reflection

Albany is beautiful, when the light is right, when the water is still, when the wind is soft. It has moments of rage and raw power too – we all do – when the clouds are in a tumult, when the wind is in a riot or the air is dense and heavy with rain. The bane of the Northeast.

As much as I enjoy the sun and warm weather, I know that part of its appeal is the relative scarcity of it (at least that’s how it feels after the spring we had). A year of sun and heat in Florida or California would be stultifying to me – a lifetime of it feels like it would be deadly. My countenance requires change and seasonal shifts. A chance for a completely new wardrobe. All those wonderful coats… all those cozy scarves… all those glorious boots…

And at this time of the year, all that magnificent summer – even if it has to rain a little.

Continue reading ...

Tiny Threads: An Insignificant Series

“Starting a podcast is the millennial version of let’s start a band.”

I don’t know who said it, but I love it.

#TinyThreads

Continue reading ...

The 1st Summer Recap of 2019

Whoo-hoo, summer living is here at last! After a magical weekend in Boston we returned to a sunny Sunday afternoon by the pool. But that’s between me and my husband. (I’ll tell you later this week…) On with the recap that ushered in the summer season…

It began with Madonna (who just earned another #1 album with ‘Madame X’ so hate on, haters). The Madonna Timeline returned with ‘Borrowed Time’ from the ‘Rebel Heart’ album. 

The linden trees burst into fragrant bloom, sure sign of summer sweetness. 

These #TinyThreads proved to be as silly as they were substantial. Well, some of the time. 

We are all Madame X.

Do you know Lionel Prichard

A wondrous ‘Sunset Boulevard’ at the Mac-Haydn Theatre. 

Florals are not just for spring

Summer has returned!

A super-hunky shirtless post

Doing it doggy-style.

The Hunks of the Day were back, featuring Tony Dokoupil, Tegan Zayne, and Eric Dane.

Continue reading ...

Tiny Threads: An Insignificant Series

A word or few on the bachelorette party: bane of the gay bar’s existence. While most view the bachelorette party with a weary, hateful eye, I usually think, ‘Oh, let them enjoy their day-long glory. They can go back to worshipping me the remaining 364 days of the year,’ and then it usually happens.

#TinyThreads

Continue reading ...

Doggy-Style, With Wood

While the weather this season has been mixed at best, the silver lining is that it’s provided ideal conditions for a long and showy performance of the spring bloomers, most strikingly our Chinese dogwood trees. Their buds, formed in the heat of late summer, survived the winter winds, and are now surrounded by the creamy white bracts you see here. (The actual flowers are tiny and unremarkable – think poinsettias.)

The Chinese dogwood has proven hardier than its American counterpart, resisting the dreaded diseases that have taken down so many of the latter. Their blooming time is a little later too, which is nice when the warm weather takes a little longer to arrive. (Ahem, I’m waiting…)

These glorious dogwoods join the peonies and lilacs in a stellar display during an otherwise drab stretch of rain. Like stars shooting through the sky, they provide a necessary dose of pizzazz and sparkle – a happy harbinger of the summer season.

Continue reading ...

Tiny Threads: An Insignificant Series

In my rapidly-advancing age I find it much easier to say a kind word instead of a mean one. There is less effort involved. And when it comes to criticism, a little goes a long way. (In the words of Norma Desmond, “I can say anything I want with my eyes!”)

There is something powerful in not saying anything out loud if you have nothing nice to say. A literally-unsaid sort of power.

#TinyThreads

Continue reading ...