Point of View

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Point of View: Adrift

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If you’re anything like Mark and I, you’re probably feeling a bit lost at sea right now. Our new Administration here in the US has turned everything upside down – black is White, Zelensky is Putin, and all the lies are now true. Or at least they will be once they finish beating us over the head with them. The weather here in Northern California is vacillating between super cold and rainy and too warm for February, suggesting a hot summer to come. I’ve now been looking for a job now for sixteen months. I interview, they love me, they … Read more

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Point of View: Finding the Cracks

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It’s a time of mass destruction. The forces of chaos have been unleashed in our world, fighting wars, causing chaos on our social networks, and chewing away at the very foundations of the U.S. Government. It’s easy to fall into apathy in the face of all this, to conclude that all these things are way too big for any of us to comprehend, let alone do something about. This is part of the playbook – we are meant to feel overwhelmed, defeated, demoralized. But we are far from helpless. In the political sphere, the system (and the many people who … Read more

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Point of View: It’s Okay to Be Scared, But Let’s Flood the Zone Our Own Way

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I made it exactly one week with my pledge to take a break from my Point of View columns. But given all the recent events, I couldn’t stay silent. I needed to reach out and gather you all in my arms and tell you: It’s all right to be scared right now. I am scared shitless. The non-stop torrent of bad news, as Musk sticks his fingers into agency after agency, stuffing AI into their core coding and demolishing some of them singlehandedly with seemingly no recourse, is truly frightening to behold. And Trump’s non-stop attacks on his enemies, which … Read more

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Point of View: My World Has Gotten Smaller (And That’s Okay)

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My world has gotten smaller these last few weeks, as I’ve turned off news notifications, pulled the curtains closed, and endeavored to focus on those things that are real and true. I’ve made no secret of my personal beliefs on this blog. I’m an unabashed liberal who thinks we should be doing all we can to make the world a better place – for minorities, for the poor, for the middle class, and for just about everyone else except for the billionaires. This last week unleashed a flood-tide of horrible news for people like me, as rights were rolled back, … Read more

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Point of View: A Prayer for All Good Things

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On this dark day,when all seems lost,say a prayer for all good things. A mother’s love,a father’s pride,family and the love they bring. The treasured ones,your dearest friends,feel their arms around your heart. Walks in sunlight,washed clean by rain,green sprouts break though concrete’s cracks. Words wrapped in tales,bright worlds explored,human spirit in a book. Hum of voices,coffee shop chat,something hot to warm your soul. Wise words once said:“This too shall pass,”time will carry us through it. Now let’s gatherhope like bright leaves,Dress ourselves in what might be. Brighter days come –Hold my hand andsay a prayer for all good things.

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Point of View: The World Holds Its Breath

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Winter is normally a time when the world catches its breath, balanced between the worn-out old year and the fresh promise of the new. Bears and squirrels disappear into warm caverns and burrows, as the snowfall descends across the naked land. We exchange our short-sleeved shirts for itchy sweaters and lock ourselves inside warm boxes. And when we do go outside, the heat of our breath makes little clouds in the air. We struggle through the winter holidays – rain and snow and colds and flus and now Covid – and wait in expectation for the gentle breezes of spring … Read more

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Point of View: At Sac Anime

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Sac Anime Winter 2025

A short but fun one today. I spent Friday through Sunday at Sac Anime with Marvin, Grete, Bel, and (not pictured) Aaron. We sold a ton of books, and the table looked great: There were some amazing cosplay costumes: And this one won the Con, for me: One more… on Sunday I had shown Bel and Grete an old Sesame Street Video I’d always loved, with two muppet Martians who descend from the sky to talk to a phone: And then the next day, look who came by? They were perfect, and we hadn’t laughed so hard since the start … Read more

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Point of View: Hopes and Fears for a New Year

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As we rapidly approach the new year, I find myself very much of two minds about it. I am deeply afraid of what might be coming. As a member of an often-prosecuted community, I see things a bit differently than many of my straight friends, including frightening echoes of history from almost a hundred years ago. And yet, I also see reasons to hope. Yes, my worst fear has been realized. But now that it’s here. I’m finding ways to stand in my truth and rally others around me, and dare I say it, to still hope. So I thought … Read more

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Point of View: Inherent Goodness

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These are the times that try a gay writer’s soul. The last eight years have been an unending roller coaster of horrible things – scandals, setbacks, vitriol and verbal assaults, norms smashed to bits, wars, and to top it all off, a once-in-a-century pandemic that changed everything. Despite all that, I was caught off guard by the results of the US election last month. No, if I’m honest, it was far worse than that. It was like a freight train full of bowling balls and anvils had crashed into me and smashed me against a brick wall. Before all of … Read more

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Point of View: The Great Escape

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I can’t bear it. I can’t let myself think too far ahead right now. I know the awful is coming, and for a few more precious weeks, I just want to bury my head in the sand like they say ostriches do (even though they don’t, really). So I’m looking for a few all-encompassing escapes. One of those is popular entertainment. Mark and I are binging the whole Ally McBeal series, which was from the late nineties and dealt with grand themes like misogyny in the workplace, which thankfully no longer exists (this is where I really need a sarcasm … Read more