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My being an event photographer at Pride in an official capacity comes with innumerable benefits for all parties involved.  The first and foremost is that I get to give back to the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) community.  The friends I’ve made in the GLBT community have on and off, throughout the years served as a second family, and giving back is an enormous honor that I do not take lightly.

Also, it is my hope that my photos will introduce members of the GLBT community to the larger community, so that the people among us who don’t know a member of the GLBT community personally will feel an emotional connection.  Hopefully the photos will help them really get who would be hurt by a marriage ban, instead of being left without a face to put to the movement.

So what am I getting at here? Exposure, exposure, exposure.  Bringing people and their issues into the light of day so that they cannot be ignored, so that the issue becomes personal for everyone.  It is my belief that few things can bring issues into the open and spark the beginnings of meaningful dialogue like a photograph can.

After all, how can you vote against someone after you’ve gotten to know them in some capacity?

Look forward to what’s coming; it’s going to big.

Now I have one more avenue available to me to express my favorite creative endeavor.

To learn more about it, read the Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Records

That’s me in front of Sun Studio; I have no idea why I look so unhappy.

That’s an old-school style shot of the exterior of Sun Studio.

Sun Studios interior shot; look closely at the sticker on the register.

The giant guitar outside Sun Studios!

They range from a really cool bridge, to the B.B. King and Elvis Presley Welcome Center.

Photos of Beale Street, Sun Records and Graceland are to follow.

Vegetarian lasagna style hotdish:

First: Preheat oven to 375 Degrees F

You need:
1) 15oz jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1) small shredded zucchini
1) small bag of shredded carrots
1) small container of ricotta cheese
1-2) tablespoon(s) of vegetable oil
1) 2 cup bag of mozzerella cheese
1) medium box of bowtie pasta
1) large casserole dish
aluminum foil

extra veg oil or cooking spray

The following seasonings, to taste: thyme, basil, oregano, garlic powder

Directions:

1) Cook bowtie pasta al dente

2) Shred zucchini with a cheese grater, put in bowl with shredded carrot, toss with vegetable oil, add to large, medium hot frying pan. Add a dash of garlic powder

3) When the pasta is almost done, add the spaghetti sauce to the veggies, season to taste

4) Drain pasta, add veggie/sauce mix to kettle with the pasta

5) Spoon in the ricotta cheese, one spoonful at a time, while stirring

6) Add veggie/sauce/noodle combo to a greased casserole dish

7) sprinkle a dash or two of seasoning on top
add mozzarella cheese on top

9) cover with aluminum foil, place in oven for ten minutes

10) pull aluminum foil off the casserole dish, put back in oven until the cheese is bubbly in the middle and slightly brown around the edges (About 12-25 minutes)

And you’re done!

Here it is:

You may wonder what’s so significant about a pair of ratty old pink Chuck Taylor high tops. Well, I’ll tell you:

1) It took me over a year to find them

2) I have worn them all over the country: Minneapolis, MN (obviously); Seattle, Washington; Washington, DC; New York, New York; St. Louis, MO; Tulsa, OK; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

3) Even though they take like, 5 minutes to put on, I love them.

He’s more than just an often willing subject: he’s a really important part of my life and just so unbearably cute.

But you know, it occurred to me, that for the time being, I am pretty happy. Not content, because I know there’s more out there to do and see, but my life could be far worse. I could feel trapped, I could not have a warm, safe place to call home. At least for the time being, I have my health, mental faculties and a future with a terrifyingly limitless potential.

So when people ask me if I’m happy, the answer is a resounding yes.

I will hold on to that feeling as I continue to take tentative steps into the future.

From the 1-mile barefoot walk in downtown Minneapolis October 3, 2009.