Just when my life could not get any more interesting with today being my birthday; I figured it was time to share this on BiteTheRoad. So what’s a day in my world like? Well you get asked to do an actual licensed TEDx Talk on being me; big, hairy & gay.
Yes Really!
As most of you who read this know, I was one of the lucky 10 people invited to participate in TEDxProvincetown as it held it’s first TEDx Talk series this summer and the full set of speaker links have finally gone live.
And Here It is!
So Why Did I Do It?
26 years ago, I left my life, commuting between Boston and Provincetown for an opportunity to work in San Francisco. I was asked to take part working in progressive sexual adult content mediums addressing often ignored, overlooked, marginalized and underserved communities.
Men like me didn’t fit the gay male archetype; who often struggled to find to a sense of identity with so few role-models to draw from. So what happens? 26 years later I find myself talking about those very same issues to a wider audience! This partners perfectly with the push in my efforts with MentorSFCA.com to support people in makeing the “best fit” choices for themselves and creating what they need when they don’t see it offered.
It is an honor to share my experience as a gay man on body shaming, invisibility, resilience, and lessons learned from a “bigger” perspective with an incredible group of people.
Photo Credit: Karchmer Photo
Photo Credit: Karchmer Photo
Photo Credit: Karchmer Photo
Photo Credit: Karchmer Photo
Photo Credit: Karchmer Photo
Photo Credit: Karchmer Photo
Photo Credit: Karchmer Photo
But I Need Your Help
I am proud to have been able to address body shaming, invisibility and love beyond limits as part of the TEDxProvincetown program to audiences that extended beyond just gay men, including people of all types, ages, genders and orientations.
I want to spread the word spread. I am asking for your help in getting this talk out. Helping me share the message to all audiences. This talk is one of the first licensed TEDx talks that actually addresses body shaming, sex, inclusion, and visibility from a bigger-bodied gay man’s experience. Because of this, it has the potential opportunity to reinforce that desire and love can blossom no matter the body type. The more views the talk gets, the higher it ranks and the better the chances that it gets picked up for wider distribution. I’m asking that you include the link below in any announcement lists, email, newsletters or websites in an attempt to get the widest scope.
How Can You Help?
Simple. Share the video link to your friends. Share it on Facebook, Twitter,e tc. Anywhere you think people will see it. Don’t hold back to only LGBTQ audiences. This is a message for everyone.
Sharing is as easy as 1-2-3:
1. Copy and paste the link below
2. Add some your own thought or comment that you think your followers and friends would get intrigued by and want to watch it.
3. Add a few of the “hashtags” (Those words followeed by a #) to help it show up in searches.
** Don’t forget youtube also allows you to use embedded code as I did above if you prefer to have the video sit and play on your websites too.
Whatch the rest. All 10 of the talks were outstanding and different so you may enjoy checking out one of the other co-presenters by checking out the full speakers playlist for all 10 talks here
From the launch of the #FoodMemories17 Guest series early in the week, some follow up at my TechInclusion “TED” Style talk on Mentorship and LGBT at SF Armory building, getting a chance to listen to blogger and cookbook writer Cenk from www.CafeFernando.com talk about his newest cookbook “The Artful Baker”, dinner at some fun spots around town, a 5.4 mile local urban hike, an educational trip to the Academy of Sciences for a “Nightlife” event , a look back with a chocolate chip pie and wrapped it all up today with some killer themed food for the monthly book club (but that gets it own entry later this week). It’s no wonder I will be ready for bed early. So here is a quick visual Bite-Cap…
I had wanted to add a new feature to BiteTheRoad decided to use a more “crowdsourced” approach with a new guest feature called ‘Food Memories Stories Told’. The overall idea was to offer a larger scope of unique stories through the common experience of food and eating and invite others to help grow it. (You can also read my initial post about Food Memories here.)
Yes, everyone is welcome to participate. From the novice to more experienced blogger, the home cook to the professional. Each guest storyteller will share personal themes of food-related memories, recipes, moments of healing, love, transitions, and reflection and post them during the next few months. We will use the hashtag #FoodMemories2017 and all guest posts will be featured on the BiteTheRoad website and on its companion Facebook page Facebook.com/Bitetheroad. I will also share it out via my twitter account @FVStrona, the BitetheRoad Tumblr and Instagram pages and of course, I encourage you to share your post to your networks. Our first guest feature went live with Travis’s 81-layer Biscuits.
Bite-Cap: 2 Talking about Mentoring LGBTs in Tech at TechInclusion
I did a 10 min “TED” Style talk and used storytelling as a way to share about the importance of mentorships and mentors for the LGBT person in Tech. It was a great afternoon with so many very cool people present, that it would have been as nice to attend and not speak. I had forgotten how I enjoy the process of planning using the storytelling technique and coaching through humor. It was fun to be back in the San Francisco Armory in this other role, even it I always enjoyed it from my regular one. As a venue – they do a great job with hosting programs. One of the folks snapped a picture of me in motion and I dressed it up a bit and shared about my social media hubs as well. You can check out my post on Monday afternoon of the MentorSF.com/Engage blog to read more and see some of the slides.
Bite-Cap 3: Omnivore Books and The Artful Baker: Extraordinary Desserts From an Obsessive Home Baker
Omnivore Books, (Omnivore Books has a Facebook page as well) here the Bay Area, often hosts book and author events. My pal Brad suggested we check it out last week, and I am so glad we did. This months offer was the newest cookbook from Cenk Sonmezoy, the mastermind and home-schooled blogger behind the food blog Cafe Fernando. With cookbook author and blogger for www.EatTheLove.com, Irvin Lin serving as local Interviewer – Cenk did some great storytelling behind his masterful cookbook and the powerful images he took himself in addition to the recipes he wrote. If I hadn’t already purchased my copy, I would have put this on my Christmas list. Its a classic trilogy of storytelling, recipe sharing and visual enticements. The Artful Baker: Extraordinary Desserts From an Obsessive Home Baker is available at Omnivore or on Amazon.
Of course , hile I have finished reading the Artful Baker (Yes, I read them cover to cover like a novel), I did get inspired to pop out an old school Chocolate Chip Cookie “practice” pie. “Practice” as in it’s a recipe I hadn’t tried and it’s that time of the year when I start working on the menu for the Holiday Orphans party in December..
Bite-Cap 4: The weekend wasn’t all about food….
I did manage to get a 5.4 mile urban hike in on Saturday. This trail was a new one for me, but it has been part of Pauls exercise path previously, so it gave me a chance to explore parts of Glen Park that I hadn’t seen before. But I think poor Dino’s little legs might not have been as happy with the walk! I think other than the obvious – it’s what you don’t expect to see that always catches my eye.
A heartfelt and courageous concert from the men of the San Francisco Gay Mens Chorus last night at the Herbst Theater. Dr Timothy Selig, with only half (space constraints of the Herbst stage) of his talented arsenal of out and proud men, became a real-world “wall of hearts” over the weekend and clearly illustrated the power of love, integrity & resilience.
This diverse collection of “hearts”, rose to new heights to a full house to perform a concert worthy of it’s “Paradise Found” theme. Even more impressive was knowing that less than 24 hours prior, they had lost one of their own “hearts” on the very same stage.
Stay tuned for more details as SFGMC prepares for an incredible summer tour, dubbed The Lavender Pen Freedom Tour as they raise funds while making diversity and inclusion heard in some of the more restrictive cities here in the Unites States. For more information and how you can help (or join them as part of the “Entourage”) visit http://www.sfgmc.org.
Equally entertaining was the richness of the “traditional meets contemporary” performances from the concert guest artists of the evening, Patrick Makuakane’s Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu dance company. Along with the super talented troupe, we were tempted with a look at The Natives Are Restless, a new coffee-table book that tells the story of Patrick Makuakāne and Nā Lei Hulu through a stirring narrative, striking photographs, and arresting moments from performances through the years.
REMEMBERING RYAN NUNEZ: A member of The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus (SFGMC) passed away on stage during the intermission of the choir’s Friday night performance.
Something I thought worth a share. Back from 2014 but seems even more true now. Reacting to conservative complaints about Coca-Cola’s Super Bowl ad, Brenda Wood from WXIA in Atlanta destroys conservative myths about multiculturalism in America.
Major house fire x 3 the only night on my return home from ATL.
The senior couple that live in the corner home, come to find out last night, while having an impromptu slumber party here at my house with them, actually grew up in the house. Her grabdfather built for her mother. So the house actually had been her mothers home. Talk about old CA stock. Here is ABC’s coverage: http://abc7news.com/news/firefighter-injured-in-4-alarm-fire-in-sfs-castro-district/1564148/
Kudos to all the response teams of which there were many on the scene till early this am.
And while I’m likely to be a little tired and crabby by the end of the day not having slept and having a hard time breathing with all of the smoke; spending the evening with her and her husband reminded me at least, that we have a bed to sleep in and a home to come back to.
More images from last nights fire are posted here:
On his September 2016 website post- fav food traveler and culture cuisine explorer Andrew Zimmern posted a great list of Classic Fair recipes; I think I have my winter blahs recipes well in hand now!
One of the fun things I caught on his site I caught was the AZ Canteen, which according to the man himself; “That’s why I’ve created AZ Canteen. This carefully curated menu showcases some inspired versions of the best food items I’ve discovered on the road. From a Nicaraguan shaved ice that I’ve seen only once outside of Central America, to goat sausage grinders (one of the most delicious meats on the planet!) made with an exclusive cabrito blend from my friend Pat LaFrieda, these foods resonated with me and I’m thrilled to share my culinary experiences withyou.”
Many of you know I have a passion for storytelling in video/film format – especially when they are home grown over huge production commercial studio madness. Our pal Christopher Colorado Jones has a new project that is launching its Indiegogo campaign.
The film team behind The Boys Who Said NO! happily announces:
The link to our campaign page is HERE, where you can view a new film clip and look over our great perks to reward contributors.
The Boys Who Said NO! documents the power of nonviolence and way that draft resisters helped bring an end to the American War in Vietnam.
The film focuses on the Bay Area group called The Resistance that was co-founded by former Stanford student body President David Harris, who appears in the film. In one section Harris talks with former Weatherman Mark Rudd about violence and nonviolence as techniques for social change. Folk singer and nonviolent activist Joan Baez is also featured, as is former defense analyst Daniel Ellsberg, who tells how the courage of draft resister Randy Kehler inspired him to release the Pentagon Papers. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is also shown speaking out against the war during a visit to Baez and other war resisters in prison.
Our director is Judith Ehrlich, who was nominated for an Academy Award for The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers. Producer Christopher Jones is a draft resister, as are members of the Film Team.
The film will preserve the story of these resisters and of their times, encourage support for today’s peace movement, and further the use nonviolent direct action for social change.
Please help our campaign raise funds (and draw in new supporters) to cover our 2016 production activities. We have two requests.
Please:
Give early and generously (all contributions are tax-deductible). Early contributions encourage others to invest in the film when they see our funding rising like a rocket!
The link to our campaign page is https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-boys-who-said-no–2#/ , where you can view a new film clip and look over our great perks to reward contributors.
Thank you very much for your crucial support!
For peace, justice and equality,
Channel surfing and landed in “Night Train To Terror” with Paul tonight. A bizarre portfolio of the 80’s; reflecting all the angst, hair, blood & gore, scream queens, claymation special effects, good vs evil, clothes you don’t want to admit you wore, skin shots and more.
Definitely was the kind of “train wreck” that you want to cover your eyes, yet can’t control the urge to keep your fingers open just enough so you could peek through.
OSIA creates a space for bringing the past into the present of our blended experiences past & present in its Italian America publication. The clever thinking behind it manages to create a reader to appeal on levels as complex as the 12-hour sunday “sauce” (or “gravy” depending on your region). The writing is clean and accessable without being dumbdowned. So the multi-generational readers will find it equally useful, funny, bittersweet and forward thinking. This issue from fall 2015 is a perfect example.
ives Are Restless
