Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Denver Limo, Inc.: The Hottest Limos In Colorado Now at the Lowest Prices of the Year!
Wrabel - The Village
Singer-songwriter Wrabel's new song "The Village" is accompanied by an impactful video featuring trans actor August Aiden.
A stunning anthem of protest, Wrabel holds nothing back and takes a stand with one of his most heartfelt and heavy compositions to date. It's politically minded. It's passionate. It's powerful. It's purely necessary in these times.
In addition, he penned an open letter regarding "The Village," seen below.
Letter re: "The Village"
i wrote this song on february 23rd. the day after trump took away federal protections for trans students in public schools. today i release it, just days after he tweeted to ban trans people from serving in the military.
i just wanted to write a simple song letting anyone that feels like an outsider know that the problem isn't you, it's them. it's the village. not in an aggressive us vs. them way, but just because you are the minority... just because people whisper "freak" when u walk down the hall... all of these things... it's so hard out there... i know it is. these things aren't pointing towards something wrong with YOU they're pointing to a humongous problem with the majority... the "them". there's nothing wrong with you, there's something wrong with the village.
two of my biggest supporters are trans teenagers. i've had the chance to meet their families. to get to know them. to hear about their struggles and dreams. hi. if you guys are reading this, i need to say thank you. thank you for being YOU. thank you for being honest and courageous and bold and vulnerable and transparent and true. you inspire me to be myself. you inspire me to be fearless in my self expression. my heart breaks for you. what this man is saying and doing. it has to stop. he is giving the village permission to hate. to look at those who are different as wrong and lesser than. i don't know how else to raise my voice than in a song. and so, i wrote a song for you
i came out as gay at around 23. i grew up in the church. i came out into a church in los angeles that called it "same sex attraction". it was wrong. i was wrong. it was evil. i was evil. "unnatural" they called it. "unnatural" they called me. i can't pretend like i know what it's like to be trans. to feel those feelings and know those struggles. all i can do is try to speak up and try to relate.
there's nothing wrong with you, there's something wrong with the village.
New podcast from ACLU of Colorado: The Purple State Report
On "The Purple State Report," the ACLU of Colorado discuss the big issues affecting your rights and freedoms in Colorado and how to get involved. Each episode will have fresh information on campaigns, events, and actions you can take to protect your rights.
The first episode features an interview with Rebecca Wallace, the ACLU attorney who negotiated a $110,000 settlement on behalf of Darsean Kelley in a recent police excessive force case in Aurora. Kelley was stopped for no reason, detained, and tased in the back by Aurora Police just as he said "I know my rights." Wallace explains how the ACLU sought justice in the case and what still needs to be done to hold police in Aurora and across Colorado accountable for excessive force.
Also in the first episode, Field Director Alejandra Garza discusses a proposed ordinance at the Denver City Council to keep the City from getting tangled up in federal immigration enforcement and makes a call to action to urge councilmembers to support it.
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Tuesday, August 1, 2017
Travel: LGBT Cultural Festival to Spotlight Key West's Cuban Connection
Key West activities are to take place Sept. 7-9 and include cigar, rum distillery and art gallery tours as well as receptions and a drag show. Subsequently, those wishing to visit Cuba can do so Sept. 10-13.
The festival showcases the Cuban-influenced heritage of Key West, which actually is located closer to Cuba than to the U.S. mainland. The island city began welcoming its Cuban neighbors in the early 1830s and its first cigar factory opened in 1831. In the late 1800s Key West was home to almost 150 cigar factories where workers produced as many as 100 million hand-rolled cigars per year
Colorado: The Best Place in the Nation to Ride a Bike
What’s NEW for Cycling in Colorado:
At Your Pace Cycling Tours in Loveland. Tap
into Colorado’s epic cycling opportunities and taste the flavor
of local craft brews on the new Loveland Bike & Brews Guided Day
Tour with At Your Pace Cycling. This 3.5 hour long tour will give
participants a taste of some of Loveland’s finest craft breweries and
cycling offerings.
Boulder Bike Tours’ New Organic Farm Tours. Riders will learn about organic farming and take in sweeping views of the Front Range on the new, weekly Thursday and Sunday
The Colorado Classic (August 10 – 13).
Pro-bicycle racing returns to Colorado with the 2017 Colorado Classic, a
four-stage race sanctioned by UCI that will have some of the best men
and women’s teams and racers in the world competing. The race begins in
Colorado Springs, and heads through Breckenridge before finishing the
final two stages in Denver. Denver will host a new companion music, food
and crafts festival dubbed "Velorama” to include headliner music,
cycling events, craft beer, local food, and a unique marketplace.
Colorado Trail Explorer. As
part of his Colorado the Beautiful initiative to get Coloradans
outdoors, Colorado’s Governor John Hickenlooper hatched the idea for a
comprehensive online statewide trail map of hiking, biking and motorized
trails. The Colorado Trail Explorer
Gunnison County’s TrailQuest Bike Challenge. Gunnison
County has designed a new app to track mountain bikers’ unique explored
trails and enter users into the ultimate trail biking competition. The
CBG Trails App by GoMaps, available for free in iTunes and Google Play,
will now track and record rides in the competition: TrailQuest. Each new
mile of trail ridden will add up in a race to 75. Prizes will be
awarded to those who place on the leader board, though the best prize is
trying new trails--exploration.
Outerbike Comes to Crested Butte Mountain Resort (August 18 - 20).
“The BEST bike demo in the universe” comes to Crested Butte this
August. Featuring some of the most popular brands in mountain biking,
including Specialized, Scott and Yeti among many more. Outerbike will
offer participants the opportunity to demo as many bikes as the time,
and their legs, will allow. This is the first time Outerbike will take
advantage of Crested Butte’s world-class mountain biking and gorgeous
summer weather.
14erfest in Buena Vista (September 29 - October 1).
14erfest is a new, free, three-day mountain festival happening in Buena
Vista this September. The event encompasses a range of trail activities
including, but not limited to mountain biking. There will be demos,
clinics, bike polo and group rides. In the evening, participants will
enjoy live music and libations from Colorado craft breweries and
distilleries.
Read more after the break.
CYMI: Transgender candidate Danica Roem speaks out on Trump's military ban
Roem is challenging Marshall, who in 2011 introduced legislation to ban “active homosexuals” from serving in the Virginia National Guard. Marshall, who sponsored a failed “bathroom bill” even more extreme than North Carolina’s HB2, also declared support for Trump’s transgender ban.
Roem told the Washington Post, “It’s about time the people of the 13th District had a delegate who will represent them instead of singling them out, stigmatizing them and trying to make them feel awful about who they are.”
Almodovar En Total Presented by Denver Film Society
Jack'd Heightens Security
Before
the launch of the blurring feature, Jack’d had disabled location
sharing in countries where homosexuality was illegal. The blurring now
allows these men to safely use GPS technology to find nearby men. It
adds a rounding error to the member’s coordinates so that other men are
given a general idea of their whereabouts without pinpointing their
exact location. Even Jack’d’s servers do not know the exact actual
location of members.
There is good reason to count the USA among the unsafe countries for gay men today. According to the LA Times, hate crimes against LGBTQ people in Los Angeles have increased 24.5% since the election. In a story from Bloomberg, published in February, the NYPD cites the election as a major factor in increased anti-LGBTQ incidents in New York City.
Similarly, the Washington Blade
published a story in March on its city’s annual bias-related crime
report. It revealed the number of anti-LGBTQ hate crimes in Washington
DC had increased 59 percent in 2016. And in Boston, the number of
reported hate crimes and bigoted actions against the LGBTQ community
last year surpassed those aimed at Muslims, Jews, Latinos, and Asians
combined. According to the Boston Globe,
Boston Police Department figures indicate that the LGBTQ community is
the top target for hate acts in its city and it is a trend that appears
to be persisting.
“The
world will live in is still not LGBTQ tolerant and with 70% of our
users being young millennials, we have to be proactive in protecting
their privacy,” says Rivel.
Kesha Launches First Tour Since 2013; Will Play Denver's Fillmore Auditorium
Kesha launches her "Rainbow Tour," a six-week trek across North America, on September 26th
in Birmingham, AL at Iron City. The singer's first solo tour since
2013's "Warrior Tour," the "Rainbow Tour" takes Kesha to 21 markets,
wrapping November 1st at the Hollywood Palladium.
Kesha will perform new songs from her highly anticipated album 'Rainbow' (out August 11 from Kemosabe Records/RCA Records) for the first time on tour, as well as her previous global hits.
Additionally, every pair of tickets to the "Rainbow Tour"
comes with a physical copy of Kesha's new album. VIP ticket packages for
the "Rainbow Tour" will be available and include exclusive signed
merchandise and show benefits.
"My new album 'Rainbow' is dedicated to my fans. And I'm
so excited to be able to invite you all to come boogie with me on my new
'Rainbow Tour'," says Kesha. "I would not have made it to this point without my animals and supporters so now come out and join the celebration with me."
Rolling Stone, Billboard, and The LA Times hail the songs from Kesha's first album in five years
as a triumphant return. Slate lauds "Praying" as "a testament to the
strength she says she wants to inspire in others." Kesha has released
two other advance tracks from 'Rainbow': "Woman" and "Learn To Let Go."
Fans will get an additional look into the music of 'Rainbow'
with an intimate private live performance by Kesha taking place at
YouTube Space LA, streaming on Wednesday, August 2nd via YouTube.com.
Jordan Rakei - Nerve
Released digitally today, new single “Nerve” is a sweetly swung groove founded on warm organ, bass and effortlessly understated guitar licks courtesy of Dave Okumu (The Invisible). “The song is about the concept of loving yourself wholly and truly before you offset that love onto others,” explains Jordan.
The New Zealand born, London-based artist is riding high after his recent performance at Glastonbury. He’s receiving amazing support from KCRW in Los Angeles, BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac and Huw Stephens; Mistajam, Toddla T and Jamz Supernova at BBC 1Xtra; plus a coveted playlist spot over at BBC Radio 6 Music in addition to incredible support from Mary Anne Hobbs, Lauren Laverne and Gilles Peterson. He has played Pitchfork Avant-Garde Block Party, Annie Mac Presents, supported Jamie Woon and NAO, and collaborated with Taku, FKJ, Tom Misch, Loyle Carner, Richard Spaven and lent vocals to the Disclosure track “Masterpiece” from their Grammy-nominated album Caracal. In 2016 he also released an EP of dancefloor-focused tracks via Rhythm Section under the moniker Dan Kye.
Bikes, Bands and Beer: New, World-Class Pro Cycling Race and Block Party Highlight the Best of Denver on an International Stage
“Velorama Colorado aims to celebrate many of the things that make Colorado special,” said David Koff, CEO of RPM Events Group. "By combining an outdoor sporting event and a block party that includes already popular events like Denver Flea and local vendors, cycling fans can explore a music festival at their bike race, and music fans can experience a professional bike race alongside their music festival. Either way, Velorama promises to be a weekend filled with world-class cycling, broadly appealing music and more."
The Colorado Classic will be a four-day series of races that will bring together top international men and women cyclists – including Tour de France runner-up, Rigoberto Uran and Colorado’s own three-time Olympian, Taylor Phinney. Weekday races are scheduled in Colorado Springs and Breckenridge, leading up to a big finale weekend in Denver, where the women's criterium will be held on Friday, August 11, followed by the men's Peak to Peak Highway out-and-back race on Saturday, August 12. The men's city circuit will run through Denver’s neighborhoods and the beautiful City Park on Sunday, August 13, culminating in an exciting finish in the center of the hip RiNo neighborhood.
Velorama Colorado will take place throughout the weekend during Denver’s race stages. Headliners include Wilco, Death Cab for Cutie, the Jayhawks and the Old 97s. During the festival, there will be a bike expo with 150 exhibitors, food, craft beer and various cycling events in RiNo. It will be coupled with an expanded Denver Flea highlighting more than 200 artisan vendors. Ultimately, the event is designed to bring pro-cycling to a broader audience, and to showcase the urban adventure and lifestyle Denver has to offer.
“Together, the Colorado Classic and Velorama Festival will bring a thrilling event to one of Denver’s most colorful and creative neighborhoods,” said Richard Scharf, president and CEO of VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau. “By locating the festival in the RiNo Art District and adding an outdoor sport like professional cycling, with its passionate fan base, local and national musical acts, a massive artisan marketplace and local food and drink, many of the things that make Denver unique will be highlighted in a single, exciting event.”
Koelbel Urban Homes: The New Modern in Denver
As the newest division of legendary developer Koelbel and Company, KUH is focused on in-fill properties, designing and building innovative homes tailored to each unique site.
Offered homes run the gamut of detached single-family homes to svelte modern attached designs featuring today's popular spaces, such as rooftop decks and open-plan concepts. All KUH homes, of course, are designed for optimum living and with respect for the surroundings.
Nice To See StevieB: Eighth Grade
In eighth grade I felt that friends were the most important element for maintaining life. Not food, or water, not even air. It was having a group of friends. Now, of course this is just like all thirteen year olds. So, this statement is not ground breaking, but in junior high it was. When I was thirteen, I had a weird collection of friends. This circle; however, did not include the most important person in my life, that being Kyle Harris. He was, and I was completely sure of this, the perfect example of what I needed in a friend.
In life, you do not need to bring up in conversations how smart you are. As in, how much education you have received. People do not need to know your diploma status. These things are self-evident. If you have a Masters in the Social Sciences this knowledge will gracefully glide across the table. No one needs to be beat in the head with a diploma. This also holds true for being a friend. Friendship, or being a good friend cannot be forced. Well, it can, but it never ends well.
This was the case of Kyle. From Fall until early Spring I struggled to enter his realm of friends. Although Kyle and I would occasionally hang out, and I thought we had fun together in the eighth grade level of buds; I spent countless amounts of energy blending in with his other friends. I acknowledged they were way above in my social standing, but, boy did I try. There were many times I begged my Mother for new cable knit sweaters, as Kyle’s buds had already seen the twelve I had. Every move was calculated on how I could force my person into group social situations. I was sure that Kyle and I were solid, but yearned for him to put a good word for me, so I could join their table in the lunch room. Still I sat with my collection of freaks in a six-month old knock-off Ralph Lauren sweater.
On a freezing March morning I approached Kyle as he sat with the friends. I tried to push into the group and be part of the conversation. This was met by couple of other guys quickly telling me to beat it. As I accepted their advice I attempted to remain cool and wander off. This is when I overheard Kyle say “yeah, he hero worships me. It’s annoying. I can’t get rid of him.”
And this is when I first learned about being a friend verses being a good friend. It is the actions taken by someone you trust when you are not around. I never talked to Kyle again. The funny thing was that he never missed it, missed my friendship, and never approached me. The funny thing was, within a week that group of guys I sat with lunch noticed how much more fun I was to be around. The rest of the school year was pretty memorable. Hanging out at the mall, going over to friends’ houses. Just enjoying the short time I had until the end of eighth grade.
Are You Gay With Something To Say? Bloggers Wanted For Denver's Best Gay Blog!
Are you a new or experienced writer or blogger? Do you want to be? Or maybe you're just some gay guy with something to say? Well, what better forum for you than MileHighGayGuy?
MileHighGayGuy is looking for regular and guest bloggers to write about local news and events, do music and movie reviews, or write opinion or feature pieces from a gay perspective.
These are unpaid positions but offer the opportunity to be published in Colorado's Best Gay Blog (2010, 2011, 2012 OUTstanding Awards, Denver 2012 #WebAwards), expand your audience and gain valuable experience. There's also swag available in the form of free movie and concert tickets, music, books and other cool stuff.
If interested, shoot an email over to Drew Wilson at drew@milehighgayguy.com. And if you've got column or story ideas to pitch, this is the place to do it.
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