4/8/18 discussion about American viewpoints on guilt and the law

Here is the link to a Twitter thread I made in April of 2018 regarding what I saw as various American political viewpoints regarding guilt and the law.

The thread uses the books Redeeming the Dream: The Case for Marriage Equality, Seduction of the Innocent, and The Secret History of Wonder Woman to look at how public opinion about guilt is often shaped more by concepts of the general intelligence of human beings, the general sinfulness or innocence of human beings, and the access human beings have to vice. It counterpoises this public opinion against the concept of due process, which uses evidence and assumes people are innocent until proven guilty.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is pretty badly affected. My apologies.

I also have to say that, even despite the way Twitter has mangled this thread, this is still one of my favorite threads that I've ever written.

4/6/18 discussion about sexual censorship

Here is the link to a Twitter thread I did in April of 2018 about sexual censorship.

This -- very long! -- thread was partly written in reaction to the April, 2018, raid on Backpage, following the passage (not enactment) of FOSTA-SESTA.

My views on FOSTA-SESTA were still mostly focused at that time on the law's effect on freedom of online sexual expression. And I was still trying to work through how my years of study, both with age of consent laws and youth/adult romance and with marriage equality backlash, connected with online sexual expression.

The thread mentions stories such as those of Kaitlyn Hunt, Helen Goddard, the man who tried to marry his laptop, Jocelyn Morffi, Stacey Bailey, Chris Isherwood, Don Bachardy, Mary Kay Letourneau, Vili Fualaau, Ali Michael, and Melanie Martinez. It mentions online expression in conjunction with a Maggie Jones New York Times article on porn and education. And it mentions my own amateur novel, Summer Azure.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is pretty badly affected. My apologies.

4/6/18 discussion of my fanfiction The Direction of a Generation

Here is the link to a Twitter thread I did in April of 2018 that used the engagement of Marc Jacobs and Charly Defrancesco as a starting point for me to talk about my unfinished fanfiction, The Direction of A Generation.

The starting point of the discussion was the fact that Jacobs used the Bruno Mars song "Marry You" to propose. That song is also used in my story. The story is a crossover fanfic about a Jessica Jung-like K-pop character and a Zayn Malik-like British pop character. The thread how I came to write The Direction of a Generation. And it gives a summary of the story as I wrote it. It also discusses why I decided to stop writing it.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is pretty badly affected. My apologies.

4/5/18 discussion about Colorado gun violence security funding

Here is the link to a Twitter thread I did in April of 2018 regarding a $35 million project Colorado put in place to address gun violence in schools.

The thread is based on a number of news articles, as well as the opinions of some of Colorado's legislators. It addresses the debate over putting more security infrastructure and police officers in schools to address gun violence. I state some of my own opinions on this issue.

4/4/18 review of Denver Dems HD5 monthly meeting

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the April, 2018, meeting of the Denver Democrats' Colorado House District 5 monthly meeting.

The thread gives some context on the meeting. The thread gives pictures of, links to websites for, and platform statements by 2018 Colorado Attorney General candidate Amy Padden, Secretary of State candidate Jena Griswold, and US Congress CD-1 candidate Saira Rao. The thread also discusses a presentation by City Council member-at-large Debbie Ortega, and a presentation by Colorado Democrats Chair Morgan Carroll.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is very badly affected. My apologies.

4/3/18 review of Brother Jeff talk with Mike Johnston

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of a talk then-gubernatorial candidate Mike Johnston did with Brother Jeff Fard in April of 2018.

The thread gives some background on Mike Johnston and on Brother Jeff. The thread discusses some of the talk's topics, like the Me Too movement in Colorado, Colorado's proposed right to rest law, affordable housing in Colorado, PACs and political campaigns, gun violence, schools and education, the influx of new Colorado residents, and what issues Johnston thought were of the most importance for black Coloradans.

4/3/18 "open letter" to Elon Musk about semiautonomous vehicles

Here is the link to a Twitter thread "open letter" I wrote to Elon Musk in April of 2018 about semiautonomous vehicles.

The thread imagined semiautonomous vehicles being remotely driven via "drive centers," which would be something like call centers for remote vehicle drivers. The thread was based on the idea that people want autonomous vehicles because they don't want to have to think about their drive at all.

I still believe in the demand situation behind my idea. However, what I didn't consider then, and what I think is very true today, is that nobody would want someone driving their remote vehicle from a call center, given the intense fear around technology, surveillance, and privacy -- despite the fact that hopping into a Lyft or an Uber is the same thing on many levels.

4/2/18 review of film Where The Wild Things Are, dir. by Spike Jonze

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the film Where the Wild Things Are, directed by Spike Jonze.

The thread gives a summary of and some context on the film. It discusses some of the Jungian-feeling and archetypal, yet modern aspects of the film. It discusses some of the film's character dynamics. It discusses the film's poetic and dreamlike aspects. It also discusses the wonderful music of the film.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order on Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is moderately affected. My apologies.

4/2/18 review of Rep. Crisanta Duran's 2018 H1B visa lottery kickoff speech

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of an H1B visa lottery kickoff then-Speaker of the Colorado State House Crisanta Duran did in April of 2018.

Speaker Duran's talk was with Dr. Maria Navas Moreno, and was about high-skilled immigrants, the value they add to America's economy, the struggles they face in getting appropriate skill-level work visas, especially when a husband and wife are both high-skilled, and how the H1B visa is therefore of high importance.

4/1/18 discussion of some of Jesus's philosophies

Here is the link to a Twitter thread I did on Easter of 2018 about some of Jesus's philosophies.

The thread was basically directed toward the idea that was being debated pretty heavily in my home state, Colorado, as well as being brought before the Supreme Court: should people have the "religious freedom" to deny service to people whose actions don't agree with the service provider's religion. In particular, the question of that moment was, in the US, should Christians have the "religious freedom" to refuse service to LGBTQ people?

The thread uses specific Bible verses to illustrate that making money is opposed to Christianity; that Jesus divided commerce and religion, so that "religious freedom" does not apply to commerce; that Jesus specifically commands people to love and serve everybody, regardless of their religious beliefs or actions; and that Jesus says Christians are immediately and eternally redeemed, so that any of their further actions, including serving non-Christian people, have no impact on their admittance to Heaven.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order on Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is moderately affected. My apologies.

3/31/18 discussion about FOSTA-SESTA

Here is the link to a Twitter thread discussion I did in March of 2018 about the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017, or FOSTA-SESTA.

This thread came after I'd read FOSTA-SESTA a couple of times and had more time to research the sex work industry and how that industry regards issues about sex trafficking. The thread reflects that thought but also my continuing thoughts on freedom of sexual expression, the sexual expression of LGBTQ people, and the way this law seems to target both of those things online. The thread also asks if the online platforms people use every day have gotten so big, they need to be thought of as vehicles of free speech, not just as companies. And it questions sex- and LGBTQ-related police activity and initiatives in my home state of Colorado.

3/30/18 review of Nancy Drew novel The Mystery at Lilac Inn

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the Nancy Drew novel The Mystery at Lilac Inn, by Carolyn Keene, aka Mildred Wirt Benson and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams.

The thread gives a summary of the novel and some context on the novel, the Nancy Drew series in its various iterations, and the authorship of the series and this particular novel. The thread discusses the novel's plot and structure, Nancy's personality in the story, the story's sense of action and suspense, and some kind of annoying racism in the story. The thread also examines some of the queer, femsocial, and campy aspects of the story.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is moderately affected. My apologies.

3/29/18 review of 2018 Colorado Business Roundtable gubneratorial panel

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the March, 2018, Colorado Business Roundtable Democratic gubernatorial candidates panel.

The thread gives some context on the Colorado Business Roundtable and its Democratic and Republican gubernatorial candidates panel. The thread discusses some themes of the panel, like education, workforce development, transportation, energy, growth in Colorado, and healthcare. It discusses the views of the panel candidates -- Mike Johnston, Jared Polis, Donna Lynne, and Cary Kennedy -- on each of these themes. I also ask questions of the candidates in this thread, though, as far as I can remember, I did not receive any answers (or even any likes!) from any of the candidates.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is greatly affected. My apologies.

3/29/18 review of talk by CeCe McDonald and Joshua Allen

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of a March, 2018, talk given by CeCe McDonald and Joshua Allen at the University of Colorado Denver on the Auraria Campus.

The thread gives a summary of the talk and some context on McDonald, Allen, and their Black Excellence Tour. The thread discusses a lot of themes from the talk, such as helping LGBTQ people in our own families, checking in with our friends, starting locally with helping LGBTQ people, questioning our own privilege, the disproportionate violence trans people of color face, and the media visibility of trans people today.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency has been moderately affected. My apologies.

3/26/18 review of film Isle of Dogs, dir. by Wes Anderson

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the film Isle of Dogs, directed by Wes Anderson.

The thread gives a summary of the film. It discusses the film's animation style, comparisons between the plot and current events, the use of conspiracy theory in the film, the performances in the film, the characters in the film, the film's soundtrack, and a number of themes from the film.

The thread also discusses how I saw this film at a dog-friendly screening (very fun!) held at the Sie FilmCenter by the Denver Film Society.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is slightly affected. My apologies.

3/25/18 reaction to passage of FOSTA-SESTA

Here is the link to my Twitter thread reaction to the March, 2018, passage of FOSTA-SESTA by the US Senate.

The thread gives a summary and some background on HR 1865, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, or FOSTA-SESTA, as well as my experience with having gotten to understand it over the preceding month. I provide my own perspective on the history of laws like FOSTA-SESTA, why they don't protect kids, and why they hurt women, the LGBTQ community, and freedom of sexual expression, online and in real life. It also discusses my belief, which I amplified over the coming years, that sex work should be totally decriminalized.

My understanding of sex laws, sex work laws, and child exploitation laws, evolved quite a bit after this thread. So while I agree with a lot of what this thread says, I do feel that some of it misses the mark.

The tweets in some of my threads are twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is greatly affected. My apologies.

3/24/18 review of Denver Democrats County Assembly

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the 2018 Denver Democrats County Assembly.

The thread gives a summary of the assembly and some background on the caucus and elections process in Colorado. The thread gives pictures and discusses the platforms of a lot of the 2018 candidates for office, such as Jared Polis, Diana DeGette, Phil Weiser, Jonah Weiss, Julie Gonzales, Erik Underwood, Chantell Taylor, Cary Kennedy, Joe Salazar, Mike Johnston, David Sedbrook, Alex Valdez, Louis Irwin, Meghan Nutting, Saira Rao, Amy Padden, Lesley Smith, and Jena Griswold.

It's incredible to look back on this thread and think about the great work some of these folks are now doing in office. Almost all the people mentioned here are simply good people.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is moderately affected. My apologies.

3/23/18 review of novel Dolly Dingle, Lesbian Landlady, by Monica Nolan

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the novel Dolly Dingle, Lesbian Landlady, by Monica Nolan.

The thread gives a summary of the novel and some context on Nolan's Lesbian Career-Girl series. The thread discusses the novel as less of pulp and more of a standard novel, as well as a Christmas novel. The thread discusses the novel's central conflict, characters' dramatic arcs, character dynamics, and general entertainment value. The thread also discusses themes like old friendships mellowing out and the conflict of the old versus the new.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is slightly affected. My apologies.

3/21/18 review of rally for Alex Valdez

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of a March, 2018, rally for Alex Valdez during his race for Colorado's State House District 5 seat.

The thread gives some background on Valdez. It discusses his thought process on political issues, his orientation around freedom, his commitment to renewable energy, his stance on gun violence, and his ideas on sustainable development. The thread discusses some good points State Representative Leslie Herod gave about Valdez. And it mentions some other great folks who attended and spoke at the rally.

Valdez did win this race and is currently my state representative. He's done a great job.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is slightly affected. My apologies.

3/20/18 review of a night of political phone banking with One Colorado

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of a night in March of 2018 I spent doing political phone banking with One Colorado, Colorado's leading advocacy organization for LGBTQ Coloradans and their families.

The evening was spent phone banking in favor of the Colorado Civil Rights Division which, in 2018, the Republican-led State Senate was attempting to close down. The thread discusses that history and a lot of my experience up to then with rallying for the CCRD. It also mentions the restaurant Hamburger Mary's, which is a fabulous spot.

3/18/18 review of PCP meet-and-greet with Meghan Nutting

Here is the link to a March, 2018, Twitter thread review of a meeting at Denver's Factotum Brewhouse with Meghan Nutting, who was a candidate for Colorado's House District 5 Representative seat.

The thread discusses Nutting -- her family life, her career, and her political qualifications for office. It also discusses some of the political issues we spoke about at the meeting.

Nutting didn't win the HD5 seat. Another highly qualified person, and one of my favorite people in Denver, Alex Valdez, did. However, Nutting is an awesome person. And I believe that in 2018 she was on the Denver Business Journal's list of the top women in the energy industry in Colorado.

3/17/18 Twitter summary thread for my novel Summer Azure

Here is the link to a March, 2018, Twitter thread I did about my amateur novel Summer Azure.

This thread is a chapter-by-chapter summary of the novel. The novel is online and free to read. It's a youth/adult lesbian romance story about a reclusive businesswoman and a young dancing star girl next door. The thread gives links to each chapter in the story, as well as links to the songs referenced in the story.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order on Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is almost comically severely affected. My apologies.

3/17/18 Twitter thread about why I promote my own work

Here is the link to a Twitter thread I did in March of 2018 about why I promote my own work.

The thread was made ahead of a chapter-by-chapter summary thread I did for my amateur novel Summer Azure (you should see the link to that thread in the post above).

A lot of the things I say in this thread hold true today -- namely, that I work really hard -- granted, for the love of art, etc., but it is hard work -- to promote other people's things, so I don't feel very bad promoting my own stuff; and that I wrote my own work for reasons, and I still think the reasons are relevant, so I feel it's worthwhile to promote them.

3/16/18 review of film Love, Simon, dir. by Greg Berlanti

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the film Love, Simon, directed by Greg Berlanti.

The thread gives a summary of the film. It discusses some of the film's themes, such as community and family support, being queer locally (i.e. in your own hometown), blackmail versus openness, choosing when to come out. It discusses how I liked some of the general story tropes the film plays with. It mentions some of my favorite performances, characters, and character dynamics in the film. And it gives some criticisms I had of the film.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is moderately affected as a result. My apologies.

3/15/18 review of Museo de las Americas show Pachucos y Sirenas

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the 2018 Museo de las Americas show Pachucos y Sirenas.

The thread gives a summary of the show. It discusses the show's exploration of the Chicanx movement's use of the Pachuco and Pachuca style, including low rider cars and zoot suits, to forge their identity, how that identity was met with violent backlash, but how it also led to strength, confidence, and organizing for rights. It discusses and gives pictures of work by Kenneth Castillo, Jerry Vigil, Carlos Fresquez, Josiah Lopez, Daniel Salazar, Antonia Fernandez, and Justin Favela.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is moderately affected. My apologies.

3/14/18 review of novel Maxie Mainwaring, Lesbian Dilettante

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the novel Maxie Mainwaring, Lesbian Dilettante, by Monica Nolan.

The thread gives a summary of the novel and some context on Nolan's Lesbian Career-Girl series. The thread discusses how the novel explores individual queerness versus queer normativity, the book's themes regarding self-expectations and society's expectations, some characters and character dynamics in the novel, an indication of youth/adult lesbian desire in the novel, the way the novel plays with pulp novel conventions, and the novel's themes on story-telling in society overall. It also gives some criticisms of the novel, including criticizing the number of characters and the stiffness of the love scenes.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order on Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is slightly affected. My apologies.

3/12/18 review of a March, 2018, Denver City Council meeting

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of a Denver City Council meeting I attended in March of 2018.

The thread discusses the topics at the meeting, including the Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Team, St. Patrick's Day, a learning project for getting better at hiring locally and providing workers livable wages, a resolution for a Denver HIV/AIDS services fund, a resolution on rezoning some property for residences, and a temporary administrative moratorium on slot-home building.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order on Twitter's platform. This threads coherency is slightly affected. My apologies.

3/11/18 review of film The Assassin, dir. by Hou Hsiao-Hsien

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the film The Assassin, directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien.

The thread gives a summary of the film, as well as some context of the screening, which took place at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's Sloans Lake theater's Yum Cha series. The thread discusses the film's understated feeling overall and in its fight scenes, its beautiful colors, and its somewhat difficult plot. It discusses some of the film's themes. It compares the film to detective stories and ghost or horror stories. And it discusses some of the film's interesting visual and sound techniques.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order on Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is slightly affected. My apologies.

3/10/18 review of film A Wrinkle in Time, dir. by Ava DuVernay

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the film A Wrinkle in Time, directed by Ava DuVernay.

The thread gives a summary of the film and some context on my experiences reading the novel on which it's based. My review is pretty critical. The thread discusses how I felt the film fell flat, mostly due to the writing, but also some of the music and performance. The thread discusses what I liked about the philosophy of the film. It discusses the performances -- quite a few! -- that I really enjoyed, as well as what I loved about Storm Reid's Meg Murry character.

3/6/18 review of 2018 Colorado caucus

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the 2018 Colorado caucus.

The thread gives a description of caucus. It mentions some 2018 candidates in Colorado's House District 5. It discusses the popularity of some gubernatorial candidates. It discusses some of my own experiences, with my community, and participating in the proceedings. And it shows some art that was on display at the caucus site, which was Denver's Trevista at Horace Mann School.

3/6/18 review of novel Lois Lenz, Lesbian Secretary, by Monica Nolan

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the novel Lois Lenz, Lesbian Secretary, by Monica Nolan.

The thread gives a summary of the novel, as well as a little context for it. The thread discusses the novel's readable plot, its subversion of pulp narratives, its use of two mysteries, the psychology of the story, the main character's "coming out" story, some aspects of the lesbian community of the story, and the love and sex scenes of the story.

3/4/18 review of Nancy Drew novel The Bungalow Mystery

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the Nancy Drew novel The Bungalow Mystery, by Carolyn Keene.

The thread gives a summary of the novel and some background on the Nancy Drew series and my experiences reading it. The thread discusses how the book plays with form. It explores a lot of what I call the "femme-social" aspects of the book, as well as some very clear moments of girl-girl attraction and eroticism in the book. The thread also discusses aspects of Nancy's attraction to her father, her wish to have a mother and to be a mother, and her desire to be individualistic and not tied to anybody at all romantically.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is slightly affected as a result. My apologies.

3/4/18 review of the Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema's The Flames of Paris

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the livestream of the Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema's The Flames of Paris, with music by Boris Asafiev and choreography by Alexei Ratmansky.

The thread gives a summary of the ballet and some context on the work, Vasily Vainonen's choreography, Ratmansky's choreography, and the Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema. The thread discusses some of the ballet's themes, such as the narratives of and from revolutions, who controls narratives in society, the conflict between common humanity and wayward nobility, and the images of epochs' endings. The thread discusses the performances of Margarita Shrainer, Igor Tsvirko, Denis Savin, Ana Turazashvili, Kristina Kretova, Artem Ovcharenko, and Semyon Chudin.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is moderately affected. My apologies.

3/3/18 review of Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema's Romeo & Juliet

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of an encore screening of the Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema's performance of Romeo & Juliet, by Alexei Ratmansky.

The thread gives a summary of the ballet and the Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema series. The thread discusses a lot of different aspects of Juliet's character, and some aspects of Paris's. It discusses the communal, social, romantic, and emotional aspects of some of the dances. It discusses some of my favorite scenes from the ballet. And it discusses the final scene of the ballet, which is a real emotional shocker, even for an ending so well known as that of Romeo & Juliet!

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is moderately affected. My apologies.

Some quick thoughts/Support me on Ko-fi!

Thank you for checking out my blog! If you like my work, please visit my Ko-fi page, where you can support by making one-time donations in increments of $3.

This blog is a table of contents for my Twitter threads, starting in 2012, and working through toward the present. I include links to the threads, as well as quick descriptions of the threads.

From time to time, I like to do a blog post reflecting on the time frame of the threads I've most recently posted to this blog.

The threads between this post and my previous "quick thoughts" post are from the first two months of 2018.

I was surprised, as I researched this time period to find my threads, by how active I had been during this period. I knew I had been somewhat active politically. But I was also surprised to find out how active I had been in the arts scene.

As I've mentioned previously, I'd been a pretty regular art spectator since my arrival back in Denver in January of 2012. But in April of 2015, I got involved with an art gallery in Denver. My friendship with that gallery fell apart in May of 2017. And, as I remembered things, I really stepped completely out of Denver's art scene at that time.

It turns out, however, that that wasn't the case. And, especially as 2018 began, I involved myself a lot in Denver's art scene. I think I was trying to find my way back to being just a spectator -- or just trying to find my own way, given my odd, paranoid, and standoffish temperament, to involve myself in Denver's art scene. So I was way more involved than I remembered being!

I also even made a first step toward developing my own style of collecting art, by purchasing a work by a UK artist named Megan Angus, who had had her work censored by her high school because it depicted lesbian love. The work made the news. I contacted Angus and bought the work.

But that was, I hate to say, my first and last step toward developing my own style of collecting art. And I've basically stagnated ever since then.

I think during this time frame, however, you can also see my development in terms of using Twitter as an art form. I began thinking of how to direct my studies and sort of curate my Twitter threads. In particular, I planned out a lot of my threads for Black History Month and followed that plan. That sort of planning out of my threads has helped me focus and thematize my studies -- as well as force myself to study things my free-flowing brain might otherwise put off and put off.

I honestly was also a lot more involved in Denver's political scene during these two months than I'd remembered being. I attended all kinds of rallies and marches and political meetings of all different kinds on all different subjects. It's been pretty fun to remember all of those moments.

However, this time period is capped by an event that traumatized me -- possibly way more than it should have -- and also, slowly but surely, began to focus my thought very strongly in one specific direction -- again, possibly focusing me way more than I should have let it.

The event was FOSTA-SESTA. This was a law that was discussed by Congress and passed over the first few months of 2018. It ostensibly protects victims of sex trafficking. But it actually builds on anti-sex and anti-obscenity laws to make sex workers more vulnerable to state violence and other forms of violence, as well as, essentially, put any form of sexual expression online at risk of being further censored and marginalized by being lumped together with sex trafficking.

I learned of FOSTA-SESTA on March 3rd, 2018 -- way late in the progress of the bill -- from some people I was following at the time on Twitter, who were in the porn industry.

The folks on Twitter made it clear that FOSTA-SESTA was about limiting freedom of sexual expression, not stopping sex trafficking. And I could see that this could hurt not only me, a fetish artist and a fetish writer who specializes in the more marginalized fetishes, including ageplay, but more importantly a lot of my friends in the fetish art fields who had a lot more invested in making their art than I did.

I was mad at myself for not having heard anything about this law, as you can see in the tweet below.

I was mad at myself for missing this news for a number of reasons. I was trying to be deeply involved in politics, to be engaged and fight for equality, including for people like me (in all my/our aspects). And yet somehow I missed the discussion and passage of a law that struck people like me at, I'd argue, the core of our existence -- our creative existence.

FOSTA-SESTA also came at a "perfect storm" sort of time in my intellectual development. I was trying to be more politically active. But I had also spent almost two years researching issues about youth/adult love and sexuality. I had spent about five years creating visual art that questioned conventional conceptions of both youth and adult sexuality. And I'd spent about nine years exploring the meanings and self-doubts of my own ageplay and ABDL fetishes and identity.

I had already been coming to conclusions for myself about the meanings of sex laws, and what those laws actually meant to enforce. I had already been arguing that most sex laws imply that human beings are the sexual property of the state. FOSTA-SESTA, in what I perceived as its limitations on freedom of sexual expression online, further reinforced the concept of human beings as sexual property of the state.

I did what I could to raise awareness, among my Twitter followers (around 850 at the time) and among my local politicians and political organizations, about FOSTA-SESTA. I also studied FOSTA-SESTA more, to figure out what it was really all about, what its history was, etc. And so all of these issues, slowly but surely, became the main focus of my studies.

However, some of the threads above will discuss this. And so I'll leave a summary of my findings, and my developing mindset toward FOSTA-SESTA, for another "quick thoughts" post.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Please enjoy. Constructive feedback appreciated.

3/2/18 review of novel Bobby Blanchard, Lesbian Gym Teacher, by Monica Nolan

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the novel Bobby Blanchard, Lesbian Gym Teacher, by Monica Nolan.

The thread gives a summary of the novel and some background on Monica Nolan and her Lesbian Career-Girl series. The thread discusses how the novel plays with detective pulp conventions, its use of two mysteries instead of one, the plot and psychological parallels in the story, the way the novel plays with both heterosexual and lesbian story tropes, the sex scenes in the story, some of the life lessons of the story, and some of my criticisms of the novels.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is moderately affected. My apologies.

2/28/18 review of documentary Whose Streets?, dir. by Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the film Whose Streets?, directed by Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis.

The thread gives a summary of the documentary, one of the best films of the decade, which is about Ferguson, Missouri, in the wake of the murder of Michael Brown, Jr., by police in August of 2014. The thread discusses how the film examines communities, living in communities, media versus communities, how communities heal, questioning unjust realities, the generational fight for justice, and the need to just get out there and be involved.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is slightly affected. My apologies.

2/28/18 thread about the Revue Noire's issue number 20

Here is the link to my Twitter thread about the magazine Revue Noire's issue number 20.

The thread is partly a history of the magazine Revue Noire, as I learned of it from Bennetta Jules-Rosette's book Black Paris. It's also a review of issue number 20 itself, which focuses on Paris and has an article on Hip Hop in Paris. And the device or justification of this thread is a YouTube playlist, which is built around a CD that had originally been included with this issue, but which I did not receive with the used copy of the magazine that I bought.

2/25/18 review of book The Witch's Flight, by Kara Keeling

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the book The Witch's Flight: The Cinematic, the Black Femme, and the Image of Common Sense.

The thread gives a summary of the book and some background on Professor Keeling and how I learned of her. The thread discusses the book's exploration of how the cinematic helps people imagine futures, and how that imagining informs black cinematic identity. The thread discusses the book's exploration of queer black femininity and the butch-femme and straight-femme lesbian dynamic in cinema, as well as how cinema portrays the struggle for black femininity to survive in a society dominated by masculinity.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. The coherency of this thread is moderately affected. My apologies.

2/24/18 review of book Black Faces, White Spaces, by Carolyn Finney

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the book Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors.

The thread gives a summary of the book, as well as some background on Carolyn Finney and how I learned of her. The thread discusses how the book explores white versus black land ownership and connection to land; civil rights and land protection efforts; how the history slavery affects African Americans' connection to land; various media failures to represent African Americans in nature in the US; and a great number of success stories about African Americans who did and are doing great things to protect America's environment.

The tweets of some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is moderately affected. My apologies.

2/23/18 review of novel Cotton Comes to Harlem, by Chester Himes

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the novel Cotton Comes to Harlem, by Chester Himes.

The thread gives a summary of the novel and some background on Chester Himes and how I came to learn of his work. The thread discusses how the novel plays with detective novel conventions, character POVs, and even conventions of realism. The thread also discusses the novel's social layering, action scenes, and moral ambiguities.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is slightly affected. My apologies.

2/23/18 review of Denver Art Museum show Degas: A Passion for Perfection

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the Denver Art Museum's show Degas: A Passion for Perfection.

The thread gives a summary of and some background on the show. It gives a lot of pictures from the show, while discussing Degas's influences, techniques, subject matter, media, and development as an artist, as well as my own experiences with and feelings about Degas's work.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order on Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is slightly affected. My apologies.

2/23/18 review of film In Between (Bar Bahar), dir. by Maysaloun Hamoud

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the film In Between (Bar Bahar), directed by Maysaloun Hamoud.

The thread gives a summary of the film. It discusses the film's uniqueness, in its portrayal of both Israel and Palestine. It discusses the universal women's issues portrayed in the film. It talks about what I liked about the performances and characters, and what I liked about Maysaloun Hamoud's writing and direction.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order on Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is slightly affected. My apologies.

2/21/18 review of Globeville meeting on Denver blueprint for growth

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of a 2018 community meeting in the Globeville neighborhood of Denver, Colorado, to discuss a blueprint for Denver development.

The thread discusses some of the aims for development according to the proposed blueprint. It also discusses some of the concerns from community members regarding things like affordable housing and good access to transit. It also discusses some of my own opinions about Globeville being a neighborhood of displacement.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order on Twitter's platform. The coherency of this thread is slightly affected as a result. My apologies.

2/20/18 review of book The Social Life of DNA, by Alondra Nelson

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the book The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation After the Genome, by Alondra Nelson.

The thread gives a summary of the book and some background on Alondra Nelson and how I learned about her. The book discusses how African Americans have used DNA tests to trace their origins in Africa and how that has helped them heal. The thread, while discussing examples, also gives a lot of videos of the subject matter Professor Nelson discusses. The thread also compares Nelson's work with some other works.

The tweets in many of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is slightly affected as a result. My apologies.

2/18/18 review of film Black Panther, dir. by Ryan Coogler

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the film Black Panther, directed by Ryan Coogler.

The thread gives a summary of the film. The thread discusses some of the themes of the film, like African and African American history, loyalty and trust, the sins, sorrows, and pains of generations, and the idea of the ancestral plane. The film discusses performances I liked, the tech, effects, and settings of the film, and the effect the film had on communities around the world, including the Denver community.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. The coherency of this thread has been slightly affected as a result. My apologies.

2/18/18 review of documentary Project 75, by Davon E. Johnson

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the documentary Project 75: The Mile High Medical Society, by Davon E. Johnson.

The thread gives a summary of the film and some background on the work of Davon E. Johnson and on the Black American West Museum. The film discusses Project 75, which was a program by the National Medical Association to get more black youth enrolled in college in medical studies. The thread also discusses what I liked about what the documentary says about Denver (which, via the Mile High Medical Society, became one of the hubs of Project 75).

2/17/18 review of Colorado Ballet's Romeo & Juliet

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the Colorado Ballet's 2018 production of Romeo & Juliet, with choreography by Derek Deane.

The thread gives a summary of and some context for the ballet and the Colorado Ballet. It also compares -- probably a little too much -- the Colorado Ballet performance with other versions of the Romeo & Juliet story. The thread discusses some aspects of the ballet I liked, like its choreography, its costumes and sets, some of the character dynamics, some specific dances and scenes I liked, the performances of Sharon Wehner, Yosvani Ramos, and Francisco Estevez, and the work of conductor Adam Flatt.

The tweets for some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. The coherency of this thread has been badly affected as a result. My apologies.

2/16/18 review of Denver Center production of American Mariachi

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts's production of the play American Mariachi, written by Jose Cruz Gonzalez and directed by James Vasquez.

The thread gives a summary of the play, as well as some background on its creation. The thread discusses some of the play's plot elements and character dynamics. It discusses the play's style and setting. It discusses the style and the setting of the play. It discusses the musical performances in the play. And it discusses some of the acting performances.

2/14/18 review of Sie FilmCenter lecture by Dr. Tiel Lundy

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of a February, 2018, lecture by Dr. Tiel Lundy at the Sie FilmCenter entitled Bosom Buddies: Hollywood and the Lingerie Industry, 1930-1949.

The thread summarized Dr. Lundy's lecture and gives some background on Lundy. The thread discusses some themes from the lecture such as body shaming and clothing demand; censorship and clothing styles; Hollywood moguls' control over film and fashion; titillating clothing and marketing; Hollywood fashion figures like Edith Head; and the fashions of today's #MeToo movement.

I saw this lecture at the Denver Film Society's Sie FilmCenter in Denver Colorado.

The tweets on some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread has been moderately affected as a result.

2/13/18 review of rally and hearing for Colorado Civil Rights Division

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the February, 2018, rally and House Judiciary Committee hearing for the Colorado Civil Rights Division.

The thread gives some background on the Colorado Civil Rights Division and the Colorado Senate's attempt in 2018 to get rid of it. The thread also gives a brief background on Colorado's history with equality. The thread also discusses some opinions about the CCRD given by former mayor Wellington Webb, former representative Wilma Webb, other politicians, and representatives from the Colorado LGBTQ Bar Association, One Colorado, Simple Energy, Good Business Colorado, and the Minority & Women's Chamber Coalition.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread is pretty badly affected by that -- as well as a set of mistakes I kept making regarding one person's affiliation with an organization.

2/12/18 review of book Josephine Baker in Art and Life

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the book Josephine Baker in Art and Life: The Icon and the Image, by Bennetta Jules-Rosette.

The thread gives a summary of the book, as well as on Josephine Baker and Bennetta Jules-Rosette. It discusses some of the book's themes, such as the angles all biographies have; Baker's tale as a "Marian quest"; how Baker used her public image to her and society's benefit; the role of fashion in Baker's image; Baker's own invention of her public image; Baker's agency in developing her image; the social work Baker did later on in life; and Baker's involvement with the trans community.

The tweets in my threads have been twisted out of chronological order on Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is moderately affected as a result. My apologies.

2/11/18 thread about Casa Bonita and Butterfly Pavilion

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of a day I spent with my family in February of 2018.

The thread is quick, but it discusses and gives some pictures of Denver's famous Casa Bonita Restaurant and the Butterfly Pavilion, as well as talking about the birthday of one of my nieces.

2/6/18 open letter to MCA Denver and MOCA Los Angeles about Arthur Jafa

(Image source: https://www.moca.org/exhibition/arthur-jafa-love-is-the-message-the-message-is-death)

Here is the link to a Twitter thread that is a kind of "open letter" to both the Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

The thread relates to Arthur Jafa's video Love Is the Message, the Message Is Death, which both MCA Denver and MOCA Los Angeles screened. The "open letter" was mostly to ask if any discussions had been held comparing Jafa's work with the work of Stan Brakhage and Mickalene Thomas, and my reasons for asking.

As you'll notice in the thread, this led to a brief email interaction between myself and one of MCA Denver's curator. The interaction didn't go anywhere. And it wasn't meant to. I was hoping to see what sort of conversations I might generate directly via Twitter with folks. But no conversations were generated, unfortunately.

2/7/18 review of three solo shows at MCA Denver

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of three solo shows at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver.

The three shows are: Love Is the Message, the Message Is Death, by Arthur Jafa; Honestly Lying, by Diego Rodriguez-Warner; and Shadows of Men, by Cleon Peterson.

The thread gives a summary and some background and technical discussion on each show. It also gives a good amount of pictures from each show.

2/6/18 discussion on the death and life of Colin Ward

(Image source: https://www.westword.com/music/denver-artist-colin-ward-dies-at-27-9969201)

Here is the link to my Twitter thread discussion about Colin Ward, who passed away in 2018.

The thread gives some background on Colin Ward, who was a well known figure in Denver's DIY art scene. It discusses some of my own personal experiences with him and why I liked him. And it discusses some of my own regrets at not having been able to do more for him.

Ward's death came at a turning point in my own involvement with the Denver art scene. And it solidified for me that I wasn't alone in feeling cast out by the community. Denver has failed a lot of its people.

2/6/18 review of meeting of Denver Commission on Cultural Affairs

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of a meeting of Denver's Commission on Cultural Affairs, which took place at the RedLine Contemporary Art Center.

The thread is brief, but it discusses how the meeting addressed developments with Denver's Safe Creative Spaces program, a safe occupancy program Denver set up for art spaces following Oakland's Ghost Ship tragedy and the subsequent closure of Denver's Rhinoceropolis DIY art space.

2/6/18 review of RedLine Denver's show 10x

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of RedLine Contemporary Art Center's 10x show.

The thread gives a summary of and some background on the show, which celebrated RedLine's tenth anniversary. The show discusses and gives pictures of work by Jaime Carrejo, Zach Reini, Derrick Velasquez, Margaret Neumann, Theresa Clowes, Kenzie Sitterud, Jonathan Saiz, Jodi Stuart, Alvin Gregorio, Daisy Patton, and Libby Barbee.

2/6/18 review of artwork by Megan Angus

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of a work by British high school artist Megan Angus.

The thread discusses how I came to learn of this artwork and why I decided to buy it.

The story of Angus's piece can be found here. Basically, Angus was a high school student in the UK when she made the artwork above. The school censored the work, but claimed that it was not censored because of its lesbian imagery, but because the imagery was too provocative for other students to see.

However, this was happening at a time when other students' free speech, in junior high and high schools in the UK and US was being greatly challenged -- specifically because the schools were worried that any type of LGBTQ speech would be too provocative for other students to hear.

I bought the work, hoping I could rally Denver's art community around it -- especially Denver's LGBTQ art community.

However, as I've mentioned many times before, Denver's art community (and parts of Denver's LGBTQ community) were pushing really hard to ostracize me from just about anything they could. As a result, I was never able to do much with this work -- though I am still hoping to get it shown somewhere -- both to promote Megan Angus's wonderful skill and to raise awareness about LGBTQ youth issues.