It was not long after I launched this blog in January that I learned about blog carnivals in general, and The Carnival of Bent Attractions specifically. True to my nature, I threw my hat in the ring to host the carnival before I even knew what I was doing. Lo and behold, here we are in August already and it’s my turn to host the party! So let’s move on to the buffet…

I am lucky enough to point readers to a post, more specifically an image that beautifully depicts the seasons of change and personal growth I talk about on this blog each week. Artist by the name of Stephanie Robinson talks about her personal journey of this piece at her post Seasons of the Soul . She shared in her carnival submission that she created this lithograph as part of her coming-out process.

Fashion Without Limits by Starling David Hunter is a humorous look at what the French marketing & style consultants are saying about fashion. I must say part of this is a touch scary - who is making up the new definitions of masculinity? They don’t live anywhere near me, that is for certain! I don’t see your average straight man running out to embrace being a “hybrid man” anytime soon.

I do confess to being a big Queercents fan. I look forward to their posts everyday. And, this month’s carnival gets to enjoy several thought-provoking contributions from these ladies.

Ah, there is nothing quite like that New Car Smell. What is it really costing you in the long run to indulge your olfactory sensors? Is it better to buy and hold, lease, or somewhere in between? And, how do you handle these questions when your partner is addicted to the new car smell? Nina at Queercents gives us the dollars and cents around these car buying decisions and more.

Meanwhile, Dawn at Queercents shares her thoughts on “Thoughtful Living” in Frugal By Any Other Name. Her two points on thoughtful living hit the nail on the head. The thoughts she shares are right in line with the message I am passionate about. Intentional living is a key to not only being a success but more importantly to abundance — feeling rich and full about your life, the way you live it, and the impact you have on the world at large.

In the Queercents ongoing conversation about money & relationships in the Money & Mates series, this time you can catch them as they interview Gary and Mark in Southern California.

I Guess Gay Doesn’t Mean Happy is just a joy to read. I love Sfrajett’s City’s style of writing as she captures the moment and her thoughts as she endures the opening ceremonies of the Gay Games. She sums the long, drawn out ordeal (and let’s remember it was like 100 degrees this day in Chicago as well) when she says:

Gays were the people responsible for the best entertainment and cultural production of the twentieth century, and THIS was the best we could do?

Her question: “Why does every gay event have to look like every other gay event? Is an athletic event the same as a Pride March which is like a protest which becomes Take Back the Night?” REALLY hits home for me. More and more I find myself skipping certain community events I feel I should be attending only because I dread experiencing a re-run of a previous blase memory from years past. We have awesome women & men in our communities … so let’s take it up a notch!

Keeping with the Gay Games theme, I wanted to add a post I read about the opening ceremonies. Over at Andymatic, Gay Games VII in Chicago Opening Ceremonies he captures much of the same sentiments as Sfrajett’s City. The insight that kept resonating with me is his summary:

Summary: one person walking across a football field holding his national flag is all the opening ceremony you need.

The summary is referring to the impact of one man from Uganda carrying his country’s flag across the field and how that moment most captured the spirit of the games. Just imagine, no one would’ve melted to their chairs or felt like they were watching back to back showings of Dr. Zhivago if this sort of powerful brevity were employed.

Part of the reason I love blog carnivals so much is that it opens me up to reading posts I would never have read otherwise. The War of Words by Jon Swift is an interesting look at the insane way government and people mince words. I can’t figure out from Jon’s writing style if he is ultra sarcastic (at which time the piece is a great look at the insanity of all this) or if there’s a part of him that agrees with wordsmithing as an agenda. Regardless, it is an intelligently written look at the current War of Words at play in the U.S. I personally like the part where the word “gay” gets redefined in the Constitution to only mean “happy”.

Jon shares his way with words in a second post called Don’t Act, Don’t Trill: Thespians in the Military. This is a very funny look at the lunacy of the Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell policy of the military. And, who knew that community theater actors were such a threat to the safety of the United States?! Read on to put all the p’s and q’s together.

A cross over the pond to the UK brings us the post from the f word - Lesbian Couple Denied Right to Have Their Marriage Recognised in UK. Another bewildering moment in human history as the powers that be negate the values and commitments of committed adults.

I wanted to throw my own hat in the ring with my recent Safe is the New Risky post. As someone who has been somewhat risk-averse much of my life (adventure sports notwithstanding), I find myself reconsidering what it means to be safe or secure. I also point out one of the common misconceptions of taking a risk — it doesn’t have to be like jumping out of a plane. Sometimes the risk to simply be yourself is all it takes to reap a harvest of benefits.

X-men and the Axeman is a lengthy discussion written by Carlos Rojas about a common theme in the otherwise dissimilar movies Robert Altman’s A Prairie Home Companion and Brett Ratner’s X-Men: The Last Stand. One most catching paragraph in his post is:

The “extinction” which both of these communities face, therefore, is not the literal death of its members (though both films do feature several prominent deaths of individual characters), but rather the systematic erasure of the mark of difference which distinguishes these communities from the larger, “normal” world they inhabit.

Later in the article, Carlos draws some thought provoking distinctions between the challenges these mutant communities face and those the queer communities face in the world at large.

All things boil down to illusion. In Spirituality of Transexuality , Jay Sennett takes some solace in a Tibetan tale as he grapples with the paradox of living everday as a transexual. A short, but worthy read, the essence of which can easily be extrapolated to any personal challenge.

The Spicy Cauldron at A Delicate Boy blogs about the recent media frenzy in Mel Gibson: I’m sorry (again) . With a track record like this, who needs to apologize? It is just a bunch of inauthentic posturing. Andy makes the case with details and opinions on Mel’s penchant for prejudice and preaching.

A classic poem by Pat Parker called : For The Straight Folks Who Don’t Mind Gays But Wish They Weren’t So Blatant can be found by Ampersand at the blog Alas. When I first heard this poem read live years ago I thought it was very powerful. The little things that our straight counterparts take for granted are the very things that make me passionate about supporting women to live proudly.

Required Reading: “Am I Married?” by Denise Brogan at Transcending Gender poses the question “when is a man a man and when is a woman a woman?” In this extremely informative report, Denise Brogan grapples with the issues of being able to marry her partner in Canada, yet not have it be recognized in the U.S. all while the underlying definition of gender clouds the already muddy argument because she is transgendered. What is really the definitive guide to gender? The medical model? How a person identifies? The stereotypes of the collective?

Whew! Quite a roundup of prolific posts. Please visit our contributor’s blog sites and participate in the bigger conversation by commenting where you feel inspired to.

Next month’s carnival will be hosted at A Delicate Boy . Go here to contribute your articles.

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