The Ryan Thomas Collection

In October 2009, I had the great opportunity to embark upon a trip to Washington, DC to march in a civil rights rally on the nation’s capitol with some close friends of mine. We have marched together on the streets of San Francisco. We have marched together on California’s state capitol building in Sacramento. We have been marching for our voices to be heard in an American struggle for equal civil rights for the gay and lesbian community in this country.

As we explored Washington, DC, we were able to stand on the very stone that Martin Luther King, Jr. stood upon as he gave his infamous “I have a dream speech” at the Lincoln Memorial. His struggle and his fight is the same battle me, my friends, my coworkers and my family are participating in today; civil rights and protections for all Americans, gay or straight. 

I stood on that stone and I thought about MLK, Jr.’s Civil Rights Movement for equality based on race. I thought about how he told America, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up… live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.” I have this dream too. I have this dream for me and my gay and lesbian community. MLK, Jr. may have been marching for racial equality, but his movement is similar to the movement I am participating in today. I look to his lessons, his words and his history to teach me how to work towards building an America where I am “judged on the content of my character,” not by the gender of the person I love.

I have been embarking on this journey for gay and lesbian equality for more than a decade. It is a journey that I am a part of every day. As a young child, I remember every January learning about MLK Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement he led. As a nation, we celebrate this great leader on his birthday — a nationally recognized holiday. I remember as a young child not understanding why people of different races would ever be treated differently, but this holiday helped teach me the necessary lessons of racial injustice in America’s history and about the man that fought to change it. It is a lesson I carried with me into adulthood and have re-crafted into my own fight for civil rights for gays and lesbians today.

MLK Jr. Day is a holiday that allows us to reflect on the dreams of one American man, which are the dreams many of us still have and are still working for today. Let us not forget this dream of equality.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Doug Manchester is not the only thing causing the Hyatt brand trouble these days. As the strike and boycott of Doug Manchester’s Manchester Hyatt continues in San Diego, San Francisco’s Grand Hyatt in Union Square is experiencing the same troubling issue. Grand Hyatt employees belonging to Unite Here! Local 2 are on strike in pursuit of fair wages and benefits from the Hyatt Corporation. Striking workers could be found outside the San Francisco Grand Hyatt Saturday calling for a boycott of this particular Hyatt and those around country.

According to printed materials being passed out by picketers, the Hyatt Corporation had profits in the range of $1.3 billion within the last five years, with the CEO being paid $6.7 million last year. Recognizing assumed bias in these numbers, the strong cash stockpile and low debt the company holds, in conjunction with the strong IPO last week, shows that despite rough economic times, the Hyatt Hotel Corporation is fairing alright compared to others in the lodging industry. However, Hyatt has reported losses in the last three quarters of 2009. This may weaken striking workers ability to push for “a fair deal” this year, when the uncertain economic future still looms. Local 2 says, “They don’t need to take away affordable family healthcare from working people in order to ensure the ‘health’ of the company.”

A more troubling aspect of the relationship between labor and the Hyatt Corporation can be seen at a Hyatt property in Boston and what is being called the “HYATT 100.” It has been reported that 98 housekeepers at the Boston property were fired and replaced by contracted workers supplied by Hospitality Staffing Solutions. A large portion of these 98 employees had been working for Hyatt for numerous years, earning $15 an hour. The replacement contractors are working for $8 an hour as “temporary” workers. Hyatt Hotels is not the first company to commit such an act, and it certainly will not be the last. However, one must ask whether he or she will support such acts with their travel dollars, because everyone will end up footing the bill through tax dollars.

Ellen Ruppel Shell, a professor at Boston University and author of “Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture” discusses the “HYATT 100″ in her piece, “The Race to the Bottom.” She explains that cutting costs through labor wages and benefits eventually hit taxpayers through social programs and services these workers will need to begin relying on to fill the gap. Although it is not necessarily the duty of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation to ensure social stability through their business practices, something must be done to protect dedicated workers from hungry executives at the top. The bust on Wall Street in 2008 seems to have shed some light on this idea of overpaid and irresponsible executive rule in the business world and it continues to worm its way through all industries, not just banking and insurance. As the country debates health care reform, it should be added that these 98 fired employees and their 98 contracted replacements will probably all have to seek government health care assistance.

In the end, not everyone can be an executive. Not everyone wants to be an executive. A hard day’s work cleaning hotel rooms, washing dishes or carrying luggage must not be discounted. The dignity and respect for a hard working employee is something that should be supported by corporations and consumers alike. Some of us start our careers working at the front desks of hotels and move on to a cubicle. Some of us, whether it be due to life circumstance or ability, continue a work path cleaning hotel rooms or serving at a restaurant. These employees deserve a fair deal as it is their sweat that makes a trip to a Hyatt Hotel a luxurious stay.

Support workers’ rights to a fair deal from the Hyatt Hotel Corporation. Boycott Hyatt Hotels. Doug Manchester, owner of the San Diegos’ Grand Manchester Hyatt, supported inequality for gay and lesbians in 2008 through his $125,000 donation supporting Prop 8. A Boston Hyatt unfairly removed almost 100 employees to replace them with labor at almost 50% the cost. How much more is the Hyatt going to do to hurt the lives of Americans?

For more information about Unite Here! go to www.UniteHere.org.

Popularity: 3% [?]

No longer a resident of San Diego, I am not as in tune with the happenings of its residents. Thankfully, the San Diego Union Tribune article about Doug Manchester’s divorce was sent to me and I felt it needed to be shared with all of those who are supporting the boycott of his Manchester Hyatt, in downtown San Diego, due to his $125,000 donation in support of Prop 8 and his poor treatment of workers. I take no pleasure in the fact that a partnership of marriage is broken, due to reported “irreconcilable difference,” but California’s divorce laws may mean he has access to only 50% of his assets when final paperwork is configured.

Doug Manchester’s soon-to-be ex-wife, Elizabeth Manchester, has told the courts that Doug has been hiding money in secret accounts for months and even stealing her personal mail during her vacation. He’s playing dirty and it seems to be catching up with him. Elizabeth told courts that $9.3 million of their $56.9 million in accounts has been transferred. Additionally, she accuses Doug of cashing their joint tax return of $8.2 million and stashing that way. Superior Court Family Law Judge Lisa Foster has granted Elizabeth residence within their La Jolla estate and forced Doug to give $100,000 to pay bills.

As the makings of his divorce occur in court, Doug Manchester is working on redeveloping the Navy Broadway complex with a new hotel property. With a poor economy and a continuing boycott working against him, a divorce settlement will add to his list of trials to overcome in his new hotel venture. Financing his Navy Broadway complex may become quite the challenge as banks tighten up their wallets and force Mr. Manchester to have more solid assets, which he may no longer have when all is said in done with the divorce proceedings.

Well, Dougy… it looks like you’re losing. Karma is working against you on all fronts. It doesn’t pay to H8! My guess is that he won’t be donating any money to pass Prop 1 in Maine.

Popularity: 3% [?]

After a day out and about, a friend and I found ourselves in front of the TV for some relaxing, mindless television entertainment. What we came across was disturbing and haunting. No, it was not MSNBC’s marathon of “To Catch a Predator,” but rather TLC’s program, “Toddlers and Tiaras.” The program undertakes the daunting task of displaying the lives of young beauty pageants contestants  (the toddlers) and their parents as they work day in and day out to win tiaras. Children from two to ten were depicted in the particular episode we viewed and the pageant took place in Georgia. Like a car crash on a freeway or a horrible audition on American Idol, I found my eyes glued to this horrid ritual of dressing up young girls as if they were dolls or sex workers on Hollywood Blvd.

The preparation and time parents were shown taking for the toddler pageants seemed like time better spent on a playground, in a classroom or even watching daytime television on the Disney Channel. Girls as young as four years old were being taken to salons to get manicures and pedicures. Thousands of dollars were spent on attire to wear in the many rounds pageants hold, including swimsuit, casual and formal wear. The most horrid moment came as the very television before my eyes showed a mother rubbing fake tan on her young daughter because she felt it made her daughter more attractive in the clothes. Fake tanning before the age of five? Before the age of 15? Fake tanning! The value system being instilled upon this impressionable mind should be classified as child endangerment.

When it came down to the pageant, one contestant, who appeared to be no older than three, continued to cry and scream during her hair styling session, as each hair found itself coiled for buoyant curls. The same girl later refused to get off the floor, in tears, as her mother attempted to coax her in line. Whose event is this; the young girls or the parents? Whose fun is this? Most of the young girls or “toddlers” as TLC names them, appear to be far from excited about the entire process. The mothers (some fathers) act as though this is life and death pageantry. One can only conclude that mothers are living out their dreams of desired beauty through their young children who have yet to develop affirmation of personal identity and independence. One can only assume that many of these mothers were never able to be in beauty pageants, whether it was circumstance or their individual appearance. These toddlers become subjects of their mother’s ambitions to prove something to themselves. These toddlers are objectified by their parents and then the society that sits before them in a pageant, as if they are Playschool dolls on a toy store shelf.

Yes, we as a television audience end up objectifying these poor toddlers by watching a program that looks into their lives of pageantry. “Toddlers and Tiaras” does not necessarily glorify the lifestyle of these families, but allows viewers to peak into a sector of society that needs massive attention. The events these young girls are subjected to work to place value on physical beauty. Impressionable minds begin development on a runway, fake tanned and hair curled. How are these girls supposed to create their sense of self worth if their self worth is based not only on fulfilling the dreams of their parents, but their physical beauty?

I knew these types of pageants existed, particularly after the Jon Benet Ramsey homicide in the 90s, but TLC’s “Toddlers and Tiaras” really vilified the parents of these girls in my mind. I won’t be making a habit of watching this show any further, for I have seen enough, but the nation still has a lot of work to do, as we work to mold young girl’s minds to look to a future that is dependent on their abilities and beyond their simple physical beauty.

Chelsea Handler appears to have similar concerns about this program and ritual of young pageantry. Watch her comedic take on it in this clip from Chelsea Lately:

Popularity: 41% [?]

Cyndi Lauper appeared on BBC’s “Graham Norton” show this month (shown on BBC America this weekend) and showed that she is still as cool as ever. She is a well grounded musician that has taken numerous chances, including leaving her major record label in the 90s to independently produce music. Viewing her interview on Graham’s show, Cyndi continues to be real and very candid. Her commentary on the current Presidential race was comical as she mentioned that Sarah Palin doesn’t have time to study for her interviews with Katie Couric because she’s spending all of her time shooting moose and the last polar bears from her front door. She went on to say, “It’s like, “She has nice legs and I like those glasses. I think I’ll vote for her.” No, it’s so stupid.” AGREED!

Outside of all of this, the best part of the interview came from the following dialogue between Graham and Cydni:

Graham: “You came out with that iconic “Girls Just Wanna Have fun” look.”

Cyndi: “I got my revenge, didn’t I? All the people that threw rocks at me because of how I dressed were wearing the same clothes as me. [Turns to audience] Just keep that in mind. F*ck it! F*ck it!”

Cyndi continues to live by this mantra wearing her crazy clothing to this day. Some of her most commendable work is seen through her vast efforts for the Human Rights Campaign and GLBT rights. Cyndi has been a strong ally for the GLBT community for years now, raising funds and promoting equality throughout the country. Launching a year’s tour entitled “True Colors Tour,” Cyndi gathered other musical acts who supported equality and embarked on a national tour promoting equality and donated portions of the profit to the HRC.

Cyndi Lauper is one of those musical acts in pop culture that continues to produce great music, and also stand for something important to her. Her latest album, “Bring Ya to the Brink” is a fun, dance album. The talent displayed within this album should not be devalued simply because it is dance, which seems to be a common conception amongst many. Cyndi maintains her classic sound, whilst also incorporating modern beats and sounds, without needing to pretend that she is Britney Spears or Pink. She proves that she still has it. She’s still cool and she’s not going anywhere soon. That “F*ck it” attitude is alive and well!

Here is Cyndi Lauper’s latest single, “Into the Nightlife” for your viewing pleasure and look for reruns of her appearance on Graham Norton on BBC America:

For those looking for some classic Cyndi, “True Colors” is that touching ballad from the 80s that is without a doubt one of the prettiest and touching songs of both that decade and even today.

Popularity: 18% [?]

It was announced today that the US government closed Washington Mutual today, making it the largest bank failure in American history. Normal business operations will continue, as JP Morgan and the FDIC have come in to rescue the bank.

Months and months ago, I posted that WaMu would not offer paperless statements for their credit accounts. Calls and letters did not convince them to even make my account a special case. After expressing that the use of paper statements was bad for the environment, I still got nowhere. I expressed to them that all my other banks and credit issuers, including, ironically, JP Morgan Chase, provided me with paperless statements.

Well, it looks like karma has gotten back to WaMu. Think of all the money they could have saved by switching over customers to paperless statements.  All the cost of paper and postage could have been used to fight off this failure. Though, it is hard to see another bank fail, as it shows the further demise of Wall Street due to poor decision making by Republicans, I get a little sweet pleasure in knowing Washington Mutual, the paper waster and trash producer, has failed!

Popularity: 19% [?]

In its second week of official competition amongst 20 dancers (now 16), So You Think You Can Dance continues to deliver brilliant and artistic dance performances within the context of a reality competition. Sadly, the talent on the show may appear cheapened by the reality platform used. However, the program stears away from the celebrity used in Dancing with the Stars and the dramatic fights used in many cable reality talent competitions.

So You Think You Can Dance is provides a medium to witness great dance talent without the overbearing commercial airtime used in American Idol. AI’s product placement and over the top conflict between judges, hosts and contestants takes away from the talent and the performance. Fortunately, SYTYCD has avoided product placement and consists of judges that actually judge the dance numbers. The show does not rely on conflict between judges and it really maintains that the show is about dancing. The judges are knowledgeable and share this knowledge without necessarily needed odd comparisions that Simon Cowell used.

Cat Deeley, the program’s host, is a fun and energetic host from the UK. She is charming and a bit cheesey at times, but steers away from a Ryan Seacrest cockiness. She realizes she is not the star of the show and that the show is about the performers.

Despite the fact that the show fills in a two hour time slot on Wednesday’s with a bit more fluff than is actually needed, the dancers on this show learn a style in a short time, only to deliver wonderful dance numbers that are touching and visually stimulating. The creativity of the choreographers is a sight to be seen. The rotation of choreographers and dance styles week in and week out, keep the show relevant and unique each time.

Overall, So You Think You Can Danceis the savior of summer television programming. It combines all the proper elements for a modern talent competition. For those that reality tv leaves a poor taste, but enjoy creativity and dance talent, this program should be given a try. To avoid that reality tv feeling, avoid the results show if needed. The Thursday results show includes solo performances by those put at the bottom for the week, which allows a platform for even more creativity. Give the show a try in the dullness of summer TV.

(Photo provided by The Ryan Thomas Collection. All rights reserved.)

Popularity: 17% [?]

As today’s pop culture is flooded with unflattering images of females celebrities, I was taken back and impressed with Katherine Heigl today. Last year, Heigl was awarded an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Grey’s Anatomy. This year, she has requested her name be pulled from the list of nominations. She released the following statement explaining her action:

I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization…In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials.

This great display of modesty complements actions Heigl took last year as she strongly against her former co-star on Grey’s Anatomy, Isaiah Washington, when he made anti-gay comments to fellow actor T.R. Knight. Maintaining a touch of class and dignity in Hollywood seems a rarity. Such actions by Heighl remind us of the days of classic Hollywood figures. I personally applaud Heigl’s honesty and integrity. It certainly takes a real character to step down from receiving such an honor.

Popularity: 17% [?]

A random walk around downtown San Francisco found me in the middle of a Jewish festival celebrating the opening of the new San Francisco Contemporary Jewish Museum. The new museum is moving away from traditional museum culture, by focusing on the changing expression of Jewish culture, rather than on the history and struggle of Jews worldwide. The facade of the this new museum is a beautiful display of modern architecture set directly across an old, traditional Christian church. A perfect combination to depict, not only the diversity of the city, but the forward thinking of both the museum and the people of San Francisco.

The small alley dividing these two very different buildings is a vivid depiction of San Francisco’s history and future. It shows the city as place of forward thinking dreamers who moved here during California’s Gold Rush in pursuit of something bigger and better for themselves. Connected by a common dream of a better life, San Francisco provided a place for diverse groups of minorities to prosper. This museum brings attention to great San Franciscan Jews, including Levi Strauss and both of California’s state Senators, Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein. The museum’s director, Connie Wolf, describes the museum’s focus:

Tradition and history in isolation does not connect to our daily lives. What you want is to not be thinking about history and tradition as something over there, but you want to be engaged with how does it impact us. How can we strive to make the world a better place?

If you are visiting or living in San Francisco, the new Contemporary Jewish Museum opens Sunday, June 7th in the heart of downtown. More information can be found at www.thecjm.org.

To see another interesting and fascinating museum display from the Jewish Museum of Berlin, click on the Fashion & Arts page.

(Photo provided by The Ryan Thomas Collection. All rights reserved.)

Popularity: 19% [?]

Sex and the City- The Movie Reviewed (Small spoiler below)

Standing amongst a sea of teenage and quarter-life girls with their token gays waiting to see the midnight premiere of Sex and the City, The Movie, the cult following of four women in their forties is shocking at first. However, looking at the television series and now the movie, it makes sense that the storyline of these women has captivated so many women of all stages in our modern age.

Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha are new archetypes of the modern woman. In a post-women’s lib world, these women depict the results of such efforts. Though the movie lacks a strong storyline, and instead crams a television season’s worth of fluff, puns and chaos into a 2.5 hour movie, it successfully presents modern women with a plethora of examples of what it can be to a be a woman.

A successful writer, lawyer, art dealer and PR rep of the Big Apple afford young women a clearer vision of career and personal growth intermixed with traditional feminine ideology of family and marriage. Increasingly, it is important for impressionable young women to realize they can have both a career and a family, if they choose. Furthermore, it is important for women of all ages to realize that it is alright if traditional feminine ideology does not suit their individual lifestyle.

This is what Samantha’s character and storyline in the movie portrays successfully. As Samantha attempts to fulfill traditional ideas of living for love, rather than solely herself, she realizes that she prefers the freedom of herself. The “me” factor. She abandons a unfulfilled and saddened life where she feels stuck at home as a traditional “housewife” in Los Angeles. The film ends with her turning 50, being single, successful and living the socialite life in New York City. The important part here is that she is happy with that and shows that this independent lifestyle is a perfectly fine selection for women. She is not punished in the storyline, like films of decades past where older, single women were treated more like old hags rather than fulfilled and happy members of society. Living to live rather than living to find a man is a pivotal pinpoint of Samantha’s character and a vital element that audience members should pick up on.

The overarching importance of a film like this, which relies on audience loyalty rather than cinematic quality and/or excellence, is the defining of a new type of womanhood, or rather the destruction of a single traditional ideal of womanhood into a flood of choices and options. Each of these options lead to differing places and viewers see the struggles, and they see the benefits.

Sex and the City reminds viewers that being single at 30, 40 and 50 is okay and, in actuality, can be beneficial for the idea and fulfillment of one’s self. Happiness can come from more than getting married, having a child and staying at home. At the same time, it is okay to desire traditional feminine archetypes. There are options and women are empowered to create them and choose them.

Sex and the City, The Movie fulfills America’s incessant need to overindulge, going for a second helping when the final meal was more than satisfying. However, the presentation of four successful, hard working, fun women living varying lifestyles in the nation’s biggest city is imperative in a society that continues to present young women with conflicting ideas of womanhood.

Popularity: 21% [?]