As summer winds down and back-to-school season approaches, families are gearing up for the annual shopping spree that brings fresh notebooks and sharpened pencils. However, this excitement can be overshadowed by realities of our current economy, including rising costs and inflation, impacting budgets that make essential items more difficult to afford. 

According to the National Retail Federation, families with children in elementary through high school plan to spend an average of $874.68 on clothing, shoes, school supplies and electronics, the second-highest amount in the survey’s history. For Los Angeles families, specifically, tighter budgets and cuts among school systems may equate to fewer school-supplied tools and further add to the back-to-school shopping list, putting a significant strain on family budgets.  

Here are some tips to help families manage back-to-school costs effectively:

Create a budget and stick to it. Whether your child is headed to elementary or high school, having a plan and prioritizing the essential items is a crucial first step in the back-to-school process. Determine how much you have to spend and then categorize the items on your list. For instance, focus on the necessary academic supplies such as notebooks, pens, pencils and backpacks, then consider secondary items like clothes, shoes and technology. If there is excess money, you can add fun items like stickers, fancy colored pens, or the latest and greatest electronics. For high school students, look into the school’s laptop or technology program. Working with a financial adviser can help you create a comprehensive budget that covers not only back-to-school necessities but also supports effective financial planning throughout the year. They can provide insights on cost-cutting, how to make the most of your resources and identify areas where you can save, leading to a more efficient and stress-free shopping experience.  It’s important to create strategies that last all year long, as there are always going to be surprises out of our control, including rising prices. 

Include your children in the planning. It’s never too early to discuss finances with your children. Involving them in the budgeting process can be a valuable, educational experience, as it not only teaches them about financial planning but also helps them understand the value of money. This is also a great opportunity to discuss needs versus wants and encourage them to prioritize their needs and to understand the concept of trade-offs. For example, they might have to choose between getting a new backpack or lunchbox and reuse the one they already have from last year. These small decisions can add up and have a big impact on the overall family budget.

Take an inventory check. Before heading to the store, take stock of what you already have. Go through last year’s supplies to see what can be reused – any leftover pencils, folders, etc. Items like backpacks, binders and even clothing may still be in good condition. This simple step can significantly reduce the number of new items you need to purchase, saving money and reducing waste. 

Shop strategically. Look for discounts and sales that can help stretch your budget further, such as:

Cast a broad net when you’re seeking discounts. Utilize websites, apps and browser extensions that offer coupons or cash back.

Take advantage of back-to-school sales. Plan your shopping around these dates to maximize your budget. Waiting until the last minute typically means you pay full price.

Look for generic or less expensive brands of supplies.

Buy school supplies in bulk with items used frequently like notebooks and pens. 

Search for local community organizations and libraries for back-to-school supply drives.

Prepare for unexpected expenses. It’s crucial to plan for unexpected expenses that can arise throughout the school year. These might include costs for school trips, extracurricular activities or last-minute supplies, such as project materials or replacement items. Setting aside a small emergency fund dedicated to these unforeseen expenses can go a long way and teaches your children a valuable lesson in financial preparedness.

Thinking Beyond the School Year: Allocating Funds for Future Education

Saving money allows you to ultimately invest that money into your future objectives or long-term strategies. While the goal here is to manage costs of supplies that will last the duration of your student’s calendar school year, by employing strategies to save money on that shopping, you can allocate more funds toward long-term education savings plans, such as a 529 account. These savings can significantly impact your child’s future educational opportunities. Working with a financial adviser can help you create and manage these savings plans effectively.

Nikki Macdonald, CFP, is a financial adviser at Northwestern Mutual.

(StatePoint) — The excitement of a new school year unfolds each year when families flood the superstore aisles to buy classroom supplies, tape after-school schedules on the fridge and organize carpools with friends.

Common to each family is a desire for children to remain healthy, active, and ready to learn.

To prepare children and teens to be at their best – physically, mentally, socially and emotionally – the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends regular visits with the pediatrician, as well as immunizations that help keep all family members healthy. Recent outbreaks of measles, a highly contagious disease, have shown how quickly some infectious diseases can spread within a community.

“The best way to strengthen a child’s immune system and keep them healthy is by getting them vaccinated,” said pediatrician, Dr. David M. Higgins. “An illness like measles can keep children home and away from school and activities for days. Immunizations allow children to enjoy learning, playing and getting together with friends and family.”

As of June 13, 2024, a total of 151 U.S. measles cases were reported this year-to-date in 21 different states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These recent measles outbreaks have affected unvaccinated people. Choosing to not vaccinate your children not only leaves them susceptible to measles, but also exposes other children to this potentially serious disease. This includes infants who are too young to be vaccinated and those who are unable to be vaccinated due to other health conditions.

“Everyone in our community deserves to be healthy, and part of being healthy means getting immunized for all illnesses, including influenza and COVID-19 and, if eligible, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). It benefits all of us if every child in our community is vaccinated, because it means that all of us are more likely to be healthy,” says Dr. Higgins.

Families can also stop the spread of infection by encouraging hand washing with children throughout the day. Help or remind them to wash their hands:

• Before eating (including snacks)

• After a trip to the bathroom

• Whenever they come in from playing outdoors

• After touching an animal, like a family pet

• After sneezing or coughing if they cover their mouth

• When someone in the household is ill

The AAP calls for the immunization of all children and adolescents according to its policy, Recommended Immunization Schedules for Children and Adolescents Aged 18 Years or Younger, United States. More information can be found at healthychildren.org.

“Your pediatrician can answer any questions about recommended vaccines and when your child needs them,” Dr. Higgins said. “There is a schedule for their recommended timing because that is when research has shown they are most effective during a child’s development.”

By JOSIE HUANG | LAist — Historic Filipinotown in Los Angeles is home to a celebrated mural about the Filipino American experience, one of the largest and oldest of its kind in the country. But the depiction of one figure is bringing the artwork fresh attention and leading to accusations of transphobia.

Featured on the colorful mural, along with labor leader Larry Itliong and musician APL.DE.AP of the Black Eyed Peas, is the Filipino pop singer Jake Zyrus before he came out as transgender.

A growing chorus of voices, including Zyrus himself, say the portrait should be changed.

The singer

Zyrus had been added to the mural during an 2011 update, fresh off of becoming the first solo Asian artist to have an album reach Billboard’s top 10. Acclaimed appearances on “Glee” and “The Oprah Winfrey Show” made him one of the most famous Filipinos in the U.S.

pic.twitter.com/5hVp2YYgfh

— Jake Zyrus (@jakezyrus) January 10, 2022

Then in 2017, Zyrus came out as a trans man to a mixed response from fans. In the seven years since, as he’s worked to reintroduce himself as a singer to audiences, his name and image on the HiFi mural have not been updated to the alarm of some community leaders.

“I feel that it’s very important to address deadnaming, to address transphobia,” said Eddy Gana, co-founder of the Filipino American arts organization Sunday Jump.

Earlier this month, Sunday Jump made a post about the mural on Instagram tied to Pride Month, sparking impassioned discussion. Gana, who is trans and non-binary, belongs to the camp that wants the mural updated as soon as possible by removing the singer’s portrait and mention of his former name and creating a new painting “to reflect Jake Zyrus today.”

With transgender rights under increasing attack across the country, Gana says there’s urgency to put a stop to deadnaming.

“It leads for us as trans folks to contemplate our very own existence, leads to depression and anxiety to be in a world where we feel like that we don’t belong — and we do belong,” Gana said.

What does Zyrus want? His management company has not responded to requests for comment.

But in a letter written by the singer and shared by Sunday Jump, Zyrus urged the mural’s designer and local leaders to replace the current portrait of him with one representing his “true self.”

Out Now! Glimpse of Us @sushitrash – @jakezyrus x @CheesyFbaby COVERhttps://t.co/QyNmVNRFox pic.twitter.com/bcwUJ6Qv8Z

— Jake Zyrus (@jakezyrus) September 10, 2022

“I would hate to see a process that’s initiated where the conversation is stacked, where it’s Eliseo versus a whole bunch of people who are shaking their fists and demanding we need change right now,” Virata said.

But addressing the deadnaming is not a new ask, according to community leaders who say they’ve been working on the issue for years with little traction until Sunday Jump’s social media post this month.

Now the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, the mural’s steward, and the office of Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, say they want to plan next steps with community organizations.

“It does take community to push this issue, to really light a fire under it and make it right,” said KimmyManiquis, executive director of the community group Search To Involve Pilipino Americans.

Maniquis said she cherishes the mural, which friends and family helped to paint in the ’90s as part of a community effort, because of the care that went into capturing “the cultural richness and resistance that comes with our history.” But when the deadnaming of Zyrus was brought to her attention about two years ago, she said it was imperative to find a fix.

The local Filipino American community now has a clear opportunity to show support for trans people, Maniquis said.

“When it’s convenient, we embrace LGBTQ identity and trans identity,” Maniquis said. “Then when it becomes really complicated politically, I don’t think we necessarily ally very well.”

How the community chooses to act could become a case study of sorts.

“We won’t be the last community dealing with deadnaming as part of murals, right?” Maniquis said. “What we do in this moment is actually really important.”

The artist

Eliseo Art Silva, the prolific and well-known artist behind the mural, said it’s important to know what Zyrus’ wishes are.

But he added: “It’s not up to me, you know, it’s not really up to me.”

Silva said he can’t retool the mural he started in 1995 until there are multiple community meetings, funding is secured and a design plan decided. He added he is also booked up with work, which includes restoring the right half of the 150-foot-long mural (Zyrus’ image is on the other half) and painting a fresco at a neighborhood Catholic church.

While asserting his openness to change, Silva also revealed he had his parameters. Pre-colonial Philippine folklore inspired him to locate Zyrus next to Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao on the mural so they could represent the first man and woman. Repainting Zyrus throws off that concept, he said.

“I cannot just disrupt the narrative,” Silva said. “It’s going to compromise the integrity of the entire mural.”

Silva said he is open to replacing Zyrus with a notable Filipina and painting a new likeness of him elsewhere on the mural.

Another idea, Silva said, would be to keep the current image of Zyrus while adding a new portrait of him. But critics of this proposal say it’s transphobic for Silva to treat Zyrus as two different people and to still use his former name.

Silva said he was frustrated and saddened by the controversy, noting he’s shown support for the LGBTQ community with the inclusion of gay Filipino Americans such as the artist Alfonso Ossorio, as well as a babaylan, a shaman from the pre-colonial era who was typically a woman or trans.

Silva said the mural is being unfairly attacked when there are so few like it that honor Filipino American culture and history.

“They should campaign for more murals, instead of trying to bring down this one mural we have in L.A., you know what I mean?” Silva said.

The community

Joe Virata is a retired college administrator who helped guide the creation of the mural nearly 30 years ago and, more recently, made a short film about the historic significance of the artwork.

He expects a community discussion over what to do with the Zyrus portrait will take months and inflame passions.

“I think that we’re going to run into some challenging conversations that include artists’ rights, community rights, historical context,” Virata said.

He wants a broader swath of the Filipino American community to weigh in on the controversy. From his perspective, the current portrait of Zyrus should be preserved as a “snapshot of a particular moment.”

“I would hate to see a process that’s initiated where the conversation is stacked, where it’s Eliseo versus a whole bunch of people who are shaking their fists and demanding we need change right now,” Virata said.

But addressing the deadnaming is not a new ask, according to community leaders who say they’ve been working on the issue for years with little traction until Sunday Jump’s social media post this month.

Now the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, the mural’s steward, and the office of Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, say they want to plan next steps with community organizations.

“It does take community to push this issue, to really light a fire under it and make it right,” said Kimmy Maniquis, executive director of the community group Search To Involve Pilipino Americans.

Maniquis said she cherishes the mural, which friends and family helped to paint in the ’90s as part of a community effort, because of the care that went into capturing “the cultural richness and resistance that comes with our history.” But when the deadnaming of Zyrus was brought to her attention about two years ago, she said it was imperative to find a fix.

The local Filipino American community now has a clear opportunity to show support for trans people, Maniquis said.

“When it’s convenient, we embrace LGBTQ identity and trans identity,” Maniquis said. “Then when it becomes really complicated politically, I don’t think we necessarily ally very well.”

How the community chooses to act could become a case study of sorts.

“We won’t be the last community dealing with deadnaming as part of murals, right?” Maniquis said. “What we do in this moment is actually really important.”

This article was first published by the LAist and is reposted here with permission.

By GISSELLE PALOMERA | CALÓ News — The most successful telenovela in history is back on our TV screens through Prime Video in 240 countries and territories worldwide. After a more-than-historically successful run “Yo Soy Betty, La Fea,” returns as “Betty La Fea, The Story Continues” for a 10-episode series premiering July 19. 

The series starts off with la original, Beatriz Pérez Pinzón, better known as Betty o Betty La Fea (Ana María Orozco), narrating over the scene of a funeral where she says: “Finalmente me fuí de sus vidas.” 

It’s not actually her own funeral, but a dramatic segue into her return 25 years later. Since the show, Fernando Gaitan, Colombian screenwriter and producer of the original series, has passed away. His legacy outlives him through the revamp of this series, produced now by Mauricio Cruz Fortunato. 

Seconds into the eulogy, Betty knocks over the casket as it’s being lowered to the ground, to which queer presence, Hugo, or Huguito (Julian Arango), fulfilling the sassy gay man trope once again, responds with: “Con ustedes: Brutty La Fea,” introducing her as the same lovable bruta or Klutz we all grew to love over the first series.

Betty and Armando reunite after separating, while their daughter is off studying fashion in New York. The new sequel picks up where Ecomoda, a previous show spinoff, leaves off. In Ecomoda (2001-2002), Betty and Armando welcome daughter Camila into their lives and embark on the journey of balancing parenthood and success at their family’s company. 

Once the funeral is over, Betty’s father, abuelito Hermes Pinzon Galarza (Jorge Herrera), picks her up along with Betty’s longtime friend, Nicolás Mora Cifuentes (Mario Duarte), welcoming him back on screen with the same dorky, lovable and slightly annoying friendship with Betty. Hermes makes a one-line comment suggesting that Betty should hurry so they have enough time to leave flowers on her mother’s grave. This is a shocking departure after news outlets reported last summer that Dona Julia was set to return to the series. 

In this sequel, the underlying theme is that of a broken family in need of unity, after the loss of a family member, and Ecomoda, their family’s fashion corporation, going through a financial crisis. ‘Mila,’ or Camila, (Juanita Molina) comes in as one of five new characters as Armando and Betty’s daughter. Mila and Betty are somewhat estranged and the first episode shows a much closer relationship, with Mila referring to her dad as ‘Armandaddy.’ 

Following the family member’s death, a video is played regarding how assets will be divided in relation to Ecomoda. To everyone’s shock, Betty is appointed as the new president of Ecomoda, booting Armando out of the position after a short, two-year run as the fashion company president. 

Speaking of assets, without the presence of the OG “cartel de feas,” now only consisting of Bertha Muñoz (Luces Velásquez) and Sandra Patiño (Marcela Posada), the show would be a lot more drama and a lot less comedy. 

Sandra comes out as queer, adding more valid on-screen representation and stating that she finally felt safe to come out because of Betty’s allyship and encouragement to be true to herself. 

Main character and problematica, Patricia Fernandez (Lorna Cepeda), also returns to the sequel, bringing the same attitude to our screens, but with a big update– she’s married to a rich viejito. 

The first episode wraps up with a heartbroken Betty reading a letter her mamita wrote to her from her deathbed, giving her the courage to continue fighting the good fight she’s always fought to be independent and courageous. 

The series does not miss and in fact continues to do justice to feminism as its central theme and embracing oneself in the face of corporate greed and family troubles. 

The new series is faithful to the original series, using flashbacks to set the scene for many meaningful and painful memories between Betty and Armando. 

Among other characters that returned to the new series are: Marcela (Natalia Ramirez), Freddy (Julio Cesar Herrera), and Saul (Alberto Leon Jaramillo).  

The series is now available on Prime Video.

By GISSELLE PALOMERA | CALÓ News — Drag performers came together at the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) to close out Pride Month, hosting a discussion on drag and how to create safe and inclusive spaces for the BIPOC and AAPI communities. 

“I do what I do, so others can do it too,” said Foxie Adjuia, one of three panelists for the  Symposium on Empowerment in Pride Spaces. “I’m in transpersonal disciplines, and I’m going to be utilizing drag as a way to impact my community in a positive way,” added Adjuia, a drag performer on The Boulet Brothers’ TV series, “Dragula.”

The symposium was dedicated toward building community, resilience and acceptance through an interactive drag performance with Adjuia, Robbie Osa and Mahalia Nakita. 

During the discussion, Adjuia, Osa and Nakita asked questions to respond themselves and ask input from the audience. On the question of how to utilize Pride as a form of liberation and keep it in alignment with the civil rights movement of the LGBTQ community, Adjuia said that Pride is about chosen family and about unchaining ourselves from the hegemony that a lot of queer and Black, Indigenous and People of Color get indoctrinated into. 

“[Pride] is an act of liberation in and of itself and it’s an act of self-actualization,” Adjuia said. 

Adjuia opened up about how it hasn’t always been easy to embrace Pride and overcome the adversity that comes with this identity. “What really got me through the darkness was my community and their act of Pride, connection with each other and uplifting energy.” 

They performed their speech about community connection and added that they believe that Pride is not just about partying, but about embracing the struggle that started with the 1969 Stonewall Riots. This was a pivotal point in LGBTQ+ history. 

Using the spirit of Pride to overcome adversity  

“LGBTQ+ awareness is a challenge for a lot of students, especially if they don’t understand how to judge certain situations because they are special ed,” said Yuri Jimenez, special education teacher. “So I have to create conversations and lessons to create that space where everyone feels accepted.” Attendees of the event responded to the questions, drawing from their own experiences.

“[BIPOC Drag Queens] get that double combo of being racially profiled as Latino and gay,” said Osa, a drag performer and behavior analyst. “I found that drag is a platform to dismantle those stereotypes.”

Osa is an alumni of California State University, Long Beach, who now dedicates her time toward building inclusive and accepting spaces in education. She uses drag as a form of art that relays political and meaningful messages. 

“Tolerance comes with strings attached, and acceptance means fully [embracing] who you are, your faults and loving you unconditionally,” said Osa. 

Promoting equality and inclusion

“We are all part of different groups within the [BIPOC] community and each community needs a little bit of representation [in Pride spaces],” said Nakita. 

“As a therapist, I’m always making sure that I am creating affirming spaces for whatever identities walk through my door, and making sure that I am educated and can provide them with resources and support,” said Jennifer Jiries, who is a queer therapist and social worker based in Long Beach. “We heal in community, so we need to have spaces that actually support healing and connection.”

By GISSELLE PALOMERA | CALÓ News — “El Paisa” will be featured nationally as part of the 2024 PBS Short Film Festival starting Monday, July 15, shortly after winning the award for Best LGBTQ+ Short at Cannes International Film Festival. In its 13th year, the PBS Short Film Festival features 15 independent films chosen for their impact and reflection of American life, culture, lived experiences and family dynamics. 

The film continues its successful run across Los Angeles film festivals, sweeping awards for Best Short Film, Best LGBTQ+ Short Film and several Jury Awards.

The film is a product of the Latino Public Broadcasting. The Digital Media Fund, designed to provide resources for independent Latin American filmmakers to create digital short form programs for online distribution in collaboration with an existing public television platform such as PBS. 

The Digital Media Fund prioritizes submissions in the genres of science, biography, history, health, personal storytelling, art, cultural documentary and narratives. The fund allocates between $10,000 and $30,000 dollars for the projects, depending on the proposal. Submissions are now closed and will reopen next year. 

“El Paisa,” is an East L.A.-set coming-of-age story featuring an unlikely duo that begins to deconstruct the traditional expectations and roles of gay men within Latin American culture. 

Film director Daniel Eduvijes Carrera says the film is reminiscent of his own story as a queer son of immigrants who struggled to embrace his own identities as he grows up on the unforgiving streets of L.A. riddled with barrio gang violence. 

Carrera says he felt completely isolated due to his queer identity growing up. In a director’s statement, he says there was some level of support from his Latin American identity within his own family of nine siblings, but when it came to embracing or even understanding his queer identity, he was completely at a loss. 

It wasn’t until Carrera walked into his first gay vaquero bar on his 21st birthday and witnessed the embodiment of masculinity entwined with queer culture he only dreamed of as a kid that it made sense to him that his queer identity could in fact co-exist with his Latin American identity. 

Carrera is now an accomplished voice in filmmaking, using his perspective and lived experiences to create stories that deconstruct the societal norms that marginalize queer people within Latin American cultures. He has gained notable fellowships, grants and prestigious recognition for his voice in the filmmaking and entertainment industry. 

The film will be available to watch across all PBS platforms that include the PBS App, YouTube and PBS.org.

This story was produced by CALÓ News, a news organization covering Latino/a/x communities.

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles is honoring champions of the LGBTQ+ community and celebrating the music of three iconic divas at its annual gala fundraiser Sunday, June 30 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

Celebrating our history through the music we love

GMCLA’s “Solid Gold” show will feature the music of superstars Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, and Whitney Houston, performed by the chorus’s 150 members in front of a live band with dancers. The show will include a special three-song medley joined by stars from the Drag Race universe Priyanka and Latrice Royale.

Immediately after the show, the party will move to GMCLA’s annual Gala Fundraiser, where they’ll honor Senator Alex Padilla and his wife Angela Padilla with their Civic Voice Award, and the HBO series We’re Here with their Artistic Voice Award.

GMCLA will honor Senator Padilla for his decades of work in politics as an advocate for immigrants, community building, the climate crisis, and voting rights. They will honor Angela Padilla for her work on mental health issues through her organization FundaMental Change. GMCLA will recognize We’re Here for shining a light on the impact of anti-LGBTQ legislation on the community in the South.

Alex Padilla, U.S. Senator, California.

“We deeply honor Senator and Mrs. Padilla for joining us at the Gala,” says GMCLA executive director Lou Spisto. “Each of them has dedicated many years of their life’s work to make our region a more vibrant and inclusive place, and to make the lives of all who live here healthier and safer.”

Spisto says the “Solid Gold” show also honors artists who have made an incredible contribution to the community:

“We can hardly imagine music that doesn’t play a significant part in our lives. These great artists span many decades, the 60s, 70s, 80s, into the 90s and of course, Dionne Warwick continues to inspire us today,” he says.

Powerful choral tribute

For anyone who’s never seen the GMCLA perform, Spisto describes it as an overwhelmingly emotional experience.

“When 150 men sing together, they create a beautiful noise that’s really powerful, and it reaches across the footlights in a way that makes it hard not to feel a connection and an emotion,” he says. “When predominantly men sing love songs to and about men, simply singing those lyrics becomes very powerful, and you won’t experience that anywhere else.”

“We celebrate our community as much as we celebrate music,” he says.

The fundraising Gala supports all the work that the GMCLA does across the community. GMCLA works with the public school system to provide choral programs and empowerment programs in high schools through its Alive Music Program, which has reached more than 85,000 public school students over ten years. The Chorus also performs more than 30 free public shows across the community every year.

Spisto says these programs reflect the GMCLA’s commitment to building up the community.

“GMCLA has changed hearts and minds for 45 years now. GMCLA has participated in the movement to speak about who we are, sing about who we are, and fight for our rights,” he says.

“Things have become easier and we don’t live in the world of 1979, and it certainly differs from the world we faced when AIDS devastated our community. But we still face tough times, and we still need voices like this chorus to stand up for the Greater Community.”

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles: Solid Gold and Gala Fundraiser will take place at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and Ballroom, 300 E Green St, Pasadena, CA, Sun June 30, 3pm. You can purchase tickets at https://www.gmcla.org/

GMCLA’s Ongoing Mission

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles: Solid Gold and Gala Fundraiser take place at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and Ballroom, 300 E Green St, Pasadena, CA, Sun June 30, 3pm. Tickets at https://www.gmcla.org/

It’s hard to imagine what the current female-driven music scene would be like without Mary Timony. From Sleater-Kinney to Haim, from Angel Olsen to Mitski, the influence of Mary Timony is in every note being played, every word being sung. On her new solo album, “Untame The Tiger” (Merge), with its sly nod to Joni Mitchell, Timony has brought her many years of musical experience to the fore, resulting in what is easily her most accessible release. Beginning with the incredible six-plus minute opener “No Thirds” and continuing through the first single, “Dominoes,” and gorgeous numbers including “The Guest,” “The Dream,” and “Not The Only One,” Timony is assured to keep listeners purring along. Timony made time for an interview shortly before the album was released.

BLADE: Mary, I’d like to begin by talking to you about your musical lives in D.C. and Boston. I went to college in Boston in the early 1980s and was constantly amazed by the bands of the era such as Mission of Burma, Human Sexual Response, and ‘Til Tuesday. I moved to D.C. in the mid-1980s to go to grad school, and at the time, the music scene there was dominated by go-go music, and a smaller indie music featuring BETTY and the late Tommy Keene, among others. What do you remember about the music in D.C. as someone who grew up there?

MARY TIMONY: That’s interesting. We kind of did a switcheroo. I’m from D.C. and I moved to Boston. (In D.C.) I learned, as a teenager, about rock shows and rock music from being involved in the punk scene, the post-hardcore scene of kids here. Those are the shows I went to in high school. Basically, the Dischord (Records) bands and stuff. I saw every single Fugazi show from when they started in ’87. Before that, whatever was happening in 1985, hardcore shows by Swiz and Soulside and Kingface and I loved Ignition. Other than that, I would go see bluegrass out in Virginia and I loved go-go. I would go to see (go-go bands) Rare Essence and Trouble Funk. I was very into that stuff; that was really exciting. I think I liked go-go the most out of all of it, actually [laughs]. I would go to DC Space and 9:30 (Club), mostly for local (acts). I don’t think I ever saw BETTY, but I was a teenager then.

BLADE: Was the active music scene in Boston in the early 1990s part of the appeal for you when it came to relocating to Boston to attend Boston University?

TIMONY: The reason why I went there was because I wanted to go to a music program that was in a big university, in case I didn’t wanna study music the whole time, which is exactly what happened. I studied classical guitar for a year and then I didn’t really like the program much, so I transferred to study English. I found out about the (Boston) music scene from friends. We went to The Middle East (nightclub) and TT’s (T.T. The Bear’s nightclub). Then after college, I ended up living right down the street from The Middle East and I was there constantly.

BLADE: Good old Central Square! As a performer playing in bands including Autoclave, Helium, and Ex Hex, and as a solo artist with her own band, it’s not unreasonable to say that Mary, you are someone who plays well with others. 

TIMONY: [Big laugh.]

BLADE: What makes you such a good team player?

TIMONY: I didn’t know I was [laughs]. I’ve gone back and forth between doing solo stuff and being in bands. Mostly, I’ve done projects where I’ve written a bunch of songs and I’m trying to…I haven’t done a ton of collaborative stuff really. Ex Hex was fun because it was more collaborative. Wild Flag, the same thing, totally 100% collaborative in every way. But Helium was really my thing, but I got some great people that totally influenced it. I’ve always been doing my own thing but tried to find really good people. Music really is about connection. It’s never as good if it’s only one person’s vision. Usually, if it’s good it’s good because of the connection between the musicians. Music is a social art form, I think.

BLADE: “Untame The Tiger” is the title of your new album. In 1999, Joni Mitchell titled her album “Taming The Tiger.” Are you, in any way, making a nod to Joni?

TIMONY: A little bit because I am a huge fan. I have been since I was 18. But, it sort of came to me because I have a song called that on the record and I’m sure that probably came from ripping off Joni Mitchell. Then I just thought that’s a cool name for a record. Then I thought, “Oh, shit!” [Laughs] It’s already been taken! Then I thought about it and then I forgot about it. Then I thought about it again and finally, I was like, “It’s OK. It’s a little bit different.” And I love her!

BLADE: I’m currently reading Ann Powers’ book “Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell,” which comes out in June.

TIMONY: Oh, I’m definitely going to have to read.

BLADE: Yes, please add that to your reading list. “Untame The Tiger” is your first new solo studio album in 15 years. Are there things you write and sing about on your solo records that might be out of place on an album you would record with another one of your musical outfits?

TIMONY: Yes. That’s why this ended up being a solo record. I guess it was because of the tuning of my guitar. They were more or less finished songs. I wanted the songs to sound kind of acoustic. I also wanted to play with a bunch of musicians who I really love. All those things just made it seem like a solo record. If I’m writing for a band, like Ex Hex, which is basically the other band that I do right now, they’re not finished. I bring them in (to the band members) with that band in mind.

BLADE: I love the lush instrumental section on “Thirds” and the psychedelic sounds of “Looking For The Sun” and “The Guest.” Were there things you were listening to while writing the songs for “Untame The Tiger” that were inspiring to you?

TIMONY: I was listening to a lot of music, a ton of stuff. I don’t ever try to purposely emulate anything very often, but I can’t help it. I’d rather be influenced by stuff without really thinking about it too consciously. I always have loved listening to The Left Banke’s instrumentation and The Moody Blues’ string parts. Most of the string parts come from trying to emulate The Moody Blues [laughs] or The Left Banke. I’m obsessed with The Left Banke.

BLADE: “Walk Away Renée,” right?

TIMONY: Yes. This guy, Michael Brown, was such a genius. He wrote so much stuff as a teenager. His dad was a string arranger. Anyway, I love those string parts. I was listening to this prog-rock band The Strawbs and this early (Ronnie) Dio band Elf. (The Flying) Burrito Brothers and The Byrds, too. I love Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span. Richard Thompson and I was really obsessed with Gerry Rafferty’s early solo record called “Can I Have My Money Back?” I love that record. I was listening to it a ton when I was arranging the songs.

BLADE: Why was the song “Dominoes” selected as the first single from “Untame The Tiger?”

TIMONY: I don’t know. I let other people tell me [laughs]. I really hate sequencing records and I hate choosing singles. I’m just too close to it. I can’t tell what people are going to like or not. A lot of times, the ones that I like are not the ones that other people like. I asked (the people at) the label and they suggested that. I think it’s more poppy sounding. Dave Fridmann mixed that one and “Don’t Disappear” and he’s a genius mixer. and these mixers are always very pleasing and accessible sounding. I think that has something to do with it, too.

BLADE: Earlier, we talked about your long history of playing music with others, which reminded me of your guest spot singing “All Dressed Up In Dreams,” written by gay singer/songwriter Stephin Merritt for his band The 6ths’ “Wasps’ Nest” album. 

TIMONY: He’s such a genius!

BLADE: How did that come about?

TIMONY: When I moved to Boston, for a year I lived with Claudia (Gonson of Merritt’s band The Magnetic Fields), who is his drummer. I lived in a group house in Cambridge. I was friends with Claudia, and Stephin lived a few blocks away. She told me he was making this record with guest singers they wanted to go over and sing on it. I went over there one day and he taught me the song and I sang on it.  I think he’s one of the best songwriters of the last 50 years or whatever.

BLADE: I completely agree. As someone who has collaborated with Stephin, are you aware of an LGBTQ+ following for your own music?

TIMONY: I don’t know. I think maybe a little bit. I’d love that. I love everybody who can connect with it, because all I’m trying to do is connect with people.

HOLLYWOOD – The 96th Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, will take place on Sunday, March 10 at new early time 7 p.m. EST at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles. The ceremony will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and broadcast live on ABC.

Depending on whether you are an “Oppenheimer” lover or a hater, the Academy Awards this year will come off as either a blast, i.e. as in nuclear explosion, or a bomb, i.e. as in the atomic kind.

Spoiler alert: “Oppenheimer” is set up to create scorched earth against all its competitors. 

If you are attending an Oscar party and filling out your predictions list, you will do very well if you mark “Oppenheimer” down the line. (But uncheck it in the Best Supporting Actress category. Love you Emily Blunt, but, no.) 

Here is what an LGBTQ high visibility evening would look like: “Barbie” would win Best Picture because there was Kate McKinnon, and what self-respecting LGBTQ person does not appreciate pink? It would just edge out “Anatomy of a Fall” or “Maestro,” which feature bisexual main characters. “Anatomy of a Fall” would win Best Director for Justine Triet to make up for the Best Picture snub, however. 

Best Actor would go to Colman Domingo for his portrayal of gay civil rights icon Bayard Rustin, just edging out Bradley Cooper as the bisexual Leonard Bernstein. Two-spirit Lily Gladstone would edge out Annette Bening as the iconic Diana Nyad (Lily might actually win this, though Emma Stone is coming on strong). Sterling K. Brown would win for gay Clifford Ellison in “American Fiction” and we would ogle runner-up Ryan Gosling as Ken because even though Ken is presumably straight, we gay boys know the truth.

Lesbian icon Jodie Foster would win playing a lesbian character in “Nyad.” “Nimona” would win Best Animated Feature. “The ABCs of Book Banning” would win Best Documentary Short Film. “Barbie,” “Maestro,” and “May December” would duke it out as front runners in the screenplay categories.

None of those are likely to happen, however, with the exception of Lily Gladstone, as mentioned. Oh, and Billie Eilish may win for best song. That won’t be a particularly LGBTQ moment, however, as Eilish does not like her sexual orientation being talked about, so she won’t mention it, and we won’t either.

Because the Oscars are preceded by so many other award shows and programs, many populated with Academy voters, there usually are strong indications as to who really will get what. This year, that message has been a strong sweep and one name emerges above all others. Cue explosion: “Oppenheimer.”

It is the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the brilliant physicist who led the Manhattan Project during World War II. Oppenheimer’s complex personality is challenged as he is recruited to head the Manhattan Project, the top-secret effort to build the atomic bomb. With five Golden Globe Awards, seven BAFTAs, eight Critics Choice Awards, the Directors Guild Award, The Producers Guild Award, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards, its dominance coming into the Oscars is clear.

Out magazine observed, “It’s been a great year in cinema for LGBTQ+ actors, directors, writers, films, and characters.” It has been. Unless the Oscar awards show producers specifically call that fact out, it may go unnoticed, however, and LGBTQ representation may be minimal. The announced presenters so far do not scream queer, with the possible exception of our favorite mom-of-a-trans person, Jamie Lee Curtis.

This is the year when we enjoy the concept of “it was an honor just to be nominated” LGBTQ-wise. It may be the year that we just appreciate that we don’t win all horse races just because we are LGBTQ or the horses are queer.

The Academy loves to be unpredictable, however, so you never know. Rainbows and unicorns may emerge. I wouldn’t bet on it.

But, Academy, come on, surprise us.

My prediction is that in the morning after this year’s ceremony, we may be social media-ing #OscarsSoStraight, and Out magazine’s “hope that the 2024 Oscars could potentially be the most queer- and trans-inclusive ceremony ever” will have gone up in a cloud of atomic smoke.

Oh well. At least you should do well at your Oscar party.

*****************************************************************************************

Rob Watson is the host of the popular Hollywood-based radio/podcast show RATED LGBT RADIO.

He is an established LGBTQ columnist and blogger having written for many top online publications including The Los Angeles Blade, The Washington Blade, Parents Magazine, the Huffington Post, LGBTQ Nation, Gay Star News, the New Civil Rights Movement, and more.

He served as Executive Editor for The Good Man Project, has appeared on MSNBC and been quoted in Business Week and Forbes Magazine.

He is CEO of Watson Writes, a marketing communications agency, and can be reached at [email protected] 

“We said that people had The Monster, because they had that look,” activist Valerie Reyes-Jimenez, said, remembering how people in her New York neighborhood reacted when people first got AIDS.

They didn’t know what to call it.

“They had the sucked in checks,” Reyes-Jimenez, added, “They were really thin…a lot of folks were saying, oh, you know, they had…cancer.”

“We actually had set up a bereavement clinic where the kids would tell us what they wanted to have when they die,” Maxine Frere, a retired nurse who worked at Harlem Hospital for 40 years and was the head nurse of its pediatric AIDS unit said, “How did they wanna die?”

“Nobody wanted to come on,” said former New York Gov. David Paterson, who in 1987 was Harlem’s state senator.

At that time, Manhattan Cable Television gave legislators the chance to do one show a year. “So I decided to do my show on the AIDS crisis and how there didn’t seem to be any response from the leadership in the Black community,” Paterson added.

These unforgettable voices with their searing recollections are among the many provocative, transformative stories told on Season 3 of “Blindspot,” the critically acclaimed podcast. 

“Blindspot: The Plague in the Shadows” is co-produced by the History Channel and WNYC Studios. The six-episode podcast series, which launched on Jan. 18 and airs weekly through Feb. 22, is hosted by WNYC’s Kai Wright with lead reporting by The Nation Magazine’s Lizzy Ratner.

The show is accompanied by a photography exhibit by Kia LaBeija. LaBeija is a New York City-based artist who was born HIV positive and lost her mother to the disease at 14. The exhibit, which features portraits of people whose stories are heard on “Blindspot,” runs at the Greene Space at WNYC through March 11.

If you think of AIDS, you’re likely to think of white cisgender gay men. (That’s been true for me, a cisgender lesbian, who lost loved ones to AIDS.)

From the earliest days of the AIDS epidemic, most media and cultural attention has been focused on white gay men – from playwright and activist Larry Kramer to the movie “Philadelphia.”   

“Blindspot” revisits New York City, an epicenter of the early years of the HIV epidemic.

The podcast reveals stories of vulnerable people that haven’t been told. Of people of color, women, transgender people, children, drug-users, women in prison and the doctors, nurses and others who cared and advocated with and on their behalf.

“Blindspot,” through extensive reporting and immersive storytelling, makes people visible who were invisible during the AIDS epidemic. It makes us see people who have, largely, been left out of the history of AIDS.

Wright, 50, who is Black and gay, cares deeply about history. He is host and managing editor of “Notes from America with Kai Wright,” a show about the unfinished business of our history and its grip on our future.

Recently, Wright, who worked as a reporter at the Washington Blade from 1996 to 2001, talked with me in a Zoom interview. The conversation ranged over a number of topics from why Wright got into journalism, to how stigma and health care disparities still exist today for people of color, transgender people and poor people with AIDS to the impact he hopes “Blindspot” will have.

“I came to work at the Blade in 1996,” Wright said, “the year after I got out of college.”

He’d done two six-month stints at PBS and “Foreign Policy.” But Wright thinks of the Blade as his first proper journalism job.

From his youth, Wright has been committed to social justice and to understanding his community. Reporting, from early on, has been his connection with social justice. “I often say, journalism has been my contribution to social justice movements,” Wright said.

His first journalistic connection to the Black community came when he was 15. Then, Wright became an intern with the Black newspaper, the Indianapolis Recorder.

“That’s how I got the [journalism] bug,” Wright said.

Since then, Wright said, he’s worked almost exclusively with media that have a connection with the community.

Wright grew up in Indianapolis and went to college at Emory University in Atlanta. He didn’t intend to be a journalist, he wrote in an email to the Blade. At Emory, he studied international politics.

Wright’s life and work changed direction when he began working at the Blade. “I was a kid,” Wright said, “I’d just come out. I used journalism to find out what it meant to come out.”

Wright, when he came to Washington, D.C., was, as he recalled, just a kid. He didn’t know anyone in D.C. and there was a Black, queer community. This helped Wright to come out. “I couldn’t have told you that at the time,” he said, “but in retrospect I can see that I moved to  D.C. to come out.”

Journalism was Wright’s way of finding his way through coming out.

“I didn’t know if the Blade was hiring,” Wright said, “I just walked in.”

He didn’t have a deep resume but he had a lot to say. The Blade hired him and immediately put him to work reporting on AIDS.

“It was a pivotal cultural and political moment – a pivotal moment for the community,” Wright said.

That year, when Wright began working with the Blade, life-saving treatments (early drug cocktails) were emerging for AIDS.

“There was no way that HIV and AIDS wouldn’t become a central part of my journalism,” Wright said, “I really wanted to report on it.”

With the emergence of treatments, white gay men with health insurance began to feel that they were turning the page and that AIDS was no longer a death sentence.

“But, as a reporter, I was meeting Black gay men who were going into emergency mode about the AIDS epidemic,” Wright said.

Black people, poor people, drug users and others without health insurance and access to treatment were still dying and transmitting AIDS. “‘This is getting more and more dire,’ the activists said,” Wright recalls.

They told Wright, “The rest of the community is starting to turn the page. We can’t turn the page.”

In D.C., Wright could see, through his reporting, the racial discrimination in the community at large in the AIDS epidemic, and in the queer community.

Two things are true simultaneously, Wright said, when asked if there is still stigma and discrimination around HIV and AIDS today.

“Science has made so much progress,” Wright said, “It’s no longer necessary for any of us to die from HIV.”

“I take a pill once a day to prevent me from catching HIV,” he added, “I can do that. I am a person with insurance…with a great deal of social and economic privilege.”

But many people in the United States don’t have health insurance, and exist outside of the health care system. The divergence in treatment and stigma that he saw as a young reporter in 1996 are still there today, Wright said.

“The divergence in class and race has grown even more profound,” he said, “among people of color, young people – transgender people.”

Wright hopes  “Blindspot” will make people who lived through the epidemic and whose stories weren’t told, feel seen. And that “they will hear themselves and be reminded of the contributions they have made,” Wright said.

The queer press plays an important role in the LGBTQ community, Wright said. “We need a place to hash out our differences, share stories and ask questions that put our experience at the center of the conversation,” he emailed the Blade.

“There’s more space for us in media than when I started my career at the Blade,” Wright said, “but none of it is a replacement for journalism done by and for ourselves.”