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Hello fans!!!!!

I have been contacted by the Creative Communications Department of the Cherry Fund to assist in promoting this year’s 2012 Cherry Weekend. As a cross-promotional partner, I will be providing you with promotional and logistical information about this year’s Cherry Weekend! So stay tuned! The more I find out about the upcoming Cherry Weekend, the more you will know too!

You may or may not know that The Cherry Fund is an independent, all-volunteer 501(c)3 foundation whose purpose is to raise funds for the HIV/AIDS youth service community. Since 1997 it has raised close to $1 million for HIV/AIDS services to the community via the annual charity dance event, featuring some of the best internationally known DJ’s playing in DC’s own venues. It also generates funds needed to continue providing important financial resources to locally associated youth-focused HIV/AIDS organizations.

By aligning “A-Ron The DJ” and “Subway State” to partner with the Cherry Fund, we hope that outreach will affect even more people than before, achieving a most successful Cherry Weekend we will all remember!

The yearly Cherry event returns to the Nation’s Capital in full bloom with “Cherry 2012″! This premier dance-music event in Washington, DC will reawaken in the spring with all of the pulse and energy you’ve been waiting for. And it all goes down from March 29 to April 1, 2012.

This epic weekend of great DJs and parties not to be missed. Past DJs have included Peter Rauhofer, Oscar G, Abel and Superchumbo. This year promises to be no exception, with DJs Paul Goodyear (San Francisco), Paulo (Los Angeles), Mark Anthony (Montréal), Alyson Calagna (New Orleans) and Eddie Elias (New York). This year’s Cherry also includes a very special birthday bash thrown by prominent gay physician and noted nightlife photographer, Moody Mustafa, featuring DJ Joe Gauthreaux (New York). This infamous Saturday afternoon tea dance is known for its creativity and will feature a spoof on The Rocky Horror Picture Show!

Come to Washington to see the our city at its most magical time – Spring!! The cherry trees are at their peak and boys come from across the country to dance under the dazzle of disco balls. Remember to BOOK YOUR HOTEL EARLY!! This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Cherry Blossom Festival

A Deluxe Host Pass includes express entry to six events and many extras. An EARLY BIRD SPECIAL puts that price to only $110! For more information, visit our website at www.cherryfund.org for tickets and event info.

We’ll see you on those dance floors!!!!
::: A-Ron the DJ of Subway State
::: via The Cherry Fund

http://www.cherryfund.org
http://www.subwystate.com
http://www.facebook.com/A.Ron.The.DJ

DJ SCHEDULE – MORE TO COME!!!

Thursday, March 29
:::::::: Ignition – DJ Paul Goodyear (SF), 9pm-3am
:::::::: www.paulgoodyear.com

Friday, March 30
:::::::: Boys on Fire – DJ Paulo (LA), 9pm-3am
:::::::: www.djpaulo.com

Saturday, March 31
:::::::: Moody Horror Picture Show -DJ Joe Gauthreaux (NYC), 2-6pm
:::::::: www.djjoeg.com
:::::::: Blossom – DJ Mark Anthony (MTL), 10pm-4am
:::::::: www.markanthonymusic.com

Sunday, April 1Momentum
:::::::: DJ Alyson Calagna (NO), 4-9am
:::::::: www.djalysoncalagna.com
:::::::: Ovation – DJ Eddie Elias (NYC), 10pm-2am
:::::::: www.djeddieelias.com

I’m very, very sad to say that I cannot commit to the audition process for Mr. Gay World USA. I have a VERY disappointing and unavoidable schedule conflict with the posted filming schedule. Granted it would only be a problem if I made it past auditions, but it’s best to make room for those who can commit. I wish all of the audition participants the best! Make us proud, guys.

“Do you believe that a homosexual couple is the same as a heterosexual couple and as such should embrace the same traditions?” –Mike Rosella

There are two questions here. To answer the first, I will say that I believe a couple is made up of two individuals, regardless of their gender or sexual identity. In the literal sense, a homosexual couple is not the same as a heterosexual couple for obvious reasons. One has two of the same gender, while the other has one member of each respective genders. One set cam make babies. The other needs a surrogate or adoption. We must also be careful not to forget the couple-variations outside of those which include the transgendered population.

So in the literal sense, I say no – homosexual couples and heterosexual couples are not the “same”. However, **couples** are all *very much the same* in that we see two people (sometimes more) with souls and hearts which are drawn to each other in love and adoration. When any of the individuals in question have expressed a love for each other which defines their existence together as a unit, this is not something which can be questioned by the limitation of labels. Science fiction is one genre of literature which does an outstanding job of making these points more clear. In an episode called, “The Outcast”, Star Trek The Next Generation managed to capture a very compelling example of androgyny which sparks the philosophical pieces of this commentary. But I’ll leave that to the reader to explore. (It really is a whole conversation in itself.)

When we ask whether heterosexual couples or homosexual couples (or couples of another derivation) should embrace each other’s value systems, I think it is more a question of whether there is a willingness to understand that one’s own value system might not be the only one. If we understand that the values we hold close and are secure with may not be the only options, and we approach with careful understanding and tolerance that other value systems exist, our inquisitive nature will more often than not lead to a level of acceptance and clarity. And more productivity in this spirit is likely to follow.

No culture –should– be forced to accept the existence of another. Rather, having the education that other cultures and ideas actually exist is more important. Developing a respect that it’s “not all about my culture dot com” is of the utmost importance. If people truly want to explore information about another culture, the details are out there. One would just hope that they consult sources which lead them in a direction of truth rather than falsity. This might be a rather…optimistic way of stating it, but there is no way to force these issues. No one can be forced to understand another set of values. They have to want to understand it. They have to want to ask the questions. Making it easier for people to ask these questions of each other comfortably and without judgment and predilection is…unfortunately…still a very large challenge for us to surpass as a people. But it IS happening. Slowly…but it IS happening.

It is not that I believe that any of the ’sides’ have an inability to embrace each other’s traditions. It’s a matter of whether they are willing to know more about their fellow human beings in order to facilitate an understanding which will brings a peace and equilibrium to a growing, adolescent society who still struggles with the delicate nature of what is still very much able to be tagged as self-segregation.

“As we honor those who stood in the face of overt racism and discrimination such as Dr. Martin Luther King, we remember that people of color now have opportunities and access to equality they didn’t have before. As the gay community begins to gain more access to equality (such as gay marriage, and transgendered individuals being included in State anti-discrimination laws) how do we continue to push the boundaries of eradicating discrimination when that discrimination goes from being overt to covert?” –Melissa Pinnick

I took the liberty of cleaning up grammar for clarity. But I have known Melissa for several years. So I know what she is getting at. First, let’s clarify the definitions…as they become especially important in understanding the problem at hand. When something is “overt”, it is open and unhidden. When something is covert, it is not openly acknowledged or displayed.

You often find overt, unhidden opinions in situations where a hot topic is in debate. We see this overtness in a variety of ways, whether it be printed media, active protests, picket lines, and sometimes unfavorable behavior such as riots. When something is done covertly, the reasons can be numerous. Perhaps in covertness, there is an unspoken reason to stay hidden with an opinion. Or perhaps the opinion is at such a minority, speaking in an overt fashion about it becomes moot.

From the question, I think what Melissa is asking is how we face the challenge of when certain forms of discrimination go from being ‘vocal’ to ‘unspoken’ – which in many ways can make it more dangerous. One very efficient way for this to happen in any discriminatory topic is when a final ruling is put in place. When something is made legal, there will always be those who still consider said decision as an unfavorable one. Their discrimination being overt beforehand could potentially become covert once a majority makes their idea one of the minority. Whether they continue to covertly discriminate or change their mind over time is determined by each individual person…and is largely dependent on which legality is in question.

There was a time when people of color had significantly less rights than their white counterparts. There was a time when women could not vote. There was a time when the color of your skin dictated whether you used one bathroom over another, or a different water fountain…or even had to ride at the back of public transportation. There was a time when a bus would fill up and dismiss people of color to make room for white people. These days are supposed to be over. And in the United States, we have become a largely desegregated society in theory. For the most part, it is working. But discrimination towards women and people of color is far from over. It will be around for many years to come until the ideas fade into the optimism of our children, who don’t see skin color or sexual identity as a separator for their friends and family.

I don’t think that society in general expected more societal distinctions to raise themselves in the light of the gay, lesbian, transgendered, queer and bisexual people. Granted, ‘we’ have always been there in the distant histories of many cultures. But in a country where we were deemed by some to be unfit to live, let alone fit to marry or have children, we still face the distinct possibility of falling victim to senseless crime in certain parts of the country and abroad. There are still place where identifying as GLBTQ can get you straight up killed, just as it was for people of color or those who collaborated for equal rights on their behalf.

What is evident to me today is that society waited for certain segregating topics to quiet down before allowing the next one to come along. And in the past decade or so, this new segregation topic has become that of equality in human rights when referenced to the GLBTQ community. Can we visit each other in the hospital now? Yes. But it wasn’t always like that. Can we include our domestic partner on our medical insurance? Yes. But it wasn’t always like that either. Generations of our GLBTQ forefathers and foremothers have suffered through hideous hate crimes and the despair of losing a lifelong partner and not being able to visit them in the hospital. They have stood up for their beliefs of equality in riots and done jail time just so we could have the ‘charmed’ life we now have largely thanks to public media exposing the world to the fact that we exist. And despite all of the negative light media has given the GLBTQ community, it has still provided a net positive impact.

The best way we can continue to push and eradicate discrimination, covert or overt, for ANY topic, is to make sure our children understand history in its proper context. This means participating in their education and making sure that they understand how acceptable it is to be different. I’ll only touch briefly on this, but the most recent epidemic that has resulted from the lack of tolerance brought on in this question is bullying. Obviously human nature is to be afraid of what we do not understand. It has unfortunately become very evident that a lack of understanding exists that is so great…that children commit suicide for being made fun of for being different. Whether it’s their weight, color, sexual identity, disability, language barrier, you name it…we are not properly teaching our children that it is okay to be themselves.

If our children understand why we have fought for the equalities we have, and we make them understand it’s for their futures as well as ours, there is a greater chance they will carry on that legacy into their lives and the people they meet. Our children’s education is the key to turning covert discrimination into overt acceptance and understanding.

When did you realize societal pressures to conform to a heterosexual lifestyle influenced your decision to be so gay that you are seeking the crown/title of Mr. Gay WORLD? –CW Hardy

I have to preface this with the fact that I have met and DJ’d with CW. I know he has a sense of humor. And I have a feeling…..just a smidge of a feeling…that it comes through in this question. But not being sure, this is my response. Miss you bud!!

—-

CW, I don’t think it was that at all – ‘that’ being the respect of being “so gay” that I’m doing this. I’m the last person to put a scale on anyone’s sexuality. You are what you are, whether that be sports-bar jock or diva-queen of Sunday tea.

I guess I thought I might be a good level-headed normal-ish next-door techie nerd type guy, like I am in real life. If they aren’t looking for that I’ll know pretty quick I think.

I signed up because a few friends of mine thought it might be a good idea; that I might have something meaningful to say. I did it for them. But I also sorta did it for me. What if something I have to say ends up being meaningful? Or something that throws gay politics in a good direction? What if this exposes me to opportunities in the DJ world I’m trying to access up here? After 15 years of DJ’ing, having a 1 year dry spell is a bit sad.

It comes down to this: I don’t know unless I try. So I will come out at the end of this saying that I at least went into it with an open mind and a sense of humility. Ya can’t win them all, but you can certainly try!

Because of childhood obesity, the government plans to step in and regulate what goes into children’s mouths. Do you agree with this. Either way, please explain. –Billy Salvis

Thank you, Billy. I have to sort of take a step back here. I was raised in the military in the 80’s. And for awhile my family didn’t have much money. We kids were on free lunch a lot. And it made no difference to us. None of the free lunch kids in our school outside Sacramento were ever made fun of because many of us were the same creed – military brats, they’d say. We really did not have a lot of obese people back then. There were some. But they were few. And no one gave them too much trouble over it.

My best friend Billy actually…was poked fun at because he was one of them. He played flute. I was the skinny stick figure kid who played clarinet. We sort of bonded together I suppose to get around the whole “being different” thing.

Back then, the government made recommendations and guidelines for what schools should be serving in their cafeterias. I remember the food pyramids, The freedom, to a great extent, was still given to school districts on how they would regulate themselves. I believe that for all states, counties handled these guidelines differently. This might be one way to explain the disparities in statistics for the perceived early onset of an obese population in its early stages.

Keep in mind that science isn’t always tracking every variable in the beginning. So it’s not always going to have complete information. And many opportunities for credible answers and solutions are quickly lost and forgotten as possibilities. There is still a lot about obesity we might know or have known sooner if we started paying attention in the 70’s.

We military brats became part of the nation of latch-key kids. We had to learn to cook on our own and take care of our siblings. And all of our parents we’re pretty awesome ones, with the few exceptional bad apples here and there. Our subculture of GenX came out relatively unscathed from what was about to become a huge problem: fast food and the utter mass distribution of it. Not to mention frozen foods beginning to boom

Were any regulatory improvements from 2012 to get zapped back in time they still wouldn’t have stopped what has now become an epidemic not just in our children…but in our adults as well. Where do we think the children got it from anyway?

Billy, you ask me whether I am thinking it “okay” to escalate the privilege of choosing the contents for a child’s meal above that of the parent or the legally appointed guardian.

I have to say that this is more granular and it requires more questions to prove the point I am trying to make. Are the people currently in charge of the “healthy” children doing something right? Can we learn from them and implement their successes and make them our own in the communities where obesity has become especially problematic? Have we tried these methods? Can we? I don’t know. I am not versed in the laws or rules of engagement here.

But I can tell you that if the government does step in and claim that responsibility on their own they will basically be telling the American family that they don’t know how to cook. And god forbid the wrong culture take that as an affront to their rights as human beings to choose their actions for them, and therefore influence the lives of their children. It would become a regulatory nightmare.

It bears mentioning that the Ministry of Health in England has declared an emergency because people have forgotten how to truly cook food without the use of a box or a bag, so to speak. Food and the medication around it has been suffering a major collapse for decades now and we are starting to see the emergency come to our own side of the pond.

I believe the only thing we can do is present good evidence and make it phrased that people understand the gravity off the situation. My home state of California recently posted a notification at all McDonalds notifying customers that a specific byproduct of their cooking process (the brown in browned potatoes being one example) created a chemical known to cause cancer in specific doses. This admission should be making a lot of fast-food fans start to think. I think the forward thinking of California is one step toward the end of this battle.

But I still suspect we are a nation who will continue to be unwilling not to indulge. In this we have reached a critical decadence which is very foreboding.

Any government-chosen guidelines suggested will still allow people the choice of whether to follow. But this brings on the question of which burdens these individuals begin to experience in the way of their health and wellness. Obviously any one individual who should be watching their intake on whatever levels should be cognizant that despite fast food being the only food you might be able to afford, you are better off eating a head of lettuce and just praying that life won’t always be like this.

Sadly it remains up to the individual person to make a change for themselves and fight the obesity. For a child it is not as easy. Obese children need proper role models, but are often subjected instead to bully’s. If we want to solve the problem of obesity in our children, all of us adults need to make a stand for our own joint self confidence and be the good example many of these children need…parents or not!!!

So yes, let the government regulate what the schools see in the way of funding and food choices as long as its healthy ones. It’s school food. But when it comes to the home, unless you can prove that the child is endangered by the situation of eating their family’s prepared meals, you don’t have much of a leg to stand on. You’re better off spreading credible information and hoping that it sinks in with the right people. The best key to effective outreach is care. When people know you care about them by making suggestions that will benefit their livelihood and well-being, one tends to get a more positive and cooperative response. And then they tell their friends. And they tell their friends. And so on….

Felix Laband was born in 1977 in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. In his music he creates light, emotional, minimalist soundscapes by combining several styles and samples. The influences range in classical, jazz and old television recordings overlaid with instrumental performances by himself and other guest artists. His music has been described by the label as ‘indietronica’ and is similar in some ways to Boards of Canada and Iceland’s múm.

If the album art for “Dark Days Exit” doesn’t grab you first, I will be surprised. It’s how I was provoked into paying attention. And I’m glad I did. I knew I would like the rest of the album when I heard the first track. My fate was sealed when a vocal sample of Natalie Portman was used to finish out what would go on to be the leading single from the album, “Whistling In Tongues”. (The track would later have an LP release with an outstanding remix by Todd Terje.) You’re taken on a journey from the onset, really. In fact, I enjoy the album so often I’ve forgotten which track is which because it all blends together so smoothly. In fact I would love to see an Oscar-nominated animation flick use this album for its soundtrack.

The fact that I actually remember playing EverQuest to the tune of this album should tell you something about how long I’ve been listening to it.

This isn’t the artist’s first round, either. His first two albums were released by African Dope Records. In 2005 he switched to Open Record, and Compost Records internationally with the release of Dark Days Exit. This album easily sounds of a minimalistic approach to the layered and complex. It is truly music for the multi-tasker. The number of sounds and rhythms there for you to subconsciously memorize is seemingly in the hundreds.

Enjoy this, the eighth album I deem as great from beginning to end.

Some of you have mentioned enjoying my music selections before, so I wanted to point out my blog. It is currently covering albums I think are worth listening to from beginning to end. I hope some of the recommendations help you find a new artist to enjoy! I will be writing 30 in the series, covering albums from many periods. The first seven follow this post.

Day 1 – Poe, “Haunted”
Day 2 – “Little Dragon”
Day 3 – “Simple Things”, Zero 7
Day 4 – “SBTRKT”
Day 5 – “Beautiful Someday”, Aural Float
Day 6 – “There’s More to Life Than This”, Ben Westbeech
Day 7 – “Older”, George Michael

Consider these albums (and the ones you’ll discover through them) as great online gifts for anyone, last minute.

“Happy New Year,” I yelled out into a restaurant full I people who weren’t paying attention. Nearly no reaction for at least 2 seconds. And then it was like nothin happened.

I suppose for a year as fucked up as 2011, the ‘bang’ for your first few minutes of the New Year would have to be delayed simply to be absolutely sure it was OVER. Welcome to New York, indeed. I can say that aside from being laid up for most of my vacation and having someone’s twisted epiphanies dropped on my head while entertaining a guest…the year isn’t so bad…so far. I’m convinced that trains run late for the first month of any new year, so I don’t feel as bad when I’m late because of standing on a platform. Besides, it does give me a chance to do this.

Great. The express train is packed. Perhaps there is not a Burger King in my future this morning after all. By the way don’t lean on the subway door for support. The shit might open. Gonna have to blog surfer style.

The exercises the physical therapy guy gave me are cruelly (that was supposed to say “actually” but I guess spell check got it right for once) working. Which is nice, because the doctor gave me that look when I asked for more pain medication. As if he couldn’t tell I was kinda afraid to ask him after following what I thought were the instructions. Whatever. It’s not like I’m Nurse Jackie or House. I understand the types are out there but at least my primary doctor doesn’t really blink. He does trust me as much as a doctor can be upfront about, I think…as he’s yet to give me reason to believe otherwise. That’s good because I’m 33, not 22.

If I say it hurts….

*brief Supernatural music interlude* hurt so good…come on baby make it hurt so good

I got a new desk last night! No more 3.5-legged pirate desk! And I got my new biteguard to the tune of another four hundred bones.

I forgot my apartment key this morning. Shit. This is not album 8 for the series, but Conforce’s “Escapism” just might make it!! Perfect example of what I’d call progressive techno. As in techno, not electronica. Don’t get me started.

Happy New Year from New York City.

Quote from last night…
“Stop fucking correcting my spelling!!!”
“Who? Steve?”
“No. iPhone.”

Othersides 2011 with A-Ron.the.DJ is now available for preview and purchase on iTunes! Check out my Ping! profile here.

I went through my catalogue of 2011 releases to create a grab-bag of tracks you might have missed. Then I asked myself which ones I would play at Science Club in Washington DC if I were there right now. The range of the tracks became pretty vast and they all deserve the attention. So I hope you enjoy some new artists or see some of the ones you love already! If you throw this on a CD it will fit at 1:29:39.