On October 11, 2009, I marched the streets of Washington D.C. as part of the National Equality March. I didn’t march just for the visibility that over a hundred thousand people would bring to the streets of our Capitol. I also didn’t march for the speakers that would greet us at the Capitol Building. Nor did I march because it was a beautiful day in Washington D.C. (though it was perfect weather). I marched because I believe in full equality.

I marched so that everyone living in this country has the same access to the legal protections that are afforded to others in this country. I marched because I believe that equal rights should be applied to everyone, not just one subset of society. I marched with my friends who are trying to adopt, but have many hurdles in front of them to make a family. I marched with my partner of ten years who doesn’t have the same right to make our family whole, like others in this country. I marched with my straight best friend, who constantly reminds me that our sexuality does not define us, but is just a part of who we are. I marched because, while I don’t support war, I do support a person’s right to choose to fight for their country, regardless of their sexual orientation.

I also marched as a way of showing my pride in the progress that has been made. I marched by the White House, and shouted out for full equality, and knew that someone was listening. I marched with thousands of others who knew that today we were closer than we have ever been to real change happening at a federal level. And I marched to organize.

Today I am energized to bring about change that will provide full equality to every person in this country. We can no longer allow the continuation of the George Orwell version of equality in this country. We can no longer deny a person their right to love the person they do; or their right to raise a family; or their right to their belief system; or their right not to practice a religion; or their right to fight for our country.

This is why I marched. This is why I will continue to march.

Note: In Texas, we are working to keep each other informed of activities, and share ideas with each other through the Equality Across Texas network (www.equalityacrosstexas.com). Details of Congressional District Action Teams can be found at the website, or through our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=174521789383

James GLBT Issues equality, washington-dc

Last night, Chris and I did a marathon watch of the latest five-part series of Torchwood. The shows aired earlier in the week, and I just didn’t find the time to watch them through the week, so I thought “I’ll just start Day One and Two tonight, and finish the rest tomorrow and through the week. Well that didn’t happen, and around 4AM we finished watching Day Five.

I liked it, though I have a lot of questions about the “what happens next” in the show. (Note, if you haven’t seen the show, don’t click “more” (due to spoilers).) Read more…

James General Interest torchwood, WTF?

Specifically this blog. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been trying to determine what I wanted to do with this blog. When I first started this (as a LiveJournal blog), the purpose of the blog was to record my thoughts about what is happening in my life, and the lives of my friends. I kept it up for a while, but then as more and more people started to read (and comment) on my blog, I started to begin to self-censor more, and over time the blog lost its original focus. Hence I started to think what now.

One of my thoughts was to continue to make commentary about issues that occur in my life, and the issues that affect me. This would mean that the focus of the blog will take a different direction, and would be less focused on my thoughts and feelings (though these will definitely influence my writings).

I also started to think about how often I would write, and more importantly who I would be writing for. Initially my goal  would be to write at least once a week, hopefully more. My audience? Well I am going to assume that there is not one, and this will hopefully limit my desire to censor out my thoughts or feelings. I can’t say that this is the best strategy, but it will be  a different one. For now, it is what I have to offer.

James Blog Bits

Weather Frisco, TX (July 10)
CURR 83 Clear
FRI 101-77 Sunny
SAT 102-77 Hot
SUN 104-77 Hot

James General Interest weather

Guess What?!?!

I’m bowling for Big Brothers Big Sisters and I need your support. I have set a personal goal of raising $500 in sponsorships to help my team (“Bad Apples 1”) in the BBBS Employee Bowl for Kids’ Sake event on July 17, 2009. Can you support me?

Your contribution will help raise funds for BBBS, and the many programs that BBBS does to impact the lives of our youth throughout our community. Any amount is welcome, and you can contribute by clicking on this link and making your contribution now.

As many of you know, and some of you may not, not only do I work for BBBS, but Chris and I also have been matched with our Little Brother since March 2008. For me, this has been an incredible personal journey, and continues to impact my life in a positive way.

If each person that receives this email could donate $10.00 then I could easily meet my goal. Of course, donations of any amount are always welcome, and I’m very happy to exceed my goal should that opportunity arise. Can you support my efforts for Bowl for Kids’ Sake today?

Your support is appreciated, and I encourage you to forward this email to your friends, family and colleagues to seek their support for this Bowl For Kids’ Sake program.

For information on the Bowl for Kids’ Sake program, please visit the website at www.bowlforkidssake.org.

Thank you for any support you can offer.

James Nunn

James General Interest BBBS, BFKS

Today is my birthday. I am 41.

As many of my friends email, facebook or twitter their birthday wishes to me, I got to thinking back (as one does from time to time) to the years that I have seen come and go in my past. I realized today that each year seems to be going by faster than the previous one, and the things that I hoped to do “when I was younger” either are no longer important, or I am getting to “that age” where these may not be an option to continue to pursue. Many of these “wish items” have been replaced with others, which have been achieved, and today I am in a better place than I was when I was younger (however many years that may have been).

I used to look at people who are my age (again when I was younger) and think that I’d never get to be that old. I also remember the first time that my mother made the announcement that “40 was the beginning of the best years of my life” (she has since made the same statement for 50, 60 and now 70). I wonder if that is what the “younger generation” think of me when I interact with them, even though I still think like a 20-something in many way.

I’m grateful that I have been able to be the person that I am today at the age of 41. I’ve definitely done a lot with my life, and I know there is a lot for me to continue to do. I’m also thankful for being able to spend my birthday with my best friend and partner, and of course our two pooches (neither of whom know what a birthday actually is).

So why the post? Not really sure, apart to say thank you to all my friends and family for your birthday wishes. Your friendship and love have made the last 41 years a joy, and I’m looking forward to at least another 41. Maybe I need to start that book before the life becomes a passing memory.

James Reflections birthday

Great title, no? I’ll come up with something snappier as the days progress but for now, this will do. After arriving in Melbourne, we got to our apartment and found that it would not be available until after lunch (we landed in Melbourne around 8:30 AM), so we dropped off our bags and headed down the street to look around, and find some lunch. My first observation of being in Melbourne for just a short time. It was the same, but different.

We found a place to eat called “Alpha Cafe” which had an incredibly good Pumpkin and Pesto soup, and our first “latte” since being in Oz. Both were very pleasing. After we wandered around a little in the city, we headed back to our apartment to check in and get settled (and most importantly get a shower).

After wandering around a little more and reacquainting ourselves with some of the stores in the area, we meet up with my friend Richard for a drink over at the new Federation Square. One word describes this place for me, “Wow!” Where Federation Square is now, used to be an old railway station called “Princes Station” and as I later came to find out was where these two horrible looking buildings built in the 50’s were (the Gas buildings). Now it is a vibrant square with a totally modern look that appears to be a very popular place for people to meet and hang out.

After a couple of drinks with Richard, our friend Tony made an apppearance and we headed off to dinner and to catch up. We ate at the “Chocolate Buddah” (a noodle bar / Japanese style place), and the food was really good. The evening was getting a little cooler, but sitting out on the patio under the heaters was extremely pleasant and we had great company, so what did it matter.

At this point, I think I calculated that we’d been awake (for the most part) for approx. 48 hours and we were ready to crash, and after walking back to our apartment that is exactly what we did.

James Australia, Travel melbourne, Travel

It’s been a while since I blogged, and I had hoped to blog more as I prepared for our journey back to Oz, but alas this did not happen. So in an effort to make up some lost ground, I am using my time (at 6:30 in the morning) wisely.

So for those that don’t know, Chris and I are in Australia for our vacation and to visit with family. It’s hard to comprehend that it has been just on 9 years since I was last home, which is another reason why I was prompted to blog.

After having our first flight cancelled, we left stormy Dallas on Wednesday. The trip from DFW to Los Angeles was somewhat uneventful, only just long enough that my butt was numb by the time I got on the ground. I’m not sure why, but I’m always more nervous when flying American Airlines, and I’m not sure if that is because they really just don’t care about their job (“we are here for your safety” (i.e. not customer service)) or if it is something else.

Arriving in LAX we were greeted with the hustle and bustle of people running trying to make connecting flights (our flight was late, and people had paper-thin margins of time to get to their next flight). We headed over to the Tom Bradley International airport to check in for our flight, and the way we got there was by shuttle that ran across the tarmac. I thought Chris was going to pee himself … he was that close to the planes. TBI is going through major renovations, so we arrived at a location that had wires hanging from the ceiling, and the air conditioning running at 300% (it was perky). We grabbed some dinner at The Daily Grill (quite good for airport food), and watched the few people with face masks wander around downstairs. We also took advantage of grabbing some duty-free booze, which was actually a bright thing to do, and then headed over to the gate for our flight.

On board the A380 we were really impressed with the layout, the style and the staff of Qantas 94. The plane was not completely full, and Texas Eric was able to keep his own seat between Chris and I. The “380″ is very well designed for the traveller. The seats are more comfortable (although after 14 hours, the butt does start to wonder what it ever did wrong to you to deserve this), and the personal entertainment system was brilliant. It even has the option of Sky Cam (which is not that exciting when you fly during the middle of the night for most of the night) which was great when we departed and landed, and pretty awesome when we were coming in for landing. Chris even snapped a video of the landing (post link) through the eye of the Sky Cam. The food was pretty good, and the new ‘Q bar’ is actually a very clever idea, as it gives you the opportunity to get up and wander, and get a drink or snack when needed. It seems to have kept the aisles clearer than other flights I have been on, as the staff only have to do a couple of trolley runs for the main meals.

After landing, we got through immigration (Chris actually took the same amount of time as me to get through, even though we were in separate lines), and then we had to wait a while for our bags and then to clear customs. Then we both walked through that sliding door, and we knew that we had made it home to cold Melbourne.

James Australia, Travel Australia, Travel