Friday, December 31, 2010

You may say that I'm a dreamer... I'm not the only one... Happy New Year to one and all! xxoo
3 NYE events canceled. Bye bye 2010. Good riddens! ;-)
New rule: No more emails requesting donations and how I only have 12 hours left before your organization goes bankrupt.
Wondering if I should be worried that co-pilot has feet up on cockpit dashboard.
Ok no judgments or anything but Asian people playing Japanese version of Dungeons and Dragons at the airport are just weird. Just sayin. :-p

Monday, December 27, 2010

Is it just me or are Saudi men either really really skinny or really really obese? Just saw a Saudi guy with the thinnest legs in the history of humankind.
Families - can't live with them... Can't live with them... Etc etc :-)

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Happy Kwanzaa. Today is the first day (Umoja - Unity).

Friday, December 24, 2010

Just saw a baby Jesus and camel at the Peachtree Presbyterian Church. Swear to Allah! :-)

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

I'm sorry but South Asian men just look weird with baseball caps.
I have a dream where militaries and nuclear weapons will cease to exist. Will you help me achieve this reality?
Is it just me or is it ironic that president DADT bill same day as Senate ratified START.
You know you're stuck in really bad Atlanta traffic (where every one drives) when the 2 people walking are getting to their dest faster!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

ink queers l
Don't have words for folks who are quoting MLK on the repeal of DADT. King stood for peace not endless war and destruction. And shame on democrats who th

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Harry Reid tweeted Lady Gaga after DADT vote. CNN calls them the "power couple." Lord!!
So I feel like we were JUST celebrating 2008. Crazy!!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Hate going to grocery store and walking out with everything BUT the one thing you came to get.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

As much as I live CA, I'm ready to head home. Bills, boys, and more bills await. :-)

Monday, December 13, 2010

SF truly has some "animated" folks!! Woman and man humming, singing and clapping "Patridge in a pear tree" sheesh!
RIP Richard Holbrooke. Thank you for your service and dedication to creating peace in our world.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Now entering Quam-e-Shaitan (Nation of Satan) aka San Francisco. :-)

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Elizabeth Edwards passed away this morning. V sad.
Rental car found. Disaster averted. This calls for organic home mad Santa Cruz ice cream!
I kinda sorta lost my rental car. Yikes!
Downtown Monterey has a creepy number of foot massage places. One was called "Happy Foot Massage" with a surrepticious looking older Asian man standing outside!

Monday, December 06, 2010

"I fought next to them (Muslims). There is no difference between any men or women of any faith; it's about their integrity." - young soldier in audience
in response to question about what comes to mind when you think of Muslims.
Happy Islamic New Year! :-)

Saturday, December 04, 2010

Clearly I've been traveling too much. I just tried to return a rental car to the wrong agency!! Ha!
I'll be speaking at Cal State Monterey Bay on Monday evening. http://ping.fm/ocJ0C

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Hello Saaan Diaaago. :-)
I LOVE URVASHI! She was the first out South Asian activist I ever met and her brilliant analysis on social justice and LGBT issues continues to inspire and agitate.

"My contention is that it is exactly this narrow and limited focus that is not only causing us to stall in our progress towards formal equality, it is leading us to abandon or ignore large parts of our own communities, with the consequence of making us a weaker movement."
http://ping.fm/rhph5

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

2+ hrs to drive 30 miles. I need to set up laptop AND change!! AAH!!
If you think your city has a traffic problem you haven't seen anything close until you've been to LA!!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

"Human rights need to be extended to everyone - not just LGBT people... that's why we call ourselves queer..." - gay activist in New Delhi.
Thousands celebrate queer pride in Delhi and Banglore! Reports of 4,000+ people in Delhi alone! Amazing!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

I'm always surprised and moved by straight people relating to my story of identity conflict, challenges with family support, community, etc. Spoke at Univ. of Akron today and had a lovely professor who is Zoroastrian tell me about how her Hindu husband was "outed" to his family (for marrying a Zoroastrian) and the struggles they faced together. His family eventually accepted his marriage but only after the extended family said they didn't have a problem with it. :-) Our communities are complex, diverse, strange, funny, sad... but at the end they are "our" communities after all. *smile*

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

You know you travel way too much when you can't remember if you've been to the city you just got to. Ugh.

Friday, November 12, 2010

If you thought only gay men liked Dolly Parton you haven't been to Sugarland Bar in Brooklyn where the dykes and trans boys are having drag king show and

Monday, November 08, 2010

Complete chaos at Atlanta airport. Trains between terminals not working. Thousands of people walking. Ridiculous!

Thursday, November 04, 2010

75+ folks at Agnes Scott Tonight. Met 3 lesbian Muslims and a guy who knows Queen Noor of Jordan. Amman here I come.

Monday, November 01, 2010

Oh the drama that I bring with me... But on 2nd thought why did they think this threat was because of me coming to their school? http://ping.fm/bUh15
VM threat. Event canceled. Building evacuated. Anti-Muslim hysteria at it's worst. Complete disregard about safety of queer students or speaker. Very sad.
of students or the speaker.
Why am I writing about safety/security? Because my event was canceled today because of a VM threat. But the institution could care less about the safety
Our communities must protect one another and keep each other safe because no one else will. Not the state, not the govt and not anyone in positions of power.
Thinking about safety and security and who's security/security do police and other authorities really want to protect.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

God offers one thing that is unconditional... His love. - Asher Brown's dad on CNN
When we bring a child into this world we offer then unconditional love no matter what their preference may become. -Asher Brown's mom on CNN
Asher Brown's parents are on CNN. Asher was 13 and shot himself after being bullied because he was gay.
Proud of Anderson Cooper for having a powerful dialogue with Arkansas school official who called for gay people to commit suicide.
ue story!!
At Cal Univ of PA. ? of day: Can you confirm or deny that a fatwa was issued against you? :-) Confirm! I even called the group in the UK to make sure. Tr

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Forced Marriages Prompt UK Government to Respond
http://ping.fm/RUwww
About to start presentation at Carnegie Mellon Univ in the Engineering building. My dad would be proud. :-)
Islamophobia & Homophobia - "If scripture is indeed this powerful, we’re in trouble, because scripture is invoked by intolerant people of all Abrahamic faiths — including the Muslim terrorists who plant the seeds of Islamophobia. And, judging by the past millennium or two, God won’t be issuing a revised version of the Bible or the Koran anytime soon." http://ping.fm/Gcpqn
Alleged anti-gay assault prompts anti-violence rally. "The Muslim community and the gay community are both communities that are under great attack right now, there's a lot of hate directed at both, and I think we need to stick together."
http://ping.fm/cpxlo

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Its a bird. It's a plane. No it's Osama hiding with Bush and Pocohantus in the mountain caves of Western PA! :-)
vote faith, vote freedom - it's us versus them - ad I just heard on radio from the faith and freedom coalition. :-(
Driving on inside roads somewhere along border of PA and NY listening to Christian rock. Yup, this queer Moslem is def "lost."

Monday, October 25, 2010

In beautiful but quiet and industrial Binghamton. Speaking at SUNY Oneonta tonight.

Friday, October 22, 2010

ok they have commercials advertising "bore snake cleaners" aka cloth used to clean the barrel of guns... OMG! OMG!
Wondering if I should be scared that I'm in the middle of Pennsylvania where there is a cable channel called "The Sportsmen Channel" - all about guns, hunting, bow arrows, etc. Um... Um...

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

100+ students at my talk at Bucknell University in beautiful Lewisburg, PA.
Obama will not visit Sikh temple in India because he won't cover his head and may be confused as a Muslim. Absolutely RIDICULOUS!!!
http://ping.fm/tO3hj

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Speaking to Widener Law School students about LGBT rights in Muslim countries and international recognition of LGBT rights, laws etc. Wow!
About to speak to graduate psychology students and future psychotherapists about how they can make $ with confused LGBT Muslims :-)
Guy on subway wearing bright red sneakers drinking smoothie and silently break dancing. Gotta love NYC!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Hello NYC. NYU tonight. High school friend who I haven't seen in years is coming. And several straight Muslim allies! I love NY!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Jihad is combating the inner negative. In that sense the whole of Buddhism is Jihad - Dalai Lama
The ultimate source of happiness is within ourselves - Dalai Lama
Waiting to hear Dalai Lama speak at Emory on Understanding and Promoting Happiness in Today's Society.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Back to Atlanta for 1.5 days. Indian buffet tonight; Dalai Lama at Emory tom; NY on Mon. Philly on Tues. Yay! NOT!! :-)
60+ people at my talk at Univ of IL Springfield, home of Abe Lincoln. Saw his house and Obama's old work place (state capitol).
The 1 day my hair is all messed up + 2 day no shave, I get stopped by TSA. Crazy looking witch woman also got stopped. :-)

Carleton College - October 5, 2010

Thursday, October 14, 2010

From my friend, LGBT Latino activist Andres Duque - on the recent anti-gay attack in Bronx. It̢۪s A Matter Of Hate, And A Matter Of Safety - http://ping.fm/08Gio

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Adam Lambert Too Gay for Malaysia? Lambert agreed to a set of rules, including not removing any clothing and maintaining a distance of about 25 feet between his stage and the audience. - http://ping.fm/j0DAp

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Friday, May 07, 2010

What is ".com" in Arabic?

If English if your first language, you probably take it for granted that all website suffixes - the .com's, .org's, .gov's and the like - come nicely packaged in Western characters, like the ones you're reading now.
But what if you spoke only Arabic? Or Chinese? Or Russian?

Full article from CNN - May 7, 2010

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Dalai Lama Throws Snow at Press in Washington DC

LOVE HIM!! He's really funny.. even in person... He was at Emory last year and it was amazing hearing him speak... He's such a simple, thoughtful, insightful man!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Hijab-wearing Women Rock!

Why hijab-wearing Muslim women have a real affinity for hard rock

Remona Aly in her Muse T-shirt

Hijab-weariing rock fan Remona Aly.

God gave rock'n'roll to you! So US rock band Kiss chanted in the early 90s, a cover of the original song by British group Argent. My relationship with this "divine" gift started early. At 12, I riffled through my brother's vinyl collection and emerged a fan of U2, Faith No More and Led Zeppelin.

Full Article from The Guardian UK.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

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