too fabulous for the nasty nati.

So I stumbled upon this video of fabulous hilarity and visual fruitiness (in terms of the vid's amazing coloring and as a pun) as I was getting my usual hit of dlisted.com:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kelUCEcdO8M&feature=player_embedded#!

Real talk, I love it. Let's be honest, that's why it's on this post. Choreography was far better than I could have done (and you guys, I'm an avid fan and follower of Carmen Electra's Strip Tease Exercise videos--seriously it's good shit, don't let the word association scare you away from good things: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Urw-aPrMbqY&feature=related ) and filming was done pretty well too! The Empire State of Mind interlude got me laughing and also brought to mind early comparisons of California Gurls being the Empire State of Mind of, well. . .California. (But obviously Jay-Z and Alicia did it better because ESM was more or less universally liked--hatas, stfu--whereas California Gurls doesn't exactly hit the Bboy crowd, like at all)

But I bring up this video to the discomfort of some readers because it happens to coincide perfectly with the Gay Pride Parade here in the Nati. Unfortunately, the city of the flying pigs isn't exactly well known for its embrace of gay members of the community--after reading an article in CityBeat, I've come to realize that a lot of young gay businesspeople actually tend to move out of this city due to our lack of recognition, support or even acknowledgement of a gay community. Thus, there has been a lot of difficulty surrounding this Gay Pride Parade.

Although I don't support anti-gay sentiment, I do understand where it comes from and why it's so prevalent. I understand the religious backing and much-discussed unnaturalness/immorality backlash, especially coming from an inherently Christian part of America. But here's where I get disappointed: Young professionals are leaving this city because we're not welcoming a bit of diversity. If that's not a sign of death clear as the Dark Mark, a la Harry Potter, I don't really know what is. Big businesses, cutsey bistros, athletics, amazing stores--they all cater to serve a wide population. If you make one portion of the population feel unwelcome, other portions are bound to back out on you as well. After all, even gays have non-gay friends--hard as it may be for some hardcore conservative fanatics to believe--and word spreads, as all atendees of high school should know. We don't want Cincinnati to be known as That City, as that girl in school who only talks to her pals from preschool, because that girl is not going anywhere if she can't embrace change. The world is changing and only a wide perspective and a willingness to accept (even begrudgingly) differences will allow us to move along with it. Hopefully, Cincinnati doesn't get left in the dust of the forward-moving stampede.

Having opinions is a crucial part of being human. We should not, however, let our opinions grow so rigid, become so unmoveable, that we cannot accept opportunities for growth.

It's about balance. I love balance.