Together in Song with Orlando

While I don't sing with the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington anymore, I couldn't be prouder of my chorus brothers in Washington, DC, and from around the country. Wanted to share these.

From Orlando:

From Washington, DC:

From New York City:

I can't think of a better way to remember and honor those whose voices have been silenced, than by gathering together in song.

Why educating youth is NOT a waste of time

Responding on Facebook to an interview with RuPaul. Wanted to share.

So...I liked and/or loved about 97% of this. The part I didn't? His answer to: "Do you think it's important for the...
Posted by JR Nexus Russ on Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Let me know what you think.

- JR / Nexus

I came out in high school, in 1997

Happy National Coming Out Day!

I wanted to reshare this story from Story District's 2011 Pride show at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, for those that might not have seen it already, or for those who have who might want to share it with someone.

I told a story about coming out at my all-boys school, St. Albans, my junior year, and (I believe) being the first student to bring another guy to his senior prom in '99. I was fortunate to not just have awesome classmates in the class of '99, but a sincere brotherhood that never questioned, never judged, never made me feel like I was anything other than the classmate I'd always been before coming out. Maybe some of them knew already, but whether they knew or not, all of my class of about 75 other guys just didn't seem to care. I had an awesome class, and while I was the only out guy in the school at the time, I never felt alone because of them. Maybe it was because we were too busy just trying to make it together through the day, from classes beginning at 8am until lunch at 1:30pm, filling time with extracurriculars from 2pm-3:30pm, mandatory sports from 3:30pm-6pm (except for one season our senior year), and then other extracurriculars (aka theatre for me) after dinner until around 10pm. For whatever reasons, I will always appreciate how blessed and fortunate I was, being in the class of '99.

Also, I will say, while there was a rough patch with my parents in the story, we are closer than ever, almost two decades later. They truly love me, uncondtionally, and vice versa.

Anyway, there it is. Check out this story if you've got about 7 1/2 minutes.

So I thought I'd reshare this story that I told for a pride show with Story District, formerly known as SpeakeasyDC.

JR Russ tells true story on SpeakeasyDC stage from Story District on Vimeo.

To anyone who hasn't come out yet, just know that you're not alone. To those who've just recently taken that first step into the light, congratulations. Just because it's more common to see LGBT people in the media and maybe even in your community, I can only imagine it is just as hard, if not harder, to still take that first step yourself.

To take a leap of faith in your friends and family, or even to mentally prepare yourself for the worse but wanting to deal with that more than living an inauthentic life...that's not an easy choice. Of course, for some, it's not even a choice.

Regardless, I hope hearing my own story helps.

With love,

JR

What happens if you google "Gay" today?

Hey there,

So on their Facebook page, MoveOn.org's status just 15 minutes or so before this post was:

"Google the word 'gay'. Just do it :)"

As of the time I saw it, it had been shared 384 times, and liked 1,656 times. And this is what happens:

The rainbow visualization of the search bar also works if you Google:

• lesbian
• bisexual
• transgender
• lgbt

In case you didn't hear via one channel or another, I'll just quote the Reuters piece that pops up first in the search results:

The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a landmark victory for gay rights on Wednesday by forcing the federal government to recognize same-sex marriage in states where it is legal and paving the way for it in California, the most populous state.

You can read the rest here.

Will post about my own personal experience singing with the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington only minutes after we heard about the rulings outside the Supreme Court later, but just wanted to blog about this awesome example of Google's constant efforts to show how aware and engaged they are with the lives of their users.

- JR

At the Supreme Court for Marriage Equality

Hey there,

So this is a bit of a hip shot, a term I first learned of regarding reviews for the Capital Fringe Festival, that weren't necessarily comprehensive, but whose priority was immediacy, to get the word out and something up online as soon as possible, with integrity.

That being said, I wanted to post something on my first day on the steps of the Supreme Court, with particular interest on the outcomes regarding Prop 8 and DOMA, yesterday. And the reporters were lined up and ready, as there were a number of rulings that would be made this week.

I even changed my profile pic the night before, to once again join the Human Rights Campaign's red picture equality campaign.

Actually attended a wonderful event organized by DC Chapter of AIGA, a professional craft and design membership organization, hosted and presented by HRC, called "The Art of Advocacy", which I still have to blog about, and will do so in the next week or so.

But I digress.

It was great seeing Aram Vartian, on staff at local LGBT publication Metro Weekly with their multimedia, in action.

And there were a number of community members representing, either with signs of their own story or waving the rainbow flag with pride.

And very grateful I got to join my friend, Sklyer Mays, a friend and service member from Arkansas. He was actually quoted in this Huffington Post piece from March, among other media outlets and platforms.

Oh. And that gay mormon in the picture earlier?

One of two gay mormons who are members of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, David Baker. He's actually one of our newest members, and a fellow gaymer. I didn't want to interrupt his advocating, but he indulged me with a photo.

As did Aram, as we were calling it a day, finding out that the rulings on Marriage Equality would not happen until later in the week.

But still glad I was there. Even if to help record and document that first day, just as a member of the public. Which is honestly a bit empowering, being there with other citizens, this collection of LGBT folks, allies, interns, tourists & reporters.

There was even one guy across the street who was not in support of same-sex marriage...and that's really all the space he deserves.

And although I got to call it a day, having heard what I needed to about the issues I was primarily there for, I had nothing but respect and appreciation for the reporters who are seemingly forever poised to do their job, even if it means waiting at length, just for something to happen.

What's that quote about a well-informed electorate?

Anyway, just wanted to post this, before getting ready for day 2!!

Really grateful, on days like this, that I live in Washington, DC.

P.S. You can see more photos:

• here on Facebook
• here on Google +

A mobile Capital Pride

Hey there,

Lately I've been wondering how to live a mobile-optimized life. Yes, the bulk of this is examining just how many of my financial transactions I can make paper and plastic-less.

And so this particular post is geared towards Capital Pride. It was actually inspired after going to the website and seeing that they had an app, available at Apple's iTunes store & Google's Play store.

Obviously I had to download it and check it out. After all, a mobile app represents (if done well) represents significant buy-in from leadership as well as time and resources devoted to it's development, implementation, and management.

So, for any other app folks, check it out, let me know what you think in the comments.

My next couple of apps are actually venue specific, because they're the only LGBT establishments I know of, that use 'em. But obviously please correct me, if I'm wrong.

The first is one of my faves, TabbedOut, which you can use at Nellie's Sports Bar. It's funny, it's name
almost screams LGBT Pride. But that's just a coincidence.

What I love about this app is:

• it opens up a tab simply by providing a code, so no having to give your card
• it keeps track of your orders on your smartphone
• it allows you to close your tab via your phone, even AFTER you've left
• it even lets you split up one tab among any other friends who have the app set up on their own phone

So Nellie's. Yeah.

I actually blogged about it with a walk-through of the whole process back in January, if you want to check that post out.

The other app is a new discovery, AMI. It's a jukebox app. And I discovered it at Dupont Italian Kitchen, known as D.I.K. Bar by the locals.

It made me very happy a couple of nights ago. I realize it's probably a control thing, but it was just very nice being able to request songs from wherever I was sitting.

And last, but not least, is actually an app for people who don't want to drive, but also might want

something a little more cost effective than Uber, and more community oriented. For that, there's Sidecar.

I actually blogged about it when the service had just hit the streets of DC, in a post from April. A disclaimer, I'm actually a driver too. And if you want, you can use my Jumpstarter code, "JR14597js", for a $10 credit for signing up!!

The app provides a suggested donation at the end of the ride, which you can pay exactly, less, or more than, 80% of which goes to the driver. All drivers go through an in person training after submitting ID, registration, and insurance information, and the drivers and riders each rate each other after reaching the destination.

Anyway, that's it. Any apps you use, which you'd recommend others check out in particular, for this weekend? Please mention 'em in the comments!!

JR

DC Youth Pride 2013

Hey there,

Yesterday was DC Youth Pride, organized by the Youth Pride Alliance.

The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, was just one of many organizations which had a table set up around the Dupont Circle Fountain. In case you didn't know, I sing with GMCW, and you can check out my last post about an event we were invited to be a part of, singing at the Human Right Campaign's Out for Equality event, HRC's inaugural ball this year.

But I digress. I got there right as it was getting started, and got to catch the tail end of Tom Goss' set on the main stage.

Up after him was an adorable band from Baltimore, Basement Instinct. Check out their Facebook page here. As much as I wanted to stay at the stage, I returned to the circle to keep walking around.

HRC had a table set up along with a wheel to engage youth and adults who stopped by.

Here are some of GMCW brothers, sporting our red polos as they manned the table all afternoon.

And guess who stopped by Youth Pride and our table? Ward 4 councilmember, Muriel Bowser. In case you didn't know, she's running for Mayor. Check out this piece in the Washington Post.

Real Talk DC showed up with their van. If you're not familiar with Real Talk DC, they're a subsidiary of Metro Teen Aids, funded by DC's Department of Health.

And as it was Youth Pride, Capital Pride was present.

At the next table was the National Black Justice Coalition.

If you're not familiar with NBJC, here's the blurb from their About section:

The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) is a civil rights organization dedicated to empowering Black lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.

Got to chat with the two lovely ladies at the table, and looking forward to possibly talking to them more, particularly about their Emerging Leaders program.

The DC government was present, via the One City Action Plan (OCAP).

The OCAP has three goals, grow and diversify the District economy, educate and prepare the workforce for the new economy, and improve the quality of life for all.

SMYAL was also present, obviously. It stands for Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League, of which I am an alumn.

It provided a much needed safe space and community for me (where I also met my first boyfriend), the summer before my junior year of high school.

Casa Ruby, had a table. For those just getting to know Casa Ruby:

Casa Ruby is the first community, social and resources center run by LGBT queer Latinos in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia and Delaware.

And, small world, GMCW's last GenOUT visit was at Georgetown Day School, as part of their annual pride week activities. And when we asked the students what some of their favorite moments were, one mentioned the speaker they had just that day, an amazing transgender woman, Casa Ruby's founder and director, Ruby Corado.

In addition to the performance stage and the tables ringing the fountain, people had the chance to customize their own t-shirts. Check out my raver sister from another mister, Jen, working on hers.

And this is where I ran into one of my favorite people, Aram Vartian, who is the multimedia producer for Metro Weekly, doin' what he does best: capturing moments and telling our stories.

And just to show that half of life is simply showing up and being present, I had been walking around with current chorus president, Marcus Brown, also ex officio member of GMCW's Board of Directors so Aram took the opportunity to get Marcus' thoughts and feelings regarding youth pride and representing the chorus there.

So I captured the set up, and keep an eye out in the comments when Aram finalizes the piece.

So just some other highlights of organizations present. Here were a couple of folks with the Trevor Project who let me capture their smiling faces.

The Trevor Project was founded in 1998 by James Lecesne, Peggy Rajski and Randy Stone, the creators of the Academy Award®-winning short film TREVOR. Set in 1981, TREVOR is a timeless coming-of-age story about love, loss, and learning to be yourself.

Definitely recommend checking out their website for the rest of the organization's history, and more.

Speaking of checking out, I love that the ultimate place to check out books was present and presented themselves as a resource for LGBT youth, DC Public Library.

The DC Center, another great resource, was also there.

The Mayor's Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Affairs had a table, almost on the opposite side of the circle from One City.

DC Public Schools and the Youth Advisory Committee also participated in today's event.

And SMYAL had a couple neat engagement pieces set up. One was a photo booth, which you got to write a message to hold in the picture with you.

And the other was a board asking "who is your hero?"

Overall just an awesome day, with some beautifully perfect weather. And if you're on Facebook and you'd like to like Youth Pride Alliance's page, make sure to do so.

 It's also one of those things where when I think back to my own youth, and the world as I knew it when I graduated from high school in '99...

Whoa...how far things have come. Yes, still plenty of work to do, but sometimes when you get caught up in the day to day, it's hard to really take a step back and reflect. Just glad that I could be part of moving forward as a community through GMCW's GenOUT program.

More than anything, I value it as a chance to really get to know the youth we're visiting with. In fact my goal is to make sure that we listen to them and know more about their world, than they do about us. Because they can check out our website, and come to our concerts, and talk to us after. But that's really one of the few chances and opportunities we have to listen to them. And it speaks to one of our values in the chorus:

We honor the unique backgrounds and experiences of our members

But I digress, I'm looking forward to next year. I'm really excited because I want to see how GMCW can take our own presence to another level with fun and surprise.

But until then, I wanted to share a music video a good friend just shared with me, that was particularly timely and relevant, which I hadn't seen until this wekend, Macklemore's music video for his track, "Same Love".

Where you at DC Youth Pride? How was it for you? What'd you think of the song and video, especially if you've never heard or seen it before. And if you have any photos or videos that are online and public, please share the link(s) in the comments. You can see my album for DC Youth Pride 2013 here on Google+, here on Facebook, or here on Flickr.

And, just in case, with Flickr, if you decided to order prints, please consider throwing some change my way. PayPal's good and my email is a.way.of.life.0@gmail.com.

Also, I did not get pics of all the wonderful organizations that were there for Youth Pride. If I did not mention you in this post, please share you organization with a link to your website and any social media in the comments.

With love, yours in song,

JR

Top Ten posts from the last year

Hey there,

It's almost spring cleaning time, and even though it's already the middle of February, I still feel like 2013 just got started. And after getting back from a one-week trip to Mexico (which I still need to finish uploading photos and videos from and top the mini-blog series off), which is the first time I really got to disconnect in a significant way from tech and social media, I've been in a somewhat reflective mood.

Reflective of life, the universe, everything (bonus points if you got the reference!!), and part of that has been trying to be more thoughtful about using the information I have at hand to inform the work I do.  I like data, and particularly with social media, want to better about using it to do more thoughtful work.

And at some point, it made me wonder with my own blog, what my most read posts have been. No, this doesn't mean that I'm going to stop writing about what I'm inspired to blog about. But at the same time, I want to make sure I learn what I can from what you all find more interesting and engaging than some of the other content I might share.

That being said, here are my top ten read posts from the past year (which is about when I began to endeavor blogging a bit more consistently).

1. The Les Miserables Movie as Arts Advocacy
2. What's hate got to do with it: Last week's FRC Shooting
3. Being in a Greek chorus (I particularly love this one, because I'm in one again, in a production of Xanadu here in DC)
4. Comparing 10 DC theatres on Twitter
5. 15 minutes of fame & Trisha Paytas
6. Ingress: Creating fields within fields (although this is actually dated; this no longer happens)
7. "Success: It's not always what you see"
8. 10 links and 10,000 tweets
9. Why to only friend people you know on Facebook
10. 10 things to know about the Niantic Project

So that's that. Just thought I'd share, in case there were any posts some of you might've been interested in, but hadn't seen yet.

But that just about seems to cover most of what I write about generally: the arts, social media, LGBT issues, and geeky things every now and then.

Now I'm wondering if I should do a post highlighting my least read posts...

- JR

Behind the scenes of My Big Fat Gay Wedding

Hey there,

So just wanted to do a quick behind the scenes blog about tonight's Gay Men's Chorus of Washington concert, My Big Fat Gay Wedding.

It goes without saying that the title and topic itself is certainly relevant. Just search Google News for "gay marriage".

That aside, I got to sit in on last night's final dress rehearsal and loved the concert. It's a wonderful selection of showtunes, but hearing it performed by an all-male chorus certainly adds a different quality to most of them, like this selection from The King & I.

And although presented in concert format, with my fellow chorus brothers arranged in white chairs, as attendees to the actual wedding that will take place on stage, the order of the concert definitely gives an emotional narrative, if not a literal one.

In addition to full chorus numbers, there are a wonderful number of solos as well, including this patter number from Company.

The chorus also has a guest artist joining us for this concert, the vocally stunning Matt Alber.

I practically melted in my seat, when he ran through his first number. And he's very personable. After the dress rehearsal was finished, he shared a musical moment with us, which we got to capture through photos and videos. Here's mine.

So that's that. While I'm certainly stoked to be doing Xanadu, our other spring show coming up in March, I'm definitely bummed that I won't be joining my fellow GMCW chorines on stage for this concert.

If you are free tonight, I highly recommend you check it out, playing one night only at GW Lisner Auditorium, tonight at 8pm,

- JR

Singing at HRC's Out for Equality event: AMAZING!!

Hey there,

So I had mentioned in a previous post that the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington was performing at the Human Right Campaign's Out for Equality Inaugural Celebration.

It was amazing. We started off the evening with a flashmob-esque performance of the National Anthem. Then after one of our small ensembles performed, we wrapped up our set "Make Them Hear You" from Ragtime: The Musical.

Check out this clip of one of our small ensembles performing it in Denver this past summer, at Gala Choruses quadrennial festival. It's a clip of their entire set, but the song kicks it off

After we finished, the host for the evening, Ross Matthews kicked off the celebration. He brought up to stage our first round of political guests, Sen. Al Franken, Gov. Maggie Hassan, and Mayor Cory Booker, all phenomenal presences.

Tammy Baldwin also graced us with her presence. She was amazing.

After an interlude of music and dancing, another round of speakers came up, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, Rep. Jared Polis, & Rep. Mark Takano.

It was particularly great seeing Rep. Mark Takano speak, being the first LGBT person of color in Congress, which the Advocate had a great piece on in November, as an LGBT person of color myself.

Ross Matthews then introduced the next musical guest for the evening, Frenchie Davis. After a couple of songs, she asked a selection of guys from GMCW to join her on stage for one final number, "Seasons of Love" from RENT.

There's my big chorus brother, Marcus, singing with her up front. And she was phenomenal!!

Anyway, appearances and singing aside, it was a pleasure and a privilege to be a part of HRC's event celebrating President Barack Obama's second inauguration, with GMCW,

- JR

Performing with GMCW at HRC's Inaugural Ball

Hey there,

So it's still sinking in. I'm performing with the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, at the Human Rights Campaign's Inaugural celebration, Out for Equality.

We'll be singing the National Anthem and several other songs. We join a line-up that includes, Cyndi Lauper, Audra MacDonald, Will Swenson, and Frenchie Davis!!

And the set-up...well I took some photos and video, but don't want to spoil the surprise. So for now, you'll just have to settle for a photo of us gettings some pre-sound check notes.

I guess it's one of those things where you get so used to the rhythm of the rehearsals, and it just becomes what you do, that opportunities like this really put things back into perspective, not just the work we do as an organization, but how far we've come as an LGBT community.

Speaking of which, how's this for a timely flashback, GMCW's appearance at the We Are One Inaugural opening ceremony from 2009, with Josh Groban and Heather Headley.

Yes, there's still much work to do, but celebrations like these, being a part of history as we celebrate the second inauguration of President Barack Obama...I'm getting emotional just sitting here, taking a breath, and thinking about it.

So in about 24 hours from now...I'm looking forward to doing work I could not have imagined I'd be doing, still sharing chorale music, like I was when I was a boy soprano at the Washington National Cathedral, about a couple of decades ago.

For anyone who's there, I hope you take photos and videos, and let me know if you do. Would like to see and share 'em.

Just glad to be a part of this moment, and appreciative and humbled now, more than ever, of being a member of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington,

Yours in song,

JR

Great Charity Happy Hour for SMYAL last night

Hey there,

 So I went to my first Meetup last night. Ever.

I'd been on the site for years, but then this one came long, and I thought why not.

It was hosted by the 20s & 30s Going Out Group at Ultrabar, right at 9th & F St, NW.

And it was a charity happy hour, of which 80% of the donations collected were going to SMYAL, the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League here in DC, an organization for LGBT youth, of which I am actually an alumn.

It was a well attended event, and a great mix of folk, both 1st timers to the group, and veterans. Met a handful of people working on PhD's, as well as some tax folk, and IT people. I was the token arts & nonprofit person, it seemed, representing, which was fun. I even met someone who works at the International Spy Museum and knew a friend of mine who just started there, working with their media.

Small world, right?

It seems like most of the people in attendance were just looking to meet fresh faces, as well as find things to do. So as a SpeakeasyDC board member, I did my due diligence and suggested they check out our monthly open mic at Town Danceboutique. And, yes, I had brought our cards with me, just in case the need arose. And it did.

Speaking of board members doing their due diligence, as I was leaving and just about at the door, I was stopped by a member of SMYAL's Board of Directors, Billy Feitweis. He had actually recognized me from seeing a tweet of mine which @SMYALDC retweeted, about going to the event.

Getting ready to head to a Charity Happy Hour hosted by @20sand30sgroup, benefiting @smyaldc, which I'm an alumn of :-) 20sand30sgroup.com/events/9587866…
— JR Russ (@AWayofLife0) January 11, 2013

I obviously appreciated that he took the time to say hello and connect. And I especially love that it happened because of social media!!

So yeah good people, good cause, good times. Hoping to catch up with the new friends I made last night, as well as looking forward to the next 20's & 30's Going Out Group event. What's especially great is that even though it says 20's & 30's, a regular attendee told me that it clarified it on the website, that the group was for people who were, or simply still felt like they were in their 20's & 30's.

Which is good...I was afraid I only had 8 more years of being involved. And hey, if you're in the DC area, maybe I'll see you at an event soon,

- JR