16 August: This Week Belongs To....

It's the middle of August and, with the GOP ticket now in place, the presidential election season is in full swing. (There's even talk, once again, of Chelsea Clinton entering into the political arena, and Christine Quinn is still the frontrunner to become the next mayor of NYC.) I'm more concerned about things like Israel's impending strike on Iran or the fact that "80% of life's most defining moments take place by the age of 35" and, having just turned 32 last week, I feel like I've accomplished NOTHING and am not sure what I've set in place for my future. 

Oh, my astrology said that this week would be replete with anxiety.

But, who does this week belong to?

Move over Brangelina, this week belongs to the newly married couple Huang Mei-yu and Yu Ya-ting, who have been together for seven years and who participated in the first gay Buddhist wedding in Taiwan (where, n.b., same-sex marriage is not yet legal).

This week also belongs to atheists for finally being recognized as existing within the cultural fabric of the world. A new poll that measured the religiousity and atheism around the world found that the number of Americans who refer to themselves as atheists rose from 1% to 5%, and, not surprisingly, the number of Americans who claim to be religious dropped from 73% to 60%. Pretty soon we'll be a viable voting block that candidates will pander to; watch out, conservatives! 

A shout out this week also goes to Me'Shell Ndegeocello, who is set to release an album, Pour une Âme Souveraine: A Dedication to Nina Simone, dedicated to Nina Simone early in October. According to Artist Direct, "[g]uests on the album include Sinéad O'Connor, Lizz Wright, Valerie June, Tracy Wannomae, Toshi Reagon and Cody ChesnuTT." Are you ready to have your heart-strings tugged squared?

Campus Pride released its stats for the "10 Friendliest," and safest, colleges for trans students; this week goes to these ten colleges, including Ithaca College (1), NYU (2), and Princeton (3), in addition to all the others. 

Tig News Update: Episode 65 of Professor Blastoff was all about Tig and her cancer (Stage 2 and invasive in the left breast). Want to send Tig a get-well-we-love-you message? Click HERE.