Pridefest throughout New Mexico is more than gay and lesbian people celebrating who we are as persons.  It asks people who are not gay or lesbian to be more than tolerant.  It calls for acceptance, which is both a civil right and a human right.  And with that its time to prepare for Pride in New Mexico!

With a sizable gay and lesbian population and a scenic setting at the base of the soaring Sandia Mountains, Albuquerque has become one of the more gay-popular destinations in…

After the 5th grade graduation ceremony at Zia Elementary School, a parent walked up to my wife MaryAnn and said, "This is for you."  Here is what she gave her.

May 2011



Mr. Winston Brooks

Superintendent

Albuquerque Public Schools



Dear Mr.…

The Rapture on your mind?  Maybe not the When of it, but the Why?  To a young poet, "There was no hope unless there was a savior out in space somewhere coming for me."  Tough times.  Mary OIshi revisits where all that came from and what it meant.

From the back cover of her new book…

There are those, too, who suffer from grace emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest.

I walked into the auditorium of the Music Hall in Kansas City to set up for video interviews with three members of the Cats company. As I stopped and listened, I could hear the constant hiss of air compressors. I knew they would…

Many people call America “The land of opportunity”; few truly understand the meaning the way I do.  Like many brave Vietnamese, I was one of the “boat people” who escaped from Vietnam in 1980 to seek freedom and opportunity.  Only twelve years old at the time, I was sent alone on a small boat along with fifty other people who were strangers to me.  They too had to leave their heritage and families behind with hope to build a new life in America.  I did not know that there was a high price to…

Among my many interests, work and involvement in the Duke City I am also a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society through Relay for Life.  There are teams throughout the City looking to raise funds by various means to support cancer research and support cancer patients and their caregivers.  The team I belong to is called the Court Jesters, because we mostly work in legal support services.

Here's my pitch:  I am coordinating a fundraising event on Friday, August 12, a…

I know that many of you are looking to get out of town this Memorial Day weekend...if only for a day.  Or maybe you just need a few ideas to nudge you into taking that Subie out for a carbon-busting good time.  This piece, which I wrote for last month's…

Poems like this make me open my eyes.  The drama and beauty of life is all around us.  Merimee Moffitt runs a story by us while standing in line.  You can't help but fall in love all over again.

Merimee Moffitt lives in Nob Hill. She is a co-editor of The Rag, a monthly poetry…

"EXERCISES (such as Jogging, Nautilus, Walking, Aerobic Dancing, Stretching or Aerobic Exercises, Shadow Boxing, Skipping…

Jeffrey Moss, director for two different shows coming to Popejoy Hall next season.

   This Sunday, we unveil our 2011-2012 season to current subscribers at our renewal party. But preparations for putting a new season together have been taking place since at least September.…

This might rightly go in the food group, but I figure this sort of public service announcement should be shared with everyone.



Ice cream used to be easy to come by in the university area. The Hippo was a much-revered establishment that used to keep our bellies cool and our hippie creds current. It's been gone for ages. And there was a Baskin Robbins at Central and Buena Vista that was open for many years.  Its closing about 5 years ago (maybe longer now?) was a huge…

Because we are people there will always be crashes; as a group we are just not capable of perfect driving all the time.  But the kind of crash that claimed the life of one cyclist and left another in very critical condition last week can be made less likely.

One of the first complaints from motorists about cyclists is when they see a cyclist run a red light or commit some other traffic code infraction.  While I don’t think that cyclists should run red lights, can anyone site…

Jessica Helen Lopez speaks with more passion than just about anybody I know.  This is the title poem from her new book which is just out from West End Press.  She is reading this morning at Church of Beethoven, and…

Blind faith is a faith that leads to fanaticism and dogmatism... blind

faith is a faith that we have to defend and impose on other people in

order to feel validated and safe.

Don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements Companion Book, p. 49…

Tomorrow is a big day for UNM graduates. As some of you may have read, I’ll be among those marching in regalia. Part of my mind will be elsewhere, though.

I’ll be the first to admit that my education…

If you invited 1,975 people to your house, you'd lay down some rules, wouldn't you? We do. The hard part for us at Popejoy Hall is to create rules that don't restrict people's ability to have fun. Some of the rules we have do cause a few grimaces, so I thought an explanation might help.

We…