i am a writer, producer and shameless enthusiast who has been working in media since i was 17. i'm the editor in chief of ETonline.com and a longtime contributor to OUT magazine. ask me anything.
The Disruptor: Adam Rippon on His Goals After Olympic Figure Skating | Rolling Stone Magazine/RollingStone.com
April 2018
I spent the day with the Olympicsā breakout sweetheart star, talking politics, his lack of shame and how heās trying to translate his sudden popularity into more than just short-sighted decisions.Ā
Better a late reblog/Tumblr post than never? This kid was a lot, and I mean that mostly in a good way.Ā
Iām grateful to RS for the time and access, and still trying to figure out what else I might do with the nearly 3 hours and 50 pages worth of transcribed time we had together that are not really all reflected here.Ā
Giving myself an hour on the clock to get through this, if at all possible. (ETA: Done!)Ā
Hereās 2016.
What did you do in 2017 that you'd never done before?
I have such a great answer to this that Iām still not ready to write about. Ask me in person and I might tell you. Also: went to yoga fairly regularly and found I both could and wanted to lay peacefully in one pose or another for 5 or 10 minutes at a time.
Did you keep your New Years' resolutions and will you make more for next year?
We did in fact #GetFitToFightFascism, or anyway on days when I didnāt know how else to treat the creeping anxiety I got up and hiked to the Observatory or somewhere else so ridiculously stunning that I felt slightly reassured weād live another day. We were determined to see our BFF Jamie every Saturday night and except for weekends when one of us or the other was out of town or we had plans already for the weekend we had a near-perfect attendance record. And though I didnāt think I wrote that much, I got enough out in TinyLetter (now backposted at Medium) to add up to a decent Twitter thread last week.Ā
I always feel like next year should maybe be its own post, but for now Iām thinking about: Writing, always. Reading more. And finding a way to host maybe monthly dinners for small groups of our friends at home.
Did anyone close to you give birth?
My childhood best friendās daughter was born on New Yearās Day 2017 and we finally got to meet her last week. She is able to reach for and drink from a glass of beer so I think sheāll be just fine.
What countries did you visit?
This was a year between big adventures out of the country, but we just booked a February getaway to Puerto Vallarta to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our first date. Went back and forth to New York a few times, plus a quickie up to SF for work.
What would you like to have in 2018 that you lacked in 2017?
Confidence the pendulum will in fact swing back from fascism.
What date from 2017 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I guess the run from January 19 (Hamilton) to January 20 (bus trip from NYC to DC, with the worst possible welcome from post-Inaugural attendees) to January 21 (meeting up with so many old friends at the Womenās March). The rest is still vividly sharp but not so much tied to any specific date.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Surviving it with some semblance of hope. Making the move to a better, bigger place in Pasadena. Leading a loyal and devoted staff through a major corporate transition and many other hard challenges.
What was your biggest failure?
I have never done anything as hard as being a boss lady, and Iām still not sure most days Iāve left things at least better than I found them.
Did you suffer illness or injury?
For the first 9 months or so I got super sick every single goddamned month: a recurring case of America, I called it. Ā Overall Iāve been very lucky.
What was the best thing you bought?
The peace of mind that privilege allows when you need to pay your way out of a loud, anxiety-ridden neighborhood for the quieter (at least most days) and more serene outskirts of town. A weekly outlet and focus for my physical stress in the form of the most amazing personal trainer. A 40th birthday blowout weekend that included renting the most ridiculous house (as seen when CJ fell into the pool in The West Wing), hosting a dinner party and then pool party for so many of our friends and family.
Whose behavior merited celebration?
My wifeās, always. Because all I do these days is listen to Kesha, Iāve been thinking about these lines:
I know forever donāt exist
But after this life, Iāll find you in the next
So when I say āforever,ā itās the goddamned truth
Where did most of your money go?
The house and moving into it, the car, the trainer, the birthday celebrations.
What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Did I?
We discovered Two Bunch Palms, an old getaway near Palm Springs that soothed my soul in quiet calm ways I hadnāt realized could be so close at hand or that I needed so much. This yearās LA Pride parade became a protest and was the most joyous and community-filled day like that weāve felt in a long, long time.
What song will always remind you of 2017?
This fairly goes to Keshaās āPraying,ā but since I already wrote a whole thing about that, Iāll say Julia Michaelsā āDonāt Wanna Think,ā in part because I listened to it on repeat for so many hours in a row while flying back and forth from New York that itās kind of embedded in my subconscious: Iām not really one for drinking songs, but ā fuck it, here it comes. Heartbreak is annoying, and Iāll feel it in the morning. Swallow it down like a bitter pill. At least it will taste better than this feeling will. I donāt like myself when Iām just standing still.
Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Happier, though Iād say thatās grading on a goddamned curve for real.
ii. thinner or fatter? About the same, if trimmer and stronger in some places.
iii. richer or poorer? Close to a draw here, more or less.
What do you wish you'd done more of?
I was happiest when I was hiking, reading, sitting quietly on the couch with my wife and dog. I did a decent amount of all that but it was still to keep my head above water.
What do you wish you'd done less of?
Be on the goddamned internet. But Iām also aware that finding the right balance between awareness and mindfulness and rest and action is the most pervasive and elusive self-care challenge for literally everyone I know, so Iām trying hard not to give myself a hard time about it. And thereās probably something here to say about the betrayal and pain that came from incorrectly trusting people to be their best selves instead of being undeserving of the benefit of the doubt but I am working so fucking hard at leaving that behind in 2017.
How did you spend Christmas?
In Reno with my family and friends, bouncing between two houses full of other peopleās people (and mine) and a lot of very rich and exotic meats and liquors. The last couple years have been really hard and not well-balanced or rejuvenating visits, and this year was much better if still not without its own drama.
What was your favorite TV program?
New: Star Trek: Discovery was almost everything I needed in a show this year. Also I loved The Arrangement and found it way smarter and more complicated and fucked up than Iād expected.
New to me: I was only a little late on Riverdale but found it very enjoyable.
Oldies but Goodies: Also I watched a lot of older Star Trek, from TOS to the early movies. Everyone keeps saying next week need to do DS9, so I guess thatās the kind of geek I am proudly now.
What friends did you make or meet this year for the first time?
All but one were not new but I really loved our all-girl get-togethers to watch hockey even when we barely paid attention to it.
What was the best book you read?
I didnāt make a real resolution about reading more but boy did I. Itās just so much better than being in the world or on the internet. The ones that really stand out are Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee (not from this year, but my fave read from it), John Greenās Turtles All the Way Down, and Amy Bloomās White Houses, which comes out in a couple months. If weāre not already GoodReads friends come find me thereāIām terrible at writing reviews but I find it super helpful personally to know what yāall have read and liked?
What did you want and get?
A new house.
What did you want and not get?
A Japanese wooden soaking tub of my very own. (See below.)
What was your favorite film of this year?
We just saw Call Me By Your Name last night and now I canāt think of anything else. Though Iād say the sheer joy of Wonder Woman is still a solid contender.
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 40, and I took 5 days to basically do only what I wanted, and it did the exact trick Iād hoped for: I just enjoyed it instead of ruthlessly evaluating what I havenāt done with my life.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
What political issue stirred you the most?
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
I am going to charitably say the answer to all three of these is both obvious and tiresome. Be better, 2018.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2017?
Lots of jumpsuits and DVF, all courtesy a Rent the Runway Unlimited subscription, which also falls under where all my money went but was a ton of fun and practical in many ways too.
What kept you sane?
Remembering how many amazing women are already in my life and know exactly what I mean even when I can barely say it out loud.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Ugh, this one feels too much like work and also like tempting fate.
Who did you miss?
For the first time in a while there were frankly some people who I miss greatly but was glad didnāt have to live through this shit themselves.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2017.
Just because it could have been worse doesnāt mean it shouldnāt be better.
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Hereās what I wrote about 3 songs that shaped my 2017. I donāt think I can do much better in one quote.
I guess this is still a story best suited for Tumblr. (TinyLetter, when will you learn how to handle an image embed?)
Here goes:
Iāve written about this night before.
We didnāt go on a proper date until seven months later, after she came to another party. We were always having parties in those days. In fact, the reason we had that party on June 30, 2007, 10 years ago today, was because our friend Annie needed a place to throw herself a birthday. And because gmail is forever, hereās proof:
You never know what you are saying yes to.Ā Say yes. Say it as much as your tender heart can bear. Yes to opening your doors to anyone who needs it, for whatever reason. Yes to loving something or someone supposedly silly and trivial so much that you hang a symbol of it on your wall. Yes to what you believe in and would fight for. Yes to who you want to be even if youāre still figuring out what that means. Ā
Say yes. Say itās mine. Say I fucking love you. Say I do. Say forever and mean it even if the rest of this goddamned world is on fire. Say every anniversary matters. Say it to each other and anyone else who will listen.Ā
We write our own stories. Weāre still writing this one.
Chris Pine: The Thinker | Out Magazine
Cover Story, June/July 2013
Is Chris Pine too smart for his own good? Or just ours?
Many, many outtakes & extended thoughts were also posted:
Chris on having many flaws, the Avedonian photos taken of him for this shoot, and where heād like to be at 40; on the (excellent) indie film People Like Us; on Kirk, Spock and Star Trek: Into Darkness; on Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan; on notĀ talking about Tom Clancyās terrible politics.
Full Q&A with Zachary Quinto about Chris.
Kenneth Branagh gushing about how Chris is, like Paul Newman, a character actor in a leading manās body.
Zachary and Kenneth both contributing new adjectives to describe those blue, blue eyes.
And more thinky rambling from me about how Chris totally ruined the curve,Ā how to interview smart people, how I almost killed this interview before it began, and someĀ details either Chris or I got wrong and readers who corrected us.
Realized last night Iād never done a proper job of actually adding allllllll the outtakes and rambling Iād done about Chris Pine into my portfolio, so I spent the morning doing a little bookkeeping. (Also I never properly gave a shout out to my old friend Benoit, who asked me to come talk to his Emerson College profile writing students about a couple stories, including this one, which felt fitting to the theme.)
Just in case you need something else to do after watching Wonder Woman this weekend.Ā
trying this, finally. the first oneās about #buffyslays20, kind of, and iām still iffy on archiving them publicly but if you sign up iāll probably send it to you anyway.
In my much angrier days I read a lot of Larry Kramer, and then had the chance to work with him as an editor and an activist. Of all the things he taught me about how to use my anger to make good in the world the one I remember best is quiet and small, or as quiet and small as a loud man like Larry Kramer ever gets. Itās from the speech he made at New Yorkās gay community center in March 1987, the speech that helped launch ACT UP, the movement that changed not only AIDS awareness but health care and the concept of patientsā rights worldwide.
He said:
āI want to talk to you about power. We are all in awe of power, of those who have it, and we always bemoan the fact that we donāt have it. Power is little pieces of paper on the floor. No one picks them up. Ten people walk by and no one picks up the piece of paper on the floor. The eleventh person walks by and is tired of looking at it, and so he bends down and picks it up. The next day he does the same thing. And soon heās in charge of picking up the paper. And heās got a lot of pieces of paper that heās picked up. Now ā think of those pieces of paper as standing for responsibility. This man or woman who is picking up the pieces of paper is, by being responsible, acquiring more and more power. He doesnāt necessarily want it, but heās tired of seeing the floor littered. All power is the willingness to accept responsibility.ā
This idea is at the heart as I know it of community organizing, of leadership, of being a person who wants to leave the world a little better than you found it. Itās a quiet and small gesture to make, especially for a man on the cusp of having an immense amount of power.
This is the caption from the above photo, via Getty: US Democratic presidential candidate Illinois Senator Barack Obama picks up a water bottle cap he dropped after speaking during a rally at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, October 28, 2008.
Power is the willingness to accept responsibility. Leadership is the willingness to accept that power, and the responsibility that comes with it. Leadership is picking up little pieces of paper off the floor while the world watches.
I wrote that onĀ October 28, 2008, the day the above photo was taken.Ā
I donāt know if Obamaās farewell speech tonight was what I needed or wanted to hear, but it was in so many ways exactly the same point heās been making all along.Ā
hi. i havenāt been around these parts much this year, but i couldnāt quite let this one go by.Ā
hereās last yearās.
[note to self at end of 2017: you deleted anything you didnāt feel up to answering, so maybe go find a complete version if youāre into that sort of thing now.]
What did you do in 2016 that youād never done before?
Went to Paris, then drove around the French countryside in a tiny car, just as Iād imagined ever since seeing Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown, as a little kid. (Fewer haunted chateaus, more champagne.) Ran a 10k and only truly hated the last mile of it. Watched my wife run a marathon. Finally started reading Harry Potter, but only made it through 2.5 books before it...scared me too much to keep going.Ā
Did you keep your New Yearsā resolutions and will you make more for next year?
Last year: I vowed to prioritize watching more TV shows by and about women, and largely stuck to this and its corollary āno more whiny white guys.ā
Also, in answer to the question about what I wish I had done more of in 2015, I said (pre-Hamilton, I should add):Ā Iām sure it means something that every year my answer to this is write. It means Iām never satisfied, right?
Today on Twitter I said:Ā has there ever been a year my resolution was not "write more; complain less"?
Also, per @yayponies, we are going to #GetFitToFightFascism.Ā
Did anyone close to you give birth?
Several people we love now have more children! And several more are about to.
Did anyone close to you get married?
I...donāt think we went to any weddings this year, or missed any big ones.
Did anyone close to you die?
2016 was definitely the year for crying over people who felt so close it stabbed inside to know they were gone, from Bowie to those killed in Orlando to George Michael.
What countries did you visit?
France! It was beautiful and also intense, like more of a city than even New York but in less space and smaller streets. In many ways the general nervousness and militarization reminded me of New York City post-9/11.Ā
What would you like to have in 2017 that you lacked in 2016?
A sense of safety, both personal and global.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
In order to avoid getting a spinal tap or going on a scary-sounding drug to reduce high pressure in my skull, I got a personal trainer, finally stopped eating anything and everything I wanted, and lost 30 pounds. Then I sort of plateaued, or in fitness-speak, maintained that weight successfully for the last 4 months while magically continuing to wear ever-smaller clothes. Iāve set a goal for at least 10 more pounds by the time I turn 40 in April, because that was a random thing I told myself a year ago I could try to do but sounded impossible at the time.Ā
But I also discovered that I fucking love hiking and even running outside and generally feeling stronger. And before 2016 totally and completely went to shit, I knew looking back that would be my biggest story of the year: I finally put real work into my body, and it was worth it.
What was your biggest failure?
Outside of the never-ending churn of work emails, I have become a terrible, almost entirely absent correspondent. I almost never reply to emails any more, and even text messages often go unanswered. I am so ashamed of this behavior I can barely type it out, honestly, and yet it is somehow the greatest tiny step to take in any free moment I find or set aside for specifically that purpose.Ā
If I have failed at some point or many to write you back, know it was certainly not because of anything you said, or didnāt. Ā
Did you suffer illness or injury?
I did something of a mid-year review on my birthday where I wrote about the medical mystery in my brain that dominated the end of 2015 and first half of this year. Iām very lucky; another few rounds of check-ups found my high pressure situation so reduced it was basically now undiagnosable. Also I avoided having a spinal tap, thank fucking god. My great USC Eye Institute doc left for another city but I have a follow-up in January with a guy who basically wrote the book on neuro-ophthalmology so weāll see whether a true second opinion changes any of that.Ā
What was the best thing you bought?
Itās not that I donāt like working out with other people. Wait, yes it is. I survived a month of boot camp in 2015 out of sheer stubbornness but hated myself and my body more by the end of it than Iād ever thought possible. But in a one-on-one situation, it turns out I can just channel all that stubborn perfectionism into something meaningful. It was a massive investment, and one I plan to continue in 2017, but there is really no question to me that it was worth it.
Whose behavior merited celebration?
My wife. Did I mention she ran a goddamned marathon? In that and so, so many other ways, she is so much stronger than she thinks or believes and inspires me every day to keep going.
Where did most of your money go?
Trainer, rent, car payment, student loans. Mostly all those old familiar beasts.Ā
What song will always remind you of 2016?
āYouth,ā Troye Sivan. Sitting by a pool in Palm Springs listening to him sing and writing about him and feeling pretty goddamned blessed.Ā
not a bad view to get serious on a deadline.
Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?Ā Sadder. Thereās just no other way to say that.Ā
ii. thinner or fatter?Ā Thinner!
iii. richer or poorer?Ā Weāre being more careful about money now than we have at times in the past, Iāll put it that way.
What do you wish youād done more of?
Always: write. But I need to think a little more specifically about what that means for me right now. I run a major media outlet at which I could theoretically write almost anything, but almost never do. Part of what I most miss writing about is queerness and sexuality, but I am not totally sure what, if anything, I want to write for OUT. Should I write fiction? Should I be trying to write and report other, more politically focused pieces (either about entertainment in some way or not)? Should I do something with this TinyLetter I signed up for but have yet to use? Should I write more Tumblr posts?Ā
Oh yeah, and when am I going to do this? Itās not that I have no time, but I donāt have huge swaths of it either just sitting around waiting to be claimed. I can do this, if I really focus and prioritize. Having some kind of goal type thingie or vision here would obviously go a long way.Ā
What do you wish youād done less of?
Crying.
How did you spend Christmas?
Writing George Michaelās obit.Ā
this is the ridiculous family photo we took on a street near my parents' new house - just before my phone buzzed with the news of George Michael's death. i'm just completely heartbroken. our first conversation, first date, first I love yous - all owe something big to our gay guardian angel, as we always called him. thank you George for being queer and angry and so, so, so beautifully talented. thank you.
What was your favorite TV program?
Save Pitch!
What was the best book you read?
Probably Julia Childās memoirs, the perfect pre-France guide and also a reminder that a woman can find her way to a whole new life no matter her age. I also adored my old friend Tim Murphyās novelĀ Christodora. Highly recommended.
What was your greatest musical discovery of 2016?
This should fairly be answered Hamilton, since it took me a while to decide I was ready to jump in even if I wasnāt sure when Iād get to see it. Iām in. All in.
What did you want and get?
To spoil my wife silly on her 40th birthday, including a slightly early trip back to Paris in honor of our first conversation being about her trip there on her 30th. I am traditionally the distant second place present-giver in our relationship, but I think I adequately stepped it up this time.
What did you want and not get?
For our happiness to be as simple as finding the perfect present. A country I felt confident loved us back. My dog to feel as peaceful and calm and quiet as she does when sheās not in Los Angeles. For all the words and thoughts inside my brain to magically appear on a screen or the page without having to find the time or peace to make sense of them.
What was your favorite film of this year?
I did vow to do a better job of seeing films this year, especially big ones that I needed to consider how much work-time to devote coverage to, so maybe thatās why I feel like I have a surprisingly strong, solid list here to choose from. I donāt think I saw Spotlight until 2016, when I watched it back to back on a plane before All the Presidentās Men. (Donāt yell but: Spotlight was better.) I absolutely loved ArrivalĀ and Loving. I donāt plan to give into the weird backlash cynicism about La La Land, which I found delightful if not exactly epic.
Ultimately I think my answer here is thatĀ Moonlight and Hell or High Water touched my soul and heart and made me think the most. They are both, in distinctly different ways, about the deep, lasting curse of poverty. In Hell or High Water, Chris Pineās character eventually offers this terse motivation for a deadly bank robbing spree he has undertaken with his brother:Ā āIāve been poor my whole life, like a disease passing from generation to generation. But not my boys, not anymore.ā
For whatever reason, Iām thinking now about how some people have compared Moonlight to Brokeback Mountain. (I would have compared the latter to Loving, actually, in that they both turn very much on the passionate decisions of reticent white men acting on emotions they cannot figure out how to name.) I guess what people are saying is that Moonlight is also a groundbreaking film about sexuality, but to me what was always missed about Brokeback is that it was a film about a poor manās sexuality.Ā
Moonlight very pointedly creates a new possible dialogue to model in conversations about being black and queer - when asked what a faggot is, Chiron is told,Ā āāFaggotā is a word used to make gay people feel bad.ā And it asks an even harder question: can sexuality and our expression of it ever be separated from the sheer human need to survive other, perhaps unrelated or perhaps more complicated and threatening circumstances of race and class?
I guess I had some things to say about movies this year.Ā
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 39, and one of the only long form pieces I wrote this year actually covers that territory too!Ā
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Sigh. A Clinton presidency. Thatās not one thing, itās a million, but thatās the goddamned point, isnāt it?
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2016?
Last year I said: Iām damned determined for 2016 to be the year of the lipstick.
And actually I did pretty well on that count. Also I bought some impressively ridiculous over-the-knee boots that Iāve worn almost every day since.Ā
What kept you sane?
Was I? I still feel pretty unhinged, honestly. My staff and colleagues were actually a consistent source of stability even when there were major changes in that world, too. (Part of CBS basically sold us to a different part of CBS.)Ā
But each and every day: my wife. This marriage is the best and most important thing I will ever do in my life, and whateverĀ āworkā it may be, it pays back in sustaining my existence a hundredfold. Coming soon, allegedly: a podcast and/or Insta live series with me and @yayponies called Marriage Is Hard. (No itās not.)
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Oh hey, I finally got to introduce my wife to Chris Pine when we bumped into him at the reception after the Loving premiere/screening. (Sorry-not-sorry for the utter LAness of that sentence.) I kind of hate reintroducing myself to people I interviewed years before, but in this case: worth every moment of internal awkwardness. He has very strong feelings about cinematography, you guys. And projectionists. And cheesy grits.
What political issue stirred you the most?
I am sickened by the fact that young trans and gender-nonconforming folks are bearing the brunt of the right-wingās latest scare and hate tactics. I am not scared for my marriage headed into a new administration; I am terrified for their lives.Ā
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
America. All of us.
Who did you miss?
I miss...people. I miss Sunday potluck dinners like Ray and I threw in college, the kind that were just about people having a safe space but then really about organizing, but Iām still not sure how to create those in our lives right now in a way that doesnāt create more anxiety for us than it relieves. Iām putting this here in hopes some other folks might have an idea. Maybe Iāll even be bold enough to put it in its own post.Ā
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2016.
"IāVE BEEN PLANNING WHILE YOUāRE PLAYING.ā -- Jenny Holzer
We saw this at the Broad. Jessica did a better job of writing about it.
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Raise a glass to freedom
Something they can never take away
No matter what they tell you
Raise a glass to the four of us
Tomorrow thereāll be more of us
What is one photo that represents a moment you want to remember?
Here we are on an impossibly beautiful day in Paris after one of the best meals of my life, grinning like fools and taking photos that donāt even look real.Ā
even as we were taking this photo I knew it would look super fake. but it's not! I mean that palm tree was definitely brought in special but it was there when we went to pick up our bibs. oh yeah, we're running a 6k-but-probably-more-like-8k through the streets of Paris tomorrow along with about 35,000 other women. (and by running I mean trying not to fall too far behind the pack.) #laparisienne
left Silverlake at 2pm, drove like crazy, ran the last block from the Long Beach Aquarium parking garage to the whale watching boat just as it was about to untether, talked our way on to meet @kristin_kite & co. despite not having (yet) bought tickets. oh yeah, and then saw a blue whale so close, so massive that I am still basically jaw-dropped and questioning everything I thought I understood about animals. #theamazingrace
4am and I'm fully awake, antsy and itching to be doing something, anything, in that way only this city can make me feel. I don't hate this particular flavor of late-night alertness, but I'm so glad to be going home to @yayponies tonight. (at Hudson Hotel, New York)
i'm not even gonna say rest in peace because itās bigger than death. i never met the man (i was too nervous the one time i saw him) and i never saw him play live, regrettably. i only know the legends Iāve heard from folksĀ and what iāve heard and seen from his deep catalog of propellant, fearless, virtuosic work. my assessment is that he learned early on how little value to assign to someone elseās opinion of you.. an infectious sentiment that seemed soaked into his clothes, his hair, his walk, his guitar and his primal scream. he wrote my favorite song of all time, āwhen you were mineā. itāsĀ a simple song with a simple melody that makes you wish you thought of it first, even though you never would have - a flirtatious brand of genius that feels approachable.Ā Ā he was a straight black man who played his first televised set in bikini bottoms and knee high heeled boots, epic. he made me feel moreĀ comfortable with how i identify sexually simply by his display of freedom from and irreverence for obviously archaic ideas like gender conformity etc. he moved me to be more daring and intuitive with my own work by his demonstration - his denial of the prevailing model...his fight for his intellectual property - āslaveā written across the forehead, name changed to a symbol... an all out rebellion against exploitation. A vanguard and genius by every metric I know of who affected many in a way that will outrun oblivion for a long while. IāmĀ proud to be a Prince fan(stan) for life.
refuse to give up my obsession @shananaomi - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
