Peterson Toscano's A Musing

No, not the famed late Blues singer, but something guaranteed to give folks the blues. Living Waters , an international ex-gay ministry which promises "healing for the homosexual" is setting up shop at an Anglican Church in Montreal, Canada. Several ex-gay survivors I have met through the years and who attended the Ex-Gay Survivor Conference spent time being "ministered to" by Living Waters staff. Often Living Waters uses extreme methods that involve forms of exorcism (deliverance/healing prayer) and rely on teachings that believe that people become gay through demonic influences and the sins of ancestors. This is a simple explanation of what they believe, but you get the idea. This is a group that is far far off the radar and not based in science or reality. They also charge for their services. Read the stories of Christine , Eric , Euguene and Tom (a former Living Waters leader) to find out a little about their times at Living Waters programs. Like most ex-ga...

Through a recent comment left on my blog, I discovered the blog I, Star Queen , which highlights words and images and video about the amazing performer, Star Queen. (You can even see some footage from the documentary about Star Queen in which I appear briefly as a talking head.) I had heard "she" had retired, so I feel thrilled to see her new site and to hear about her recent visit to see Lady Bunny . I first experienced Star Queen in Memphis at a club called Backstreet. I had been out as a gay man for about five months and it was my first venture in to a gay bar to see a drag performance. My friend David Christie RAVED about Star Queen, but I walked in filled with all sorts of judgment and doubts. That was until Star Queen hit the stage and did a number to a Blossom Dearie tune. I adore Blossom, and I immediately saw so much intelligence in the humor and delivery and choices that Star Queen made. Over the next few years I got to know Star Queen and more importantly the man ...

I've been away on a retreat with my Quaker meeting up near the Berkshire Mountains. Lovely and no Internet for days. But stuff has been happening. On Friday ABC's 20/20 , they featured married folks who had to face having a gay or lesbians spouse. I have yet to see the segment, I know it features the former wife of a gay mormon. In the segment they also revisit Love in Action and interview Wade Richards, who back in 2000 was an ex-gay poster child but has since come out as gay and started a pro-gay organization in Phoenix, AZ. Ex-gay Survivor Vince Cervantes tells more of his story via YouTube. He attended the Ex-Gay Survivor Conference and was also a member of this spring's Equality Rides sponsored by Soulforce. Tomorrow evening (Tuesday) CNN's program Prime News will feature a panel of folks talking about the new "ex-gay study" published by Intervaristy Press and praised by folks at Focus on the Family. Ex-gay survivor and BeyondExGay.com cofounder Christ...

On October 3, I will be a happy clam. The Connecticut Forum will host a forum event called The Tech Revolution which will feature a live conversation with Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist , Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia , and danah boyd , an expert on online social media. Not only will I attend this event, but I will be backstage as a valet to one of these amazing guests. Since I spend half my life on Craigslist, Wikipedia or one of several sites like myspace (no facebook yet gang), I will be very very pleased to be in the company of greatness. The Forum is looking for questions that you can submit in the form of a video. See the advert below. And if you live in the Hartford area, get your tickets and I will see you there.

If you go to my site , you will notice that I have not yet posted the performance dates/details for this fall. The reality is, I don't know the schedule yet and hope to meet this week with Sarah Miller, my booking agent. to find out. She tells me I have some great gigs set up at universities around the country including UMASS and Ramapo College. I know I will also be in Colorado in early Novemeber. Working on another trip to Portland, OR too, and possibly a trip to Sweden in December. Once I know the schedule, I will let you know. As far as I know, I have NOTHING planned for Texas. (Texans moan the loudest that I never come to their state, but have yet to give me any contacts. So before you start your Texas moaning, get on the horn and rustle me up some contacts :-) Still recovering from my throat virus thingy, but I HAD to get out of the house. I dragged myself to the newly renovated downtown library and got some more DVDs (more Dr. Who, Absolutely Fabulous and the movie Garden St...

Doctor Who that is. Specifically the dreamy newest incarnation played by the dishy David Tennant. When I returned by train from NYC, I stopped in the Hartford Public Library to borrow some DVDs including the second season of Dr. Who. I still feel under the weather and now that the Fox Morning Show is done, I have several days home to rest with the Doctor (oh and the first season of Twin Peaks). The trip to NYC went well with the highlight being dinner at Zen Palate with Scott T, a former LIA participant who attended the Ex-Gay Survivor Conference this summer. We shared a conversation that left me inspired and contented. You know that feeling after a thoughtful, earnest conversation and yummy food? Not much to say about the Morning Show (I believe we have links to video at Ex-Gay Watch and Box Turtle Bulletin and in comments to my previous post). The producer of the segment expressed surprise that Alan Chambers and I were cordial with each other before the show, and how Alan, his wife ...

I just heard confirmation that I will be a guest on The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet this Thursday. I believe it airs on the Fox Network here in the US. The show starts at 9:00 am EST, not sure how that works out for the rest of the country. And for you Swedes and Brits, you since the cultural domination has been completed, you will have to wait and see if it gets up on YouTube or something. I believe Alan Chambers will also be on the show, so yes, the topic will be the ex-gay movement and not my newest vegan pesto recipe. (Although I will try to slip it in). It is a live show, so always room for pesto.

I love how my body knows just when to give out. I have been running like a crazy person since April knowing that September will bring me some time off to relax. In order to force me to be still and stop my madness, my body decided to get sick on me this week. Clever creature. Since Thursday I have been on my back with a sore throat and fever. (I personally love having a fever, especially with the wild fever-induced dreams. I spent the night churning goat's milk into Darth Vadar-shaped butter paddies that I then hand-fed to raccoons.) The past two days, I was so ill, I didn't even go on-line. Rather I sat and read like they used to do in the old days. (Also, a fever gives me that glazed-over ruddy look of a crazed mystic that some say suits me.) I should really be back in Hartford, but with feeling ill and the weather being so fine in the mountains where my dad lives, and it being the week of my mom's passing, I decided to hang out here a little longer. Guess I will make th...

I've begun reading Tom Hodgkinson's How To Be Free , a super book about how to live life fully. The description on the back of the book states, If you've ever wondered why you bother to go to work, or why so much consumer culture is crap, then this book is for you. Looking to history, literature and philosophy for inspiration, Tom Hodgkinson provides a joyful blueprint for a simpler and freer way of life. Filled with practical tips as well as inspiring reflections, here you can learn how to throw off the shackles of anxiety, bureaucracy, debt, governments, housework, supermarkets, waste and much else besides. Some of the chapters include: Break the Bonds of Boredom The Tyranny of Bills and the Freedom of Simplicity Cast Off Your Watch Smash the Fetters of Fear Escape Debt Submit No More to the Machine, Use Your Hands Live Mortgage-Free, Be a Happy Wanderer Stop Working, Start Living I think you get the idea. You can also check out the author's website, The Idler . The ...

Rarely have I agreed with the words of Pope Benedict XVI, but this weekend the head of the Roman Catholic Church addressed a half million young people and urged them to ensure that water be equally shared in order to avoid conflicts. The Canadian Press quotes the Pope stating, "Before it's too late, we need to make courageous choices that will recreate a strong alliance between man and Earth," Benedict said in his homily. "We need a decisive yes to care for creation and a strong commitment to reverse those trends that risk making the situation of decay irreversible." He said water needed to be preserved since "it unfortunately becomes a source of strong tensions and conflicts if it isn't shared in an equitable and peaceful manner." I have so many problems with bottled water. In fact, I nearly included a whole bottled water section in The Re-Education of George W. Bush . I already have my character Chad assisting President Bush with a Legacy Makeo...