JRR Talking

This week artist Julia Claire Wallace stops by to talk about Performance Art, the scene it has in Houston, and her role setting up the Experimental Action festival I was invited to earlier this year.  We talked about the functions of Art, and what makes Performance Art stand out from performing arts such as music and theater.  Julia along with other dedicated folks such as Evan McCarley are the kinds of people that make Houston special: Dedicated people who will work, even if they lose money, all out of love for their craft.  This conversation is down to earth and really accessible for those who aren’t knowledgeable about Houston’s art scene, something the folks at Experimental Action have worked diligently on.

Julia’s site can be reached here: http://www.juliaclairewallace.com/collaborative.html

An example of a performance art piece can be found here, a piece by Abel Azcona: https://vimeo.com/89459627

The site for the festival I attended and wrote about can be found here: https://experimentalaction.com/

Further information about Houston’s Performance Art scene can be found here:

http://www.performancearthouston.com/

Here are some extra pictures of Experimental Action and the fun I had afterwards, also Sean PenAlber’s lovely orange hat pops up!

Debi Jackson is the founder of Gender Inc, and the mother of Avery Jackson, who is the first transgender person to appear on the cover of National Geographic.  She is an advocate for the trans community, and the recipient of a lot of nasty threatening emails condemning her and her family.

This week she stops by to share her journey, and how she has come to be so vocal and supportive of a community that is particularly misunderstood and mistreated.

For someone who has been shown so much hate and has faced threats of harm to herself and her family, Debi is full of love and acceptance in such a surprising way.  Anyone would be blessed to have a parent who loved them as much as she loves her daughter and son.  It was a joy to have her on and learn about her family’s journey.

You can find Avery’s book “It’s Okay To Sparkle” at this link http://averyjackson.rocks

Debi apparently gets a lot of hate mail, so all haters are welcome to come on and talk their issues out on my show or in text by contacting me via email.

This week, a guest name “D” stops by to talk about his job as an air traffic controller, life in the military, the myth of America as a Christian nation, and the importance of separation of church and state in reference to See You At The Pole prayer events at local schools where some teachers are allowed to interact inappropriately in a religious capacity with students.

This episode has considerably less listening and more talking on my part, and I’m really happy with how this conversation played out.  Because of job concerns and previous threats my guest has received his identity is being kept anonymous.  Also a live recording error left in and a passage from Thomas Paine’s “Age Of Reason”!

D is a freethinker and a true patriot, it was an honor to have him on my show.

This week, the Taylor Swift of boxing himself, Cam F. Awesome stops by to chat boxing, the importance of getting whooped, why the news is a total bummer, the God question, and what he has in common with Plato.

This is by far the most casual episode of the show, it was great to have Cam on.  The quality was a little bit buggy this time, which is an equipment error I’m lining out now.

Cam Awesome is a boxer with a slew of titles, as well as a comedian, speaker, and a surprisingly good guy to talk to.

You can check out Cam’s podcast here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/awesome-talks/id1210572685?mt=2, and his twitter here: https://twitter.com/camfawesome?lang=en

If you care about freedom of speech, civil liberties, activism, the right to call an officer of the law a name unbecoming of his mother (not that you should do such a thing), or think that the LGBTQ community deserves the same basic rights as anyone else, then you may have heard of Ray Hill.  This is one of a few recordings we did.  This week Ray talks about activism and ways we can get involved in making Houston a better place to live.  Also discussed, is his experience leaving a career as an evangelist (a topic covered more in a future episode), and coming out of the closet as a gay man who would later become an important part of Houston’s LGBTQ community.

Soon we will put up Ray’s story of being a Christian evangelist and what led him to leave that profession.  Ray Hill is a treasure and I’m lucky to have had him as a guest.

If you have not I have his CV attached at the end of this post:  Sorry for the length but it is worth the read to understand just how much of an honor it is to have him in Houston and as my guest.

Co-founder and President of Promethean Society (Houston’s first gay/lesbian organization (1967-1969); Co-founder (1968), former Board Member and former General Manager (1980-1981) of Pacifica Radio, KPFT-FM; Co-founder, Executive Director Houston Human Rights League (1976-1986); Co-founder (1975), Charter Member on Resurrection MCC (1975); Past President (1989) of Houston Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Political Caucus; Winner of landmark First Amendment US Supreme Court Case Houston v Hill 107 S.Ct 2502, 1987); Co-founder/organizer (1976), Past Chair (1984-1985) of Houston Lesbian Gay Pride Week, Pride Parade Grand Marshall (1981); Convener and Co-Chair (with Jenny Apuzo) of Houston Town Meeting I; Co-founder of Montrose Counseling Center (now Montrose Center) 1978; Cofounder on Montrose Clinic (now Legacy Health Services) 1978 Former Chair (1984-1986) of Montrose Activity Center; Chair of Executive and Coordinating Committees for the First March on Washington for Gay and Lesbian Rights, 1979; Founder and original producer and host (1975-1980) of Wilde N Stein (one of the first regularly scheduled gay/lesbian radio shows in the country and the only one in the South in the 1970’s); Cofounder Kaposi’s Sarcoma Foundation (1980, became KS/AIDS Foundation, is now AIDS Foundation Houston); Convict (1970-1975) Texas Prison System; Founder and Executive Director of First Amendment Lobby of Texas (1982-1997); Author of first “Safe Sex Pamphlet” in the country to help prevent the spread of HIV, published by Citizens for Human Equality CHE, Houston, 1982; Contributor to the first three International Confe

If you didn’t know already, polyamory is the inclusion of more than two people in a romantic relationship. In practice this can take a lot of different forms, and bring additional dynamics and problems to a relationship.  Houston has a large and active polyamorous community, who on top of confronting taboos and stigmas,  is growing as a community unto itself.

This week, one primary member of this community, Jonathan Walker, comes through to discuss his experience leading a polyamorous support group, what it’s like to manage several romances at once, and why his lifestyle isn’t as strange as some might think.  Amid a few ridiculous questions, Jonathan answers some serious queries such as:  What stresses come with having multiple lovers?  How is jealousy dealt with?  Isn’t this just an excuse to have as many sexual partners as possible?  How are traditional roles modified in group relationships?

You can find Jonathan Walker through his website http://www.jwalkercoaching.com

This week Jason Barnes (former member of Haste The Day) stops by to talk about his adventures on the road, playing guitar in a Christian metal band, the recording process, body building, developing happiness, and the journey away from faith and subsequent departure from HTD.  Although atheists are caricatured as amoral or resentful, Jason could not be a better example of how ridiculous that stereotype is.  It was a joy to interview him, his passion and joy are just as inspiring as they were when I was attending his shows a decade ago.

This is by far one of my favorite episodes I’ve recorded. Can’t wait to have him on again to talk more about fitness and inspiration.

The most recent musical project from Jason is Beyond Oceans.

This week Philosopher, Platonic Researcher, and Professor, Daniel Silvemintz stops by to discuss his new book “Protagoras”, and tease out the great problem concerning whether or not truth is relative or absolute.  Why bother being good?  Aren’t all of the answers to life’s big questions just as valid as each other?  If there is no absolute right or wrong, why not live as you please?  Also addressed are questions regarding the good life and why the work of Plato remains vital nearly 2,400 years after his death.

Daniel Silvermintz, Ph.D., is Associate Professor and Director of Humanities at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. Prior to joining UHCL, Professor Silvermintz was a Visiting Scholar in the Critical Theory Institute at the University of California-Irvine, and he currently serves as an Advisory Board member for the International Society for Philosophers. His innovating teaching has received national recognition from the Association for General and Liberal Studies as the 2009 recipient of the Jerry G. Gaff Faculty Award. His research focuses on ancient Greek ethical and political thought and has appeared in Classical World, Polis, Omnibus, Metaphilosophy, Ancient World, History of Political Economy, and Yale Economic Review. His book on the founder of the sophistic movement, Protagoras: Ancients in Action was published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2016. He is currently working on a book concerning Plato’s economic thought.

His site and CV can be see here:

You can check out his book here, with a shout-out to me in the acknowledgements:

This week Joe Cobb, who is a MCC minister and author of “Our Family Outing” stops by to tell us what it is like to be a gay pastor in the south, how he deals with biblical passages condemning homosexuality, what a gay friendly denomination looks like, and his participation in the women’s march.   Questions concerning how he approaches the biblical text as a gay man start at 12:32.  You can learn more about Joe by visiting www.OurFamilyOuting.com  This episode, like all others, is under and hour.