Queercents

U.S. Representative Jay Inslee (D-Wash) is one of the sponsors of the Internet Radio Equality Act that has been introduced to the House and Senate. The bill would reverse the March 2, 2007 decision of the federal Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) that nearly brought down internet radio on July 15, 2007, the now softened deadline for web-based radio stations to pay retroactive royalty rates that are a 100% increase or more over previous rates. The CRB decision would also impose a minimum $500 per channel fee for each web station, which alone could bankrupt larger internet radio stations that offer customized channels for listeners. According to Inslee’s website, Nielsen Media Research estimates that “70 million Americans listen to online radio each month.”

If you’re one of the 70 million listeners, keep reading to find out how you can still save internet radio. If you’re not familiar with internet radio, check out some of the music streams on KCRW or SomaFM and see what you’ve been missing. Or, if you’ve been wondering what that radio button is all about on the upper-left side of iTunes, take some time to explore the stations under your favorite genre. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed with the incredible variety of music you’ll find, that is, if the station still exists. Read the rest of this entry »

“The best career advice to give to the young is to find out what you like doing best and get someone to pay you for doing it.” – Katherine Whitehorn

Most of you are reading this post from work… so slackers listen up. Maybe you’re surfing the net because it’s Monday morning and you’re bored. If you’re YOUNG and bored… then Penelope Trunk has a few ideas for you in her book, Brazen Careerist.

She begins by explaining how many twentysomethings now experience the “quarterlife crisis” and writes, “The journey toward quareterlife crisis begins at college graduation, when the typical student has about $20,000 in loans, no skills to land a job, and no money to pay sky-high rents in the cities where being single is the most fun.” Read the rest of this entry »

“A baseball game is twice as much fun if you’re seeing it on the company’s time.” – William C. Feather

Recently, I wrote about my Lesson #1 of the Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success. It described how job satisfaction will focus more on fulfillment than earnings for Gen X & Y. This week, the topic is about how, as Penelope Trunk emphasizes, “The new workplace currency is training.”

Nadira A. Hira recently wrote You Raised Them Now Manage Them in Fortune magazine and describes the Gen Y worker as, “They’re ambitious, they’re demanding and they question everything, so if there isn’t a good reason for that long commute or late night, don’t expect them to do it. When it comes to loyalty, the companies they work for are last on their list - behind their families, their friends, their communities, their co-workers and, of course, themselves.” Read the rest of this entry »

When I think back to my first job at an office and arts supply store at a suburban mall near Portland, Oregon I remember a book we sold titled “In the Kitchen with Rosie.” It was a collection of recipes that Oprah Winfrey’s favorite chef, Rosie Daley compiled to prepare a best-selling masterpiece.

It’s not that this was my kind of book or anything (I don’t even think I read it), but it inspired me as the kind of impact that a woman who started with so many strikes against her (Oprah) and succeeded to such a degree that her personal chef became a best-selling author. Oprah defeated the odds by listening to the voice in her heart and became a billionaire who has influenced millions of people internationally. Read the rest of this entry »

“Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else.” – James Matthew Barrie

After reading my review copy of Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success, I immediately gave it to Jeanine and purchased two more for her brother and her best friend. The book from career columnist, Penelope Trunk is unconventional in its tone and advice and just what lost souls of Gen X & Y need to read to thrive in their work life.

For our generation, Trunk writes, “Work is not just a means of support, but a lifestyle choice that must challenge, entertain, and encourage personal growth. But the current workplace is not set up to offer this sort of work to young people, so you will have to maneuver strategically within a baby-boomer dominated workplace to attain goals that are unique to a new generation.” Read the rest of this entry »

In the March/April issue of Mother Jones, Bill McKibben has a fascinating and far-reaching article, “Reversal of Fortune“. The subtitle reads “The formula for human well-being used to be simple: Make money, get happy. So why is the old axiom suddenly turning on us?”

Apparently, economists have begun taking ‘happiness’ seriously. Apparently, one’s state of happiness can be measured fairly accurately, and a group of economists have founded a new field called ‘hedonics’ to study it, led by Nobel Prize-winning Daniel Kahneman, author of Well-Being and professor at Princeton.

McKibben reflects, “the idea that there is a state called happiness, and that we can dependably figure out what it feels like and how to measure it, is extremely subversive. It allows economists to start thinking about life in richer (indeed) terms, to stop asking ‘What did you buy?’ and to start asking ‘Is your life good?’ And if you can ask someone ‘Is your life good?’ and count on the answer to mean something, then you’ll be able to move to the real heart of the matter, the question haunting our moment on earth: Is more better?” Read the rest of this entry »

This week I’m going to share my queer thoughts on a couple of web articles that popped up on Yahoo! The first installment will be about Five Ways to Grow Your Income by 20 Percent by David Bach. Mr. Bach wrote the book Start Late, Finish Rich which I bought before becoming a born again finance-nerd.

I’m sure I’ll like the book when I finally get around to reading it. Mr. Bach gripped my attention by prefacing his advice in this Yahoo! article with the following admonition, “Grow your income, not your lifestyle.” Basically, don’t fall into the trap of spending more money as your income grows. Indeed it is a well-disguised and mean little trap.

I always find a way to “improve” my quality of life as I cut down spending in other areas. I’m referring to how I send laundry out for wash and fold these days. I hate doing laundry, and my apartment building charges so much to use the washers and dryers that I think it justifies paying 20% more to have someone do laundry for me. It really is a splendid luxury I’m not willing to give up.

Aside from the wash and fold indulgence, I really have scaled back my lifestyle. I’m ready to have more money without spending it frivolously. So then, with all the financial advice out there, are Mr. Bach’s suggestions to grow income worth listening to? Let’s find out. Read the rest of this entry »

Details Magazine has an interesting article on their blog, “Why Gay Men Make The Best Bosses” by Danielle Sacks. Rather than go into the usual stereotypes and supposition, Ms. Sacks actually interviews a number of employees with gay bosses, and gay executives themselves, and also cites significant research.

According to the article, one young straight man, Brian Wachur, 23, did not get the promotion he’d wanted, so he approached his gay manager, Jason Smith. “I was nervous about what he was going to say, but he was able to tell me where I could improve in a really constructive way,” he says. “It was a big contrast to other managers I had had in the past.” Wachur soon got the new title, and he now considers Smith his professional mentor. “It’s definitely surprising to me that I have a 38-year-old gay male in my life who is such a huge influence.” Read the rest of this entry »

Reuters reports today on a new movie, “Maxed Out,” that will open in theatres March 9. It is a tale of tragedy and despair, in which people under a mountain of debt feel they can never dig themselves out.

On the movie website, you can see clips and read the brief description: “Maxed Out shows how the modern financial industry really works, explains the true definition of ‘preferred customer’ and tells us why the poor are getting poorer and the rich getting richer. By turns hilarious and profoundly disturbing, Maxed Out paints a picture of a national nightmare which is all too real for most of us.”

The director, James Scurlock, says “I thought this was going to be a light-hearted romp through the world of credit. But when I started interviewing people, I came to realize how emotional this topic is. We talked to bankruptcy attorneys and they said these clients will come in absolutely prepared to commit suicide.” Read the rest of this entry »

I, along with pretty much every gay guy I know (except my jock boyfriend), are pretty involved in grooming products, especially moisturizer. Are we shallow and focusing on the skin-deep? Or do we simply take pride in our appearance, like we do a neat working space and a raked lawn? (I’m sure you’ll tell me which it is in comments below!)

So as part of my public service (heh heh) I’ve done a lot of research on what’s out there for facial care for men.

First off, my experience is that using anything is better than using nothing. If you don’t use some kind of aftershave product, you will leave the pores on your face open (from the warm water) and stray stubble or dirt can get in, causing infections. You also want a product that will help your skin settle down from the daily irritation of shaving, and help close down any little nicks that might be bleeding. Read the rest of this entry »