John Cage & Merce Cunningham

John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer, music theorist, writer, and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde. Critics have lauded him as one of the most influential American composers of the 20th century. He was also instrumental in the development of modern dance, mostly through his association with choreographer Merce Cunningham, who was also Cage's romantic partner for most of their lives.

“Every something is an echo of nothing.” —JOHN CAGE

Cage is perhaps best known for his 1952 composition 4′33″, which is performed in the absence of deliberate sound; musicians who present the work do nothing aside from being present for the duration specified by the title. The content of the composition is not "four minutes and 33 seconds of silence," as is sometimes assumed, but rather the sounds of the environment heard by the audience during performance. The work's challenge to assumed definitions about musicianship and musical experience made it a popular and controversial topic both in musicology and the broader aesthetics of art and performance. Cage was also a pioneer of the prepared piano (a piano with its sound altered by objects placed between or on its strings or hammers), for which he wrote numerous dance-related works and a few concert pieces. The best known of these is Sonatas and Interludes (1946–48).

His teachers included Henry Cowell (1933) and Arnold Schoenberg (1933–35), both known for their radical innovations in music, but Cage's major influences lay in various East and South Asian cultures. Through his studies of Indian philosophy and Zen Buddhism in the late 1940s, Cage came to the idea of aleatoric or chance-controlled music, which he started composing in 1951. The I Ching, an ancient Chinese classic text on changing events, became Cage's standard composition tool for the rest of his life. In a 1957 lecture, Experimental Music, he described music as "a purposeless play" which is "an affirmation of life – not an attempt to bring order out of chaos nor to suggest improvements in creation, but simply a way of waking up to the very life we're living".


John Cage (1912 – 1992) was an American composer, music theorist, writer, and artist. He was also instrumental in the development of modern dance, mostly through his association with choreographer Merce Cunningham (1919 – 2009), who was also Cage's romantic partner for most of their lives. On August 11, 1992, while preparing evening tea for himself and Cunningham, Cage suffered a stroke. He died the day after. Merce Cunningham lived another 17 years, dying of natural causes in July 2009.

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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cage

Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance. He is also notable for his frequent collaborations with artists of other disciplines, including musicians John Cage and David Tudor, artists Robert Rauschenberg and Bruce Nauman, designer Romeo Gigli, and architect Benedetta Tagliabue. Works that he produced with these artists had a profound impact on avant-garde art beyond the world of dance.

As a choreographer, teacher and leader of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Cunningham had a profound influence on modern dance. Many dancers who trained with Cunningham formed their own companies, and they include Paul Taylor, Remy Charlip, Viola Farber, Charles Moulton, Karole Armitage, Robert Kovich, Foofwa d’Imobilité, Kimberly Bartosik, Floanne Ankah and Jonah Bokaer.

In 2009, the Cunningham Dance Foundation announced the Legacy Plan, a precedent-setting plan for the continuation of Cunningham’s work and the celebration and preservation of his artistic legacy.

Cunningham earned some of the highest honors bestowed in the arts, including the National Medal of Arts and the MacArthur Fellowship. He also received Japan's Praemium Imperiale, a British Laurence Olivier Award, and was named Officier of the Légion d'honneur in France.

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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merce_Cunningham

Days of Love: Celebrating LGBT History One Story at a Time by Elisa Rolle
Paperback: 760 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (July 1, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1500563323
ISBN-13: 978-1500563325
CreateSpace Store: https://www.createspace.com/4910282
Amazon (Paperback): http://www.amazon.com/dp/1500563323/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MZG0VHY/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

Days of Love chronicles more than 700 LGBT couples throughout history, spanning 2000 years from Alexander the Great to the most recent winner of a Lambda Literary Award. Many of the contemporary couples share their stories on how they met and fell in love, as well as photos from when they married or of their families. Included are professional portraits by Robert Giard and Stathis Orphanos, paintings by John Singer Sargent and Giovanni Boldini, and photographs by Frances Benjamin Johnson, Arnold Genthe, and Carl Van Vechten among others. “It's wonderful. Laying it out chronologically is inspired, offering a solid GLBT history. I kept learning things. I love the decision to include couples broken by death. It makes clear how important love is, as well as showing what people have been through. The layout and photos look terrific.” Christopher Bram “I couldn’t resist clicking through every page. I never realized the scope of the book would cover centuries! I know that it will be hugely validating to young, newly-emerging LGBT kids and be reassured that they really can have a secure, respected place in the world as their futures unfold.” Howard Cruse “This international history-and-photo book, featuring 100s of detailed bios of some of the most forward-moving gay persons in history, is sure to be one of those bestsellers that gay folk will enjoy for years to come as reference and research that is filled with facts and fun.” Jack Fritscher

Sir John Finch & Sir Thomas Baines

Sir John Finch (1626–1682) was ambassador of England to the Ottoman Empire. (P: ©Carlo Dolci (1616-1686)/Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. Sir John Finch, 1670 (©4))

One of the Finches of Burley-on-the-Hill, John Finch was the younger brother of Lord Chancellor Sir Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham; their half-sister was the philosopher Lady Anne Conway of Ragley Hall. Anne and John Finch were pupils of Henry More. After Eton John Finch studied with More at Christ's College, Cambridge, and there met his lifelong companion Sir Thomas Baines. Following a Grand Tour of Italy, where they graduated in medicine from the University of Padua in 1656 Finch and Baines returned to Christ's as teachers in 1660, and fellows of the Royal Society. They returned to Italy again from 1665 to 1670 when Finch was Minister to the Ducal Court at Florence. He was appointed ambassador to the Sublime Porte of the Ottoman Empire in Constantinople in 1672, succeeding his uncle Heneage Finch, 3rd Earl of Winchilsea and his cousin Daniel Harvey. John Finch served as ambassador until 1681.

Finch was not a strong ambassador and was constantly outwitted by the Grand Viziers Ahmet Köprülü and Kara Mustafa.

Finch died of pleurisy in Florence, Italy in 1682, is buried in Christ's College and commemorated with Baines, who had died in Constantinople, with an elaborate monument.


Sir John Finch & Sir Thomas Baines are buried in Christ's College and commemorated with an elaborate monument.
Monument in the chapel of Christ's College Cambridge to Sir John Finch and Sir Thomas Baines
Sir John Finch (1626 – November 18, 1682) was ambassador of England to the Ottoman Empire. After Eton Finch studied with More at Christ's College, Cambridge, and there met his lifelong companion Sir Thomas Baines (1622 – September 5, 1680). Finch was appointed ambassador to the Sublime Porte of the Ottoman Empire in Constantinople in 1672. Baines died in Constantinople in 1680, Finch in Florence in 1682. Finch is buried in Christ's College and commemorated with Baines with a elaborate monument.

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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Finch_%28ambassador%29

Sir Thomas Baines, M.D. (1622 – September 5, 1680) was an English physician, the lifelong companion of the ambassador Sir John Finch, M.D (1626 – November 18, 1682). (P: Sir Thomas Baines, o/t, 86,4 x 71,1 cm, Fitzwilliam M., Cambridge, UK)

Baines was born about 1622 in Whaddon, Cambridgeshire and educated at Bishop's Stortford school. He studies at Christ's College, Cambridge under the tuition of Henry More, and took the degree of B.A. in 1642, and M.A. in 1649. An accident brought him under the notice of John Finch, then at the same college, and from this time they became inseparable friends. Having accompanied Finch to Italy, Baines was created doctor of physic at Padua, and he received the same degree from Cambridge on his return to England in 1660. On 8 March of the same year he was chosen Gresham Professor of Music, and in May he was elected, along with Sir John Finch, a fellow extraordinary of the College of Physicians, London. In 1663 he was elected an original Fellow of the Royal Society.

From 1664 to 1670 he was at Florence, where Finch was ambassador. On his appointment, in 1672, to accompany Sir John Finch to Tuscany, in the character of physician, he received the honour of knighthood. Some years afterwards he was transferred, along with Finch, to Constantinople. He made arrangements for discharging his professorial duties by deputy, but, on account of his prolonged absence, he was deprived of the chair before the news of his death, at Constantinople on 5 September 1680, had reached England.

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Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Baines_%28physician%29

Days of Love: Celebrating LGBT History One Story at a Time by Elisa Rolle
Paperback: 760 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (July 1, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1500563323
ISBN-13: 978-1500563325
CreateSpace Store: https://www.createspace.com/4910282
Amazon (Paperback): http://www.amazon.com/dp/1500563323/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MZG0VHY/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

Days of Love chronicles more than 700 LGBT couples throughout history, spanning 2000 years from Alexander the Great to the most recent winner of a Lambda Literary Award. Many of the contemporary couples share their stories on how they met and fell in love, as well as photos from when they married or of their families. Included are professional portraits by Robert Giard and Stathis Orphanos, paintings by John Singer Sargent and Giovanni Boldini, and photographs by Frances Benjamin Johnson, Arnold Genthe, and Carl Van Vechten among others. “It's wonderful. Laying it out chronologically is inspired, offering a solid GLBT history. I kept learning things. I love the decision to include couples broken by death. It makes clear how important love is, as well as showing what people have been through. The layout and photos look terrific.” Christopher Bram “I couldn’t resist clicking through every page. I never realized the scope of the book would cover centuries! I know that it will be hugely validating to young, newly-emerging LGBT kids and be reassured that they really can have a secure, respected place in the world as their futures unfold.” Howard Cruse “This international history-and-photo book, featuring 100s of detailed bios of some of the most forward-moving gay persons in history, is sure to be one of those bestsellers that gay folk will enjoy for years to come as reference and research that is filled with facts and fun.” Jack Fritscher

Harriet Speckart & Marie Equi

Dr. Marie Diana Equi (born April 7, 1872, New Bedford, Massachusetts – died July 13, 1952, Portland, Oregon) was an American medical doctor and anarchist. Her father was Italian and her mother of Irish parentage. (P: Dr. Marie Equi (©1))

In 1893, she moved to The Dalles, Oregon with her friend Bess Holcomb, who had been offered work as a teacher. The two lived together quietly in what has been called a "Boston marriage". On July 21, 1893, Equi was the subject of an article in The Dalles Times-Mountaineer, the local newspaper. According to the article, which referred to Equi as "Miss Aqua", Holcomb's employer, Reverend Orson D. Taylor, refused to pay Holcomb a promised $100, and in response Equi threatened to publicly horsewhip him. Although Equi was able to carry out her threat, Holcomb ultimately did not receive the $100. However, the community was supportive of Equi's actions. The whip became the subject of a raffle, and the proceeds, exceeding $100, were granted to the two women.

A few years later, the pair moved to San Francisco, California, where Equi began studying medicine. She completed her degree in 1903 at the University of Oregon in Portland, Oregon, one of the first classes to admit women. In the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, she organized a group of doctors and nurses to provide humanitarian aid in the wake of the disaster, earning her a special commendation from the United States Army. Soon after, she met Harriet Speckart, who worked as her assistant. The two began a relationship, sharing residence in various locations in Portland. Speckart, the niece of Olympia Brewing Company founder Leo Schmidt, did not abandon the relationship despite various attempts by her family, including the threat to revoke her inheritance. (Picture: Harriet Speckart)

Dr. Marie Equi was a medical doctor and anarchist. In the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, she organized a group of doctors and nurses to provide humanitarian aid in the wake of the disaster, earning her a special commendation from the United States Army. Soon after, she met Harriet Speckart, who worked as her assistant. In 1915, Equi adopted an infant girl, Mary, because Speckart wanted to raise a child. Mary referred to Speckart as her "ma" and Equi as her "da".

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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Equi

Many politically active women began to understand that the people most vulnerable to social and physical abuse were ultimately hurt by benevolent protectionism, which at its worst eagerly fed Red Scare paranoia. These social justice activists argued that what America’s disenfranchised needed was the economic security and independence to protect themselves and the political skills and social tools to maintain this independence. Many of these women were emotionally involved with other women and worked on projects that affected the everyday lives of women in the workplace and in the home. Their political identifications were often radical, and in their lives and work are the origins of what we now think of as the lesbian feminist social justice movement. These women came from a variety of backgrounds and approached their work, and lives, though a variety of political approaches. Marie Equi was born to Irish and Italian immigrant parents in New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1872. At the age of twenty-one she moved to Portland, Oregon, with her partner, Bess Holcomb, who had a job offer there. Several years later they moved to San Francisco, where Equi studied medicine. Her disaster relief work after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake earned her a commendation from the United States Army. In Portland, she performed abortions and worked with Margaret Sanger, with whom she may have had a sexual relationship. A member of the Wobblies, Equi was known for her suffrage and labor organizing. She later became an anarchist. In 1915, with her partner Harriet Speckart, she adopted a child named Mary, who referred to her mothers as “ma” and “da.” In 1920, convicted under the Sedition Act, Equi began serving a three-year sentence in San Quentin State Prison. Her crime was protesting against the United States’ entry into World War I; during a rally in Portland supporting preparedness for war, she had unfurled a banner that read “PREPARE TO DIE, WORKINGMEN, J. P. MORGAN & CO. WANT PREPAREDNESS FOR PROFIT.” Equi’s openly lesbian life contrasts with the life of Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, a noted socialist and Wobblie member who was to become her partner in 1928. Flynn was born in 1890 to working-class parents who identified themselves as socialist and were deeply connected to the Irish independence movement. At an early age, Flynn began seriously study socialism. By age sixteen she was an acclaimed pubic speaker on political issues. After meeting Emma Goldman, Flynn flirted with anarchism, but eventually joined the Wobblies. Flynn’s work as a labor organizer often focused on the problems of women workers. In 1912 she helped run the highly successful factory strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in which ten thousand women won safer working conditions and higher wages after a three-month walkout. Flynn, with the help of Margaret Sanger, made temporary foster care arrangements in New York for the children of the striking workers. When police prevented the children from boarding the train in Lawrence, Flynn alerted the press; after national headlines, Congress threatened to investigate. Flynn was also active in the birth control movement, and she was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union in 1920. Although Flynn was married for twelve years to a fellow organizer, and later seriously involved with anarchist Carlo Tresca, she lived from 1928 to 1936 in a relationship with Marie Equi, who had nursed her through a serious heart condition. After they separated, Flynn joined the Communist Party, which did its best to cover up her relationship with Equi. Flynn continued to work with the Communist Party and focused a great deal on the lives of women. In 1945 she was a delegate to the Women’s Congress in Paris, which led to the formation of the Women’s International Democratic Federation and the U.S.-based Congress for American Women. --Bronski, Michael (2011-05-10). A Queer History of the United States (Revisioning American History) (Kindle Locations 3118-3148). Beacon Press. Kindle Edition.

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (August 7, 1890 – September 5, 1964) was a labor leader, activist, and feminist who played a leading role in the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Flynn was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union and a visible proponent of women's rights, birth control, and women's suffrage. She joined the American Communist Party in 1936 and late in life, in 1961, became its chairwoman. She died during a visit to the Soviet Union, where she was accorded a state funeral.

Gurley was born in Concord, New Hampshire, in 1890. The family moved to New York in 1900, and Flynn was educated at the local public schools. Her parents introduced her to socialism. When she was only sixteen she gave her first speech, "What Socialism Will Do for Women", at the Harlem Socialist Club. As a result of her political activities, Flynn was expelled from high school.

In 1907, Flynn became a full-time organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World, and attended her first IWW convention in September of that year. Over the next few years she organized campaigns among garment workers in Pennsylvania, silk weavers in New Jersey, restaurant workers in New York, miners in Minnesota, Missoula, Montana, and Spokane, Washington; and textile workers in Massachusetts. During this period, author Theodore Dreiser described her as "an East Side Joan of Arc".


During a war-preparedness rally in downtown Portland, Marie Equi was arrested. On December 31, 1918, she was convicted of sedition under the newly-revised Espionage Act. Equi and Speckart never lived together again. Some time after her release, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn came to live with Equi, and the two women lived together for 10 years. Harriet Speckart lived in Seaside, until her death in 1927, after which Mary came to live with her "da". On July 13, 1952, aged 80, Equi died in Portland.

( Read more... )

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Gurley_Flynn

Days of Love: Celebrating LGBT History One Story at a Time by Elisa Rolle
Paperback: 760 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (July 1, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1500563323
ISBN-13: 978-1500563325
CreateSpace Store: https://www.createspace.com/4910282
Amazon (Paperback): http://www.amazon.com/dp/1500563323/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MZG0VHY/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

Days of Love chronicles more than 700 LGBT couples throughout history, spanning 2000 years from Alexander the Great to the most recent winner of a Lambda Literary Award. Many of the contemporary couples share their stories on how they met and fell in love, as well as photos from when they married or of their families. Included are professional portraits by Robert Giard and Stathis Orphanos, paintings by John Singer Sargent and Giovanni Boldini, and photographs by Frances Benjamin Johnson, Arnold Genthe, and Carl Van Vechten among others. “It's wonderful. Laying it out chronologically is inspired, offering a solid GLBT history. I kept learning things. I love the decision to include couples broken by death. It makes clear how important love is, as well as showing what people have been through. The layout and photos look terrific.” Christopher Bram “I couldn’t resist clicking through every page. I never realized the scope of the book would cover centuries! I know that it will be hugely validating to young, newly-emerging LGBT kids and be reassured that they really can have a secure, respected place in the world as their futures unfold.” Howard Cruse “This international history-and-photo book, featuring 100s of detailed bios of some of the most forward-moving gay persons in history, is sure to be one of those bestsellers that gay folk will enjoy for years to come as reference and research that is filled with facts and fun.” Jack Fritscher

UK Meet: Kelly Clemmons

Starting from June 1, 2015, I will daily feature authors attending the three conventions I will join, Euro Pride in Munich (July), UK Meet in Bristol (September) and GRL in San Diego (October).

For the UK Meet in Bristol, September 11-13, 2015, today author is Kelly Clemmons: Kelly Clemmons is comprised of two authors. One half of the duo lives a stone's throw from Stonehenge, and is a proud Brit. The other half (the better half as she's been known to say) lives across the ocean in Colorado.

Further Readings:

No Good Deed by Kelly Clemmons
Paperback: 182 pages
Publisher: The Rooster and The Pig Publishing (August 22, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0692279342
ISBN-13: 978-0692279342
Amazon: No Good Deed
Amazon Kindle: No Good Deed

Raised by an over-bearing and demanding father, Scott Owen leaves London and returns to Cardiff to take over the family business after his father is taken ill. He encounters a thief in his office, who is in fact his father's executive assistant, Connor Murphy, who claims he is trying to retrieve what is rightfully his. Intrigued by his father's hold over Connor, Scott sets out to discover the mysterious secret. He learns there is more to the young man than meets the eye. Connor accompanies Scott on a business trip to Cornwall, near his family home. Desperate to preserve his ancestral home and right a childhood mistake, Connor offers himself in exchange for the land and accepts Scott's terms. Together, they must work to overcome the evil figure from Connor's past who threatens to destroy their lives.

GRL: A.R. Moler

Starting from June 1, 2015, I will daily feature authors attending the three conventions I will join, Euro Pride in Munich (July), UK Meet in Bristol (September) and GRL in San Diego (October).

For the GRL in San Diego, October 15-18, 2015, today author is A.R. Moler: A.R. Moler is a chemistry professor at a community college, a homeschooling mom and an avid science fiction fan. She is a devotee of first hand research for her writing whenever possible and to this end has - learned to fire a handgun, been rappelling, ridden with both EMS and the police, flown a helicopter, bought a motorcycle and learned to ride it. She has traveled to nearly all the places where her stories are set and taken hundreds of photos for documentation. She has been writing since her high school years, but only recently has become published. Her fiction can be be found at Torquere Press, Cobblestone Press, JMS books and MLR.

Further Readings:

The LD50 of Memories (Division P) by A.R. Moler
Publisher: Torquere Press LLC (June 10, 2015)
Amazon Kindle: The LD50 of Memories (Division P)

Navy Pilot Cameron Bradshaw and orthopedic surgeon Mason Flynn are fast working towards solidifying their new family. But life is full of bumps and bruises-- from a sudden lack of diapers for their daughter to Mason's bigoted father passing away. Cam is having scary psychic shock episodes too. After a terrible experience doing a Division P body-finding job, Cam's shields crash hard and he suffers life threatening physical side effects. The solution complicates their lives further. Still, between Jane, their new nanny, and the men reconnecting with an adult sibling apiece, they can see their new family forming around them. Maybe it's time to make it all official?

2015 Rainbow Awards Submission: Tethered Pair (book #5 of Sentries series) by Elizabeth Noble

Tethered Pair (book #5 of Sentries series) by Elizabeth Noble
Gay Sci-Fi / Futuristic
Paperback: 200 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (November 26, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1632163926
ISBN-13: 978-1632163929
Amazon: Tethered Pair (book #5 of Sentries series)
Amazon Kindle: Tethered Pair (book #5 of Sentries series)

Sequel to Collared Souls

Sentries: Book Five

War rages across New Colorado Protectorate, and both sides employ normal and supernatural soldiers and arsenals. Sentries like Todd and Nick Ruger have the talents and training to combat such paranormal threats.

When Todd and Nick are sent by New Colorado’s Chancellor Clarke to investigate a group of weapons smugglers, they wind up posing undercover on the riverboat Annabelle. To their horror, they discover the arms dealers are demons—creatures they have no experience facing. Staying alive will take all their skills and abilities, especially trust in the powerful bond they’ve forged.

In the process of trying to stop the flow of illegal weapons, Todd and Nick learn of an assassination plot—targeting Chancellor Clarke. The events it sets into motion will alter the Rugers’ lives forever.

2015 Rainbow Awards Guidelines: http://www.elisarolle.com/rainbowawards/rainbow_awards_2015.html