Jackie "Moms" Mabley, born Loretta Mary Aiken (March 19, 1894 – May 23, 1975) was an American standup comedian and a pioneer of the so-called "Chitlin' Circuit" of African-American vaudeville. She took her stage name, Jackie Mabley, from an early boyfriend, commenting to Ebony in a 1970s interview that he'd taken so much from her, it was the least she could do to take his name. Later she became known as "Moms" because she was indeed a "Mom" to many other comedians on the circuit in the 1950s and 1960s. She came out as a lesbian at the age of twenty-seven, becoming one of the first triple-X rated comedians on the comedy circuit.

During the 1920s and 1930s she appeared in androgynous clothing (as she did in the film version of The Emperor Jones with Paul Robeson) and recorded several of her early "lesbian stand-up" routines. Mabley was one of the top women doing stand-up in her heyday, eventually recording more than 20 albums of comedy routines. She appeared in movies, on television, and in clubs, and performed at the Michigan Women's Festival shortly before her death in 1975.

Mabley was born in Brevard, North Carolina. Although she always claimed a birthdate of 1894 and that she was one of a family of twenty children, the 1900 Federal Census shows "Loretter Aiken" in Brevard was born in March 1897 and was the youngest of four (out of five) surviving children of James P. and Mary Aiken. Her father owned and operated several businesses, while her mother kept house and took in boarders. Her father died in an accident when Loretta was eleven. In 1910, her mother took over their primary business, a general store.

James Aiken's father, Henry Aiken, was part white. His mother, Bettie, was able to read and write in the 1870 census, five years after the abolition of slavery, which suggests she may have been a free woman of color. Loretta Mabley's genealogist, D. Richmond, wrote: "She has a very interesting lineage worth researching."

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

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I asked to all the authors joining the UK GLBTQ Fiction meet in Manchester in July (http://ukglbtfictionmeet.co.uk/2013-event/2013-attendees/spotlight_authors-2/) a personal favor, a special Ebook Giveaway: twice a week I will post 1 book from each author, and among those who will leave a comment, I will draw a winner. Very easy and very fast ;-) I will send a PM to the winner, so remember to not leave anonymous comments!

Today author is Blaine D. Arden: Blaine is a purple haired, forty-something, writer of gay romance with a love of men, music, mystery, magic, fairies, platform shoes and the colours black, purple and red, who sings her way through life.
Born and raised in Zutphen, the Netherlands, she spent many hours of her sheltered youth reading, day dreaming, making up stories and acting them out with her barbies.
When not writing, reading or at choir practice, Blaine has singing lessons and hopes to be in a band someday.

The Forester by Blaine D. Arden
Publisher: Storm Moon Press LLC (December 21, 2011)
Amazon Kindle: The Forester

Kelnaht, a cloud elf, is a truth seeker caught between love and faith. Worse, a murder committed ten days before Solstice reveals an illicit affair between two tree elves he desires more than he can admit: Kelnaht's former lover Ianys, who once betrayed him, and the shunned forester named Taruif, who is not allowed to talk to anyone but The Guide, their spiritual pathfinder. When Taruif turns out to be the only witness for the crime, Kelnaht has to keep Ianys from sacrificing himself and losing his daughter, while at the same time realising he'd gladly sacrifice himself to end Taruif's loneliness.

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It's Spring and for many folks, that means gardening!  Do you garden?  I think I was a farmer in another life.  It's a lot of fun.  I don't have a lot of land, but we built an above-ground garden that's ten feet by five feet, for fifty square feet of garden space.  I use French Intensive method to get a good yield and use every possible inch of space.

This year we planted tomatoes, cherry peppers and chocolate peppers, chard, lettuce, broccoli, and beans.  We have many herbs, including sage, garnet basil, Genovese basil, lemon and Thai basil, thyme, rosemary, chamomile, spearmint, peppermint, chocolate mint, apple mint, lavender, and oregano.  We don't have a lot of flowers, but we did pant Johnnie-jump-ups and some other flowers the name of which I don't remember, and we have lilies of the valley and Easter lilies.



This is my Grandmother Sage.  She's about 8 years old and needs a haircut this year, but a little baby sparrow decided to visit me (if you can see him, he's just off center above and to the right).



This is the main bed.  Moving clockwise starting at the top left we have lovage, marigold, tomato, another tomato, pepper, chard (rainbow), tomato, marigold, tomato, lilies of the valley, mint, and Easter lilies.  The plastic cup is actually a rain meter.  On the opposite side you have inch measures so you can see how much rained.



On this one, starting in the bottom right corner is the sage, to the left a mint, then garlic chives.  In the center right is the toad house, and behind that is the thyme.



This is the main view.  The garden is in the center, flowers in the back on the right, in the foreground is the sundial, and the white thing on the left is the frame for the hammock.



This is a view of the flowers and one of the wooden chairs we got last year.  The door leads to my garage.

All in all, it's modest and tiny, but it's mine and I love it.  I get vegetables and herbs, bees and birds, and can sit in my hammock and write for hours.  Heaven.

What do you plant in your garden?  

Let me start by saying thank you to the readers, without whom none of this would matter. Thank you one and all.

It's been a whirlwind of a day, and I also want to thank everyone at Torquere Press and Prizm Books for the support, professionalism, and courtesy they've shown me from the first moment we came into contact. The reading public already knows what a stellar class the authors who publish with Torquere are, and I'm both honored and humbled to be among them. What many may not no is how wonderful everyone at Torquere is. If I mentioned everyone by name who has helped me get to this day I would simply end up reciting the whole list of staff, but let me tell you they are all some of the nicest people you will ever meet.

That said, I must mention a couple of people by name:

First, my editor, Vincent Diamond. Vincent is too wonderful for words. If you ever have the luck to pick your own editor, don't walk, run to Vincent. You won't regret it.

I also want to thank Brandon Clay, who put together the beautiful cover for Myth. He worked with me in as patient and helpful a manner as you could wish. Let's face it, the cover of Myth is one fine looking cover, and Brandon is the reason.

Also, my thanks to Michelle and Kristi. What a blessing they both are to work with!

And finally, while she's not with Torquere (yet?), a special thanks to my critique partner, Kim Harnes, whose book Still Photo will be a must-read when she has it published!

Bye until next time,

Huston

PS, Oh Hell! Why not end the day with a bit of fun?

My Life as a Myth by Huston Piner

1969 freshman Nick Horton has problems. He suffers from bouts of
depression, he’s a high school social outcast, and he doesn’t understand why
he’s not attracted to girls. So when a series of misunderstandings label him
a troublemaker, he’s delighted to have Jesse Gaston and Jesse's gang
befriend him. Nick wants to explore his attraction to Bobby Warren, but
Jesse promises to give him a new image and soon transforms the shy loser
into an anti-establishment student hero.

Thanks to his new reputation, Nick finds himself besieged by would-be
girlfriends and expectations that he live up to his public image. As Jesse’s
PR campaign becomes more and more outrageous, Nick’s road quickly becomes
littered with ridiculous misadventures and unexpected psychedelic
explorations. Meanwhile he struggles to understand his emerging romance with
Bobby while dealing with the Vietnam War’s continuing impact on his family
and the dangerous goings-on at school.

Nick’s freshman year is a remarkable journey of struggle with his unwanted
reputation and his deepening passion for Bobby. Is a world still reeling
from the sexual revolution, Acid Rock, and the illicit pleasures of underage
drinking and pot smoking ready to accept two boys in love? Will Nick and
Bobby’s love survive or will the world’s prejudices drive them apart?

buy link:
http://www.prizmbooks.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=64

Author Extra:

I woke up sometime after dawn. I was on my back and Bobby lay on his side
with his left leg draped over me and an arm wrapped snuggly around me. As I
came to, I realized we were both uncovered, he was naked, and we both had
hard-ons. His rested on my thigh. Completely embarrassed, I began a slow
delicate process to untangle us without waking him.

After I freed myself, I hurried to the bathroom, quietly closed the door,
and raised the lid just in time to explode. I stood there shivering until I
was completely drained and flushed the toilet. The bathroom had a small
walk-in shower with a sliding door. I got in before the water fully heated
up and let it flow over me to ensure I was fully awake.

I dried my hair with the damp towel. Bobby had rolled over and snored
quietly, now clutching a pillow. I finished dressing and watched him sleep
for a minute, taking in how perfect he is from head to toe. My God, he's
beautiful, I thought, and I felt myself stiffen. It took me a couple of
minutes to tear myself away from just admiring him. There are some things
you just know you'll remember all your life and I knew right then that even
when I'm a hundred, remembering him sleeping like that will bring out the
same feelings in me.

The fridge had no juice, but I did find a pitcher of tea. Outside on the
landing at the top of the stairs, the morning air was brisk but not too
chilly. I left the door open both to let in a little fresh air, and so Bobby
would see me when he woke up.

The morning light dazzled me. The tea had a nice calming effect. My mind
wandered as I took in the activities of the squirrels and the birds that had
not flown south yet. I tried to make myself one with the morning, to
experience cosmic awareness, but I ended up daydreaming.

Sometime later Bobby hurried for the bathroom like I had after I became
vertical. He also showered and when he came out he unabashedly rearranged
himself as he came to where I sat on the landing. He either didn't notice me
staring or didn't care.

"Good morning, starshine," I said.

"Good morning. You sleep okay?" He smiled and leaned against the doorpost.

"Like a rock."

Bonus Author Extra:

Friday, September 5, 1969.

Second period is undoubtedly the class I dread the most -- Physical
Education. I'm not very coordinated, and I've never been very good at
sports, even jacks. And PE is different from just playing a game with other
kids; you actually get graded on it. And that's not the worst of it.

PE students first gather in the locker room to change into workout clothes.
For me, this is awkward. See, in my family, nudity just doesn't exist. I'm
pretty sure my parents were both born fully clothed and still shower that
way.

If a guy thinks you're looking at him too long, or in the wrong place, he'll
go out of his way to humiliate you. If you blush easily, it's open season,
and if your … uh … body reacts the wrong way, God help you. The trouble is
sometimes when a guy makes me nervous that's exactly my problem. I tend to
be nervous enough as it is, but we have thirty-three guys in our class. The
way some of them show off makes me very nervous. Talk about embarrassing!
You'd think "faggot" was my name! Today, I just tried to keep my head down,
change fast, and get out of there.

The right teacher could put a stop to this kind of thing. But there are only
two kinds of PE teachers in the world. The first kind is like Jack Lalanne,
super fit, and a firm believer that everyone should eat enough fiber to
orgasm every time they shit.

The second kind is descended from the Marquis de Sade. These guys get off
pushing the athletic types to the limits of their abilities while they
humiliate the rest of us lesser beings.

Our PE teacher, Mr. Starkman, is the second kind.

I've already suffered through a week and a half of his taunts and put downs
so far. I just can't throw, catch, kick, hit, or keep up with the rest of
the guys. And the more I fail, the more he pushes, and the worse I get.

Today was the perfect example. While I attempted to shoot a hoop for the
fifth time, Mr. Starkman yelled at me. Needless to say, I missed the hoop
and backboard completely. Instead, the ball bounced off the wall and hit
Jason Sullivan in the back of his head so hard his glasses flew off and
broke on the floor. After that, Mr. Starkman banished me to the weight room.

Solitary. Just what I need, more "evidence" for everyone that I'm a
troublemaker.

What I wouldn't give to be one of the jocks or Straight-A students; the
popular kids get all the breaks. Everybody loves them and they get to do
what they want. Everything I do backfires so I spend most of my time just
trying to avoid embarrassing myself.
Oh, on a positive note, my black eye is looking better.

Hello,

Due to an urgent family problem, my husband and I cannot attend Wiscon 37. We have a governor's suite room booked from Thursday to Sunday. Please contact me if you'd like me to transfer it into your name.

We would be willing to help subsidize part of the transfer since, at this point, we'd rather money go into helping someone enjoy their convention rather than a late-cancellation fee go straight into hotel coffers.

ETA: We were able to transfer the room. I hope everyone has an amazing Wiscon and we wish we could be there.

The first episode of Glee establishes much of what will go on well into the first season and some of which will go beyond.  Emma has a crush on Will.  Kurt and Rachel both have crushes on Finn.  The slushies are there, which goes well into the fourth season.  Quinn is antagonistic towards Rachel.  Duets are established as showing friendships or romance, or leading to friendship or romance.  Vocal Adrenaline is an important opposing team, which goes on through the third season.  There's a lot set up.

I went to bed probably between 1:00 and 2:00 a.m., and woke a bit after 10:00 a.m.  I made it to an appointment.

I cut a stalk of irises because it had fallen over into the driveway and I figured it would get run over.  It has a couple of blossoms fully opened and a bud that I hope opens.

Dad and I watched the pilot episode of Glee.  I will do a marathon before season five starts.  I don't know if this is the start of it.  I kind of want to get Dad into it, but he'd have a lot of catching up to do.  The first episode I saw as it aired was "Original Song," and I thought I had a lot of catching up to do.  I think I'd seen the first half of season one on DVD by that time.

I have an editing job due tomorrow that I may finish tonight.

My friend Paul contacted me with a wonderful news: he is getting married! This is a wonderful news, but it's even more wonderful because Paul is supporting a charity project and of course I'm all for spreading the news. So please welcome Paul and share with him this joyous news:



Several years ago, I painted Noah's Gay Wedding Cruise to express my optimism about the marriage equality movement. I believed we were on the cusp of great progress, and I chose to symbolize our inevitable victory with my own version of the Noah's Ark story. I painted a grand ark/cruise ship filled with happy gay and lesbian animal couples and a few human guests too (like Ellen DeGeneres/Portia de Rossi, and Elton John/David Furnish). There are even some drowning sinners (such as Ann Coulter, Larry Craig, Sally Kern, and Fred Phelps)!

Fast-forward to now. Indeed we have come a long way! Twelve states have legalized gay marriage, and important decisions about DOMA and Proposition 8 are being considered by the Supreme Court. Unfortunately I still live in a state where I am not allowed to get married, but Dennis and I have decided to do it anyway. We are excited to be a part of a special initiative by the group MarriageEvolved called C-Bus of Love. Along with 24 other LGBT couples (who also can't get married in their home states), we will be traveling by bus to Washington D.C. this June to get married on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court.



In honor of this, I'm releasing a special new print -- Noah's Gay Wedding Cruise: MarriageEvolved Edition. It's an update of my original painting with the addition of Joshua and Steve Snyder-Hill, the two founders of MarriageEvolved. Steve is the soldier who was booed during the Republican primaries last year after asking a question about Don't Ask, Don't Tell. The incident caused great controversy for the candidates who did nothing to discourage the crowd from booing someone serving their country. I can't imagine the bravery it must have taken to out himself on international television while on active duty. Together, he and Joshua have championed the cause of marriage equality, even fighting DOMA on the national level to establish equality for LGBT military spouses, and they won't rest until everyone in this country who wants to get married will have the right to do so. I'm proud that they are our friends and thrilled to add them to the crew of Noah's Gay Wedding Cruise -- especially since they are the co-captains of our own upcoming wedding excursion!


Josh & Steve

100% of the profits from the sale of Noah's Gay Wedding Cruise: MarriageEvolved Edition will be donated to MarriageEvolved to help pay for the C-Bus of Love trip and future advocacy work of the organization. It's an important, worthwhile cause and I encourage everyone to show their support by purchasing a limited-edition print today. They are available in three different sizes in my online store HERE.

13" x 11" - $35
20" x 16" - $75
26" x 20" - $150

Visit the C-Bus of Love website to learn more about our upcoming road trip for equality. And check out our wedding bio while you're there!


Dennis & Paul

So, what you are waiting for? go and buy these wonderful prints to support MarriageEvolved, and to close this post, I want to add my "special edition", the Gold Marriage LGBT Couples, those partners who managed to stay together for more than 50 years, despite the history "telling" them they were not married, but in their case, the legal papers didn't mean nothing, they were officially married in their heart.

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