Todays Thought

Nothing limits intelligence more than ignorance; nothing fosters ignorance more than one's own opinions; nothing strengthens opinions more than refusing to look at reality. 

-Sheri S. Tepper, novelist (16 Jul 1929-2016)

Kurt Vonnegut

“I work at home, and if I wanted to, I could have a computer right by my bed, and I’d never have to leave it. But I use a typewriter, and afterward I mark up the pages with a pencil. Then I call up this woman named Carol out in Woodstock and say, “Are you still doing typing?” Sure she is, and her husband is trying to track bluebirds out there and not having much luck, and so we chitchat back and forth, and I say, “Okay, I’ll send you the pages.”

Then I go down the steps and my wife calls, “Where are you going?” “Well,” I say, “I’m going to buy an envelope.” And she says, “You’re not a poor man. Why don’t you buy a thousand envelopes? They’ll deliver them, and you can put them in the closet.” And I say, “Hush.”

So I go to this newsstand across the street where they sell magazines and lottery tickets and stationery. I have to get in line because there are people buying candy and all that sort of thing, and I talk to them. The woman behind the counter has a jewel between her eyes, and when it’s my turn, I ask her if there have been any big winners lately.

I get my envelope and seal it up and go to the postal convenience center down the block at the corner of Forty-seventh Street and Second Avenue, where I’m secretly in love with the woman behind the counter. I keep absolutely poker-faced; I never let her know how I feel about her. One time I had my pocket picked in there and got to meet a cop and tell him about it.

Anyway, I address the envelope to Carol in Woodstock. I stamp the envelope and mail it in a mailbox in front of the post office, and I go home.

And I’ve had a hell of a good time. I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell you any different.”

Todays Thought

The truth is that every morning war is declared afresh. And the men who wish to continue it are as guilty as the men who began it, more guilty perhaps, for the latter perhaps did not foresee all its horrors. 

-Marcel Proust, novelist (10 Jul 1871-1922)

Todays Word

somewhen

PRONUNCIATION:

(SUHM-(h)wen) 

MEANING:

adverb: At some indefinite or unspecified time; sometime.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Old English sum (some) + when, from Old English hwenne. Earliest documented use: 1297.

NOTES:

Somewhen is the ultimate excuse for procrastinators who refuse to be pinned down by the linear constraints of a clock. I told my editor I’d have the revised manuscript over to her somewhen. She told me she’d pay me somemoney.

USAGE:

“It is fun to know that serious scientists believe the fabulous alternate realities of the Philip Pullman novels could be accurate descriptions of reality (for in a multiverse of infinite size and scope there will, somewhere and somewhen, be a world where a little girl called Lyra befriends a talking polar bear and where people’s souls take the form of animal familiars).”
Michael Hanlon; Reality Check Required; New Scientist (London, UK); Feb 9, 2008.

Todays Thought

In order for me to write poetry that isn't political / I must listen to the birds / and in order to hear the birds / the warplanes must be silent. 

-Marwan Makhoul, poet (b. 2 Jul 1979)

Todays Thought

The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone. 

-Harriet Beecher Stowe, abolitionist and novelist (14 Jun 1811-1896)

Rare photos of Phoenix LGBTQ+ bars through the decades

 Rare photos of Phoenix LGBTQ+ bars through the decades

Phoenix’s LGBTQ+ bar scene stretches back decades. In the ’70s and ’80s, establishments such as The Connection, Apollo’s, Talk of the Town and Wink’s thrived, offering drinks, dancing, entertainment and, most importantly, places where members of the Valley’s LGBTQ+ community could gather, connect and be themselves.

The scene continued to evolve in the ’90s and 2000s. Nightspots such as Ain’t Nobody Bizness, a lesbian bar on Indian School Road near 32nd Street, and Scottsdale dance club The Works also flourished.

Many of these LGBTQ+ bars have faded into history, though a handful of iconic spots endure to this day, including Charlie’s Phoenix on Camelback Road and Seventh Avenue an NuTowne Saloon on Van Buren and 50th streets.

In celebration of Pride month, here’s a look back at rare and vintage photos from some of the Valley’s notable LGBTQ+ bars from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. Images were sourced from former employees, members of the local community and the BJ Bud Memorial Archives at Arizona State University Library.