ROCKETBOOM? BOOM OR BUST? Randy Wicker Reporting

ROCKETBOOM? BOOM OR BUST? Randy Wicker Reporting

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Andrew Michael Baron, creator of Rocketboom, talked to the first gathering of a a new vlogger group ( www.NYVIDEO.org ) Wednesday night, July 26,2006. He told the gathering they had a unique "window of opportunity", that vlogging gave even niche markets a previously impossible worldwide audience and that Rocketboom was simply a poster-child for a media no longer monopolized by multi-millionaires. He announced a new sale of $40,000 for one week's advertising on his show. He also revealed some of his most personal feelings about the departure of Amanda, Rocketboom's original anchorperson and showed some charts of the impact Amanda's departure had on viewership.

GAY EXECUTIONS IN IRAN ? ? ? (Randy Wicker Reporting)

GAY EXECUTIONS IN IRAN ? ? ? (Randy Wicker Reporting)

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Sparks flew when a representative of Human Rights Watch and an independent Iranian-American filmmaker criticized stories in Gay City News, one of the USA's most respected journals, as being "bad reporting" which was based on second and third-hand reporting. Scott Long from Human Rights Watch said descriptions of intensified harassment of gays in Iran could not be verified. Editor Paul Schindler angrily defended articles by reporter Doug Ireland which insisted two teenagers were hung in Iran simply because of their sexual orientation and consensual sexual activities. The independent Iranian-American filmmaker angrily criticized Gay City News and the American gay press in general for covering events in Iran in a way that was "really more about what is happening in this country". He said American gays demanding American forces "protect" Iraqi gays was "the worst thing" imaginable because it caused them to become identified with the occupying forces. The arguments reflected a complex mixture of sexual & cultural global politics.

www.Alive In Baghdad .org

www.Alive In Baghdad .org

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Vlogging allows unheard voices to be heard. This is an interview with a vlogger who literally puts his life at risk by vlogging from Baghdad. It shows how dedicated vloggers can give voice to those excluded by major commercial media. This man, in my opinion, is a true hero who shows the power of a free Internet. I hope you will visit www.aliveinbaghdad.org and watch some of the videos they have produced. Please join me in making a financial contribution to see that this visionary project is able to continue.

DEFINING "THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE"

DEFINING "THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE"

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Rep. Jerome Nadler shared his perspective on the gay marriage issue during a rally in Greenwich Village's Sheridan Square. Public opinion surveys show those under thirty-five years old support gay marriage while older people oppose it. Rep. Nadler points out that the Declaration of Indepndence, with all it's talk about "equality", didn't include women, black men or Native Americans when it was first issued. He says acceptance of gay marriage is inevitable. The only question is how long gay Americans are going to have to wait to secure their rights.

AMERICA'S MOST POWERFUL LESBIAN !

AMERICA'S MOST POWERFUL LESBIAN !

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Christine Quinn, an out lesbian, is President of the NYC City Council. That makes her the second most powerful politician in NYC, second only to Mayor Bloomberg. She spoke at a rally/protest held in Greenwich Village's Sheridan Square to a New York Appeals Court decision that marriage in N. Y. State shoiuld be defined and regulated by the N.Y. State Legislature, that the right to marriage for homosexuals was not a constitutional right.

LIFE COMES AT YOU FAST . COM

LIFE COMES AT YOU FAST . COM

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A friend asked me to go to Times Square and videotape a slide show that included some pictures she had taken. Nationwide Insurance has a program called www.LifeComesAtYouFast.com which solicits photos from across the nation and then produces a show on a large video screen in Times Square out of them. This vlog captures my excursion into Times Square, my quest to find that one special display and an amusing summary of what I saw and videotaped during the event. It is an examination of commercialism and mass culture in America today. What would a "photo show" gathered from the heartland by an insurance company be like?? Watch and find out!!

CABLE POSITIVE AIDS PROJECT

CABLE POSITIVE AIDS PROJECT

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The first 25 years of the AIDS epidemic is the subject of a new documentary in the making. I encountered those involved on their first "outing" at NYC's Gay Pride Fair. It was interesting to see that they used the old $1 (real value) method for securing releases. I thought that was ancient history. I took the $2 I collected for participating in their project and (after turning the cameras on them) gave it to an animal rescue project. We jokingly called it "passing the buck".