I don’t know about you, but Youtube is a wonderful source of procrastination for me. Each time I can’t get work done, I head there and preload videos as an incentive to meet (or miss) my deadlines.

Lately, I’ve been on a binge of poetry videos, and I thought I’d mix some up here to share with you.

My suggestion: If you are uncomfortable with performances that contain queer references blasting out of your speakers……use headphones.

That was Dakota Camacho — on Myspace and Youtube.

Marty McConnell questions the revolution on a very popular poetry tv show. If you like what you see/hear, plenty more available here. I like the videos of female figureheads(?) who have passed away, speaking to contemporary pop culture stars. Or, start here, a poem about gay domestic violence.

Followed by Paul Mabon (very into audience participation, this one).

Regie Cabico, who also gets a bit angry about the kind of guys who are attracted to him.

Digression: If “You bring out the [noun] in me” sounds like a familiar sentence in poetry by now, it might be due to Sandra Cisneros’ “You Bring Out the Mexican in Me“.

For other examples, check out Bao Phi’s You bring out the Vietnamese in me; or queer poet Maiana Minahal’s You bring out the Filipina in me.

For poetry somehow a bit closer to home, Sharanya Manivannan’s You bring out the Sri Lankan in me (she performed regularly in KL, before moving to Madras and helping to organise the first Chennai LGBT pride parade).

A court in India recently overturned a law used to criminalise same sex relationships, by the way.

Skim, on the damages of hate. For more of Skim, I found another video here, a Myspace account, a new blog and a Facebook page.

Sarah Dopp, who also engagingly discusses queer identities, andgender, sexuality and mom. Sarah Dopp also runs a wonderful website called Genderfork. I’m personally very attracted to the Profiles section, because I get to check other people out (ie: almost be a creepy internet perve, but it doesn’t count if you don’t google anybody!).

And finally, for those with a Youtube account (and who are older than 18), you can watch Ernesto Sarewale perform in the buff, waxing poetic about Her Penis.

Good and shiny things to find in your inbox. A message from a friend, Sharanya, who is currently based in India and involved in Chennai’s first pride parade!

Hi everyone,

First of all — a big thank you to you all for your support!

This is just to remind you about the event on Saturday, June 20th at Spaces, Besant Nagar. Highlights of the evening are the release of the Human Rights Watch report, “This Alien Legacy: The Origins of Sodomy Laws in British Colonialism” by Alok Gupta, a panel discussion featuring some of the most recognizable people in the field, and several performances. The Facebook page for the event, with details, is here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=103166419273.

Also, please take note that the Center for Counselling, Chennai will be holding a support group meeting for families of LGBT individuals, during which they can get factual information, ask questions and meet others who are struggling to cope with similar issues relating to their adult children. Entrance is free, but restricted to parents, siblings and LGBT individuals. Please RSVP your interest in attending to + 91-9884100135 or magdalene.jeyarathnam@gmail.com.

In other good news, we have secured the police permit for the parade on June 28! The parade will be along the Marina Beach stretch, and will start at 4pm at the Labour Statue.

We look forward to seeing you at the various Pride events — and thank you for your continued support. Please direct all further enquiries regarding the event at Spaces to Aniruddh at aniruddh.vasudevan@gmail.com, and enquiries regarding the parade to Shiva at shivaa.tn@gmail.com.

Much warmth,
Sharanya

For more information on the event, please visit the Facebook group: Chennai LGBT Pride 2009.

To Sharanya, Aniruddh, and everyone else involved: Good on ya! To those attending the parade, I hope you have fun, and heaps of pride. I know some may be hesitant about reactions towards the parade. Be brave, and I wish everyone a wonderful experience.

I dream of the day when we will hold a subversive pride parade in KL, followed by a legit one, and then…one day, our celebrations will be about how love belongs to us all.

Read Sharanya’s post, The Venus Flytrap: Not a Private Matter for her thoughts on sexuality rights, privacy and the pride parade.

A gentle reminder: you don’t necessarily have to be queer or fall into any of the four categories to walk in a pride parade .