Adam Sunny Flanders

As would be expected, the fundamentalists here in the good ole’ USA have already begun attacking the McDonald’s Ad, even though the ad is only showing in France. O’Reilly and FOX Network used the ad to compare gays to Al Quaeda and asked a McDonald’s representative if there would now be an Al Quaeda ad airing, and also stated his opinion that a gay ad like that shown in France will never be shown in America.

Some have asked, What does being gay have to do with eating at McDonald’s? It’s a very ignorant question, IMHO. What does a gecko have to do with car insurance? Why, when Maine is the whitest state in the country, do we show ads here with mixed race couples? The point of McDonald’s ad is to show that their business accepts and affirms the gay and lesbian community. They are a business and many companies, starting with Budweiser in the US, realize that the GLBT community possesses a large amount of buying power.

When it comes to finances, large businesses are beginning to see that a same-sex couple, in general, has a lot more disposable income than a fundamentalist opposite-sex couple having several children. The bottom line for any business is money and it is economically favorable to be inclusive of GLBT individuals. In fact, discrimination often damages business. While the US is a bit behind the times and it will be a while before we catch up with countries like France, I wholeheartedly disagree with O’Reilly’s prediction that we will never see ads like this become mainstream in America. Lots of companies already air such ads on networks like LOGO and Bravo. Levi’s, Pepsi, Hyundai, the list goes on…

I thought this was a really cute ad and I wanted to share it. It’s too bad it’s only airing in France – I guess they figured we’re too conservative here in America to accept an ad like this. I can’t blame them – the US is one of the most conservative developed nations in the world.

The father’s statement to his son reminds me of my parents, lol. I’ve been fortunate to have a family that’s always been incredibly accepting – my parents even come to pride, which is coming right up! Portland Pride is June 19th and Bangor Pride is June 26th. I wouldn’t miss either one!

Speaking of family, my grandmother is doing much better and is in a really nice nursing home near my college, so I will be able to visit her whenever I want this Fall and Spring before I graduate!

The best part of being home…

And kitty pomchi love…

Just landed in JFK, flight out to Portland in a couple hours. Back to the high pace Northeast, out of the downtempo paradise of the Keys, hehe. I wish last night could have lasted forever – I met this really amazing guy at Bourbon St. Pub in Key West and it was so beautiful there – they have a pool behind the building (the clothing optional area, hehe) and a stairway to the top that overlooks Key West. The moon was nearly full and the stars were shining in the sky. We went swimming and it was just so beautiful – he was beautiful 😉 I wish he didn’t have to go back to Costa Rica.

I’ve got physics starting soon and I’ll be working in the lab. Looking to go camping, hiking, etc. this summer. I’ll try to get the rest of my Florida photos/videos posted soon. Portland and Bangor Pride are coming up in 2-3 weeks! I’m sure I’ll see some of you there. And on a side note, I promise my paleogenetics site will be coming soon – I finally have time to work on it! I think most of you will find it to be very interesting – it’s an emerging science that’s very real.

This is video from the Key West Aquarium and “CatMan” during the sunset street performance in Mallory Square. In the aquarium video you will see sea turtles, sting rays, and nurse sharks being fed – I even got to pet a juvenile nurse shark! The video of CatMan shows some of the tricks of his trained house cats, such as leapfrog and jumping through flaming hoops!

The moon is in Libra tonight, a sign of truth and justice. This evening, laying under a starry sky surrounded by palm trees and 80 degree air, is already enchanting. I love Florida and I will likely be moving here next year after I graduate from UMaine. You can’t feel alone when the stars are over your head – they remind me that I can overcome any difficulty in life and that any dream I have can come true with enough hard work and perseverance. Florida reminds me that the world is beautiful – I can be closer to nature here.

I went to r.f. orchids today. It’s an incredible estate covered by countless species of orchids. I think the owners are a gay couple, but don’t quote me on that. They also had some for sale and I got one small enough to carry back on the plane. A lot of people don’t know that vanilla comes from an orchid – the vanilla bean is the fruit of the orchid. They had a few vanilla plants on the estate. I will post pics soon, so be on the lookout!

The way we’ve been booking hotels has brought us to several different areas, it’s like an adventure in its own right. We’ve been up and down all the major keys all week long – Key Largo scuba diving, the Everglades, Islamorada, and Key West. There is an amazingly beautiful beach resort right on the beach in Key Largo called Sunset Cove – I loved staying there and definitely recommend it if you are coming to the keys. It feels like I’ve been here for weeks. I can be myself here – I can walk outside in my PJ’s and nobody stares. I see young gay couples walking around hand-in-hand and nobody cares. I like Maine’s environment (when it’s warm), but many people are still very conservative. The Florida Keys remind me a little of France – people are more comfortable with themselves and others, including affection. I think people experience a greater degree of freedom here and can better define themselves. And that is really the only true freedom any of us can experience.

Today was my second diving trip with John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. I saw a lot more variety of fish and we dove at another shipwreck. Video from Monday’s trip is below. I selected the highlights of the trip from about an hour of video. I don’t have a lot of experience filming underwater, but I’m sure I’ll get better – so please excuse the erratic movement. I was about 35 feet deep most of the time (my PADI certification allows me to go down to 130 feet).

As you’ll see in the video, I saw numerous tropical fish, a shipwreck, several coral reefs, a florida lobster, and even a sea turtle – it was so cute! I’m excited to get back in the water. Hoping to see some sharks and manta rays.

Today there were some giant fish and two giant barracuda that kept following us along the shipwreck. We saw a lot of interesting species, including a giant crab about the size of a suitcase! There were supposed to be some nurse sharks and even some hammerhead sightings, but I didn’t see any sharks today. Someone on the trip today caught a baby lionfish and brought it onboard. They are invasive species and it will likely be killed and dissected. When the boat came back in, there was a manatee waiting to greet us, but he was badly cut up from the speed boats that frequent the waters. I will post more pics and video later, but I’m heading out to dinner right now and a little shopping. Check out Monday’s diving below!

Waves were 6 feet high today in Key Largo, so scuba diving has been delayed to tomorrow. We decided to go on a glass bottom boat and kayaking in the mangroves, then to a a really awesome restaurant – Islamorada Fish Co. – incredibly beautiful palm trees, live music, right on the ocean, live shark feeding, and had my first yellowtail snapper and it was really really good! BTW, Islamorada means “purple island.”

Checkout the new pictures posted in my Flickr account and the video of the shark feeding below. I expect to dive with nurse sharks (the ones in the video) this week. I have snorkeled with nurse sharks before – even though they are usually much larger than me, they are basically harmless, even the grey ones, which look formidable!

I’m currently waiting in NYC (JFK) airport for my connecting flight to Ft. Lauderdale for two weeks of scuba diving and other fun stuff in the Florida Keys! I’m super tired ’cause I’ve been up all night – there was a drag show and dance last night, and they just opened a new gay bar in Bangor called the Therapy Lounge. The flight out of Portland left at 8am, so I didn’t get any sleep in between. I’m glad I brought my pillow! I will be posting photos every day or so on Flickr and Facebook, as well as videos of my scuba diving (yes, underwater videos) to YouTube.

I may be really tired, but the fact that I’ll be in the sunny heat, walking under palm trees on the beach in a few hours, more than compensates. Plus, I can sleep on the plane. Finally some time to relax. I am also happy because I will easily be able to graduate after just two more semesters (Spring 2011). I will be getting my Bachelors of Science in Biology, then I’ll likely be making a more permanent move to Florida.

I wanted to bring your attention to some gay rights stuff going on right now. Other than the Question 1 lawsuit dragging out in Maine, a new documentary is just premiering exposing the ignorance and bigotry behind Prop.8 and how it was hugely supported by the Mormon Church. This is their website: The Mormon Propo$ition: Equality for Some. And trailer below…

Also, this Monday, May 17th, is the International Day Against Homophobia. It’s focused on addressing the homophobia that still exists in the sporting world. Below is one of their posters 😉

This is my presentation summarizing my work this semester, establishing a transgenic line of Arabidopsis. I am working with a rice gene overexpression of metallothionein, a family of proteins that is important to heavy metal induction, oxidative stress and drought tolerance. I will be continuing my work this Summer and thoughout the next two semesters (when I graduate). Hope you find it interesting, just like my last one concerning rice transformation!