Wednesday was my first gig for 2011 and I had a plan. I was going to rate the gig a nice 5/10 as a benchmark for other gigs this year. But I can't do that. The Burns Unit were just too good to be given a mere 5 out of 10. It'd be wrong, so very very wrong.

Sadly, the support act - John Smith - wasn't the perfect addition to the gig that might have been hoped for. He was a little slow for me and in the cold Club Academy failed to get me moving and warmed up. He wasn't bad, you understand, but he wasn't right for me at that time.

I wasn't going to go.

But then I heard defenders of the Pope and the Catholic church on Today arguing that their church was all about equalities and universals. I hadn't fully understood the message of the news report that he was going to attack secularism - I was too busy being shocked that the church thinks it is promoting equality.

So, this month's @AttitudeMag is "the 'issues' issue" which aims to discuss, in particular, gay men's mental health. This was based mostly on the book The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the pain of growing up gay in a straight man's world by "Alan Downs, PH.D". So I went out and got it (De Capo Press edition, paperback). Well, I went online and clicked "buy". I hoped it would be a fascinating examination of the mental health problems we face because of heteronormitivity and straight privilidge, unfortunately once I started reading I became disillusioned.

Yesterday the UK Supreme Court issued a ruling in an asylum deportation case. The court decided that asking people to hide their sexuality (as the Home Office had been suggesting) was not appropriate. A Win! That was about all I knew.

Many of us watching the #DEBill debate over the past couple of days (yes I was that sad) came away feeling betrayed. Not just because the bill had passed, but because of the disgusting processes which had been exposed. I have an idealised image of what an MP should do and a rather more realistic vision of what I think they are able to do, a rather more cynical vision of what they actually do all from following the Civil Partnerships Act, the Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations and the Equalities Bill (also passed during wash up in the previous days).

So, in 2009, according to my bookkeeping over at LibraryThing, I have read 60 books (let's face it, I'm not going to finish Black Man, Best Served Cold or Bolo before the New Year party tonight). Of those, 43 were fiction books, 5 were short story collections, 1 non-fiction, 1 play, 5 RPG Books (+one of the short story collections was technically an RPG source book), 2 graphic novel volumes, 1 Firefly reference book and 2 cookbooks.

So, it's nearly 2010 and the start of a new decade (face it date pedants, the calendar is so screwed up we may as well accept the mob rule on this - and besides, 2009->2010 feels more significant than 2010->2011).

In the UK we have a limited number of groups fighting for Queer (or LGB(T)) rights. Stonewall (who I have publicly distanced myself from) play a very safe and cosy game but attract a lot of criticism from Queer activists. NUS LGBT Campaign and individual Student Union LGBT groups are student specific. Schools Out is teaching specific. Trade Unions are specific to their members. Queer Youth Network is youth orientated. There's something missing. Something for the activist who isn't young, isn't in a trade union or a students' union.

The Tory leader writing in The Guardian? Have we entered a strange new reality? No, I think Cameron is so confident that the country is ready to ditch Labour that he's trying can embrace the left leaning Guardian crowd with his call for parliamentary reform.

I'm thinking of organising a trip to Bletchley Park and the National Computing Museum. Well, when I say "organise" I mean "co-ordinate a time when I and other mates can go". And when I say "mates" I mean real life friends, twitter folks, nevernetters etc.

So, If you want to come, twitter me - @penwing - or comment here with any Saturdays in late June or July you can come.

So, any takers?

Alex
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