JNez@thirtydaes.com

wow…thank you so much to everyone who reads and/or comments here on JNez@thirtydaes.com. We’ve just been named Best Personal Blog by the judges of the 2008 Black Weblog Awards!

somehow, I wanted to believe that there was an audience that could relate to my struggles as an HIV+ black, bisexual, single stay at home Dad overcoming depression by self-medicating self hatred (whew!). but to have each and collectively all of those dimensions of me validated by readers of this blog is indeed very humbling.

i admit that i blog, like many do, for validation. much of it comes in your comments or by measuring the number of visits. i offered my blog for nomination in the black weblog awards believing that it was unique in subject matter and in the diversity of interests that are chronicled in my posts. i was rather disappointed when the blog didn’t make the nomination cut, but resolved to continue writing regularly and honestly about my thoughts and my life, confident that there were readers out there who felt me and could relate on one or more levels.

as a newbie though, i imagined that my fellow bloggers eyed me suspiciously. in several posts i moaned about what i perceived as a lack of support or even acknowledgment from established bloggers that i’d reached out to. i tried not to take it personal but in the end i had to understand and accept that maybe it was personal. i’ve been known to rub a few people the wrong way: not everyone’s personality can mesh with my tendency to be direct, bullish, and a bit of an upstart. it has been these characteristics that have most often prevented me from receiving the respect of my peers that has been so important to me.

so knowing that this vote for best personal blog represents the respect of my peers by way of the enthusiasm of my friends and readers is a monumental affirmation of my objective: to be healed and help heal. thank you so much!

JNez

• back home just in time 2 see serena vs. venus @ the us open. i’m going for serena but i hope she’s classier in defeat than she was last time #
• @desireedevine hey there @ceecee916 #
• @D_Rox hey you. i like them both too. wish they didn’t have to meet so early #
• @desireedevine i hope it was good thoughts lol. i’m great. what are you up to tonight? #
• @ceecee916 class was pretty good thanks. how’s the belly? #
• @ceecee916 awww…can’t wait to hear when the baby’s born. when are you due? #
• @D_Rox yeah and the luck of the draw. well at least one will advance, yes #
• @desireedevine oh that works for sure. there is a lot to do here for sure! #
• wow first set tiebreak for the williams sisters. good match so far #
• did anyone sample terence howard (yes, you read correctly) new cd yet? i haven’t but i think i wil #
• whoa! serena wins the first set #
• @notsoblonde lol i will #
• @ampalm i figured it would be blah. not sure how he’d fit in. how’s the guitar playing though? #
• @D_Rox bls is playing a cut from the cd? i think i’ll just check the itunes samples #
• @couturefreak lol…guess it’s up to me then. *puts on mask and gloves* #
• if you put it out before you think you’re there, magical things suddenly happen. you’re already there! #
• wait..i’m missing rudy guiliani’s speech at the cvntn? there was a time when my mancrush on him was alarming. i imagined him less malovolent #
• but rudy guiliani was revealed to be horribly malevolent. what could i have possibly been thinking? #
• uh-oh. & now he’s gonna mock barack obama. guiliani…there was never any admiration between us…ya hear? that’s why you’re not the nominee #
• @geekandahalf i was a disillusioned, naive young man. i renounce everything about my affiliations at that time lol #
• yeah rudy is gonna need extra security after this. not a good look guiliani. but then again, you’re just playing your part too, aren’t you #
• if rudy guiliani’s own children are estranged from him, he must be a pretty alienating, angry person #
• lol judy nathan guiliani. she came off lol. but they ripped her to shreds during the early primary and that sinked rudy’s campaign for sure #
• at least no combover on guiliani. those of you who were not new yorkers in the 90’s were spared his constant, hostile media presence. #
• holy frack was that bristol’s baby daddy? he is real easy on the eyes… #
• @karsh lol don’t he? wow…but the curly locks were hot too though right? #
• bristol’s baby daddy looks like john mayer. #
• ok all things considered, from first glance…sarah palin is a knock out!!! #
• @notsoblonde lmao!!! #
• @bun_ebombshell yeah that movie great! soul man is one of my all-time faves. he does look like c. thomas howell. #
• @karsh lol for real #
• yep…the entire palin family is easy on the eyes. no wonder bristol got knocked up #
• bristol palin is the new becky from Roseanne. don’t she look like a becky though? #
• so heather is the sister palin yelled to “oh girl no he didn’t. we gon’ fix that dude, trust” one late night a few years back huh? #
• gotta give it to the republicans though. they’re handing it to obama, race aside. interesting strategy. the gloves are off #
• sarah palin is ineffective and clearly out of her element. she’s giving a book club speech to a national audience. she is nowhere near ready #
• oh wow just turned to the us open and the second set between venus and serene is in a tiebreak now. i won’t be returning to sarah palin #
• wow serena wins. she’s in the semi’s now. what a competitive match. the best so far for sure #us open #
• @microscopiq serena did! venus wasn’t prepared for that. yay! serena! #
• serena was very poised and graceful in her victory speech. go williams sisters! #
• morning all #
• Here waiting for the second (and last) class of the day to start. Hope I can get a wireless signal on my laptop here #
• finished cooking, cleaning and sorting laundry. feeling tired but so, so ready for football tonight! mccain’s speech, not so much. #
• @kanyewest i was hoping you’d release that version as a single after the grammy awards. i really got into your performance of it #

• morning all! back up with all of you at this unnatural hour getting the kids ready for school. Make it a good one #
• good god. kelly ripa is looking gorgeous on gma right now! #
• @davidjhinson lmao! i guess looking good, cause she does it well #
• back home from class #
• headed to pick up the girls from school. i hope there’s lots of correspondence from teachers & administrators. i love reading that stuff #
• my god i look a fright. ashy knees & ankles, mandals a 1/2 size too big, cargo shorts w/ bird poop from saturday & i havent shaved in 2 wks #
• I went to class looking like this this morning & won’t do anything about it for the eve class either. Oh well #
• @notsoblonde umm…I think I am. I mean I guess. I just don’t much care about the way I look. Hopefully that changes soon #
• @TreoBenny LOL for sure. I’ll pull it together soon #
• @ImHIVPositive nap time is always good. Welcome to my twitter fam. Now I have someone to share tcell counts & med side effects #
• @notsoblonde thanks! The house is pretty clean so I can afford to slack up on the appearance. #
• @tru_ble hehe. I’ll get it together. You finished sorting through those emails yet? #
• Finished filling out school administrative forms for 3 children. Dropped the girls off at their mom’s & now headed to my evening class #
• Tonight’s my alcohol/drug class. Taught by a recovering addict and attended by a current alcoholic (me). Let’s see if it helps me stay sober #

the girls (and all other nyc school children) headed back to school today, ending a brief but enjoyable 10 week summer vacation. i’ve got a 9th grader now (who didn’t want to pose ), and a third & fourth grader.

i’m looking forward to a productive school year for all of us. there will be a readjustment to going to bed and arising early, especially as warm summer weather continues. i hope i’ve done my job and helped them maintain scholastic achievement over the break so that the adjustment to learning the curriculum is smooth. these are high stakes school years for each of them: my third and fourth grader will need to prepare for standardized tests this winter and my 9th grader will have to resist the many distractions that compete with scholastic achievement in high school.

But we’re ready; we all have each other as accountability partners, so to speak. i see no reason not to be optimistic about everyone’s progress (including my own) this year. So let’s usher in the 2008-2009 school year!

wow…just as we feared: summer has come and gone. what are your favorite summer memories of 2008? here are a few of mine:

i kissed a girl: katy perry

camp rock

the dark knight: batman

coldplay: viva la vida

lil’ wayne

michael phelps

iphone 3g

usain bolt

david cook’s the time of my life

barack obama/democratic convention

app store

prince, madonna, & michael jackson turning 50

mlb 2008 baseball all-star game at yankee stadium

the jonas brothers

kid rock: all summer long

sex and the city: the movie

bleeding love

so you think you can dance

project runway

rihanna: take a bow & disturbia

John McCain tossed a live one directly into an already high-stakes presidential campaign this morning with a stunning Vice Presidential pick in the form of Alaska governor Sarah Palin. Mrs. Palin, 44, is a mother of five and former beauty queen who in 2006 became the state’s youngest and first female governor. She was introduced to the rest of the nation by McCain to great ovation at a noon rally in Ohio earlier today.

Palin has had an extremely short political career but her presence on the McCain ticket instantly injects even more intrigue and drama into an already historic presidential race. She is only the second female Vice Presidential nominee in history and her selection presumably attracts disappointed female supporters of Hillary Clinton’s failed Presidential bid. But as the President of the National Organization for Women cautioned, Palin is against a woman’s right to choose, pro-death penalty, and a life-long NRA member. With these credentials, she will also increase support for McCain among the right-wing base of the Republican party.

Anyway you slice it, Sarah Palin is an extremely perspicacious move on the part of the McCain campaign to co-opt much of the historicism (and media focus) attached to Barack Obama’s nomination. The interest factor in the fall campaign has just been ratcheted up exponentially. This will be one thrilling fall 2008 general election campaign for sure!

Barack Obama made history last night as he delivered his acceptance speech as the first African American nominee for President at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Obama spoke before a crowd of nearly 80,000 at Denver’s football stadium on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech and many African Americans watched the speech with a mixture of pride and awe.

Obama’s speech was the exclamation point in an incredible four day convention that included passionate speeches about the candidate from his wife Michelle Obama and a pair of knockout endorsements from former rivals Bill & Hillary Clinton, in addition to a laudatory address by Obama’s vice presidential pick Joe Biden.

In his address, Obama laid out clear differences between himself and his opponent John McCain. He also made several wide-reaching policy proposals, including tax cuts for the middle class, ending America’s dependency on foreign oil, and a dignified but definite Iraq exit strategy.

An historic campaign delivering an historic speech on an historic day. This is gonna be one incredible general election people. No one should sit this one out for sure!

Bill Clinton gave Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama a symbolic brother hug and kiss on the cheek in a glowing, laudatory speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention last night.

The former President’s popularity took a beating after his spirited criticism of Obama’s candidacy during his wife’s vigorous primary campaign earlier this year. Many felt that the Billary tag team against Obama did serious harm to the overwhelming support the Clintons have had in the black community over the last decade and a half.

But that’s all forgiven now. Hillary made amends during a spirited speech the night before, and Bill Clinton erased all doubts about a lack of Clinton support with his speech tonight. All was forgiven seemingly the moment he stepped to the podium to a thunderous ovation that didn’t let up until Clinton declared “thank you, thank you, but we’ve gotta get on with this thing.”

Bill Clinton’s address reminded America of the prosperous economy under his two term presidency that he says was squandered by his successor’s failed leadership at home and around the world. Clinton declared unequivocally that Obama is “ready to lead America and to restore American leadership in the world.” The former President even praised Obama’s selection of Joe Biden as his running mate, putting an end to any speculation that he or Hillary were bitter about that.

So it’s all up to Barack Obama as he addresses the convention and accepts his nomination at Denver’s outdoor football stadium tonight. Obama made a surprise appearance at the convention after Joe Biden’s fervent speech that absolutely brought the house down. Tonight, the stage is all his.

Hillary Clinton gave perhaps the most impassioned, dramatic speech of her career last night at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Looking radiant in an orange pantsuit, Mrs. Clinton seemed to vanquish all criticism that she wasn’t or wouldn’t do enough to help elect Obama by exhorting her supporters to get over her primary loss and get behind party nominee Barack Obama.

After being introduced to the convention by a fabulously poised, now 28 year old Chelsea Clinton, Hillary wasted no time declaring her support for Obama and allegiance to Democratic party. She then moved quickly to denounce Republican nominee John McCain’s candidacy as an unwanted extension of George W. Bush’s failed presidency. “No how, no way, no McCain,” she told the delegates to rousing applause.

As a Hillary Clinton supporter, it was a bittersweet moment to see her address the convention not as the Democratic nominee or even a VP pick. But she handled it with grace and dignity, challenging many of her disappointed supporters by asking if their hard work during the campaign was for her or for the struggling Americans her candidacy represented.

Former President Bill Clinton delivers a keynote at the convention tonight and again, observers will be watching to see if he does as eloquently a job as Hillary in moving past the rancorous primary campaign and strengthening support for Barack Obama.

Barack Obama’s historic nomination for President kicked off last night when his wife Michelle Obama delivered an impassioned opening speech to formally introduce herself, her family, and her husband at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.

The Democratic party has some fences to mend after a bruising, hard fought primary between Obama and former first lady and expected nominee Hillary Clinton. She’ll appear in prime time tonight with her best chance to convince supporters that she is committed to and enthusiastic about helping Barack Obama get to the White House this November.

Just before Michelle Obama’s speech, Senator Ted Kennedy addressed the convention, looking surprisingly robust in only his second public appearance since revealing he was battling brain cancer 3 months ago. He urged the Democratic party to rally behind Obama as the best chance for change in a speech that signaled a passing of the torch from old to new era.

The 2008 Democratic National Convention concludes on Thursday night as Barack Obama accepts the nomination in an historic address to the nation and 70,000 fans at Denver’s Mile High Stadium.