50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots

Today is the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.  Stonewall is considered the birth of the Gay Rights Movement.  So here's what happened...

Back in the 1950s and 1960s things weren't good for gay people.  They aren't always great now but they were particularly bad back then.  Being gay was considered a mental illness, you could be fired from your job or evicted from your apartment just for being gay.  Due to morality laws it was illegal for gay people to meet up in public, it was even illegal to serve alcohol to a known homosexual.  If you were arrested for being gay, your name and photograph would often be in the paper the next morning which is how employers and landlords knew who to fire or evict.

The Stonewall Inn was a gay bar in Greenwich Village, New York City.  On 28 June 1969, the police came and did a routine raid to arrest the patrons.  This time though the people fought back.  There were more protests over the next several days.  The Gay Rights Movement began.

On the one year anniversary of the Stonewall Riot, the first gay pride march took place in New York.  In 1970, marches took place in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.  In 1971, marches also were held in Boston, Dallas, Milwaukee, London, Paris, West Berlin, and Stockholm.  1972 saw the first marches in Atlanta, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Washington D.C., Miami, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia.  Today, Pride parades are held worldwide.

In 2016, the bar was declared a national monument.  Just a few weeks ago the New York City Police Commissioner issued a formal apology for the actions of the police officers at Stonewall in 1969.

Here's a short video I found out on YouTube about the riots.

©History

What's insane to me is that there are still U.S. states where it is still perfectly legal to fire someone or evict them for being gay.  Only 24 states, plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and Guam have state laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.  About 150 cities and counties have also enacted bans on discrimination.  Gay marriage is legal in the USA but in 26 states it would be absolutely legal to fire someone because he or she got married.

The Equality Act would make discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity illegal nationwide.  But it's had a tough time getting through Congress.  And the Trump Administration has rolled back many most of the few protections that were previously put in place by President Obama.

This year I've got three Pride events on my calendar.  Two weeks ago was EuroPride in Vienna, then in three weeks in Bratislava Pride and Prague Pride is in August.  I expect to be "prided" out by the end of the summer.

Château de Versailles

On Friday, Steven, Michael and I, went with Marcus and his family to Versailles. It's a little over 20 km (~14) southwest of Paris by train. It was amazing!!! It's no reason that it has been on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list for over 30 years.









Le Château de Versailles began as Louis XIII's hunting lodge. In 1682, Louis XIV expanded Versailles and moved the French court here.

The three French kings that followed all added improvements until the royal family was forced back to Paris in 1789 after the start of the French Revolution.














Most of the palace's furnishings were stripped during the revolution. In the 19th century Versailles became host to the Museum of the History of France.

The place is just massive and incredibly beautiful.









The gardens are amazing but unfortunately none of the fountains were running. I guess it was still to early in the year.




Here are a few details to appreciate how big it really is...

Floor space..........67,000 m2 (+721,000 sq ft)
# of windows.............2,153
# of rooms..................700
Staircases...................67
Museum paintings....6,123
Museum sculptures..2,102

The only thing that I didn't care for were these giant steel sculptures that were being set up. French artist Bernar Venet is displaying seven contemporary sculptures from June 1st to November 1st, 2011. I'm sure that some people will like them but to me they just looked like a bunch of rusting geometric steel beams that weren't quite finished. But to each their own.

Atlanta Reunion in Paris

It's been about a year since I saw Steven & Michael. They decided to celebrate Michael's birthday with a European cruise. We planned to meet up in Paris after their cruise for a few days. I have been counting down the days to spend some time with my boys.

I haven't seen Marcus since his going away party in Bratsville. He is back in Atlanta now and is now in the same MBA program at Georgia State that Steven and I went to. Well as it turns out, by coincidence, Marcus planned to be in Paris at the same time. He went to Europe with his brother, mom and aunt. So we ended up with a whole lot of Atlanta folks in the city of lights. It was so great to see everyone.

Steven, Michael and I rented an apartment in Montmarte. It was about a 5 minute walk to Sacré-Cœur. Steven and Michael hadn't been to Paris in about 20 years so we just did the normal touristy stuff. We walked the entire city...through the Latin Quarter, down the Champs-Élysées, past the Arc de Triomphe, and visited all of the usual sites such as Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the Seine. We all went with Marcus' family to see Versailles which was simply incredible. We managed to eat our way through Paris as well. You just can't beat French food. It was a good thing that we did a lot of walking.

Another perk about seeing everyone was that they brought me supplies. With what Steven and Michael brought me, plus what Marcus brought, I was pushing my baggage allowance. I managed to get back with only a ½ kilo (1 pound) to spare. I don't know how they did it but I ended up with lots of loot. The best was that Steven managed to bring me some aluminum turkey pans so that it will be easier for me to cook the Thanksgiving turkey this year. The last two years I've cooked the turkeys in a pan that is only about an inch deep because I can not find a roasting pan over here large enough to hold a 20 pound bird. But now I'm set with 3 of them. Is it bad that it is only May and I'm already trying to figure out what I'll need for Thanksgiving in November?

Small World

Everyone has one of those "it's a small world" kind of story so here's mine. Back in Southern California, I went to junior high and high school with this guy named Clint. We knew each other and we had some classes together but we never really hung out. When we graduated in 1989, he left for college in Texas and I went in to the air force.

Fast forward to 1992. I was in Heidelberg, Germany and on vacation with my girlfriend. We were craving American fast food so we went on to the U.S. Army base there because they had a Popeye's Chicken. Well, there was Clint, working behind the counter. Small world...right? He was traveling across Europe, on his way to Poland, and working on the base to earn some money.

So now fast forward again to 1998. I'm at home in Atlanta and reading a copy of The Advocate. And there is an article in the magazine about him. The same guy I went to school with and who I ran into on an army base in Europe.

A few years later...here comes Facebook and we friended each other online. He was living in Mexico but getting ready to move to Haiti and I was still in Atlanta. We had a lot more in common that we knew about back in school and over the last couple of years we've continued to catch up online.

Well now I live in the ČR and guess where he now lives? Paris. Small world, right? So we made it a point to get together for dinner a couple of nights while I was in town. One night we met up at Sacré-Cœur and we grabbed dinner in Montmarte. We walked around and he showed me the house where van Gogh lived and we went to Café des Deux Moulins (Cafe of the Two Windmills) for drinks.

It gets its name from the two historical windmills nearby - the Moulin de la Galette and the infamous Moulin Rouge, about 1 block away. The Café was used as a location in the 2001 film Amélie. At times it can be quite touristy but we got lucky and it wasn't very crowded on the night we went.

We had a really good time getting caught up. Neither one of us attended the 20-year class reunion so we had our own mini reunion in Paris. We ended up closing the place and the bartenders let us stay until they were ready to leave. Having gone through several bottles of wine, I learned the next morning that lots of French wine leads to a French hangover. But it was so worth it.

Le Musée du Louvre

Le Musée du Louvre is simply incredible. The palace began as a fortress in the late 12th century. In 1682, Louis XIV moved to Versailles and the Louvre became a place to display the royal collections. It was during the French Revolution that it was decided to turn it into a museum. Today, it averages 15,000 visitors per day and is the world's most visited museum.

The place is just massive. There are 35,000 pieces, from prehistory through the 19th century, in an area over 652,000 sq. feet. (60,600 sq. meters). With multiple floors in every wing it is easy to get turned around...especially when you're looking for something in particular.

You really need at least a day to go through the museum without feeling too rushed. But even then, you will go through art overload! The best thing is to figure out what you want to see and then afterward you can just explore. There is just no way to see everything, and appreciate what you're looking at, in a single visit.

In the late 1980s the giant glass pyramid in the central courtyard was unveiled. The inverted pyramid was unveiled in 1993. Many people were up in arms about the pyramids and thought that this would be the start of the museum's decline. It doesn't seem so because attendance has doubled since they were completed.

Here are some of the museum's best pieces...at least for me. I wonder if it has anything to do with all of the humanities and world civilization courses I was required to take in college?

The most famous piece at the Louvre, without a doubt, is Leonardo da Vinci's 16th century Mona Lisa. To be honest this was the one thing that was kind of a let down. I always imagined that it would be bigger but it's actually quite small. This is also the only exhibition that you can't get very close to.

The Venus de Milo is one of the world's most famous ancient Greek sculptures. It was created some time between 130 - 100 BC and it was added to the museum's collection during the reign of Louis XVIII. It's the 2nd most popular attraction at the Louvre.

Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, by Antonio Canova, shows the Neoclassical obsession with love and emotion. It was commissioned in 1787 and donated to the museum in 1824.

Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix commemorates the July revolution of 1830 that brought down Charles X. It's thought that this painting served as the inspiration for the Statue of Liberty.


The Code of Hammurabi dates back to around 1792 BC in ancient Babylon. It displays 281 laws on a 2.25 meter (~7.5 feet) pillar. The Babylonian king Hammurabi had the laws displayed so prominently so that no one could plead ignorance of the law.

The Winged Victory of Samothrace, also known as the Nike of Samothrace, is a 2nd century BC marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike. It was discovered in 1863 and estimated to have been carved around 190 BC. It has been in the Louvre since 1884.

Notre Dame de Paris

Notre Dame (Our Lady) is the Gothic, Catholic cathedral of the Paris archdiocese. The groundbreaking took place in 1163 and the cathedral was completed in 1345. In 1991, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

On the left side of the main entrance is a statue of Saint Denis. He was the bishop of Paris during the 3rd century and as more and more people began to convert to Christianity, he was beheaded by the Romans in around A.D. 250. The story goes that he picked up his head and walked six miles, preaching the whole way. Saint Denis is the patron saint of Paris.

In addition to being one of the first Gothic cathedrals ever, it was also one of the first to use the flying buttress which are arched exterior supports. Although they were not part of the original plans. As construction progressed, the thin walls of the Gothic style grew higher which led to stress fractures and the walls began to push outward. So supports were built outside the walls and later additions continued using the pattern.

A lot of the religious imagery was damaged or destroyed in the 1790s during the French Revolution. Luckily, during the 19th century there was an extensive restoration project that returned the cathedral to its original state.

At the beginning of WWII the windows were removed due to fears that German bombers would destroy them. They were restored after the war was over.

I've attended Catholic mass before in English, Latin, German, Spanish and Czech. Not that Czech really counts because I was clueless most of the time. I don't know what it is but, I've got to say, that mass in French is just way cooler.

And no, you won't find anything here about Quasimodo, the Hunchback of Notre Dame. But I did tell my niece Emme that I would be on the lookout, just in case.

Sacré-Cœur

Sacré-Cœur is the Roman Catholic Sacred Heart Basilica that is visible from most of Paris. It sits on the hill of Montmarte (mount of the martyrs) which is the highest point in the city. The name comes from being the place where Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris, was martyred.

Many saints have come to this hill including Saint Germain, Saint Clotilde, Saint Bernard, Saint Joan of Arc, Saint Vincent de Paul and also Saint Ignatius of Loyola and Saint François-Xavier who founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) here in 1534.

Construction on the basilica began in 1876 and was funded by contributions from Paris Catholics as an act of contrition for the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 - 1871. Sacré-Cœur was consecrated in 1919.

Inside the apse is a mosaic entitled Christ in Majesty, that is among the largest in the world. It is quite beautiful.

The basilica is made of travertine. Apparently this stone constantly exudes calcite which is how Sacré-Cœur remains white even with the effects of weather and pollution over time.

At the top is a great panoramic view of the city. On a clear day you can see for 30 km (~19 miles).