Times Square crowds may break records

By DAVID B. CARUSO, Associated Press Writer Sun Dec 31, 7:13 AM ET

NEW YORK - Hundreds of thousands of revelers were expected to flood Times Square on Sunday evening for a celebration that will attempt to wash away thoughts of world conflict with music, glitz and celebrity star power.
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Those who arrive will find New York City at what may be the peak of its prosperity and appeal to tourists.

With relatively warm temperatures in the low 40s expected, this year could be a record-breaker on several counts, organizers said. Crowds are expected to pack Broadway all the way to Central Park.

An unprecedented 3.5 tons of confetti will be dumped on the crowd during the evening. Visitors are expected to drop tens of millions of dollars on food, booze and souvenirs, capping what some are calling the city's busiest tourism year ever.

"When you think about five years ago, when we had our first New Year's Eve after 9/11, there were two questions on everyone's mind: Was there going to be another attack, and was New York going to make it?" said Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance, which co-organizes the party.

"That's so far removed from where New York is now," he said.

Indeed. Rooms with a view of the square at Doubletree Guest Suites are going for $2,000 for this year's celebration.

Tables at Foley's Fish House, which has a panoramic view just above the crowd in the Marriott Renaissance New York Hotel, have sold out at a cost of between $750 and $1,000 per person for the evening, said Marriott spokeswoman Kathleen Duffy.

This year's celebration is shaping up to be a made-for-TV bonanza like never before.

More than a dozen major acts will perform on three different stages during the evening, including pop singer Christina Aguilera, the rap group Three 6 Mafia, country band Rascal Flatts, R&B singer Toni Braxton and the cast of the Broadway musical "Jersey Boys."

Lesser known entertainers will start performing as early as 6 p.m., when the famously flashy New Year's Eve Ball is raised to the top of a flagpole.

The explosion of live acts is a recent phenomenon, fueled by fierce competition for viewers by the television networks, several of which have arranged their own entertainment on their own stage.

"If you're actually here, you get nonstop entertainment for six hours, whereas a few years ago, you would literally sit there and chatter your teeth," said Tompkins.

Dick Clark will be back for ABC's "New Year's Rockin' Eve" broadcast for the second time since a stroke caused him to skip a broadcast in 2004.

His appearance last year was an abbreviated one in which he acknowledged that his illness had left him in "bad shape," but Clark's spokesman, Paul Shefrin, said the icon was doing better and planned to lead the countdown to midnight.

"As each day or each month goes by, he improves a bit," Shefrin said. "He looks forward to being on the air, and I hope that people feel the same way."

As usual, the pinnacle of the evening will be the drop of the ball at 11:59 p.m. to mark the last 60 seconds of 2006, followed by much cheering and kissing.

Security will be tightened in Times Square for the celebration. Revelers will have to pass through police checkpoints. No bags or backpacks will be permitted and bomb sniffing dogs will roam the crowd.

Public drinking is once again banned, and visitors will be corralled in a series of viewing pens that curtail their ability to bar hop until the show ends.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said this week that revelers would be "safer in Times Square on New Year's Eve than anyplace else," but insisted that tight security will not spoil the show.

"The ball drops and people scream and the confetti comes down and the fireworks go up and the band plays. And it's just ... it's about as American and New York a thing as you can possibly do," he said.

"Come early," he added.

my black queen....

i never met her, but she touched my life in so many ways. she was the type of woman i would want to marry if i were straight, she was a woman of class style and defiance, and we lost her in 2006. Coretta Scott King ,the widow of the late martin luther kind died january 30th 2006, at a clinic in baja california, mexico, from complications caused my ovarian cancer. after she died i did more and more extensive research into her, and i have found that she stood for so many things beyond what is often reported. as a young black gay man i often struggle with acceptance especially from the older black community, and she stressed the importance of equality, often pointing out that discrimination and not allowing gays the same rights was the exact same as segregation to africanamericans prior to the civil rights movement. i know i said the last was my final entry, but this was on my mind...

the best is yet to come, goodbye 2006.....

2006 will be over in less than 48 hours, and here i am closing out yet another chapter in my autobiography. 2006 had a pretty rocky start, dealing with personal problems, and struggling to find myself. in January i spent most of the moth sick with a bad cold, and my relationship was on the frits. however i managed to rediscover a spirital side of myself by finally becoming a member of brookhollow missionary baptist church (the church without walls) in houston, tx. in february i had to opportunity to travel to washington dc, for a conference that changed my life in so many ways, and i returned to tx with a new look on being a young african american gay man in america. i launched my company, started doing my own seminars, working in the community, and started to better myself overall as a person. my 18 month relationship with ed came to a horrible end, and that threw my world into complete chaos. when you have it set in your mind that you have to present yourself as happy when you really are not, yet you are in love, it fucks with you big time when you loose everything. one of the most important things i discovered is that one thing that looks a certain way on the outside is often so very different on the inside. i went to jail, and was released in july, while i was in jail for 3 weeks i had so much time to think about myself, others, and what i wanted to do with my life. i developed a better relationship with my family, eliminated a lot of extra people in my life, and focused more on me. i saw that graduating from college does not ensure stability nor comfort, it makes it harder if you don't have it, because you are left with so many questions of what-if and why in your head. i went to new york, and had a great time just relaxing courtesy of mr. stanley. now here i am ready for graduate school, working, and making strides towards my ultimate goals in life. i am looking forward to 2007, so much change for the better. i am launching my website on january 1st 2007, where i will showcase many things from news, to politics, to my personal daily journal-blog, to interviews with the people everyone is talking about. i am also launching a new seminar series, and working with organizations on HIV-AIDS awareness in the black community, so i am extremely excited about that. in 2007 i will be moving to new york (or maybe another city) full time to pursue my dream of becoming a writer, and national advocate for human rights, and equality. i might have a small frame, but i have a loud voice. with the loss of many great people in my community over the past year i know that god has put me here on earth to fill someones' shoes, and i am blessed with the education, vocabulary, and mind to do it, and that is what i intend on doing. with this being said, this will probably be my last blogger entry on this site, i want all of you to come join me in the uppityworld....i will update this site maybe weekly with headlines from my new site www.uppityworld.com. may god bless you all, and have a happy and safe new year, see you in 2007 in the uppity world......

white women i love....

join me in the uppityworld.......

2006 has been a year i will never forget.....from embracing my sexuality, and claiming my truth, to finishing college, going through the most painful break up in my life, to finding new opportunities, friends, and passions, it has been one hell of a year. this will be my last entry on this site, as i embark on my new mission with my new website uppityworld.com. i am launching a new site with more information, photos, news, my blog, and just something new for my people. to all of my avid visitors i hope you will join me in the uppityworld daily, and give me your input. i am very excited about my upcoming year. i am looking forward to my website, touring the country giving lectures to people about the importance of acceptance and equality. i will travel more, i am moving to a different place, and i think this will be the start of many great new chapters in my life and i am excited....i invite you all to join me in the uppityworld......

back in the closet....

today i was @ copy corner, and i noticed people looking out of the front door, then all of a sudden people started running, and screaming for us to get into the closet. it was tornado. now even me being the person i am don't often think about shit like that. it was only a matter of seconds and i saw shit flying and total chaos. the even more fucked up thing is while i was in the closet i was attempting to call those closet to me, and no one picked up their phones, some were dead some just didn't anwser, and all i could do besides pray was to remember how awful it was to be in the closet. the storm passed over, like so many things, but it made me change my views on lots of things. i can only imagine how the people in new orleans felt in august of 2005. when in just split second thier lives were forever changed by mother natures' bitch ass. i promise the way that bitch acts she is probally a black woman....lol...but on the reals i am glad to be here, and it goes on my list of life experinces....but it has made me realize how much i hated being in the closet....lol

my lone star christmas....

yesterday was my 21st Christmas, and as much as Christmas get different, they stay the same. this year was a little bit different. my family went all out this year for Christmas, and i loved every bit of it even though i was a bit of a Grinch. the day started at my mom's house, i woke up, and went to my sister's to open gifts with my nephew Ben. we spent the middle of the day at my grandparents house (mom's ppl) that is always a trip because we talk about everything. it was funny how my uncle the pastor kept referring to gay men as punks, and how he kept pointing out how much he was not a punk. you see that is how my family deals with things, i am sure they all know i am gay, but they never talk about it directly, yet it still comes up, and i have grown so much i don't even get offended anymore....i ended the day with a trip to my other side of the family's house, where i saw a few of my cousins, and ended the night with a trip to my father's to deliver him food, and all that good stuff.....my Christmas was fine, i am truly blessed, to know the true meaning of the holidays, which is bigger and more important than any ipod, car, $300 pair of jeans, and something that no wrapping paper can wrap. it is a bout understand the birth of Christ, and being around they ones you love, and the ones that love you.......

gone, but never forgotten...

"The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want he make me lye down in the green pastures, As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, thous art with me...."

Bethany Norwood, the PAMU Cheerleader who was injured in a 2004 accident, has died, she was 24.

Norwood broke her neck in six places leaving her paralysed from her neck down, however she still returned to school, and graduated from PVAMU. I didn't know her personally, but I along with the across the nation knew her story. Everyone has their own story, but all of that is not important anymore. One thing I did remember about her is the strength to go own despite her paralysis she continued on, going to classes, eating in the msc, and being a normal panther like the rest of us. I am glad that she had the chance to do what she came to Prairie View A&M University to do, get a degree, and leave some type of mark. We know that she is in a better place now, away from a world of uncertain, and so much pain in many shapes, forms and sizes. I ask that everyone please keep her family in your prayers, and just remember how precious this thing we call life is, and how in a heartbeat if can change or be gone......We bleed purple and gold for her, she may not be with us physically, but she will forever be with us in our panther hearts....

Additional Links About Bethany....

Black College Newswire Story

http://www.tirr.org/press/96.php

http://www.kvue.com/news/state/stories/121206kvuepvamucheerleader-cb.181b97f.html

my new site...

okay guys i am developing my new site, which is on my list of things i am trying to have done by the end of the year. it is under construction, but feel free to check it out and i will post on here as sson as i get everything taken care of with the construction of the page....

http://uppityworld.squarespace.com

the real world and the "N' word...

growing up mtv's the real world was one of my favorite tv shows. i particularly enjoyed the miami season. i fell off for the past couple of year, however with a little bit of additional time, and a new dvr i have tuned in to the new season in denver. on the first episode i was excited to see that there were going to be two black men which is something almost unheard of on reality shows unless they pertain to sports or endurance. Well of course there is a lil gay white boy, and i was feeling him for a little while. The black guy from Howard had the worst reaction to the topic of homosexuality, and i was disgusted by his entire take on the situation of having a adult homosexual roommate. He even made a statement about how if his frat brothers knew that they had a gay member they would kick them out, "how many punk greeks do we know guys??" but that is a different topic. in last weeks episode the gay white guy gets drunk, the jock black guy from omaha, turns into a stupid thug, and goes into a rage, and the little gay calls him a nigger, it even made me say DAMN! okay with all that has been said over the past three weeks with the "n" word as it is often referred to, i am finally ready to speak on it. honestly i m not as offended by being called a nigger "i am a black boy from the south so i have been called it a FEW times..." as i am being called a faggot or homo by a straight person. That lead to me ask the question as i gay before i am black? i answer i am both.....my personal opinion is that we all have some type of prejudice especially when it comes to race. as young black men and women most of us are raised not to trust white people, we often try to act like we are cool, and can all coexist peacefully. i hate to hear black people talk about oppression, and reparations, yet they still treat the black homosexual community the same way white people have treated us all of our lives, so in many ways i feel like i am several minorities. do i think it is wrong for a white comedian to use the "n" word, and get away with it? hell no it's not right, but at the same time all my black borthas and sistas myself included need to stop using the word all together. we cannot expect others to respect us by not using a word if we still use it sometimes several times in one sentence......and that's just the TEA.....

january will be crazy...

okay so i will be starting grad. school at nyu next month, however i will be staying in TX and just flying up for class meetings, and doing my education via distance learning. with school, and launching my seminar tours, i will be a busy lil brotha...so far this is what the schedule is looking like..

21-23.dec.06 new orleans for new orleans bowl
24-28.dec.06 - christmas with my family in tx
28.dec-2.jan.07 - new years in nyc
15-19. jan.07 - first week of class meeting in nyc @ nyu
23.jan.07 - seminar @ texas southern university. houston, tx
24.jan.07 - seminar @ lamar university. beaumont, tx
25-29.jan.07 - honda battle of the bands atlanta, ga (my mini vacation)
29. jan.07 - seminar @ southern university & a&m college. baton rouge, la
30.jan.07 new york

"a brotha will have some good ass ff miles..."

christmas cards....

i have been working on my x-mas greetings this year. since graduation was no big deal i have decided to include my graduation announcement inside my x-mas cards, 8 months late huh, feels like getting money from pvamu to pay tuition. other than that today was pretty much a slow day...

mentors, more than friends...highly respected individuals....

Angela: i met angela harvey in dc, she is a synamic person that motivates from the heart via personal experinces. she has the humor, and love in that favriote auntie kind of way...i love her to death...

Danni: I met Danielle while i was shopping in rice village one day. she has offered me some of the best non judgmental advice i have ever gotten in my life, and i a forever grateful to know her, and have the relationship we have..... Marlon: the awakenings movement, awakenings movement is something that one cannot put in words, but it is powering and dynamic... marlon is awesome, i first met him at fish grits and politiks, and since then he has been one of my role models, like danni he offers non judgemental advice, and advises from the heart....check them out... Maurice....damn...what else can i saw. i first met him in dc at the hrc hbcu conference earlier this year, i then got a chance to speak with him at the dallas premier of his film dirty laundry. maurice is a kind hearted, genuine brotha doing his thing with the films, and i give him madd love and respect.... Jonathan: well for a while he has been a huge inspiration to me. i first saw him a couple of years on a bet special, and the one thing that stood out the most was he said he loved starbucks. i listened to his story, and i always wanted to contact him. well i was able to meet him via facebook, and my space, now we chat daily, and he is truly a inspiration to many gay men of color. i know that he and his message will go far, and many will listen.....love ya friend... Brandon: one of the most positive impacts in my life in general. brandon serves as the diversity chair for the HRC, and under the small fashionable frame, is a loud voice, and huge advocate. brandon is like a gay father to me, he give me the best advice, will fly in to meet with me when i need anything, and always stays on top of me about claiming my truth. he is one of the driving forces behind my new seminar series, and i am am truly honored to know him and be close to him... Darian: okay i met this awesome brotha while looking through blogs one day, and i must say this lil brotha is fabulous. i respect him the most for giving almost everyone the benefit of the doubt all the time. he inspired me to walk out on faith, and do what is best for me. he has an awesome blog also....this is a new friendship i cherish a lot also.... JL King: okay to the man that blew the top off the dl thing, i disliked him because of what i have heard about him and his vies in the past, and i was fortunate to meet him in november, and see for myself. j.l is great, he spoke on the issues, and afterwards had a conversation with me about several things, and even called me when he got back to the atl. i have a new found respect for him, and i am glad to have had the opportunity to have been in his presence, and look forward to working with him.... HRC HBCU CONFERENCE ATTENDEES 2006: to my fellow HRC HBCU brothas and sisters , so many of you inspired me in so many ways, it felt good to be around people like myself. we discussed issues, and opened up to one another, and left with life long friendships, and bonds....

well for you to have respect from me is a huge thing. i very rarely meet people that touch me in special ways, but just being themselves. i have been fortunate to meet many individuals in 2006 that have touched me and my life in many ways, and made me want to claim my own truth. you see i came out to my family at age 16, i was young confused. i am so glad that god stepped in and turned me into the young man i am today. i was on the path to getting caught up in what the world has to offer for young gay men of color, living a unsafe life of fraud, and just being a very cold, and alone individual. i was a student at my high school where i was constantly harassed, bullied, and made fun of because of who i was. i stopped going to school, and was ordered by a judge in november of 2001 to get my GED. i got my ged, and planned to go back to high school, but then decided to try my luck at college. i was accepted to more than 15 school with my ged, sat, act, scores, letting of recommendation, and my essays, including Howard University, Morehouse, Georgia Tech, Southern Methodist University, Texas A&M University, and the University of Texas, yet i choose Prairie View A&M University. i entered pvamu in the summer of 2002, and told myself i would never look back. four years later, here i am a man, once a confused boy, i am now an educated black man, claiming my truth, and making strides forward to impact my community in ways i know only i can. i have not made it this far without help and wisdom from many important people from community leaders, to family and friends...and for this i give these individuals a great amount of respect...

you do you, and i will do TEA...

making everyday world aids day....

the world has never seen anything like the growing HIV-AIDS epidemic. as all of you should know last friday december 1st was world aids day, but i had a probelm with that. i watch cnn 24-7, 365, and i was happy that they ran so many stories about hiv, and unlike in the 1980's when many ignored hiv-aids, we have come a long way, but there is so much that needs to be done to ensure that those that come after us can live long healthy lives. i did my best to take some pictures of places, people and events that i thought did a great job at reconigising the importace of awareness. hiv and aids has affected me in many ways, and it was not until i went to a funneral of someone i knew that passed due to complications of aids, that i realized just how serious this is. it is more to this global pandemic than telling people to use condoms, and handing out lube at pride events, its about edcuating our communities, mainly our ineer city, rural, and hbcu communities about the importance of understanding, and accepting hiv, knowing the risks, and knowing what a dionosis intels. it's about teaching our black women that every black man is not sleeping with another man, and that is the only way you can get it. it is about more than wearing pins, getting press time, and looking cute in red. it is not about looking down or treating our infected peers any differently, but making them feel welcome to talk about it, and help with the education of others. we all may not be infected, but we all are affected. with this being said from me i will be launching my seminars in the spring where i am going to go into communities and speak educating them about acceptance, euallity, and education in general. if i can speak at a college or university and have one black woman gain trust for a good black man she has at home, and make them get tested together to anwser questions she might have, then my job is complete....i have been blessed with knowledge, education, good health, and a voice and i am going to do my part to make everyday world aids day....

additional information & resources:

the black AIDS institute
rap it up
my sistahs
donald r. watkins memorial foundation houston,TX

what are bestfreinds for?

okay so it was my best friend's birthday november 29th 2006, and i wanted to make it special...he had stated that he wanted a stripper, and a nice dinner, so that is what he got...you see not many people would understand our unique bond, however we understand each other in so many ways. more than once he has been there for me in so many ways, always offering the best in advice, possible solutions, and to ruff some people up if i need him to. the most important thing is he is supportive in everything i do including my new plans for the year. it feels good to have a best friend that you can actually have complex conversations about everything from women's studies, to African-American history, to TV and film. i have never had a friend i could be open with, invite to my home to chill with my family, and attend classy events with... i think best friends are people that god put in our lives to be there when he is handling everything else. his party was great, we ate, talked, had drinks, then went back to his house for cake and stripping, it was a great night enjoy the photos....