Feeding the Homeless

2 years ago
by Rachel in
Tonight I spent $12 to buy two beggars on the street food. I’ve never done that before. What on Earth would possess me to do that?
Before I answer that question, I’ll preface it with some explanation.
I lived in downtown-”ish” Boston for the better part of 5 years while I studied for my undergraduate degree. While walking to and from different places (some say you can get to anywhere in Boston by walking in about 15 minutes) you tend to meet some interesting people. Especially around the liquor store right on the edge of campus which also happened to be right next to a half-way house (yes, that sounds like a very good idea to me!) Over the years I’ve perfected the “don’t look at them in the eye and just move on” or the “bluff” and say “no, I don’t have any change I can spare” even though you know you could probably spare some coin but justify it with “I’m a poor college student.”
And you know what, I don’t blame anyone who thinks that way because more often than not I think that way. What do you suppose beggars use their money for? Booze? Drugs? Sex? Probably all three at one time or another. So why should someone just give money to a beggar when they don’t know what that money is going to be used for?
I’ve thought about giving money to the homeless or even volunteering my time to help others. I’ve just never seemed to be at that point in my life where I was able to branch out and stop worrying about myself and be able to share or even give to another person. A lot of times growing up I was either too self-absorbed or just had too much going on in my life to even consider being able to help someone else when my life needed so much help.
When I moved out to New York last year, I had a job, I had a place to live and I was by myself for the most part (save for Izzie always being around and the times Adam stopped on by.) I was someone “jealous” that Adam was able to volunteer his own time to become an EMT and be able to legitimately go out and save someone’s life on a nightly b>Before I answer that question, I’ll preface it with some explanation.
I lived in downtown-”ish” Boston for the better part of 5 years while I studied for my undergraduate degree. While walking to and from different places (some say you can get to anywhere in Boston by walking in about 15 minutes) you tend to meet some interesting people. Especially around the liquor store right on the edge of campus which also happened to be right next to a half-way house (yes, that sounds like a very good idea to me!) Over the years I’ve perfected the “don’t look at them in the eye and just move on” or the “bluff” and say “no, I don’t have any change I can spare” even though you know you could probably spare some coin but justify it with “I’m a poor college student.”
And you know what, I don’t blame anyone who thinks that way because more often than not I think that way. What do you suppose beggars use their money for? Booze? Drugs? Sex? Probably all three at one time or another. So why should someone just give money to a beggar when they don’t know what that money is going to be used for?
I’ve thought about giving money to the homeless or even volunteering my time to help others. I’ve just never seemed to be at that point in my life where I was able to branch out and stop worrying about myself and be able to share or even give to another person. A lot of times growing up I was either too self-absorbed or just had too much going on in my life to even consider being able to help someone else when my life needed so much help.
When I moved out to New York last year, I had a job, I had a place to live and I was by myself for the most part (save for Izzie always being around and the times Adam stopped on by.) I was someone “jealous” that Adam was able to volunteer his own time to become an EMT and be able to legitimately go out and save someone’s life on a nightly basis (and all this with a full-time day job, no less!) What could lil’ ol’ me do on the week nights to stave the boredom? I had thought about going to a Human Society shelter and volunteering there a few nights a week but it turns out even shelters close for the evenings at around 4, that doesn’t work for someone who worked in a Start-up environment. The feeling of charity eventually subsided and crawled back into the abyss which is my soul to fester – *cough* I mean hibernate, and I had nearly forgotten about my desire to “give back.”
Fast forward to last night. I’ve been unemployed for almost 3 months now as I wait for my new job to start next week. I’m standing in the oral hygiene isle at CVS down the street from my apartment because I’ve seemed to run out of toothpaste although I swear I bought two tubes the last time I was out (I always seem to be running out of toothpaste, my Adam has it as a snack?) Since I’ve been unemployed for 3 months, money was getting a little tight. I had to ask my mother that same day to lend me some money so I could pay February’s rent since my job got pushed back yet another week (damn bureaucracy!) The toothpaste cost $5.99. I contemplated about getting two tubes but decided not, “that’s $16! I don’t have enough for that!” As I walked to the register with my toothpaste in hand, I spent a couple minutes looking at the Valentine’s candy that was on display and picked out a bag of “fun-size” Kit-Kats (thinking about Adam, who loves the things) and heart-shaped York Peppermint Patties because I hadn’t had them in a really long time. I paid and then went home.
After chomping on a few Kit-Kats since I was starving and waiting for dinner to be done, I happened to look at the receipt that I shoved in the bag. It cost just as much for me to buy that damn candy than it would have been for me to buy that other tube of toothpaste. Ugh. Why was it okay for me to spend it on an obsession (chocolate) rather than something hygienic (toothpaste?)
I began to think about all the “things” in my life that I wanted. I had realized that over the past few months as I was looking for a job I had begun making lists of “things” I wanted to be able to afford after I started making money again. New wheels for my car to replace the ones that were stolen, a new iMac so I could have more computing power for the things I wanted to do, even a doggy seat belt for Izzie because it would make my life easier just to hook her up to that than lug around her obtuse kennel around on day trips. I began to felt guilty for my desire for “things” that I had developed rather than enriching experiences in my life.
I told you that story to tell you this one.
Tonight I was waiting for my train from White Plains into Grad Central. As I walked on to the platform, a middle-aged man who looked and acted like he may have been slightly mentally disabled asked me for a dollar. I lied and said I didn’t have any cash on me. I sat down and watched as he walked on down and asked someone else for change. Instead of what I had said earlier, he said “Where are you going? Are you going to buy a ticket with it?” and instead the guy said, “no I wanted to by food.” I couldn’t really hear the end of the conversation but it ended with the beggar hitting the elevator button to go downstairs. There is a little food mart downstairs, perhaps he got money from the guy and went downstairs to get something to eat. Or, he could have gotten nothing and instead of asking someone else who heard that exchange and would likely not give him money, went downstairs to wait it out until a new crowd moved in to the platform.
I took notice from the guy who answered the beggar’s request for money. Instead of just giving him something to go away he actively engaged him and asked him what he needed. If he needed a train ticket, would he spend the $8 to get him on his way? Would he walk the man downstairs and purchase him a sandwich to fill his empty belly? I was inspired and felt, “you know what, if faced with that decision again, that is what I am going to do inhidden;”>I began to think about all the “things” in my life that I wanted. I had realized that over the past few months as I was looking for a job I had begun making lists of “things” I wanted to be able to afford after I started making money again. New wheels for my car to replace the ones that were stolen, a new iMac so I could have more computing power for the things I wanted to do, even a doggy seat belt for Izzie because it would make my life easier just to hook her up to that than lug around her obtuse kennel around on day trips. I began to felt guilty for my desire for “things” that I had developed rather than enriching experiences in my life.
I told you that story to tell you this one.
Tonight I was waiting for my train from White Plains into Grad Central. As I walked on to the platform, a middle-aged man who looked and acted like he may have been slightly mentally disabled asked me for a dollar. I lied and said I didn’t have any cash on me. I sat down and watched as he walked on down and asked someone else for change. Instead of what I had said earlier, he said “Where are you going? Are you going to buy a ticket with it?” and instead the guy said, “no I wanted to by food.” I couldn’t really hear the end of the conversation but it ended with the beggar hitting the elevator button to go downstairs. There is a little food mart downstairs, perhaps he got money from the guy and went downstairs to get something to eat. Or, he could have gotten nothing and instead of asking someone else who heard that exchange and would likely not give him money, went downstairs to wait it out until a new crowd moved in to the platform.
I took notice from the guy who answered the beggar’s request for money. Instead of just giving him something to go away he actively engaged him and asked him what he needed. If he needed a train ticket, would he spend the $8 to get him on his way? Would he walk the man downstairs and purchase him a sandwich to fill his empty belly? I was inspired and felt, “you know what, if faced with that decision again, that is what I am going to do instead!”
I should have learned in the past that when I make promises to myself like that I am very quickly confronted by God/Fate/karma to test me. Tonight, my friend Sloan and I were walking out of The Bitter End after having a mediocre beer while listening to a mediocre band. As we decided to call it a night, a man walked up to us and asked if we could spare any change. I shook my head and asked him, “What do you need?” He told me he wanted to buy some food. I told him that I would buy him food instead of giving him money. ‘Lo and behold, a food truck was sitting just a few dozen feet away, open for business. I asked him what he wanted and he pointed to the #6 juicy cheeseburger.
As he ordered up another beggar he knew from the streets, walked up to him to say hello, also not wasting a moment to try and get a few bucks from us. Boy, God/Fate/karma was really pushing it tonight! I can’t remember exactly what was said but I agreed to buy him a burger too instead of giving him the money (he looked obviously drunk.) While we waited for the burgers to cook, the drunk beggar walked away, I’m assuming to use a restroom, but later thinking it might have been because I was pressing the other guy about why he was begging and what was going on in his life, looking back he might not have wanted me to ask him that.
The first beggar was very enthusiastic. He was missing a tooth or two at the front of his mouth but it didn’t keep him from smiling at us as we talked. He told us about how he was 5 months sober and began to recite the age-old mantra of the AA meetings as he pulled out his membership coins. I’m not all too familiar with what goes down at an AA meeting but I think I’ve seen enough shows and soap operas to glean that a coin is for a certain time period that you’re clean. He had two. He explained that this was his second time trying the AA thing and that he had relapsed a year or two before. He told us about the different half-way homes he had tried to live in and about how his things were stolen at one of them.
It was at this time that a young woman approached us with a cardboard sign about how her boyfriend dumped her and threw her out on the street so he could live with his new play thing. (Okay, so third time’s the charm, God?) She looked extremely tired, she was pretty lucid so I don’t think the look was from drugs. I also asked her if she was hungry, she declined and said someone else had already given her a sandwich.
After what seemed like an eternity, the burgers were done and the other beggar showed up to claim it. At least the first beggar was nice enough to chat with us while we waited to give him his food. The men grabbed their packages and immediately dug in and we said our good-byes and they blessed us with a couple hugs as we wished them to stay warm for the night.
I still don’t know if what I did was the “right” thing to do because I don’t know if those men or women were who they said they were (homeless) or if they were users out to make an easy buck. For all I know they will just go back to begging and never find the strength to find a proper living. However, I have decided that it was the right decision for me to make for myself at that time to try and do something different than to just ignore the situation.

Tonight I spent $12 to buy two beggars on the street food. I’ve never done that before. What on Earth would possess me to do that?

Before I answer that question, I’ll preface it with some explanation.

I lived in downtown-”ish” Boston for the better part of 5 years while I studied for my undergraduate degree. While walking to and from different places (some say you can get to anywhere in Boston by walking in about 15 minutes) you tend to meet some interesting people. Especially around the liquor store right on the edge of campus which also happened to be right next to a half-way house (yes, that sounds like a very good idea to me!) Over the years I’ve perfected the “don’t look at them in the eye and just move on” or the “bluff” and say “no, I don’t have any change I can spare” even though you know you could probably spare some coin but justify it with “I’m a poor college student.”

And you know what, I don’t blame anyone who thinks that way because more often than not I think that way. What do you suppose beggars use their money for? Booze? Drugs? Sex? Probably all three at one time or another. So why should someone just give money to a beggar when they don’t know what that money is going to be used for?

I’ve thought about giving money to the homeless or even volunteering my time to help others. I’ve just never seemed to be at that point in my life where I was able to branch out and stop worrying about myself and be able to share or even give to another person. A lot of times growing up I was either too self-absorbed or just had too much going on in my life to even consider being able to help someone else when my life needed so much help.

(more…)

Squadron Scramble Redux

2 years ago
by Rachel in

I’ll apologize to Brandon first for writing this because I am sure when he reads this blog post he will roll his eyes or puke at the thought of me brining this up.

My junior CSU670 “Software Development” class with Matthias Felleisen at Northeastern will forever be one of the most tortuous ordeals I will have ever lived though – but also probably the most rewarding. To this day, I still wake up from nightmares of me sitting at one of the Solaris boxes in the CCIS computer labs talking with other classmates and they ask me what other classes I am taking that semester; lo and behold I can’t even remember one of the 3 or 4 other classes I am supposed to be taking that semester, all I can think about is Software Dev and that I LIVE in this computer lab!

After passing the class from hell, a few of my friends and I made a pact of sorts that we would (one day) continue on with our code from the class and improve on it, because it really was probably one of the largest projects we had ever worked on.

If you have never heard of Squadron Scramble, no worries, I don’t think anyone in the class had ever heard of the game either. It’s a rummy style game but you use aircraft cards with aircrafts from World War II (oh, so appropriate since our professor is German.) Our class rules were modified from the original game, but the basic premise is that you collect three of an aircraft type and can use that to “shoot down” other aircraft trios with a few other wild cards thrown in for good measure.

We were required to pick a programming language and work in pairs and practice paired programming. I had mixed results in past course with paired programming but in this course it was absolutely critical that you have a well functioning team to carry out each week’s assignments, otherwise you would be behind for next week’s tasks because every week built on the weeks before it.

The tasks finally built up to us creating our own game server and administration as well as clients to connect to our server and other student team’s servers. We also had to create dumb artificial intelligence and come up with “player” strategies to try and beat each other with our “players.” And this was all using ugly XML syntax and we were only allowed to use the aging and severely out-dated Solaris machines. We also had to come up with a GUI interface, and did I mention that yes, it all had to work on the grossly out-dated Solaris machines?! That means using Tcl/Tk instead of all the new flashy goodness of anything else developed within the last decade.

With that said and done, my buddy, Ventz, asked me earlier this week if I had time to develop a Ruby client and server and bring the project back to life. My one request was that instead of XML we use JSON instead to make our lives easier. He was going to take a stab at re-writing a Perl version of the code and hopefully get a few other ex-CSU670ers to chip in a Java version and whatever other version they’d want to contribute. My first task is probably to write out a proper spec and improve upon on some of the universally despised guidelines in Matthias’ original spec.

If you’re interested in seeing the final code I wrote in the class, hop on over to my Subversion repository: http://svn.rachelober.com/csu670/ I think this is pretty much the final version of the code that I submitted in the class. I’m almost certain this will not run on anything unless you can get your hands on one of CCIS’ old Solaris servers (which have since been “taken out back” and summarily assassinated,) but I’ll add a disclaimer anyway that the code is provided “as-is” and under no warranty. If it screws up something on your system when you try to run it, sucks for you!

Maybe one day we’ll get some kind of game server to run and we can all play some crappy aircraft card game over the internet.

NYC’s Laws Against Large Dog Breeds

2 years ago
by Rachel in

I was stunned this morning when I read this news on the New York Times website: Large Dogs in Public Housing Are Now Endangered Species. The law restricts the breeds in which a resident of public housing may keep and forces residents to forfeit their dogs or be evicted. Some breeds affected are pure-bred or mixed bred pit bulls, Rottweilers and Doberman pinschers and any dog with an expected adult weight over 25lbs. Residents with an outlawed dog had until May 1, 2009 to register their dog. The man identified in the article attempted to register his dog but was rejected because he exceeded the previous weight limit of 40lbs (which his dog was.) many other residents were also unable to register before May 1, 2009 and are left with the difficult decision of whether to forfeit their dog, find another residency or try to hide under the radar.

When the country as a whole already has severe problems with abandoned and forfeited dogs and cats, I am literally dumb founded how a progressive city like New York would put in such a ludicrous law that will make that problem worse and overwhelm the already struggling shelters and rescuers that work day and night to find and save abused and neglected animals.

The article cites that 113 dogs have been given up because of the ban. Of the 113, 49 dogs were euthanized either because of their illness, temperament or overcrowding of the shelter.

Those were 49 dogs that because of this ban were taken from loving homes and euthanized. Completely. Unnecessary. I find this to be completely unacceptable and disgusting. Why couldn’t those pets be grandfathered in? When Adam and I were looking at apartments and condos a few weekends ago in New York City a few places no longer allowed pets but we still saw a few running around who had been “grandfathered” in.

It’s more distressing to me because Pembroke Welsh Corgis, like my Isabella, are on average about 30lbs at their adult weight and she is 32lbs as of now. She is the sweetest angel and she would never bite anyone! I don’t know what I would do if I were faced with the horrible decision of either giving up my best friend or losing my home. Luckily, she came from a breeder and she can always go back there, but most dog owners don’t have that luxury.

It’s also distressing that the stereotype of pit bulls and other “bad” dogs are being singled out. Sure, the incidents of a pit bull attack are more common than other dog attacks but it’s the owners that choose whether to raise their dog as vicious or with bad behaviors, not the breed themselves. I’ve seen plenty of aggressive poodles over the years, but they aren’t singled out! There is a pit bull that lives in my complex and he is the sweetest little pup!

I’m hoping that with the complaints from the ASPCA and other human societies will help New York City either repeal and look at dogs on a case by case basis rather than a blanket law. However, I feel that most of the damage has already been done and those 49 dogs can’t be brought back. :-(

Little Boots American Tour

2 years ago
by Rachel in ,

I’ve been listening to Little Boots since I got a free iTunes sampler earlier this year which included her track “Stuck on Repeat.” Samplers are usually a hit or miss for me, and I was immediately hooked on her sound and personality. Unfortunately, she has only really released tracks in the UK and there are only a handful of legit releases someone from the States can get their hands on. I’ve gobbled up most of her EPs and Remix tracks via iTunes and she even offered a mash-up track off of her website that is composed some released and non-released music.

Boy was I excited when I found out via her mailing-list that not only was she going to do a tour, albeit short, in the United States, but that she was coming to NYC! To make it even better, she was going to be in town a mere days before my birthday! (HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!) I scarfed up two tickets for me and Adam to see her and it only costed about $20 for each ticket. That was a steal for me!

Last night was the night and I was wowed! Not only from Little Boot’s performance and energy but by the two opening bands that night: Plastiscines and Yes Giantess. I should have realized I would have enjoyed Yes Giantess by the remix they did of Little Boots’ “Earthquake” that she released a couple weeks ago.

The Plastiscines were an all-female group with a hard edge. From what I could tell they were French due to their accents, after doing some research I found out I was right. I like being able to hear powerful women who don’t come off as whiney or bitches and they didn’t disappoint. I’m sorry to admit this, but I was really impressed with their hair and clothing too! To be able to rock and look good while doing it? Fab!

Yes Giantess was also a pleasant surprise. As we waited for them to make up the stage I watched the crew put together the different synthesizers and keyboards that the team were going to play and then there was a lone Mac laptop with red electrical tape spelling out “YES” sitting on there as well. These guys were outright nerds and seemed to have a jolly time up there banging away on the keys.

Then came the headliner: Little Boots. I had read Perez Hilton earlier in the day and knew she was to do a surprise set on whatever local event he was having that night in NYC, but I did notice it was here a few times peaking around the corner on the stage while the other acts played so Perez’s thing must not have been long. She had a disco-ball-esque dress on that refracted the stage light that shined in various directions. She has total control of the stage and is very adept at starting audience participation.

If you aren’t familiar with Little Boots’ YouTube videos, she performs with Tenori-On by Yamaha on some of her tracks. The device is so nerdy and dramatically different from all of the classical and modern day instruments out there. As I have interpreted it, you have to be competent in being able to program the machine and then can use your programming and sound bites to play. The most obvious song that you hear it on is “Meddle.”

Another interesting “instrument” she used was some sort of light beam that was sitting on a synthesizer and depending on how she moved her hand the sound would be different. I have no idea what it is called but it was awesome.

She wrapped up the night without playing “Stuck on Repeat” and I was getting a bit nervous! That was my favorite song and I think her most well-known. After exiting the stage everyone stayed on the dance floor and called for her to come back on. Then the first few bars of the song started to play and the crowd went wild! Everyone was satisfied. :-)

She played all the songs I knew of plus ones I hadn’t heard yet since her debut album “Hands” isn’t available in the States yet so I can only hope that one day we’ll be able to hear it. I’m really excited about what she has to offer to indie electronic music and I hope people in the states will be able to share in it really soon!

Lady Gaga's Arrival outfit at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards

My Love for Lady Gaga

2 years ago
by Rachel in
Lady Gaga's Arrival outfit at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards

Lady Gaga's Arrival outfit at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards

I’ve been a fan of Lady Gaga’s for at least a year and I started seeing her crazy outfits that I’m sure I have imagined in my head and dreams way before she became popular but never had the means or balls to create on my own. It’s hard for me to admit my love for Pop music sometimes. In the past, people seemed to have thought I was only a pop music person obsessed with bands like Savage Garden and subsequently artists like Darren Hayes. When I moved on to liking bands like Linkin Park in high school and (*gasp*) Nine Inch Nails, who is this new person? Surprisingly, in college some people only understand me to like metal and rock and industrial. My boyfriend can’t seem to understand this seeming duplicity.

How can someone love outrageous rock and stage shows and ALSO like POP?! How dare she!

Why do people even care who/what/when you like? I like people who put their all in their art, be it photography, music, or programming. When you create something for you and something that comes from you, you see imagination and spirit at work. I find that most art created that way is my favorite.

To be honest, I am a Music Video freak. When I was little the two stations I watched were VH1 and the Weather Channel (yes, I was a weird little kid and also one who wasn’t allowed to watch MTV so substituted it with VH1.) When I got older, I used to love watching the MTV Video Music Awards because it was one of my favorite things being showcased exclusively. Unfortunately, I grew up a bit and felt the VMAs, which used to be about making FUN of awards shows and people showing up in outrageous outfits (or sloppy because really, rockers didn’t care!) Soon it became just another fricken’ awards show with vapid people watching other vapid artists accepting awards for mediocre ideas.

I got a bit excited this year whenever I found out Lady Gaga would be performing. It seems like she has been preparing all year for this one moment. Starting with comparisons from last year’s VMA performance by Cristina Agulera to Lady Gaga’s well established unique style that was already hitting up New York City, Lady Gaga had accomplished what she set out to do – blow people’s minds away and kick everyone in the balls with her music and style.

In interviews, Lady Gaga proclaims that everything she does is carefully calculated and everything has meaning. In one short year she has been relatively unknown to a superstar. We can see through her music videos from Just Dance (the young teenager entering the party scene and “waking” everybody up to dance and let loose) through Paparazzi (a slave to fame willing to kill or be killed just to stay in the lime light) a transformation of her character that tells a story itself.

Lady Gaga performing "Paparazzi" at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards

Lady Gaga performing "Paparazzi" at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards

I didn’t watch the VMAs when they happened because even though I was planning on watching it, I had gotten home around 8pm from a long day in New York City and just wanted to take a shower and chill out, which didn’t include watching douche bags like Kanye West crashing the stage while Taylor Swift attempts to accept her first Moon Man. Really, this is the second time he’s pulled this shit, can’t they put extra security on that guy and tackle him any time he tries to jump the stage? Anyway, after I saw the buzz last night, I tried in vain to find early footage of the performance but ultimately failed. Signing on this morning, GagaDaily saved me and had uploaded a lovely high quality video of Paparazzi in its full, wonderful glory.

The song starts with a crash of glass as a few men rush to see what went wrong. The drapes open as she begins to sing the first lines of the song and we find our heroine collapsed under an enormous glass chandelier. Her dutiful servants rush to her side and rescue her from the near death experience. Wide eyed from her close call, we see Lady Gaga in a beautiful white outfit fashioned with a small cape and a feathered white mask. Her right bosom and right boot, also white, are glittered with red gems, obviously a foreshadow of what’s to come.

She sings Paparazzi in a different key but still fits well with the original music which you can hear as background vocals. She dances across the stage with her backup dancers as if she is pleading to the audience and to an unseen force that controls her every move. During the chorus a frantic woman is wheeled out on to the stage in a wheel chair and clamors to be near Lady Gaga as Gaga herself is handed a crutch to walk upon (an homage to the successful “Paparazzi” music video) as she limps down the cat walk. As the bridge approaches, she returns to the neglected piano at stage right and while tossing her left leg onto the ivory keys, bangs out a reprise of a similar melody she usually performs for her acoustic shows and as she turns around to repeat the chorus one more time, we see that she hasn’t escaped the falling chandelier unscathed and is now bleeding from the chest. She clutches her wound with the palm of her hand and once again begins to plead.

Soon, as she begins to near the end of her song, the damsel staggers to the center of the stage to her waiting servants who catch her as she falls but they are unable to save her as she is strung up above them for all to see. The song ends and we are left with her hanging as paparazzi cameras shutter and flashes reflect off her body and the background of the stage.

I’m sure most won’t see the beauty and artistry in the performance as I do, in fact my friend texted me a mere minutes after the show and asked me what I thought. Since I didn’t see it when he did I told him I would have to get back to him on my thoughts, but he only replied that “she is messed up.” That may be, but so am I and perhaps why I enjoy her creations immensely. There is a place for all of us in this world, but sometimes we have to create that spot ourselves.

Lately, there have been many ludicrous accusations made by ignorant media and fans claiming that Lady Gaga is indeed a transvestite man. She responded with a comment that in this day and age if you are strong and competent, those traits could “only” be attributed to a man and women just aren’t allowed to be that way. Perhaps the rumors have some truth to them, because it sure seems Lady Gaga has more balls than most of the other “artists” out there today.

Go to Top