Date/Time: Wednesday, September 16th, 2009, 7pm
Place: Tool Shed, Milwaukee

In September we will be talking about healthy discussion versus argument. We can use Tristan Taormino's "Opening Up" as a guide: chapter 4 (page 33) - "Consent, Boundaries, Communication" and chapter 11 (page 121)- "Negotiation, Rules & Agreements".

Date: August 30, 2009
Time: 1pm until whenever we decide to go home
Place: Estabrook Park is kind of expensive, so I didn't reserve any of the
picnic areas. However, only one of them (out of 8) is reserved on
that day, so I think we should be good. I'm thinking that we can use
areas 3, 4, or 5 (on the map here [pdf]).
It's by the bigger parking lot, and it's in a good area with some
woods - i.e. shade.

Please bring your family, SOs, partners, et al, as well as a dish or
snacks or drinks. If you'd like to bring something to do outside,
that would be great, too. I'll probably bring my frisbee and a soccer
ball. Other such outdoorsy things would be great. Also, if anyone
has a grill they can donate to the cause (meaning just bring along),
we'd appreciate it.

There are a number of vegetarians/vegans, so please be conscious of
that. If you have some dishes you'd like to make that are friendly,
that would be awesome, but it's not mandatory. There are plenty of
meatatarians, too.

Ok, so don't literally carry a big stick, maybe just a metaphorical one.

If you haven't been around the internet over the course of the past month, you've missed at least five pieces of media related to polyamory. That, in turn, has produced a fair amount of response across the web from various sources. While some of the press has been negative, it's the comments that inevitably get me more riled up. And some of them aren't even negative comments.

So here's a plea: please - PLEASE - if you're going to respond to someone in favor of polyamory, open marriages, or any other alternative relationship style, do it will intelligence. It hurts our cause more than you might think to write what comes to mind first as a reaction to someone else. Intelligence, logic, reason, and well-thought prose makes for a better foundation to stand on than argumentative responses. One of the hardest things for me is taking things in stride, and I know that it's only going to get worse now that I'm out to the community at large. People will forever disagree with someone or some thing. Why? Because it's in our nature. But to defend your beliefs intelligently without the self-righteous tone of "my way is better than your way" is the best way for people to listen to you - or at least leave you alone because they can't dissect your argument.

Oh, and here's the media:
Jenny Block on AOL
Terisa Greenan on KOMO - 7/22/2009
Poly in Newsweek - 7/29/2009
Op-ed in Wall Street Times - 8/3/2009
FindLaw article on Polyamory and its legality - 8/3/2009
ComingOutPoly on TMJ4 - 7/17/2009
OnMilwaukee.com op-ed response to TMJ4 - 7/31/2009

The three of us will be on a radio show tonight at about 10pm. If you want to send/call in questions, see the information below. WBGU FM is the radio station for Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. They have a sex-positive show entitled "Sex Talk" every Sunday evening. Tonight's will be with us about polyamory.

Thanks!
Ashe

"You can have callers (friends) call in with live questions and/or comments through the same 800 number 1-888-7WBGUFM, and they can email questions at www.sexualitytutor.com and click on the email button, or IM/Yahoo/Aim at WBGUFM"

If you haven't checked out the YouTube web series, Family, before, you should. It's quirky, funny, and realistic - to a certain point.

Recently, it was featured on the Seattle news. It's another fair piece about polyamory and its "normalcy." It was also approached by The Kinsey Institute and Oprah. How awesome is that? It's good that people are becoming more aware of polyamory and how non-creepy it is.

So here's hoping that this will be another good bit of press for us.