旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � 켠� � � 爐� 靈� 靈� 켠� 靈� � � 爐� 靈� 爐� � 靈� � 爐� � � � 픔� 픔 � 픔� � � 픔� 픈� � � � � � � � 픔 � � � � � 懃� 聃� � � � 聃� � � � � 聃� � � � 聃� 聃� 懃� � 突袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴� THE CAT CHRONICLE ----------------- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE * * July 14, 1995 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The CAT Chronicle is published weekly, every Friday by Children's Animated Television (CAT). CAT produces educational videos for children and teens on social issues such as AIDS and diversity, as well as provide a free public service computer BBS. -------------------------------------------------------------------- CAT CURRENTS: ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Exciting development from the office our president Claude DiDomenica this week. He has been in contact with John Fanning, the System Operator of the CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse Online BBS. This newsletter will now be available as a file on their BBS! CAT may even have its own file area for the newsletter and press releases. The GLB self esteem video is slowly falling into place. Our Executive Director, Bessie Hadley, has been in contact with the Massachusetts Department of Education, teens and educators. We have received a helping hand from the National Network for Youth, Children of the Night, The Actor's Fund of America and the our very own, Representative Barney Frank! We are pleased to receive a good response from such a variety of people. Look for more updates right here! Web Home Page News ------------------ This week we are still in the construction stages of building our new World Wide Web site. It will be well worth the wait. We will have links to our sponsors, other bulletin boards, and the AIDS Daily Summary as well as entertaining and unique visuals. The estimated premiere date is July 21, 1995. We CAT people are ecstatic to be able to offer this public service to you. Stay tuned here for updates on this exciting project!!! CAT People: ~~~~~~~~~~ This week, we want to focus on two of our long-time sponsors: Robert DiDomenica, musical composer and Dan Linton, Software Creations Founder and bulletin board guru extraordinaire. They will be featured on CAT's World Wide Web site in the "Sponsors, Friends and Volunteers" page. We thank them again for their continued support and belief in our goals GLB Youth Advisor: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Learning Self Acceptance Becoming aware of our sexuality represents an important journey for young gays, involving both self discovery and acceptance; however, these issues frequently bring both pain and confusion to almost everyone. Most all humans feel confused at some point in their lives, especially teenagers and young adults. These feelings are part of 'growing up' gay. Although most people outgrow this stage of life quickly, we face some additional challenges. Speaking for myself, I literally woke up one morning after a dream and thought to myself 'I think I am gay.' Speaking with a number of individuals the last couple of years, this is common but not exclusive. Most of my childhood featured 'gay feelings' but the actual acknowledgment of what these feelings meant came overnight. The process of self discovery can be both exciting and frightening, because the lessons learned growing up gay are at times painful, but at other times wonderful. Let me give you an example: my first encounter with 'homophobia' (Someone who dislikes homosexuals or is fearful of them) occurred at college. Discovering the hate your own friends display towards your identity sent me into a depression that nearly killed me. While never revealing my homosexuality to these 'friends,' I tolerated their hateful comments and threats to others they suspected were gay. Instead of standing up for myself and trying to improve the quality of life for other homosexuals and myself at the college, I fled by dropping out of school. My failure to accept myself resulted in dropping out of school. Unfortunately I still feared my gay identity and attempted to avoid the issue by running away from my problem. Actually, I tried to escape this fear of myself by both leaving college and attempting suicide. These feelings represent an entirely different subject for discussion, but the point here is that I learned a painful lesson. Exploring the positive accepts of being gay leads to self acceptance. Being held closely and kissed by someone you really like begins to change your perspective. Suddenly, you discover the wonder and comfort associated with your first relationships. There exists an entire 'Gay Community' united to lend each other support and friendship. Once you learn that you are not alone in the world, immediately the journey to self acceptance begins. This particular emotional trip will take a great deal of time, depending on your particular personality. While I experienced the joy and comfort of physically being with someone I find attractive, I never experienced my first relationship or 'boyfriend.' I feel this makes life more difficult, because I cannot share certain feelings and thoughts with just anyone. Understanding that self acceptance cannot be achieved alone is an important step. We need to develop friendships with other gay youth because it gives us an outlet. Having other gay friends provides you a means of expressing your feelings, fears and hopes. The same emotions you felt could not be revealed to other friends or family members can be shared and discussed with people just like you. I am in the process with surrounding myself with gay friends, who provide me with advice and support. So despite not having ever had a boyfriend, at least there are people in my life who can help me through troublesome times. Once you begin to develop relationships and friendships, you find yourself becoming comfortable with your identity. Finally, you begin to learn self acceptance. Once you shake the fear of being gay and replace those feelings with confidence and pride, your outlook on life begins to slowly change. Realize that you are surrounded by successful gay men and women, these people impact the lives of every human being in the world. Many of the world's greatest authors, actors, poets, scientists, politicians, diplomats and military leaders are homosexual. Becoming free of the emotional turmoil caused by denying your self-identify, you will find yourself becoming more creative and productive. Our history is rich and diverse, and self acceptance allows you to become part of our 'gay community.' Mike Reddin Volunteer GLB Youth Advisor for Children's Animated Television Internet Address: wxman@pcix.com Child Safety Corner... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Child safety tip of the week: FIREARMS SAFETY. Each year nearly 500 children die, and 8000 are injured from unintentional shootings in the home. Here are a few hints for parents who own guns, to prevent a tragedy: * Keep your guns locked up and unloaded. Keep the ammunition separate from the gun and keep the keys away from children. * Get trigger locks to further reduce the risk. * Talk to your kids about the dangers of guns. * Teach your kids if they find a gun, not to handle it, but notify an adult or police. * If you must buy your kids toy guns, don't buy realistic looking guns. Children with realistic looking toy guns have been shot due to being mistaken for having a real gun. * BB guns and air rifles are powerful: most can penetrate skin or bone. Although rare, deaths do occur with their use. * Toy guns which shoot discs, rubber BB's, darts or any projectiles still present the risk of injury, monitor the use of these toys. * If your child's friend's parents own guns, ensure they practice firearms safety before allowing your child to play there. * Teach your child never to point a gun at people. If your child shows signs of suicide or unusual aggressiveness, consider getting rid of your guns or having them stored outside the home. Many gun clubs or police departments offer firearms storage at low or no cost. Jeff Sam Volunteer Child Safety Conference Moderator and Co-Sysop of Dr Furball's BBS The CAT Credo... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Children's Animated Television (CAT) believes in a positive future for all children... CAT's philosophy is to help solve today's complex social problems through honest and open dialogue, education, information and compromise... CAT will produce video programs for pre-teens and teens to stimulate their minds, harness their creativity and imaginations to cultivate long-lasting answers to problems in their world... As a public service, CAT will also provide educational information using all available technology including a computer bulletin board, World Wide Web site and other electronic media. CAT will supply this knowledge for children, parents and educators to enable our society to develop ideas and solutions for a better tomorrow... Claude DiDomenica & Bessie Hadley Founders of Children's Animated Television July 15, 1995 -------------------------------------------------------------------- CAT is a 501-C-3 non-profit organization and all donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Contact Information: Bessie Hadley Executive Director Children's Animated Television, Inc. 1492 Highland Ave, Suite 3 Needham, MA 02192 USA Voice: 617-449-9699 FAX: 617-449-2238 Dr Furball's BBS: 617-455-8415 node 1 617-433-0026 node 2 Internet: hadley@usa1.com Claude DiDomenica President of CAT and Sysop of Dr Furball's BBS Internet: didom@usa1.com Coming soon, CAT's WEB Home Page: http://www1.usa1.com/~furball/ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Get CAT's latest info releases from Software Creations BBS * * "Home of the Authors" * * <<*-*-*-*->> * * Internet Access: Telnet BBS.SWCBBS.COM * * <<*-*-*-*->> * * WEB Access: http://www.swcbbs.com * * <<*-*-*-*->> * * 2400/9600/14.4 USR HST/Dual Standard Public Access (508) 368-7036 * * 2400/9600/14.4/28.8 USR V.Everything Public Access (508) 368-6604 * * 2400/9600/14.4 USR HST/Dual Standard Member Access (508) 368-7139 * * 9600/14.4/16.8/28.8 USR V.Everything Member Access (508) 368-3424 * * <<*-*-*-*->> * * At Main Menu, type: J 178 * * for "Dr Furball's Educational & Philanthropical Conference" * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * --------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 1995 Children's Animated Television, Inc. All Rights Reserved This newsletter may be freely distributed as long as it remains intact and this notice is not removed. Please do not post on USENET, FIDONET, WILDNET etc. without permission of the conference moderator. # # #