LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The world famous former Cunard liner R.M.S. Queen Mary, once the undisputed Grand Dame of the North Atlantic and perhaps the most loved ocean liner of the 20th century, will be visited by the youngest Cunarder Queen Elizabeth on the evening of March 12 in Long Beach Harbor.
Retired from the sea now 45 years, the hotel and special event venue has been visited by millions of tourists. Cunard Line has never forgotten its famous former flagship and over the years has sent its ships to pay tribute to the first Queen.
The world famous former Cunard liner R.M.S. Queen Mary, once the undisputed Grand Dame of the North Atlantic and perhaps the most loved ocean liner of the 20th century, will be visited by the youngest Cunarder Queen Elizabeth on the evening of March 12 in Long Beach Harbor.
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Thursday, February 28, 2013
Texas legislator wants to cut funding to LGBT-friendly school districts
Local school districts that offer domestic partner benefits to their employees would receive a cut in state funding under leg -More-
(8) The Gay Fucking Fucky Pride Show Coming Out Stories
Adam & Andrews Tatu parody ‘I’m a Lesbian,’ My software ate the real show so here’s the fake one , Bickering lezzies, Gay Pride but not in Miami, I need to get Bucked?, Coming out stories, Really bad greaseball accents, Shout outs!
Vermont Ski Weeks Set for Stowe and Killington
Just as a blast of frigid Arctic air rushes through New England this week, the Green Mountain State is readying for 29th edition of the ever popular Winter Rendezvous, aka Stowe Gay Ski Week, which commences on January 23 and lasts through the 27th. As I like to remind readers whenever I talk about gay ski and snowboard events, these gatherings are great fun if you're a fan of winter sports, but you needn't be an ardent skier or boarder to enjoy them. There are all sorts of parties going on, plus other activities beyond skiing - from snowshoeing to dog-sledding. And, of course, Stowe's cushy resorts have hot tubs, in some cases spas, and cozy bars and restaurants that perfect for apres-ski relaxation....Read Full Post
Trouble... with a capital T: Coronation Street recap ? March 28
Last week saw Sophie returning home from the hospital after her fall, and discussing her feelings about how she survived it with her pessimistic girlfriend, Sian. Sophie has returned to work and stumbles across a new addition to the street’s residents, who makes life interesting for our lesbionic couple.
28th March
Random Rosie tries to encourage Sophie to stay on Kevin’s good side after his recent lottery win. She explains that if Sally doesn’t get half in the divorce, then it’s better to be in with their dad for the money. Sophie’s shocked at how easily her sister is swayed by money and how disloyal it is to their mum, and Random Rosie can’t believe that Sophie is her sister with the things that go on in her head. Oh Double R, how I have missed your superficial logic recently.
Kevin sent Sally a bouquet of flowers, but she mistook them as being sent from Jeff. When she finds out the truth about Kevin trying to buy his way back into her life, she doesn’t like it one bit. I think this divorce is going to get very ugly, very quickly.
Sophie is back working at the shop, and has her first encounter with a new addition to the street. He flirts and she just rolls her eyes and barely even gives him the time of day... or the correct change for his purchases.
Sian is next in line to meet the newest addition to the street, and he flirts with her too, while she just looks at him and walks on. Wow, this guy really can’t take a hint.
He’s looking for Tyrone and goes to the garage, where he meets Kevin in a bad mood. Surprise, surprise! He then goes to the cafe and finds Sian... who he begins telling about the way Kevin spoke to him, and how he was treated by the stroppy girl in the shop. Sian smirks and tries not to laugh at her girlfriend’s mood and Kevin’s response.
He decides to show Sian some of the tricks he learned out in Thailand for relieving stress and starts to sort her Chi with reflexology on her hand. Just as he’s manhandling Sian’s palm... Sophie arrives in the cafe.
“What the hell is going on?!” To be fair, I’d probably ask the same thing if I walked in on a guy I didn’t like, playing with my girl’s hand. Kevin also walks in and as the guy tells Sophie where to go, Kevin tells him to back off from his daughter. All the while Sian’s trying not to laugh as the guy works out Kevin and Sophie are related... then when he discovers Sophie and Sian are a couple he comments on it being a waste. Daddy Kevin to the rescue again when Sophie says he’s being homophobic to them. The guy says he wasn’t making comment on her sexuality; he was making comment on her. Kevin goes all caveman on his ass and wants to take it “outside!” Sian points out to the guy that Tyrone’s just walked in and he’d better go. Sophie takes his seat and the guy introduces himself to Ty as Tommy Duckworth, Jack’s grandson... and wonders if Jack’s about, not knowing that Jack died just a few months before.
- - -
Well, Sophian seem to be getting more comfortable at telling people they’re together, and Sophie really needs to take that green-eyed monster off of her before it gets her in more trouble with Sian. Come back next week to see what happens next with the divorce and it’s affect on our little lesbionic couple. You can read previous recaps here.
28th March
Random Rosie tries to encourage Sophie to stay on Kevin’s good side after his recent lottery win. She explains that if Sally doesn’t get half in the divorce, then it’s better to be in with their dad for the money. Sophie’s shocked at how easily her sister is swayed by money and how disloyal it is to their mum, and Random Rosie can’t believe that Sophie is her sister with the things that go on in her head. Oh Double R, how I have missed your superficial logic recently.
Kevin sent Sally a bouquet of flowers, but she mistook them as being sent from Jeff. When she finds out the truth about Kevin trying to buy his way back into her life, she doesn’t like it one bit. I think this divorce is going to get very ugly, very quickly.
Sophie is back working at the shop, and has her first encounter with a new addition to the street. He flirts and she just rolls her eyes and barely even gives him the time of day... or the correct change for his purchases.
Sian is next in line to meet the newest addition to the street, and he flirts with her too, while she just looks at him and walks on. Wow, this guy really can’t take a hint.
He’s looking for Tyrone and goes to the garage, where he meets Kevin in a bad mood. Surprise, surprise! He then goes to the cafe and finds Sian... who he begins telling about the way Kevin spoke to him, and how he was treated by the stroppy girl in the shop. Sian smirks and tries not to laugh at her girlfriend’s mood and Kevin’s response.
He decides to show Sian some of the tricks he learned out in Thailand for relieving stress and starts to sort her Chi with reflexology on her hand. Just as he’s manhandling Sian’s palm... Sophie arrives in the cafe.
“What the hell is going on?!” To be fair, I’d probably ask the same thing if I walked in on a guy I didn’t like, playing with my girl’s hand. Kevin also walks in and as the guy tells Sophie where to go, Kevin tells him to back off from his daughter. All the while Sian’s trying not to laugh as the guy works out Kevin and Sophie are related... then when he discovers Sophie and Sian are a couple he comments on it being a waste. Daddy Kevin to the rescue again when Sophie says he’s being homophobic to them. The guy says he wasn’t making comment on her sexuality; he was making comment on her. Kevin goes all caveman on his ass and wants to take it “outside!” Sian points out to the guy that Tyrone’s just walked in and he’d better go. Sophie takes his seat and the guy introduces himself to Ty as Tommy Duckworth, Jack’s grandson... and wonders if Jack’s about, not knowing that Jack died just a few months before.
- - -
Well, Sophian seem to be getting more comfortable at telling people they’re together, and Sophie really needs to take that green-eyed monster off of her before it gets her in more trouble with Sian. Come back next week to see what happens next with the divorce and it’s affect on our little lesbionic couple. You can read previous recaps here.
Violence Against Women Act passes Senate
Violence Against Women Act passes Senate
New York Times
Copyright 2013 New York Times. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Updated 11:13 pm, Tuesday, February 12, 2013
The Senate, with broad bipartisan support, voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to expand the reach of 1994's landmark Violence Against Women Act by fortifying the power of Native American courts and explicitly protecting gay victims of abuse.
The vote came after 17 House Republicans on Monday wrote to Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House majority leader, demanding immediate action on an anti-domestic-violence bill that can get bipartisan support, unlike the House bill that passed largely on party lines last year.
[...] the 2012 election results - and the yawning gender gap that kept the White House in President Obama's hands, expanded Democratic control of the Senate and chipped away at the Republicans' House majority - may have changed the political dynamics on the antiviolence bill.
New York Times
Copyright 2013 New York Times. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Updated 11:13 pm, Tuesday, February 12, 2013
The Senate, with broad bipartisan support, voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to expand the reach of 1994's landmark Violence Against Women Act by fortifying the power of Native American courts and explicitly protecting gay victims of abuse.
The vote came after 17 House Republicans on Monday wrote to Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House majority leader, demanding immediate action on an anti-domestic-violence bill that can get bipartisan support, unlike the House bill that passed largely on party lines last year.
[...] the 2012 election results - and the yawning gender gap that kept the White House in President Obama's hands, expanded Democratic control of the Senate and chipped away at the Republicans' House majority - may have changed the political dynamics on the antiviolence bill.
Women protest Zuckerberg's Christie event
Women protest Zuckerberg's Christie event
Mark Zuckerberg may be the master of the world's largest social network, but at his first foray into campaign fundraising - hosting New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday at his home in Palo Alto - the billionaire CEO got a clear message that many of his Facebook "friends" could turn on him if he becomes a serious political player.
A crowd of 100 noisy protesters, including those representing women's health and LGBT interests, gathered outside Zuckerberg's home to protest Christie's presence and the Republican's positions on issues including LGBT rights and federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
Christie has four times vetoed funding for Planned Parenthood in his state, and he drew fire from newspapers there when his budget belt-tightening included ending $7.5 million in public funds for the organization that provides health services and birth control to millions of low-income women.
Mark Zuckerberg may be the master of the world's largest social network, but at his first foray into campaign fundraising - hosting New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday at his home in Palo Alto - the billionaire CEO got a clear message that many of his Facebook "friends" could turn on him if he becomes a serious political player.
A crowd of 100 noisy protesters, including those representing women's health and LGBT interests, gathered outside Zuckerberg's home to protest Christie's presence and the Republican's positions on issues including LGBT rights and federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
Christie has four times vetoed funding for Planned Parenthood in his state, and he drew fire from newspapers there when his budget belt-tightening included ending $7.5 million in public funds for the organization that provides health services and birth control to millions of low-income women.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Click Click Expose Gay Podcast Network - Weekly Update May 24, 2011
Hey Podcast Fans...another week...another round of podcast shows from Click Click Expose (Gay Entertainment Media) CELEBRATING OUR 5TH YEAR OF PODCASTING FOR THE GAY AND LESBIAN COMMUNITY. What is the Click Click Expose Gay Podcast Network? We are a network of different podcast shows either produced by Click Click Expose (Gay Entertainment Media) or distributed by our official content producers and supporters. Our goal is to bring you a wide variety of LGBT podcast shows designed to enrich, entertain and enlighten the gay and lesbian community. Check out the new redesigned Click Click Expose Website - Click Click Expose and let us know what you think. It's easier now to listen to Click Click Expose Radio, hear your favorite podcast shows, watch the hottest videos, read the latest news, and so much more.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY:
Subscribe via RSS Feed HERE!
THIS WEEK'S SYNOPSIS: 1. Gay News Week In Review - "Week Ending 5/25/2011" 2. Strange Dreamz with Kevin J. Thornton - "Episode #20 - Homophobia, Christianity and Vulgarity" 3. This Show Is So Gay - "Boston Gay Men's Chorus" 4. Same Gender Loving Expressions - "International Day of Homophobia" 5. House Music Show - DJ Carlos Dali - "Musica la Beija (House 4 da House)"
LISTEN:
Gay News Week In Review w/e 05/25/2011 (Podcast)
Strange Dreamz with Kevin J. Thornton - Episode #20 (Podcast)
This Show Is So Gay - Boston Gay Men's Chorus (Podcast)
Same Gender Loving Expressions - Episode #29(Podcast)
DJ Carlos Dali - Musica La Beija (House 4 da House) (Podcast)
read more
SUBSCRIBE TODAY:
Subscribe via RSS Feed HERE!
THIS WEEK'S SYNOPSIS: 1. Gay News Week In Review - "Week Ending 5/25/2011" 2. Strange Dreamz with Kevin J. Thornton - "Episode #20 - Homophobia, Christianity and Vulgarity" 3. This Show Is So Gay - "Boston Gay Men's Chorus" 4. Same Gender Loving Expressions - "International Day of Homophobia" 5. House Music Show - DJ Carlos Dali - "Musica la Beija (House 4 da House)"
LISTEN:
Gay News Week In Review w/e 05/25/2011 (Podcast)
Strange Dreamz with Kevin J. Thornton - Episode #20 (Podcast)
This Show Is So Gay - Boston Gay Men's Chorus (Podcast)
Same Gender Loving Expressions - Episode #29(Podcast)
DJ Carlos Dali - Musica La Beija (House 4 da House) (Podcast)
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Review: K?s Choice Echo Mountain tour in Eindhoven
K’s Choice were supposed to play at the Effenaar shortly before Christmas 2010.
But I heard their American record company planned a US promo tour, which took precedent to their European one, so part of their European tour got postponed to a later date. I was informed the Eindhoven date was set for March 2nd, 2011. That was fine with me until I found out Serena Ryder and Melissa Etheridge were going to play Halifax Metro Centre the exact same day. Well, poop!
K’s Choice kicked off the Eindhoven concert with Favorite Adventure, a song they wrote for bass player Eric Grossman’s wedding. It was clear that this audience showed up to see K’s Choice - even though they gave opening act Arid, fellow Belgians, a shot. I have heard of them, and the one song I recognized off their set list was Too Late Tonight (which they played early on, but judging from the response from the audience, it might have been better if they played it towards the end of their set).
Singer Sarah announced at the start that this show consisted of two parts: an acoustic set and a full on “rock and roll” set. It’s very much like their latest album Echo Mountain of which the first disc contains up-tempo songs, and the second one consists of the slower songs and ballads. I was glad they decided to turn that around for the show and start off with the acoustic set first to get everybody warmed up and ready to rock out later.
The acoustic set lasted about half an hour (it seemed shorter), after which the band took a quick break, allowing their roadies to ready the stage for a regular rock concert.
I was pleasantly surprised when the band also played Virgin State Of Mind: Buffy fans may recognize this song from an episode in which K’s Choice had a cameo. They, of course, played their biggest hit - worldwide - Not An Addict as well.
I had a great time people watching: it almost felt like Pride. The audience consisted of people of all ages (anything from teenagers to your mom and dad), straight couples, lots of queer women. I eavesdropped on a conversation happening behind me where a straight guy introduced his lesbian friend to K’s Choice. (He, too, appreciated Sarah Bettens’s singing voice.)
K’s Choice came back for two encores. The first one was kicked off by Gert performing Shadowman, a song which (in a past tour) he had paired up with Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. It’s a slightly haunting song, and in total contrast to the rest of the show, but a good indicator the show is coming to an end. Both encores consisted of songs that are slower and have a more intimate feel to them.
<!--pagebreak-->
If I remember correctly, they ended the show with God In My Bed. People in the audience either hummed along, or were silently listening. And I was reminded of the fact there once was a time where smoking at venues and public spaces was still allowed: moments like these lent themselves to fish out one’s lighters and sway along to the music. Not anymore. People didn’t even take out their cell phones do to something similar.
Sarah thanked the audience for coming out (no pun intended), and said that playing at a sold out venue on their first date back in the Netherlands was wonderful. I had a great evening.
In case you’re interested, I found a slide show of band pictures taken at the Eindhoven show here.
But I heard their American record company planned a US promo tour, which took precedent to their European one, so part of their European tour got postponed to a later date. I was informed the Eindhoven date was set for March 2nd, 2011. That was fine with me until I found out Serena Ryder and Melissa Etheridge were going to play Halifax Metro Centre the exact same day. Well, poop!
K’s Choice kicked off the Eindhoven concert with Favorite Adventure, a song they wrote for bass player Eric Grossman’s wedding. It was clear that this audience showed up to see K’s Choice - even though they gave opening act Arid, fellow Belgians, a shot. I have heard of them, and the one song I recognized off their set list was Too Late Tonight (which they played early on, but judging from the response from the audience, it might have been better if they played it towards the end of their set).
Singer Sarah announced at the start that this show consisted of two parts: an acoustic set and a full on “rock and roll” set. It’s very much like their latest album Echo Mountain of which the first disc contains up-tempo songs, and the second one consists of the slower songs and ballads. I was glad they decided to turn that around for the show and start off with the acoustic set first to get everybody warmed up and ready to rock out later.
The acoustic set lasted about half an hour (it seemed shorter), after which the band took a quick break, allowing their roadies to ready the stage for a regular rock concert.
I was pleasantly surprised when the band also played Virgin State Of Mind: Buffy fans may recognize this song from an episode in which K’s Choice had a cameo. They, of course, played their biggest hit - worldwide - Not An Addict as well.
I had a great time people watching: it almost felt like Pride. The audience consisted of people of all ages (anything from teenagers to your mom and dad), straight couples, lots of queer women. I eavesdropped on a conversation happening behind me where a straight guy introduced his lesbian friend to K’s Choice. (He, too, appreciated Sarah Bettens’s singing voice.)
K’s Choice came back for two encores. The first one was kicked off by Gert performing Shadowman, a song which (in a past tour) he had paired up with Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. It’s a slightly haunting song, and in total contrast to the rest of the show, but a good indicator the show is coming to an end. Both encores consisted of songs that are slower and have a more intimate feel to them.
<!--pagebreak-->
If I remember correctly, they ended the show with God In My Bed. People in the audience either hummed along, or were silently listening. And I was reminded of the fact there once was a time where smoking at venues and public spaces was still allowed: moments like these lent themselves to fish out one’s lighters and sway along to the music. Not anymore. People didn’t even take out their cell phones do to something similar.
Sarah thanked the audience for coming out (no pun intended), and said that playing at a sold out venue on their first date back in the Netherlands was wonderful. I had a great evening.
In case you’re interested, I found a slide show of band pictures taken at the Eindhoven show here.
US judge: ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ unconstitutional
LOS ANGELES (AP) – A federal judge said she will issue an order to halt the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, after she declared the ban on openly gay service members unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips ruled Thursday that the prohibition on openly gay service members was unconstitutional because it violates the First and Fifth Amendment rights of gays and lesbians.
The policy doesn’t help military readiness and instead has a “direct and deleterious effect” on the armed services by hurting recruitment efforts during wartime and requiring the discharge of service members who have critical skills and training, she said.
The Log Cabin Republicans sued the federal government in…
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U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips ruled Thursday that the prohibition on openly gay service members was unconstitutional because it violates the First and Fifth Amendment rights of gays and lesbians.
The policy doesn’t help military readiness and instead has a “direct and deleterious effect” on the armed services by hurting recruitment efforts during wartime and requiring the discharge of service members who have critical skills and training, she said.
The Log Cabin Republicans sued the federal government in…
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Montana GOP policy: Make homosexuality illegal
HELENA, Mont. (AP) – At a time when gays have been gaining victories across the country, the Republican Party in Montana still wants to make homosexuality illegal.
The party adopted an official platform in June that keeps a long-held position in support of making homosexual acts illegal, a policy adopted after the Montana Supreme Court struck down such laws in 1997.
The fact that it’s still the official party policy more than 12 years later, despite a tidal shift in public attitudes since then and the party’s own pledge of support for individual freedoms, has exasperated some GOP members.
“I looked at that and said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’” state Sen. John Brueggeman, R-Polson, said last week. “…
Read More
The party adopted an official platform in June that keeps a long-held position in support of making homosexual acts illegal, a policy adopted after the Montana Supreme Court struck down such laws in 1997.
The fact that it’s still the official party policy more than 12 years later, despite a tidal shift in public attitudes since then and the party’s own pledge of support for individual freedoms, has exasperated some GOP members.
“I looked at that and said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’” state Sen. John Brueggeman, R-Polson, said last week. “…
Read More
"Maddow is an anchor who is, she says? ?definitely not an ?autocutie??. And if there were any doubt,..."
?Maddow is an anchor who is, she says? ?definitely not an ?autocutie??. And if there were any doubt, when she stands up from her desk, she reveals that the jacket is worn, not with a pencil skirt, but a pair of jeans and cumbersome black and red trainers. ?And not just jeans ? ugly jeans!? Maddow laughs, proudly, and then swiftly swaps that regulation jacket for a grey sweatshirt.? - Rachel Maddow: The Guardian (via fuckyeahrachelmaddow)
WATCH: L.A.'s Gay Men's Chorus Kicks off Oscars
A surprise performance at the start of the 85th Academy Awards.
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Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Barracks Row Stabbing Trial Could Be Delayed: Friday hearing sees possibility of postponement in case of Marine accused of stabbing another while using anti-gay slurs
News:
The trial of one Marine accused of stabbing another in an altercation in D.C.'s Barracks Row neighborhood last April could be delayed a week, after the suspect's defense attorney today advised the court he may not be ready to start trial March 4. The defense also advised that its chief expert witness's schedule could also delay the start of the trial.
Michael Poth, no longer a Marine, has been charged with second-degree murder for allegedly threatening and stabbing 23-year-old Philip Bushong, of Camp Lejune, N.C., April 21, 2012, in the 700 block of 8th Street SE, after a confrontation in which Poth uttered homophobic slurs at Bushong and a companion.
David Benowitz, Poth's lawyer, told D.C. Superior Court Judge Russell Canan today that he would not be able to proceed as planned due to issues with his hand following surgery.
Benowitz also raised the issue of the availability of an expert witness that he hopes will bolster Poth's defense.
Canan told Benowitz he was ''hard-pressed'' to continue the case, given how long Poth, of Southeast D.C., has been awaiting trial. After several exchanges with Benowitz and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Liebman, an alternative trial start date was set for March 11. Canan will decide at a Feb. 27 hearing whether the March 4 start stands or to postpone to March 11.
Asked by Canan how many witnesses the prosecution plans to call, Liebman answered 15 to 20, including six Marines who interacted with Poth on the night of the stabbing, none of whom are still stationed at the Southeast D.C. Marine Barracks – with one being considered a ''crucial witness'' and facing possible overseas deployment in the near future.
Benowitz said he planned to call three to six witnesses to testify for the defense. One witness, Benowitz told the court, may offer testimony on the wounds that killed Bushong and similarities to self-defense military training. Benowitz continued, telling the court that Poth's training in self-defense kicked in when his client was defending himself from a potential punch by Bushong. He pointed to statements that Poth allegedly made following the incident, including ''Marines control me and my brain,'' and ''Marines train me to kill,'' as evidence that it was Poth's military training that influenced his reactions during the altercation with Bushong.
Liebman characterized that argument as ''preposterous,'' pointing out that Poth never saw combat, had never been deployed outside of the United States, and that 8th Street SE is not the same kind of environment that exists in a war zone.
Liebman also advised Canan that a plea offer remains valid until Feb. 27. Under the terms of that deal, Poth would plead guilty to second-degree murder while armed, and serve a maximum of 18, minimum of 12, years in prison. Poth rejected that offer when it was first made, in September.
Friday's wrangling followed motions submitted in November asking to suppress evidence and statements obtained in the hours after Poth's arrest.
According to charging documents, eyewitness testimony, and video surveillance cameras around the Barracks Row neighborhood, Poth was seen acting erratically and brandishing an object believed to be a knife prior to the incident. Poth was seen passing by a bar at which Bushong, who was straight, was embracing his companion, later revealed at a preliminary hearing to be a gay man. Poth allegedly passed by the bar again as Bushong and his companion were leaving, and Bushong and Poth exchanged words. Poth allegedly called Bushong a ''faggot'' and threatened to stab him. Witnesses say Bushong grabbed Poth's shoulder and Poth stabbed Bushong directly in the center of his chest. Bushong was pronounced dead later that morning.
Marines who saw Bushong fall to the ground after being stabbed detained Poth until Metropolitan Police Department officers arrived on scene. The Marines told police they had observed a bloody knife clipped to Poth's pants pocket. Poth later tested positive for artificial marijuana, also known as ''spice.'' ...more
The trial of one Marine accused of stabbing another in an altercation in D.C.'s Barracks Row neighborhood last April could be delayed a week, after the suspect's defense attorney today advised the court he may not be ready to start trial March 4. The defense also advised that its chief expert witness's schedule could also delay the start of the trial.
Michael Poth, no longer a Marine, has been charged with second-degree murder for allegedly threatening and stabbing 23-year-old Philip Bushong, of Camp Lejune, N.C., April 21, 2012, in the 700 block of 8th Street SE, after a confrontation in which Poth uttered homophobic slurs at Bushong and a companion.
David Benowitz, Poth's lawyer, told D.C. Superior Court Judge Russell Canan today that he would not be able to proceed as planned due to issues with his hand following surgery.
Benowitz also raised the issue of the availability of an expert witness that he hopes will bolster Poth's defense.
Canan told Benowitz he was ''hard-pressed'' to continue the case, given how long Poth, of Southeast D.C., has been awaiting trial. After several exchanges with Benowitz and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Liebman, an alternative trial start date was set for March 11. Canan will decide at a Feb. 27 hearing whether the March 4 start stands or to postpone to March 11.
Asked by Canan how many witnesses the prosecution plans to call, Liebman answered 15 to 20, including six Marines who interacted with Poth on the night of the stabbing, none of whom are still stationed at the Southeast D.C. Marine Barracks – with one being considered a ''crucial witness'' and facing possible overseas deployment in the near future.
Benowitz said he planned to call three to six witnesses to testify for the defense. One witness, Benowitz told the court, may offer testimony on the wounds that killed Bushong and similarities to self-defense military training. Benowitz continued, telling the court that Poth's training in self-defense kicked in when his client was defending himself from a potential punch by Bushong. He pointed to statements that Poth allegedly made following the incident, including ''Marines control me and my brain,'' and ''Marines train me to kill,'' as evidence that it was Poth's military training that influenced his reactions during the altercation with Bushong.
Liebman characterized that argument as ''preposterous,'' pointing out that Poth never saw combat, had never been deployed outside of the United States, and that 8th Street SE is not the same kind of environment that exists in a war zone.
Liebman also advised Canan that a plea offer remains valid until Feb. 27. Under the terms of that deal, Poth would plead guilty to second-degree murder while armed, and serve a maximum of 18, minimum of 12, years in prison. Poth rejected that offer when it was first made, in September.
Friday's wrangling followed motions submitted in November asking to suppress evidence and statements obtained in the hours after Poth's arrest.
According to charging documents, eyewitness testimony, and video surveillance cameras around the Barracks Row neighborhood, Poth was seen acting erratically and brandishing an object believed to be a knife prior to the incident. Poth was seen passing by a bar at which Bushong, who was straight, was embracing his companion, later revealed at a preliminary hearing to be a gay man. Poth allegedly passed by the bar again as Bushong and his companion were leaving, and Bushong and Poth exchanged words. Poth allegedly called Bushong a ''faggot'' and threatened to stab him. Witnesses say Bushong grabbed Poth's shoulder and Poth stabbed Bushong directly in the center of his chest. Bushong was pronounced dead later that morning.
Marines who saw Bushong fall to the ground after being stabbed detained Poth until Metropolitan Police Department officers arrived on scene. The Marines told police they had observed a bloody knife clipped to Poth's pants pocket. Poth later tested positive for artificial marijuana, also known as ''spice.'' ...more
No, no, I'm not attracted to women! I just find women attractive!
Mid-20s, female, sort of starting to wonder if I might maybe be bi, kind of hating on myself over it. I remember being like eleven or twelve, and reading some article by a woman who essentially said "it doesn't make you gay if you feel attracted to women! It could just mean you think they're pretty!" And I was like... oh thank goodness! That means I'm not gay! My first crush on a boy a year later was met with similar relief. And from that moment on, I was straight.
In high school I had it bad for a girl I knew. But I 'knew' it was just because I thought she was pretty and I wanted to be like her. So what if I dreamed about her...
She was really my last female crush. Mostly I'm attracted to men. But I am now starting to realize that maybe the sidelong glances I give to hot women on the street are, in fact, not just glances of platonic appreciation.
And this really bothers me. Because I feel like I don't deserve to be queer, because I never had to suffer over this at all. I've been straight. I've never once felt like a closeted bi person, I've felt straight! I haven't ever felt like I was hiding some deep dark secret- I have happily dated and slept with men and not really felt like I was missing anything. I could try dating women, or I could just not bother and I think I'd still wind up happy. So I feel like if I did try dating women, I'd be cheating, or being a gayness dilettante somehow.
And there's also the fear that I was right all along, I really am straight, and I'll be one of those horrible bi-curious girls everyone loves to hate. The ones who date one girl and then go back to men forever. And because of that, there's a part of me who wants to try this without 'coming out', and that makes me feel cowardly.
Adding to this anxiety is the fact that, well, I'm dating a guy and we don't have plans to break up any time soon, so all this is purely in what-if territory, and I fear that this is all just fantasizing and if we break up I'll just chicken out of trying this.
Um... anyone been here? What is going on? How do I even know if I'm bi, like for realsies?
In high school I had it bad for a girl I knew. But I 'knew' it was just because I thought she was pretty and I wanted to be like her. So what if I dreamed about her...
She was really my last female crush. Mostly I'm attracted to men. But I am now starting to realize that maybe the sidelong glances I give to hot women on the street are, in fact, not just glances of platonic appreciation.
And this really bothers me. Because I feel like I don't deserve to be queer, because I never had to suffer over this at all. I've been straight. I've never once felt like a closeted bi person, I've felt straight! I haven't ever felt like I was hiding some deep dark secret- I have happily dated and slept with men and not really felt like I was missing anything. I could try dating women, or I could just not bother and I think I'd still wind up happy. So I feel like if I did try dating women, I'd be cheating, or being a gayness dilettante somehow.
And there's also the fear that I was right all along, I really am straight, and I'll be one of those horrible bi-curious girls everyone loves to hate. The ones who date one girl and then go back to men forever. And because of that, there's a part of me who wants to try this without 'coming out', and that makes me feel cowardly.
Adding to this anxiety is the fact that, well, I'm dating a guy and we don't have plans to break up any time soon, so all this is purely in what-if territory, and I fear that this is all just fantasizing and if we break up I'll just chicken out of trying this.
Um... anyone been here? What is going on? How do I even know if I'm bi, like for realsies?
New survey on sex in US, biggest since 1994
NEW YORK (AP) – The male-female orgasm gap. The sex lives of 14-year-olds. An intriguing breakdown of condom usage rates, by age and ethnicity, with teens emerging as more safe-sex-conscious than boomers.
That’s just a tiny sampling of the data being unveiled Monday in what the researchers say is the largest, most comprehensive national survey of Americans’ sexual behavior since 1994.
Filling 130 pages of a special issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine, the study offers detailed findings on how often Americans have sex, with whom, and how they respond. In all, 5,865 people, ranging in age from 14 to 94, participated in the survey.
The lead researchers, from Indiana University’s Center for Sexual Health Promotion, said the study f…
Read More
That’s just a tiny sampling of the data being unveiled Monday in what the researchers say is the largest, most comprehensive national survey of Americans’ sexual behavior since 1994.
Filling 130 pages of a special issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine, the study offers detailed findings on how often Americans have sex, with whom, and how they respond. In all, 5,865 people, ranging in age from 14 to 94, participated in the survey.
The lead researchers, from Indiana University’s Center for Sexual Health Promotion, said the study f…
Read More
Gaga speaks, Reid acts on ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’
LAS VEGAS (AP) – Does Lady Gaga run the U.S. Senate?
A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday a vote to repeal the military’s ban of openly gay and lesbian soldiers had been planned for next week before the singer made waves with a plea during a daytime talk show.
The pop star known for flashy performances and eccentric style called on Reid to repeal the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres that aired Monday.
Reid’s campaign and Gaga traded talking points on Twitter after the lawmaker announced the vote. Reid told Gaga repealing the measure was the right thing to do.
Campaign spokesman Kelly Steele said Reid does not take cues from Gaga.
…
Read More
A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday a vote to repeal the military’s ban of openly gay and lesbian soldiers had been planned for next week before the singer made waves with a plea during a daytime talk show.
The pop star known for flashy performances and eccentric style called on Reid to repeal the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres that aired Monday.
Reid’s campaign and Gaga traded talking points on Twitter after the lawmaker announced the vote. Reid told Gaga repealing the measure was the right thing to do.
Campaign spokesman Kelly Steele said Reid does not take cues from Gaga.
…
Read More
Community News
Women honored for their contributions
San Diego Woman’s Club hosts dinner benefiting women at risk
Many local women in San Diego work tirelessly to make the city a better community for all. The San Diego Woman’s Club will recognize the efforts of one special woman by hosting a benefit dinner in her honor. The honoree for the evening is Sister Christina MacLean, Director of Mary’s House which is a home for victims of human trafficking.
The proceeds for the evening will benefit Women at Risk, International (WAR, Int’l). WAR was established in 2006 and currently has representation in 16 states and projects in 14 different countries around the world. The purpose behind WAR is to unite and educate women as well as children in areas of …
Read More
San Diego Woman’s Club hosts dinner benefiting women at risk
Many local women in San Diego work tirelessly to make the city a better community for all. The San Diego Woman’s Club will recognize the efforts of one special woman by hosting a benefit dinner in her honor. The honoree for the evening is Sister Christina MacLean, Director of Mary’s House which is a home for victims of human trafficking.
The proceeds for the evening will benefit Women at Risk, International (WAR, Int’l). WAR was established in 2006 and currently has representation in 16 states and projects in 14 different countries around the world. The purpose behind WAR is to unite and educate women as well as children in areas of …
Read More
Towleroad Talking Points: Oscar Forecasting
PHOTO OF THE DAY: NPH and his hubby give us a taste of the Oscar party fun.
BY SAM GREISMAN
A look back at today's top stories
ENTERTAINMENT
With the Oscars just a few days away, everyone is trying to predict who will take home the little gold men on Sunday night. Nathaniel Rogers thinks that nothing can stop the Argo train and electoral master Nate Silver also feels things will go according to form. Yours truly however is hoping for a few Lincoln related upsets on Oscar night.
Also Adam Levine has fond memories of the first time he and Blake Shelton shared an intimate moment.
**
WINGNUTTERY
Time continues to prove that there is no end to Ann Coulter's insanity. The conservative wackjob recently told a room full of booing students in DC that gays can get married only if they marry someone of the opposite sex. Author Christopher West appeared on the Christian Broadcasting Network to claim that Satan is behind gay marriage in an attempt to ruin heterosexual sex. Something tells me heterosexual sex has been ruined for Mr. West for quite a while now.
In what can only be described as dark ages style politics, lawmakers in Montana have recieved mailers about "the truth about homosexuals" as they weigh a bill intended to decriminalize homosexuality. Just crazy. Also the pastor from the anti-gay megachurch that Tim Tebow has wisely decided not to speak at is none too pleased about the quarterback's decision.
**
GAY ISSUES
Lesbian money guru Suze Orman appeared on CNN today to discuss how the government's lack of recognition of same-sex couples is a financial detriment. Ecuadorean President elect Rafael Correa took a page out of President Obama's book and took a moment to address the LGBT community upon being elected. And the New Jersey legislature is planning on voting to override Chris Christie's veto of a potential gay marriage bill.
**
VIDEOS OF THE DAY
More Harlem Shake for your viewing pleasure! Check out the hotties from the University of Nebraska men's gymnastics team doing their best impression. And Mrs. Betty Bowers gets down with Christ.
BY SAM GREISMAN
A look back at today's top stories
ENTERTAINMENT
With the Oscars just a few days away, everyone is trying to predict who will take home the little gold men on Sunday night. Nathaniel Rogers thinks that nothing can stop the Argo train and electoral master Nate Silver also feels things will go according to form. Yours truly however is hoping for a few Lincoln related upsets on Oscar night.
Also Adam Levine has fond memories of the first time he and Blake Shelton shared an intimate moment.
**
WINGNUTTERY
Time continues to prove that there is no end to Ann Coulter's insanity. The conservative wackjob recently told a room full of booing students in DC that gays can get married only if they marry someone of the opposite sex. Author Christopher West appeared on the Christian Broadcasting Network to claim that Satan is behind gay marriage in an attempt to ruin heterosexual sex. Something tells me heterosexual sex has been ruined for Mr. West for quite a while now.
In what can only be described as dark ages style politics, lawmakers in Montana have recieved mailers about "the truth about homosexuals" as they weigh a bill intended to decriminalize homosexuality. Just crazy. Also the pastor from the anti-gay megachurch that Tim Tebow has wisely decided not to speak at is none too pleased about the quarterback's decision.
**
GAY ISSUES
Lesbian money guru Suze Orman appeared on CNN today to discuss how the government's lack of recognition of same-sex couples is a financial detriment. Ecuadorean President elect Rafael Correa took a page out of President Obama's book and took a moment to address the LGBT community upon being elected. And the New Jersey legislature is planning on voting to override Chris Christie's veto of a potential gay marriage bill.
**
VIDEOS OF THE DAY
More Harlem Shake for your viewing pleasure! Check out the hotties from the University of Nebraska men's gymnastics team doing their best impression. And Mrs. Betty Bowers gets down with Christ.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Horoscope
ARIES (March 20 – April 19): Sex doesn’t solve all the problems in a relationship, but now it offers an interesting perspective on whatever the real problems are. Any secrets, resentments, unfulfilled wishes? Share yours and invite your partner to open up!
TAURUS (April 20 – May 20): Your partner and colleagues are obstructing whatever you want to do. Or is that really it? Be responsible for your own accomplishments. While your partner’s feedback won’t make you happy, it will help you find answers.
GEMINI (May 21- June 20): Trying too hard to promote your own plans can provoke problems with colleagues. If you’re sensing hidden agendas, it may be due to your own pushiness. Have a good talk. Listen between the lines, but…
Read More
TAURUS (April 20 – May 20): Your partner and colleagues are obstructing whatever you want to do. Or is that really it? Be responsible for your own accomplishments. While your partner’s feedback won’t make you happy, it will help you find answers.
GEMINI (May 21- June 20): Trying too hard to promote your own plans can provoke problems with colleagues. If you’re sensing hidden agendas, it may be due to your own pushiness. Have a good talk. Listen between the lines, but…
Read More
NOW Supports President Obama's Goal of Reducing Gun Violence in U.S.
http://now.org/press/01-13/01-16.htmlThe National Organization for Women applauds President Obama and Vice President Biden for taking swift action after last month's devastating shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. We strongly support the administration's admirable goal of reducing gun violence in the United States.
The Dinah 2011: Day 3
They're here, they're queer, and you might just react with fear. Videos of 10,000 lesbians in the desert.
Say "NO" to a Grand Betrayal: Call President Obama NOW
http://action.now.org/o/5996/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=136259NOW issued this action alert encouraging activists to urge President Obama not to make any fiscal cliff compromises that disproportionately impact women.
Two lesbians eating out (in restaurants) ? how to get good service.
What are some ways my partner and I (two women) can signal to restaurant staff that we are on a date and hope to receive service similar to straight couples? My partner and I enjoy dining out quite a bit. We tend to eat at restaurants in the middle to high price range. We always make reservations, often order expensive items on the menu, and always tip at least 20%. We eat out a lot, so are pretty well versed in fine dining etiquette. However, I often feel like restaurant staff treat us differently when they encounter two women rather than the male-female pair they typically serve. For example, even though we have a reservation I feel like often we are given a bad table (like one near the kitchen door) and they reserve the better tables for [straight] couples looking for a romantic evening. Recently we went out for Valentines Day and were not told of the 3 course special for two, and only learned of it when our waitress mentioned it to the straight couple who came in after us. Finally, we are often not given a wine list unless we ask, because perhaps the waitstaff find it odd that two women would split a bottle of wine.
We currently live in the Midwest but have noticed similar treatment on both coasts as well.
So how do we signal to waitstaff that we want them to pull out all the stops ? we want to hear the best and most expensive specials, we want a good bottle of wine, a secluded table, and that we will order and tip accordingly? I have the utmost respect for people who make their living in the food service industry, and I do not think the treatment we received was malicious in the slightest. I would simply like a subtle way of signaling our intentions at the beginning of the meal.
We currently live in the Midwest but have noticed similar treatment on both coasts as well.
So how do we signal to waitstaff that we want them to pull out all the stops ? we want to hear the best and most expensive specials, we want a good bottle of wine, a secluded table, and that we will order and tip accordingly? I have the utmost respect for people who make their living in the food service industry, and I do not think the treatment we received was malicious in the slightest. I would simply like a subtle way of signaling our intentions at the beginning of the meal.
NOW Supports President Obama's Goal of Reducing Gun Violence in U.S.
http://now.org/press/01-13/01-16.htmlThe National Organization for Women applauds President Obama and Vice President Biden for taking swift action after last month's devastating shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. We strongly support the administration's admirable goal of reducing gun violence in the United States.
NOW Supports D.C. Budget Autonomy
http://www.now.org/issues/economic/DC-Budget-Autonomy-Testimony.pdfNOW Action Vice President Erin Matson delivers testimony urging passage of a referendum that would bring budget autonomy to the District of Columbia and reduce federal interference in abortion rights in D.C.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
World News Briefs
UK finds that only 1.5% of population is GLB
The United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics has produced data suggesting that only 1.5 percent of UK adults are gay, lesbian or bisexual.
As part of a yearly data collection effort, ONS questioned 247,623 people about their sexual identity. In the case of face-to-face interviews, respondents were shown a card that said “heterosexual/straight, gay/lesbian, bisexual, other” and told to read out a number beside the word that “best describes how you think of yourself.” In telephone interviews, respondents were read the four categories and told to “please say ‘yes’ when you hear the option that best describes how you think of yourself.”
ONS then applied t…
Read More
The United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics has produced data suggesting that only 1.5 percent of UK adults are gay, lesbian or bisexual.
As part of a yearly data collection effort, ONS questioned 247,623 people about their sexual identity. In the case of face-to-face interviews, respondents were shown a card that said “heterosexual/straight, gay/lesbian, bisexual, other” and told to read out a number beside the word that “best describes how you think of yourself.” In telephone interviews, respondents were read the four categories and told to “please say ‘yes’ when you hear the option that best describes how you think of yourself.”
ONS then applied t…
Read More
(56) Painkiller
Wisdom Teeth, Percodan, 7 day junkie, Addiction, Politician/Banker thug class and Argentina, Mute MSM report on nothing that mattters as usual, Myspace is up and running, thankfully, http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=211975370&blogId=488907509 The Lesbian Mafia is a federally registered tradmark. Music: Painkiller – Steve Bug (feat. Miss Kittin) Space Cowboy – Eve St. Jones Behind – Flanders
N.J. lawmakers will attempt override of governor's marriage veto
Openly gay New Jersey Assemblyman Reed Gusciora said this week the state Legislature will attempt to override Gov. -More-
Republican Jon Huntsman Backs Marriage Equality, Calls on GOP to Evolve
The failed Republican presidential candidate no longer backs only civil unions and said today he wants his party to support full civil marriage.
read more
read more
GAY DOG Escapes Death
The dog dumped at a Tennessee animal
shelter to be destroyed because his owner thought it was gay has been
saved at the last minute by a kindhearted animal lover.
After
the the plight of the American Bulldog mix was seen by millions online,
Stephanie Fryns, a veterinary technician from Jackson, stepped up this
afternoon and adopted him from Jackson TN Euthanasia.
Naming
him Elton, Fryns, who already owns four dogs said that she had planned
to rescue him even before his story had traveled around the Internet.
He was dumped there because according
to the owner of the shelter, the dog's master noticed him 'hunched
over' another male dog, which led him to assume he was gay.
Yesterday
a Facebook user became of aware of his plight after seeing his picture
on the shelter's timeline and contacted Jackson TN Euthanasia to
discover the reason why he had been left there to be destroyed.
'His
owner threw him away bc he refuses to have a 'gay' dog!' wrote a user
who calls herself 'Jackson Madison Rabies Control Stalker'.
'Don't
let this gorgeous dog die [because] his owner is ignorant of normal dog
behavior! He's in kennel 10L and he WILL be put down tomorrow bc there
is no room at the inn!'
Following
an outcry over the Internet numerous people including Stephanie Fryns
arrived at the shelter this morning to adopt the unloved dog.
shelter to be destroyed because his owner thought it was gay has been
saved at the last minute by a kindhearted animal lover.
After
the the plight of the American Bulldog mix was seen by millions online,
Stephanie Fryns, a veterinary technician from Jackson, stepped up this
afternoon and adopted him from Jackson TN Euthanasia.
Naming
him Elton, Fryns, who already owns four dogs said that she had planned
to rescue him even before his story had traveled around the Internet.
He was dumped there because according
to the owner of the shelter, the dog's master noticed him 'hunched
over' another male dog, which led him to assume he was gay.
Yesterday
a Facebook user became of aware of his plight after seeing his picture
on the shelter's timeline and contacted Jackson TN Euthanasia to
discover the reason why he had been left there to be destroyed.
'His
owner threw him away bc he refuses to have a 'gay' dog!' wrote a user
who calls herself 'Jackson Madison Rabies Control Stalker'.
'Don't
let this gorgeous dog die [because] his owner is ignorant of normal dog
behavior! He's in kennel 10L and he WILL be put down tomorrow bc there
is no room at the inn!'
Following
an outcry over the Internet numerous people including Stephanie Fryns
arrived at the shelter this morning to adopt the unloved dog.
Lesbian News - 06 Feb 2013
Benefits for gay, lesbian military families expected
Baker Under Fire for Refusing Wedding Cake for Lesbian Couple (warning christian site)
Bullying eases for lesbian, gay teens as they age: study
Tania Herman loses bid to marry lesbian lover Nicole Muscat in gaol
Scheme star jailed for brawl
Eagle Scout with Lesbian Parents Pushes Boy Scouts to Drop Ban on Gay Members
Baker Under Fire for Refusing Wedding Cake for Lesbian Couple (warning christian site)
Bullying eases for lesbian, gay teens as they age: study
Tania Herman loses bid to marry lesbian lover Nicole Muscat in gaol
Scheme star jailed for brawl
Eagle Scout with Lesbian Parents Pushes Boy Scouts to Drop Ban on Gay Members
New An Horse Album: FULL STREAM
New An Horse Album: FULL STREAM: Get psyched ya?ll, the new An Horse album, Walls, comes out this week and you can stream it in its entirety over at Spinner. High-fives!
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Edith Windsor court ruling
In a preview of a major constitutional showdown at the Supreme Court over same-sex marriage, the Obama administration said on Friday that a federal law denying financial benefits to legally wed gay and lesbian couples is unconstitutional.
Boys Scouts Could Soon End Gay Ban
WOW! Finally! The Boy Scouts are finally caving to pressure, to change their ways!As early as next week, the Boy Scouts of America may announce it will
allow gay Scouts and troop leaders, a spokesman for the group has told
USA TODAY.
The Boys Scouts have been losing funding left and right over the last year.
If this policy shift is approved by the national board meeting next
week, it will be a sharp reversal of the Scouts' decades' old national
policy banning homosexuals.
"The policy change under discussion
would allow the religious, civic or educational organizations that
oversee and deliver Scouting to determine how to address this issue,"
BSA spokesman Deron Smith said in a statement to USA TODAY.
The announcement comes after a campaign to change the policy that lasted
more than a year and garnered more than 1.2 million online signatures
at Chang.org, according to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation (GLAAD), an advocacy group.
"The Girl Scouts, 4H Clubs and the U.S. military are fully inclusive,
and that's what we need from the Boy Scouts of America," GLAAD said.
"Until then there will be young people out there who are harmed by
this."
allow gay Scouts and troop leaders, a spokesman for the group has told
USA TODAY.
The Boys Scouts have been losing funding left and right over the last year.
If this policy shift is approved by the national board meeting next
week, it will be a sharp reversal of the Scouts' decades' old national
policy banning homosexuals.
"The policy change under discussion
would allow the religious, civic or educational organizations that
oversee and deliver Scouting to determine how to address this issue,"
BSA spokesman Deron Smith said in a statement to USA TODAY.
The announcement comes after a campaign to change the policy that lasted
more than a year and garnered more than 1.2 million online signatures
at Chang.org, according to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation (GLAAD), an advocacy group.
"The Girl Scouts, 4H Clubs and the U.S. military are fully inclusive,
and that's what we need from the Boy Scouts of America," GLAAD said.
"Until then there will be young people out there who are harmed by
this."
Telluride Gay Ski Week Celebrates its 10th Anniversary
It may be well into February, but plenty of the top gay ski weeks in North America and Europe haven't yet taken place. Lots of biggies are set for the next six weeks, with what's become one of the most famous and well-attended, Telluride Gay Ski Week, set to begin February 22. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Telluride Gay Ski Week actually lasts about 10 days, until March 3, and organizers have put together an impress itinerary of dinners, apres-ski socials, and blowout parties, including a special ski week anniversary bash, hosted by Reichen Lehmkuhl, on Monday, February 25....Read Full Post
New Yorks Gay Valentine Boat Cruise
Who said February had to be cold. Set sail on New York City?s Hottest
Gay Harbor Cruise this Valentine?s Day. Bring your sweetheart or find a
new one on this 3 hour floating dance party. Toast to love or lust
with an open bar of premium liquor and free shots of Cupid Juice served
to you by Cupid?s little helpers. Passed appetizers, a decadent dessert
bar, wine & chocolate tastings by Ayza Wine & Chocolate Bar,
and the most amazing views of New York City?s skyline make this one
?cruise? you won?t forget. 3 Hour Evening Heated Cruise Around Manhattan HarborDJ Performance Passed hors d'oeuvresOpen Bar with Premium LiquorDessert21 and OverBOOK NOW ONLINE!
Gay Harbor Cruise this Valentine?s Day. Bring your sweetheart or find a
new one on this 3 hour floating dance party. Toast to love or lust
with an open bar of premium liquor and free shots of Cupid Juice served
to you by Cupid?s little helpers. Passed appetizers, a decadent dessert
bar, wine & chocolate tastings by Ayza Wine & Chocolate Bar,
and the most amazing views of New York City?s skyline make this one
?cruise? you won?t forget. 3 Hour Evening Heated Cruise Around Manhattan HarborDJ Performance Passed hors d'oeuvresOpen Bar with Premium LiquorDessert21 and OverBOOK NOW ONLINE!
N.J. lawmakers will attempt override of governor's marriage veto
Openly gay New Jersey Assemblyman Reed Gusciora said this week the state Legislature will attempt to override Gov. -More-
Lesbian News - 08 Feb 2013
Lesbian Teacher Sues Michigan School for Retaliatory Firing
Binational Lesbian Mums in North Carolina Take on DOMA5 Things Never to Say to Lesbian MumsDaughter?s Birth Certificate Will Include Gay Donor And Lesbian MothersNorth Dakota bill would ban gay, lesbian discrimination
Binational Lesbian Mums in North Carolina Take on DOMA5 Things Never to Say to Lesbian MumsDaughter?s Birth Certificate Will Include Gay Donor And Lesbian MothersNorth Dakota bill would ban gay, lesbian discrimination
WCT seeks nominations for 30 Under 30
CHICAGO—Windy City Times is seeking to recognize 30 more outstanding LGBT individuals and allies for its annual 30 Under 30 Awards.
The Dinah 2011: Day 2
The second annual AfterEllen dance contest was even more insane than last years. I don't even need to comment. The photos speak for themselves.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Utah School District Agrees Not to Remove Library Books Containing LGBT Content
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org
SALT LAKE CITY – Davis School District in Utah has agreed to never again remove a children’s book about a family with same-sex parents from its library shelves based solely on its content. The agreement settles a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Utah on behalf of a mother with children in the district.
Parents may still use the library’s normal procedures to prevent their children from checking out particular books, but the school agreed not to remove the book from the shelves just because it features a same-sex couple or because it contains "homosexual content."
"I am happy that all parents will now have the chance to make their own decisions about their own children," said Tina Weber, the mother who filed the challenge. "Nobody should be able to tell other people’s kids what they can and can’t read."
In Our Mothers' House, by acclaimed children's author Patricia Polacco, was initially placed in the Easy Reading section of Windridge Elementary School in Davis County. After some parents complained the book "normalizes a lifestyle we don’t agree with," the school district instructed librarians to put the book behind a counter and to lend it only with written permission from a parent. This decision also applied to the three other school libraries with copies of the book.
When the school district restricted access to In Our Mothers' House, it asserted that leaving the book on the shelves would violate Utah’s sex-education law, which prohibits instructional materials containing "advocacy of homosexuality." The school now agrees that library books are not covered under the statute and that including books in the library that depict families with same-sex parents does not constitute endorsement or "advocacy of homosexuality."
"We’re glad that the school agrees that they can’t remove a book from the shelves just because some people don’t agree with its content," said John Mejia, legal director of the ACLU of Utah. "Children shouldn’t be discouraged from learning about different families or cultures by keeping books behind a counter as if there was something wrong with them."
Polacco was inspired to write the book after attending a school assembly where a girl with same-sex parents was not allowed to read an essay about her family because a teacher said "You don’t come from a real family." The Davis School District does not censor any of Polacco’s other books, which focus on families of different backgrounds and cultures.
"Schools shouldn’t make children with same-sex parents feel as if their families are something that should be hidden," said Joshua Block, staff attorney with the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project. "Kids from all kinds of families attend Davis County schools, including families with same-sex parents. We’re glad the school will never again keep books that portray these families out of sight."
More information about this case, including the complaint, can be found at: www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/aw-and-cw-v-davis-school-district
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org
SALT LAKE CITY – Davis School District in Utah has agreed to never again remove a children’s book about a family with same-sex parents from its library shelves based solely on its content. The agreement settles a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Utah on behalf of a mother with children in the district.
Parents may still use the library’s normal procedures to prevent their children from checking out particular books, but the school agreed not to remove the book from the shelves just because it features a same-sex couple or because it contains "homosexual content."
"I am happy that all parents will now have the chance to make their own decisions about their own children," said Tina Weber, the mother who filed the challenge. "Nobody should be able to tell other people’s kids what they can and can’t read."
In Our Mothers' House, by acclaimed children's author Patricia Polacco, was initially placed in the Easy Reading section of Windridge Elementary School in Davis County. After some parents complained the book "normalizes a lifestyle we don’t agree with," the school district instructed librarians to put the book behind a counter and to lend it only with written permission from a parent. This decision also applied to the three other school libraries with copies of the book.
When the school district restricted access to In Our Mothers' House, it asserted that leaving the book on the shelves would violate Utah’s sex-education law, which prohibits instructional materials containing "advocacy of homosexuality." The school now agrees that library books are not covered under the statute and that including books in the library that depict families with same-sex parents does not constitute endorsement or "advocacy of homosexuality."
"We’re glad that the school agrees that they can’t remove a book from the shelves just because some people don’t agree with its content," said John Mejia, legal director of the ACLU of Utah. "Children shouldn’t be discouraged from learning about different families or cultures by keeping books behind a counter as if there was something wrong with them."
Polacco was inspired to write the book after attending a school assembly where a girl with same-sex parents was not allowed to read an essay about her family because a teacher said "You don’t come from a real family." The Davis School District does not censor any of Polacco’s other books, which focus on families of different backgrounds and cultures.
"Schools shouldn’t make children with same-sex parents feel as if their families are something that should be hidden," said Joshua Block, staff attorney with the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project. "Kids from all kinds of families attend Davis County schools, including families with same-sex parents. We’re glad the school will never again keep books that portray these families out of sight."
More information about this case, including the complaint, can be found at: www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/aw-and-cw-v-davis-school-district
POZitively Speaking
According to the Centers for Disease Control data collected in 2007/08 of the estimated number of diagnoses of HIV infection among MEN* in the 37 states with confidential name-based HIV infection, reporting by transmission category MSWM or (men who have sex with men), was 17,758. That’s up from years previous which was 16,992. Although not too much of a difference it seems the message of safe sex is getting out there. Some of the cultural behavior is much harder to break through, for example GLBT people of color lead among new HIV infection cases and in the category among Latinos it was 7,121.
This need for seed, so to speak, seems to be more of a headline grabber or attention getter. A cultural phenomenon is the BUG CHASERS, those from within the …
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This need for seed, so to speak, seems to be more of a headline grabber or attention getter. A cultural phenomenon is the BUG CHASERS, those from within the …
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I Am Not a Second Class Citizen
Order shirts + hoodies in my ONLINE STORE!(Director Ryan James Yezak, Los Angeles, CA, Feb 2012)Order shirts + hoodies in my ONLINE STORE!For those of you who haven't seen Ryan's incredible video (that has had more than 2 million views in less than a week!):SHARE IT ANYWHERE YOU CAN:If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you know that I've been extremely moved by the video and the documentary that will soon follow. I've watched 3 or 4 times now in the last 72 hours, and I cry every time. It's SO moving and SO powerful...like nothing we've ever seen. It looks like Ryan James Yezak--the video's director--is well on his way to making the documentary of his/our dreams since his kickstarter project has taken off in a way that's normally reserved for ipod products on the site. I pledged the moment I found the page, and at last count, nearly 3,000 others had as well.Since posting the video, a LOT of you have asked me if I could produce the 'I am not a second class citizen' shirts that Ryan has created. I thought this was a great idea as well, and made a lot of sense for me to be part of for many reasons, so I contacted Ryan. Ryan loves the idea too! He has given me full permission to produce the shirts and make them available to you. This way, we can start getting the message out while his kickstarter project is still in full swing, hopefully bringing more attention to it, and the message. The profits from the shirts will go back to Ryan's kickstarter project, as well as The Trevor Project and other LGBT organizations. SIZE CHARTTo contribute directly to the kickstarter campaign, go to Ryan's project at:http://kck.st/zUspXyFOLLOW THE DOCUMENTARY:-Facebook-Twitter
(5) Is Being A Lezzy-Cakes A Choice?
Converted Lezzy’s sing Nelly FArtado in Pathmark, Choosing a sexuality?, Vegas karaoke and sexy tranny hookers, Peter Lugar’s steak sauce for 99 cents, Gay beams only for special people, Arguing Lezzy’s with tourrete’s … and Shout Outs!
Real Estate News
San Diego needs its own Housing Hero
Big Bad Banking got some really BAD NEWS last week as Mother Jones Magazine’s Andy Kroll broke the story of huge law firms, known as “foreclosure mills”, operating in Florida (and elsewhere) engaged in the potentially illegal taking of millions of homes.
GMAC -a subsidiary of Ally Financial was so worried it suspended foreclosure evictions and sales altogether. Rising Democratic Party star Rep. Alan Grayson along with his Ohio colleague Marcy Kaptur have been among the few voices in Congress for homeowners in the ongoing class war waged against them by Wall Street. It seems now they were right all along. You may remember Kaptur as the take-charge legislator who advised homeowners in her Toledo-area district to demand that banks produce th…
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Big Bad Banking got some really BAD NEWS last week as Mother Jones Magazine’s Andy Kroll broke the story of huge law firms, known as “foreclosure mills”, operating in Florida (and elsewhere) engaged in the potentially illegal taking of millions of homes.
GMAC -a subsidiary of Ally Financial was so worried it suspended foreclosure evictions and sales altogether. Rising Democratic Party star Rep. Alan Grayson along with his Ohio colleague Marcy Kaptur have been among the few voices in Congress for homeowners in the ongoing class war waged against them by Wall Street. It seems now they were right all along. You may remember Kaptur as the take-charge legislator who advised homeowners in her Toledo-area district to demand that banks produce th…
Read More
Thursday, February 21, 2013
A Lesbian Guide to Look Gayer
Filed under: Arts & Entertainment, Community, Fun and Leisure, Special Interests, The Lesbian Challenge Tagged: Arielle Scarcella, Funny lesbian videos, YouTube Channel
Top Papal Candidate Links Sex Abuse and Homosexuality
Cardinal Peter Turkson, of Ghana, says the priest sex-abuse scandal has not reached Africa thanks to the continent's cultural intolerance of homosexuality.
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Montana Supreme Court Allows Case Seeking Domestic Partnership Protections for Same-Sex Couples to Move Forward
Justices Reverse District Court’s Dismissal and Allow Litigation to Proceed
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org
HELENA, Mont. — The Montana Supreme Court today granted, in part, an appeal by the American Civil Liberties Union and six committed same-sex couples to secure domestic partnership protections.
Though the court denied the plaintiffs’ initial appeal as too broad, the justices allowed the ACLU to move forward with more narrowly tailored efforts to secure equal treatment for same-sex couples in the state.
“Three of the justices said they would have granted same-sex couples recognition as domestic partners now. The majority also made clear that the decision to remand the case for additional proceedings in the lower court was based on technical issues, not on the substance of our argument that the Montana Constitution mandates equal treatment of all people,” said ACLU of Montana legal director Jon Ellingson. “They said that while we could not challenge the omission of same-sex couples from all of the statutes involving the rights of married couples in one case, we can challenge those statutes individually. We plan to do just that.”
The opinion states: “It is this Court’s opinion that Plaintiffs should be given the opportunity, if they choose to take it, to amend the complaint and to refine and specify the general constitutional challenges they have proffered.”
“We’re encouraged by the decision because the justices said that we could pursue the protections we are seeking,” said Mary Leslie, who lives with her partner, Stacey Haugland in Bozeman. “Legal protection is essential, not just for our families, but for all same-sex couples. We won’t stop until every loving couple is treated fairly.”
Leslie lost her home because she was ineligible for worker's compensation survivor benefits when her partner was killed in an accident. Another plaintiff, Denise Boettcher of Laurel, was denied bereavement leave when her partner Kellie Gibson’s father died.
In his dissent from the majority, Justice James Nelson wrote that same-sex couples should be given full protection, saying the case, “concerns the right of committed intimate same-sex couples to receive the same civil protections which the State makes available to committed intimate different-sex couples … I have never disagreed more strongly with the Court as I do in this case. With due respect, I believe today’s decision… wrongly deprives an abused minority their civil rights.”
Nearly 1,500 Montanans and more than 100 Montana-owned businesses have signed on in support of domestic partnerships, and more are signing on each day. Sixty-six Montana religious leaders signed an amicus brief supporting the ACLU’s appeal. Even more clergy signed a statement supporting the rights of same-sex couples.
“Montanans believe all their neighbors deserve dignity and respect,” said Rev. Marc Stewart, a Montana/Northern Wyoming United Church of Christ Conference minister. “We believe that loving, committed couples should be able to fully live their own lives and have the protection of the state.”
Other plaintiffs in the case are Mary Anne Guggenheim and Jan Donaldson of Helena, Mike Long and Rich Parker of Bozeman, MJ Williams and Nancy Owens of Basin, and Rick Wagner and Gary Stallings of Butte.
In addition to Ellingson, the couples are represented by Elizabeth Gill, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project; James Goetz and Ben Alke of Goetz, Gallik & Baldwin P.C.; Betsy Griffing; and Ruth Borenstein and Neil Perry of the law firm Morrison & Foerster LLP.
Additional information about the case can be found at www.aclumontana.org and www.aclu.org/mtpartnerships
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org
HELENA, Mont. — The Montana Supreme Court today granted, in part, an appeal by the American Civil Liberties Union and six committed same-sex couples to secure domestic partnership protections.
Though the court denied the plaintiffs’ initial appeal as too broad, the justices allowed the ACLU to move forward with more narrowly tailored efforts to secure equal treatment for same-sex couples in the state.
“Three of the justices said they would have granted same-sex couples recognition as domestic partners now. The majority also made clear that the decision to remand the case for additional proceedings in the lower court was based on technical issues, not on the substance of our argument that the Montana Constitution mandates equal treatment of all people,” said ACLU of Montana legal director Jon Ellingson. “They said that while we could not challenge the omission of same-sex couples from all of the statutes involving the rights of married couples in one case, we can challenge those statutes individually. We plan to do just that.”
The opinion states: “It is this Court’s opinion that Plaintiffs should be given the opportunity, if they choose to take it, to amend the complaint and to refine and specify the general constitutional challenges they have proffered.”
“We’re encouraged by the decision because the justices said that we could pursue the protections we are seeking,” said Mary Leslie, who lives with her partner, Stacey Haugland in Bozeman. “Legal protection is essential, not just for our families, but for all same-sex couples. We won’t stop until every loving couple is treated fairly.”
Leslie lost her home because she was ineligible for worker's compensation survivor benefits when her partner was killed in an accident. Another plaintiff, Denise Boettcher of Laurel, was denied bereavement leave when her partner Kellie Gibson’s father died.
In his dissent from the majority, Justice James Nelson wrote that same-sex couples should be given full protection, saying the case, “concerns the right of committed intimate same-sex couples to receive the same civil protections which the State makes available to committed intimate different-sex couples … I have never disagreed more strongly with the Court as I do in this case. With due respect, I believe today’s decision… wrongly deprives an abused minority their civil rights.”
Nearly 1,500 Montanans and more than 100 Montana-owned businesses have signed on in support of domestic partnerships, and more are signing on each day. Sixty-six Montana religious leaders signed an amicus brief supporting the ACLU’s appeal. Even more clergy signed a statement supporting the rights of same-sex couples.
“Montanans believe all their neighbors deserve dignity and respect,” said Rev. Marc Stewart, a Montana/Northern Wyoming United Church of Christ Conference minister. “We believe that loving, committed couples should be able to fully live their own lives and have the protection of the state.”
Other plaintiffs in the case are Mary Anne Guggenheim and Jan Donaldson of Helena, Mike Long and Rich Parker of Bozeman, MJ Williams and Nancy Owens of Basin, and Rick Wagner and Gary Stallings of Butte.
In addition to Ellingson, the couples are represented by Elizabeth Gill, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project; James Goetz and Ben Alke of Goetz, Gallik & Baldwin P.C.; Betsy Griffing; and Ruth Borenstein and Neil Perry of the law firm Morrison & Foerster LLP.
Additional information about the case can be found at www.aclumontana.org and www.aclu.org/mtpartnerships
Happy Birthday Audre Lorde
If she had lived, she would be 79 years old today. Audre Lorde was an out and proud lesbian/feminist/woman/poet. Although she died in 1992, people still gain wisdom and inspiration from her writing such as this quote:...Read Full Post
No, no, I'm not attracted to women! I just find women attractive!
Mid-20s, female, sort of starting to wonder if I might maybe be bi, kind of hating on myself over it. I remember being like eleven or twelve, and reading some article by a woman who essentially said "it doesn't make you gay if you feel attracted to women! It could just mean you think they're pretty!" And I was like... oh thank goodness! That means I'm not gay! My first crush on a boy a year later was met with similar relief. And from that moment on, I was straight.
In high school I had it bad for a girl I knew. But I 'knew' it was just because I thought she was pretty and I wanted to be like her. So what if I dreamed about her...
She was really my last female crush. Mostly I'm attracted to men. But I am now starting to realize that maybe the sidelong glances I give to hot women on the street are, in fact, not just glances of platonic appreciation.
And this really bothers me. Because I feel like I don't deserve to be queer, because I never had to suffer over this at all. I've been straight. I've never once felt like a closeted bi person, I've felt straight! I haven't ever felt like I was hiding some deep dark secret- I have happily dated and slept with men and not really felt like I was missing anything. I could try dating women, or I could just not bother and I think I'd still wind up happy. So I feel like if I did try dating women, I'd be cheating, or being a gayness dilettante somehow.
And there's also the fear that I was right all along, I really am straight, and I'll be one of those horrible bi-curious girls everyone loves to hate. The ones who date one girl and then go back to men forever. And because of that, there's a part of me who wants to try this without 'coming out', and that makes me feel cowardly.
Adding to this anxiety is the fact that, well, I'm dating a guy and we don't have plans to break up any time soon, so all this is purely in what-if territory, and I fear that this is all just fantasizing and if we break up I'll just chicken out of trying this.
Um... anyone been here? What is going on? How do I even know if I'm bi, like for realsies?
In high school I had it bad for a girl I knew. But I 'knew' it was just because I thought she was pretty and I wanted to be like her. So what if I dreamed about her...
She was really my last female crush. Mostly I'm attracted to men. But I am now starting to realize that maybe the sidelong glances I give to hot women on the street are, in fact, not just glances of platonic appreciation.
And this really bothers me. Because I feel like I don't deserve to be queer, because I never had to suffer over this at all. I've been straight. I've never once felt like a closeted bi person, I've felt straight! I haven't ever felt like I was hiding some deep dark secret- I have happily dated and slept with men and not really felt like I was missing anything. I could try dating women, or I could just not bother and I think I'd still wind up happy. So I feel like if I did try dating women, I'd be cheating, or being a gayness dilettante somehow.
And there's also the fear that I was right all along, I really am straight, and I'll be one of those horrible bi-curious girls everyone loves to hate. The ones who date one girl and then go back to men forever. And because of that, there's a part of me who wants to try this without 'coming out', and that makes me feel cowardly.
Adding to this anxiety is the fact that, well, I'm dating a guy and we don't have plans to break up any time soon, so all this is purely in what-if territory, and I fear that this is all just fantasizing and if we break up I'll just chicken out of trying this.
Um... anyone been here? What is going on? How do I even know if I'm bi, like for realsies?
Where to Laissez le bon Temps Rouler during New Orleans Mardi Gras
It's full-on Mardi Gras season this week, so I thought it might be a nice idea to share some ideas on the best gay (and gay-friendly) venues for partying in New Orleans. I was back there over the week after Christmas trying out a bunch of new restaurants (do not miss Borgne, Maurepas Foods, Root, and St. James Cheese Company) and mostly revisiting a number of still-crazy-after-all-these-years bars and clubs around the French Quarter and Faubourg Marigny. I have a long list of favorites, including a number of mixed gay/straight neighborhood bars Uptown, but for starters, here's a guide to some of the must-see New Orleans gay bars. As usual, I'll be adding to this list over time, so if you happen to check back here prior to New Orleans Gay Pride in June or the riotously fun Southern Decadence celebration over Labor Day, you'll find lots more in this online nightlife guide....Read Full Post
Frank Ocean Has Recorded 11 Songs for His Next Album
Frank Ocean is far into his follow-up to Channel Orange, MTV News reports:
Speaking to BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe on Tuesday, Ocean said he's "Like 10,11 songs into this next thing. It's another cohesive thing bordering on a concept record again." The usually soft-spoken, reticent Ocean was in good spirits, laughing along with Lowe and saying his Grammy wins were "quite the rollercoaster ... I was pretty stoked," admitting that he would have "screamed in my highest note" if his name had been called for Record of the Year, which was presented to Gotye by their mutual idol, Prince.Ocean explained that the new, as-yet-untitled disc might take off from a moment at the end of Orange. "There's 'Golden Girl' and it's this beach scene and I kind of want to extend that feeling into the next record," he said. "I'm going to Bora Bora when I get back ... I put a studio in my house, but it's all in road cases. I'm going to take it all to Bora Bora and work for a few weeks."
Speaking to BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe on Tuesday, Ocean said he's "Like 10,11 songs into this next thing. It's another cohesive thing bordering on a concept record again." The usually soft-spoken, reticent Ocean was in good spirits, laughing along with Lowe and saying his Grammy wins were "quite the rollercoaster ... I was pretty stoked," admitting that he would have "screamed in my highest note" if his name had been called for Record of the Year, which was presented to Gotye by their mutual idol, Prince.Ocean explained that the new, as-yet-untitled disc might take off from a moment at the end of Orange. "There's 'Golden Girl' and it's this beach scene and I kind of want to extend that feeling into the next record," he said. "I'm going to Bora Bora when I get back ... I put a studio in my house, but it's all in road cases. I'm going to take it all to Bora Bora and work for a few weeks."
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
The Petty and the Vile: From Westboro Baptist Church to Sen. John McCain, LGBT people are unfortunately accustomed to vile political attacks
Opinion: Crossing Twitter with gigantic cultural events can always be counted on to bring out the worst in the already bad. Two Super Bowl tweets were particularly vile. First there was former FEMA director Michael Brown cracking a joke about fights in the Superdome, which just happened to be the site of his monstrous Hurricane Katrina failure — a joke that requires both hubris and idiocy. Second was Todd Kincannon, former head of the South Carolina GOP, joking that the Super Bowl ''sucks more dick than adult Trayvon Martin would have for drug money'' — a joke that requires racism and idiocy. Lesson one, racists have an awful sense of humor. Lesson two, even in 2013 with no rational reason, some people are going to remain racist jackholes. I don't believe that as a country we are more vile today than we were in the past. It's impossible to look back on American history as some sort of bucolic existence that's only recently begun a slide into vituperation, although that doesn't stop tea party revisionists from trying. Politics and culture wars have never been pretty. But I do think that, as our culture and government continue to progress on race and LGBT issues, the few remaining restraints of decorum on those who oppose it will continue to fall away. ... (more)
Comments from the Web
Kenny Kardashian says:
I, too, served in the Navy and also swore the same oath, not really knowing what lay ahead. While for most people, being gay is dangerous I was lucky to experience minimal discrimination and teasing. However, I was not immune from such teasing. Everyone at my shore duty facility at Naval Air Staton North Island in San Diego knew I was gay and while I made a risky move, when people asked, I told. However, there was no one running to the officer in charge. Most the people that asked me said they were “cool with it”, or others simply just knew.
I am not the most butch guy in the world, but my feminine mannerisms and the way I was did catch the attention of some few people in leadership chain of command around me. They woul…
Read More
I, too, served in the Navy and also swore the same oath, not really knowing what lay ahead. While for most people, being gay is dangerous I was lucky to experience minimal discrimination and teasing. However, I was not immune from such teasing. Everyone at my shore duty facility at Naval Air Staton North Island in San Diego knew I was gay and while I made a risky move, when people asked, I told. However, there was no one running to the officer in charge. Most the people that asked me said they were “cool with it”, or others simply just knew.
I am not the most butch guy in the world, but my feminine mannerisms and the way I was did catch the attention of some few people in leadership chain of command around me. They woul…
Read More
DC Comics' 'Batwoman' Proposes to Her Girlfriend
Bleeding Cool reports on a hot revelation in Batwoman #17, out today:
Kathy Kane, the Batwoman, DC?s leading lesbian lady asks Maggie Sawyer, Captain Sawyer, her secret girlfriend to?be her wife. No idea how well that?s going to go down. And you have to read the build up to this ? and the rather dangerous epilogue. There?s no guarantee we?re going to hear wedding bells.
(via jmg)
Kathy Kane, the Batwoman, DC?s leading lesbian lady asks Maggie Sawyer, Captain Sawyer, her secret girlfriend to?be her wife. No idea how well that?s going to go down. And you have to read the build up to this ? and the rather dangerous epilogue. There?s no guarantee we?re going to hear wedding bells.
(via jmg)
Poll: 59 Percent of Americans Oppose DOMA
A new poll commissioned by the Center for American Progress and Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders and conducted by the Goodwin Simon Strategic Research and Voter Consumer Research examines views about DOMA, suggesting that its repeal is far overdue.
What they found:
First, mirroring other recent national polls, we see that a majority (52%) of registered voters favor
allowing same-sex couples to legally marry.
Nearly six in ten (59%) registered voters oppose Section 3 of DOMA, which requires the federal
government to treat legally married same-sex couples as unmarried for the purposes of federal benefits
and protections. Just one-third (34%) favor this part of DOMA, while six percent are unsure.
Notably, some voters who oppose marriage for same-sex couples nonetheless believe that if same-sex
couples are allowed to legally marry in their state, then the federal government should recognize those
legal marriages. These voters reject the section of DOMA that prohibits federal recognition of marriage
for same-sex couples. Therefore, while 52 percent of respondents favor marriage for same-sex couples,
a larger 59 percent oppose DOMA?s requirement that the federal government treat them as unmarried.
Shedding insight into these findings is that 62 percent of respondents agree that ?it is discrimination for
the federal government to deny marriage protections and benefits to legally married same-sex
couples.? Just 34 percent disagree with this statement, while four percent are unsure.
The Washington Blade's Chris Johnson spoke with GLAD's Mary Bonauto:
?With each passing day, more and more Americans are learning how DOMA denies important marital protections and heaps disrespect on married same-sex couples across the country ? and they?re saying, ?Enough is enough,? Bonauto said. ?It?s not surprising that a majority of this country now believes that loving, committed couples in legal marriages should be treated fairly under federal law. It?s time for our laws to catch up with where public opinion is on abolishing DOMA.?
(graphic via CAP)
What they found:
First, mirroring other recent national polls, we see that a majority (52%) of registered voters favor
allowing same-sex couples to legally marry.
Nearly six in ten (59%) registered voters oppose Section 3 of DOMA, which requires the federal
government to treat legally married same-sex couples as unmarried for the purposes of federal benefits
and protections. Just one-third (34%) favor this part of DOMA, while six percent are unsure.
Notably, some voters who oppose marriage for same-sex couples nonetheless believe that if same-sex
couples are allowed to legally marry in their state, then the federal government should recognize those
legal marriages. These voters reject the section of DOMA that prohibits federal recognition of marriage
for same-sex couples. Therefore, while 52 percent of respondents favor marriage for same-sex couples,
a larger 59 percent oppose DOMA?s requirement that the federal government treat them as unmarried.
Shedding insight into these findings is that 62 percent of respondents agree that ?it is discrimination for
the federal government to deny marriage protections and benefits to legally married same-sex
couples.? Just 34 percent disagree with this statement, while four percent are unsure.
The Washington Blade's Chris Johnson spoke with GLAD's Mary Bonauto:
?With each passing day, more and more Americans are learning how DOMA denies important marital protections and heaps disrespect on married same-sex couples across the country ? and they?re saying, ?Enough is enough,? Bonauto said. ?It?s not surprising that a majority of this country now believes that loving, committed couples in legal marriages should be treated fairly under federal law. It?s time for our laws to catch up with where public opinion is on abolishing DOMA.?
(graphic via CAP)
Telluride Gay Ski Week Celebrates its 10th Anniversary
It may be well into February, but plenty of the top gay ski weeks in North America and Europe haven't yet taken place. Lots of biggies are set for the next six weeks, with what's become one of the most famous and well-attended, Telluride Gay Ski Week, set to begin February 22. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Telluride Gay Ski Week actually lasts about 10 days, until March 3, and organizers have put together an impress itinerary of dinners, apres-ski socials, and blowout parties, including a special ski week anniversary bash, hosted by Reichen Lehmkuhl, on Monday, February 25....Read Full Post
A Moment of Silence for Trans Service Members on September 20, 2011
Note from Laurel: On 9/20 I invite you to join us for a moment of silence to honor our transgender brothers and sisters who, despite the repeal of DADT, are still forced to serve in silence. Let's let them know that they are not forgotten and that we LGB people are as committed to their open service as they were to ours, and as we are to our own.
As Autumn said to me, "It would be very appropriate for celebrants of the day that lesbian, gay and bisexual servicemembers are finally able to serve openly remember for a moment that transgender servicemembers still won't be able to serve openly. It would be very appropriate if organizations such as the SLDN, Servicemembers United, and the HRC publicly supported the idea of a moment of silence for the our transgender servicemembers who will still be required to serve in silence."The following is a guest post by the executive director of the Transgender American Veterans Association.
By Monica F. Helms
September 20, 2011 will go down as one of the most pivotal days in LGB history. On that day, gay, lesbian and bisexual service members will no longer have to hide their sexual orientation from the US military. LGB people will be allowed to enlist (or reenlist) in the military, and those already serving will be able to openly say who they love . . . if they wish to.
However, for the trans community, September 20 will be a bittersweet day. The "sweet" will be because we will all be thrilled to see another wall of discrimination crumble into history. We will celebrate along with our LGB brothers and sisters, and thank all of those who have served our country proudly. Our thanks will also go out to those who will step forward to join their ranks. Tears of joy will flow that day from all of us.
The "bitter" part comes when the celebration is over and trans people will still face discrimination from the US military. Trans service members will be ejected because the military says we have a "psychosexual condition," which they put in the same category as "exhibitionism, transvestism, voyeurism, and other paraphilias." No trans-identified person will be allowed to enlist for the same reason.
The Transgender American Veterans Association want to first congratulate all the people who worked tirelessly on getting Don't Ask, Don't Tell repealed and helped the Administration and the Department of Defense to smoothly integrate LGB people into the services. Our members worked alongside LGB people to put this terrible law to rest and we are proud to see our work not go in vain.
On this day of celebration, TAVA has one request for all of those who will be cheering and partying. We ask that everyone take a moment of silence to acknowledge that the fight is not over. A moment of silence for all of those trans people who will still face discharge when being outed. Take a moment to remember the trans people who gave their lives in silence to protect this country. TAVA stands in solidarity with our brothers and sister in celebrating this historical day. All we ask is for them to stand in solidarity with the trans community in our struggle to end ALL discrimination in the US military. The fight is not over.
To say that you or your organization will observe a moment of silence at a celebration on September 20 for trans service members, go to the Facebook Event page and click on "Attending."
Cross-posted at Bilerico.
Follow through
How do I sleep with a woman? If I am a late 20's woman who has never done so before. So....... I think I might be interested in women, but I'm not really sure. I'm not looking for a long-term relationship or anything but I'm also not really into the club scene. Craigslist is not appealing on many levels. There must be other websites or something? I'm an introvert, quiet, not-great-at-dating-or-meeting-people blahblahblah, type etc.
Other relevant details: Currently in Toronto. Friends with many gay/queer people and am totally comfortable with people *thinking* I am into women (although they generally do not)... my problem is, I guess, follow through.
Other relevant details: Currently in Toronto. Friends with many gay/queer people and am totally comfortable with people *thinking* I am into women (although they generally do not)... my problem is, I guess, follow through.
French gay-marriage bill clears hurdle
French gay-marriage bill clears hurdle
Associated Press
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Updated 11:12 pm, Tuesday, February 12, 2013
France's lower house of parliament approved a sweeping bill on Tuesday to legalize same-sex marriage and allow same-sex couples to adopt children, handing a major legislative victory to President Francois Hollande's Socialists on a divisive social issue.
The measure, approved in the National Assembly in a 329-to-229 vote, puts France on track to join about a dozen mostly European nations that allow same-sex marriage and comes despite a string of recent demonstrations by opponents of the so-called "marriage for all" bill.
With Tuesday's vote, France joins Britain in taking a major legislative step in recent weeks toward allowing same-sex marriage and adoption - making them the largest European countries to do so.
Associated Press
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Updated 11:12 pm, Tuesday, February 12, 2013
France's lower house of parliament approved a sweeping bill on Tuesday to legalize same-sex marriage and allow same-sex couples to adopt children, handing a major legislative victory to President Francois Hollande's Socialists on a divisive social issue.
The measure, approved in the National Assembly in a 329-to-229 vote, puts France on track to join about a dozen mostly European nations that allow same-sex marriage and comes despite a string of recent demonstrations by opponents of the so-called "marriage for all" bill.
With Tuesday's vote, France joins Britain in taking a major legislative step in recent weeks toward allowing same-sex marriage and adoption - making them the largest European countries to do so.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Five Worth Finding: Betty White book; Patron liqueur
—The book Betty White Rules the World: This book is a moving and funny tribute to the seemingly tireless 91-year-old actress who was on TV's Golden Girls, and is now on the shows Hot in Cleveland and Betty White's Off Their Rockers.
Illinois Senate OKs same-sex marriage
Illinois Senate OKs same-sex marriage
The Democratic-led Illinois Senate delivered a Valentine's Day victory to gay and lesbian couples Thursday, passing legislation for the first time that would allow same-sex marriage in the state.
While advocates have brought forth a lengthy line-up of religious leaders who have endorsed same-sex marriage, Catholics and other church groups have provided fierce opposition.
Sen. Heather Steans, who sponsored the measure, argued the legislation is needed because it is time for Illinois to eliminate the "second-class status" of gay and lesbian couples.
The Democratic-led Illinois Senate delivered a Valentine's Day victory to gay and lesbian couples Thursday, passing legislation for the first time that would allow same-sex marriage in the state.
While advocates have brought forth a lengthy line-up of religious leaders who have endorsed same-sex marriage, Catholics and other church groups have provided fierce opposition.
Sen. Heather Steans, who sponsored the measure, argued the legislation is needed because it is time for Illinois to eliminate the "second-class status" of gay and lesbian couples.
(52) Three Legged Lesbians
Donation thank you’s; Multi-Tasking; Stupid Americans; Oxymorons; LoHans Solo 2.0; Odd Couples … and more! Reproduced and renamed song *You’re a Stupid Cunt* by Kiko Lombardi of: http://www.visitronix.com Music bed provided by DJ Toni Teresi http://www.myspace.com/nypstar
‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ injunction now up to judge
SAN DIEGO, Ca (AP) – U.S. government lawyers are trying to stop a federal judge from issuing an injunction that would immediately do what President Obama has yet to accomplish so far in his first term: Halt the military’s ban on openly gay troops. Now it is up to U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Phillips to decide if she is willing to do that.
The White House says the legal filing Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice attorneys in a federal court in Riverside follows government procedure by defending an act of Congress that is being challenged, but it does not detract from the president’s efforts to get ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ repealed.
“This filing in no way diminishes the president’s firm commi…
Read More
The White House says the legal filing Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice attorneys in a federal court in Riverside follows government procedure by defending an act of Congress that is being challenged, but it does not detract from the president’s efforts to get ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ repealed.
“This filing in no way diminishes the president’s firm commi…
Read More
(65) ?Outrage? Director Kirby Dick
Interview with prolific filmmaker Kirby Dick on his controversial movie Outrage, which outs closeted gay politicians who vote to pass anti-gay legislation. His film SICK (1997) won the Special Jury Prize at Sundance and the Grand Prize at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Dick also directed the controversial TWIST OF FAITH (2005), a film about [...]
Fa La La La La...La--Holy Christ, they're Naked and Wet!
There's a little song I want to present to a gentlelady and scholar named Jeanette:(by the way, is there anything MORE homosexual than Celine Dion singing a Bette Midler song?? I don't think so.) Yes, I pound my chest and throw a dove to Jeanette for bringing this situation to my attention today...I suggest you watch the entire video:(Isabel & Christina from Spain's TV show Tierra de lobos)
Seeking: Mentor/Protege
Recommendations for stories about the mentor/protege dynamic that are sexy. Bonus points if both parties are female. I have a HUGE thing for mentor/protege dynamics with sexual tension - the mentor is tops at their field and rather focused on it to the near-exclusion of everything else, the protege is being trained in the field and is often treated as an assistant of sorts, the protege goes from wanting to be like the mentor to wanting the mentor themselves (or vice versa) and there's some sexualisation that would usually throw IRL examples into depths of unprofessional conduct but in fiction is really really hot.
It's kinda similar to teacher/student in terms of power dynamics, but I see M/P as having a more exclusive, focused relationship - the mentor could be really busy being a rockstar or going to conferences or whatever, but the protege's always there with them as their gopher/right hand person/apprentice/etc.
Any recommendations for stories (or non-fiction if such a thing exists) with this type of dynamic and story structure? It doesn't have to be kinky or especially explicit; I do really like erotic suggestion. I greatly prefer F/F pairings, but I suppose that can be hard to find. Any type of occupation works - artist, scientist, sex worker, sportsperson, smithing, whatever would have such a dynamic to start with.
It's kinda similar to teacher/student in terms of power dynamics, but I see M/P as having a more exclusive, focused relationship - the mentor could be really busy being a rockstar or going to conferences or whatever, but the protege's always there with them as their gopher/right hand person/apprentice/etc.
Any recommendations for stories (or non-fiction if such a thing exists) with this type of dynamic and story structure? It doesn't have to be kinky or especially explicit; I do really like erotic suggestion. I greatly prefer F/F pairings, but I suppose that can be hard to find. Any type of occupation works - artist, scientist, sex worker, sportsperson, smithing, whatever would have such a dynamic to start with.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Introducing a New Comprehensive Gay Guide to Columbus, Ohio
I've written about Columbus as one of the most underrated gay cities so many times that it's probably fair to say the secret is out. Still, it's one of my favorite Midwest cities to visit, both for bar-hopping, and outstanding artisan-inspired dining, plus there are a number of great attractions, from the first-rate Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Garden to the world-renowned Columbus Zoo. I had the chance to revisit the city this past summer, spending a few days venturing about town, and dining at some amazing restaurants (favorites from this trip include Harvest and Pistacia Vera in German Village, Sage American Bistro in Clintonville, and - for coffee - Impero Coffee Roasters in the Short North). I also brought home an exceptional bottle of vodka from the partly gay-owned craft distillery, Middle West Spirits, which is headquartered in the Short North (you can stop in to taste the fine vodka and whiskey). I also had the chance to stay in a fantastic small (gay-owned) accommodation, German Village Guest House, which I can't recommend highly enough....Read Full Post
Plug In To A Marriage Equality Anthem by Arro Verse
I enjoyed the great fortune of receiving a call from Arro Verse, a a Detroit native from a culturally diverse family has been writing songs since she was 7. She had stumbled upon our site and concluded, correctly, that we might be interested in hearing her upbeat and playful, yet thoughtful new single, Marry Me.
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THEATER Teddy Ferrara: Complexity, not simplicity
Teddy Ferrara is not a surface play. Which makes it probably a difficult one to review, and even absorb on first seeing it. I especially think it will be difficult for audiences and critics who do not have a nuanced understanding of the myriad parts of the LGBTQ movement. But the work of a playwright is not to dumb down a subject matter, so that's why I liked the work.
(52) Three Legged Lesbians
Donation thank you’s; Multi-Tasking; Stupid Americans; Oxymorons; LoHans Solo 2.0; Odd Couples … and more! Reproduced and renamed song *You’re a Stupid Cunt* by Kiko Lombardi of: http://www.visitronix.com Music bed provided by DJ Toni Teresi http://www.myspace.com/nypstar
Prop 8 backers target trial judge in urging appeal
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Backers of California’s same-sex marriage ban urged a federal appeals court to overturn the trial judge who struck down Proposition 8 by arguing late Friday that his consideration of evidence was “egregiously selective and one-sided.”
In written arguments to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, lawyers for the ban’s sponsors alleged that Chief U.S. Judge Vaughn Walker “quite willfully” disregarded a 1972 U.S. Supreme Court precedent and other relevant information when he decided the voter-approved measure was an unconstitutional violation of gay Californians’ civil rights.
“The district court based its findings almost exclusively on an uncritical acceptance of the evidence submi…
Read More
In written arguments to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, lawyers for the ban’s sponsors alleged that Chief U.S. Judge Vaughn Walker “quite willfully” disregarded a 1972 U.S. Supreme Court precedent and other relevant information when he decided the voter-approved measure was an unconstitutional violation of gay Californians’ civil rights.
“The district court based its findings almost exclusively on an uncritical acceptance of the evidence submi…
Read More
The One Who Got Away: ''Good People'' is a highly entertaining, very funny and all-around insightful drama, painted with exquisite cultural detail
Stage:
If there is a way to think of Margaret, the indefatigable protagonist of David Lindsay-Abaire's Good People, it might be with the words of columnist Doug Larson who said, ''A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows.''
For although Margaret – born, bred and permanently embedded in her working-class South Boston neighborhood – has learned to navigate the meager opportunities and bad luck of poverty, she has also evolved an oblique kind of thinking. It has a stubbornness to it; an aspect of rationalizing, despite a smart, sometimes cunning mind. And although this rationalizing may often parallel reality, it has also allowed for the quiet solidification of a very private, virtually subconscious personal myth. It is a sense of self that even as it fortifies the daily struggle, might nevertheless serve as a subtle form of self-sabotage. If she has all the answers then there is nothing to regret, but also nothing to change. It is the coping mechanism that has allowed a keen (if uneducated) intellect to survive itself. And if she will be cruel to protect it, does that make her a bad person? And what of those tantalizing moments when Margaret asserts what is both the truth and what she needs to believe? Who gets to decide such moral high ground?
Good People
(Photo by Margot Schulman)
Beautifully identified and crafted, Margaret exists at the heart of what also happens to be a highly entertaining, very funny and all-around insightful drama, painted with exquisite cultural detail. A South Boston native himself, Lindsay-Abaire delivers an expression of his world with an authenticity that resonates whether you know this ''other'' Boston (or its suburban refuges) or not. But it's not about dropping the R's or noting the references. It's about the cadence and rhythms of a claustrophobically tight-knit community that has, with brute certainty, decided to be nobody's fool. Lindsay-Abaire has caught it all. The only question is whether any given production can deliver it. This one does.
Embracing the vision as if she's lived it, director Jackie Maxwell keeps a tempo and time as witty as the play itself and lets the naturals fly. Equally simpatico, designer Todd Rosenthal's cramped and gloomy houses, nighttime windows lit with analog television blue, and interiors limping along with '70s-era Colonial kitsch, are potently suggestive of the quiet poverty in this back end of Boston. An evocation of settled neglect, he gives us houses carrying apartments filled with families, the unemployed and the elderly. No one can afford to make the windows shinier or the siding better.
And it's within this hardscrabble community that Margaret has been living a difficult, if predictable, existence. Her axis begins to tilt when she loses her job and her ability to pay rent for herself and her daughter. Egged on by girlfriend Jean, Margaret seeks out a long-ago ex-boyfriend who has returned to the area after having escaped the neighborhood for a life of education and now wealth. Margaret descends upon Mike at his office and though ostensibly there to ask for a job, they soon enter a barbed banter in which Mike reluctantly finds himself inviting Margaret to his birthday party, a large affair being thrown for him by his wife. When Margaret turns up at his affluent suburban home on the appointed evening, it doesn't take long before she has upped the ante with Mike in a way that perhaps neither of them expected.
Inhabiting Margaret with supernatural insight and a comic timing to beat the band, Johanna Day makes this woman utterly and inexorably her own. With consummate skill and subterranean artistry, she captures the ready smile and quick words of a woman who has learned to mask a lifetime's worth of anger and disappointment. It's a face that says, ''Big deal, I saw it coming,'' with each of life's knocks. But as stoic as Margaret may be, Day ensures a view onto a far more complicated inner landscape. In her canny confidence, her searching eyes, Day delivers the Margaret that refuses to ''grow in a row,'' even if it costs her.
The only downside here is that Day is so brilliant it is a challenge for the rest of the cast to keep up. Coming closest are Amy McWilliams as Jean, and Francesca Choy-Kee as Kate, Mike's young and educated wife. As Margaret's stalwart friend, Jean knows more about Margaret than she may ever reveal and McWilliams captures this silent dimension amid a nicely textured and skillfully comic portrayal of a raucous gal pal. And supporting role though she may be, McWilliams's clear sense of Jean is indispensible in setting the cultural temperature here. Playing Kate with much layering and compellingly credible emotion, Choy-Kee does much to diminish the ever-so-slightly obviousness of her as device as well as evading the kind of cliché that the character might encourage.
Good People To March 10 Arena Stage Kreeger Theater 1101 6th St. SW $55-$85 202-488-3300 www.arenastage.org
Never quite finding his connection with either Day or the Southie accent, Andrew Long nevertheless gives his Mike a memorable and effectively edgy presence; convincing as a man who harbors well-hidden angers and uncertainties. Similarly, as Dottie, Margaret's landlady and sometime babysitter, Rosemary Knower cuts a comic figure and a formidable presence even if she never quite nails the accent or enough of the deadpan grim. Better with the accent, but not quite seedy enough (he's a floor manager at a Dollar Store, after all) Michael Glenn slightly overplays at first but comes into his own with a quietly engaging turn as the put-upon Stevie.
But as good as the ensemble is, it is Day's searingly memorable Margaret, growing best as she can from a crack in a South Boston sidewalk, who will haunt you. ...more
If there is a way to think of Margaret, the indefatigable protagonist of David Lindsay-Abaire's Good People, it might be with the words of columnist Doug Larson who said, ''A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows.''
For although Margaret – born, bred and permanently embedded in her working-class South Boston neighborhood – has learned to navigate the meager opportunities and bad luck of poverty, she has also evolved an oblique kind of thinking. It has a stubbornness to it; an aspect of rationalizing, despite a smart, sometimes cunning mind. And although this rationalizing may often parallel reality, it has also allowed for the quiet solidification of a very private, virtually subconscious personal myth. It is a sense of self that even as it fortifies the daily struggle, might nevertheless serve as a subtle form of self-sabotage. If she has all the answers then there is nothing to regret, but also nothing to change. It is the coping mechanism that has allowed a keen (if uneducated) intellect to survive itself. And if she will be cruel to protect it, does that make her a bad person? And what of those tantalizing moments when Margaret asserts what is both the truth and what she needs to believe? Who gets to decide such moral high ground?
Good People
(Photo by Margot Schulman)
Beautifully identified and crafted, Margaret exists at the heart of what also happens to be a highly entertaining, very funny and all-around insightful drama, painted with exquisite cultural detail. A South Boston native himself, Lindsay-Abaire delivers an expression of his world with an authenticity that resonates whether you know this ''other'' Boston (or its suburban refuges) or not. But it's not about dropping the R's or noting the references. It's about the cadence and rhythms of a claustrophobically tight-knit community that has, with brute certainty, decided to be nobody's fool. Lindsay-Abaire has caught it all. The only question is whether any given production can deliver it. This one does.
Embracing the vision as if she's lived it, director Jackie Maxwell keeps a tempo and time as witty as the play itself and lets the naturals fly. Equally simpatico, designer Todd Rosenthal's cramped and gloomy houses, nighttime windows lit with analog television blue, and interiors limping along with '70s-era Colonial kitsch, are potently suggestive of the quiet poverty in this back end of Boston. An evocation of settled neglect, he gives us houses carrying apartments filled with families, the unemployed and the elderly. No one can afford to make the windows shinier or the siding better.
And it's within this hardscrabble community that Margaret has been living a difficult, if predictable, existence. Her axis begins to tilt when she loses her job and her ability to pay rent for herself and her daughter. Egged on by girlfriend Jean, Margaret seeks out a long-ago ex-boyfriend who has returned to the area after having escaped the neighborhood for a life of education and now wealth. Margaret descends upon Mike at his office and though ostensibly there to ask for a job, they soon enter a barbed banter in which Mike reluctantly finds himself inviting Margaret to his birthday party, a large affair being thrown for him by his wife. When Margaret turns up at his affluent suburban home on the appointed evening, it doesn't take long before she has upped the ante with Mike in a way that perhaps neither of them expected.
Inhabiting Margaret with supernatural insight and a comic timing to beat the band, Johanna Day makes this woman utterly and inexorably her own. With consummate skill and subterranean artistry, she captures the ready smile and quick words of a woman who has learned to mask a lifetime's worth of anger and disappointment. It's a face that says, ''Big deal, I saw it coming,'' with each of life's knocks. But as stoic as Margaret may be, Day ensures a view onto a far more complicated inner landscape. In her canny confidence, her searching eyes, Day delivers the Margaret that refuses to ''grow in a row,'' even if it costs her.
The only downside here is that Day is so brilliant it is a challenge for the rest of the cast to keep up. Coming closest are Amy McWilliams as Jean, and Francesca Choy-Kee as Kate, Mike's young and educated wife. As Margaret's stalwart friend, Jean knows more about Margaret than she may ever reveal and McWilliams captures this silent dimension amid a nicely textured and skillfully comic portrayal of a raucous gal pal. And supporting role though she may be, McWilliams's clear sense of Jean is indispensible in setting the cultural temperature here. Playing Kate with much layering and compellingly credible emotion, Choy-Kee does much to diminish the ever-so-slightly obviousness of her as device as well as evading the kind of cliché that the character might encourage.
Good People To March 10 Arena Stage Kreeger Theater 1101 6th St. SW $55-$85 202-488-3300 www.arenastage.org
Never quite finding his connection with either Day or the Southie accent, Andrew Long nevertheless gives his Mike a memorable and effectively edgy presence; convincing as a man who harbors well-hidden angers and uncertainties. Similarly, as Dottie, Margaret's landlady and sometime babysitter, Rosemary Knower cuts a comic figure and a formidable presence even if she never quite nails the accent or enough of the deadpan grim. Better with the accent, but not quite seedy enough (he's a floor manager at a Dollar Store, after all) Michael Glenn slightly overplays at first but comes into his own with a quietly engaging turn as the put-upon Stevie.
But as good as the ensemble is, it is Day's searingly memorable Margaret, growing best as she can from a crack in a South Boston sidewalk, who will haunt you. ...more
Lesbian News - 17 Feb 2013
'Glee's' Santana Helps Quinn Put the Lesbian in LUG for Valentine's DayTop 5 Myths About Gay & Lesbian Wedding PhotographyNationwide gay and lesbian population count breaks new groundThe lesbian love octogonWho?s Sending Out Fake Lesbian Wedding Announcements to Small Papers?
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Martial-arts seminar Feb. 17
Fitness Formula Clubs FFC and Krav Maga Academy are hosting a Special Weapons & Ground Defense Seminar featuring John Whitman on Sunday, Feb. 17, at FFC Old Town, 1235 N. LaSalle St., 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Amar en Tiempos Revueltos - season 5, recap 17
Teresa is still going on about Ana not being able to make it to the funeral of her and Alfonso’s father, but like with everything these days, Teresa keeps hearing to just let it go; even Héctor keeps telling her to ‘not start this again’.
Meanwhile, Rosa is either trying to woo or suck up to Ana by buying her some purple colored treats that Ana loved when she was younger because her father always brought them over.
I can’t tell if Rosa is genuinely interested in friendship (or more), or is just keeping Ana sweet until a better business type of opportunity comes along.
Later at the Rivas home, Alfonso is apologizing to Ana for his behavior for the past couple of months and tells her that he needs a doctor. A real doctor that can help him get off the booze and pills he’s taking.
That doesn’t last long though, because later he’s boozing it up again and this time it’s Ana who is getting the full brunt of it. Alfonso wants sex, but Ana is having none of that when he’s drunk (or any at all for that matter), so tells him to buzz off. Alfonso doesn’t take this so lightly though and tries to force himself on Ana, but she kicks him out of the room.
She talks to Cristina about what happened and with tears in her eyes tells her that she is going to separate from Alfonso and that she made a huge mistake marrying him in the first place.
The next morning at the table, Alfonso apologizes for what he did and Ana tells him that his bags are ready. Alfonso questions if she is kicking him out, but she tells him he is going to a specialized clinic to help him with his demons and clear his body and soul, otherwise known as Rehab. She tells him that she’ll support him, check up on him with the doctors, but tells him to not be very hopeful about anything else.
Ana later goes over to Teresa’s shop to tell Carmen and Teresa that she dropped Alfonso off at a ‘resting sanatorium’ and that he will be receiving treatment for his substance abuse. Both Carmen and Teresa look at Ana dumbfounded, but Carmen, when questioned, confesses that she did indeed suspect Alfonso was having problems. This confession nearly makes Teresa’s eyes pop out of her skull and she questions Carmen on why she kept this a secret from her as they could have done something for him. Ana gives them the details on the treatment centre Alfonso is staying at, but tells them she was advised by the doctors to not visit him for a while because it would be better for his progress.
Teresa, meanwhile, is ready to blow a fuse though, accusing Ana that she is leaving Alfonso to deal with this on his own. Ana calmly rebuffs her, saying that she left Alfonso in the best care possible.
<!--pagebreak-->
Carmen leaves to process things at home, leaving Ana and Teresa at the shop alone and things get heated fairly quickly between the two:
Teresa: It’s hard to believe for me that my brother’s become a drug addict as you say.
Ana: I understand. It is hard to accept that somebody you love has taken that route.
Teresa: I’m wondering what you have done to get him in this situation.
Ana: I would have sent him to a clinic much earlier, but it is right now that I could because he decided to.
Teresa: No, not for sending him there. I don’t think my brother is taking drugs just for mere fun. No, he is not that kind of person.
Ana: What are you insinuating?
Teresa: That after marrying you he was under so much pressure that he couldn’t overcome. Maybe that’s why he was taking drugs; running away from a relationship that was hurting him.
Ana: I don’t like what you’re saying, Teresa.
Teresa: Me neither, but that is what I am thinking and neither do I believe that my brother’s admitted to a sanatorium of his own free will.
Ana: If you don’t believe me, ask Héctor. Héctor can tell you what happened with your brother.
Teresa: Don’t get my husband involved in this.
Ana: Why not? Hasn’t Héctor told you he saw Alfonso the last couple of weeks?
Teresa: I told you, do not say his name! I am fed up with everybody talking to him behind my back!
Ana: Héctor is a good friend to his friends and you don’t care about him, or your brother or anyone, just that nobody talks unless it is under your control. People are free to talk to whom they want and you can’t avoid that.
Teresa: Are you calling me egocentric?
Ana: I just call that selfish.
Teresa: You are the only one who is selfish, who has no friends, who looks down on all of us: YOU!
Ana: I don’t have an inferiority complex like you.
Teresa: But which complex of inferiority…
And then ladies and ladies… this is what happens:
And with that I will leave you for now.
Next week:
The girls both reminisce about what happened, while everything else still goes on.
You can read previous recaps here.
Meanwhile, Rosa is either trying to woo or suck up to Ana by buying her some purple colored treats that Ana loved when she was younger because her father always brought them over.
I can’t tell if Rosa is genuinely interested in friendship (or more), or is just keeping Ana sweet until a better business type of opportunity comes along.
Later at the Rivas home, Alfonso is apologizing to Ana for his behavior for the past couple of months and tells her that he needs a doctor. A real doctor that can help him get off the booze and pills he’s taking.
That doesn’t last long though, because later he’s boozing it up again and this time it’s Ana who is getting the full brunt of it. Alfonso wants sex, but Ana is having none of that when he’s drunk (or any at all for that matter), so tells him to buzz off. Alfonso doesn’t take this so lightly though and tries to force himself on Ana, but she kicks him out of the room.
She talks to Cristina about what happened and with tears in her eyes tells her that she is going to separate from Alfonso and that she made a huge mistake marrying him in the first place.
The next morning at the table, Alfonso apologizes for what he did and Ana tells him that his bags are ready. Alfonso questions if she is kicking him out, but she tells him he is going to a specialized clinic to help him with his demons and clear his body and soul, otherwise known as Rehab. She tells him that she’ll support him, check up on him with the doctors, but tells him to not be very hopeful about anything else.
Ana later goes over to Teresa’s shop to tell Carmen and Teresa that she dropped Alfonso off at a ‘resting sanatorium’ and that he will be receiving treatment for his substance abuse. Both Carmen and Teresa look at Ana dumbfounded, but Carmen, when questioned, confesses that she did indeed suspect Alfonso was having problems. This confession nearly makes Teresa’s eyes pop out of her skull and she questions Carmen on why she kept this a secret from her as they could have done something for him. Ana gives them the details on the treatment centre Alfonso is staying at, but tells them she was advised by the doctors to not visit him for a while because it would be better for his progress.
Teresa, meanwhile, is ready to blow a fuse though, accusing Ana that she is leaving Alfonso to deal with this on his own. Ana calmly rebuffs her, saying that she left Alfonso in the best care possible.
<!--pagebreak-->
Carmen leaves to process things at home, leaving Ana and Teresa at the shop alone and things get heated fairly quickly between the two:
Teresa: It’s hard to believe for me that my brother’s become a drug addict as you say.
Ana: I understand. It is hard to accept that somebody you love has taken that route.
Teresa: I’m wondering what you have done to get him in this situation.
Ana: I would have sent him to a clinic much earlier, but it is right now that I could because he decided to.
Teresa: No, not for sending him there. I don’t think my brother is taking drugs just for mere fun. No, he is not that kind of person.
Ana: What are you insinuating?
Teresa: That after marrying you he was under so much pressure that he couldn’t overcome. Maybe that’s why he was taking drugs; running away from a relationship that was hurting him.
Ana: I don’t like what you’re saying, Teresa.
Teresa: Me neither, but that is what I am thinking and neither do I believe that my brother’s admitted to a sanatorium of his own free will.
Ana: If you don’t believe me, ask Héctor. Héctor can tell you what happened with your brother.
Teresa: Don’t get my husband involved in this.
Ana: Why not? Hasn’t Héctor told you he saw Alfonso the last couple of weeks?
Teresa: I told you, do not say his name! I am fed up with everybody talking to him behind my back!
Ana: Héctor is a good friend to his friends and you don’t care about him, or your brother or anyone, just that nobody talks unless it is under your control. People are free to talk to whom they want and you can’t avoid that.
Teresa: Are you calling me egocentric?
Ana: I just call that selfish.
Teresa: You are the only one who is selfish, who has no friends, who looks down on all of us: YOU!
Ana: I don’t have an inferiority complex like you.
Teresa: But which complex of inferiority…
And then ladies and ladies… this is what happens:
And with that I will leave you for now.
Next week:
The girls both reminisce about what happened, while everything else still goes on.
You can read previous recaps here.
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