August 15th, 2007
Kucinich wows audience and panel at historic GLBT forum
There was a bit of fireworks, a few groans and a lot of love for at least one candidate Aug. 9 as six presidential candidates made history in the first-ever televised presidential forum devoted solely to GLBT issues. Full Story
Editorial
As touted, last week’s first-ever nationally televised presidential candidate forum on GLBT issues was historic. Full Story
We experienced history in the making Aug. 9 as six candidates for the U.S. presidency took part in a forum on issues of concern to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities. Full Story
Nation Report
Church nominates Texas minister to replace Haggard
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—A search committee at New Life Church is recommending a Texas megachurch leader replace disgraced senior pastor Ted Haggard. Full Story
Lesbian couple settles with Des Moines YMCA
DES MOINES, Iowa—A Des Moines lesbian couple say they’ve won their battle to be considered a family by the Greater Des Moines YMCA. Full Story
Ex-gay group allowed to target kids in middle schools
McLEAN, Va.—An organization that advocates so-called “ex-gay” therapy to make gays straight has settled a lawsuit with Arlington County school officials over their refusal to distribute its fliers to high-school students. Full Story
Oregon’s DP law causes problems for former partners
SALEM, Ore.—Conservative activists have argued that the domestic partnership law approved by the Oregon Legislature this year is the equivalent of allowing gay couples to marry. Full Story
Arizona bar owner won’t cooperate in trans bias probe
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—A Scottsdale bar owner named in a discrimination lawsuit has refused to be interviewed voluntarily under oath by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. Full Story
FDA approves new AIDS drug for long-term patients
WASHINGTON—The U.S. government approved a novel drug Aug. 6 to help patients with the AIDS virus who are running out of options, while acknowledging lingering questions about the pills’ long-term effects. Full Story
Episcopal court rules against breakaway priest
DENVER—An Episcopal church court issued a preliminary ruling that the leader of a breakaway church is guilty of financial misconduct, officials said Aug. 8. Full Story
School supt. tells school ‘Laramie Project’ is OK
OCEAN TOWNSHIP, N.J.—The curtain will go up this fall at Ocean Township High School on a play about the death of a gay college student. Full Story
San Diego Fire Dept. revises parade rules for firefighters
SAN DIEGO—The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said it would no longer require on-duty crews to drive parade routes, a move that follows complaints by four firefighters who say they were harassed during a gay pride event. Full Story
Opinion
For some time now I have been seeing books and articles about masculinity and how recent changes in men’s social and economic roles create a supposed crisis in which contemporary men feel uncertain about how to assert a sense of their own value and significance. Full Story
Nothing gay about ‘Hott 4 Hill’
By now you’ve probably seen or at least heard of the catchy Obama Girl YouTube Video where a sexy young woman struts down the street proclaiming that she has “a crush on Obama.” Full Story
Freetime
Midlife Crisis No. 175: Tater Tots
The Australian government recently halted same-sex couple adoptions of “foreign children” by extending visas only to kids heading for “typical family arrangements,” i.e., one woman, one pedophile and a marriage that lasts an average of three years. Aussie gay rights campaigners are accusing their government of saying a child is better off in an Asian orphanage than with a loving same-sex couple. Full Story
“The Gymnast” (Wolfe)—“The Gymnast” is the “flip” side, so to speak, of the usual softcore lesbian features such as, say, “Loving Annabelle,” that we are too often force-fed at LGBT film fests or that coyly beckon viewers from video store shelves. On the contrary... Full Story
As raindrops fall, stop for a moment to reflect that sometimes God pisses on us as we navigate this long shopping trip to Nirvana we call our lives. Yes, even in our sunniest moments God may get caught short and pull out his monster schlong with the huge heavy balls filled with seed and he will bless our trips to suburban shopping malls with his wondrous golden shower. Full Story
1978: Walter J. Snow, a founder of the pioneering gay rights group ONE of Chicago, dies. Snow owned the Avenue Flower Shop at 181 N. Wells St. and regularly donated flowers for ONE’s annual banquet. Full Story
More than 20 years ago, the unavoidable arrival and unequivocal triumph of the Beastie Boys, was proof positive that after centuries of doing the hora, Jews could move from the Bunny Hop to hip-hop with the greatest of ease. Full Story
More News
OK—it’s not always apt to compare one country’s politics with another’s. After all, the differences between cultures can be complex and so forth. Full Story
Frontrunners celebrate 25th anniversary
“Whether its hot or cold there’s always going to be a group there waiting to run. It’s a peer pressure thing,” said Corbin Woodling, secretary of Frontrunners/Frontwalkers Chicago, about the running club he’s been in since 1990. Full Story
Deal reached with student in Crystal Lake incident
A second Crystal Lake girl was cleared last week of a hate crime charge stemming from her helping to circulate fliers at her school depicting two male classmates kissing and containing text using a derogatory term for gays. Full Story
Nation’s largest gay, lesbian flag football leagues kick off
The nation’s largest gay and lesbian flag football leagues, gearing up for another fall season, are inviting new players to join in the fun. Full Story
Job fair draws Fortune 500 companies seeking GLBTs
Corporate America is gradually waking up to the possibilities inherent in job recruiting in the GLBT community, according to one California-based recruiting firm. Full Story
Harris urges governor to sign ‘strong budget’ on his desk
Ill. state Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) praised the state budget passed by the Illinois House and Senate late last week, pointing to money for AIDS prevention, mental health programs, electric rate relief and education as positive developments for Illinoisans. Full Story
Lutherans keep policy but won’t discipline gay ministers
A national assembly of Evangelical Lutherans urged its bishops Aug. 11 to refrain from defrocking gay and lesbian ministers who violate a celibacy rule, but rejected measures that would have permitted ordaining gays churchwide. Full Story
Texas church denies funeral to gay Navy war veteran
ARLINGTON, Texas—Relatives of a gay Navy veteran who died say they are upset that a fundamentalist megachurch near Dallas canceled his memorial service 24 hours before it was to start. Full Story
Obit: Robert Marc Schneider, 53
Robert Marc Schneider, 53, attorney, a graduate of John Marshall Law School, activist, family historian, patron of the arts, epicure, proud member of Chicago’s leather community and native of Brooklyn, N.Y., passed away suddenly but peacefully in his sleep at home Aug. 6. Full Story
Another Mexican state readies civil unions bill
The Mexican state of San Luis Potosi could become the third state in that country to adopt civil unions for gay and lesbian couples under legislation introduced Aug. 8. Full Story
Garcia Bernal and Luna aid campaign for human rights
MEXICO CITY—“Y Tu Mama Tambien” stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna hosted a gala dinner Aug. 11 to raise money to support human rights and shine light on poverty and injustice in Mexico. Full Story
Freestyle
See Jesse 'Run': an interview with writor/actor Jesse Archer
“You Can Run: Gay, Glam, and Gritty Travels in South America” (Harrington Park Press, 2007, $19.95) is a fitting title for writer/actor Jesse Archer’s collection of travel essays because he is a man on the move. Not only does he transport himself through various parts of South America in his book, but he’s also in motion as a columnist for Out Magazine, a screenwriter and an actor. Full Story
Lifestyle
The next chapter: Following the paperless trail
How long before you go down the paperless trail? At work or home, you’ve probably reduced the amount of paper you use for writing and reading. Still, if you are like 99.9999 percent of consumers in America, when you sit down to read a book, you’ve got a bound book, with paper pages, in hand. Full Story
Music
The big movie news of the summer of 2007 wasn’t just that the film adaptation of the musical version of “Hairspray” had made it into multiplexes across the country, but that it was actually good (in spite of some obvious miscasting) and doing decent box office. Full Story
Cinema/Theater
“Death at a Funeral” (MGM)—Any traces of camp sensibility and gay sensitivity that Frank Oz may have exhibited in earlier films such as the movie musical adaptation of “Little Shop of Horrors,” “In & Out” and, to a lesser degree, the remake of “The Stepford Wives” are all but a thing of the past in the lowbrow low-rent “Four Weddings and a Funeral”-esque British comedy “Death at a Funeral.” Full Story
Tennessee Williams isn’t all roses and regrets, longing and losing. He had his own cutting edge, a repudiation of realism abundantly evident in this lesser-known 1953 offering. An absurdist imitation, “Camino Real” closely resembles Genet’s “The Balcony” where, against the backdrop of repression and revolution, expressionistic characters pursue favorite phantoms. Full Story
Dining
Salpicon: 'Like a little bit of heaven'
Rick Bayless gets lot of recognition for his pair of Mexican eateries, Topolobampo and Frontera Grill, but there’s an equally good restaurant which has been serving up great food in Old Town for just about the same length of time. Salpicon features high-end Latin American cuisine, sort of what you’d get in one of the nicer non-touristy spots in Mexico. Full Story
Culture
Dale Levitsky is a Chicago-born and -bred chef who has garnered world-wide acclaim. After starting his professional career in 1998 at Delice, he began to develop quite a following for his unique cooking style at such acclaimed restaurants as Blackbird, Orange, La Tache, Trio Atelier, Fortunato and Cru. Full Story
Home
Furniture facelift: Breathing new life into your old pieces
Just when you thought there was no hope left for that old table from your grandmother, those chairs you bought at auction or that bench you picked up at the Brown Elephant, you might be surprised to learn that reincarnation is... Full Story