No really I mean it, life is frickin’ nuts. It’s great. It’s been busy. The Bear Scene in DC has moved into my neighborhood, and I’ve met so many new people. And I’ve been finally seeing people I already know and hanging out again.

The DC Bear renaissance is why I started to blog at dcbearscene.com. I really want to get more people involved blogging there. Especially since when my work picks up, I usually can’t spend much time focusing on blogging. People can post about their own events. I’ve started to set that up, but now it’s time to show my fellow bloggers how to use things like the photo upload and event calendar. I have my own personal opinion about the Bear explosion that’s been happening in DC. I think it has its good and bad points, and I’m curious to hear what others have to say.

Bearnakedjoe.com is my most personal blog, so I suppose I should write and try to explain all the things I’ve been doing. I don’t really go into all of my personal stuff online much, and I’ve been doing a lot of personal stuff. That’s really the main reason I’ve not been updating on here. I tried to blog more newsy type stuff there for a while, but my full-time job and my photography really don’t leave me much time to break news on a blog, certainly not as well as other gay bloggers in the field. And I promised myself to not get outrage fatigue, which is something that comes all too easy if you blog about LGBT newsworthy items. But I know photography. And I know DC.

And I kind of know Philly. I recently visited Philly with my good friend Chris. I lived there for 8 years – it’s where I coined my nickname Bearnaked Joe. I should tell some of the tale in a future post, since it was an amazing weekend of just-in-time connections. Chris and I wandered the streets and I showed him places I hung out in the past with some of my best friends in Philly. We saw strongmen and puppish cops, including my new favorite. Yes, hanging out with Chris, aka “Bullneck,” has taught me to have a favorite cop. It’s true: We are the sum of the people we know.

I also went home with Dave to visit Ohio. It was a great trip seeing the family, having some of my favorite food, and marching with my alumni band in the Memorial Day parade. We got an Air Force flyby that almost made me wet my pants.

On the photography front, I had an exciting evening being part of a panel discussion about the use of metadata and photography workflow as part of a tour being hosted by Stock Artists Alliance and Photoshelter. I’ll always remember that’s where I was when I heard that Michael Jackson had died.

I also got an iPhone 3GS. I liked the way my review of the Shuffle worked out, so I may review the iPhone 3GS as well. Yeah I’m sure you’ve read a lot already. You can skip it if you want. But some people might like my detailed look at the thing.

I joined a gym. OK, I haven’t gone yet, but I joined a gym.

So this is my blog entry for today. It’s representative of my feelings about being on the Web. I want everyone to read my site and have wonderful things to say, sure. But then I turn to Facebook and think “who is this person and why in the heck do they want to friend me?” It’s an odd thing being part of an online culture where everything we do now we voluntarily published. We only let others see what we want them to see. Sometimes I don’t want you to see anything. Some people show us too much.

It reminds me of my favorite Facebook status update I’ve made so far. In a purely digital forum and in the most pubic place I know, I stated “Joe secretly longs for an analog world.” I miss when bells were real bells, and when you actually dialed a phone. But I still don’t want to give up my iPhone 3GS.

• Shiny Happy People
• It the Summertime
• The Night Chicago Died
• Seven Nation Army
• Son’s Gonna Rise
• Ball of Confusion
• Dashboard
• She’s Not There
• Eye of the Tiger

OK Cows! Let’s get on it!

Martin says Asrani and the school board then opted to cancel the play. Asrani says the decision was Martin’s.

When students were told the production had been canceled, their outreach quickly led to mass media attention. Gay activists and alumni of the high school charged that the play’s cancellation was a form of intolerance and homophobia.

Martin in turn requested a rush copy of a toned-down version of the script, which he submitted to Asrani for approval.

via Canceled High School Production of Rent Back On  | News | Advocate.com.

Remember. When I was in high school we had a gay-straight alliance. It was called drama club.

A Gay Man in the Military: First Post

It’s hard for people to understand why a gay man would join the military. In Clay’s case, he had been a civilian for many years and then rejoined in his thirties. We were out working in the yard one afternoon and he told me he wanted to enlist again. I thought he was crazy. We had been together for 10 years then.

via Diary of a Gay Soldier’s Husband: A Gay Man in the Military: First Post.

I took the opportunity to open the discussion of music, because he plays the same five songs over and over every day, and they are the worst shit I have ever heard. They sound like the no-name band’s song with girlie teenage vocals that gets played at the end of made-for-TV Hilary Duff movies. He plays the newest Britney CD when he is in the shower. He also told me the new Pussycat Dolls record was available online, and that he was totally psyched. (Breathe … breathe…)

So, I asked, what is with a 22-year old man listening to that crap? His answer was actually really good: “I’m gay.” It sort of stopped me in my tracks, as I had forgotten this element. I tried to make an example of gay people who have great taste in music, of which there are many, but all I saw were pictures of gay faves like Abba, Madonna, and Erasure dancing through my head. This is the shitty music of a different generation, though, alas. Now the torch is being passed.

“You have to see The Women,” he said to me. “It was soooo good!” He had it on DVD. But it wasn’t my all-time favorite movie from 1939, which I already own; it was the recent, completely retarded remake. I pointed out to him that the original was an iconic gay film. “Huh,” he said.

So here’s when I realized that I was being really annoying, and that no one needs to hear how lame he is all the time. No matter how idiotic his taste is, ’tis far, far worse for me to keep pointing that out…

via San Francisco Music – Underwear Night at 440 Castro

I’m going through the author Katy St. Clair’s previous articles. Love her.

Thumper took great pains to point out that even though there are two new Bear groups forming in the DC region at the same time – the other group having virtually the same name with “495 Bears” – the groups are not at odds with one another. “As long as no one thinks it’s a competition,” he told me.  There is room for everyone.

Would a Bear Vacuum get clogged with hair?

Titan Bar

Until Titan Bar’s closing in December, 2007, which left a Bear vacuum in the national capital region, the second-story bar above Hamburger Mary’s/Dakota Cowgirl served as a central  hirsute meeting place every Friday night. Cobalt has been a recent substitute, but many Bears just don’t feel at home in the 17th street night club where the bartenders are more likely to sport shiny abs of steel than furry beer bellies.

Of the three major Bear groups in DC’s history (all of which I have at one time been a member of), only one is still active, but in smaller numbers.  District of Columbia Bear Club (DCBC) changed its focus years ago to be more of a small fraternal organization instead of a club with a large membership (pun intended). Chesapeake Bay Bears (CBB) has been off the radar for I don’t know how long. A search of Google and Yahoo found nothing new, and their website is gone.

And GenXDC, the group I am most associated with (I coordinated for a few years and I maintain our web presence), has been pretty much on hiatus. We weren’t a formal club in that we didn’t have bylaws or regular meetings, but we were pretty regular with email and events. When the web shifted away from mailing lists and towards journals, blogs, and other social interaction sites, it became tough for us to communicate as a group. I think we all felt like we needed something new in our lives, too. Though the community is still around – many of us still have dinners, vacations, and parties together – we just don’t consider ourselves an organized group.

“Beltway Bears” Structure

So this vacuum has inspired new Bear-on-Bear action in the form of two new groups. Of the three prior groups, only the Baltimore-based CBB was a chartered club with an open membership – you just pay your dues and you are in. This is how Beltway Bears are organizing themselves right away with their meetings and elections, with bylaw adoption to shortly follow.

“We’ll see how the community reacts to these new clubs,” said Nick Bullock, who is considering a run for Vice President of Beltway Bears.

“495 Bears” Structure

The 495 Bears are taking a less-structured approach, first intending to have a few Tea Dance events and others, without officers,  by-laws, membership,  newsletters, dues, or meetings. While it is inevitable that people will view this as a competition, the 495 Bears list owner also pointed out  in an e-mail to me that even the names were not on purpose. “It is rather funny about the names of these two groups but it was all coincidental and cordial,” he said. His group is focusing first on building membership instead of a charter or bear run. Without officers, dues, or membership forms, they are following the online GenXDC model: “We are taking a new approach… to keep a club relevant these days,” Jones wrote.

I’ll be blogging more about DC’s new Bear Renaissance here and at a new blog “DCBearScene.com.” which is coming soon.

Are you a Bear in the DC area and you wanna talk about what’s going on?  Write to me about becoming a blogger on  “DCBearScene.com.”

Additional notes from the Beltway Bears meeting:

Join Beltway Bears at  the newly renovated American History Museum – Mall entrance – on Saturday, February 21st at noon.

• Join the Yahoo Group List  by 11:59 p.m. on February 21st to be eligible to vote/run in elections.
• Nominations/ self-nominations must be made by by 11:59 p.m. on February 21st , 2009
• Elections will begin on February 25 and close “Super Tuesday” 11:59 p.m. on March 3.
• New officers will take their positions (pun intended) for the March meeting at the Eagle on March 4.
• Tentative outing planned for March – The US Capitol – it has a new visitor’s center.
• A Teddy Bear “Share a Bear” event is in the planning stages.

I suspect this stereotype has something to do with the fact that, in the recent past, only gays who had earned fame and fortune — especially in artistic circles — could afford to come out. So the world began to believe that “rich” went hand-in-hand with “homosexual.” And even now, the gay men we tend to read about in magazines or see on TV are rich ones. On “Will and Grace,” Will must have been earning seven figures to pay for his lifestyle (and Jack’s). The “Queer Eye” guys made expensive tastes seem genetically hard-wired in gay men. I’m not saying that the idealization of wealth is solely a gay thing — but it has especially affected gay men, who see fewer representations of themselves in popular culture.

via Style: The Wealth Myth.

So why did it happen? Why is the closet-busting film about Harvey Milk so fearful when it comes to its subject’s own sex life? Well, partly because even gay saints need to be shown exercising some sexual restraint. But the main reason undoubtedly is that bundling themselves back into the closet is exactly what today’s US gay-rights campaigners are doing in their campaign for gay marriage. In order to try and persuade an unconvinced American public to support gay marriage under the rubric of equality, gay male relationships are being presented, rather disingenuously, as “just the same” as male-female ones.

via There’s one problem with Gus van Sant’s Milk: it castrates its hero | Film | guardian.co.uk

At this year’s Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather contest, the eventual winner, Kip Holler, was asked to cite his qualities if called on to serve as President Barack Obama’s new puppy.

”I have short hair, I don’t shed and I’m hypo-allergenic — it’s leather, not latex,” he said off the cuff to the judges’ intentionally farcical question. Dressed in full leather, with a bright-yellow tie, he was sure to call attention to what he said should be the first pup’s first order of business. ”As my first duty, I’d piss on you, George W. Bush.”

Leather Laurels: Celebrating Mid-Atlantic Leather’s quarter century in style: Feature Story at Metro Weekly magazine

International Bear Rendezvous 15 is coming up soon and bears are already descending on San Francisco like trailer park queens at a cheap Las Vegas buffet…

Unlike a lot of leather competitions, the bear contests seem to be more about fun, sex and food, whereas the leather competitions are more about saving the world – unless you skip the festivities and make it all about sex. The leather competitions however are never about food.

GLT » In the Pit

Eric Kuhlmann

Eric Kuhlmann… Born in Canberra. Lives in Adelaide. Bit gay. Spent his early teens climbing out of his bedroom window to go and have sex with strange men in toilets, take drugs, and have psychotic episodes. He decided to write some songs about it, and the result is I Was A Teenage Dirty Old Man, a show that explores the unexplorable, and was reviewed in the Adelaide Advertiser as “extremely funny – like Ian Dury meets Billy Bragg in a public toilet”.

“It’s basically telling stories based on my experiences and those of people I know. I used to wag school to go down the beat – it’s all very interesting when you’re young. The show’s about sex, beats, under-age sexuality, mental illness – all the most fascinating, funny, and amusing topics,” says Kuhlmann, a visual artist who has been writing and performing songs since he was out of primary school, and is now the lead singer in an Adelaide bear band called Armpit Stench.

A song cycle of taboo tales – Music – Entertainment – theage.com.au

Drew Galleni, co-founder of San Francisco Movie Bears, a gay men’s social group who gather together to watch movies at local theaters, announced the group’s boycott against Cinemark theaters in an e-mail to members after he learned about Stock’s donation. The boycott marks one of the few times members of the bear community have been actively involved in a political issue, Galleni says.

No Milk money for Cinemark : Kansan.com

(M)uch is being made of an old Obama questionnaire from the late 1990s, in which our pending prez told the Windy City Times that he supports same-sex marriage. But…but…but, we stutter en masse, didn’t he tell the American people that he only supports civil unions? Indeed he did, presumably because he wanted to be elected President of the United States. Sad to say, the bland middle ground of civil unions is a lot easier on the electorate’s palate than the wasabi mustard of marriage equality. But you know Obama likes wasabi in the privacy of his own sushi bar.

I say big deal. If Obama secretly supports same-sex marriage, that’s preferable to a sincere conviction that civil unions should be our final goal. I suspect, in fact, that although he believes in equal rights, he doesn’t care that much either way. Most people don’t. And with the economy on the ropes, war breaking out in the Middle East, health care in crisis and the world facing ecological disaster, gay rights is starting to slip down my own priority list as well.

I’d put it at number three, right after international stability and economic recovery, but ahead of global warming and education. Don’t tell, OK?

San Francisco Bay Times

Some blacks choose inauguration over work – Race & ethnicity- msnbc.com

Michelle Obama

Queerty looks at past first ladies and gives some advice to Michelle:

Soon-to-be First Lady Michelle Obama turns 45 this weekend, and you have to say her husband’s given her a hell of a birthday present. Michelle’s no-nonsense style, grace, commitment to being a mother and fist-bumping skills have already put her in the running for the title of coolest First Lady since Jackie-O. And the gays? We love her.

All the (First) Ladies in the (White) House Say ‘Gay’ / Queerty

Appearing last night on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow show, openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson said President-elect Barack Obama “stands with us,” and signaled he was ready to move past the controversy of his invitation.

Robinson is the controversial New Hampshire Episcopal bishop whose consecration in 2003 has split the Anglican Church.

He has been invited to give an opening prayer at a Sunday inaugural event attended by Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Obama is scheduled to speak at the event which will be broadcast on HBO.

Gay Bishop Says Obama ‘Stands With Us’ | On Top Magazine :: Gay & Lesbian News, Entertainment, Commentary & Travel.

Video from MSNBC:

Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor star in a “gay prison romance story” I Love You Phillip Morris

The jailhouse romance film I Love You Phillip Morris stars Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor as a pair of star-crossed lovers who meet in a Texas jail cell.

The script is based on the book of the same name by journalist Steve McVickers. The book follows the true story of Steven Russell (played by Jim Carrey, Liar Liar) and his improbable, but true, transformation from small-town businessman, father and former cop to gay white-collar criminal and ingenious jailbreaker.

After a car crash, Russell’s life takes a most unusual roller coaster ride that leads him to a life of crime, being gay, and falling in love with his cellmate Phillip Morris (played by Ewan McGregor, Star Wars).

Between 1993 and 1998, the clever Russell broke out of a Texas jail four times in five years and always on a Friday the 13th; twice landing into a six-figure job as a CFO of a major company…

The Park City, Utah festival will also premiere director/writer Peter Bratt’s La Mission.

In the middle of the Hispanic San Francisco district of La Mission, Che (played by Benjamin Bratt, Law and Order) is the baddest Chicano on the block. A hard knocks life lived behind prison bars and Tequila shots, Che prods on for his beloved son, Jesse.

Che’s macho world is crushed when he discovers that Jesse is gay. He responds to the revelation by violently severing all ties with his son.

La Mission is the story of how a proud father and a lost son mend their relationship, breaking with the violence of the past.

Gay Feature Films Premiere At Sundance | On Top Magazine :: Gay & Lesbian News, Entertainment, Commentary & Travel.

“We tried to tell him [Curry] that he could drive himself, that he didn’t need all these cars,” said attorney Kelly Saindon. “He needed to cut expenses.”

David Kuchinsky

Curry felt loyalty to David Kuchinsky because he was beaten and pistol-whipped along with Curry and his wife during a 2007 robbery in the hoops star’s suburban Chicago home.

Curry finally gave in to his lawyer’s wishes and fired Kuchinsky two months ago, setting off a chain of bizarre events that led to the filing of a sexual harassment suit Monday in Manhattan Federal Court.

Over the past six weeks, Saindon says, Kuchinsky has repeatedly demanded $93,000 in back pay and credit card charges he says he is owed and made veiled threats about what would happen if he didn’t get paid. “You’ll find out,” Saindon says Kuchinsky told her.

She said Kuchinsky never mentioned any inappropriate sexual shenanigans involving Curry. Kuchinsky wanted to retrieve information stored in a laptop in Curry’s Burr Ridge, Ill., estate, but she refused to hand over the computer because it belonged to Curry, Saindon said.

“This lawsuit is nothing more than a disgruntled former employee trying to extort money from his former employer,” Saindon said.

Eddy Curry was told to curb driver

The (unnamed source Democratic) activist… said David Medina, a gay man who is a former national political director for John Edwards’ presidential campaign, has been tapped as deputy chief of staff for Michelle Obama…

Dave Noble, a gay man led efforts to mobilize gay voters for Obama’s presidential campaign, will serve as the White House’s liaison to NASA, the activist said…

Karine Jean-Pierre, a lesbian, has been selected to be the White House liaison to the Department of Labor…

More gays to serve in Obama White House – Washington Blade

Impeached Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich enters the State Capital for first time since his arrest in December. The imbattled Governor will swear in the Illinois Senate, the same body that will decide his political future, today at noon.

New House members to be sworn in Wednesday include Deborah Mell, D-Chicago, the governor’s sister-in-law…

Deborah Mell, a lesbian and advocate of gay rights, was once arrested at a protest for gay marriage. She and the governor have publicly disagreed on gay marriage. Mell ran unopposed in November, paving the way for her to become the first out lesbian in the Illinois General Assembly.

Ironically the newly elected Mell may soon be asked to vote on Blagojevich’s impeachment.

Impeached Illinois governor to swear in Senate (ChicagoPride.com)

One interesting facet of the controversies over Warren and Robinson is the fact that the inclusion of the one does not placate the critics of the other. Homosexual activists are still angry over the choice of Warren to deliver the invocation on January 20. A host of others will be offended by the choice of Bishop Robinson. These two responses illustrate the depth of the divide over the issue of homosexuality.

The Idol of Our Many Understandings — Bishop Robinson at Prayer.

Obama Press Secretary Pledges Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”  |  Advocate.com

When the press secretary for the new administration answers the question “Is the new administration going to get rid of the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy?” with a one word answer: “Yes,” commenters still doubt the administration wants it to happen.

It amazes me how because so many people have been hurt for so long by politicians, they are unwilling to give the new president any chance. LGBT people were disappointed by the results of the Clinton years and have been bashed to second-class citizenship under Bush & Co.

Is this a form of internalized homophobia? Instead of expecting to be the victim and the castaway, these people should be standing up and saying “Good! Tell us Robert, What can we do to help make this happen?” I’m afraid these complainers instead will be the ones who do nothing to put pressure on the congress, nothing to pressure hate groups, nothing to support the incoming administration who supports us. Then they will look for every potential hurdle or setback and call it a betrayal by the Obama team and look for some cave to crawl in to to lick their wounds.

I say enough of that! We have a new administration who has made commitments to us, and we need to follow through with our commitment to them. We need to pressure the legislature directly. We need to pressure hate groups directly. We need to come out! Why!? Why is it that so many of us are afraid?

I know how it is. I know how a small or medium sized town has only one bar with all of the people in the community hating and loving one another at the same time. I know how even in large towns a community exists from the bars, where we struggle because the alcohol is plentiful, the hustlers take advantage of lonely old men (or the other way around), the meth is contagious, and the sex is seductive. We live in these worlds because they give us some sense of belonging to something, because we feel we don’t belong any where else. I know why we hide in these places.

Too many people hide in this environment and think that is what “the gay community” is all about. This is not limited to small or medium sized towns either. New young people come to DC to escape from home and live an out lifestyle. Good. That’s what the cities are for. Our communities in the cities will continue to thrive. We need to continue to gay it forward. But we can’t allow the cities to be a gay ghetto where we can escape from our families and let them forget us.

Don’t you dare tell your parents you have a new “roommate!” Grab that phone and call your parents and say, “Mom, you know while I was here I met someone and I think I’m falling in love. We are going to move in together.” Mom will likely not be as surprised as you think and may only be waiting for you to tell her. She may be shocked, horrified and disgusted. But  you know what? You are not going to change! So you might as well get the pain over with and let the healing begin now so you can be a happy family again in a few years.

What does coming out have to do with DADT? Everything. The gay community is up in arms because of some pastor who is giving a prayer, but where are posts strategizing how to send letters to repeal DADT? Where is the grass-roots organization to enact ENDA? We’re so damn victimized, we are missing these tremendous opportunities.

Being out gives us strength. It gives us political strength, personal strength, and financial strength because we learn to live on our own. The LGBT community is lacking strength right now, but we are making demands. We need to first show we have the position from where we can make demands. We need to push through a repeal of DADT. We need to push through an all-inclusive ENDA. We need to repeal DOMA. We need to make gay marriage legal by definition in law. Obama cannot do this. America’s laws come from the legislature. When they start there, they have the strength of being backed by the people. LGBT people need to lead in the legislature.

Being out allows us to say to our families, “This is what is important to me. This is my family. This is why marriage is important. This is why my job need to be secured. This is why I can’t join the Army. This is who I am and I am part of America too.”

I have outrage fatigue, too. I am tired of being outraged and I want a new direction. We cannot wait for Obama. We must lead ourselves. We must lead America.

“Everyone who knows me knows I’m not a racist,” Curry told reporters following New York’s 101-99 victory over the host New Orleans Hornets on Monday. “I have never made a comment like that — playing or nothing.

“Aside from the fact I wouldn’t do it because I’m not racist, I wouldn’t do it because I wouldn’t want someone to play with me like that. That is incredible, man.”

Portraying the lawsuit as a ploy to extract money from him, Curry confirmed that he employed Kuchinsky for three years before they severed ties last October.

“It is like a prime example of you got to watch who is around you,” Curry said. “This is a guy who I really thought he was my friend up until the last four, five months.

“I can’t even believe this happened … I can’t believe it went this far. I can’t believe someone would represent something like that.”

Knicks’ Curry sued by former driver.

New York Knicks center Eddy Curry

Stunning court papers charge that (New York Knicks center Eddy) Curry, a married father of several kids, repeatedly approached chauffeur David Kuchinsky “in the nude,” saying, “Look at me, Dave, look” and, “Come and touch it, Dave.”

KNICK GETS CALLED FOR SEX FOUL – New York Post

Like Adam, many gay men around the country are opting to forgo the standard defense against HIV — a condom — in favor of a highly controversial and thus far unproven method of protection known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP. Whether in a serodiscordant relationship or just looking for a fun night (or weekend) out, guys are trading rubbers for HIV drugs like tenofovir, known commercially as Viread, in hopes of preventing infection.

The Next Condom Conundrum | Advocate.com

Bishop V. Gene Robinson

The first openly gay Episcopal bishop will offer a prayer at the Lincoln Memorial at an inaugural event for President-elect Barack Obama.

The selection of New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson for Sunday’s event follows weeks of criticism from gay-rights groups over Obama’s decision to have the Rev. Rick Warren give the invocation at his Jan. 20 inauguration…

Robinson, 61, said both Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden will attend the event, and Obama is expected to speak. As for himself, Robinson said he doesn’t yet know what he’ll say, but he knows he won’t use a Bible.

“While that is a holy and sacred text to me, it is not for many Americans,” Robinson said. “I will be careful not to be especially Christian in my prayer. This is a prayer for the whole nation.”

Gay NH bishop to offer prayer at inaugural event : NPR

Andrew Sullivan says the selection is the squeeky wheel getting the grease. Let’s hope LGBT can learn to be more than just a squeeky wheel. We need to help steer.

Photo by Flickr user janinsanfran

Gay rights activists hold rally in downtown Boise | KBCI CBS 2 – Boise, ID

About 30 gather in Olympia to rally against marriage act – The Olympian – Olympia, Washington.

Gay and Lesbian “Impact Tallahassee” Rally.

Rally against anti-gay law draws small Olympia crowd – YahooNews – The Olympian – Olympia, Washington

Chicago Gay Examiner: Hundreds protest Defense of Marriage Act downtown Chicago

Same-sex Marriage Rally in Fresno – KGPE – CBS TV47

Dear Obama: Members of the LGBTQ community march to send a message – The Daily of the University of Washington

Rally draws supporters of gay marriage (Seattle)

Local News | Advocates of same-sex marriage pin hopes on Obama | Seattle Times Newspaper

SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) — Bartender Chris Daw had plenty of patrons to serve early Saturday at the CC Attle tavern, despite the ricin threats that it and 10 other Seattle gay bars recently received.

The threats — letters warning that patrons would be poisoned — appear to be part of the reason business was brisk.

People have flocked to the 11 bars in solidarity since the letters arrived in the mail last week, Daw and others said. On Friday night, hundreds of locals participated in an organized pub crawl designed to support the establishments.

“People are like, ‘Come on out. If you don’t drink, a terrorist wins,’ ” Daw said.

Despite ricin threat, Seattle gay bars hopping – CNN.com

A biography written a few years after his murder recounts stories of his first adolescent sexual experiences (at Metropolitan Opera matinees where he watched from a standee section with a reputation for randiness) and an account of how he was picked up by police, but not arrested, in a roundup of gays in Central Park the summer after his 1947 graduation from Bay Shore High School.

But his high school friends say they knew nothing of his love for opera, much less his sexual orientation. To them, he was an ardent if second-string athlete, a fun-loving joker and a likable pal who danced with girls around the jukebox.

“He was funny as heck,” said Patrick Vesey, 80, a retired accountant who still lives in Bay Shore.

Hidden depths of Long Island native Harvey Milk — Newsday.com.

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis linked to SanFran’s Castro bars:

San Francisco health officials have traced several cases of tuberculosis to patrons of Castro gay bars, with one of the people infected a bartender in the area. The discovery has prompted them to ask 140 employees of businesses in the gay neighborhood who may have been exposed to an active case of TB to get screened for the potentially deadly disease…

According to a fact sheet handed out to bar owners, obtained by the Bay Area Reporter, the health department is concerned that the “cluster of highly infectious TB cases” may be “working its way through the SF gay community…”

“You don’t get it from sex or sharing food or beer bottles. It is spread by someone who has it in their lungs who either sneezes or coughs,” explained Kawamura (Dr. Masae Kawamura, director of the health department’s tuberculosis control section). “Bars are notorious sites of transmission. There is a higher risk of breathing in contaminated air.”

The Bay Area Reporter Online | TB cases linked to Castro bars

Image by Flickr user mjagbayani

Lots of people are up in arms about the passing of California’s Proposition 8, and the cast of “Wicked” is no exception.

Next Monday, performers from the four North American companies of the Broadway musical will host “Defying Inequality,” an evening of cabaret performances benefiting four nonprofits that promote civil rights for gays.

Cast of ‘Wicked’ hosts cabaret for gay rights | Entertainment News & Buzz | Los Angeles Times

When US President-elect Barack Obama takes a whistle stop train ride from Philadephia to Washington DC on the Saturday before his inauguration, he will be riding in the company of “everyday Americans who have been invited to make the journey based off their extraordinary stories.”

The Presidential Inauguation Committee (PIC) has now released the details of those everyday Americans.

16 families, among them a lesbian couple.

Lesbian couple invited to take a ride on Obama’s train to Washington – from Pink News – all the latest gay news from the gay community – Pink News

Tell Me More, January 7, 2009 · In recent years, the gay rights movement has been largely defined by the fight for gay marriage. But with the passage of Proposition 8 in California, making it unconstitutional for gays to marry, some question whether the fight for same-sex marriage is right fight, right now.

Gay Marriage: Is It The ‘Right Fight’? : NPR

This being the case, it may be confusing to remember just which cocktail party you are attending at any given moment, especially if the hit of poppers you just did leaves you light-headed. In that case you should just hand the little brown bottle back to the senator and try chatting up Ariana Huffington at the corner bar.

How to tell whether you are celebrating Mid-Atlantic Leather or the Inauguration.

If you’re wearing a tux from an expensive cow, you are at MAL.
If you’re wearing a tux by an expensive designer, you are at the Inauguration.

If you wait in line for a coach, which all look the same, you are at an Inaugural Ball.
If you wait in line for a coat, which all look the same, you are at Leather Cocktails.

If you will be the next leader of the free world, you are the center of attention at the Inauguration.
If you will be in the next line at the free clinic, you are the center of attention at MAL.

MAL Leather Puppy

If you brought a 21-year-old puppy, you are at MAL.
If you brought a 21-week-old puppy, you are Joe Biden.

If Larry Barat is directing the media, you are at MAL.
If Larry Craig is deceiving the media, you are at the Inauguration.

If your hotel is full of hungry tourists looking to whip up something to eat, you are at the Inauguration.
If your hotel is full of horny tourists looking to whip someone, you are at MAL.

If you shop for souvenir T-shirts, you are at the Inauguration.
If you shop for souvenir J-Lube, you are at MAL.

If Mike Rogers is there taking notes, you are at the Inauguration.
If Mike Rogers is there taking notes, you may also be at MAL.

If a bunch of white men are losing their jocks, it’s MAL.
If a bunch of white men are losing their jobs, it’s the Inauguration.

If you are solemnizing, you are at the Inauguration.
If you are sodomizing, you are at MAL.

And finally, this simple rule:

If you fist bump a friend, you’re at the Inauguration.
If you fist a friend, you’re at MAL.

Stephen Andrew Moller attacked a man for being gay, and killed him. The case was not strong enough for “murder” in South Carolina, so the killer’s manslaughter rap will get him out of jail way too soon. This man needs to rot for a while. Write a letter to the parole board.

From Pam’s House Blend:

What can you do?

The parole board is currently conducting an investigation to decide whether to allow him to have a parole hearing, so it is critical that they hear from you that Stephen Andrew Moller violently murdered Sean Kennedy and should serve the remainder of his sentence! Please consider writing a letter to the parole board and ask them to deny Stephen Moller parole and serve out his sentence. In your letter, please remind the board of the violent and unprovoked nature of Moller’s offense and the pain and suffering it has caused in the lives of Sean Kennedy’s family and friends. If you have the time, please write a personal letter by hand or by computer, as those will be the most effective, and if you knew Sean or his family personally, please include that information. Also, please let Elke know if you send a letter and if possible, send her a copy of the letter, so she can have copies to take with her to the parole hearing. Be sure to include Moller’s full name and ID number:

Stephen Andrew Moller – SCDC ID # 00328891.

Send your letters to: Department of Probation Pardon and Parole Services 2221 Devine Street, Suite 600, PO Box 50666 Columbia SC 29250

Pam’s House Blend:: SC: Murderer of gay man could be out in 8 months.

Why Some Black GLBT Peeps Hate the ‘Q’ Word

Thousands of tourists pouring into Washington, D.C. for President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration will be sharing the nation’s capital with a few thousand predominantly gay leather fetishists, in town for their annual convention.

ABC News: Before Obama, DC Welcomes Leather Fetishists.

The problem was that the words he was using – “gay,” “lesbian” and “bisexual” – were being filtered from text chats and were not being allowed in the naming of clubs or in postings in club forums. Marsh, who is straight but supports gay rights, said he raised the issue with Home community managers during the private beta test, but the problems persisted after the public beta introduction of Home on Dec. 11.

“I can understand if they’re filtering out profanity, but if feel like it’s discrimination,” Marsh said. “By blocking a word like ‘gay,’ which is a preferred term by the gay community, you’re encouraging it as a bad word.”

Sony struggles with creation of its virtual world.