The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine) articles from April 2003

The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine) archives from April 2003

Court and sparks. (reader forum).
April 1, 2003... I have never been more embarrassed for--and ashamed of--The Advocate than I was upon seeing your March 4 cover. Your Enquirer-worthy headline ("Is There a Gay Man on the U.S. Supreme Court?") was an insult to your readers, and your attempt to...

A place at the keyboard. (reader forum).
April 1, 2003... When I first read the article about the computer game Postal 2, I was shocked and angered that gays are a "target" in this dark and twisted game [On the Web, March 4]. But after further reflection, I've decided our very inclusion in the game...

Trumpeting Merman. (reader forum).
April 1, 2003... As an out reporter who favorably reviewed The Ethel Merman Disco Album for Billboard in 1979, I don't think you should be so quick to dismiss Merman's effort ["Disco Wrecking Ball," March 4]. At the time, she was the biggest (in many ways)...

Pet peeve. (reader forum).(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2003... Upon stumbling across the book review for NYC Pet Project: A Collection of Portraits and Letters From the Heart ["Prized Pets in Portrait," March 4], I read therein possibly the most asinine comments I've ever seen on the printed page. ...

Survey says. (reader forum).(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2003... Speaking on behalf of the research team that conducted the National LGBT College Student Survey, we are disappointed with how the investigation was represented in your "Suicidal Gender Divide" article [February 18]. As presented at the...

Reader comments from www.advocate.com. (reader forum).(sodomy laws)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... * "I don't think it likely the Supreme Court will strike down sodomy laws in this current political climate. The court, by its very nature, is conservative and unwilling to overturn laws that do not appear to do harm to the majority of...

From Russia with love. (reader forum).(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2003... I would like to voice my disgust with Rob Chin's review of Tatu's latest release, 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane ["Baby Dyke Con Job," February 18]. Chin suggests that the Russian duo are only playing at being lesbians. If he had taken the time to...

He wrote the book. (reader forum).(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2003... I'd like to add to your account of New York's Oscar Wilde Bookshop a little about the founder, Craig Rodwell ["The End of an Era," February 18]. Craig was one of the early pre-Stonewall activists whose view of gay liberation helped to shape the...

An Israeli soldier's story. (my perspective).(Column)
April 1, 2003... In my native Israel, every citizen has to serve in the army when they turn 18--men and women, gay or straight. In fact, a straight friend of mine who was trying to get out of his national duty went to his army medical exam with a face full of...

Rants & raves.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... "I'm not gay. The only man I've kissed is Jason Lee." --Ben Affleck, in the March issue of Vanity Fair "He was already--what, mid 20s?--and there was no sexual energy whatsoever. It was totally unclear: Is he straight or gay? To this...

Koufax strikes out: the legendary left-hander's reaction to gossip is another reminder of how homophobia still dominates the pro sports world. (Sports).(Sandy Koufax)
April 1, 2003... Last year it was Mets slugger Mike Piazza. This year it is the great Dodgers left-hander Sandy Koufax, who retired in 1966. Both major league icons faced intimations that they were gay from Page Six, the New York Post's notorious gossip column....

A generous helping. (Grass Roots).(community raises money for gay father fighting for custody of children, Idaho Falls, Idaho)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Theron McGriff is relying on the kindness of friends and the compassion of strangers as he continues his fight to regain custody of his two daughters in conservative Idaho Falls, Ida. Last year Judge L. Mark Riddoch awarded primary custody...

Transsexual dad keeps his kids. (Court).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... A Florida trial that commenced with an age-old question--"What makes a man a man?"--ended February 21 when a judge granted a transsexual father primary custody of his children. The mother, Linda Kantaras, testified that she knew that her...

Dr. H. Anonymous. (In Memoriam).(Psychiatrist John E. Fryer)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Psychiatrist John E. Fryer, whose appearance as "Dr. H. Anonymous" at a 1972 meeting of the American Psychiatric Association is one of the most influential events in gay history, died February 21 in Philadelphia of aspiration pneumonia. He was...

Gruesome details. (Murder).(murder of transgendered teenager, Fremont, California)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... First Jaron Chase Nabors, one of four men accused of killing transgendered teenager Eddie "Gwen" Araujo on October 3, pleaded guilty to a charge of voluntary manslaughter. Then on February 24 he told a Fremont, Calif., court his version of the...

Across the nation. (The Advocate Report).
April 1, 2003... Des Moines, Iowa A new two-year contract with Iowa state workers now extends health and dental benefits to the workers' domestic partners, including those of gay and lesbian workers, effective July 1. New York, N.Y. Mayor Michael...

Reinterpreting marriage. (Australia).(government attempts to annul marriage between transsexual and his wife)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... In the first ruling of its kind in Australia, a court on February 21 rejected government attempts to annul the three-year marriage of a transsexual and his wife. The couple, identified only as "Kevin and Jennifer J," were beaming as they left...

Still more arrests. (Egypt).(13 men arrested on charges of homosexuality, Egypt)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Thirteen Egyptian men have been arrested in Cairo for homosexuality, a security official said February 25. The 13 suspects were arrested in a rented apartment while allegedly engaging in sex. In the past two years, dozens of gay men have...

History-making professor: as the nation's first out university president, Charles R. Middleton is determined to make Chicago's Roosevelt U. "a welcoming place". (Behind the Headlines).(Interview)
April 1, 2003... In early March, Charles R. Middleton, with full academic pomp and circumstance, was officially installed as president of Roosevelt University, a school with 7,500 students on campuses in downtown Chicago and suburban Schaumburg, Ill. Middleton...

Talk to the hand. (Research).(research into sexual orientation of identical twins)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Lesbian researcher Lynn S. Hall says her studies of identical twins indicate that factors in the prenatal environment--probably hormonal--influence sexual orientation. In 1996 and 1997, Hall traveled across America taking fingerprints of...

Should staph scare you? (Disease).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Shortly after reports of an outbreak of staph infections among gay men in Los Angeles this winter, officials with the nation's largest gay health centers dialed up the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The outbreak of large,...

Homophobia in 30 minutes or less, guaranteed. (Education).(founder of Domino's Pizza invests in conservative catholic university)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Right-wing billionaire Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino's Pizza, is investing $200 million to build a conservative Catholic university near Naples, Fla. Construction will last through 2006, but Ave Maria University will launch in September from...

Transitions. (The Advocate Report).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... DIED: Arnold Glassman, 56, a documentary film editor and filmmaker, February 19, Glassman, who codirected, coproduced, and edited Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography, also edited The Celluloid Closet, among other films. DIED:...

This week on Advocate.com. (On the Web).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... BREAKING NEWS: Visit www.advocate.com for the latest news, entertainment, and health headlines, updated twice a day. FIRST-PERSON Pam Anderson, fur, and me When Pamela Anderson invited openly gay animal rights activist Dan Mathews...

The dangers of dot-com sex. (On the Web).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... It has long been assumed that the Internet is the starting point for many unsafe sexual encounters. Now there's research that puts statistical oomph behind the assumption. A study released at February's Conference on Retroviruses in Boston...

The politics of drag: June 15, 1977. (From the Advocate Archives).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... In 1977, advocate writer Mark Thompson explored the nature of that fashion artifice known as drag. He highlighted various drag forms, from the elaborate Imperial Court system and the wild Cockettes to the world of suburban cross-dressers. ...

Achtung, baby. (the Buzz).(gay film winners at Berlin International Film Festival)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... A NEW CROP OF GAY FILMS SUGGESTS IT'S GOOD to be bad. Judging from the 53rd annual Berlin International Film Festival and winners of its gay film award, the Teddy, queers have gone homicidal and suicidal all over again. "I wouldn't say...

Eve gets an encore. (the Buzz).(All About Eve adapted for the stage by playwright David Rambo)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... IT WAS BETTE DAVIS herself who inspired out playwright David Rambo to adapt her 1950 hit All About Eve for the stage. He was "shaving, with Turner Classic Movies in the background," says Rambo, when he heard Davis say in an archived interview...

Pro-peace, pro-health care, pro-gay: Howard Dean is catching the country's attention by being everything he says President Bush is not. (Campaign 2004).(Interview)
April 1, 2003... When Howard Dean signed civil unions legislation into law, the Vermont governor's political future looked anything but promising. His race for reelection in 2000 was tight enough--Dean captured 50.5% of the vote--to just miss having to be...

The 10 biggest lies about AIDS. (Commentary).(Column)
April 1, 2003... Bug chasers. Condom haters. Plague denialists. Is it any wonder that DAVID EHRENSTEIN is fed up with the prevarication and ignorance that are killing gay men and countless others? Amid a mountain of misinformation, these are... 1. The...

Hunky business: Madison Avenue pushes the envelope only so far when it comes to homoeroticism in fashion ads. (Fashion).
April 1, 2003... A recent ad from Abercrombie & Fitch featuring a naked young hunk rolling around on an oversize beach ball seem to fall into the category of "homoerotic" advertising. But ad guru Michael Wilke, who created CommercialCloset.org, a Web site...

Couturiers without closets: fashion makes way for a new breed of designers who think hiding their sexuality is so last season. (Fashion).(Interview)
April 1, 2003... For a new generation of gay and lesbian designers, the closet is hopelessly out of style: "Being out is just the easiest way to live," says French designer Pierre-Henri Mattout. But when it comes to business these gifted gay men and lesbians...

Peace of my heart. (don't get me started).(author attends World Social Forum, Porto Alegre, Brazil)(Column)
April 1, 2003... Since the memo went out that war is not a gay issue, I decided to give peace a chance by showing up for the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The international gathering, themed "Another World Is Possible," was so fabulous that I was...

Studio triangle: from all-girl power trio to all-women business partnership, the lesbian founders of Chicago's Materville Studios keep upping the tempo. (music).(Interview)
April 1, 2003... It all started at an open-mike night when college pals Kathryn Jacobson and Martie Marro bumped into Lisa Hernandez. "We just jelled immediately," recalls Jacobson. The three out musicians formed Stewed Tomatoes, an "all-girl power-pop trio,"...

Little Women's big man: as his hit opera Little Women debuts in New York, composer Mark Adamo talks about bringing theatrical spice to the classical world and living happily ever after with his partner, composer John Corigliano. (music).(Interview)
April 1, 2003... "I would like to think that I had insight into the women in Little Women because I wasn't bound by gender roles," says Mark Adamo, musing about his triumphant hit opera, which opens March 23 at New York City Opera at Lincoln Center in a joint...

Songs of Whitman: jazz pianist Fred Hersch crowns a lifetime of achievement with Leaves of Grass, an evening-long composition based on the poetry of protoqueer poet Walt Whitman. (music).(Interview)
April 1, 2003... "I've been dogged by my musical choices," says jazz pianist and composer Fred Hersch. "Yes, I chose to play Billy Strayhorn and Cole Porter, who were gay. But flit wasn't great work, I wouldn't have been great in playing their stuff. Their...

Pre-stonewall preteen: he doesn't know he's gay yet, but Michael, Oliver Beene's Judy-worshiping 11-year-old, is about to become one of prime time's most fabulous characters. (television).(Interview)
April 1, 2003... When executive producers Howard Gewirtz and Steven Levitan were first writing the supporting character of Michael into their new Fox sitcom, Oliver Beene, they were keenly aware of avoiding gay stereotypes, even though the show is set in 1962....

From Sordid to Queer: Del Shores, writer of the cult hit Sordid Lives, talks about his journey from Texas comedies to the staff of Queer as Folk. (television).(Interview)
April 1, 2003... Bitsy Mae. Latrelle. Noleta. Sissy. LaSonia--pronounced "lasagna." These are the names in writer Del Shores's world. "I didn't make up a single one of them either," brags Shores. "I stole them." The Texas native has put the names to good use...

Alive and kicking: soccer matches, class struggle, and a gay best friend--Bend It Like Beckham is a real crowd pleaser.(Movie Review)
April 1, 2003... Bend It Like Beckham * Directed and cowritten by Gurinder Chadha * Starring Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Ameet Chana * Opens March 28 in selected markets * Fox Searchlight Somewhere in the chilly bowels of an...

Elvis in disguise: lesbian Elvis Presley impersonator Patty Manning wants you to love her tender. (culture).(Interview)
April 1, 2003... Patty Manning, a.k.a. Patty Elvis, to her knees, reaches out to her audience with her left arm, and begs, "Let's, not let a good thing die." Her rendition of "Suspicious Minds," the shimmering pop-rock tune that in 1969 put Elvis Presley back...

The gay parade: the Last Sunday in June raises hot-button issues but leaves us wanting more.(Theater Review)
April 1, 2003... The Last Sunday in June * Written by Jonathan Tolins * Directed by Trip Cullman * Starring Johnathan F. McClain, Peter Smith * Century Center for the Arts, New York City (beginning April 1) It's gay pride parade day in New York City--the...

No stranger to controversy: gender outlaw Kate Bornstein returns with Strangers in Paradox, an outrageous new play about death. (theater).(Interview)
April 1, 2003... "What can you do when you are a total freak, but make the freak show more fabulous than it ever has been?" asks Kate Bornstein, smiling disarmingly. Those familiar with the transgendered author's book Gender Outlaw may be surprised to meet a...

When Nureyev stood still: more than 25 years after Rudolf Nureyev posed for artist Jamie Wyeth, the portraits of the great gay dancer still captivate. (art).(Interview)
April 1, 2003... When third-generation American master portraitist Jamie Wyeth approached Rudolf Nureyev about posing for a series of paintings at the height of his celebrity in 1974, the mercurial gay dance god barked out, "No, I have no time." But three...

Confessions of a modernist mind: the letters of artist Marsden Hartley reveal how sexual liberty and creative freedom go hand in hand.(My Dear Stieglitz: Letters of Marsden Hartley and Alfred Stieglitz, 1912-1915 )(Book Review)
April 1, 2003... My Dear Stieglitz: Letters of Marsden Hartley and Alfred Stieglitz, 1912-1915 * Edited by James Timothy Voorhies * University of South Carolina Press * $39.95 "It seems like a great lie I am always telling when I write or say what I have...

The view from Paris. (last word).(author comments on U.S. military policy and impending war against Iraq)(Column)
April 1, 2003... Yes, I'm still proud to be an American, but in Paris I'm often proudest to reassure my French friends that I loathe my president as much as they do. It's not my favorite posture. But through the narrow telescope of Le Monde, the International...

Screen time. (reader forum).(Letter to the Editor)
April 15, 2003... Chicago and The Hours are by far the top contenders for awards this season ["Gay Guide to the Oscars," March 18]. Although I favor The Hours (I adore Virginia Woolf; I admire the actors in this production; I was astonished by David Hare's...

Be all you can be. (reader forum).(Letter to the Editor)
April 15, 2003... I read with gratitude Dan Woog's column "Gay Youth Revolution" [My Perspective, March 18] about Out-Spoken--suburban Connecticut's first support group for GLBT youth. I am grateful someone took the initiative to start a group like this. I wish...

War of words. (reader forum).(Letter to the Editor)
April 15, 2003... Once again The Advocate has chosen to show only one side of the argument ["Taking to the Streets," March 18]. While I support everyone's right to voice their opinions, where are the voices of us gay people who support President Bush and the...

Show me the money. (reader forum).(Letter to the Editor)
April 15, 2003... Thanks for pointing out that Bush's newly discovered interest in spending billions globally on AIDS is just talk, unless and until he backs his words with dollars ["Bush's Shell Game," March 18]. This president is masterful at mouthing...

Reader comments from www.advocate.com. (The Advocate Poll).(views on war with Iraq)(Brief Article)
April 15, 2003... * "With no evidence linking al-Qaeda to Hussein, what makes an attack on Iraq more imperative than an attack on any other dictatorship? And where does regime change end? North Korea? Iran? Libya? I say regime change begins at home." * "We...

A grander GOP? (reader forum).(Letter to the Editor)
April 15, 2003... Your interview with Sen. Gordon Smith shows yet again that you can't teach a Grand Old Party new tricks [Behind the Headlines, March 18]. The senator concludes by saying that he thinks gay rights "is an idea whose time is arriving," but his...

Hitting close to home. (reader forum).(Letter to the Editor)
April 15, 2003... Time and time again I am amazed at the writing in The Advocate. You continually prove that you have writers who are masters at telling stories and moving the reader to think. This was demonstrated again when I read Michael Lowenthal's...

Gay man, lesbian groupie. (my perspective).(Column)
April 15, 2003... Maybe it started in my 20s with the feminism class I took at City College of San Francisco. I was one of only three males in the class, and the only gay one. We watched NOW videos, read Gloria Steinem, and listened to Helen Reddy croon "I Am...

Rants & raves.(Illustration)
April 15, 2003... "I had this horrible perm. I went and saw A Star Is Born with Barbra Streisand... and I wanted that hair." --Melissa Etheridge (left, in a photo from 1989), as quoted by Salon.com's Amy Reiter, February 27 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Split decision: a Texas judge grants a "gay divorce," giving the first legal recognition to civil unions outside Vermont. (Court).
April 15, 2003... Divorce is seldom a cause for celebration, but a case in Beaumont, Tex., has turned out to be about much more than a breakup. The divorce, which was granted March 3 by district court judge Tom Mulvaney, is very likely the first legal...

Marriage--who decides? (Court).(same-sex marriage, Massachusetts)(Brief Article)
April 15, 2003... As Massachusetts's top court decides if the state will be the first in the nation to grant equal marriage rights, some people are asking another question: Is it really up to the court? "What is not at issue is whether permitting same-sex...

A waiting game. (Adoption).(adoption by gays in Florida)(Brief Article)
April 15, 2003... Now that the case against Florida's ban on adoption by gays has reached the 11th circuit U.S. court of appeals, all there is left to do is wait. For the U.S. Supreme Court, that is. The appellate decision most likely won't be made until after...

Minn. Kampf. (Politics).(Minnesota state representative Arlon Lindner)(Brief Article)
April 15, 2003... It was bad enough when Minnesota state representative Arlon Lindner introduced a bill that would repeal the state's pro-gay human rights amendment and remove sexual orientation from its hate-crimes law. But then the Republican went on to...

Time for a recount. (Census).(Census 2000 results on same-sex couples)(Brief Article)
April 15, 2003... As the U.S. Census Bureau released its March 13 report detailing the 594,691 same-sex couples who included themselves as "unmarried partners" in 2000, two independent surveys suggested that the bureau's tally is 16% to 19% short of the real...

Across the nation. (The Nation).(Brief Article)
April 15, 2003... Mason, Mich., and Klein, Tex. After legal battles with their high schools, Jason Bryan and Maria Dukler were allowed in early March to start gay-straight alliances at Mason High in Mason, Mich., and Klein High in Klein, Tex., respectively....

The queen's man. (United Kingdom).(Queen Elizabeth II's dressmaker Sir Hardy Amies)(Brief Article)
April 15, 2003... After more than four decades as the official dressmaker for Queen Elizabeth II, Sir Hardy Amies, who was openly gay, died March 5. Critics sometimes called his creations dowdy, but Amies was not one to apologize--not least for her majesty. "I...

Walt Whitman high point: a Dallas school for gay students was on its last leg when MTV taped the new documentary School's Out, but now everything is looking up. (Behind the Headlines).(Becky Thompson of Walt Whitman Community School, Dallas, Texas)(Interview)
April 15, 2003... Becky Thompson and Pamala Stone, two Dallas-area teachers, found inspiration in a troubling statistic--that over 80% of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered students are verbally harassed at school--and six years ago established the Walt...

Mystic pizza. (Business).(gay couple establish a church and restaurant side by side, La Porte, Indiana)(Brief Article)
April 15, 2003... The Reverend Randy Duncan and the Reverend Dan Wright say they're following a calling to serve--to serve God and to serve pizza, that is. Duncan, 51, and Wright, 41, are the owners of two operations in an old pull barn on U.S. Highway 20...

Steps of controversy. (Politics).(conservative groups object to video shown at Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.)(Brief Article)
April 15, 2003... Abraham Lincoln may be an icon of tolerance, but some conservative activists say a video at the Lincoln Memorial mistakenly implies that the 16th president would have supported gay rights if he were alive today. The video, which was...

Transitions. (The Advocate Report).(Brief Article)
April 15, 2003... DIED: John Edwards, 53, sole heir of openly gay painter Francis Bacon and model for at least 30 of Bacon's paintings, of lung cancer, in Bangkok, March 4. DIED: Billy Jones, 81, early Atlanta gay activist and founding member of the Atlanta...

This week on Advocate.com. (On the Web).(Brief Article)
April 15, 2003... COMMENTARY Bush's other war How important is President Bush's promise to fight AIDS overseas? Argues gay AIDS activist Abner Mason: It's "a humanitarian relief effort of a scale never before attempted... to benefit people of other...

AIDS vaccine: the beginning of the end: October 28, 1986. (From the Advocate Archives).(Brief Article)
April 15, 2003... Hope for the most promising AIDS vaccine to date--AIDSVAX--was all but dashed in late February [see story, page 27], but as Michael Helquist reported in 1986, the dream of a vaccine has always confronted difficult realities. At the time,...

Boy trouble. (On the Web).(female duo Ukes of Hazzard sing about friendships between straight women and gay men)(Brief Article)
April 15, 2003... Straight girls have more fun--especially if they have gay boyfriends. That's according to the female duo the Ukes of Hazzard and their new online music video, "Gay Boyfriend." A labor of love by film editor Ryan McFaul, the video is a great way...

Encyclopedia Britanniqueer. (On the Web).(GLBTQ.com)(Brief Article)
April 15, 2003... Frustrated by the limited--and often scattered--availability of facts and information regarding gay culture? Check out the just-launched GLBTQ.com and its free gay and lesbian encyclopedia. Over 1 million words in length, it's got 900-plus...

A Killer lineup. (the Buzz).(Lesbian film producer Christine Vachon of Killer Films)(Brief Article)
April 15, 2003... THE BUZZ CAN'T GET ENOUGH of the continuing success of out producer Christine Vachon. She's gone from being the schoolmate who helped Todd Haynes make his thesis film, Superstar, to one of Hollywood's major players. Coming off an...

Ship of fools. (the Buzz).(portrayals of gay men in movie Boat Trip)(Brief Article)
April 15, 2003... FOR GAY MOVIEGOERS with fond memories of Cuba Gooding Jr.'s take-no-crap gay character in As Good as It Gets, Gooding's farce Boat Trip has long had the smell of a maritime disaster. The comedy, which opened in March, sets two straight men on a...

Follow the leaders: NGLTF loses its seventh executive director in 11 years: so what's going wrong in Washington? (Community).(National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Lorri Jean)
April 15, 2003... Lorri Jean once worked for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where she coordinated earthquake relief programs. But even that background could not have prepared her for her tumultuous two-year stint as executive director of the National...

Mustn't--see TV? MSNBC takes a turn to the far right with its newest commentator, antigay talk-show host Michael Savage. (Media).
April 15, 2003... Its foremost pundit declared AIDS "God's punishment." Another proclaimed that "Hitler and his supporters were Satanists and homosexuals." Still another called openly gay U.S. representative Barney Frank "Barney Fag." And its newest addition...

Trials and tribulations: disappointing results from the first-ever human AIDS vaccine trial leave researchers asking what's next. (AIDS Research).(VaxGen's trials of AIDSVAX)
April 15, 2003... Three years ago Mark Moreau, a young gay New York actor, saw an ad seeking volunteers for the first full-scale trial of an AIDS vaccine. Two of his close friends had recently tested HIV-positive, and "I just wanted to do something," he says. "I...

Internal Revenue disservice: tax time reminds same-sex couples how antigay bias can really hurt your bank account. (Finance).
April 15, 2003... When Daniel and Ian Chesir-Teran of South Orange, N.J., were married in a Jewish ceremony in 1997, they did what a t of married couples do--they combined their finances. Ian was and still is a lawyer, earning what he calls "a comfortable...

Counting on charitable gifts: make sure the nonprofits you give to are doing the work you want them to. (Finance).
April 15, 2003... As April 15 approaches, many gays and lesbians are happily filing tax returns that claim donations to nonprofit or charitable organizations. Of course, a charitable donation is meant to be more than a tax break. It's also money that's...

The queer report: Robert Gant and Peter Paige say Queer as Folk has made them reassess their goals and values. In a candid conversation, they report on the show's evolution--and their own progress in bridging their inner butch and fem. .(Interview)(Cover Story)
April 15, 2003... It's a slate-gray, icy Sunday afternoon in Toronto, and light outside is obscure. Robert Gant wrapped a Queer as Folk night shoot at 7 A.M. and managed a few hours of sleep before trundling over to Hair of the Dog, a popular restaurant on...

The men behind QAF: Queer as Folk executive producers Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman speak frankly about what's PC and who responds best to the show. .(Interview)(Cover Story)
April 15, 2003... The Advocate: If there has been one overriding theme to the show, what has it been, in your view? Ron Cowen: As we said at the beginning of this venture, it really is the story of boys becoming men. You don't turn into a man overnight....

We love you, Auntie Cher. (minority retort).(Column)
April 15, 2003... "Why do gay people love Cher?" asked my best friend from college. He's straight, so naturally that makes me the expert on all things queer. I love being seen as some kind of a gay genius instead of the homo ignoramus that I am. Sometimes I just...

Radiant talent: artist Keith Haring's sexy, successful, and too-short life is celebrated in a new musical. (theater).
April 15, 2003... After every performance of the new musical Radiant Baby at the Public Theater in New York City, you can be certain to find people in the lobby who claim a link to the late artist Keith Haring. "Every day after the show," says actor Daniel...

Nun to be found: Our Lady of 121st Street spotlights strong actors and a play that's funny despite its flaws. (theater review).(Theater Review)
April 15, 2003... Our Lady of 121st Street * Written by Stephen Adly Guirgis * Directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman * Union Square Theatre, New York City (open run) Sister Rose was a mean drunk of an Irish nun schoolteacher in Harlem when she fell in the...

Reno calls 9/11: in her new concert film, out New York comic Reno riffs on the insanity of September 11.(Movie Review)
April 15, 2003... Reno: Rebel Without a Pause * Written and performed by Reno * Directed by Nancy Savoca * Seventh Art Releasing Many of us who live a teardrop away from ground zero--I won't presume to speak for my neighbors--emerged from 9/11 scarred...

A first-class View: actor Joshua Malina talks about flying with Gwyneth Paltrow in View From the Top and how he took over for Rob Lowe on NBC's The West Wing. (film).(Interview)
April 15, 2003... Joshua Malina has a penchant for playing the new guy on the block--with parts from the inexperienced television show producer on ABC's Sports Night to newbie presidential speechwriter Will Bailey on NBC's The West Wing, he has had his share of...

Canyonn cooler: High Art director Lisa Cholodenko talks about avoiding sophomore slump with her sexy, sunny comedy Laurel Canyon. (film).(Interview)
April 15, 2003... From the smile on her face and the good cheer in her voice, you'd never know that director Lisa Cholodenko is in the middle of a packed day of interviews. Sitting down for a chat during the Toronto Film Festival, the acclaimed director of High...