The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine) articles from August 2008

The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine) archives from August 2008

Subtlety and sex.(FROM THE EDITORS)(Editorial)
August 12, 2008... IN THE DEFINITION OF SEXY, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE PLACE FOR A BARE CHEST AND SIX-PACK ABS. But sexy is much more than that. It's the slope of a neck peeking above the unbuttoned collar of a dress shirt as much as it's the curve of a navel dipping...

States of matrimony.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
August 12, 2008... The welcome news of the California supreme court allowing same-sex marriages and my wish for other states to follow reminded me of a custom 19th-century suffragettes adopted in their annual conventions ["Summer of Love, Winter of Struggle,"...

Do you plan on getting married in California?(THE ADVOCATE POLL)(Brief article)
August 12, 2008... Yes 54% No 23% Unsure 12% N/A 11% How readers responded to the Advocate.com poll question featured in the July 1 issue of me Advocate "We got married in 2004, we'll get married in 2008, and if this one doesn't stick,...

Pioneers all.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
August 12, 2008... Anne Stockwell's editorial "This Is Our Moment. Are You In?" [July 1] is very well-written, but certain facts have been omitted. On July 4, 2004, my partner and I and two other couples sued the state of Florida for the right to marry. We were...

Tales of the chapel.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
August 12, 2008... As a gay man, I was delighted the California supreme court endorsed same-sex marriage May 15. The hardhearted will try to take this fundamental right away from us in November, but they won't succeed. I agree with Armistead Maupin ["Calling...

Generational divide?(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
August 12, 2008... Re Paul Rudnick's "Continental Divide" [July 1], not all the East Coast thinks that way about marriage by any means! Mr. Rudnick would have better named his column "Marriage vs. Antimarriage" instead of purporting it to be the difference...

Remembering the lost.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
August 12, 2008... The article "A Kiss After Dying" [July l] mentions that Berlin joins Amsterdam, Sydney, and, soon, Tel Aviv in having memorials honoring gay Holocaust victims. It should be added that the infamous concentration camp of Auschwitz in Poland also...

Wheelchair envy.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
August 12, 2008... Thank you for your review of the film Quid Pro Quo ["The First Cut Is the Deepest," July 1], which highlights the issue of body integrity identity disorder, or BIID. As someone who struggles with this disorder, I have had an overwhelming desire...

Out on the street.(FEEDBACK)(Brief article)
August 12, 2008... We asked a sampling of LGBT people in Kansas City, Mo.: "Do you find the word homosexual offensive?" [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Terri Goddard, 49 professional fund-raiser "I don't consider it an insult, but I don't really like labels at...

Not your mama's burlesque.(CULTURE)(Brown Girls Burlesque)(Brief article)
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Burlesque may conjure thoughts of buxom blond bombshells in pasties and tassels, but the latest resurgence of these girlie shows is all about diversity. The New York City--based Brown Girls Burlesque, founded by Miss...

The Pier 40 fight.(Forward)(Brief article)
August 12, 2008... After a megadevelopment planned for Greenwich Village's Pier 40 failed to materialize, the Hudson River Park Trust began taking bids to redevelop the shabby spot. Hoping to influence the makeover, the queer youths of Fabulous Independent...

Hating on TiVo.(Forward)(Brief article)
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] To honor Father's Day, several gay dads went a less conventional route this year--they canceled their TiVo subscriptions and joined Focus on the Family's right-wing parenting forum. The actions came in response...

Sex toys and children make uneasy bedfellows.(Forward)(Adam Male sex toy business pushes philanthropy)(Brief article)
August 12, 2008... NO GOOD DEED goes unpunished. Just ask Adam Male, which bills itself as a distributor of the "highest-quality sex toys, bondage gear, adult DVDs, and sex accessories for the gay market." Besides randy fun, the company pushes philanthropy,...

Helping folks get it on (and put it on).(DOSSIER)(Karlyn Lotney)(Interview)(Brief article)
August 12, 2008... GRATEFUL GIRLS continue to pore over the sex advice column of Karlyn Lotney, a.k.a. Fairy Butch. Lotney has been penning her column, which currently runs in Curve, for 11 years. Her book The Ultimate Guide to Strap-on Sex broadened her audience...

By the numbers: out at the ball game.(Forward)(sports spectators who engage with excessive display of affection in public will be kicked out the park)(Brief article)
August 12, 2008... When passion overtook a lesbian couple at a June Seattle Mariners game, ballpark officials received a complaint that the pair were disrupting the "family atmosphere." An usher halted their public display of affection, and after a brief...

Cyd Charisse.(DIED)(Obituary)(Brief article)
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Cyd Charisse, 86, of a heart attack, June 17, in Los Angeles. The actress and dancer gained fame through her film robes alongside Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly in The Band Wagon and Singin' in the Rain, respectively....

Michael Davis.(SENTENCED)(Brief article)
August 12, 2008... Michael Davis, 23, to 25 years in prison as part of a negotiated plea deal, June 4, after pleading guilty to killing transgender woman Krystal Heskin, 34, in 2006 in suburban Chicago. Heskin was beaten to death with a hammer; her body was found...

Cody Castagna.(DISMISSED)(charges against Cody Castagna to be dismissed)(Brief article)
August 12, 2008... Charges against Cody Castagna, 27, of attempting to extort money from former Washington State representative Richard Curtis, a Republican from the Vancouver area. Castagna was accused of blackmailing Curtis following a clandestine sexual...

Openhouse.(APPOINTED)(Seth Kilbourn, as executive director of Openhouse)(Brief article)
August 12, 2008... Seth Kilbourn, as executive director of Openhouse, a nonprofit organization that provides housing, services, and community programs for San Francisco's LGBT senior population, it was announced June 18. Kilbourn previously worked for the Human...

Rants & raves.(Forward)
August 12, 2008... "Before it came out, everyone was still a little apprehensive about [same-sex relationships]. Then they realized, 'Wow, everyone is really into this stuff, and it is fine.' The next thing you know, [gay marriage] is legal." --MTV's...

Datebook 07.15-08.12.(Forward)
August 12, 2008... AUGUST 4 What a month for Barack: He turns 47 on August 4 and accepts the Democratic nomination for president a little over three weeks later at the National Convention in Denver. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AUGUST 1-3 The lineup...

Let's wait awhile: manhunt be damned! This Gen-Y college student is staying a virgin until he snags the right guy.(FIRST PERSON)
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I'M 20-SOMETHING. I'm a virgin. I'm gay. Each descriptor by itself is nothing unusual, but being 20-something, a virgin, and gay can certainly feel like an anomaly. My decision to remain a virgin was not...

The pinking of Capitol Hill: the formation of an LGBT affinity group at the SEC and an LGBT congressional caucus presage a warmer atmosphere for gays in Washington.(POLITICS)(lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders)(United States Securities and Exchange Commission)
August 12, 2008... WHEN A FEW EMPLOYEES approached the Equal Employment Opportunity Office at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 1998 and asked about creating an affinity group for gay and lesbian staffers, the answer was yes. But the effort...

Aging in America: forget canasta--senior citizens are having sex just like the rest of us. But until gay groups like SAGE came around, no one ever talked to them about it. As Kate Dailey finds out, that's just one of many innovations credited to gays and lesbians.(AGING)(Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders)
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FOR ANYONE WHO THINKS growing older is just about playing bingo and learning to crochet, consider the intimacy room. Nursing homes and senior care centers that accept federal funds must provide space for private,...

Golden opportunity: how the GOP helped bring gay marriage to California.(NEWS)(Grand Old Party of the Republican Party of the United States)
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In 1978 former California governor Ronald Reagan announced his opposition to the Briggs Initiative, a proposed law that would have not only barred gay people from teaching in the state's public schools but also...

The age of the silver fox: Anderson Cooper, George Clooney, Sean Connery. How a little gray hair makes men the object of lust and redefines how one 30-something thinks about growing old.(THE SEX ISSUE)
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I FIRST SPOTTED THE GRAY a couple of months before my 30th birthday--three or four strands glistening on my left temple. I leaned into the mirror for a closer look and confirmed my worst nightmare: I was officially...

Predator and prey: Ashton and Demi, parodies on SNL, even a string of popular dating websites. The public is fascinated with older women who seek the company of younger men. But what about their sapphic counterparts? Tricia Romano tracks the growing phenomenon of the lesbian cougar.(THE SEX ISSUE)(Saturday Night Live)(Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore)
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] There was an especially intense electric charge in West Hollywood on the night of Thursday, May 15. The California supreme court had ruled that morning in favor of gay people's freedom to marry, and the thousands who...

Husbands: when Austin Bunn leaves behind his boyfriend of six years to move to Kentucky, he finds himself immersed in a culture of married men looking for gay sex. In this account of the past year of his life, Bunn searches for what compels these men to their indiscretions and discovers that the answers may lie in his own past.(THE SEX ISSUE)
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "All actual life is encounter." --MARTIN BUBER DANIEL THIS IS HOW I find him in my memory: naked, in my closet, on the phone with his wife. "Are you in a tunnel?" I hear her ask. "You sound...

My muse, my love: the two sides of artist-photographer Meghan Quinn.(THE SEX ISSUE)
August 12, 2008... "I felt a sense of guilt," explains artist Meghan Quinn. Her quiet, deliberate manner seems to belie any sense of unease, but she explains, "I met my husband really young. I was 18. Before him, there was a girl, but when I met him I knew I'd...

Dynamic duo: lesbians swoon and the music industry takes notice as The L Word's Leisha Hailey and bandmate Camilla Grey's Uh Huh Her releases its debut album, Common Reaction.
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IT'S 10:30 P.M. on a humid Tuesday in New York City, and Uh Huh Her's Camilla Grey is experiencing an unusual--though quite rock-and-roll--wardrobe malfunction. "My unitard's really giving me trouble tonight," the...

Torch songs: Amy Ray's latest solo album steps away from her folkie Indigo past and into her punk present.(Didn't It Feel Kinder)(Sound recording review)
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AMY RAY Didn't It Feel Kinder DAEMON CRITICS OFTEN PIGEONHOLE Amy Ray and her sister-in-arms, Emily Saliers, as folkies. Fair enough. Like Billy Bragg and Joan Baez, the Indigo Girls have rallied...

Jay Brannan: Goddamned.(MUSIC PICKS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] JAY BRANNAN Goddamned GREAT DEPRESSION Incisive troubadour fare from the online sensation and Shortbus star. Not quite as revealing as that film turn, but intimate nevertheless.

Brazilian Girls: New York City.(MUSIC PICKS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BRAZILIAN GIRLS New York City VERVE FORECAST Compelling late-night grooves from this stylish Big Apple combo with an international sensibility. Pack your phrase book, dancing shoes, and a hangover cure....

The Faint: Fasciinatiion.(MUSIC PICKS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE FAINT Fasciinatiion BLANK.WAV Throbbing bass, squelching synths, and robotic vocals propel the jams of this No Doubt-approved ensemble. It's 1984 all over again--in the good way.

Michelle Williams: Unexpected.(MUSIC PICKS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MICHELLE WILLIAMS Unexpected MUSIC WORLD/COLUMBIA Can you handle this? For her third full-length the former Destiny's Child diva sidesteps gospel and serves up sizzling contemporary dance grooves.

Black Kids: Partie Traumatic.(MUSIC PICKS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BLACK KIDS Partie Traumatic ALMOST GOLD/COLUMBIA One of the most buzzed-about bands of 2008. So how come they sound suspiciously like the Cure? Which isn't necessarily a bad thing...

Golden years? Elegy and Before I Forget portray May-December romances in two very different lights.(Movie review)
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ELEGY DIRECTED BY Isabel Coixet STARRING Ben Kingsley and Penelope Cruz SAMUEL GOLDWYN FILMS BEFORE I FORGET DIRECTED BY Jacques Nolot STARRING Jacques Nolot STRAND RELEASING IF...

Best of Breed: Volume 1.(DVD PICKS)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BEST OF BREED: VOLUME 1 ROARING LEO PRODUCTIONS This collection of award-winning queer shorts will donate 10% of net proceeds to GLAAD's Youth Empowerment Fund.

Dexter: The Complete Second Season.(DVD PICKS)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DEXTER: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON SHOWTIME/PARAMOUNT We loved Michael C. Hall enough in Six Feet Under to still love him now that he's become a sociopathic killer on one of TV's most compelling dramas.

Never Back Down.(DVD PICKS)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] NEVER BACK DOWN SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT This extended, "Beat Down" version has even more sweaty, shirtless men with crew cuts. Oh, and we think there's a plot in there somewhere.

Weeds: Season 3.(DVD PICKS)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WEEDS: SEASON 3 LIONSGATE America's favorite pot-dealing family is back on Showtime this summer. Catch up on all the capers from last season. Cannabis not included.

Guilty pleasure: it may not be sensible to love the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8--but what's gas mileage in the face of a HEMI?(FAST LANE)(Product/service evaluation)
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE WORLD IS FULL of guilty pleasures, but few of them are as obvious as the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8. Gas is over $4 per gallon? So what--this thing not only has a HEMI, it has an uber-HEMI V8 with 425 horsepower...

The art of condoms.(FAST LANE)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
August 12, 2008... So-called condom fatigue and blase attitudes toward sexual health have presented American rubber companies with their biggest challenge since Vaseline--namely: How to make the humble sheath fashionable again? Instead of finger-wagging and...

Cartoon.(Cartoon)
August 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Look, if you've ever had unprotected sex, then you're way too reckless for me--or way too old."

Susan Powter returns.(Q&A)(Susan Powter returns with a new book, The Politics of Stupid)(Brief article)
August 26, 2008... A ubiquitous presence on '90s TV with her signature buzz cut and manic energy, Susan Powter urged everyone to "stop the insanity!" as she dished out her own brand of dieting advice. Now she's back and, at age 50, more fired up than ever. Powter...

It's all about the Benjamins.(POLITICS)(Brief article)
August 26, 2008... With a price tag of up to $30 million, the battle in California over a proposed gay marriage ban will be the most expensive statewide LGBT fight to date. Who's giving, who's getting, and how are the two sides of Proposition 8 stacking up?

Sex changes down south.(INTERNATIONAL)(government of Cuba wants to pay for the sex changes of its transgender citizens)(Brief article)
August 26, 2008... Just a few years ago Cuban drag parties were being raided by police. Now the government of Raul Castro wants to pay for the sex changes of its transgender citizens. Last year Brazil also announced it would cover the costs of sex-reassignment...

Breaking barriers.(FROM THE EDITORS)(Editorial)
August 26, 2008... SPARKS SEEM TO FLY WHENEVER THE WORDS GAY AND JOCK SHOW UP NEXT TO EACH OTHER IN PRINT. For some people, the terms reignite a decades-old fantasy that's been simmering since seventh-grade P.E. For others, they represent flashes of...

The gill effect.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
August 26, 2008... Having been a state lobbyist for a large corporation, I'm amazed Kerry Eleveld got as much information as she did from the Gill Action representatives ["The Gay GoodFellas," July 15]. And I might add she did a great job in explaining the...

Parenting skills.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
August 26, 2008... While I appreciate your in-depth look at the new kinds of mixed families that are becoming increasingly more popular with regard to LGBT child-rearing ["The Village People," July 15], I take offense when Chloe Harris writes, "Barring immaculate...

Storytellers.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
August 26, 2008... Your article "Where Are Heather's Two Mommies?" [July 15] painted a bleak picture of the possible success of emerging media companies focused on kids in GLBT families. We at Pink Pea Productions-creators of Dottie's Magic Pockets--disagree! ...

Is your family a village?(THE ADVOCATE POLL)(Brief article)
August 26, 2008... "Yes! My life would be a barren place without the men and women who were not born to be, but chose to be, my family." "I live in the heart of the Bible Belt. I'm in a red state that's surrounded by many other red states. Nope, not too many...

The merits of scouting.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
August 26, 2008... Philadelphia and the Equality Advocates of Pennsylvania are wrong to force the local Boy Scout chapter to vacate the premises or pay fair rent for their city-owned facility because of the national stance against gay scout masters ["Philly...

Farewell, Anne.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
August 26, 2008... Every month I open The Advocate and turn to From the Editor first--I've always enjoyed the smart, insightful commentary Anne Stockwell provides on current events, news, and culture ["Angels at The Advocate," July 15]. To say it was a surprise...

A true first.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
August 26, 2008... I noticed in the July 15 issue of The Advocate a brief dossier of Eugene police lieutenant Jennifer Bills [Now on Advocate.com]. I read the information regarding Bills with interest as I was also a member of the Eugene Police Department and...

Correction.(FEEDBACK)(Correction notice)
August 26, 2008... The map used to illustrate our July 15 Forward item "Red Gold" incorrectly identified the Philippines as Japan. The Advocate regrets the error.

We asked a sampling of LGBT people in Philadelphia: "what's your favorite summer Olympic sport?".(Out on the Street)(Brief article)
August 26, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sam Van, 34 human resources "Gymnastics, for the balance of athleticism and grace, and the Asians who kick ass." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Lindsey Stetson, 26 graduate student "Diving, because it's...

The pink apple: gay candidates swarm New York's city council races.(POLITICS)(gay politicians contending for city council seat)(Brief article)
August 26, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ARE WE ENTERING A POST-GAY POLITICAL AGE when the sexual orientation of candidates no longer overshadows their campaigns? New York's 2009 city council race may offer an affirmative answer. An unprecedented 10 openly...

AIDS archives, ruby slippers now under same roof.(Forward)(Brief article)
August 26, 2008... ACCLAIMED GAY JOURNALIST John-Manuel Andriote knows the secret to long-term relevance: Write a seminal book that alters the perception of a minority group, then get that book into the Smithsonian. Andriote accomplished the first goal in...

Gambian president: kill gays. The world: zzzzzzz.(Forward)(Yahya Jammeh)(Brief article)
August 26, 2008... YAHYA JAMMEH'S recent threat to "cut off the head" of any gay person in Gambia isn't that outlandish. Jammeh, a former wrestler who's ruled the mostly Muslim nation since 1994, has a history of making sensational statements--including a...

Kmart exec gives it up for marriage.(Forward)(Bill Stewart campaigns for equal marriage)(Brief article)
August 26, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Philanthropy, for many people, means making donations to groups like the Human Rights Campaign. But check out Bill Stewart's take on the word: The Kmart chief marketing officer recently ditched his post (and...

Flying the unfriendly skies: one flight attendant explains how he's held on to both his job and sanity.(DOSSIER)(Stephen Schembs )(Interview)(Brief article)
August 26, 2008... THE WORK ENVIRONMENT of US Airways flight attendant Stephen Schembs is a far cry from the one depicted in Coffee, Tea, or Me, the lurid 1967 memoir of two "stews" living the mile-high life. Schembs doesn't wear Pucci miniskirts, and his...

AFA keeps gay at bay: by filtering gay from its news site, the conservative group becomes a laughingstock.(Forward)(American Family Association filters the word gay in online news site, OneNewsNow.com)(Brief article)
August 26, 2008... THE AMERICAN Family Association hates the word gay. The organization's distaste is so strong that its online news site, OneNewsNow.com, filters gay out of all Associated Press articles and replaces it with the anachronistic descriptor...

Michael Shernoff.(DIED)(Obituary)(Brief article)
August 26, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Noted psychotherapist Michael Shernoff, 57, of pancreatic cancer, in New York City, June 17. An early volunteer at Gay Men's Health Crisis, Shernoff cofounded a safe-sex workshop in 1985 with Luis Palacios-Jimenez,...

Thomas Disch.(DIED)(Obituary)(Brief article)
August 26, 2008... Science fiction novelist Thomas Disch, 68, a suicide, in New York City, July 5. Disch, who came out of the closet in 1968, wrote such popular books as Camp Concentration and 334 as well as the children's series The Brave Little Toaster. He...

Patricia Mulpeter.(DECLARED INNOCENT)(Brief article)
August 26, 2008... Patricia Mulpeter, 48, accused of assisting in the suicide of her partner, in Plymouth, England, July 7. The judge in the case ruled that Mulpeter had acted in compassion when she suffocated Kaija Savolainen, 58, last October. The couple, who...

Project Angel Food.(APPOINTED)(Brief article)
August 26, 2008... Margaret Steele, as chief executive officer of the Los Angeles-based Project Angel Food, July 1. Since 2003 she had served as the director of development and communications for the meal delivery program for people with HIV or AIDS.

MassEquality.(APPOINTED)(Brief article)
August 26, 2008... Marc Solomon, as executive director of MassEquality, announced in Boston, July 9. He had served as campaign director for the Massachusetts LGBT rights group since January 2006.

Datebook 08.12-08.26.(Forward)(Brief article)(Calendar)
August 26, 2008... AUGUST 24-31 Relive those days of bugbites and s'mores at Camp Camp, an adult LGBT camp in the wilds of southwestern Maine. Complete with yoga classes, vegan hot dogs, and 24-hour hot tub, it may not exactly mirror your childhood camping...

Rants & raves.
August 26, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "I'm for anyone getting married, but it's not for me because I wouldn't want to have to pay alimony. Gay divorce and tattoo removal are the two biggest moneymakers." --John Waters, in L.A. Weekly, July 2 ...

Rest in peace: what to take to get to sleep.(FAST LANE)(Buyers guide)
August 26, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FROM NIGHTLY HITS OF AMBIEN to L-tryptophan supplements that mimic the soporific effects of a Thanksgiving turkey feast, never before have so many different ways to treat your insomnia been available. Whether you're...

Ugly Betty: she's no looker. But the 2009 Toyota Matrix has a heart of gold.(FAST LANE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
August 26, 2008... 2009 TOYOTA MATRIX RETAIL PRICE (MSRP) $16,190 STANDARD ENGINE 1.8-LTR. 4-CYL. DOHC HORSEPOWER 1.32 @ 6,000 RPM TORQUE (LB-FT) 128 @ 4,400 RPM FUEL ECONOMY (MPG) 26 CITY, 32 HIGHWAY ONE MAN'S BEAUTY is another's beast, even when it...

Get out of the rabbit hole: as the Internet continues to suck us into a virtual reality, gay culture in the real world is slipping away.(COLUMN: COASTAL DISTURBANCES)(Column)
August 26, 2008... AM I THE ONLY GAY MAN on the planet who doesn't believe the Internet will provide a solution to all the problems in the LGBT community? Most gay bookstores are struggling to stay open, and while our widespread support of them has been...

Anna Faris.(BIG GAY FOLLOWING)(Interview)
August 26, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It's often said that she outshines her material (like The Hot Chick, Just Friends, or each Scary Movie), but Anna Faris has proven she can also steal scenes in critically acclaimed fare such as Lost in Translation...

About-face: in May a federal court ruled that the U.S. military needs to prove how Maj. Margaret Witt's sexual orientation threatened morale in her unit. Suddenly the Air Force nurse became the new face of the fight against "don't ask, don't tell".(NEWS)
August 26, 2008... FOUR YEARS AFTER BEING DISMISSED under "don't ask, don't tell"--and three months since winning a major legal victory against the U.S. military--Air Force major Margaret Witt still finds it hard to say the word "gay." "It just sticks right...

Ding-Dong, Jesse Helms is dead!(NEWS)(In memoriam)
August 26, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FIRST JERRY FALWELL, NOW JESSE HELMS. One by one, the famous bigots of America are contributing their best (and last) service to this nation's progress--they're dying. Helms, the former North Carolina senator who...

A backward three-somersault tuck (with a twist): diving's a sport where splashes are ordinarily discouraged. But Australian Matthew Mitcham's decision to come out of the closet has attracted the whole world's attention to this top-ranked jock's shot at Olympic gold.(Cover story)
August 26, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] WHEN MATTHEW MITCHAM ARRIVED at the Sydney Aquatic Centre on a cold June day wrapped in a heavy coat and jeans (it's winter Down Under), it didn't seem possible that he'd strip down to a pair of Speedos and...

A league of her own: bisexual second baseman Vicky Galindo stretches the stereotype of women in softball as she heads to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.(PROFILE)
August 26, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHEN 24-YEAR-OLD VICKY GALINDO visits her grandmother, she often pauses to reread a letter hanging in the family room. The letter, written 12 years ago by Galindo's mother, who always believed in her oldest...

The next Olympians.(PORTFOLIO)(Jeff Sheng photographs gay athletes)
August 26, 2008... WHEN JEFF SHENG STOPPED PLAYING TENNIS AT AGE 17, he discovered photography. A year later, he also found his first boyfriend--a water polo player at Harvard University, where the two were finishing up their freshman year. A year after his 2002...

Somewhere over the rainbow: Margaret Cho forces a little reality into her fantasy life on The Cho Show.(TV)
August 26, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ABOUT 10 MILES NORTH of downtown Los Angeles lies a hillside community called Montrose that's so charmingly retro it's often used to represent Main Street, USA, in movies like Pleasantville. It's not the kind of...

Seeing double: partners in life and work, Joaquin Trujillo and Brian Paumier are making waves in art circles with their poetic and emotionally charged photography.(ART)
August 26, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] EVERY PHOTOGRAPHER REMEMBERS his first camera as vividly as his first kiss. But getting a camera wasn't so easy for Joaquin Trujillo, who was born in Los Angeles but moved as an infant with his family to Mexico,...

Spanish Lessons: threesomes and lesbian kisses--what Woody Allen learned on his summer vacation.(Vicky Cristina Barcelona)(Movie review)
August 26, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA DIRECTED BY Woody Allen STARRING Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, and Penelope Cruz WEINSTEIN WOODY ALLEN IS SO SYNONYMOUS with Manhattan that when he left his familiar...

Camp out.(DVD PICKS)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
August 26, 2008... CAMP OUT LIBERATION ENTERTAINMENT [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This heartwarming documentary follows 10 teenagers who attend a Bible camp for gay Christian youths in an attempt to resolve the conflicts between their sexuality and their...

Finn's Girl.(DVD PICKS)(Brief article)
August 26, 2008... FINN'S GIRL WOLFE [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Many women can identify with this drama about a doctor who is reentering the lesbian dating scene while raising her 11-year-old daughter--who is testing the limits of her patience.