The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine) articles from June 2009

The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine) archives from June 2009

Editor's letter.(appreciating Harvey Milk and Dustin Lance Black)(Editorial)
June 1, 2009... I WAS CAUGHT BY SURPRISE THE OTHER NIGHT WHEN, at a dinner party (with a fairly well-educated group of people), the woman next to me asked what I did for a living and then, after I told her, asked, "What's The Advocate?" It's not that I presume...

Lady of the night.(THIS MONTH ON ADVOCATE.COM)(Batweman)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Batweman is stepping out on her girlfriend in the evenings, but to kick some tail, not chase it. The superhero came out as a lesbian in 2006, and now the sexy crime fighter has her own comic book series.

The marriage club.(THIS MONTH ON ADVOCATE.COM)
June 1, 2009... As the California supreme court debated the validity of Proposition 8, the states of Iowa and Vermont legalized marriage equality. Has the tide turned?

Top five stories on Advocate.com: March 10-April 10.(THIS MONTH ON ADVOCATE.COM)(List)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 1. Hair Raiser Hottie Gavin Creel may not take it all off in the Broadway revival of Hair, but he does put it all out there in his first interview with Advocate.com. Yep, he's gay. 2. Porn Panic! The recession...

Porn in the USA.(Feedback)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2009... Your May 2009 cover, "Porn Panic!" is the reason I will continue to receive The Advocate enclosed in the plain gray wrap. Would Time, Vanity Fair, Architectural Digest, or even National Geographic opt to be so bold? RAYMOND D. COKER ...

Gay bashing in any form.(Feedback)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2009... Thank you, Jon Barrett, for pointing out that even though you weren't beaten to a pulp or even killed, gay bashing still hits hard in any form [Editor's Letter, May]. Working in a call center, I receive many complaints each day. Your story...

Rule Britannia.(Feedback)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2009... In "God Hates Censorship" [May], James Kirchick makes some cogent points as he chides the U.K. for denying Fred Phelps permission to enter the country. However, his contention that their action "gave the infamous bigot undue attention" misses...

Marriage and religion.(Feedback)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2009... I have to say I'm quite proud of the May issue of The Advocate, which arrived today. Two pieces especially stand out. The two short essays by Dan Savage and Pam Spaulding were excellent. Moreover, they serve to keep the debate prompted by...

Too goody-goody.(Feedback)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2009... First let me say how much I am enjoying the "new" Advocate. I would like to comment on the April "Great Expectations" article by Michael Joseph Gross. I found it troubling, a little too goody-goody for my taste. It is all well and good to be...

Corrections.(Feedback)(Correction notice)
June 1, 2009... Corrections: In our April Advance item "Gays of State" we incorrectly surmised the sexual orientation of Alexander Stubb, having based our assumption on the story "Gay Man Becomes Finland's Foreign Affairs Minister" from the South African...

Do you feel more optimistic about the prospects for gay rights legislation than you did last year?(ONLINE POLL)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... How readers responded to the Advocate.com poll question featured in the April issue of The Advocate Yes 63% No 30% Not sure 7% "We now have a president who is at least sympathetic toward LGBT issues rather than...

Enchanted April: big wins in Iowa, Vermont, and D.C. suggest Prop. 8 was more anomaly than harbinger.(ADVANCE)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] LIKE REALITY SHOW CONTESTANTS trying to beat the clock, boyfriends Sean Fritz and Tim McQuillan feverishly raced around Iowa on August 31, 2007, the day after a Des Moines district judge struck down a ban on same-sex...

Gay marriage in Iowa? We should have seen it coming.(ADVANCE)(Chronology)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... AFTER THE IOWA SUPREME COURT DECISION legalizing marriage equality, people responded first with jubilation and then with two words: Iowa, really? But the erroneous image of a conservative heartland state belies its long history of court and...

Gaydar.(ADVANCE)(cataloging error in gay literature)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... "This is an embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error for a company that prides itself on offering complete selection." Amazon.com spokesman DREW HERDENER on an apparent "glitch" that delisted thousands of sexual or gay-related books,...

There's a (gay) app for that: a same-sex world is blossoming on Apple's phenom phone.(ADVANCE)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] HOOKUP SITES WERE just too frustrating for Joel Simkhai. "I was looking for an easy way to meet other guys based on location," says...

The great newspaper die-off: gay papers struggle to keep their content on the page.(ADVANCE)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SAME-SEX MARRIAGE is still alive in California, at least in the case of Los Angeles's two largest local gay newspapers, Frontiers and IN Los Angeles, which merged in February in part because of declining advertising...

Fru*gal/Fru*guy.(DEF)(Definition)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... \'fru-gal\ \'fru-gi\ n--a person who takes pleasure in and/or boasts about living thriftily., i.e. preparing home-cooked meals, buying groceries at the 99-cent store, shopping at Goodwill, and getting their hair done at Supercuts.

How time flies: NYC youth center hits 30.(ADVANCE)(Institute for the Protection of Lesbian and Gay Youth )(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... IN 1979 the story of a 15-year-old boy who was gang-raped and thrown out of a New York City homeless shelter for being gay jarred life partners Emery Hetrick, a psychiatrist, and Damien Martin, a professor at New York University, out of their...

Pedal power.(ADVANCE: Civil Survey)(AIDS/LifeCycle event)
June 1, 2009... THERE ARE QUICKER WAYS TO GET FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO LOS ANGELES but none this altruistic: From May 31 to June 6 more than 2,200 cyclists and roadies will trek 545 miles along the California coast to raise money for HIV research and awareness....

A pair of queens.(ADVANCE: Talking Points)(gay couples)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FOR THE MAJORITY OF SAME-SEX COUPLES, the most explosive arguments over art theory likely revolve around paint chips for the dining room walls. But for some high-profile gay twosomes, collaborations in love have...

Oedipus wrecks: when his mom started dating women, writer Brett Berk was amused. But now she's gayer than he is--and he's confused.(ADVANCE: My Take)(Essay)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHEN I CAME OUT to my mother over 20 years ago, her response transcended typical maternal empathy. "As a girl," she said, "I had crushes on female teachers." Aside from this being a shocking example of her skill at...

Artist in residence: boutique masterpiece Hotel des Academies et des Arts pays homage to Left Bank artistry.(Travel)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] NEAR THE LUXEMBOURG GARDENS in Paris's sixth arrondissement, where art students roam in the footsteps of former regulars Gauguin, Man Ray, and Picasso, the Hotel des Academies et des Arts shows modern love for local...

Get out.(Travel)(Paul Rubio's Out Traveler: South Florida)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... Just in time for June's Orlando Gay Days (including the big day at Disney World), Alyson Books has released Paul Rubio's Out Traveler: South Florida, which includes tips on all things gay throughout the state. $15.95; Alyson.com ...

Q&A.(gay resorts)(Brief article)(Column)
June 1, 2009... Q: I've never stayed at a gay guesthouse, and I'm a little hesitant. How cruisy are they? I'm not sure I want to be in a sexually charged environment while on holiday. A: While some gay resorts, guesthouses, and B&Bs do have a sexual...

Hot list: take off with one of these top-notch Euro airlines.(Travel)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... BMI The second-largest carrier serving London's Heathrow, BMI serves an extensive network of destinations within and beyond Europe. The airline offers a roomy premium economy class that is similar to other carriers' business class. The...

The courage to leave: domestic violence isn't something that happens only to straight people.(Health)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DURING HIS PHYSICAL EXAM, Troy, a clinical psychologist and a patient of mine for nearly nine years, confided that his partner had been abusing him for two years. My first thought was to blurt out, "Rihanna, what...

Paging the doctor!(Health)(Gay and Lesbian Medical Association's site features directory of gay doctors)(Brief article)(Column)
June 1, 2009... I live in New York City, where good gay doctors can be found in every neighborhood, but if you're living in Omaha, Neb., or Jackson, Miss., an openly gay doctor may be harder to track down. The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association's very useful...

Q&A.(Health)(treatment for genital herpes)(Brief article)(Column)
June 1, 2009... Q: Four years ago I was diagnosed with genital herpes, but I am on suppressive therapy with Valtrex and don't have outbreaks now. My partner and I want to have unprotected sex. He has never had herpes. Should we worry that I'm contagions? We've...

Lounge act: long known for its in-air luxuries. Virgin Atlantic is now serving with the same lavishness on the ground--in its Clubhouse at London's Heathrow Airport.(THE BIG PICTURE)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IF I HAD TO GUESS what purgatory is like--based solely on my experiences here on earth--I'd skip over all references in religion and literature (sorry, Dante) and draw direct comparisons to...

So this is London: if your journey includes more than a layover at Heathrow (and it certainly should), here's what not to miss.(adventure)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... STAY at One Aldwych, a privately owned hotel that is so comfortable and at the same time so chic that it's a favorite among Londoners. Located on the edge of Covent Garden--and within walking distance of the city's biggest theater productions,...

Downturn? Fuggedaboudit: when the deals are sealed and it's time to hit the town, business travelers to the Big Apple are finding some of the best bargains in years.(UNCONVENTIONAL TRAVEL)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IF EVER A CITY'S PROVEN ITS RESILIENCY, New York has. Sure, it's had easier years than this, situated as it is at the epicenter of a global financial snit. But the city also has a business-minded mayor, Michael...

Sprechen Sie Pride? For journalist and author DAN ALLEN, the euro's always rising, and it's tied to the continent's less commercial, more inclusive Pride celebrations.(VANTAGE POINT)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHEN MY FRIEND JOSH ASKED ME to join him at the 1998 Gay Games in Amsterdam, my American heart skipped a Eurobeat. Of course I wanted to be there to support him in his quest for a gold medal in cycling. But more than...

Keep the win at your back: wins in Iowa and Vermont give gay rights activists some of the biggest boosts in four decades--and suddenly it's far-right blowhards like Tony Perkins and Rick Warren who are struggling for footing on the issue of marriage equality.
June 1, 2009... AS WE MARK THE 40TH anniversary of the Stonewall riots, which were an expression of mass liberation erupting naturally and spontaneously among a crowd on the street, it might seem odd that I recently felt my own moment of profound liberation in...

Forty under 40: they're teenaged and middle-aged, city dwellers and small-town leaders, activists, entertainers, and businesspeople. They're the legacy of the Stonewall uprising, out and tremendously successful men and women who never knew a time before Pride. And they're dedicated to the promise of the pioneers who came before them--that, with work, things will only get better.(Dustin Lance Black )(Cover story)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dustin Lance Black Oscar-winning screenwriter // 34 // Los Angeles DUSTIN LANCE BLACK IS USED TO DREAMING big. When the then-unknown screenwriter decided to tackle a script about his hero, gay civil rights...

Amy Balliett.(Forty under 40: ACTIVISM)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Internet activist // 27 // Seattle AMY BALLIETT is finding it a bit of a struggle to balance the responsibilities of her full-time job in search engine marketing, paying a mortgage, and newlywed life with the...

Tony Biel.(Forty under 40: ACTIVISM)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Volunteer organizer // 35 // Los Angeles LIKE MANY PEOPLE motivated after seeing Milk, Tony Biel was called to action--in the hills of Malibu and the industrial district of southeast Los Angeles. Biel founded Gay...

Brad Sears.(Forty under 40: ACTIVISM)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Think tank executive // 39 // Los Angeles AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR of the Williams Institute, a think tank on sexual orientation policy and law at the University of California, Los Angeles, Brad Sears oversees a...

Thai Pham.(Forty under 40: ACTIVISM)(gay philathropist)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Philanthropist // 31 // New York City A FEW YEARS AGO Thai Pham was ruminating over charitable giving, specifically how he and his friends could contribute to worthy causes even though they weren't pulling in...

James Neiley.(Forty under 40: ACTIVISM)(gay high school student)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] High school student // 17 // Charlotte, Vt. JAMES NEILEY HAD ALWAYS been passionate about pursuing a career in fashion or business, but after offering emotional testimony in support of same-sex marriage before...

Christoph Babka.(Forty under 40: ACTIVISM)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] TV producer // 29 // Los Angeles RESOLUTELY POSITIVE and do-goody Christoph Babka came out of the closet 11 years ago in New Jersey in a relative vacuum. "I didn't really know much about the gay community. I...

Katelynn Cusanelli.(Forty under 40: ACTIVISM)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Transgender advocate // 25 // Missoula, Mont. WHEN KATELYNN CUSANELLI got the call from Real World casting that she had been accepted as a cast member for the famous show's 21st season, in Brooklyn, N.Y., she...

Ariel Foxman.(Forty under 40: MEDIA)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... Magazine editor // 35 // New York City EVERY FEBRUARY, InStyle magazine features a portfolio of the previous year's most glamorous celebrity weddings. This year that roundup was led off by glossy shots of Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de...

Ariel Levy.(Forty under 40: MEDIA)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Writer // 34 // New York City AFTER 12 YEARS AS A WRITER for New York magazine, where she memorably chronicled such topics as lesbian "boi" culture, her own 2007 marriage, and--in a devastating profile-Clay...

Benoit Denizet-Lewis.(Forty under 40: MEDIA)(gay writers)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Writer // 33 // Boston FORTY YEARS AGO it would not have been possible for a young journalist to make a name and a career for himself by writing about gay life for a mainstream news publication. But Benoit...

Ari Shapiro.(Forty under 40: MEDIA)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Radio journalist // 30 // Washington, D.C. ARI SHAPIRO, the justice correspondent for National Public Radio, always has a lot of things on his nimble mind, hut being gay usually isn't one of them. "I'm...

Josh Rubin.(Forty under 40: MEDIA)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Internet maven // 35 // New York City IF, AS ECONOMIC HISTORIANS have long insisted, recessions and depressions foster invention and entrepreneurship, then Josh Rubin is in exactly the right place at the right...

Rachel Maddow.(Forty under 40: MEDIA)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Television & radio host //36 // New York City WHEN RACHEL MADDOW scored her own MSNBC show during prime election season last September, she was the youngest anchor on the network. She was also the only one who...

Felix Burrichter.(Forty under 40: MEDIA)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Architect and magazine editor // 30 // New York City AS THE FOUNDING EDITOR and creative director of Pin-Up, a "magazine for architectural entertainment," Felix Burrichter has combined fashion, sex, design,...

Sia.(Forty under 40: ENTERTAINMENT)(gay musicians)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... Musician // 33 // New York City SIA FURLER IS LOUNGING in her downtown Manhattan loft, rattling off a few of her favorite things. "Bongs shaped like fairies, tie-dye jumpers, unicorns, dream catchers--all things you can buy in a truck...

Eric Himan.(Forty under 40: ENTERTAINMENT)(gay musicians)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Musician // 30 // Broken Arrow, Okla. "I CAME OUT AT THE STAR," says singer-songwriter Eric Himan. "People always ask me, 'Do you feel like you could be bigger if you weren't out?' but I think being out has done...

Jamie Lauren.(Forty under 40: ENTERTAINMENT )(gay chefs)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Chef // 31 // San Francisco JAMIE LAUREN'S LIFE hasn't changed much since she appeared on season 5 of Top Chef--she's just a lot busier. "I'm under the heat lamp now," Lauren says on the phone while having her...

Del Marquis.(Forty under 40: ENTERTAINMENT)(gay musicians)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Musician // 31 // New York City WHILE HE WAS GROWING UP, Derek Gruen's love of rock music and playing guitar was primarily an expression of teen angst. Now best known as Del Marquis, the nattily attired lead...

Chris Ryan.(Forty under 40: ENTERTAINMENT)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Party promoter // 27 // New York City CHRIS RYAN's unusual path to his career as a Manhattan party promoter began with the word "fag." While a student at New Jersey's Northern Valley Regional High School at...

John Krokidas.(Forty under 40: ENTERTAINMENT)(gay filmmaker)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Filmmaker // 35 // Los Angeles JOHN KROKIDAS originally studied to be an actor, but while a student at Yale University he convinced a professor to let him make a short film instead of writing his undergraduate...

Tarell Alvin McCraney.(Forty under 40: ARTS)(gay playwright)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... Playwright // 28 // New York City ONLY TWO YEARS AGO, Tarell Alvin McCraney completed the playwriting program at the Yale School of Drama, yet he's not waiting tables, toiling while awaiting a big break. His debut, The Brothers Size, which...

Lucky Michaels.(Forty under 40: ARTS)(gay photographer)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Photographer // 29 // New York City LGBT TEENS make up an outsize proportion of runaway youths nationwide. With disconcertingly few programs to help them, they are particularly vulnerable to homelessness and its...

Ariel Schrag.(Forty under 40: ARTS)(gay cartoonist)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Cartoonist // 29 // Los Angeles GROWING UP IN THE LIBERAL bastion of Berkeley, Calif., cartoonist Ariel Schrag didn't need to officially come out to her parents. They just read about it in her groundbreaking...

Matthew Lew.(Forty under 40: ARTS)(gay artists)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Artist // 29 // Chicago ONE-OF-A-KIND, limited edition, and exclusive are terms that sell in the art world, but for Chicago artist Matthew Lew, the opposite has always been true. "Everyone should be able to have...

Rebecca Walker.(Forty under 40: ARTS)(gay writer)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Writer // 39 // Honolulu REBECCA WALKER's latest work of nonfiction is steeped in sexual orientation and gender identity. One Big Happy Family, published in February by Riverhead, argues that non-nuclear family...

Christopher Wheeldon.(Forty under 40: ARTS)(gay choreographer)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Choreographer // 36 // New York City CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON has put sugarplum fairies on notice. The New York Times called the ballet wunderkind "the most talented classical choreographer of his generation," in...

David Lauterstein.(Forty under 40: BUSINESS)(gay entrepreneur)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... Fashion entrepreneur // 39 // New York City REMEMBER FUBU ("For Us By Us"), the African-American apparel company? Nasty Pig, purveyor of playful, hypermasculine gear, from jeans to harnesses, serves a similarly empowering purpose for a...

Betty Young.(Forty under 40: BUSINESS)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Airline executive // 39 // Hurst, Texas STARTING OFF IN THE reservations department almost 20 years ago, Betty Young climbed the corporate ladder at American Airlines' hub in Dallas, eventually finding her...

Scott Gatz.(Forty under 40: BUSINESS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Internet entrepreneur // 38 #San Francisco SCOTT GATZ jokingly calls GayCities.com "the largest gay travel network you have never heard of." Yet after only a year and a half, his little travel network already...

Chris Allen.(Forty under 40: BUSINESS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Ad executive // 36 # Chicago CHRIS ALLEN would astound the gray flannel-suited protagonists of Mad Men. Not only has he been openly gay throughout his successful advertising career, Allen's now helping companies...

Jared Polis.(Forty under 40: POLITICS)(gay congressman)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Congressman // 34 // Boulder, Colo. FOR U.S. REPRESENTATIVE JARED POLIS, an entrepreneur-turned-politician, Congress does not disappoint. "This is a challenging and exciting job every day," he says, noting that...

Jamie Citron.(Forty under 40: POLITICS)(gay political consultants)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Obama administration // 26 // Washington, D.C. WHEN JAMIE CITRON joined Barack Obama's campaign over two years ago, the White House seemed like a distant dream. "There was always that exciting afterthought of,...

Nick Shalosky.(Forty under 40: POLITICS)(gay school board member)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] School board member // 21 // Charleston, S.C. NICK SHALOSKY's "little Facebook experiment," as he calls it, made him South Carolina's first openly gay elected official last fall. The College of Charleston junior...

James Anderson.(Forty under 40: POLITICS)(gay political consultant)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Mayoral aide // 38 // New York City BEING AN AIDE to the mayor of the nation's largest city would be daunting to some, but to James Anderson, it's thrilling. "It's an amazing opportunity to make a difference on...

Aisha C. Mills.(Forty under 40: POLITICS)(gay fund raiser)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Fund-raiser // 31 // Washington, D.C. SOMETIMES THE PERPETUAL outsider makes for the consummate insider. "My entire life, I have been a variety of 'others,'" says Washington, D.C.-based fundraiser Aisha C....

Jason Rae.(Forty under 40: POLITICS)(Democratic National Committee member)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DNC member // 22 // Milwaukee NOT YET A COLLEGE graduate, Jason Rae has accomplished more than many people several times his age. Five years ago, before he could even vote, then-17-year-old Rae was elected to...

Natasha Kai.(Forty under 40: SPORTS)(gay soccer players)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Soccer player // 26 // Kahuku, Hawaii INSTANTLY RECOGNIZABLE for the sleeve of tattoos on her right arm, Hawaiian soccer player Natasha Kai has also become known for her rebellious image and her intensity on the...

Andrew Langenfeld.(Forty under 40: SPORTS)(gay swimmers)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Swimmer // 22 // Centralia, Ill. HERE ARE THE NUMBERS. At the 2009 Big Ten swimming championships, Purdue University's Andrew Langenfeld, 22, 6 foot 6, did the 50-meter freestyle in 19.34 seconds, breaking a...

The man behind the Strip: he's the designer responsible for the Bellagio, the Wynn, and the newly opened Encore hotel. As he prepares to retire, Roger Thomas reflects on a life with business partner Steve Wynn and how his aesthetic transformed the face of Las Vegas forever.(Steve Wynn)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IF STEVE WYNN'S GAY ALTER EGO didn't point it out, odds are almost nobody would ever notice. In fact, even with him pointing it out, it takes a minute to figure out what Roger Thomas is talking about. There's a small...

Wiley world: his paintings might resemble portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds or Thomas Gainsborough, but little else is traditional about Kehinde Wiley's approach to urban male culture.(SPECTATOR: Art)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Kehinde Wiley doesn't need to know how to work a room. During the April opening of his exhibition "The World Stage: Brazil" at the Roberts & Tilton gallery in Culver City, Calif., the 32-year-old artist known for his...

Honest Arthur: with his latest production of West Side Story currently on Broadway and a new memoir just published, legendary writer-producer Arthur Laurents tells his good friend Charles Kaiser why he's never been able to tell a lie and why that sometimes gets him into trouble.(SPECTATOR: Theater)(Interview)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] HERE'S A TYPICAL YEAR IN THE LIFE of Arthur Laurents: After directing Patti LuPone on Broadway in what was widely hailed as the greatest Gypsy of all time, he immediately started to...

The Lambert factor: American Idol may have its first openly gay contestant, and while the blogosphere and American voters seem to be saying it doesn't matter, Dale Hrabi thinks it does.(SPECTATOR: Viewpoint)(Adam Lambert)
June 1, 2009... AS AMERICAN IDOL'S eighth season has unfolded, I've been intrigued by how blase viewers claim to be about front-runner Adam Lambert's apparent homosexuality: "It doesn't matter if he's gay!!!" strenuously indifferent tweens protested on...

Wet hot American.(SPECTATOR: A-List)(Bradley Cooper)(Interview)
June 1, 2009... HIS FIRST FILM ROLE WAS A GAY CAMP COUNSELOR in Wet Hot American Summer, and his first TV gig was playing a piece of Carrie's man candy on Sex and the City, so it was only a matter of time before The Advocate interviewed Bradley Cooper. Having...

... Broadway bares.(I Advocate ...)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... Here is what theater director and choreographer JERRY MITCHELL is passionate about this month "When eight of your 10 best friends from college die before you turn 30, it changes everything about how you see the world. That's why I created...

... El Parador Cafe.(I ALSO ADVOCATE ...)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... A fantastic restaurant on 34th Street between First and Second avenues. Tell Alex that Jerry sent you. The margarita (on the rocks with salt) is maybe the best drink in New York City to throw back before a birthday, a hot date, or a Broadway...

... Nude beaches.(I ALSO ADVOCATE ...)(Black's Beach in San Diego and Saline Beach in St. Barts)
June 1, 2009... Two of my favorites are Black's Beach in San Diego and Saline Beach in St. Barts. I just prefer to be at a beach naked; it is the most beautiful way to be. I have felt that way since I realized there was actually a choice. [ILLUSTRATION...

... Massage therapy.(I ALSO ADVOCATE ...)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... Your body needs regular tune-ups like a car. I get a massage at least once a week--it's like being touched by an angel. I just got a two-hour massage at the Encore spa because I am working n Vegas, but back in New York I have a wonderful...

... Selfish & perverse.(I ALSO ADVOCATE ...)(novel by Bob Smith)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Bob Smith's touching and honest novel (Da Capo Press) left me so giddy, I immediately asked him if we might be able to adapt it for the stage. It's a touching look at sex and love and what matters while each of us is...

... Larry Keigwin's dance company.(I ALSO ADVOCATE ...)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... Larry's sense of humor and wit is like mine. His dances are often wrapped around a fabulous story, and he always infuses his pieces with serious charm and often boy-friendly themes. He sometimes uses everyday people, and one of his signature...

... Water Island.(I ALSO ADVOCATE ...)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... This small beach community is a quiet enclave on Fire Island, There are no stores, and among the few cottages there is my friend's house that I stay at. You have to go down to the Pines to get your food, drink, and sex.