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

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

President Cherry Jones.(Brief article)
November 4, 2008... Still smarting over the fact that you won't be able to vote for Hillary Clinton this November? Take heart--the first female U.S. president takes office this season on Fox's 24, played by lesbian Tony winner Cherry Jones, and she tells The...

Battleground states.(POLITICS)
November 4, 2008... Whether it's Barack Obama reaching out to faith voters or John McCain angling for the female vote, the candidates are courting each other's bases in ways that could reshuffle the electoral map for decades. Check in with Advocate. com throughout...

Hip-hop homophobia.(MUSIC)(Brief article)
November 4, 2008... Kim Osorio, the only woman to be editor in chief at The Source magazine--the "bible of hip-hop"--talks to The Advocote about the changing face of homophobia in the male-dominated world of hip-hop. Osorio covers this and other topics in her new...

Free to be you and me.(FROM THE EDITOR)
November 4, 2008... I GET LETTERS EVERY ONCE IN AWHILE reminding me of a common rallying cry at pride parades and political protests: "We are everywhere!" One reader recently sent a postcard from Charleston, S.C., with two questions on the back: First, had I ever...

Legally wed.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
November 4, 2008... On 08/08/08, my spouse and I were married in West Hollywood. ["Why Do 'I Do'?" October 7]. This was a historic occasion we thought we would not realize in our lifetimes. Even though we have been together for 16 years and recited our original...

First couple.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
November 4, 2008... I am so happy for Ellen and Portia ["As Ellen Goes, So Goes the Nation," October 7]. When I saw the clips of their wedding on her show, I was moved to tears, as it was so beautiful and you could just see the love in their eyes for each other....

Rational enquirer?(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
November 4, 2008... Gee, thanks a heck of a lot, Mr. Egusquiza, for outing a real live senator and ruining his career (for an infidelity that also suggests love and responsibility and God knows how many purely personal problems) in spite of said politician's very...

Manhunt witch hunt.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
November 4, 2008... I felt like the witch hunt against Jonathan Crutchley was one of the lowest points in our recent history as a community ["One-two Punch," October 7]. He donated his own money to the presidential candidate in the party he supports. Manhunt did...

Do you think the company you work for is financially sound?(THE ADVOCATE POLL)(Brief article)
November 4, 2008... "Yes. We make cancer drugs. Unfortunately, people still need them." "Is my employer financially sound? Nope, but that wasn't my view two weeks ago. So when we had the 'We can't meet payroll this week' speech, our jaws hit the floor. How...

Talking snakes and Santa Claus.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
November 4, 2008... I am sick and tired of reading in your magazine about gay Christians ["My Sweet Lord," October 7]. As a recovering Christian, son of a Pentecostal preacher, and now a proud atheist, I have a brain; therefore I do not believe in a talking snake,...

Judging Ani.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
November 4, 2008... I just read "Dirty Little Secret" [October 7], and I am disgusted by Ani DiFranco's excuses. She says she was not given the tools to deal with having a reproductive system and be a horny youth, yet her mother encouraged her to get the pill. And...

Life lesson.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
November 4, 2008... I wonder if Joel Derfner understands that most of his predecessors (teachers) could not be out to teenage students, even consider cracking jokes that imply the f word, or mention Oscar Wilde's orientation ["Losing Dorothy Parker," October 7]....

Out on the street.(FEEDBACK)(Brief article)
November 4, 2008... We asked a sampling of LGBT people in San Francisco: "Do you think California's anti-gay marriage Proposition 8 will pass?" [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Collin Baker, 29 student "No! I've seen how incredibly passionate my community...

The makeup artist: CoverGirl bets that soccer moms will find something in common with its next "face"--a rich, famous gay talk-show host.(Forward)(Ellen DeGeneres)(Brief article)
November 4, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "EVERYTHING IS ABOUT NUMBER 1, youth, and number 2, beauty," Ellen DeGeneres told W magazine last year, lamenting the state of show business. But cosmetics icon CoverGirl may be trying to upend that notion,...

Eleven elections to watch: the contenders to pay attention to on November 4.(Forward)
November 4, 2008... WHILE BARACK OBAMA AND JOHN MCCAIN are jockeying for electoral votes, dozens of gay candidates nationwide will be embroiled in their own political battles. The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund--a group that works to cultivate and elect LGBT...

Sympathy pains: furniture entrepreneur Mitchell Gold turns his attention from sofas and tables to the trials of growing up gay in America.(Forward)(Interview)(Brief article)
November 4, 2008... When Mitchell Gold was a teenager, he made a promise to himself. If he didn't become attracted to a woman by the age of 21, he'd kill himself. Neither scenario came to pass--Gold went on to cofound the successful furniture company Mitchell Gold...

Queens of comedy: the country's most famous comedy club gives gays the mike.(Laugh Factory's 'Thank Gays It's Friday')(Brief article)
November 4, 2008... THE GIRLS stumbling out of L.A.'s Hyde nightclub on Sunset Boulevard don't usually have to sidestep a giant drag queen to get to the valet. Three blocks south, boys make out in the street, but this stretch of West Hollywood is decidedly...

Claymates in crisis: for Clay Aiken fans, "gay" is still the love that dare not speak its name.(Brief article)
November 4, 2008... THOUGH SPAMALOT STAR and American Idol alum Clay Aiken may have a clearer conscience after finally coming out of the closet in September in People, some "Claymates"--the nickname given to diehard Aiken fans--are still reeling. On one Clay...

Still wild: the glitterati honor Maurice Sendak, the literary world's newest out icon.(Brief article)
November 4, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] How's this for a birthday party's partial guest list: Meryl Streep, Tony Kushner, Michelle Williams, Judy Blume. These folks made their way to New York's 92nd Street YMCA to toast the 80th birthday of children's book...

A true gentleman: recollections of an unforgettable spirit named John Burnside.(Forward)
November 4, 2008... "PARDON ME," the voice asked with a soft tap on my bare shoulder. "But would you care for some more mud?" It was my new friend John Burnside, and he was standing in a shallow ravine in the Arizona desert with about 50 other naked men. We were...

In Style.(PROMOTED)(Ariel Foxman promoted as as the new managing editor of In Style magazine)(Brief article)
November 4, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Ariel Foxman, as the new managing editor of In Style magazine--the publication's top post--September 17. Foxman, who is openly gay, joined In Style in 1999 but left in 2003 to head the now-defunct Cargo. In 2006 he...

Charles Whitebread.(DIED)(Obituary)(Brief article)
November 4, 2008... Charles Whitebread, 65, of lung cancer, September 16, in Santa Monica, Calif. Whitebread was a law professor at the University of Southern California who was also an author and philanthropist. As an expert on criminal law, he briefed judges on...

Alex Ross.(SELECTED)(Alex Ross has been selected as a 2008 MacArthur Fellow by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation)(Brief article)
November 4, 2008... Gay writer Alex Ross, as a 2008 MacArthur Fellow by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, September 23. The fellowships, also known as "genius grants," annually select 20 to 30 people to receive $500,000 awards for excellence in...

Shannon Price Minter.(HONORED)(Shannon Price Minter, as one of the top 100 lawyers in California)(Brief article)
November 4, 2008... Shannon Price Minter, as one of the top 100 lawyers in California, by the legal newspaper chain Doily Journal, in its September 17 issues. Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, was lead counsel in the California...

Datebook 10.21-11.04.(Calendar)
November 4, 2008... THROUGH JANUARY 7 With "Catherine Opie: American Photographer," ([right arrow]) a solo retrospective at New York City's Guggenheim Museum, it's clear the lesbian lenser has hit the bigtime. GUGGENHEIM.ORG [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

Rants & raves.(Forward)
November 4, 2008... "L was gonna stand for love, though, or La. Since people want to play games, I like to jab back sometimes just for fun, but I'm like, 'Nah, that's too much energy wasted.'" --Queen Latifah, on considering naming her latest album The L Word,...

Candidates face off: wonder where the presidential hopefuls stand on gay issues? Look no further.(POLITICS)(John McCain and Barack Obama)
November 4, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] HALFWAY THROUGH his acceptance speech August 28 at the Democratic National Convention, presidential nominee Barack Obama called for unity despite Americans' disagreements over hot-button social issues. "I know there...

Do it yourself: gay Libertarians oppose government-imposed discrimination in marriage laws and military policies. But they also oppose employment protections and hate-crimes legislation. A paradox?(POLITICS)
November 4, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] GOVERNMENT IS BAD; personal freedom is good. That in a nutshell is the philosophy of the Libertarian Party, which has attracted gay people since the 1970s with its support for equal marriage and adoption rights,...

Bare market: trouble on Wall Street may spell the same for nonprofits that rely on financial support from Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and companies like them.(MONEY)
November 4, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] KEVIN JENNINGS, FOUNDER and executive director of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, expected his group's annual spring fund-raiser last May to take in less revenue than in years past. Gas and food...

A year of gay thinking: a flurry of personal appearances and professional obligations causes one man to hit his gay threshold.(Column)
November 4, 2008... THIS YEAR I HAVE OFFICIALLY BECOME a professional queer. My travels took me to a gay bar in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and a drag bar in Denver. I attended a blur of circuit parties and a marathon of gay weddings in California. I stood up in front...

Back to the bully pulpit: after eight years of avoidance by the Bush administration, will Obama or McCain champion gay rights in American foreign policy?(POLITICS)(Barack Obama and John McCain)
November 4, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IN 1995, THEN-FIRST LADY HILLARY CLINTON famously declared that women's rights are human rights at a United Nations conference in Beijing. With more than a decade under our belts since then, the question arises: Will...

The Foley follies: the scandal surrounding former Florida Republican representative Mark Foley was critical in the Democrats' 2006 takeover of Congress. Now that an investigation has determined he broke no law, was winning an election worth perpetuating gay stereotypes?(COMMENTARY)
November 4, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] YOU COULD BE PARDONED FOR FORGETTING ABOUT MARK FOLEY. The erstwhile congressman's life unraveled in September 2006 with the leaking of salacious e-mails and instant messages he had sent to a male former...

Love stories.(Cover story)
November 4, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] One of the great ironies of a political battle is how easy it can be to forget what's actually at stake. In the frenzy to win (or at least put up a good fight), the principles often consume the people. A perfect...

When politics becomes personal: the Republican mayor of San Diego upset the party line when he came out in support of same-sex marriage last year. Now Jerry Sanders is ruffling feathers again by fighting to beat Proposition 8.
November 4, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A quiet man who mows his own lawn on Sundays while chatting with neighbors on the sidewalk, 58-year-old Jerry Sanders seems more like a small-town conservative than a gay rights pioneer at the helm of the nation's...

When rites don't result in rights: after being arrested on drug and weapons charges, a California couple realize that their marriage means nothing in federal court.(Scott and Mark Venes)
November 4, 2008... It was a sweltering afternoon on the last Wednesday of August when Scott Venes first spotted the men outside his suburban San Jose, Calif., home. He'd just taken a shower to cool off and was sitting in shorts in the front room while Mark Venes,...

The education of Peter Flinsch: how a single kiss would turn one Nazi soldier into one of the 20th century's greatest creators of gay erotica.(ART)
November 4, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IT'S HARD TO PICTURE Peter Flinsch as anything but an artist. Particularly when you're sitting in his Montreal apartment--the one where he's lived since 1968--and every inch of available space is occupied by his...

Back on the yellow brick road: Gregory Maguire returns to the Land of Oz with the story of a not-so-cowardly lion.(BOOKS)(A Lion Among Men)
November 4, 2008... When Gregory Maguire first saw The Wizard of Oz as a boy, he didn't think much of the Cowardly Lion, He wanted the Scarecrow to be his best friend, thought the Tin Man was "a bit fey," but considered the Lion nothing more than a comic addition...

Girl trouble: the dearth of new lesbian films showing in theaters raises the question, what's happened to sapphic cinema?(FILM)
November 4, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SOMETHING BIG IS HAPPENING in lesbian film. It's not advanced technology, a cultural breakthrough, or a provocative new director. What's going on is more loss than gain: Fewer lesbian films are being made, and even...

Mogul in the making: with two new films coming out in November, writer-director Shamim Serif is one lesbian filmmaker who is enjoying bang-up success.(Q&A)(Interview)
November 4, 2008... Prize-winning novelist turned director Shamim Sarif, a Briton of Indian and South African ethnicity, wrote and directed two films about to make their U.S. theatrical debuts: I Can't Think Straight, a romantic comedy about the clashing of...

Leap of faith: fans of Logo's Noah's Arc cried foul when the network canceled the landmark series. Can a feature film version of the show win them back?(FILM)(Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom)(Movie review)
November 4, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] NOAH'S ARC: JUMPING THE BROOM DIRECTED BY Patrik-Ian Polk STARRING Darryl Stephens, Douglas Spearman, and Jensen Atwood LOGO FEATURES IT'S BEEN OVER TWO YEARS since the second-season finale of...

Project Runway: The Complete Fourth Season.(DVD PICKS)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
November 4, 2008... PROJECT RUNWAY: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Most of this season was simply sew-sew, but at least it produced the show's fiercest winner ever, Christian Siriano.

A Very British Gangster.(DVD PICKS)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
November 4, 2008... A VERY BRITISH GANGSTER ECHO BRIDGE HOME ENTERTAINMENT [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] What if Tony Soprano were gay? You don't have to imagine it. This doc profiles Dominic Noonan, a charismatic--and very out--Manchester crime lord.

Boystown.(DVD PICKS)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
November 4, 2008... BOYSTOWN TLA RELEASING [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Spanish real estate agent Victor has a novel plan to move more hip gay men into his Madrid neighborhood: He'll murder elderly women, then sell their apartments to handpicked tenants.

Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon.(DVD PICKS)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
November 4, 2008... WRANGLER: ANATOMY OF AN ICON TLA RELEASING [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Jack Wrangler was one of the most iconic faces (and bodies) to ever hit gay porn. This documentary follows his unlikely rise and even more unlikely marriage--to a...

Sleeping Beauty: Platinum Edition.(DVD PICKS)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
November 4, 2008... SLEEPING BEAUTY: PLATINUM EDITION WALT DISNEY STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINMENT [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Disney makes its Blu-ray splash with this gorgeous, crammed-to-the-gills Platinum Edition. You may all worship iconic Mouse House...

Keeping it vague: Bloc Party front man Kele Okereke came out of the closet last year. But the band's latest release still eschews sexual labels--and it works.(Sound recording review)
November 4, 2008... BLOC PARTY Intimacy ATLANTIC [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IN AN ERA WHEN CELEBRITY gay weddings are respectfully splashed across the covers of supermarket tabloids, it may seem odd that an outspoken young rocker would still...

Girl Talk: Feed the Animals.(MUSIC PICKS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
November 4, 2008... GIRL TALK Feed the Animals ILLEGAL ART [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Cuts from countless hip-hop, pop, and '80s favorites, chopped up into a nonstop dance party. If your food processor had a "DJ" setting, it'd sound like this.

Eagles of Death Metal: Heart On.(MUSIC PICKS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
November 4, 2008... EAGLES OF DEATH METAL Heart On DOWNTOWN [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Chunky guitars, suave vocals, and sugar-sweet melodies from Peaches' favorite bad boys. This will get your blood pumping to the hot zones.

Lou Reed: Berlin: Live at St. Ann's Warehouse.(MUSIC PICKS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
November 4, 2008... LOU REED Berlin: Live at St. Ann's Warehouse MATADOR [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The soundtrack to Julian Schnabel's concert film of Lou Reed's 2006 staging of his melancholy 1973 masterpiece Berlin, with performances by Antony...

Various Artists: Love Train: The Sound of Philadelphia.(MUSIC PICKS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
November 4, 2008... VARIOUS ARTISTS Love Train: The Sound of Philadelphia LEGACY/SONY [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Four discs of sublime disco gems by the O'Jays, MFSB, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, and other legendary Philly artists. People all...

Simon Bookish: Everything/Everything.(MUSIC PICKS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
November 4, 2008... SIMON BOOKISH Everything/Everything TOMLAB [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Remember your kinda sexy, kinda nerdy biology professor? Now imagine he's gay--and that he recorded a big-band song cycle about science and information....

Potty mouth: Seinfeld alum Julia Louis-Dreyfus loves bad words and gay marriage.(BIG GAY FOLLOWING)(Interview)
November 4, 2008... THE FOURTH SEASON of the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine has added something borrowed and something blue to its bouquet with a lesbian wedding. The catch? Both characters are straight. Emmy-winning star Julia Louis-Dreyfus...

What if ...(FROM THE EDITOR)(Editorial)
November 18, 2008... TWO OF THE WORDS THAT RUN THROUGH MY HEAD most often (after Taco and Bell) are what and if. Used together, they're sometimes a sign of anxiety--as in "What if my 401(k) never recovers?" But more often they're the precursor to some sort of...

Priced out?(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
November 18, 2008... Can we afford to be gay? The answer is no ["The Cost of BeingGay," October 21]. But it has less to due with price tags and more to do with self-worth. What do designer sunglasses, beach houses, and luxury everything cost us? Our souls. Our...

Can you afford to be gay?(THE ADVOCATE POLL)(Brief article)
November 18, 2008... Can you afford to be gay? Yes 63% No 30% Unsure 7% How readers responded to the Advocate.com poll question featured in the October 21 issue of The Advocate "We shop at outlet malls and look for bargains on...

Sad anniversary.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
November 18, 2008... Thank you for remembering and honoring the life of Matthew Shepard on the 10-year anniversary of his horrific death ["Remembering Matthew," October 21]. Still to this day, I remember the feelings of anguish and despair when I heard the news on...

Racial comments.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
November 18, 2008... Small wonder that the picture of Jasmyne Cannick that accompanies her column is a drawing--probably no photographs of her smiling exist ["No Country for Black Men," October 21]. Assuming this is not a parody, it's easily one of the most...

Liberate Lodi!(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
November 18, 2008... I bought the October 7 issue and got a kick out of seeing my hometown mentioned ["Blank Page"]. The story was dead-on in every point it made about the Lodi paper not publicizing same-sex weddings. I can think of at least one lesbian couple who...

Correction.(FEEDBACK)(Correction notice)
November 18, 2008... In our October 21 story "Lost in Translation," manga translator Mari Morimoto's name was inadvertently misspelled.

Out on the street.(Brief article)
November 18, 2008... We asked a sampling of people attending Gay Days at Disneyland: "Would you feel comfortable holding hands in the park if it weren't Gay Days?" [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Vincent Wester, 18 Benjamin Osuna, 18 students Vincent:...

Don't mask, do tell: Gadzooks! Comic heroes come flying out of the closet.(Forward)(Brief article)
November 18, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHILE GAY CHARACTERS have been sprinkled sporadically through comic books for years, DC Comics signaled a sea change when it announced its upcoming Justice League series will feature not one, but two main characters...

Century-old scourge: could clues about the beginning of AIDS lead to its end?(Forward)(Brief article)
November 18, 2008... The year is 1900. Bush hunters in Cameroon trap and butcher chimpanzees, coming into contact--possibly by attacking or eating the animals--with blood tainted with the simian ancestor of HIV. For the first few decades following this...

Milk in his blood: meet Harvey Milk's cousin Michael Salem, lingerie entrepreneur and drag designer to the stars.(Forward)(Interview)(Brief article)
November 18, 2008... BEFORE HARVEY MILK made a name for himself in San Francisco, he lived a quieter life with his hardworking family in and around New York City. The extended Milk clan--including Milk's cousin Michael Salem--had been rooted in New York garment...

Queer mating for straight dating: dumping gender roles as a way to find love.(Forward)(Deeper Dating)(Brief article)
November 18, 2008... THE ROOM IS hushed as Mary, 51, takes her seat among the 50 people at the Deeper Dating singles event in New York. She glances at the 20 men in the room at the 92nd Street Y, but none catch her eye. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Event...

Robert Arthur.(DIED)(Obituary)(Brief article)
November 18, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Former actor and gay rights activist Robert Arthur, 83, of congestive heart failure, October 1, in Aberdeen, Wash. After serving in the Navy, Arthur moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting, working in minor roles...

Gene Copello.(DIED)(Obituary)(Brief article)
November 18, 2008... Gene Copello, 49, executive director of the AIDS Institute, of kidney-related heart failure, October 7, in Alexandria, Va. Before working at the AIDS Institute, a national nonprofit research and public policy organization with offices in...

William E. Woods.(DIED)(Obituary)(Brief article)
November 18, 2008... William E, Woods, 58, after a long illness, September 27. In 1990, Hawaii became the first state to consider marriage equality, thanks in part to Woods's work behind the scenes. Called "the father of Hawaii's gay rights movement," Woods founded...

Rosie's Variety Show.(ANNOUNCED)(Brief article)
November 18, 2008... By NBC, that Rosie's Variety Show will be hosted by Rosie O'Donnell live from New York on November 26--the night before Thanksgiving--featuring celebrity guests, musical acts, and comedy skits. If successful, it could become a regularly...

Rants & raves.(Forward)
November 18, 2008... "Sure, if somebody engages in a [homosexual] act in their own house without being known to others, we don't pay any attention to that....But nobody can engage in what breaks the law in public." --Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who...

Datebook 11.04-11.18.(Forward)(Calendar)
November 18, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] NOVEMBER 7 Acclaimed writer and cartoonist Alison Bechdel (Fun Home) kicks off the promotional tour for her new book, Essential Dykes to Watch Out For, at Austin's Book People. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Say cheese: two New York City women make culinary waves with their artisanal ricotta.(BUSINESS)
November 18, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "IF CHEESE WERE A ROCK STAR," proclaims the website of ricotta cheese purveyor Salvatore Bklyn, "it'd be Salvatore Bklyn." Ricotta, the fluffy, unassuming building block for lasagna or cheesecake, hasn't achieved...

Connecticut rings in: now that the Constitution State has become the third in the nation to extend marriage equality, what's next?(NEWS)
November 18, 2008... After several years of legal wrangling and uncertainty, Barbara Levine-Ritterman of New Haven, Conn., was overjoyed at the news that she would soon be able to legally marry her longtime partner, Robin. "It was glorious," says Barbara, who works...

Corridor of love: Connecticut could tip the scales in favor of a marriage equality zone that stretches from Vermont to New Jersey--but how will the decision sway voters in California?(NEWS)
November 18, 2008... Newly energized by the October decision by the Connecticut supreme court, gay rights advocates in New York and New Jersey are predicting a new East Coast "marriage equality zone," which could soon stretch from Vermont to New Jersey. "It...

The resurrection of Harvey Milk: on the 30th anniversary of his death, and with the new Gus Van Sant biopic bearing his name, Harvey Milk is bigger than ever. As movie audiences nationwide reflect on the man who was, one can't help but wonder about the man who might have been. What if Milk hadn't been murdered?(Cover story)
November 18, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] CLEVE JONES HAS A CLEAR MEMORY from the day his mentor was gunned down in San Francisco's City Hall in 1978. "In my heart, I believed the gay rights movement was over," he says. But by the time the sun had set that...

Charity case: when you're shopping around this coming holiday season for the perfect present, go light on the pocketbook and feed your conscience instead.
November 18, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] T-shirts That Give Back Christian Siriano's "Fierce Equality" Tee Project Runway winner Christian Siriano has cornered the market on all things fierce. Buy into the cult with this 100% organic-cotton shirt, designed...

Coming out but canceled: Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Tom Lenk had it all figured out--he'd announce he's gay just as his first on-screen same-sex kiss aired on Fox's new series Do Not Disturb. But the network had different plans.(TV)
November 18, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] TOM LENK held several great reasons to come out. Beloved by Buffy the Vampire Slayer viewers for his role as the ambiguously gay geek Andrew, Lenk recently scored a gig on the Fox sitcom Do Not Disturb as the...

The hardest job in show business: documentarian John Roecker gives voice to the stories, stars, and scandalous secrets of the gay skin trade.(TELEVISION)(Interview)
November 18, 2008... "I heard this story when I was a kid that American Indians wouldn't get photographed because they were afraid of getting their souls taken away," says out filmmaker John Roecker, best known for his 2006 stop motion-animated indie Live Freaky!...

He sees dead people: Director Bruce LaBruce on his new gay zombie film, the corporate takeover of culture, and--of course--sex.(FILM)(Interview)
November 18, 2008... WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE about a film that could be summed up as "He's 18. He's cute. He's dead"--a film whose credits include characters identified as "Lascivious Ballet Dancer #9," "Orgy Zombie #5," and "Yummy Boy Eating Ice Cream Cone"? ...

Where the boys were: what do 20-something gays think of the vintage film The Boys in the Band, just released on DVD? One guess ...(DVD)(Video recording review)
November 18, 2008... THE OPENING SHOTS of The Boys in the Band show a man getting ready for a party. His bathroom counter isn't visible beneath the clutter of creams, lotions, face masks--even makeup. He fusses over his hairline, then takes out a fancy silk scarf...

The shy one: Tracy Chapman reveals little of herself in her work--and that's the best thing she can do for her music.(Our Bright Future)(Sound recording review)
November 18, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] TRACY CHAPMAN Our Bright Future ATLANTIC DOING PR FOR TRACY CHAPMAN is either a cakewalk or the toughest gig in showbiz. On one hand, her publicists have to deal with a client so notoriously shy she...

Arthur Russell: Love Is Overtaking Me.(MUSIC PICKS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
November 18, 2008... ARTHUR RUSSELL Love Is Overtaking Me AUDIKA [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sublime, previously unreleased folk and country songs by the late composer and disco innovator, as featured in the 2008 film festival hit Wild Combination.

The Barry Sisters: Our Way.(MUSIC PICKS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
November 18, 2008... THE BARRY SISTERS Our Way REBOOT STEREOPHONIC [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Contemporary hits of the day ("Mame," "My Way," "Cabaret") got a Yiddish makeover on this newly reissued 1973 cult classic by the Jewish answer to the...

Keri Hilson: In a Perfect World ...(MUSIC PICKS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
November 18, 2008... KERI HILSON In a Perfect World... INTERSCOPE [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "It Girl" Hilson has delivered hits for Britney Spears and Timbaland. Now, with this polished yet edgy R&B set, the singer-songwriter steps into the...

Heartbreak: Lies.(MUSIC PICKS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
November 18, 2008... HEARTBREAK Lies LEX [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Heartbreak and Lies--sounds like an episode of The Hills. Sure enough, this British electropop duo is just as vapid, shiny, and shamelessly fun.