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

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

Coming to America.(TV)(David Walliams and Matt Lucas are exporting Little Britain show for HBO)(Brief article)
October 7, 2008... David Walliams and Matt Lucas, the creative forces behind the hit U.K. show Little Britain, are exporting their genius stateside for HBO. The duo have strived to make "gay" part of the joke and not the punch line. Be the judge on whether their...

The best new aids drugs.(HEALTH)(Pfizer's Selzentry and Merck's Isentress )(Brief article)
October 7, 2008... The Food and Drug Administration's recent approval of Pfizer's Selzentry and Merck's Isentress couldn't come at a better time--the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in August that new HIV cases in the U.S. have been underestimated...

Dancing with Lance.(TV)(Lance Bass joins Dancing With the Stars)(Brief article)
October 7, 2008... After all the speculation regarding the sender of his dance partner, Lance Bass joins the hit ABC show Dancing With the Stars with a female counterpart--and it won't be Cloris Leachman. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

A true pioneer.(FROM THE EDITOR)
October 7, 2008... I'M A PRETTY FORTUNATE GUY. On my first day on the job at The Advocate, I flew to San Francisco to attend Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon's wedding "reception." I use the quotes not because theirs wasn't a real wedding. Quite the opposite. These...

Obama and gay equality.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
October 7, 2008... Just read your article "Should You Believe in Obama?" [September 9]. Michael Joseph Gross makes some valid points concerning Obama's less-than-complete support of some gay issues, but I would ask any gay voters if they think that McCain--who...

Corey for President.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
October 7, 2008... Your September 9 "Pie-in-the-Sky Presidency?" which listed potential LGBT contenders for the White House for the next 24 years, omitted my favorite candidate. Corey Johnson came out several years ago to his high school football teammates and...

When do you think the U.S. will elect a gay president?(THE ADVOCATE POLL)(Brief article)
October 7, 2008... "Roughly speaking, the U.S. of A. will elect a gay or lesbian president when hell freezes over!" "There will probably be a closet case in the White House in my lifetime, but not an openly gay person." "We already elected a gay...

I'll take the girlfriend.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
October 7, 2008... Lindsay Lohan has a long history of being with women; the public just isn't paying attention ["F4M? F4F? WTF!" September 9]. I never knew Lohan was considered an anti-celebutard; if anything, she's proven herself the prototype. Samantha Ronson...

Inciting violence.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
October 7, 2008... The gay people who think Bob Garfield is off-base in his complaint must falsely think that violence against gays is (a) something from the past and (b) can never happen to them ["Gay-Baiting Ads Get Their Due," September 9]. I've grown up...

Shooting down dadt.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
October 7, 2008... Conn Corrigan's short article on gays in the military does not mention that thousands of gay people have been fired ["Ma'am, Would You Care for Some Facts With That?" September 9]. So we are prohibited from careers because of homophobia by the...

The joke bombed.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
October 7, 2008... As a proud member of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church whose partner was there during the shooting, I'm sorry to see the same kind of hatred directed toward Jim Adkisson and the undifferentiated "right" as has been directed...

Correction.(FEEDBACK)(Correction notice)
October 7, 2008... In our September 9 story "Ma'am, Would You Like Some Facts With That?" researcher Gary Gates, formerly with the Urban Institute, should have been identified as working with the Williams Institute.

Out on the street.(FEEDBACK)(Brief article)
October 7, 2008... We asked a sampling of LGBT people in Durham, N.C.: "how out are you at work?" [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dale Mackey, 37 meeting planner at North Carolina State University "Everyone knows I'm gay. But I work for a university. I...

A legend in her time: will Del Martin's legacy remain intact after November 4?(Forward)(Brief article)
October 7, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] CIVIL RIGHTS PIONEER DEL MARTIN "had no patience for lengthy homages to her contributions," recalls Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Kendell first met Martin and her spouse,...

Diving for dollars: sizing up the financial future of gay gold medalist Matthew Mitcham.(Forward)(Brief article)
October 7, 2008... ALL THE WORLD fell in love when diver Matthew Mitcham won gold at the Olympics in Beijing. And who could blame them? The blond 20-year-old Australian is incredibly charming. After the first rush of winning gold, most athletes look forward...

Transitioning into Corporate America: a new resource hopes to prove transgender and employed aren't mutually exclusive terms.(Forward)(Brief article)
October 7, 2008... ALLY HOWELL COVERS HER BILLS by teaching online law classes, but the highly educated 59-year-old would prefer steady work at a company she can be confident won't fire her for her gender identity. Right now she can't even get her foot in a...

Blank page: of the 88 papers in California that publish wedding announcements, only one refuses to include gay celebrations.(Forward)(Lodi News Sentinel)(Brief article)
October 7, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Before The New York Times ran its first same-sex wedding announcement in 2002, the practice of newspapers listing gay civil unions or commitment ceremonies was virtually unheard of. Now, according to the Gay and...

Hearing unimpaired: Janice Dickinson's newest male model is adorable, gay--and deaf.(DOSSIER)(Martin Ritchie)(Interview)
October 7, 2008... MARTIN RITCHIE WAS JUST 16 when he moved to Los Angeles from his hometown of Austin four years ago. On a mission to follow his heart, Ritchie says he wasn't about to let his gayness-or deafness-hold him back from discovering his true path,...

By the numbers: bright lights, big disease.(Forward)(HIV infections)(Brief article)
October 7, 2008... HIV is spreading through New York City at a terrifying rate- three times the national average-according to 2006 numbers released August 27 by the New York City health department. The source of the new infections is clear, according to Beth...

Stephanie Tubbs Jones.(DIED)(Obituary)(Brief article)
October 7, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Stephanie Tubbs Jones, 58, of a brain hemorrhage, August 20, in East Cleveland, Ohio. The first African-American congresswoman from Ohio, Jones was also a vocal supporter of gay rights. She repeatedly voted against...

Leo Abse.(DIED)(Obituary)(Brief article)
October 7, 2008... Leo Abse, 91, after a short illness, August 19, in London. As a member of the United Kingdom's parliament for nearly 30 years, Abse was a champion of liberal causes, including gay rights. Abse was well-known in his native country for helping to...

Regent Media's acquisition.(FINALIZED)(Regent Media's acquisition of PlanetOut's magazine and book publishing businesses)(Brief article)
October 7, 2008... Regent Media's acquisition of PlanetOut's magazine and book publishing businesses, August 25. Regent Media, which operates the here! television network, announced its intention to purchase many of PlanetOut's marquee brands-including The...

Bertrand Delanoe.(RUNNING)(Bertrand Delanoe is running for leadership of France's divided Socialist Party)(Brief article)
October 7, 2008... Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe, for leadership of France's divided Socialist Party, announced on August 26. Paris's gay mayor, who won a second term in March by a landslide, will compete against six other contenders in his party's November...

A grant of $1.2 million.(DONATED)(National Gay Task Force recieves a grant of $1.2 million from Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund)(Brief article)
October 7, 2008... A grant of $1.2 million, to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and five partner organizations, by the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund. The money will be used to increase the number of churches that are welcoming and affirming to LGBT...

All you never learned in kindergarten: here's your chance to bone up on the gay history they didn't teach in school.(Forward)(Brief article)
October 7, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ASK A TEENAGER about Stonewall, and--if you don't get a dumbfounded look in return--he's likely to tell you about a Confederate general. That's because, unlike the Civil War, gay history isn't taught in most schools....

Rants & raves.(Forward)
October 7, 2008... "I'm looking for... incredible passion and honest love, and if that's with a girl, a guy, a guy that dresses like a girl... all I really operate on is the way I feel in my heart when it comes to love." --Danity Kane member and Hairspray...

Datebook 09.23-10.07.(Forward)(Calendar)
October 7, 2008... SEPTEMBER 27-JULY 26 The coasts don't own American fashion. "Chic Chicago; Treasures from the Chicago History Museum" highlights Gilded Age and modern couture worn by some of the Second City's most glamorous denizens. CHICAGOHISTORY.ORG...

One-two punch: how lone blogger Andy Towle and his thousands of readers took on religious fanatics and brought online giant Manhunt to its knees.(MEDIA)
October 7, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "I'M NORMALLY not a very opinionated blogger," says Andy Towle. But during the lazy days of August, at least two things seriously pissed off the mild-mannered Web pioneer. Combined, the instances positioned Towle as...

Mr. Smith goes to Washington: but will anyone follow? How one man on two wheels who has a passion for all things green aims to spawn a bevy of eco queers.(ENVIRONMENT)(Blake Smith)
October 7, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHEN 38-YEAR-OLD event coordinator Blake Smith Googled the words gay and green, he says the only links that popped up were ads for green Speedos and a green T-shirt with a rainbow flag on it. "We've done a lot for so...

Friends with benefits: what's a little make-believe romance between acquaintances?(Column)
October 7, 2008... "THAT'S HIM," Matty says through gritted teeth. "He's right behind you." Without hesitating, I seize Matty's torso, push him against the bathroom wall, and shove my tongue into his mouth. Matty melts into the kiss. I grind my crotch into his,...

The running mate: when Barack Obama tapped Delaware senator Joseph Biden to be his vice president, he made a good move for gay rights.
October 7, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AS ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED announcements in recent political history dragged into late August, there was no shortage of debate over whom Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama should choose as his running...

Gay reporter exposes affair, ruins political career! He may not be Woodward or Bernstein, but veteran National Enquirer reporter Rick Egusquiza knows how to take down a politician--John Edwards, in this case.(NEWS)
October 7, 2008... THERE'S A CERTAIN LIGHTNESS TO RICK EGUSQUIZA. You can see it in his West Coast hipster look-flip-flops and black-rimmed glasses--and his easy smile. It's a nice vibe, although hard to reconcile with the person whom so many celebrities-and one...

Why do "I do"? Poet and memoirist Mark Doty didn't want to marry his partner. Sure, they were in love and there were benefits to be had, but Doty was afraid that legal recognition might change his relationship. Then he reliazed that it's the other way around: that his union, and others like it, will likely change the institution of marriage--forever.(Cover story)
October 7, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I NEVER HAD THE LEAST DESIRE TO GET MARRIED. Since neither church nor state had ever been, to put it mildly, supportive of my relationships, why on earth should I want them involved? Like many gay men, I relished...

As Ellen goes, so goes the nation: when Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi got married in California in August, there were no protests, no career fallout, and no media backlash, just congratulations from all.
October 7, 2008... IT WAS AN ARCHETYPAL PEOPLE CELEBRITY WEDDING featuring two of the beautiful people, one in pants and the other in a gown, and a dreamy setting with flowers, champagne, candlelight, the whole romantic nine yards. No expense spared, no fabulous...

Get a job--and keep it! Gay-friendly employment policies and protections are of little solace if your company goes belly-up. So it's with today's tumultuous economy in mind that this year's profile of the country's most pro-gay companies focuses on the businesses with the best staying power. Whether your employer is one of the picks or not, it never hurts to check out your options.(BEST COMPANIES)
October 7, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] EIGHT YEARS AGO JAMES WAS AN ASPIRING WRITER fresh out of graduate school and hoped to secure a college teaching job. "But I didn't have a publishable book in me, which you need to secure a college-level position,"...

It's about the bottom line: the top 10 pro-gay--and financially stable--companies in the country.(List)
October 7, 2008... GOOGLE Mountain View, Calif. Financial snapshot: Second-quarter revenue for the Internet search engine giants stood at $5.4 billion, up 39% from the second quarter of 2007. Following in the footsteps of Ford, IBM, and General...

My sweet Lord: though he was eliminated in the first episode of the The Gospel Dream, singer Tony Sweet still hopes to make an impact--by coming out of the closet. God help him.(TV)
October 7, 2008... "IT'S A GOOD THING I wasn't straight," says Tony Sweet, a blond, blue-eyed gospel singer from Grenola, Kan. "I couldn't date any girls in town--they were all my cousins." The 38-year-old Sweet now lives in West Hollywood, where he works as a...

Dirty little secret: in her latest book, Abortion & Life, bisexual author and activist Jennifer Baumgardner has compiled the stories of 15 women who discuss one of their most personal moments--their abortions. In an excerpt from the book, singer Ani DiFranco shares her abortion story.(BOOKS)(Brief article)
October 7, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I WAS 15 WHEN MY SISTER asked me to help her find the money to get an abortion. And while she never regretted her decision, it became a part of her life she was scared to discuss. How would people react? Would they...

Not another gay movie: the follow-up to a successful 2006 satire, Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild aims to be even more outrageous and ends up losing its way.(Movie review)
October 7, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ANOTHER GAY SEQUEL: GAYS GONE WILD DIRECTED BY Todd Stephens STARRING Aaron Michael Davies, Jimmy Clabots, Jake Mosser, and Jonah Blechman TLA RELEASING WHEN ANOTHER GAY MOVIE came out two years ago...

30 Rock: Season Two.(DVD PICKS)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
October 7, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 30 ROCK: SEASON TWO UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINMENT Tina Fey's undisputed lesbian icon status aside, this sparkling second season contains the instant classic "Cougars," where the vulgar Frank felt...

Bigger, Stronger, Faster.(DVD PICKS)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
October 7, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BIGGER, STRONGER, FASTER MAGNOLIA HOME ENTERTAINMENT if the pressure to keep a buff bod has you looking to cut corners, check out this sharp documentary on the battle over steroids.

I Dreamt Under the Water.(DVD PICKS)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
October 7, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I DREAMT UNDER THE WATER TLA RELEASING When a lovelorn record store clerk realizes his male bandmate won't reciprocate his crush, he responds as any good French boy would and becomes a hustler.

Sex and the City: The Movie.(DVD PICKS)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
October 7, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SEX AND THE CITY: THE MOVIE WARNER HOME VIDEO After a brief (and lucrative) sojourn on the big screen for Carrie and company, the DVD release of the feature film puts the girls back where we want 'em--on our...

Shelter Me.(DVD PICKS)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
October 7, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SHELTER ME WOLFE VIDEO Rule of thumb: When a lesbian relationship is on the rocks, letting a sexy male refugee move in might not be a good idea.

A royal affair: the first full-length album from lesbian duo Yo! Majesty turns what could have been novelty into a hip-hop force to be reckoned with.(Sound recording review)
October 7, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] YO! MAJESTY Futuristically Speaking... Never Be Afraid DOMINO PICTURE THIS: an African-American lesbian Christian hip-hop duo that hails from Tampa, Fla. Sounds like something you might hear in a...

Rachael Yamagata: A Record in Two Parts ... Elephants and Teeth Sinking Into Heart.(MUSIC PICKS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
October 7, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] RACHAEL YAMAGATA A Record in Two Parts... Elephants and Teeth Sinking Into Heart WARNER BROS. A subtle voice and arresting presence stretched over two distinct "records"--one haunting, the other hard....

Morgan Geist: Double Night Time.(MUSIC PICKS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
October 7, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MORGAN GEIST Double Night Time ENVIRON Celestial, spun-sugar cosmic disco from the Metro Area mastermind. This is what club music sounds like after achieving nirvana.

Vivian Girls: Vivian Girls.(MUSIC PICKS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
October 7, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] VIVIAN GIRLS Vivian Girls IN THE RED Garage rock plus sweet vocal harmonies from three Brooklyn Ladies armed with gum-snapping, '60s girl group attitude and jangling guitars.

Jolie Holland: The Living and the Dead.(MUSIC PICKS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
October 7, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] JOLIE HOLLAND The Living and the Dead ANTI- The fourth album from this San Francisco-based chanteuse adds a Southwestern country-rock edge to her customary sepia-toned songs.

Of Montreal: Skeletal Lamping.(MUSIC PICKS)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
October 7, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] OF MONTREAL Skeletal Lamping POLYVINYL Indie-rock icon Kevin Barnes and his cross-dressing alter ego, Georgie Fruit, frolic through a dizzying program of 15 funk-infused vignettes.

Funny lady: SNL starlet Molly Shannon returns to the small screen in the American adaptation of the hit Australian show Kath & Kim.(BIG GAY FOLLOWING)(Saturday Night Live)(Interview)
October 7, 2008... BEST KNOWN FOR HER QUIRKY CHARACTERS like joyologist Helen Madden, Superstar spaz Mary Katherine Gallagher, and camel-toed quinquagenarian Sally O'Malley, Emmy-nominated Saturday Night Live veteran Molly Shannon mouths off on her latest role as...

Viva LuPone!(MUSIC)(Patti LuPone)(Brief article)
October 21, 2008... Fresh off her Tony award-winning turn as Mama Rose in the Broadway revival of Gypsy, Patti LuPone sits down to talk about her upcoming CD, Patti LuPone at Les Mouches, a digitally restored version of her legendary 1980 nightclub act. It's the...

Favorite uncle.(CULTURE)
October 21, 2008... Are gays the new grandmas, spoiling nieces and nephews right, left, and center as they compete to outdo their fellow homo uncles? Writer Brett Berk examines the role of the gay uncle as he becomes integrated into the family circle.

Coming out day 2008.(FIRST PERSON)
October 21, 2008... October 11 marks the 21st National Coming Out Day. Log on to learn about the history of the day, read coming-out stories of prominent gay people, and even share your own account.

Indulge me for a minute.(FROM THE EDITOR)
October 21, 2008... I'M A SENTIMENTAL GUY--the kind who rushes to hide his wet eyes after reading a Walt Whitman passage, the kind who still gets chills listening to Nanci Griffith on cassette. Yet, I sometimes find it a pointless endeavor to marvel at all the...

Body talk.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
October 21, 2008... Thank you for "The Naked Truth" [September 23]. This article is unlike anything I have ever seen in a gay publication. You have had the courage to show us in our beautiful diversity and in our shared humanity. As a photographer, I found each of...

Is the defeat of California's Prop. 8 worth it if Arizona's antigay Prop. 102 passes?(THE ADVOCATE POLL)(Brief article)
October 21, 2008... Is the defeat of California's Prop. 8 worth it if Arizona's antigay Prop. 102 passes? "California is the first 'big' state that has marriage equality, and as California goes, so goes the nation. So protecting marriage in California is the...

In good faith.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
October 21, 2008... I was very interested to read the article on the three states' ballot initiatives for this November ["For Arizona, Three's a Crowd," September 23]. Living in California and planning my own wedding right now, I have missed what is happening...

Not-so-safe sex.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
October 21, 2008... Every few years the idea surfaces of a card or pin that supposedly indicates someone is "STD free" or "HIV free" ["Safe Sex That's Just a Phone Call Away," September 23]. Not only does this reflect ignorance about STD transmission, it is...

Out on the Street.(FEEDBACK)(Brief article)
October 21, 2008... We asked a sampling of LGBT people in Salt Lake City: "Who would you rather see as first lady: Michelle Obama or Cindy McCain?" [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Jerold Burbank, 27 hotel manager "I don't like either of them. Cindy I...

Hill-bound? Jared Polis proves that Obama and Palin aren't the only ones vying for the history books on November 4.(Forward)(Barack Obama)(Sarah Palin)
October 21, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IT'S ANYONE'S GUESS whether we'll elect an African-American or a woman to the West Wing on November 4--but it looks like the year of change won't end at the White House. The openly gay population of Capitol Hill...

The closet as security risk: the National Security Agency courts openly gay employees.(Forward)(Brief article)
October 21, 2008... VISITORS TO THE National Security Agency in Fort Meade, Md., have to pass through three security gates to enter the premises. Should they need to use the restroom inside, an escort must accompany them to the latrine. Not only did Brian...

Cumming to America.(Forward)(Alan Cumming will take American citizenship test)(Interview)(Brief article)
October 21, 2008... Actor Alan Cumming's bedside reading these days consists not of a script but a history book. Cumming--a Scotsman who's been living in the United States for a decade--is brushing up on the Civil War so he can pass an American citizenship test....

Pray it forward.(Forward)(Table)
October 21, 2008... A candidate can't get elected without first professing love for God and country. The nominees for president and vice president are all churchgoing folk, but their denominations vary wildly on the subject of homosexuality: RELIGIOUS ...

San Francisco showdown: lesbian activist says HRC crushed her dissent--and broke her arm.(Forward)(Catherine Cusic)
October 21, 2008... CATHERINE CUSIC KNOWS what it's like to be booted out of a hotel--specifically, San Francisco's Westin St. Francis. Two decades ago Cusic was shown the door after participating in a raucous demonstration against hotel guest George H.W. Bush....

S'nuff said.(Forward)(Josh and Jasper and the Tale of Snoozefoxie)(Brief article)
October 21, 2008... In the book Josh and Jasper and the Tale of Snoozefoxie, a hedgehog-like creature--the Snoozefoxie--emerges out of a 6-year-old boy's nose to spark a love match between him and another boy. Oliver Robert's trippy picture book has become a...

The Village People.(HONORED)(Brief article)
October 21, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Village People, with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, September 12. Since composer Jacques Morali and producing partner Henri Belolo formed the flamboyant disco group in 1977, band members have changed...

Rent.(CLOSED)(Brief article)
October 21, 2008... The Broadway musical Rent, September 7, after 12 years and 5,124 performances. Jonathan Larson, who died of an aortic aneurism less than 48 hours before the show's first preview off-Broadway, wrote the music, book, and lyrics of the Tony-and...

Executive order.(UPHELD)(Brief article)
October 21, 2008... New York governor David Paterson's May 14 executive order requiring state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages performed outside the state, September 2, by the New York supreme court. The conservative Arizona-based group the Alliance...

Tad Mosel.(DIED)(Obituary)(Brief article)
October 21, 2008... Tad Mosel, 86, from cancer, August 24, in Concord, N.H. Mosel was a prolific writer best known for his work on live television dramas in the 1950s. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1961 for All the Way Home, his Broadway adaptation of James Agee's...

Datebook 10.07-10.21.(Forward)(Calendar)
October 21, 2008... OCTOBER 13-26 Corpus Christi, Terrence McNally's controversial play about a gay Jesus, makes it back to the New York stage, at the West Village's Rattlestick Playwright Theater. The show premiered 10 years ago in NYC--the day after Matthew...

Rants & raves.
October 21, 2008... "I think part of me would love to play a drag queen, just because it would be an excuse to wear loads of eye makeup." --Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe, in the October issue of Details [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Those are words rich...

The right hook: considering her woeful lack of experience with gay issues, what can we really expect from Sarah Palin?(POLITICS)
October 21, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHEN JOHN MCCAIN ANNOUNCED Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate in late August, the response was near-universal astonishment. With no foreign policy credentials, next to no national...

No country for black men: John McCain may put his country first, but has America earned that honor?(Column)
October 21, 2008... MAYBE IF I WASN'T KEENLY AWARE how black people came to be in the United States to begin with. Perhaps if this country's wealth hadn't come on the backs, labor, and lives of people who look like me. Maybe, just maybe, if all men and women in...

Trans panic in a Colorado town: by all accounts, Angie Zapata lived her life in the open, yet a killer claims that it was Zapata's decision to conceal her biological identity that sent him into an uncontrollable rage.(NEWS)(Greeley, Colorado)(Allen Ray Andrade)
October 21, 2008... In retrospect, it's sadly fitting that 18-year-old Angie Zapata's two favorite movies, A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story and Soldier's Girt, both end in death. On July 17, according to police, a 31-year-old man named Allen Ray Andrade...

Remembering Matthew: ten years after his brutal murder, those who knew him best--and those who learned of him only at the end--remember that week in October and reflect on the legacy of Matthew Shepard.
October 21, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1998, MATTHEW SHEPARD was found tied to a fence on the Wyoming prairie, barely alive, his skull fractured and his brain stem crushed. Comatose, he was taken first to a Laramie hospital, then...

The co$t of being gay: we all agree that sexual orientation isn't just about whom you sleep with but how much of your identity is tied up in the things you have to buy (not to mention the price you're willing to pay for them).(Cover story)
October 21, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Let's begin with a stipulation: It's difficult to write about one's personal spending without seeming like a snob or a communist, a sybarite or a Spartan. Some of the things I give money for will surely seem silly or...

Dollar for dollar: what does it really cost to live the high life?(Brief article)
October 21, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] You know the type: He owns a 1,400-square-foot two-bedroom condo in New York City ($2 million) and has a vacation house time-share in the Fire Island Pines ($4,500). He stocks up on new clothes at Barneys (Phillip...

Lost in translation: what's not gay about girl-on-girl comic book love? In Japan, everything. Caroline Ryder explores the elusive world of lesbian manga.(BOOKS)
October 21, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AMERICA'S APPETITE for all things Japanese is voracious-sushi, karaoke, Hello Kitty. In the past seven years our Nipponese fixation has turned toward manga, comic books that have a distinctive Asian aesthetic and are...

Narcissus enters the apocalypse: Anthony Goicolea earned a legion of fans and collectors for his homoerotic photo montages of adolescent boys at play. When he switched to photographing grim landscapes and family narratives, not everyone went along.(ART)
October 21, 2008... IF EVERY FICTION BEGINS IN TRUTH, artist-photographer Anthony Goicolea's reality is his appearance. Goicolea, 37, first made his mark posing for his own photographs as young boys (and occasionally girls) behaving badly in various settings. The...

Breaking the ice: the gay-themed film Breakfast With Scot is so mainstream, even the National Hockey League got behind it.(FILM)(Movie review)(Brief article)
October 21, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHEN BREAKFAST WITH SCOT premieres in limited release October 10, it will be something of a watershed moment. The film is a heartfelt comedy about a gay ex-Toronto Maple Leafs hockey player (Ed's Tom Cavanagh) and...

Back to the Planet: Season 5 of The L Word on DVD reminds us of the good old days.(DVD)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
October 21, 2008... Grab the remote and head for the couch because The L Word- The Complete Fifth Season is on its way. Think sex, dyke drama, gratuitous shots of Jennifer Beals in a tank top, and more sex... this is one season that benefits from the rewind and...

Paranoid Park.(DVD PICKS)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
October 21, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] PARANOID PARK IFC Before Milk enters the awards derby this fall, check out Gus Van Sant's preceding film, the tale of a disaffected (and gorgeous) teen skateboarder.

The Ultimate Matrix Collection.(DVD PICKS)
October 21, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE ULTIMATE MATRIX COLLECTION WARNER HOME VIDEO Over 100 commentaries, features, and documentaries make this 10-disc Matrix set inarguably definitive.