July 2010 Archives

"Gaby and Mando walking through the park, looking for love in protection of the dark

"Club Cobra, a temple in the night, the more I hear of Morrissey, the more I feel alright"

Those lyrics are from the Ozomatli song "Gay Vatos in Love" found on the group's new CD, "Fire Away."  The track addresses politics, sexuality and Latino pop culture.

The song was influenced by the height of California's Prop. 8 debate and while one of the Ozomatli members wrote music for an indie film project about a Mexican-American gay gangster, according to a La Plaza article.

"Gay Vatos in Love" also mentions Angie Zapata, the 18-year-old transgender woman in Colorado who was killed in 2008 by a sexual partner who learned she had male genitalia. Zapata's killer was convicted last year of murder and a bias-motivated hate crime, according to published reports.  

The song challenges comfort levels among some fans of the Los Angeles-based iconic fusion band, singer Raul Pacheco said in an interview with La Plaza.

"I think people get confused. They don't know where we're coming from. Some people ask, especially in the Spanish press, Who's gay in the band? So there's an assumption there," he said.

But "For us, it's a bigger issue," Pacheco said. "We felt that (LGBT rights) is just another inn a long line of underdogs, so I think we connected to it on that level. It was totally natural for us to take that stance."

Click here to read the full article, and click here to buy the song on the Ozomatli's Website

Sonoma County has agreed to pay $600,000 to settle a lawsuit by an elderly gay man who said social workers kept him from seeing his dying partner in the hospital, according to an Associated Press article in the San Jose Mercury News.

Clay Greene, 78, of Guerneville, filed a lawsuit earlier this year, claiming the county's Public Guardian program discriminated against him because of his sexual orientation.

Greene accused social workers of denying him hospital visitation rights to see his partner, Harold Scull, despite signed wills, medical declarations and powers of attorney naming each other as spouses. The couple was not married nor registered as domestic partners, according to the article.

The lawsuit also alleged after Scull's death, social workers forced Greene into a nursing home and sold the couple's property, including art and heirlooms.

The county's lawyer, Gregory Spaulding, denied the discrimination claims but admitted mistakes in selling the couple's property, according to the article.

Click here to read the full story.

Over the decades, a handful of television shows ("The Brady Bunch," "Bewitched," "The Cosby Show," "MASH," "The Partridge Family," among them) have found a lasting place in the heart of American culture. Thanks to the vision of Jeff Mullen, those beloved programs enjoy a second life as something else near and dear to America's heart - X-rated movies, according to an article on the Website Brand X Daily.

X-rated versions of hit Hollywood films are nothing new -- remember "Edward Penishands," "Good Will Humping," or "Raiders of the Lost Arse" -- but Mullen (who writes, produces, directs, markets and composes soundtracks under the nom de porn Will Ryder for his company X-Play) has created his own niche within the classic TV genre. And the quality goes in before the name goes on, Mullen says in the article.

"The film parodies were generally a loose take on the subject. They never really took it past the title of the movie," says Mullen, whose next release, "Not MASH XXX," is due out August 10th. "They never went at it with the same artistic eye that we do. We really wanted to recreate the TV experience of the viewer, and that's something porn hasn't done before. Just because it's porn, there's no reason it should be substandard. It has to be Hollywood-good."

Click here to read the full article.

(Photo: "Not the Bradys  XXX," X-Play)

The South Bay Center holds a yard sale tomorrow and Sunday from 7 a.m. to noon at its office, 16610 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance.

Frank Grissel is an aging, hard-knuckled, morally ambiguous private eye struggling with his closeted sexuality.

He's the lead character in "Fogtown," a noir graphic novel about Grissel's temptation, damnation and redemption, set in the ferocious and filthy underworld of 1953 San Francisco.

The book, which will be officially released Aug. 10 (but available in comic book stores Wednesday), is written by Andersen Gabrych and illustrated by Bradley Rader, whose original artwork is drawn in black-and-white pen and ink.

That style emulates 1950s comic book drawings with influences of Russ Heath and EC Comics artists Jack Davis and Wally Wood.

Some of Rader's original pen-and-ink "Fogtown" illustrations are on display through Sept. 4 at San Pedro's Flazh! Alley Studio, 1113 S. Pacific Ave. Because the gallery is dedicated to erotic and adult-themed work, all visitors must be 18 or older.

The exhibit also includes several stage drawings, revealing Rader's creative process in achieving the final images for "Fogtown."

Rader will attend public receptions and sign copies of "Fogtown" Thursday and Sept. 2 from 7 to 11 p.m. Copies of "Fogtown" will be available for purchase on those days.

Rader also has a book signing Aug. 11 at The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach, 1807 Manhattan Beach Blvd..

Click here to read the full article.

(Illustrations by Bradley Rader, from the graphic novel "Fogtown")

Ellen DeGeneres is leaving "American Idol" after one season as a judge for the hit Fox TV singing contest, according to an Associated Press article.

Looking for an update on LGBT civil rights issues?

Attorneys discuss the latest developments in gay marriage, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and immigration at "The Gathering," a quarterly meeting hosted by the Long Beach Community Business Network.

The free event takes place 3-5 p.m. Saturday at The Paradise Piano Bar & Restaurant, 1800 E. Broadway, Long Beach.

The attorneys also will highlight the recent Massachusetts case where Judge Joseph L. Tauro ruled the federal Defense of Marriage law violates the Constitutional right of married same-sex couples to equal protection under the law and upends the federal government's long history of allowing states to set their own marriage laws.

For more information, 562-590-0808 or ped4321@aol.com.

Palm Springs police will no longer use decoys on so-called lewd conduct enforcement operations, acknowledging  "there's a better way to do things," Police Chief David Dominguez said Tuesday, according to Palm Spring's The Desert Sun.

The conduct by undercover decoys during the a sex-sting operation last summer - including one officer using a gay slur - is a key point of contention in the dispute between police and members of the LGBT community.

The policy changes about lewd public conduct include putting more officers in marked police vehicles and working with business owners and hotel operators to warn visitors about the consequences of illegal public conduct, according to the article.

Mayor Steve Pougnet said, "the chief's action items are a step in the right direction," but Richard Dittbenner, a part-time Palm Springs resident and former consultant for the California Commission on Police Officer Standards and Training, said he still doesn't understand the police's conduct, including the gay slur, especially in a city with such a large LGBT community, including three openly gay City Council members.

"When officers behave in the way that these officers seemed to behave ... it highlights that they felt comfortable to make the comments they did -- knowing full well they were going to be taped -- and I think that shows a breakdown in training and leadership," Dittbenner said, according to the article.

Click here to read the full article.

(Photo: The Desert Sun file photo)

This isn't a blasphemous rumor.

Her she comes, Miss America - and she steadfastly supports an LGBT platform. Audiences might hear those words if Claire Buffie is America's next beauty queen.

Delegates at the world AIDS forum in Vienna on Tuesday cheered South African scientists, who announced a breakthrough in the quest for a vaginal cream to protect women from HIV, according to an AFP article via Yahoo! News. 

In a packed hall, researchers, policymakers and activists gave three standing ovations to a presentation of trial data some hailed as "one of the greatest trials in the history of HIV" and the 29-year war on AIDS.

The prototype is the first microbicide gel to offer a strong degree of protection against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

If confirmed, the work will open up a new front in a war that has destroyed more than 25 million lives and cast a dark shadow over 33 million people infected by HIV, according to the article.

Constance McMillen, the Mississippi teen who wanted to attend prom with her girlfriend only to see it cancelled in response, pauses to be photographedbefore President Barack Obama delivers remarks during a LGBT Pride Month event at the White House, Tuesday, June 22, 2010 in Washington

A rural-Mississippi school district that canceled its prom rather than allow a lesbian student to attend with her girlfriend has agreed to pay $35,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit the ACLU filed on her behalf, according to an Associated Press article via Yahoo! News.

The district also agreed to follow a non-discrimination policy as part of the settlement, though it argues such a policy was already in place. The ACLU, however, contends if the district really had such an inclusiveness policy all along, it wouldn't have banned same-sex prom dates

Constance McMillen, 18, said the victory came at the price of her being shunned in her small hometown of Fulton, Miss., according to the article.

"I knew it was a good cause, but sometimes it really got to me. I knew it would change things for others in the future and I kept going and I kept pushing," McMillen said in an interview Tuesday.

Click here to read the full article.

(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

For the first time in research history, a vaginal gel has been proven to block the HIV virus. A woman's chances of getting HIV from an infected partner were cut by 50 percent in a South African study, according to an Associated Press article.

Palm Springs decades old reputation as a welcoming oasis for gays and lesbians has been tarnished following a sting last summer where at least 20 gay men were arrested for soliciting public sex with undercover officers and booked for indecent exposure, a charge requiring them to register as sex offenders for life upon conviction, according to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle.

A Ventura County Superior Court judge on Wednesday denied a request for a continuance in the trial of Brandon McInerney, the Oxnard teenager accused of shooting and killing Lawrence King, a gay classmate, at school two and a half years ago, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Key House of Representative lawmakers and an array of 37 advocacy groups convened a press conference Thursday on Capitol Hill supporting inclusion of LGBT families in the comprehensive immigration reform effort, according to The Advocate.com.

Sue Sylvester struck a pose for Madonna in an homage to "Vogue" and the Material Girl earlier this year in an episode of "Glee." Now Sylvester has struck a pose in a tribute to herself.

From the people who created Cut&Paste Rock & Roll, comes Amplify.

It's a queer open mike night for musicians, writers, poets and comedians at DiPiazza's, 5205 E. Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach,  8-9 p.m. July 21.

Admission is free for anyone 21 and older with ID and $5 for everyone else.

Wanna-be Performers can sign up at DiPiazza's or in advance here.

If the event goes well, more open mike nights will be scheduled, said Annie Parkhurst, a cofounder of the  AMP Organization, a Long Beach-based LGBT artists advocacy group, which organized the open mike night.

Parkhurst also helped spawn Cut&Paste Rock & Roll, a local music and arts festival featuring a variety of queer bands and artists.

Out & About Long Beach hosts a fundraiser Wednesday following the Long Beach Municipal Band concert in Los Cerritos Park.

The concert commences at 6:30 p.m. and the "Tacky Tiki Event" party starts at 7:30 at Kevin Daly's home. Wine, pine coladas and mai tais, sodas and appetizers will be provided.

Admission is $15 per person and RSVP is required. Click here  or here to attend.

Out & About Long Beach is a social and networking club for the LGBT community.

This year's fundraiser beneficiaries are the AIDS Food Store of Long Beach, The
Center's Mentoring Youth Through Empowerment program and Dana
Branch Library's after school tutoring program.


Out & About Long Beach also will host fundraisers after band concerts July 21 and July 28 and Aug. 4 and 11.

Cal State Long Beach assistant professor of communications Ragan Fox, who is openly gay, is one of 13 house guests on the CBS competition series "Big Brother," whose 12th season began Thursday, with a new twist.

"I will use my gayness for good and evil," said Fox, a 34-year-old West Hollywood resident who is also a performance artist and poet.

Not sure what that quote means. It was part of a City News Service article, and OUT in the 562 didn't have a chance to speak with Fox, who is sequestered from the media while he is on "Big Brother."

Apart from his professing, Fox has published two books, 2009's "Exile in Gayville" and 2004's "Heterophobia" (Both works are for sale on Amazon.com.), and has a Podcast.

Check out Fox's Website for more information on his curricular and extra-curricular activities.

(Photo: Sonja Flemming/CBS)

Melissa Etheridge's former girlfriend, Tammy Lynn Michaels, has filed legal documents seeking full custody of their twin children, according to tmz.com.
 
Michaels, 35, filed her paperwork after Etheridge, 49 and a former Long Beach resident, went to court in Los Angeles July 2 to file a petition for dissolution of the domestic partnership the two entered into in 2005, seeking joint custody of the couple's 3-year-old twins and for the court to award Michaels no spousal support, according to omg!.

Michaels' has gone a step further, asking for full legal and physical custody, according to tmz.com.

Michaels carried the twins to term after being impregnated by an anonymous sperm donor.

Just like Etheridge, Michaels says "irreconcilable differences" is the reason to end their partnership. Michaels also seeks spousal support, according to tmz.com.

The couple announced in April they were ending the 9-year relationship they sealed with a
lavish commitment ceremony in 2003.

Tammy Lynn Michaels, Melissa Etheridge's ex, has been using her blog, Hollywood Farm Girl, to dish her side of the split since the couple announced in April they were ending the 9-year relationship they sealed with a lavish commitment ceremony in 2003, according to the Yahoo gossip site omg!

Michaels, 35, started spilling the beans after Etheridge, 49, went to court in Los Angeles Friday to file a petition for dissolution of the domestic partnership the two entered into in 2005, seeking joint custody of the couple's 3-year-old twins and for the court to award Michaels no spousal support, according to omg!.

Michaels responded on Saturday with two blog posts, "blindsiding" and "no such thing as privacy, I guess? so okay." Read them here.





(Melissa Etheridge (left) and Tammy Lynn Michaels at a Beverly Hills film screening June 26, 2007)
(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images Entertainment)

Latrice Sutton, the mother of missing 25-year-old Mitrice Richardson, has filed a negligence and wrongful death lawsuit against Los Angeles County and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Scissor Sisters announced dates for their North American tour today. The band will raise the roof at the Hollywood Palladium Sept. 11. Tickets are $35 and go on sale Friday.

DJ Alex Acosta spins his trademark tribal beats and pulsating rhythms at clubs south of the border.

But Sunday night will be the first time the Mexico-based producer-remixer deejays a party where clubgoers will drop their pants. It's also his Los Angeles debut.

Acosta will be behind the decks at Club Papi's "Drop Your Pants and Dance" July 4 party at The Factory, 652 N. La Peer Drive, in West Hollywood. Revelers are encouraged - but not required - to leave all their clothes, except shoes, socks and skivvies, at coat check and dance to Acosta's rump shaking circuit music. 

The club is open 10 p.m.-4 a.m. for clubbers 21 and over with ID. Admission is $15.

The C.A.R.E. Program hosts a kickoff party to its annual dining fundraiser at Claire's, the restaurant at the Long Beach Museum of Art.

The C.A.R.E. (Comprehensive AIDS Resources and Education) Program at St. Mary Medical Center is the largest, not-for-profit HIV care provider in the Long Beach area.

The event, 3-6 p.m. July 11, includes free hors d'oeuvres and drinks and a free touring of the Museum. Space is limited. RSVP by July 2 to Robert Stohr, 562-624-4905.

Tickets at the door without an RSYP are $10. The Museum is located at 2300 E. Ocean Blvd.

At the kickoff party, guests will be asked to sign up to dine at one of 30 restaurants supporting C.A.R.E. to Dine 2010 on Aug. 12th. Participating restaurants have agreed to donate at least 20 percent of that day's proceeds to the C.A.R.E. The money will be used to purchase food and food vouchers for qualified clients of the program.