The hiatus is ended

Yes. I have returned. Look for some new blogs in the next coming months, starting later tonite.

WinterPride (a.k.a. Pride in the Park), here in my native Tampa, received little to no media coverage following its events this weekend. Even the normally progressive *tbt tabloid didn't mention it.

Don't Ask Don't Tell Discriminates!

This got me pissed, and I had to push back a blog in progress:



How, tell me how, "Grand Ole Party" candidates, can you say that the current policy on gays in the military keeps "group cohesion"? How can you look in the face of a man who served along side his comrades for FORTY YEARS , and basically say "you're service only meant something because you did it while closeted."

How do you tell Eric Alva that he is a hero when he was wounded, but openly reject his push to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell?"

Yes, many who join the armed forces are conservatives, who hold certain ideals, and maybe they might not be initally comfortable with the idea. But you know what? Sixty years ago, when Truman ordered the Armed Forces integrated, not everyone was keen on the idea. But eventually, they had to learn to get along.

In my last post I mentioned the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index. Every year, a tremendous amount of new companies are added to the list, or improving their scores. More and more private businesses are reaching out to the GLBT people. But sadly, the government is falling far behind on the road of progress.

Lance Bass tells his story

Lance Bass is mostly remembered in two ways: 1.) That guy in NSYNC who wasn’t Justin Timberlake, and 2.) That gay guy who used to be in NSYNC. A few more observant people may also remember he tried to go into space. With Justin’s solo career soaring, and a reunion highly unlikely, Bass is now scrambling to prove he, too, is relevant. Or at least more so than this guy.


So he wrote a book.


“Out of Sync” chronicles Bass’ early life in Mississippi to his present day coming out, with a dash of hope for the future. The bulk of the book (and by that I mean two chapters, since the book only runs about 200 pages) focuses on his time with NSYNC, which he annoyingly refers to as “the band” and its members as “musicians”, although none of them ever played an instrument onstage.


Bass isn’t a great writer. Adverbs abound, and nary a paragraph passes that doesn’t include an exclamation point. He does write very simply, however. This benefit’s the reader when Bass tells of the group’s legal problems with ex-manager Lou Pearlman, putting complicated issues with the music business and the law into something the reader can understand.
But I’m left with the feeling Bass doesn’t share a sense of personal responsibility for his misfortunes. His first attempt at producing and starring in his own movie, On The Line, failed miserably in the box office. He blames the release date’s proximity to 9/11.
He also failed to come out to his mom in a timely manner, and she instead found out by reading it on the internet after he was seen club hopping with reality star Reichen Lehmkuhl.
But his biggest disappointment is the disbanding of N’Sync, which he claims he was completely unprepared for. He says he ran out of time to secure funding for the space mission because he believed they were supposed to begin recording. Timberlake, he says, postponed the group indefinitely, before leaving altogether, and leaving Bass jobless.

Buying Power

The Human Rights Campaign has just released its 2008 Buyer's Guide. The Guide is based on the HRC Consumer Equality Index, which ranks companies based on their LGBT friendly policies, such as domestic partner benefits, anti-discrimination rules, etc.
Equality isn’t always about voting and marches. We can make a difference just by choosing who we give our money to.

Proud to Be a Poofter

So apparently the state of Virginia is offended by this guy's license plate. What’s most striking to me about this column is it took them ELEVEN YEARS to determine that “Poofter” (a British slang term, apparently the equivalent of “fag” [incidentally, also a British slang term] over there) is possibly offensive.
This raises the question: Can you really be offensive if you are describing yourself?! I mean, black people use a modified form of the n-word in their speech and music. Gay culture is obviously worthy of a little self-mocking of its own (or else I wouldn't have a blog).
And another question: is “Poofter” even considered an offensive term? I mean, if I was walking down the street, and someone shouted “Poofter!” at me, I’d probably wonder what the hell they were talking about, until I read this article.
Apparently, Virginia taxpayers are going to be paying for the state to challenge this guy, because he intends to take it to the next level. At least Florida wastes its taxpayer dollars on things that appeared useful at the time.

Power To The People

Sorry about the long post delay. Mid-Terms and whatnot. So let's get right to it:

Yesterday was election night. In St. Petersburg, Democratic city council candidate Gershom Faulkner, who famously made some unfriendly comments about gay people, was defeated by Wengay Newton, despite Faulkner’s endorsement by the St. Pete Times.
After the comments, GLBT friends of mine campaigned vigorously against Faulkner. Although voter turnout was low (a pitiful nine percent), Newton’s victory shows that getting out in the streets and being active does make a difference.

National Coming Out Day 2007

(For once, a happy blog):

Today University of South Florida and several groups such as the PRIDE Alliance, SAFE Zone, and Multicultural Club helped host this year's National Coming Out Day.

There was live music:

A table to make bracelets:

Which I did:

The real draw (besides free pizza and cookies) seemed to be the spray painting table. All you had to bring was a plain shirt, and you could decorate it however you liked, or let one of the people manning the table do it for you:

Not everyone who attended was GLBT. Several were "allies" (friends and supporters of Gay and Lesbians):

I did my own T-Shirt. The back turned out better(Yeah, I put it up on my wall...and?) After some speeches, there was music and dancing:

The day went fairly well, despite the heat, and the diversity of people really re-enforced the message of the event: