September 3, 2008
Anti-gay activists wowed by McCain’s pick
Republican John McCain’s campaign for the White House took a hard right turn last week, when the presumptive GOP nominee selected staunchly anti-gay Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate. Palin, 42, who’s only been governor of Alaska since 2006, supported Alaska’s constitutional ban on gay marriage and... Full Story
Editorial
With his choice last week of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate, Republican presidential candidate John McCain sent a clear signal to gays and lesbians. Take a hike, McCain said, with his actions if not his words. My Republican Party doesn’t need gay voters, he said, and doesn’t care about the rights of gay and lesbian... Full Story
The national 2008 National Radio Hall of Fame inductees (whose display is presently housed in Chicago’s Museum of Broadcast Communications) include the hate-mongering organization “Focus on the Family.” Since 1978 Focus on the Family has actively used the television and radio airwaves to promote hatred and discrimination directly ... Full Story
Freetime
A recent press release from the American Family Association claims McDonald’s promotes homosexuality. The AFA suggests that McDonald’s diversity training is designed to “train employees how to aggressively promote homosexuality within the company they work for, all the way to the corporate boardroom... Full Story
PISCES: It isn’t your job to tell others what to do. Their choices are their business. What you have in mind doesn’t coincide with their plans, but that doesn’t mean you have to break ties. Agreeing to disagree might be the best way to handle this. More
“Where In The World is Osama Bin Laden?” (The Weinstein Company Home Entertainment)—Father-to-be and documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock worries about how to keep his new baby safe in a world in which Osama Bin Laden is still on the loose. Presented in a pseudo video game format with a variety of special effects, Spurlock... Full Story
Back in the day: Moments in Chicago's GLBT history
Lend-A-Man Ltd., Chicago’s all-male residential cleaning and bartending service, announce an expansion of services to the gay community. According to owners Dem Hopkins and Chuck Hadly, the company will operate a combined temporary labor and job placement service, “the first all-gay employment service in Chicago,” in addition to... Full Story
CFP reviews 'Mark Meets Zeb: Texas Two-Step' & 'Non-stop'. Full Story
Freestyle: arts, entertainment & lifestyle
Chicago has long had a reputation as a great city for architecture, beginning with the early days of Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root at the turn of the last century. The Chicago Fire of 1871 had destroyed much of Chicago’s downtown, creating an opportunity for Chicago to start over using the... Full Story
Top of the ‘Line’: An interview with Bob Mould
With his new album “District Line” (Anti-), Bob Mould continues his return to more guitar-driven rock that began with 2005’s “Body of Song.” Mould, who played virtually all of the instruments on “District Line,” is once again joined by fellow music legend Brendan Canty on drums. The 10 songs range from heartbreaking ballads such as “Again... Full Story
Ever heard the saying, “Artist, heal thyself?”Maybe not, but artists and physicians have long advocated the power of art to heal aches of mind and body. There are those who would encourage a patient to devote herself to practicing an art form, believing that the struggle to create, the process of producing, is both inspiring and... Full Story
Uncommon Ground Devon, 1401 W. Devon, welcomes Naomi Ashley and Long Gone Lonesome Boys at 10 p.m. Call (773) 465-9801. More
The documentary “Young at Heart” was one of the sensations of the early summer movie season. In the film we were introduced to Bob Cilman, the music director of the senior citizen choral group known as the Young At Heart chorus, whose ages ranged from the 70s to the 90s. What distinguished them from other choruses (of any age) was... Full Story
“HIV: Hey, It’s Viral” (Beyondmedia Education)—Produced in partnership with Beyondmedia Education, Broadway Youth Center and About Face Youth Theatre, “HIV: Hey, It’s Viral” is a brief and informative educational short aimed at the youth market. Consisting of interviews with health educators Denise... Full Story
The corner of Lincoln and Clark, just across from Lincoln Park Zoo, is a primo location for a restaurant. It’s a wide storefront, set way back from the street, that allows for a sizable outdoor patio. A location between two major streets means easy public transportation. Parking is difficult, but not impossible. It’s a perfect spot for an... Full Story
Getting a mortgage in today’s market
It figures. Just as real estate prices become attractive enough to lure skittish buyers back to the rodeo, getting a mortgage has become more difficult than ever. The days of easy money are over, and for many would-be buyers it’s beginning to feel like one big, long hangover after years of good times... Full Story
News
OK—it took a few days but I finally figured out where John McCain’s going with this Sarah Palin VP thing.
See, I thought at first, “Well, wow, he really does think there’s enough glassy-eyed Bible-thumpers out there to win this election.” After all, they love Palin. None other than the Queen of John Birch Republicanism herself, Phyllis... Full Story
CPS considers school for GLBT students
A proposal recently submitted to Chicago Public Schools opens the possibility of a high school largely dedicated to GLBT students in the city.v The Greater Lawndale Little Village School for Social Justice has submitted a proposal for a Pride Campus to the CPS’ Office of New Schools. The proposal has been in development since Spring... Full Story
AIDS Run & Walk aims for $500,000
AIDS Foundation of Chicago is preparing for its 2008 AIDS Run & Walk Chicago Sept. 20 in Grant Park. Proceeds from the event benefit AFC’s grant-making programs. Last year’s event was AFC’s most successful Run & Walk—it raised about $408,000, according to Chris Matthews, director of fundraising events for AFC. “We started... Full Story
YPC youths hold block party on Halsted
GLBT youths listened to music, socialized and enjoyed pizza at a block party sponsored by Youth Pride Center and hosted at Pie Hole, just off Halsted at Roscoe, Aug. 26. The event gave members of YPC’s newest program, Code Red, a chance to talk about their goals. “Code Red is a group of young black men who’ve come together to... Full Story
Chicago AIDS activists aid Ugandan choir
Several Chicago-area AIDS services organizations were among those that came to the assistance of an African children’s choir that was robbed twice while visiting the area last week. The SIFA Africa Children’s Choir, made up of Ugandan youths ages 7-17 who have lost one or both of their parents to AIDS, was performing in Lawndale on the... Full Story
Friends and family members gather at 7 p.m. Sept. 27 at St. James Presbyterian Church, 6554 N. Rockwell, to celebrate the life of Carl Frazier. Rev. Stu Smith officiates, with a reception following the service. Frazier, 41, was found shot to death July 12 in Denver, where he had lived for less than a year following a job transfer with... Full Story
Douglas T. Willis—a complicated, garrulous individualist with a passion for foreign travel—died in his sleep at the age of 44, Aug. 13. He had been a long-term AIDS survivor (22 years). Douglas was known by some of his friends as “The Energizer Bunny.” After becoming gravely ill, he would miraculously recover; the following week... Full Story
Obama calls for end to anti-gay discrimination
GLBT Democrats left last week’s Democratic National Convention in Denver energized after the party’s presidential nominee, Ill. Sen. Barack Obama, called for an end to discrimination based on sexual orientation in his acceptance speech. “I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and... Full Story
California ponders weddings for gay inmates
SAN FRANCISCO—Now that same-sex couples can get married in California, state prison officials are trying to figure out what that means for gay inmates. No prisoners so far have sought to arrange weddings with same-sex partners since the California Supreme Court granted same-sex couples the right to wed as of mid-June, according to... Full Story
Longtime lesbian activist Del Martin dies at 87
SAN FRANCISCO—Del Martin, a pioneering lesbian rights activist who with her lifelong partner became a symbol for the movement to legalize gay marriage, died Aug. 27. She was 87. Martin died at a San Francisco hospital two weeks after a broken arm exacerbated her existing health problems, according to Kate Kendell, executive... Full Story
Californians oppose initiative
SACRAMENTO, Calif.—A majority of California voters oppose a ballot initiative to ban gay marriage, though they are evenly split on the practice itself, according to a poll released Aug. 27. The ballot question essentially asks voters to prohibit the practice of same-sex marriage, which was approved this year by the California Supreme... Full Story
MEXICO CITY—Gilberto Rincon Gallardo, a former socialist presidential candidate who gained respect in Mexico for defending the rights of the disabled, gays and other marginalized groups, died Aug. 30. He was 69. Rincon Gallardo, born with shortened arms as the result of a congenital birth defect, was the head of the National Council... Full Story
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—A gay advocacy organization has filed a federal lawsuit against Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford for refusing to allow city workers to hang Gay Pride Week banners. The suit said Langford’s actions violated the constitutional rights of Central Alabama Pride Inc., which sponsored the 20th annual Gay Pride Week in... Full Story
Opinion
The news last Wednesday that pioneer lesbian activist Del Martin had died came as a shock. Not because she wasn’t old. At 87, she was. But because she and her partner Phyllis Lyon have been creative forces in the gay liberation and women’s movements during all of my own long activist life—and back far earlier as well. They seemed... Full Story
I was there. I was on the floor of the Democratic National Convention when Barack Obama accepted the nomination in a thundering speech. I was there when the flags waved, when the fireworks exploded to the vibrant strings of movie music, when confetti was shot from an air gun and pushed by the wind... Full Story
Theater
There’s a disconnect for anyone in the audience awaiting the beginning of the Neo-Futurists’ newest play, “Fake Lake.” You’re not in a cozy air-conditioned theater, basking in warm iridescent house lights before they dim. Instead, you’re sitting on metal bleachers in a Chicago Park District natatorium, enveloped by humid air and... Full Story
As we enter into the home stretch of this crucial electoral season—as you read this, Election Day is less than nine weeks away—the presidency is clearly on everyone’s mind. Between now and Nov. 4, at least a half-dozen companies will roll out a wide-ranging bounty of plays concerning American politics. One of the earliest out of the... Full Story
A day in the life of Belfast city—that’s the ambitious aim of this suitably sprawling, industriously scattershot 2003 drama by Ulster playwright Owen McCafferty. Like “Under Milk Wood” or “Our Town,” its broad canvas chronicles 24 hours in the lives of 21 characters as glimpsed in 40 scenes. Inevitably, the nearly three-hour drama... Full Story
