February 4, 2009
On the ‘Town’: an interview with Harry Connick Jr.
In “New In Town,” a romantic comedy co-written by gay filmmaker/screenwriter C. Jay Cox, Harry Connick Jr. plays Ted, a union rep who goes toe-to-toe with corporate bigwig Lucy (Renee Zellweger). It’s “new in town” Lucy, a Jaguar convertible-driving Miami-based MBA who learns a life lesson or two when she mixes... Full Story / Comment
Freestyle
Almost every year after the Grammy Award nominations are announced, it’s not uncommon to find this writer shaking his head in disbelief and disillusionment. This year is no exception. The exclusion of TV on The Radio’s acclaimed “Dear Science” (DGC/Interscope) is one example of a slight... Full Story / Comment
Freeview: movie reviews, calendar and DVDiva
“Oscar Nominated Short Films 2009: Live Action & Animation” (Shorts International)—The Oscars will be here before you know it. Many people are anxiously scrambling to see the nominated full-length feature films. But don’t forget, there are several short live action and animated films to see, as well. The 10 nominated short films have been divided into two separate “short” film festivals... Full Story / Comment
Check out this week's Live Performance listings... Full Story / Comment
The sun is setting later in the day. Groundhog day came and went. Spring is on the next page in the monthly calendar. It’s not quite yet time for sunning the legs and shoulders at Foster Avenue Beach, but it may be time for “sunning” under the lights at a salon... Full Story / Comment
CFP reviews 'Desire under the Elms', 'Stop/Kis' & 'Xanadu'... Full Story / Comment
Even though the economy sucks, you can bet that Valentine’s Day will see restaurants packed. Add to that the fact that Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday this year, and that makes for a busy weekend. You might want to make your reservations today... Full Story / Comment
Even though the economy sucks, you can bet that Valentine’s Day will see restaurants packed. Add to that the fact that Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday this year, and that makes for a busy weekend. You might want to make your reservations today... Full Story / Comment
Freetime
Midlife Crisis No. 248: What Would Buddha Say?
“Oh What A Tangled Web We Weave. When First We Practice To Deceive.” How difficult is it to say, “I’m Gay. These are the Aces and Queens life dealt me. This is who I am. Deal with it.” I do sympathize with married gay men in the closet but there are dignified ways to come out. Trying to... Full Story / Comment
Back in the day: Moments in chicago’s GLBT history
1979: Attorney Paul Goldman celebrates his 73rd birthday with an address at Good Parish MCC. Goldman is a friend of the community who defended hundreds of gay men in court. He also writes a column for Gay Life and was a founding member of the pioneering gay group ONE of Chicago... Full Story / Comment
CFP reviews 'Sex Machine' & 'Hotter Than Hell 1'... Full Story / Comment
Letter from the publisher
Chicago Free Press gets a new look next week
The Chicago Free Press was started in 1999 by the senior staff of the original Windy City Times, who left that publication because they believed it was not serving its audience or advertisers honestly and effectively. Over the past ten years, we have worked hard to become the most widely read and authoritative gay publication in the Midwest. We have redesigned our flagship newspaper twice since 2002 and launched a new, monthly magazine, the GOGuide, in 2007. Well, we are not finished! Full Story / Comment
News
Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, announced an “expanded” edition of its annual “On the Red Carpet Oscar Party,” which will take place Feb. 22. Guests will walk down a “living red carpet” on their way to the 6 p.m. reception at Billie Jean King Recreation Hall, which will transformed into a ballroom... Full Story / Comment
Ron Huberman, the new CEO of Chicago Public Schools, recently revealed that he is gay in an interview with a local publication. Huberman, 37, told the Chicago Sun-Times in an article that was published Jan. 31 that he is gay and lives with his partner of four years, who is a college friend he reconnected with... Full Story / Comment
Gov. Pat Quinn stepped up to the plate as Illinois’ new leader on Thursday after the Senate voted to remove former Gov. Rod Blagojevich from office. Blagojevich, who was arrested early December on federal corruption charges, made history on Thursday by becoming... Full Story / Comment
Fla. Judge: Cocodorm can stay put
The boys of Cocodorm.com, an adult website with a Chicago connection, can stay in their Miami home, a federal judge ruled Jan. 27. According to the Miami Herald, the ruling said that the website, which features African American and Hispanic men known as “dorm dudes... Full Story / Comment
According to progressive Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley, for most of the politicians vying for Rahm Emanuel’s vacant Congressional seat, it’s all about ego. But he swears he’s running for all the right reasons... Full Story / Comment
For Chicago professor Charlie Wheelan, the dismal state of the economy and “scary policy stuff” is why he decided to take on career politicians in the race for Rahm Emanuel’s open U.S. House of Representatives seat... Full Story / Comment
Tom Geoghegan: A labor of love
What caused longtime labor lawyer Tom Geoghegan to run for Congress in Illinois’ 5th District? The economy, or as he puts it, “The Great Meltdown.” Geoghegan, a Lakeview resident who graduated from Harvard Law School and Harvard College, has been representing... Full Story / Comment
Lesbian to lead government in crisis-hit Iceland
REYKJAVIK, Iceland—A new center-left government took office in crisis-hit Iceland Sunday, headed by the country’s first openly gay national leader. Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir and her Cabinet were officially appointed by the head of state, President... Full Story / Comment
‘Everything but marriage’ bill for WA gay couples
OLYMPIA, Wash.—Washington state would offer same-sex couples all the rights and benefits given to heterosexual married couples under a measure that was introduced Tuesday in the Legislature... Full Story / Comment
SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Mormon church officials say they spent $190,000 more supporting the Proposition 8 gay marriage ban than they previously reported. They previously listed just $2,078 to support the ban. The Church of Jesus... Full Story / Comment
Judge: Anti-gay marriage donors must be public
SACRAMENTO, California—A federal judge denied a request Thursday to keep secret the names of donors to California’s anti-gay marriage initiative, saying the public had a right to know who gave money to state ballot measures... Full Story / Comment
DENVER—There was a party mood last week at the nation’s largest gathering of gay activists after the inauguration of President Barack Obama. But amid the cheers is plenty of talk about what went wrong last year when anti-gay ballot measures passed, and concern that the economy has overshadowed gay-rights questions... Full Story / Comment
Ohio church protests state gay marriage ban
CLEVELAND—Clergy at a church are protesting Ohio’s ban on gay marriage by refusing to sign state marriage licenses for heterosexual couples. The Rev. John Tamilio III, head pastor at Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ, said the move is a civil-rights protest. Ministers won’t sign... Full Story / Comment
Editorial
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is a day to focus attention on the staggering toll HIV continues to take on the black community. It is also a day of hope—a day on which we recognize the progress we continue to make towards ending this epidemic in our communities... Full Story / Comment
Opinion
There is an old Protestant gospel song—Methodist, I think—that goes, “Brighten the corner where you are.” The environmentalist adage, “Think globally, act locally,” catches some of that same thought, although in a strictly outer-directed spirit, missing the element of personal transformation the old hymn stresses... Full Story / Comment
Josh DuBois might be called a New Evangelical. He is a Pentecostal pastor (with a masters’ degree in public affairs from Princeton) who believes Jesus is his personal savior. But he also seems to put more weight on the social gospel (that is, that Christians should take care of the poor and the disenfranchised) than on the old Evangelical hammers of gays and abortion... Full Story / Comment
