August 20, 2009
Rain doesn’t dampen spirit of GLBT Cubs fans
Even though CFP’s 9th annual Out at the Ballgame event was a washout Sunday, GLBT Cubs fans made the most of the long, muggy rain delay. Roughly 700 GLBTs gathered with hopes of seeing the Cubs defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates for a three-game sweep, but after a three hour... Full Story / Comment
Freestyle
Crowned: an interview with Lucas Silveira of The Cliks
Canadian band The Cliks are back with a new disc called “Dirty King” (Silver Label/Tommy Boy). Although how they found the time to record with their crazy busy schedule, which included both of the True Colors tours, is anyone’s guess. The songs on “Dirty King” expand the band’s rocking sound to incorporate... Full Story / Comment
Check out CFP's Live Performance listings... Full Story / Comment
Reel advice: movie reviews and calendar
“The Time Traveler’s Wife” (New Line)—I didn’t read the beloved chick lit novel by Audrey Niffenegger on which “The Time Traveler’s Wife” is based, but I know it has a devoted following. And seeing how it stars “The Notebook”’s Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana (in his first official male... Full Story / Comment
CFP reviews ‘My Fair Lady’, ‘The Tragedy of Jennifer, Brad and Angelina’, ‘The Hecubae’ & ‘Ekphrasis: Cave Walls to Soup Cans’... Full Story / Comment
Just back from vacation (more on that next week) and my desk is nearly invisible under a pile of announcements and other good dish on the dining scene. So let’s get right to it... Full Story / Comment
It’s only been nine years since we bid adieu to the 1990s, but they are making a return trip via a series of recent reissues on vinyl and CD. By 1991, when Pearl Jam’s groundbreaking grunge debut album “Ten” was first released, vinyl was... Full Story / Comment
Freetime
Midlife Crisis #276: Hooked On Porn
I was interested to read about Keith Griffin of Jensen, Fla., who has been arrested for downloading child porn—he claims his cat is responsible. Griffin told police his cat jumped onto the keyboard while he was downloading music and next thing you know, “strange things” appeared... Full Story / Comment
Editorial
Fifteen-year-old Steven Harmon of Portage, Mich., was hanging out with a friend in the parking lot of an apartment building last week when he was attacked by two 17-year-old boys... Full Story / Comment
The Human Rights Campaign considers October 11 in Washington DC to be a starting point—not a destination. Those who join us in the nation’s capital have more work ahead of them after the crowds clear. They need to become citizen lobbyists, ready... Full Story / Comment
Breaking News
GLBT Subcommittee meeting at Town Hall District tonight
Chicago Police Department’s Town Hall District (23rd District) will hold a GLBT Subcommittee meeting tonight, starting at 7 p.m., at 3608 N. Halsted. Several local GLBT activists plan on attending the meeting to demand answers from the Town Hall District, which is located in the heart of Boystown. Many community members are concerned that an officer that has 19 federal lawsuits... Full Story / Comment
Stroger to hold community meeting regarding HIV vaccine flop
Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, still upset that in June a West Side HIV/AIDS clinic turned down a proposal to allow an Atlanta-based biopharmaceutical company to use some of its clients in an experimental HIV/AIDS vaccine trial, is trying to pressure the clinic to change its mind. In hopes of rallying support for his proposal and addressing any concerns, Stroger will hold a community meeting at Center on Halsted Tuesday... Full Story / Comment
Local Lakeview group plans safety forum
In response to several robberies and beatings that have taken place in the heavily gay neighborhoods of Lakeview and Lincoln Park in recent weeks, including three crimes that occurred Wednesday morning, a local citizens group has scheduled a personal safety forum. Lake View Citizens Council... Full Story / Comment
CFP Video
News
On Saturday, gays and lesbians gathered outside the famous “Bean” statue in downtown Millennium Park, and locked lips for a cause. Chicago was one of several cities to participate in the Great Nationwide Kiss-In, an event created to help show solidarity with GLBTs... Full Story / Comment
Bi Health summit highlights health disparities
Friday’s Bi Health Summit, which was held downtown in conjunction with the 2009 National LGBTI Health Summit, shed light on the alarming health disparities this large segment of the GLBT community faces. Roughly 75 people—from health practitioners and social service providers to researchers and bisexual advocates... Full Story / Comment
The importance of GLBT liaisons
On Saturday, a panel of local municipal GLBT liaisons discussed the importance of inclusion in the fight for the health and well-being of the GLBT community. The plenary, titled “After 40 Years of Wandering: The Health of our LGBTQI Communities,” was part of the 2009 LGBTI Health Summit, which took place Aug. 14-18 at the Hilton Chicago. The afternoon... Full Story / Comment
During the 2009 LGBTI Health Summit held downtown Aug. 14-18, researchers stressed the importance of including GLBTs in data collection. The Monday session, titled “Count Us In! How and Why to Include LGBTs in Data Collection,” high... Full Story / Comment
Local leather lady aims for safe play spaces for women
Although IML is over—a time of year that Sky Cotton lovingly calls her “high holidays”—that doesn’t mean that the local queer leather diva’s work is done. Cotton, who works at a North Side leather shop, is on a mission. She aims to create more safe play spaces for queer women interested in BDSM and leather while breaking... Full Story / Comment
Forum addresses barebacking and porn
A community forum Monday at Center on Halsted addressed the myriad concerns over the controversial practice of barebacking, or condomless sex. “Risky Business: Bareback Porn and the Reclaiming of Pleasure” was moderated by Fausto Fernos and Marc Felion of the Feast of Fun... Full Story / Comment
Obama disses marriage law as Justice defends it
President Barack Obama insisted Monday he still wants to scrap what he calls a discriminatory federal marriage law, even as his administration angered gay rights activists by defending it in court. The president said his administration’s stance in a California court case is not about defending tradition... Full Story / Comment
Opinion
Most states have their own struggles for gay marriage, whether in the long term like Illinois or near term like Maine, where a referendum is coming up almost immediately. But it is California that seems to have seized an outsized portion of the attention... Full Story / Comment
Marketplace
The home garden: spending more, enjoying it longer
Retail may be in a drought, but for many garden supply stores, it’s been a green season in more ways than one. We’re paying a lot more attention to beautifying our own backyards, perhaps because we’re traveling less. Americans are spending about... Full Story / Comment
