Yes we were; nice Jewish lesbian feminist girls and we made a book. The first one of its kind – decades ago and it is still being used in Women’s Studies classes, to this day!  And now, the Union of Orthodox Rabbis is proclaiming acceptance of gay and lesbian Jews.

Ok, so it’s the “love the sinner hate the sin” line perhaps, but for Orthodoxy to come out with a proclamation such as this one, we have something to celebrate. Something IS changing.

Gloria Greenfield was the driving force behind and in front of “Nice Jewish Girls” and with pen and her press (Persephone Press), she made sure we were a force to be seen and heard. Amazing, beautiful and unstoppable, she got us onstage to read our contributions.

We filled an auditorium somewhere in Boston, eight of us, facing a room full of beaming ‘Nice Jewish Girls’ and their non-Jewish lovers and friends. Outside the hall a group of self –proclaimed Preservers of Judaism were yelling at the women going in, and claiming our “Excommunication!”

Growing up a rare Jew in Japan; sent to Catholic missionary school, for lack of choice, I fully understand the idea of excommunication.  We also knew Jews cannot be excommunicated!

So the taunts were laughable and we laughed!

The men in the black robes soon left with little impact on the magnificence of the evening and everything we believed it stood for. Our ‘Nice Jewish girl’ faces glowed, as we read our stories aloud – all about being Nice Jewish lesbians- to our non Jewish girlfriends and their friends.

We were so validated by what we had accomplished; the book, the stories, our lives, regardless of black gowned frowns. Unstoppable, our courage and energy took up all the space. There was no place left for the men to go but back to where they came from.  Change happens. They may be singing a different tune today. Who knows?

And now the Orthodox Rabbinate have  made an important – sensational- statement; Jews must accept all Jews, as a requirement of Torah, rather than rejection as professed by the men in black those decades ago – how nice for us ‘Nice Jewish Girls’   these 2.5 decades later.

Picture:- Left to right:  front row: Evelyn Torton Beck,Adrienne Rich, Gloria Greenfield, Melanie Kaye Kantrowitz, Standing, left t o right:  Savina Teubal, Josylyn Segal, Rachel Wahba, Irena Klepfisz.

The Book can be purchased at Amazon, in a new edition -( which excludes the original pictures.)

By Rachel Wahba

Other Articles by Rachel

• Lez Talk with Rachel – Brit Milah Penis Rage (lezgetreal.com)
• Outing My Father (lezgetreal.com)
• Generation to Generation – “you’re with girls now aren’t you?” (lezgetreal.com)
• Lesbian Separatist Alix Dobkin Changes Tune – BUT Outlandish Caveat (lezgetreal.com)

• U.S. Orthodox Rabbis Urge Community to Accept Gays, Lesbians BT (lezgetreal.com)

The tome’s full title is Being Gay is Disgusting, God Likes the Smell of Burning Fat.”  According to Falzon  “Having investigated religion and the religious for many years.  Nowadays my primary beef is that nobody seems to have read the book that they claim is their guide to life and the afterlife. I find this wilful ignorance of one’s own faith to be incomprehensible. The Bible’s a hard read, though, so I’ve taken it upon myself to make it more readable and entertaining, and this first instalment is the five books of Moses.”

Regarding backlash, Falzon said “I expect a lot! But I only expect it from people who haven’t read ‘Being Gay is Disgusting’ and probably never will. From the exposure I’ve had so far in non-religious, religious, straight and gay circles, I have had overwhelming support – people do seem to get the joke, particularly about why I’ve used that title.”

Regarding the title of the book, Falzon stated “There are laws passed all over the world restricting the rights of gays,” he says. “The UK’s Section 28 was only repealed in 2003, California’s Proposition 8 is brand new, and even in Australia, gay sex was illegal until 1994! The source of these and other laws and bigotry against gays is rooted firmly in the Bible, as if anti-homosexual rules are written on every page. But in fact, in the whole 1,500-page King James Bible, homosexuality is mentioned all of six times. By contrast, UNICORNS are mentioned nine times – 50% more often. Clearly, gay people weren’t a huge priority for Yahweh. But the way Christian groups carry on, the Bible might as well be called ‘Being Gay is Disgusting’ because the only laws passed nowadays that have anything to do with the Bible are about restricting the rights of the LGBT community. It’s bullshit. So my book is part-parody and part-protest.”

According to Falzon, his writing style is reminiscent of Douglas Adams, best known for his Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy Series,  “My writing style has been greatly influenced by the whole Adams family: Douglas and Scott.”

The book is designed to take people out of their comfort zone, and it is targeted to believers and unbelievers equally.  According to Falzon “Look, if you’re an atheist and say the bible is untrue, then you should read it so you know what you’re talking about. If you say the Bible is true, then you’d REALLY better read it, because you’re supposed to be following it!”

The book is available from Amazon.com, or from his own website as an autographed hard-cover.

Source
Book’s Site

The actress, who was born in British India, was diagnosed at having manic depression in her twenties. When she was fifteen, she lived in Paris where her mother had to come and rescue her. She was notorious for wearing Chnel fashions and having a gaggle of older admirers.

Porter knew the actress back in the 1960’s, and Moseley was Lawrence Olivier’s personal assistant. Leigh and Olivier had a long standing affair that Olivier’s lesbian wife, Jill Esmond, tolerated. According to the authors “They were both beautiful and both wanted more. And Vivien loved to torture Olivier with her affairs, especially after she grew more mentally ill, depressed and manic.”

Isabel James may have been the first of Leigh’s female lovers. According to the authors, and based on letters and interviews, James and Leigh had a three month affair in 1938. Leigh had at least two other lesbian affairs as well as numerous affairs with men from Marlon Brando to Rex Harrison.

The more shocking aspect of the biography is her trips to Scotty’s Garage, which was a brothel masquerading as a petrol station. It had one petrol pump and up to twenty two male attendants. “In the 1940s the world’s most recognisable star would drive down to Scotty’s with her friend, George Cukor, the initial director of Gone with the Wind, and they would both pick out young men for the night. They would pay the men with gifts such as cigarette cases, jewels or even stocks and bonds. She depended on the professional discretion of men not to boast they had just serviced Scarlett O’Hara,” according to one source. Scotty’s Garage closed in 1960. That same source stated “Today she would be diagnosed as bipolar and there are drugs that would help, but in those days people did not know how to deal with a star who tore off all her clothes and ran out of her house.”

The book is to be published in the US later this year.

Source

The LGBT Community has always had a strong connection to the comic book world with themes of outsiderness and isolation being common among the heros of the comic books. The themes prevalent in the X-Men comics are very positive for the LGBT Community.

LGBT themes are becoming more common and more open in the comic book world as well. While certainly Japanese manga have dealt with LGBT themes in various degrees from prurient fan service to serious discussions now for some time, American comic books have lagged a little behind that, but that is changing.

This October, Spider-Man’s cover will include a kiss between two men. Here is the cover. The couple are in the lower right hand quadrant. While it is still a small picture and not as prominent as it could be, it is still a step forward.

Westboro Baptist’s protesters were there to protest everything from LGBT rights to what they perceive as a culture of idolaters.

The wonderful people at Comics Alliance documented the whole thing including pointing out that Wesboro’s people have “faced down humans time and again, but Fred Phelps and his minions from Wesboro Baptist Church were not ready for the cosplay action that awaited them today at Comic-Con. After all, who can win against a counter protest that includes robots, magical anime girls, Trekkies, Jedi and…kittens?”

Apparently, many of the counter protesters chanted “WHAT DO WE WANT?” “GAY SEX!” “WHEN DO WE WANT IT?” “NOW!” Given the number of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transpeople, and even drag queens and kings who will show up at Comic-Con, it should not be surprising. In 1999, at Dragon-Con, a man dressed up really well as Queen Amadala from Star Wars: Phantom Menace.

Seen among the crowd were people dressed in costumes from Star Trek, Futurama, and so many, many more.

There are plenty more pictures that can be found here.

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An argument between two men escalated to the point where one man stabbed the other in the face, missing the second man’s eye and slicing open his face near the eye. Comic-Con attendees leapt into action and detained the alleged attacker who could be charged with assault with a deadly weapon. The victim of the attack was transported to Sharp Memorial Hospital at 5:03pm Saturday. The young assailant was booed, geered and had profanities shouted at him by Comic-Con attendees while he was lead away by the police in handcuffs.

The melee started in between the panel for the upcoming Resident Evil: Afterlife staring Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter and the panel for the upcoming Universal Studios films Paul and Cowboys and Aliens. The second panel was delayed for forty-five minutes due to the unusual expression of violence.

Fights are rare at the annual pop culture confab of self-styled freaks and geeks. In fact, Officer David Stafford could not recall any reports of violence at the event for several years. Comic-Con is the nation’s largest comic book and pop-culture gathering with more than 125,000 attending this year.

This year, Westboro Baptist Church decided to protest Comic-Con in their usual attempt to garner some sympathy and attention for their anti-LGBT beliefs. Given that gatherings such as Comic-Con and Atlanta’s Dragon-Con often bring in large segments of the LGBT Community, it is unlikely that they met with a sympathetic audience. The fight did not involve Westboro in any way, shape or form, and it is not even clear if they made it to San Diego to protest the convention.

Typically, conventions like Comic-Con are treated like Sanctuary cities.

Source

The new costume is designed, supposedly, to bring her into the 21st century.  In some ways, it is a lot more realistic in that I have never been able to understand how come most fantasy/sci-fi/comic book heroines wear barely enough armor to prevent them from catching a cold rather than fight off monsters, mobs and all those nasties out there.

Writer J. Michael Straczynski explained it thusly “She’s been locked into pretty much the exact same outfit since her debut in 1941. If you’re going to make a statement about bringing Wonder Woman into the 21st century, you need to be bold and you need to make it visual. I wanted to toughen her up, and give her a modern sensibility.”  Straczynski is best known for his series Babylon 5.

Her original creator William Moulton Marston, stated of her as being a “distinctly feminist role model whose mission was to bring the Amazon ideals of love, peace, and sexual equality to a world torn by the hatred of men.”

Okay. . .so, this Amazon . . .when does she get a girlfriend?  I mean, she is an Amazon, right. . .she hails from or is based off of a culture devoid of men . . .

Picture via Wikipedia

06/24/2010- by Natasia Langfelder

Ellen DeGeneres has landed another book deal. The book is said to be a memoir that will take a look back at her life and her many accomplishments. [source]

Publishers Lunch broke the news, citing that DeGeneres was targeted by the publishing house because she has “one of the strongest platforms in America with 4,775,359 followers on Twitter, a spot on American Idol, and her own talk show”. They also go on to say: “DeGeneres’s untitled look at her life through her humor (‘I found that between my talk show, American Idol and my late night blogging, I didn’t have enough ways to express myself’)”

This isn’t Ellen’s first trip to Publisher’s row. She has written several books including, My Point…And I Do Have One and The Funny Thing Is… DeGeneres’s mother also wrote a book about herself and her famous daughter called, Love, Ellen: A Mother / Daughter Journey. Ellen’s wife Portia De Rossi is also in the process of writing her memoirs. What a prolific family of authors. My prediction: I will read both books.

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McAleer herself is a West Point grad, from the Class of ’87, with her own accomplishments – but she lets fourteen others take center stage in this remarkable collection of profiles. Even though I know some of these women, I found myself holding my breath as I read about the seemingly impossible challenges that some of them have faced: surviving an IED in Iraq, a devastating parachuting accident, a traumatic divorce.

A good deal of the book immerses the reader in the twin cultures of West Point and the Army. The author patiently guides you through a sometimes bewildering forest of acronyms with explanation and, if you still need it, a comprehensive glossary. Officers go from assignment to assignment, each job so different the outsider might wonder how an officer adapts from one to the next. Through the stories, you begin to gain an appreciation for the Army sense of community: shared stress and peril, frequent moves and deployments, all drive deep connections between those who are part of it. Even after the women left active service, it is clear that these ties bind.

While some of the stories focus on military careers, not all of them do. Lil Pfluke and Anita Allen are world-class athletes. Lissa Young and Bridget Altenburg wrestled with the Army’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and became advocates for changing it. And Kathy and Sarah Gerstein’s mother-daughter stories frame the book that ultimately keeps coming back to themes of family, leadership and perseverance. These women have immeasurable strength.

After reading the book, it seems astonishing that no one has previously captured the accomplishments of West Point women as such. We owe Donna McAleer a debt of gratitude for this; I suspect it will be the first of many such collections, and we are all richer for it.

Sue Fulton is a 1980 West Point graduate and former company commander in the Army Signal Corps. She currently serves as Communications Director for Knights Out, an organization for LGBT West Point grads and their allies at www.knightsout.org.

Picture: West Point class of 1980.

4/29/10-by Paula Brooks

We find it almost comical how such a nice lady can have such a jerk for a spouse.

In February 2004, former President George W. Bush called for a federal constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, but that was not a view shared by the entire Bush family.

In her new book, Spoken From the Heart, the former First Lady, Laura Bush, says that she asked her meat headed husband not to make same-sex marriage a “significant issue” , reminding him of the couple’s many gay friends.

“In 2004 the social question that animated the campaign was gay marriage,” writes Laura Bush. “Before the election season had unfolded, I had talked to George about not making gay marriage a significant issue. We have, I reminded him, a number of close friends who are gay or whose children are gay. But at that moment I could never have imagined what path this issue would take and where it would lead.”

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• Laura Bush Memoir ‘Spoken From The Heart’ Due Out In May (huffingtonpost.com)

04/09/2010- by Natasia Langfelder

Openly gay director Bill Condon is on the shortlist to direct the newest installment of the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn. Breaking Dawn is the fourth book in Stephanie Meyer’s  Twilight series. Each Twilight film has had a different director, Catherine Hardwicke, Chris Weitz and David Slade respectively.

Condon has directed gay hits such as “Dreamgirls” and “Kinsey.” He also directed “Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh” which scared the heck out of me when I was 11. Yes, I did say Candyman in the mirror, in the dark three times. Spoiler alert: I lived the tell the tale.

Other directors on the shortlist are Stephen Daldry (who also directed some great gay movies, The Hours and Billy Elliot), Sofia Coppola and Gus Van Sant. Condon has some touch competition, but the word is that he is the closest to sealing the deal. Maybe the next Twilight film will have appeal for LGBT youth as well as fans of sparklevamps.

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Shmirshky competition- LGR Looks for Book Reviews as new Book Launches

Posted By Melanie Nathan:- Winning entry will be published and on Lez-Get-Real web site and may be used for oromotional purposes by Author of S or Publisher.  Copyright of review shall be owned by Lezgetreal.  The Author and Publisher shall also have the right to the use of quotations therefrom, upon agreement of Lez-Get-Real.  Participant hereby grants exclusive copyright ownership and full and unconditional right to print and publish competition entry to Lez-Get-Real, its agents and assigns, on line at www.lezgetreal.com and at any venue in the sole discretion of Lez-Get-Real.

Meet the Author here….. view video

E N T E R  C O M P E T I T I O N;  Prizes  – Read more…..

Your chance to have your review read on LezGetReal….

Shmirshky Competition:

See You Tube:  Meet the author http://www.youtube.com/shmirshky

Write a no holds barred  250-500 word review of the Book “ Shmirshky” by E.

Submissions by 4/15/10  Results by 4/20/10 (Subject to extension depending on amount of entries.

PRIZES:
First: Amazon Kindle, Value $250.00
Second:Table Book Prize, Value $80.00

The first 4 to enter competition and commit to a review, receive a free Book.

Books can be purchased at http://www.shmirshky.com/

and use of code word  LEZGETREAL  will generate a 20% discount,

Judges shall be Announced at Time of competition result -announcement

Competition closed to Editors of LGR, Employees, friends and family of Published by Shmirshky Universal / www.shmirshkyuniversal.com and PR Professionals and Agents associated therewith.

Cut and Paste the following and then e-mail to Nathan@privatecourts.com:

“I the undersigned hereby commit to a 250-500 word review of the book “ Shmirshky”   If I am one of the first 4 entrants, I shall receive a free Book, Shmirshky by E, to review.

If I am not one of first four, then I shall decide whether or not to purchase a copy of the book whereupon I may or may not review the book Shmirshky.

Books can be purchased for a discount at AMAZON and using code word “lezgetreal “ will prompt discounted price.

Winning entry will be published and on Lez-Get-Real web site and may be used for oromotional purposes by Author of S or Publisher.  Copyright of review shall be owned by Lezgetreal.  The Author and Publisher shall also have the right to the use of quotations therefrom, upon agreement of Lez-Get-Real.  Participant hereby grants exclusive copyright ownership and full and unconditional right to print and publish competition entry to Lez-Get-Real, its agents and assigns, on line at www.lezgetreal.com and at any venue in the sole discretion of Lez-Get-Real.

I declare I am over 21 years of age.

Name: ________________________________________________
Address : _____________________________________________
E-mail __________________________________________________
Telephone: ______________________________________________

I am over 18 years of age : ______________
I agree to rules of Competition:__________________

I hereby Agree that the copyright to the review a  submitted  shall belong exclusively to Lezgetreal, and its assignees.”

Competition ends and last entry shall be post marked or e-mails  dated by April, 15, 2010, midnight.    Competition results shall be announced and winner reviews published on April 20, 2010. On site Lezgetreal.

All results shall be final.
Lez-Get-Real reserves the right t extend competition date/s’

Questions – email nathan@privatecourts.com

Posted by Melanie Nathan.

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• Lez-Get-Real Announces Competition – Review Book- “Shmirshky” by E (lezgetreal.com)

SHMIRSHKY: THINK INSIDE THE BOX- A SMALL BOOK WITH A BIG STORY Reaching out is IN. Suffering in silence is Out.

Got a vagina? Know someone who does? Chances are you have a wife, girlfriend, mother, grandmother, mother-in-law, sister, daughter, friend, mentor, coworker, or boss who has one. Whether you’re a forty-five-year-old woman in perimenopause or an eighteen-year-old guy who thinks his mom is in need of an exorcism, Shmirshky is for you.

Shmirshky is the first menopause book of its kind. Unlike other books that are dry and mired in confusing medical terms, Shmirshky is an intimate, humorous read—smart, fact-filled, and full of love. With the knowledge and compassion of a trusted girlfriend, author E serves up a soulful account of persevering through the difficult stages of perimenopause and menopause. Publication date: March 1, 2010. Hardcover, $25. For books and further information, visit shmirshky.com.

“Shmirshky” is a term you won’t find in any other menopause book. It comes from E’s unique, often hilarious vernacular: she calls the vagina (and anyone who has one) a shmirshky (pronounced shmersh-key). “Vagina is such an awkward medical term,” she says. “All the women I know have a pet name for it. My BFF Marcia called it shmirshky. I am a shmirshky, a shmirshky who has struggled with PM&M [perimenopause and menopause].”

Shmirshky is not your mother’s menopause book. “In fact, chances are she never had one. If you think menopause is a shitty experience, then Shmirshky is your pooper-scooper.”

Shmirshky is open and honest at a time when many women want to keep their feelings hidden. For some, the PM&M experience can be overwhelming and frightening. “You may feel like an alien swooped down, took over your body, and jumbled up your mind and personality—not to mention your hips, your boobs, and your waist,” E says.

Shmirshky had its beginnings as a simple journal. E’s initial writings were intended as a gift to her daughter. That journal morphed into a small book with a big story. Edited by her twenty-seven-year-old son (who now knows more about PM&M than he ever imagined!), Shmirshky affords readers an honest, personal connection that further squashes the stigma of PM&M.

Don’t hide your shmirshky under a bush! Shmirshky empowers women to take charge. E helps her readers learn how to interpret the symptoms of PM&M, research and interview doctors, understand the necessary tests, and reach out to loved ones for support. Treating the symptoms of PM&M is not a one-size-fits-all situation. As E says, “Too bad they can’t administer hormone therapy through a pair of heels.”

“Every woman needs to read this book,” says Dr. Joseph F. Kennedy. “With great humor, some of which had me howling with laughter, E concisely and intelligently illustrates some of the diverse experiences women may have during the perimenopausal and menopausal years.”

At Your Cervix! You can visit us at shmirshky.com for a sneak peek before the site goes live on March 1, 2010. Shmirshky.com readers can connect, comment, and share their own unique experiences as well as stay in touch with the shmirshky movement.

E is for everyone. E is not a doctor, scientist, or celebrity. “After all the women I’ve talked to and all the research I’ve done, I realized that this isn’t just my story, we all share pieces of the same story.” She says, “I hope this book brings women a little bit of the three L’s: love, laughter, and learning.”

Publication date: March 1, 2010, Hardcover with book jacket; 150 pages, Published by Shmirshky Universal / www.shmirshkyuniversal.com  Library of Congress Control Number: 2009908410 ISBN: 978-0-615-29455-1

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: ELLEN SARVER DOLGEN

Ellen Sarver Dolgen is active in promoting health and wellness in America. She currently serves on the Community Advisory Board of Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla. She was a founding member of Fresh Start Women’s Foundation, on the founding board of Angel Charity for Children, and on the board for San Diego Hospice. Ellen has served on boards, committees, and chaired numerous events for Brandeis University, the Heart Ball, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Weizmann Institute of Science, Brewster Auxiliary, and the Handmaker Home for the Aging. Ellen’s lifelong commitment to philanthropy through board representation, fundraising, and event organization continues with her founding of Shmirshky Universal and her goal to help women all over the world.

Ellen’s background includes public relations, fundraising for national political campaigns, legislative lobbying, investment advising, hotel operations, not-for-profit fundraising, and cultural and community leadership. In her prior professional life she was the National Deputy Treasurer of the 1980 Carter-Mondale reelection campaign; was a member of Berman and Associates, a Washington, D.C., consulting firm; served as National Finance Coordinator for U.S. Senator Henry M. Jackson’s 1976 bid for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination; and worked for the national United Jewish Appeal in New York City. Ellen served on the National Finance Committee of Obama for America (2008 presidential campaign) and currently serves on the National Finance Committee for the Democratic National Committee. During her college years she worked as director of public relations for Interstate Motel Corporation in Tucson, Arizona, while attending the University of Arizona. She was subsequently a founding chairperson of the University of Arizona’s Office of Cultural Affairs Advisory Board and served on the Arizona State Workmen’s Compensation Fund Investment Committee.

Ellen is currently founder and president of Shmirshky Universal and is a principal of Dolgen Ventures along with her husband, David. Ellen lives in Coronado, California, and has two children, Sarah and Jack.

Shmirshky Competition: 

See You Tube:  Meet the author http://www.youtube.com/shmirshky

Write a no holds barred  250-500 word review of the Book “ Shmirshky” by E.

Submissions by 4/1/10  Results by 4/10/10 (Subject to extension depending on amount of entries.

PRIZES:
First: Amazon Kindle, Value $250.00
Second:Table Book Prize, Value $80.00

The first 4 to enter competition and commit to a review, receive a free Book.

Books can be purchased at http://www.shmirshky.com/

and use of code word  LEZGETREAL  will generate a 20% discount,

Judges shall be Announced at Time of competition result -announcement

Competition closed to Editors of LGR, Employees, friends and family of Published by Shmirshky Universal / www.shmirshkyuniversal.com and PR Professionals and Agents associated therewith.

Cut and Paste the following and then e-mail to Nathan@privatecourts.com:

“I the undersigned hereby commit to a 250-500 word review of the book “ Shmirshky”   If I am one of the first 4 entrants, I shall receive a free Book , Shmirshky by E, to review.

If I am not one of first four, then I shall decide whether or not to purchase a copy of the book whereupon I may or may not review the book Shmirshky.

Books can be purchased for a discount at AMAZON and using code word “lezgetreal “ will prompt discounted price.

Winning entry will be published and on Lez-Get-Real web site and may be used for oromotional purposes by Author of S or Publisher.  Copyright of review shall be owned by Lezgetreal.  The Author and Publisher shall also have the right to the use of quotations therefrom, upon agreement of Lez-Get-Real.  Participant hereby grants exclusive copyright ownership and full and unconditional right to print and publish competition entry to Lez-Get-Real, its agents and assigns, on line at www.lezgetreal.com and at any venue in the sole discretion of Lez-Get-Real.

I declare I am over 21 years of age.

Name: ________________________________________________
Address : _____________________________________________
E-mail __________________________________________________
Telephone: ______________________________________________

I am over 18 years of age : ______________
I agree to rules of Competition:__________________

I hereby Agree that the copyright to the review a  submitted  shall belong exclusively to Lezgetreal, and its assignees.”

Competition ends and last entry shall be post marked or e-mails  dated by April, 01, 2010, midnight.    Competition results shall be announced and winner reviews published on April 10, 2010. On site Lezgetreal.

All results shall be final.
Lez-Get-Real reserves the right t extend competition date/s’

Questions – email nathan@privatecourts.com

Feature Writers: Penny Arcade & Maria Lisella

A runaway at thirteen, a reform-school graduate at sixteen, a performer in the legendary New York City Play-House of the Ridiculous at seventeen, and an escapee from Andy Warhol’s Factory scene at nineteen, Penny Arcade (aka Susan Ventura) emerged in the 1980’s as a primal force on the New York art scene and an originator of what came to be called performance art. Arcade’s brand of high camp and street-smart, punk-rock cabaret showmanship has been winning over international audiences ever since; one of her plays La Miseria is about growing up Italian American in which different household saints have commentaries.

In a world where people are concerned about traveling with a light footprint, Maria Lisella tries to tread unnoticed — eavesdropping on conversations like a Mata Hari of the spoken word. Crowded subways, ancient temples, ghostly war-torn countries channel others’ voices; have give her a chance to cheat life and slip into someone else’s shadow and shoes for moments at a time.

Bluestockings Bookstore  $5 suggested donation- Hosted by Vittoria Repetto – the hardest working guinea butch dyke poet on the lower east side;   Bluestockings Bookstore
172 Allen St.
(between Staton & Rivington)
1 1/2 blocks south from E.Houston
NYC       -    212-777-6028
info@bluestockings.com     http://www.bluestockings.com/
Open mike – sign-up at 7 pm – 8 minute limit
Bring your poetry, your prose, your songs, and your spoken word.

Take V or F train to 2nd Ave. and exit from the 1st Ave exit and walk south down Allen St. (aka. 1st Ave) 1 ½ blocks to the store

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act has made history: President Obama signs it into law on Oct. 28. But Judy Shepard’s work is far from done. Ever since Matthew’s brutal murder in 1998, Judy Shepard has been working tirelessly for LGBT rights, hate crime legislation and justice for her son.

Judy sat down with OURsceneTV and talked about her new book, The Meaning of Matthew: My Son’s Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed.

In this intimate interview, she reveals a Matthew the outside world never knew.

Author and blogger Mark R. Probst posted an article about the glitch after discovering that hundreds of gay and lesbian books had lost their sales ranking, including his own book, a gay romance titled The Filly.

The widespread internet news coverage to follow prompted quick reaction by Amazon.com which fixed the problem within a few days.

Initially, in an email to Probst, an Amazon representative told him that the books were de-ranked because they were deemed to be “adult” material. The official statement of apology by the wesbite instead claimed that a glitch was the cause of the error, an “embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error” that pertained to 57,310 listings. They also say that it was misreported that the issue was limited to gay and lesbian themed books. Some people aren’t buyin’ it.

The event has coined a new term, already in heavy rotation on Twitter and the blogosphere: AmazonFail.

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During the week of the inauguration, a team of award-winning photographers will be assigned to capture the celebration and behind-the-scenes moments of these historic events. The photos will be showcased in a beautiful commemorative Official Inaugural Book.

The 2009 Inauguration Book is not like any other in history!

You can participate by submitting your photos to the gallery at PhotoBucket.com. The best photos will be considered for inclusion in the book so be sure to upload photos showing your experience of the inauguration with a description that tells your story.

Whether you submit photos or not be sure to look into pre-ordering the Official Inaugural Book, as this historic book is a must-have for all Americans and is sure to become sold out quickly!

Julie Phineas is a work at home mom of 2 who lives in Southern California. You can find out more about her online by visiting her website at www.juliephineas.com.

It should be available in December, and you can read the excerpt here. “State of Denial” stars the same characters as “Land of Entrapment” and you can read the first chapter of that book here for free as well. Enjoy!

Andi Marquette is an editor and writer currently based in Colorado. Catch her at www.andimarquette.com.