Sir Terry Pratchett - his most used book jacket photo

In 1786, the great Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote, “Oh wad some power the giftie gie us, To see ourselves as others see us! It wad frae monie a blunder free us, an’ foolish notion.” Someone did give us that gift, 60 years before Burns wrote “To A Louse” – Jonathan Swift in Gulliver’s Travels. Unless one has studied Gulliver’s Travels in school, it is just a fantasy tale of a voyage to strange lands. But in reality, it was a scathing indictment of contemporary British society, wrapped in a story that could, but did not necessarily, make people see the world they were living in.

Swift set the model for modern political exposé and satire. Before him it was a pretty straightforward field, exemplified by the Celtic bard and the court jester – make fun of the rich and powerful in a sufficiently public way that one didn’t get thrown in the dungeon. The subtlety of using non-humans to portray the foibles and failures of humanity has worked very well. Swift was the intellectual grandfather of Jules Verne, Rod Serling, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Anne McCaffrey and the entire range of science fiction and fantasy writers of the past three centuries.

But few of those inheritors fo Swift’s legacy have been as brilliant at it as British author Terry Pratchett. It is normal, three or four days after one finishes a Pratchett book, to do a mental head smack and finally see what he was talking about. Pratchett is read on multiple levels. For straight fantasy fans, he writes very funny books about witches, trolls, wizards, demons, goblins and such. For the politically astute American, he writes very funny satires about Hollywood and newspapers and postal services. For those who understand British politics, it has an even deeper level.

Before becoming the world’s most widely read fantasy author, Pratchett worked in journalism on both sides of the Atlantic. With one book, The Colour of Magic, in 1983, Pratchett set the stage for a brilliant career not just as a fantasy writer, but as the best analyst and observer of the human comedy, drama and tragedy in modern times.

The 47 Disc World books are set on a flat planet that sits on the backs on four elephants who ride through space on the back of a turtle, Great A’Tuin. The planet has its own sun, which revolves around it. The primary continent, which sits at the center of the planet is home to most of the books. Some parts of the landscape resemble the British Isles, and all of the species who inhabit it are drawn from the collective lore and myths of Northern Europe.

The Librarian (Pratchette supports orangutan preservation)

It is possible to divide the books up by their principal focus. There are the wizard books, which center around the Unseen University, but which took the reader to the ends of the planet with the bumbling, traveling wizzard Rincewind. J. K. Rawlings was inspired by the University Library when she created the living wizarding books of the Hogswart’s library. She just left our the Librarian – a wizard who had been transformed into an orangutan. It’s a very useful body for a librarian, so he chose not to be changed back to human form.

Wrapped around and occasionally interacting with the wizards are the witches. This group includes the young adult series which features the young witch Tiffany Aching and her friends, the Wee Free Men, the Feegles. Some of Pratchett’s best twists on simile and metaphor are in these books. I’ve always been particularly fond of “The storm walked around the hills on legs of lightning, shouting and grumbling.” [Equal Rites, 1987]. It is the aspect of Pratchett’s work most frequently underdiscussed. He is an incomparable wordsmith, his use of English rich and textured.

The witches’ books are the best explanation of the craft I have ever encountered. From the first moment when Esme Weatherwax used the term “headology” to what she does, to the examination of the relationship between land and craft, story and life, the books were a constant “Why the hell don’t others see this?” for me. I was reading them in the coastal south, a very bad land for the craft, a land that is so full of death and decay that it encourages the black arts. Here it was, someone articulating why I responded physically to the journey inland and uphill, to mountains of granite and marble. We draw our strength from the land upon which we stand. It’s that simple and that complex. The land determines the limitations and extensions of ability, not some demon called up from the otherworld, not some hyped-up ceremony or amulet. It is all about the land and our relationships to it and what is natural in it and around it – the water, the rocks, the trees, the air. Pratchett understands this as no “celebrity “witch ever has. The occult sections of bookstores and libraries make me physically ill, the books vibe to the wrong resonances.

Death is a character in many of these books, featured as the main storyline in several, beginning with 1991′s Reaper Man. He is on a quest to understand mankind and why these beings cling so tenaciously to life, and trying to humanize himself in the process. Rawling’s third nod to Pratchett is in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in the Department of Mysteries with it rooms of jars containing brains and prophecies. It is a variation on Death’s chamber of hourglasses.

It is the books which spread outward from the twin cities of Ankh-Morpork that are the education in almost every aspect of the human mind – politics, money, bureaucracy, war, folklore, diplomacy, the law, journalism, entertainment, gender-identity. They started as a couple of books about the Ankh-Morpork city guard, and evolved into the finest example of satire and sociology in modern times.

The Ankh-Morpork books contain the only Pratchett character that one can isolate as having been inspired by a living person. When we first meet Lady Sybil Ramkin, the description of her matches almost word for word a description of sci-fi author Anne McCaffrey by Isaac Asimov. I don’t like illustrations of Lady Sybil because she is portrayed as more saftig opera diva than Nordic goddess. The illustrator never met Ms. McCaffrey or got the connection even with all those dragons hanging around Sybil’s garden.

The lead characters of the Anhk-Morpork books are Watch Commander Samuel Vimes and the city’s “tyrant” Lord Havelock Vetinari. Vimes was a poor street kid who chose law over crime, and became seduced by law. Vetinari is the ultimate politician. Though the pair of them may be in the background of some of these books, they are the windows through which we can see ourselves, often with astounding clarity.

Would you like to understand the Walmarting of the world? Try Samuel Vimes’ “Shoe Leather Theory of Economics.” It goes something like this: The very rich can afford very good boots which last for decades. The poor can only afford poor boots that only last a year. Over time, the poor spend more on shoe leather than the rich do. The late economics writer Sylvia Porter said the same thing in her Money Book, in the chapter “The High Cost of Being Poor.” Fewer people have read Porter than read Pratchett, so Samuel Vimes has reached more of us than Porter ever did. From Vimes’ explanation of shoe leather, it is a simple jump to how cheap goods make people think they are doing well. After all, they can afford a cheap microwave and cheap knock-off designer clothes, so they are more amenable to lower wages. The low prices of Walmart and other discount outlets have downgraded our entire economy while creating the illusion of a better lifestyle.  It’s a better lifestyle until you have purchased your third microwave in three years.

The list of what one can learn from Pratchett is almost unending. After all, there are 47 books to draw from. So, I’ll limit this to just a few major concepts:

In 1992′s Small Gods, Pratchett explains that gods exist only as long as people believe in them, and religion is not the equivalent of belief or faith. It is a powerful book that explores the dangers of churches and the purity of faith.

From 2000′s The Truth, the following: “Pulling together is the goal of despotism and tyranny. Free men pull in all kinds of directions. It is the only way to make progress. That and, of course, moving with the times.” That comes at the end of a long exchange between William de Worde, publisher of the Ankh-Morpork Times and Lord Vetinari about determining what the public should know and what is in the public interest.

2003′s Montrous Regiment is an LGBT delight, a gender-bending exercise in soldiering, parenting and relationships that, if you read no other Pratchett, should be at the top of every gay’s, lesbian’s and transgendered person’s reading list. Yes, at the time it was an indictment of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, but now, it is needed as a way to make people step back and laugh about the whole thing. That’s what satire is all about, making us see the absurd and ridiculous and causing people to back down from militancy.

Finally, the best explanation I have ever seen of why I really hate WikiLeaks, from the most recent Disc World novel, Snuff: “And now the world is a better place, commander. You have no understanding, Vimes, no understanding of the deals, stratagems and unseen expedients by which some of us make shift to see that it remains that way. Do not seek perfection. None exists. All we can do is strive….And, slightly better than before, the world will continue to turn.” There is a massive difference between a government that tries to cover up war crimes and a government engaged in diplomacy. The two do not and should not involve the same level of public exposure. A simpleton like Julian Assange does not understand that. He is more driven by his hatred of America than any pure devotion to exposing dangerous secrets. Diplomacy is a fine art that eventually benefits all involved, even if it doesn’t appear to in the eyes of outsiders or the terminally dense. Those “deals, strategems and unseen expedients” prevent wars, create alliances, bring about positive changes. In Snuff, they bring about the liberation and equality of a species previously classified as vermin, and a halt to smuggling and drug operations that harmed tens of thousands. In the here and now, they are needed to assure a transition in the Arab Spring nations that does not erode previously held rights. We don’t really need to know how this is done. What matters is that it is done.  Diplomacy should be added to the list of things one really shouldn’t see being made — along with sausages and babies.

On one occasion, life imitated the books. In 1997′s Jingo, a war is started because an island suddenly pops out of the sea and countries fight over who the island belongs to. There is a small volcanic rise in the Mediterranean that is creating an island, and several nations have already laid claim to it. It probably will not end as Jingo did, with the island sinking back into the sea, but it will certainly be fun watching it.

Terry Pratchett announced in 2007 that he is suffering from early onset Alzheimers. He is 63 years old. Since that announcement, he has produced Unseen Academicals, I Shall Wear Midnight and Snuff. He has reported that while he can no longer compose on his word processor, he can dictate his books. Believe me, I know how important every mind is and the horrors of losing one’s mind to Alzheimers.  But sometimes it helps to have a very high-profile victim.  If there is anything that should be lighting fires under Alzheimers researchers around the world, it should be the possible loss of this brilliant mind. He still has books to write, including Raising Taxes and Scouting for Trolls, two he has mentioned in the past. We need his voice – to educate us, to make us see the lunacy of our political systems, to help us make sense of the world and how it is changing and what we need to protect us during the transitions.

Queen Elizabeth II appointed Pratchett Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1998 “for services to literature. He was knighted in 2009. Samuel Vimes’ response to marrying a Lady and becoming a Duke is part of his charm. Vimes hates the titles and isn’t too happy with people who think they are somebody because of their lineage. I have always suspected that knighting Pratchett could be one of those rare glimpses of Queen Elizabeth’s sense of humor. She actually does have one.

Sir Terence David John Pratchett wrote the best explanation of himself in 1988′s Wyrd Sisters (the second nod to Pratchett in Harry Potter was the use of this title for the band at the Christmas Ball in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire):

“Particles of raw inspiration sleet through the universe all the time. Every once in a while one of them hits a receptive mind, which then invents DNA or the flute sonata form or a way of making light bulbs wear out in half the time. But most of them miss. Most people go through their lives without being hit by even one.

Some people are even more unfortunate. They get them all.”

Covers of the first 38 primary Disc World novels

Related articles

• Terry Pratchett – A Great Author and Inspiration (madhattermiscellany.wordpress.com)
• Book Review – The Color of Magic (madhattermiscellany.wordpress.com)
• Snuff: By Terry Pratchett (faceplantreview.wordpress.com)
• Snuff: A Discworld Novel : Book 39 by Terry Pratchett (booktopia.com.au)
• Trailblazing Sci-Fi Legend Anne McCaffery Passes Away At 85 (lezgetreal.com)
• Pratchett’s Snuff: a rural/nautical tale of drawing-room gentility, racism, and justice (boingboing.net)

Book cover supplied to AP by publisher Scribners

The Associated Press purchased an advance copy of the joint memoir of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband retired Navy Captain Mark Kelly, which will be released on November 15. The portions of the book the AP shared are stunning.

The Kellys were very open and honest after the aftermath of the January 8 shooting that killed six people and nearly killed Rep. Giffords. They have detailed the previously unknown extent of the damage done by the bullet that passed through the left side of Gabby’s brain, leaving her with only 50% of her eyesight, temporarily paralyzed and unable to speak. And scared, terribly, horribly scared that she would never again be able to do the simplest things. It’s a gripping, heart-rending story of the human spirit and the power of love and strong friendships.

In time, perhaps, we will all be able to laugh over her attempts to speak to former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara. The only word Gabby could get out was “chicken.” Later, when a therapist showed her a picture of former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, she indicated that she recognized him by saying “Messin’ around. Babies.”

It was March 12 before the Kellys could talk about the day she was shot, when Gabby could tell Mark that she knew what was happening that afternoon and that she thought “Shot. Shocked. Scary.” Later that same day, Gabby figured out there was something Mark wasn’t telling her and he had to explain that six people had died that day. Gabby cried. She was unable to continue her therapy because she was so overcome with emotion. It was another six months before she learned who had been killed.

Kelly describes in the book his own horror, when the early reports said she was dead, then the elation upon hearing that she was alive and finally the shock of seeing her in the hospital.

In the book, the couple describe their meeting, their courtship, the travails of carrying on a three-city marriage with Gabby going back and forth between her district in Tucson and Washington and Kelly based in Houston at NASA. They also talk about how they were trying to have a baby and after several rounds of fertility treatments, were hoping to get pregnant in early 2011. Instead, they were going through the process of rebuilding Gabby’s life.

The final chapter was written by Rep. Giffords. It is a single page of short sentences and phrases called “Gabby’s voice.” “I will get stronger. I will return.” She already has, once. Gabby flew to Washington on August 1 to cast her vote in the House for the debt ceiling deal.

She remains in Houston at the TIRR Memorial Hermann rehabilitation center. As she continues to recover, friends in the House are making plans for her re-election campaign next year. New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is spearheading the fundraising for Gabby’s campaign. DNC chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, also a close friend, is making sure everyone in Arizona understands that if it is remotely possible, Gabby will run again. They both talk freely about the remarkable progress Gabby has made in her recovery, every day showing improvement. Should she feel she can run again, in all probably she will be re-elected. The people of her district love her. They just wish they had as good a rehab center as Houston for her to recover in.

So, based on the review from the AP, get in line at the bookstore, get on Amazon and pre-order, get ready to download to your Nook or Kindle. This book will be worth reading, as much for Gabby’s story as to help us all understand some of what our soldiers have been going through with their traumatic brain injuries in the past ten years. The Kellys could have chosen to keep their privacy intact. Instead they are giving us a rare insight into the processes people go through when they lose part of their brain. For that, a whole lot of people should be grateful to them.

Related articles

• Giffords-Kelly Memoir Due November 15 (lezgetreal.com)
• Gabrielle Giffords Releases Statement, Vows Return To Congress (inquisitr.com)
• Gabrielle Giffords Vows To Return To Congress In New Book (huffingtonpost.com)
• Memoir: Giffords was trying for baby before shooting (today.msnbc.msn.com)
• Gabrielle Giffords vows to return to work in Congress (telegraph.co.uk)

Theodor Seuss Geisel, 1957

Very few writers lead lives interesting enough to warrant a biographical feature film, unless they suffer from bouts of depression and kill themselves like Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf, or harbor unnatural thoughts about small children like Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll), or put themselves in the middle of a whole social milieu like the F. Scott Fitzgeralds, or run with the bulls between torrid love affairs and wars like Ernest Hemingway. Most writers just write and it is a solitary pursuit.

Occasionally, there is the rare writer whose work can be woven into a biography or into an otherwise straightforward rendering of their stories to create a magical film. J. M. Barrie and James Thurber have been treated this way, as has Dodgson. One writer whose life and work can be overlaid to great effect is Theodor Geisel, the beloved Dr. Seuss.

Johnny Depp’s production company, Infinitum Nihil, and Illumination Entertainment are in the earliest stages of creating a film biography of Geisel, who died in 1991. Keith Bunin, who wrote In Treatment, has begun a preliminary script. In addition to Depp and Bunin, Christopher Meladandri and David Kennedy of Illumination Entertainment and Christi Dumbrowski of Infinitum Nihil are the only people currently involved in the proposed film. The only information about the film refers to it as “a perspective” on Geisel’s life, which adds to the idea that the film would weave together Geisel’s fairly ordinary physical life with his extraordinary imagination life.

News of the proposed film comes just six months after Random House released a volume of seven “lost” Seuss stories. They were published individually in magazines in the 1950′s, never collected with any other stories into book form and pretty much forgotten by all but the most dedicated Seussian scholar – like Charles D. Cohen who tracked down the original magazines. The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories was released in print and digital format for the technically minded small child in mid-April. The digital format includes the option of an audio track of professional book readers.

Depp had been set to star as Tonto (the Native American sidekick) in a new version of the venerable Lone Ranger, but the film hit some major snags and is currently on the shelf. Having grown up on Jay Silverheels, one of Hollywood’s few openly Native American actors, as Tonto, I would have preferred Depp as the LR and Adam Beech (or any of half-a-dozen young Native actors) as Tonto. There is no word on if or when The Lone Ranger might resume production and take up a few months of Depp’s time. The best thing about the Lone Ranger project is that it could really, really suck and still be better than the last time.

Rumor has it that Depp might decide to play Geisel, which would be a smart choice. The role is going to need someone capable of portraying whimsey, which is entirely different from playing comedy.    Depp has already proven he has a talent for whimsey.

Mary Stuart Masterson, Johnny Depp, Aiden Quinn in "Benny and Joon", 1993, Metro-Goldwyn Mayer

Related articles

• Depp will produce, possibly star in, Dr. Seuss biopic (canada.com)
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• Oh, the Places He Goes: Johnny Depp May Star in Dr. Seuss Biopic (newsfeed.time.com)

Leonard Nimoy

At a Chicago Star Trek convention, celebrating the 45^th anniversary of the premiere of the most iconic science fiction television/movie franchise in American entertainment history, 80 year old Leonard Nimoy announced that he is finally hanging up his ears and will no longer be trekking.

At the conclusion of an hour-long speech about his life and career, Mr. Nimoy thanked the fans for their support and affection over the years. Some were holding signs saying “We love you Leonard! Live long and prosper!” For almost thirty years, Mr. Nimoy has attended conventions, maintaining a very positive relationship with the fans.  In between conventions and Star Trek movies and television shows, Mr. Nimoy was a very talented actor with an extensive resume, a director, an author, a poet, a photographer, singer, songwriter, and a husband and father.

When Star Trek premiered on NBC, 45 years ago last month, when it was cancelled two years later and then revived and recancelled a year later, no one thought it had made such an enormous impression on its fans that public demand would bring it back to life in so many forms. It was a true grass roots movement – the fan magazines, the fan-created stories and books, the networks of fans who eventually created the first conventions…..and all of this before the internet, when people had to do this stuff with snail mail and landline telephones. And just for the bloody, damned record, we were Trekkies and proud of the term. That whole “call us Trekkers” thing came from the next generation of fans.

Six series, eleven movies, magazines, comics, games, hundreds of novels, the conventions and a fully functional language…all from those simple words “These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise.”

My children once figured out that if I cried, the new series or movie would be a hit. In the first movie, it was when the transport moved around the dry-dock and you caught your first sight of the Enterprise. In the first episode of Next Generation, it was the moment when DeForest Kelley said “treat her right and she’ll always bring you home.” When Spock died in The Wrath of Khan, I was bawling. As the years went by, I cried less, until 2009. By then, we had lost both DeForest Kelley and James Doohan. When Karl Urban nailed Def Kelley’s so-subtle Southern accent, that did it. And then the marvelous Simon Pegg….I was a lost cause.

Leonard Nimoy has been a true gentleman about Star Trek. Though he had his share of wishing people would forget Spock and let him get on with the rest of his career, he came back to Spock over and over again, providing the needed bridge to the new incarnation, the logical explanation of how and why they could restart a beloved myth.

To anyone who has managed to get through a few centuries of the reinventions of King Arthur, the 2009 re-invention of Star Trek makes perfect sense. A great myth is adaptable to the times. The origins are never really forgotten, but the manner in which the story is told can be altered to match the way people prefer their stories to be told or to reflect changes in the culture. King Arthur changed over time, forever being relevant to England and its problems. Star Trek has also proven it can change over time, reflecting our changing culture and problems. It was born at a time when the United States was in flux, generations, classes, races and ideologies warring with each other. The series took the freedom of science fiction, the ability to, as Robert Burns said we could not, “see ourselves as others see us,” and held a magnifying glass to our traumas. By the time we hit Star Trek: Voyager, our nation was in the midst of a cultural lull, a quiet before the next storm. 2009 was exactly the perfect time to re-invent the myth and explore new conflicts, explore the mechanics of the creation of a world government and the Federation.

Leonard Nimoy has been a vital part of the myth, the parenthesis on the first incarnation of Gene Roddenberry’s universe, there at the beginning – the real beginning, that first failed pilot – and there as the torch was passed. For forty-five years, he personified the ideal of Star Trek, a universe in which infinite diversity lives in infinite combination. We thank him, so very much, for those 45 years, and sincerely hope that he will “Live Long and Prosper.”

Related articles

• 45 Glorious Years Of Star Trek (webnerhouse.com)
• Leonard Nimoy Hand Draws STAR TREK Shirts and Sells them on Etsy (geektyrant.com)
• Sept. 8, 1966: Liftoff for the Starship Enterprise (wired.com)

18 August 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

It bills itself as “The Lisa Miller Story” when, in reality, it is little more than propaganda intended to make Liberty University, Liberty Counsel and Lisa Miller look, well, less than criminal. It is also a belated attempt to cash in on the case that gripped the nation’s attention about four years ago or so. Now, it is hard to even get anyone to show up for the trial of the guy accused of helping Miller flee the country.

The book was written by Rena M. Lindevaldsen, one of the lawyers involved in the case. Of course, the fact that she was involved in the case does not matter much since all that ever happened was that she, her team, and Miller lost every single case that they took to the courts because they believe that they are above the law and not subject to it.

That this is little more than propaganda is evident from the Amazon blurb. That reads:

Have you ever wondered… “What can I do to help those involved in homosexuality?” “How extensive is the culture war over marriage and family?” “What are they exposing our children to in schools?” Or, perhaps… “Why should I even care?” This book answers those questions and more! Only One Mommy exposes the truth about the homosexual rights movement and its destructive consequences. Written from the vantage point of Lisa Miller’s seven-year custody battle for her biological child against her former same-sex partner, Only One Mommy offers a first-hand account of how people are lured into believing that they are born “gay” and cannot change. As a result of that belief, they make life choices that have devastating consequences for our children, families, and freedoms. This book offers truth to those struggling with homosexuality, encourages churches to minister to those caught in the lifestyle, and stirs freedom-loving Americans to get involved in the culture war that is raging all around them.

This, of course, blythely ignores the entirety of the scientific evidence out there, and the anecdotal evidence that Miller was not, in fact, ex-gay. There were rumors that she was romantically and sexually linked to at least one other woman.

The book also appears to avoid mentioning the legal thin ice that Lindevaldsen and her team were on throughout the whole proceedings. While Janet Jenkins was not Isabella Miller’s biological mother, she was her legal mother according to the very Conservative Family Court Judge William Cohen.

The blurb continues:

“Rena Lindevaldsen is a leading legal expert in the battle to defend traditional family and marriage. Written from the front lines of the cultural battle, Only One Mommy offers a rare glimpse into a woman’s personal struggle with same-sex attractions and the seven-year legal struggle to keep custody of her biological daughter.” Mike Huckabee, Former Arkansas Governor, Currently Host on the Fox News Channel, Chairman of Liberty Counsel Action “Lisa Miller’s story illustrates the clash between two radically different worldviews. One will win, and one will lose. No one will escape this impending storm. This book should be required reading.” Mathew Staver, Founder & Chairman of Liberty Counsel, Dean of Liberty University School of Law, Chairman of Liberty Counsel Action Rena Lindevaldsen is an Associate Professor of Law at Liberty University School of Law and serves as Special Counsel to Liberty Counsel. Rena has written this book based on her first- hand experience as Lisa Miller’s attorney, as well as on her defense of traditional marriage and family in courts throughout the Nation.

A fight that they know that they are losing, a fight that they have lost in several places, and a fight that is steadily going in the direction of the LGBT Community. Right now, Lisa Miller is in Central America hiding from the law. Lindevaldsen and her crew could end up being implicated in the kidnapping of Isabella Miller.

This is little more than propaganda to try and make Lindevaldsen feel better about the fact that she knowingly aided a law breaker and violated every tenant of her supposedly Christian faith.

Still, have you ever wondered what it would take to get a Christian propagandist to actually face reality?

Oh, and the women on the book cover…they aren’t Lisa Miller, Janet Jenkins or Isabella Miller.

17 August 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

In his book Celtic Women, Peter Berrisford Ellis discussed Saint Brigid of Kildare. In there, he discusses how Saint Brigid was lovers with a woman named Darlughdacha for much of their lives. Such stories are not uncommon or unheard of, and they are part of the work of Father Dennis O’Neill. In his book Passionate Holiness, Father O’Neill delved into the lesbian, gay and transsexual past of the Catholic Church.

In Passionate Holiness, Father O’Neill explores “the Byzantine-era construction of three churches in Constantinople dedicated to martyrs who might have been bisexual or gay. Rich with history and extrapolation, Passionate Holiness will provide comfort and provide insight to its readers.”

The press release also notes:

Well-reviewed by other priests, sociologists and novelists, Passionate Holiness offers a ray of tolerance in the increasingly-polarized world of the Church versus homosexuality. Writing in The Advocate, critic Anne Stockwell notes, “Here’s something the antigay modern Roman Catholic Church would like to forget: In the early years of Christianity, homosexual saints were worshipped, too.”

09 August 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

This October, JD Smith, the cofounder of the LGBT active duty military group OutServe will be publishing a collection of stories about life under the oppression known as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Our Time: Breaking the Silence of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is currently listed under the pseudonym that JD Smith goes under due to the continued legality of DADT.

JD Smith edited the collection of stories in which, according to the Amazon.com product description, “We witness the abuse-physical and mental-endured at the hands of fellow soldiers and superiors. We see the hardships faced by their families and partners and feel the pain of the choice between military and self. There are also examples of humanity at its very best: leaders with the courage to support their comrades in the face of tremendous pressure, friendships forged and minds opened, and love that endures the very toughest of odds.”

Many lesbians and gays have had, over the years, to bury something vital about themselves. In order to serve the nation, they had to bury their love for those of the same-sex. They did so despite the fact that this is a nation that claims to value freedom, equality, and liberty.  The final repeal of DADT will come on 20 September, and it is a huge jump forward in LGBT rights.

16 July 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

Prince Charles, the son of Queen Elizabeth II and father of Prince William, said that it was ‘awful’ that the Harry Potter saga was coming to an end. Charles, who was in Salcombe in Devon, made the remarks to children from the resort town’s primary school. He was accompanied by his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

According to Sue Warne, the school’s head of teaching and learning, “He asked them whether they liked reading, whether they liked Harry Potter and whether they had read the books and seen the films. He said how awful it was that there no more Harry Potter books to come.”

Charles and Camilla are touring Devon, Cornwall and Yorkshire in order to celebrate National Countryside Week. Camilla is reported to have favored a light peach-colored dress and pleased the waiting crowds by enjoying a honeycomb-flavored ice cream from Salcombe Ice Cream. She and Charles went on walkabout through the narrow streets of Salcombe all the while visiting shops including a butcher’s and a sweet shop.

Charles also chatted with shellfishermen and received some locally made Sharpham Savour cheese. Charles asked by boat owner Charles Thompson whether or not the Prince would officially name his new boat, but, as Charles replied, “I’m sorry, but I dno’t have a bottle of champaigne.” Thompson said later that “It was probably just as well because the boat is called Great Bustard.”

Prince Charles will also be giving a talk about the importance of national partks and protecting habitats for rare animals. He also plans on visiting a dairy powered on the manure of its cows and an agricultural show.

He also has plans to visit various projects such as community centers being set up for the elderly to visit and projects set up to address the problems of isolaiton and rural poverty. He has expressed concern that rural and urban populations are becoming increasingly divided. He is also set to announce the latest round of awards to be gifted via The Prince’s Countryside Fund.

According to the Telegraph:

So far £1 million has been raised of which half has been allocated to projects like training apprentice hill farmers, launching a mini bus service to replace public transport in remote villages, setting up post offices in pubs known as “pub as the hub” and training farmers to use computers.

Rowling at the White House Egg Roll by Daniel Ogren

7 July 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

There has been some sad news from the world of Harry Potter, and not along the lines of Dumbldore being killed off, but still, it is sad. JK Rowling has split from her longtime literary agent, Christopher Little. Rowling, who is the top earning fiction author in Great Britain, called the decision painful, but said it “was not taken without good reason”. She and Little have worked together since her first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (HP and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the US) was published back in 1996.

According to a statement released on behalf of Rowling said

“This was a painful decision, especially as Ms Rowling had actively sought a different outcome for some weeks…However, it was not taken without good reason and it finally became unavoidable.”

For his part, Little is “surprised” and “disappointed” at the news. According to statements relating to the decision from Little’s perspective:

“Christopher Little has worked closely with J K Rowling as her agent since the very beginning 16 years ago…He greatly admires her and her extraordinary talent and is proud to have played his role throughout this journey…However he is disappointed and surprised to have heard the premature news about the proposed new arrangements.”

No word has been given as to the why this occurred.

The final instalment of the Harry Potter movies is due out this year. Last month, Rowling announced the launch of a new website caleld Pottermore which will feature previously unpublished Harry Potter material, and will include an online store where fans will be able to buy the books in an electronic format for the first time.

Currently, some 8000 Harry Potter fans are camped out in Trafalgar Square waiting for the premier of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which is set to go into release on 15 July.

Source

It’s not as though Prince Edward Island has never had a Royal visit before. There have been thirteen of them since 1860, from Princes of Wales to Her Majesty, the Queen. But there’s never been one quite like this.

Officially, Prince William is continuing his military-themed tour of Canada and will be participating in a waterbird emergency landing procedure and watching a demonstration by the water and sea rescue unit of the Coast Guard. Prince William pilots a helicopter for sea and air rescue in Wales. But there is a small, unofficial reason for visiting this beautiful island – Princess Catherine is a fan of the Anne of Green Gables books.

The first of eight books, written 1908 by Canadian Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables is the tale of an orphan taken in by a middle-aged farmer and this sister. Red-haired, hot-tempered and not what the couple wanted (a farm needs a boy), Anne worked her way into the hearts of Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert and millions of readers, including a young Catherine Middleton. The 1985 CBC television series, starring Megan Follows, Colleen Dewhurst and Richard Farnsworth created a new interest in the books and millions of new fans as it was shown around the world. The series was filmed in part on Prince Edward Island and the familiar farm house with its fields sweeping down to the sea is a tourist attraction. The most recent mini-series was aired in 2009. Both Colleen Dewhurst and Richard Farnsworth have passed away, and Megan Follows is a 43-year-old mother of three with an extensive filmography dating back to her show-business childhood.

There is a musical based on the books that plays in Charlottetown on a regular schedule. Prince William and Princess Catherine will be enjoying a special performance of an excerpt from the show this afternoon.

The books are public domain now and are available for free download for Nook and Kindle. Because of the television series, they are still in print for those who prefer paper.

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To some, British comedienne and writer Dawn French is the Fat Lady in the portrait who opens the door to Gryffindor Tower, to others, the star of The Vicar of Dibley. For thirty years, she has been partnered with Jennifer Saunders of Absolutely Fabulous fame in a team that formed part of the center of a generation of British comedians and actors whose one-degree-of-separation includes Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Emma Thompson and just about everyone in British television and movies who’s around 50 years old. People tend to forget that Laurie, of House, and Fry, of Bones, started as a comedy duo within an overlapping group of skit comedy shows.

To women of a certain size, though, Dawn French was an earth goddess who celebrated her “19 stones” weight (265 pounds) on a five-foot tall body and posed nude for some absolutely fabulous artistic portraits during her “Big Is Beautiful” campaign aimed at improving British women’s self-image problems. She carried that weight with far more dignity than Kirstie Alley, but could make fun of it constantly in Dibley with candy-bar binges and jokes about growing up nurturing dreams of being a super model, but never getting tall enough. Geraldine Granger’s romantic encounters were both glorious hosannas to huge boobs and poignant reminders of the manner in which society equates boney rib cages with sex appeal. I was disappointed when she was cast as the Fat Lady in the Gryffindor portrait. I wanted her to play Madame Maxime, the headmistress of Beauxbatons. The Vicar of Dibley was both slapstick comedy and social commentary, touching on such issues as hunger in the third world and the quiet coming-out of an older gay man.

Dawn French, now

At this week’s Glamour Magazine awards in London, French revealed her new body, nearly 25% slimmer than her former self, having shed “four-and-a-half stones” (63 lbs.). Still favoring the tent-like tunic-and-pants look of the past (where are Trini and Suzanne when someone needs to learn What Not To Wear?) Dawn’s new figure became the headline, instead of her award-winning first novel A Tiny Bit Marvellous. She had previously written Dear Fatty, which was not addressed to herself, but was a collection of fictionalized letters to her jokingly-nicknamed, skinnier partner Jennifer Saunders.

The novel was the result of her British-cliche separation and divorce from fellow comedian Lennie Henry, best known to American PBS audiences as the title character in the series Chef!  They continued to share their Cornwall home for nearly a year after separating, just as Prince Andrew and Fergie have continued to share homes. A Tiny Bit Marvellous draws on the people in French’s life for the story of a family in meltdown. French retreated to a few rooms in her home and began writing as a coping mechanism. She continued performing primarily as a guest, but French and Saunders were on a hiatus from their joint work as writers, directors, producers and performers in a broad range of projects while Saunders successfully battled breast cancer.

French explained the weight loss as something that just evolved. She reached the age of 50 and accepted what professionals had been saying about her weight for years in their condemnation of her “Big Is Beautiful” campaign – being overweight is unhealthy. For the sake of her daughter Billie, (now 19) French changed her “life priorities” from “my daughter, writing, chocolate and kissing” to her daughter, writing, walking and kissing, though she’s not revealing who she’s kissing these days. In the course of her career, she’s kissed Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, George Clooney, chef Gordon Ramsay and Hugh Grant – and that doesn’t even include her co-stars. French’s “diet” consisted of making healthy food choices and doing a lot of walking. Though nowhere near the size 0 that is the current standard of beauty on both sides of the ocean, French is poised to become the next role model in the mold of Queen Latifah – a woman who can publicly express the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and strong body while still being voluptuous. We don’t have to trade in our grapefruits for Keira Knightly’s grapes. We can exalt in our natural cleavage instead of relying on Victoria’s Secret trickery.

Now fully recovered from both breast cancer and the debilitating effects of chemo, Saunders is apparently moving ahead with a reunion show for AbFab with Joanna Lumley, and hopefully to more joint projects with French. As individuals, they are extraordinary performers, as a partnership, they have always been greater than the sum of their parts, no matter how zaftig those parts were.

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Have you ever been living dyke drama and thinking “this sucks so hard…but it would make a great book.” Well author Dawn Mueller certainly thought so. Dawn, a Chi-town based lez, found herself single for the first time in nine years at the age of 33. She threw herself headfirst into the shark tank of gay girl dating and channeled her experiences into her first novel, “A Single Year.”

“A Single Year” is a must read for any queer lady, single or taken. Dawn’s writing is honest, sometimes even painfully so. She shows readers her the innermost workings of her mind and her heart and everyone will see parts of themselves reflected there.

Natasia Langfelder: Why did you choose to write about the first year of your life as a single lesbian instead of your life in a relationship?

Dawn Mueller: Honestly I never thought about writing about my life in a relationship. I am typically more compelled to write when my life is in chaos than when my life is in balance (not that being in a relationship equals balance necessarily). Really, when I reviewed all of my exploits and saw that I had enough material for a book, I had to write that before I wrote anything else.

NL: You know I have to ask, are you still single?

DM: I have had a number of relationships since writing A Single Year. Most of them fizzled out in less than a year. My current relationship is nearing the 14-month mark, which is quite a milestone for me after 5 years of ups and downs. We’ll see what happens. In the meantime, I have plenty of material for my next book if things ever calm down enough for me to write it! 

NL: You get really graphic in the book, both in terms of emotions and sex. Did you use the real names of your friends/dates? Do they hate you now?

DM: In some cases I used real names, but I got permission from all of those people beforehand. For the others, I changed the names and some minor details, but left the rest. Generally I changed the names of my dates or people who I may not have portrayed in a flattering light. Most of them probably don’t even know they appear in a book (though I did consider sending them copies ). The characters from the book that I am still in contact with have been very supportive and encouraging. I have not heard from any characters from the book who are angry about it or who hate me. I assume this is either because they don’t know about it or they are too busy sticking pins in their DM voodoo dolls.

NL: Did your family read the book? Did they enjoy the detailed sex scenes?

DM: My sister and mom read the book, though my mom said she skipped some of the steamier scenes. (Phew!) She is my biggest supporter. When my sister was reading it, I was a nervous wreck. She’d keep calling me and telling me how good it was and I’d keep asking her if she’d gotten to the sex scenes yet. I was sure her opinion of the book would change when she got to that point, but it didn’t seem to faze her. She said when she finished, “You definitely had more fun than me.” I told my dad about it recently, but I think some of what I wrote about our relationship made it difficult for him. It’s probably best that he doesn’t read the sex scenes anyway!

NL: In the book you mention that you got some crap from other lesbians for being open to threesomes with couples. Have lesbians who have read your book harshed out on you for having sexual encounters with men?

DM: Surprisingly enough, I have not heard from that contingent. I’m sure that’s only because it hasn’t reached them yet. The movie “The Kids are All Right” had those lesbians all up in arms, and I was reminded once again that sleeping with a man is still the lesbian kiss of death to some. Knowing that I was opening myself up to that kind of scrutiny was one of the many reasons why it took me so long to publish. I wanted to be prepared for the backlash, but I discovered you can never be prepared for the kind of criticism this type of book evokes. Stories as personal and revealing as mine tend to trigger pretty strong responses from either side. I just have to learn to roll with the punches as they come.

NL: Are there women who won’t date you because of the book?

DM: I was dating a woman around the time I was shopping for publishers for the book and I let her read some of it. She was shocked and very unhappy about the whole thing (to put it mildly). Our relationship was never quite the same and ended soon after. I had a woman tell me once that she wouldn’t date me because she didn’t want me to write about her. Generally though, I find that sharing the book with a potential partner serves as a good gauge for whether or not we are compatible. If she has a problem with it or with anything I’ve done, we probably aren’t a good match. The sooner I find that out, the better!

NL: What did your ex think of the book? Do you think you two will ever be able to be friends?

DM: As far as I know, my ex does not know about the book, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she found out about it on her own. I still live in the same building with her and she still doesn’t talk to me. If there was ever a chance in hell of us being friends (and that’s an enormous IF), the book pretty much blew that to bits. I don’t think I include anything particularly damning towards her, but it was a lot for me to reveal about our relationship. Initially I tried to tiptoe around that part of my story, but it is such a central part of what happened that I had to tell the truth, even the ugly parts of it.

NL: In your book, you mentioned that you run with an LGBT group. Do you still run with them?

DM: Yes, I still run with Frontrunners/Frontwalkers Chicago, though I am not as consistent as I used to be. They are an awesome group.

NL: In ‘A Single Year’ you address the clique-iness of the lesbian community, but you managed to integrate pretty well. What tips would you give readers who are looking to expand their social lesbian circle (without sleeping with everyone in sight)?

DM: This is where Frontrunners came in handy. I learned to be more comfortable in social settings and gained a lot of confidence through them. I definitely recommend finding a GLBT group of interest and exploring where that can lead. Plus, I really think it helps that I don’t drink. Hanging out in bars is not the ideal setting for a drama-free lesbian existence. I’m sure I would have found myself in a lot more messy situations if I didn’t have the presence of mind I’ve gotten through sobriety. You really just have to gauge each situation and try to act accordingly. Weigh the risks with the benefits. Try not to be impulsive. The community is so small even in a city like Chicago that if you make the wrong decision (even if it’s the right decision for you), it can come back to haunt you.

NL: If the book was made into a movie, which actresses would play you and your main love interests, Mimi, Vann and Jamie?

DM: Funny, I think I probably spent more time thinking about this question than any of the others! It’s tough. I can’t think of any particular actresses that could completely embody the characters, but I have some ideas. For instance, Mimi would be a Filipino actress with the bubbly personality of Drew Barrymore. Vann would be a physically stronger, more butch Katherine Moennig. Jamie would be a shorter, darker, Queen Latifah. Me, I would be a younger, dorkier Ellen Degeneres. 

NL: Do you have any upcoming writing projects?

DM: I have no immediate plans, but I’m slowly compiling material for the next book. Meanwhile, I am also promoting the book and appearing at book stores here and there. I have a reading at Women and Children First on June 16th and there are several other events coming up that coincide with Pride Month here in Chicago.

NL: Where can your fans find you?

DM: I can be found on twitter @a_single_year, fan me on FB,  or look me up here: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/asingleyear

NL: What has the best part of this experience been for you?

DM: I went to a book club to discuss the book and someone asked me what the best part of this experience has been. I didn’t have an answer for him at the time, but can now say it would have to be knowing that the book is out there and that people are relating to it. Writing, publishing, and promoting it has led me to places that have both terrified and excited me. I have gone from never wanting to write again to wanting to finish the next one tomorrow. The bottom line is, I have done what I set out to do and never have to look back and think… “What if…”

You can buy “A Single Year” on Amazon. Already read the book and love it? Become a fan on Facebook and stay on top of all Dawn’s upcoming appearances and projects.

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Levi Johnston’s Deer In The Headlights, My Life In Sarah Palin’s Crosshairs may have just gotten a huge credibility boost. Her former aide, Frank Bailey is releasing his tell-all tomorrow.

Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin: A Memoir of Our Tumultuous Years is based on tens of thousands of e-mails Bailey kept, starting with her 2006 gubernatorial race and ending when she quit the governorship in 2009. His attorney says that Bailey was very careful not to violate Alaska law as regards using information gathered during public service for personal gain, because the Alaska Attorney General is looking into the matter. The state has not released e-mails and other documents from Palin’s term, though there has been a call to do so because of various ethics questions involving her administration and especially her husband’s role in it.

Bailey told the Associated Press, “In 2009, I had the sense if she made it to the White House and I had stayed silent, I could never forgive myself.” In the book, Bailey casts himself as an enabler and enforcer who made it possible for Palin to pursue her self-serving plans. Bailey was so enamored of a woman he considered “a breath of fresh air” blowing against the corruption of Alaska politics that he abandoned his wife and two children and even willingly threw himself under the nearest oil truck when the ethics investigations started over her former brother-in-law, a state trooper who didn’t get fired as she had demanded. He gushes that “We looked at her as….that queen on a horse that could come in and save the state. As we started to see that that was not the case, I kept silent and I just kept on working.” Bailey had a ring-side seat to the spectacle of Palin’s wrathful vengeance against anyone who crossed her. As her true nature became apparent, he didn’t speak out because he had invested so much into her future.

The book is a long list of her un-ethical activities, her behaviors that skimmed legality (like co-ordinating ads with the Republican Governors Association) and her hatred of the governor’s job once she had tasted national limelight. It makes clear how very difficult it is to work for someone who has no sense of obligation to others or respect for her own word.

Bailey says he is not “disgruntled” over being left behind as Palin climbed the political and media ladder, he’s just deeply disappointed. “I’m sad at a lot of wasted potential. I certainly don’t hate her, but I look at a lot of wasted opportunities on her part.” Bailey wanted good governance for Alaska, and instead he got a woman who was greeted in one small town, during filming of her reality show, with a banner that said “worst governor ever.”

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Ashley Judd’s new memoir “All That is Bitter and Sweet” chronicles her life becoming a human-rights activist and her growth process along the way. During her reflection, Judd takes the time to discuss her work in AIDS awareness and how she isn’t too pleased about the spokespeople the organization YouthAIDS has decided to bring into their ranks. Judd takes

Courtesy of Wikipedia

the time to single out both Snoop Dogg and Diddy and then proceeds to provide the reasoning behind her opinion.

“Along with other performers, YouthAIDS was supported by rap and hip-hop artists like Snoop Dogg and P. Diddy to spread the message…um, who? Those names were a red flag. As far as I’m concerned, most rap and hip-hop music — with its rape culture and insanely abusive lyrics and depictions of girls and women as ‘ho’s’ — is the contemporary soundtrack of misogyny. I believe that the social construction of gender — the cultural beliefs and practices that divide the sexes and institutionalize and normalize the unequal treatment of girls and women, privilege the interests of boys and men, and, most nefariously, incessantly sexualize girls and women — is the root cause of poverty and suffering around the world.”

It is nice to use generalizations to further your cause, instead of backing up your opinion with factual evidence.

?uestlove of The Roots quickly weighed in on Judd’s attack on hip-hop culture, ““Hmmm. at least i got my answer as to why ash judd didn’t give us so much as a nod on her last visit. im a criminal.” He then followed his comment with Johnny Cash’s “Cocaine Blues,” stating “See. Ash’s ‘Rap is rape culture’ statement would be like me hearing this & lumping these guys together.”

Judd, after hearing about how her comments were receiving this type of attention, reached out to Russell Simmons (a friend of hers and perhaps, her idea of a great spokesperson for hip-hop) in order to clear her name.

“My intention was to support artists to know that they have so much power, that they make incredible life-changing impressions, particularly on the young, And we have choices every day with our expressions, we either empower and celebrate unity or to re-enforce inequality and degradation. We are either part of the problem, or part of the solution. There is no in-between.”

Yes, nice use of the word “we” now, Ashley.  The star continues:

“What I’m being accused of is condemning rap and hip-hop as a whole, and the whole community and when they say community, they mean the fans, and African-Americans, it’s become so generalized…My intention was to take a stand to say the elements that are misogynistic and treat girls and women in a hyper-sexualized way are inappropriate.”

Judd’s way of thinking is not totally off base but hip-hop is not the only culture used to sexualize women. The entire entertainment industry is all about the degradation of women, an industry where Judd carved a niche for herself.

Sounds like someone is trying to salvage their reputation, in order to get those book sales.

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Cover via Amazon

04/07/2011 – by Cynthia S. Wright

With the recent passing of acclaimed Professor Manning Marable, so close to the release of his new book about slain black civil rights leader, Malcolm X, which has been lauded as one of the top authoritative books about the leader, notable websites have come out addressing not only Marable’s book but the civil rights leader’s sexual orientation.

In Marable’s book, the author discusses how the slain leader wrestled with plenty of demons like any other human being during various stages of life. His book discusses Malcolm X’s relationships with Elijah Mohammad and the Nation of Islam, his struggles about being a black nationalist leader and his doubts about theology and politics. In other words, it shows Malcolm X as human battling his own demons and convictions, in some instances relying on sensationalism in order to keep readers engaged and interested.

In Marable’s biography, “Making Malcolm” The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X”, which has been praised as the most thorough and exhausting job that has ever been done pertaining to the life and evolution of Malcolm X, he tries his best to shed new light upon the activists image, at the same, disputing some well known facts about the leader. Not even Alex Haley, whose biography has been paraded around college campuses for decades like gospel, has been cited by scholars as exhibiting many flaws in the storytelling of Malcolm’s life.

Through the course of the book, Marable attempts at fleshing out a lot of the gaps in Malcolm X’s history, while also discrediting a lot of the work done by the authors Haley and Bill Perry.  Even though in Haley’s case, Malcolm did intentionally gloss over some facts while exaggerating others, which suited Haley because he wanted to showcase the Malcolm that would uphold the black race, so blurring the facts assisted his cause. At the same time, the same can’t be said regarding the facts that Perry weaves in his biography.

In one of the recent articles from The Grio, the author discusses that the notion of Malcolm X’s bisexuality is often blown out of proportion and can be rarely misconstrued on something he battled with during the bulk of his adult life.

“It should be said outright that this area of Malcolm’s life is neither new nor novel. Speculation about his sexuality soared after the publication of a 1992 book, ‘Malcolm: The Life of a Man Who Changed Black America.’ The novel’s author, Bruce Perry, alleges Malcolm had sporadic same-sex encounters throughout his hustling years, claims that have yet to be independently verified. However, Marable’s scholarly research in A Life of Reinvention discounts the idea that Malcolm was a practicing bisexual. The rather amorphous claim, based exclusively on Malcolm’s employment by Lennon as his personal butler, barely takes up one full page of the 600-plus behemoth. The professor even goes out of his way to explain that there was “no evidence from his prison record in Massachusetts or from his personal life after 1952 that he was actively homosexual.”

So one must question whether Manning was trying to show the real historical relevance surrounding one of the most secretive civil rights leaders or is this a ploy to garner more press for his book? Compared to others, Marable might have more sources to back up his claims but even with his findings, some can be seen as a stretch.

There is no secret that Malcolm X’s life is shrouded in mystery, perhaps in an attempt to show the strides he made towards African-American civil rights. At the same time, why is his sexuality being continuously brought up for discussion?

Today, the popular (often, white, gay male leaning) blog, Queerty decided to throw their two cents into the ring concerning the recent resurgence of Malcolm X. Instead of discussing Marable’s new book – which is the most relevant, whether you agree with the content or not, they instead decided to quote Perry’s 1991 “biography” concerning what they deem the most pertinent part of Malcolm X’s “legacy”. In doing so, they denigrated one of the most pertinent civil rights activists to escort status, showing how much respect they give towards the assassinated leaders legacy. In a direct excerpt from the news site, they quote some of the “facts” from Perry’s, in order to prove their case:

“…Perry’s book documents Malcolm X’s many gay experiences. A schoolmate, Bob Bebee, recalls the day they stumbled on a local boy jerking off. Malcolm, Bebee recalled, ordered the youth to masturbate him, and subsequently boasted he had given him oral sex. Later, from the age of 20, Malcolm had sex with men for money – as hinted at in Spike Lee’s 1992 biopic – and he had at least one sustained sexual liaison with a man. While living in Flint, Michigan, his roommate noticed that instead of sleeping in the room they were sharing, Malcolm sneaked down the hall to spend the night with a gay transvestite named Willie Mae.

In New York, two of Malcolm’s friends from Michigan remember bumping into him at the YMCA, where Malcolm bragged he earned money servicing ‘queers’. Later, Malcolm worked as a butler to a wealthy Boston bachelor, William Paul Lennon. According to Malcolm’s sidekick Malcolm Jarvis, he was paid to sprinkle Lennon with talcum powder and bring him to orgasm. Perry suggests that Malcolm’s gay encounters may not have been entirely financially motivated. His masculine insecurities and ambivalence towards women fit the archetype of a repressed gay man and point to latent homosexuality.”

Also, the book seems to focus more on Malcolm’s supposed dalliances over the strides he made within the civil rights movement. After all, I guess how he helped shape the black movement is irrelevant if we aren’t privy to his alleged sex life.

Yet, what Queerty fails to mention regarding the biography and its supposed “accounts” that tend to read more like a Jackie Collins novel, instead of non-fiction is that Perry later came to admit that the book contained several blatant exaggerations and outright falsehoods. In some cases, he admitted that a lot of his “stories and facts” remained unsupportable. So, how can any portion of this book be taken as a reliable source concerning Malcolm X’s personal story and history?

Simply put, it can’t – unless you want to be taken as a gossip mag and with some of the folks Queerty has recruited within their ranks, the site already isn’t too far off.

Queerty’s post is showing – yet again – that perhaps some of the privileged white, gay, usually male liberals (in Queerty’s case, anyway) want take satisfaction in slandering black, historical figures, even if sexuality has nothing to do with the case overall. Sloppily, trying to show (again) that there is nothing but hypocrisy spewing from the black population, no matter the time period or accomplishment.

Letting it be know that, when a blog quotes a source from an author that has come out admitting their own exaggeration, while at the same time, equating the historical figure at hand to an escort who deserves a Hookie Award (with an Africa comment to boot!) has not only lost their credibility but a sense of class as well.

Image via Wikipedia

04/01/2011 – by Cynthia S. Wright

Sasha Grey, the 23-year old adult film actress has recently published her first book titled “Neu Sex”. Grey, who has recently had roles in American Apparel ads and the show “Entourage”, has been making the media rounds promoting her first book on art photography.  In an interview with Scott Indrisek of ArtInfo, she touches on how she has was able to combine her porn career with performance art, “It’s about using my body as a canvas, as the tool. I was able to examine myself.”

By the looks of things, surely she isn’t the only doing the examining. Grey also discusses one of the prime issues concerning modern women and sexuality. In most cases, women are allowed to be sexy but not sexual – which are two different things entirely. Wherein men are the ones able to show their desire, their need (witnessed notably in the porn industry) but actual female sexual enjoyment is off limits. Grey wants to change all that – at least, when it comes to her own image.

In “Neu Sex”, she takes hold of her artistic expression of sexuality in order to retain editorial authority over her own image. Relying on lot of public profile-esque snapshots and group photos of Grey with an assortment of men, the pictures border from MySpace chic to the voyeur “fantasy” photography element that was best implemented by photographer, Helmut Newton. The book goes between glamour and excess – showing Grey dolled up, followed by photos that show her covered in blood or peeing in the streets.

This may not be your typical porn star expose, unless bodily fluids happen to be a fetish of yours (and for some they are). Instead, Grey uses this book in order to perhaps align herself along similar lines with famed adult film extraordinaire, Annie Sprinkle. Which in turn, allows Grey the freedom to express her sexual image by broadcasting it in her own way, whether it makes you comfortable or not.

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Is He?

3/30/2011 – by Cynthia S. Wright

Nothing strikes fear in a straight woman’s heart more than pondering whether your man may have his eye on another. Particularly, if the ‘other’ person happens to be of the male persuasion. Well, fret no more ladies, there is a new book in town brought to you by Tonja Ayers, the author who wrote “A Ho Needs 2 Stay in a Ho’s Place” – a handbook for the ‘other’ woman (other being the ones who like to get it in with married or otherwise taken men) with a topic like that, surely her new book won’t disappoint. Published by Emperial Publishing, “Is Your Man Gay?” tackles one of the most controversial issues in the black female community – down low black men. If you ever suspect that your man might be creeping, better yet and if you suspect that his other boo might be a man – than this book may just be for you!

Ayers combines a user-friendly handbook layout along with interesting, common sense advice that will enable the reader to tackle this situation head on and deal with the repercussions while coming out stronger in the end. “I can’t tell you how many women are suffering in silence…and if this book makes a difference even for one of them, I have accomplished my goal,” she says. Even though Ayers admits that she is not a psychiatrist or therapist, she counters by saying she has plenty of real life experience pertaining to this topic.

The author follows up by saying she doesn’t have anything against gay men, her issue is with the liars that enter into relationships when they know they aren’t fully invested. So down low men, your days are numbered – so come clean while you still can. The book is available on her website at: http://www.isheorishenot.com/.

Jenna Maroney fans from 30 Rock all over can now rejoice. Muffin top has made it to its proper place – the Oxford English Dictionary (the online

Cover via Amazon

version).

Muffin top is defined as “a protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers.” So, anytime you see that protruding flesh peeking out from a pair of too tight pants, remember that you are witnessing muffin topping at its finest.

Oxford has currently revised more than 1900 entries in their online dictionary. With the new update, several popular Internet initialisms have been given the

green light. Phrases such as LOL (laugh out loud), IMHO (in my humble opinion), and BFF (best friends forever) have finally permeated the classic online dictionary. With the onslaught of  texting and platforms such as Twitter growing in popularity,  the need to be able to say what you want in fewer than 200 characters had to be overcome. The Oxford English Dictionary has explained that the newly admitted words are considered to be initialisms that can be used in an online arena or as an “informal, gossipy mode of expression.”

Whether that is truly the case or the OED trying to rationalize their new inclusions without feeling like they are “dumbing down” the English language remains to be unknown.

In other words, “OMG, this is  really only the beginning!”

Related articles

• Oxford English Dictionary adds OMG, LOL, and BFF to its pages. WTF? (popwatch.ew.com)
• OMG and muffin top added to the Oxford dictionary. LOL (theglobeandmail.com)

Alison Naomi Holt

There are forty yards of fiction on my bookshelves. Yeah, you read that right – yards. Thirty yards of it are mysteries. I love a good mystery – police procedurals, English country houses, classic who-done-its, everything from Peter Tremayne’s Sister Fidelmas to Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum. The challenge is to find one I can’t figure out before the last chapter.

Alison Holt blew me away.

While there are a couple of criminal subplots to this book, the real mystery lies inside a mind. Fair warning, if you are not a fan of shows like Criminal Minds, the journey through this mind can easily become too much to read. This book requires a strong ability to take a step back from the horrors inside that mind.

I found myself grateful for the parts of the book that stepped away from the mystery, because it gave me a chance to put it down. Otherwise, I would have read straight through the night, and that’s something I only do if I’m dumb enough to get caught two-thirds of the way through a Dick Francis around 11 p.m. The breaks work well, primarily dealing with the operations of a farm that trains horses and hounds for American fox hunting – no foxes are killed. Holt finds that balance between explaining something most of us have no clue about and over-explaining it. Nothing about the farm operation gets so detailed that you want to skip a few paragraphs.

I was initially surprised that Holt never pegs this farm to a state or region. That’s rare. Authors go to great lengths to establish their characters within the framework of a real location, even though a street or estate or town may be fictional. The closest one comes with this book is a sense that they don’t ever have to dig out from under three feet of snow. The town is like small towns in every state. The people could be anywhere, just supply the accent. By the end, I realized that the lack of specific location had allowed me to imagine a place where I felt safe to return to after delving into the terrifying terrain within that damaged mind. I appreciated the freedom from being in California or Virginia or anywhere I wasn’t at home.

Anyone who reads our blog regularly knows that I’m the straight gal on this staff, so the only part of this book I can’t comment on with any authority is the relationships of the five female characters. On the other hand, none of the, shall we say, romantic scenes were graphic or embarrassing for a middle-aged straight woman, so you can safely recommend this book to your auntie if she’s cool with your lifestyle. I was particularly comfortable with the relationship of the older, committed couple. Morgan and Ryland felt right. That’s the only way I can explain it. They just felt right. All the relationships felt right. I cared about these people, and isn’t that the most important part of any book?

Let’s put it this way, in the last three days, I recommended it to my younger daughter. She bought it for her Nook and has already recommended it to her mystery book club. It’s that good.

I yearn I thirst I crave
not to throw all of my hard won years away

but to become One
if that’s possible again.

Vanessa Libertad Garcia weaves together a wonderful narrative through the eyes of several different, and largely nameless, lesbian and gay Latina/os in Los Angeles during the lead up to the Prop 8 vote. The book Voting Booth After Dark: Despicable, Embarrassing, Repulsive weaves its tale through the use of poetry and prose to jarringly tell the story of the attempts by her characters to find some sense of identity that breaks them out of the lows of anxiety, hatred, fear and addiction to cheep booze, bad food and fast sex.

The theme itself is reminiscent of Borderlands/La Frontera by Gloria Anzaldua, another Latina lesbian author who wrote about identity. The style is also reminiscent of Anzaldua’s form since she wrote her narrative in that as a weaving together of poetry and prose as well as English, Spanish and Nahuatl. The style will make it very hard for some to read, but for those who can enjoy this form of narrative, it is an enjoyable and worthwhile read.

The nexus of the LGBT and Minority Communities have tended to be the worst areas of the borderlands where individuals are often treated horrifically by one side and the other. It is a struggle to bring oneself out of that deep despair.

I found the short book very enjoyable. It was a fast read for me, but I am far more use to reading books of this structure than others. I found that I wanted to continue to read and that every fragment helped to bring a greater experience to the entire story. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested. Voting Booth is about who we are and the pains and addictions that we face as we try to forge our own identity in this world that often seeks to tear us apart. It is available from Amazon.com if anyone would like to purchase a copy.

From the press release:

Cuban-American writer & filmmaker Vanessa Libertad Garcia grew up between the burbs’ and hoods of Los Angeles, California. A graduate of Loyola Marymount University, she’s completed a myriad of successful projects in both the film and literary worlds. On a cinematic front, she’s worked on films that garnered the HSF/McNamara Arts Grant, debuted on PBS’ Independent Lens, and screened at top festivals such as The LA Film Fest, The Habana Film Fest, and Outfest to name a few. She’s had writings published by venerated literary staple Lambda Literary and the rising art & lit magazine Amor Fati. Her first book The Voting Booth After Dark: Despicable, Embarrassing, Repulsive is drawing laudable reviews. Ms. Garcia is currently in development for her first feature film based on the books’ characters titled Dear Dios, and her second book Bloody Fucking Hell.

Addict Nation straddles a line between well documented research and memoir. Through reading this book, the reader is definitely learning a great deal about Velez-Mitchell’s life and her own struggles with addiction. Some of the stories can be a bit funny, including her scarfing down a healthy desert only to realize that she is addicted to sweets.

The complexity of the addiction issue can be summed up with regards to the addiction to consumerism. “When does our consumption of material goods cross a line into addiction? The answer is: when we are consuming for the wrong reasons, not because we really need those items but because we’re scrambling to fill a void.” The first example given after that sentence is of a woman in an unhappy marriage who spends her days constantly buying things that she does not need in order to try and alleviate that pain.

Some issues straddle two or even three different areas of addiction. For instance, in the chapter “The Breeders”, the addiction to rampant procreation is discussed, but that also feeds into the addiction in America to celebrity as many of those who have large families such as the Goslins, etc, tend to have large broods and then get on television.

Velez-Mitchell and Mohr do not just lay out what is wrong, but they do offer some solutions. With regards to two of the addictions laid out, the solution is sort of the same, and that is matriarchal values. “We need to bring matriarchal values to our national debate on crime, teaching nonviolence and conflict resolution in schools and developing early interventions and therapeutic techniques that break the cycle of violence being handed down to the next generation.” At the end of the chapter on “The Breeders”, the statistics about overpopulation are brought up nicely and that brings up the discussion of how empowering women through education reduces the number of children being born in a society.

Velez-Mitchell, who is openly lesbian, does address briefly the addictions that the denial of one’s own sexuality can lead to. “It took me decades to come to terms with my own homosexuality in order to conform to a society that told me there was something wrong with those innate desires. So I went into denial about my feelings towards members of the same sex and proceeded to become an alcoholic to drown the sadness and confusion that wouldn’t go away.” For many lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals, the temptation is towards addiction of one sort or another be it drugs, alcohol, food, overconsumption, etc. Velez-Mitchell’s solution to this is, very simply, acceptance of one’s self.

Addict Nation is well researched. In academia, the first thing that should always be taught to students is to check the research that has been done for a given book. Many of the points made are backed up by scientific studies, and a variety of interviews that were conducted specifically for the book.

There are a few things wrong with Addict Nation. For instance there is a certain simplicity to Velez-Mitchell’s argument regarding the obesity epidemic in the United States, and this is something of a problem. One issue that is ignored, unfortunately, with regards to the obesity epidemic is the fact that there are a host of food allergies and sensitivities which also fuels the tendency towards obesity. Typically, due to the medical situation in the United States coupled with the subsidies that make certain foods almost omnipresent in the food supply, food sensitivities such as celiacs, lactose intolerance, and peanut sensitivities can lead a person’s body to overreact and end up with that individual heading towards being well overweight.

To a certain degree, the biggest problem with Addict Nation is that addiction plays a large part in many of these social ills, but it is not the only cause of them. Conversely, this is also what makes Addict Nation such a strong read is the fact that the underlying addiction driving society is almost never addressed, and to focus simply upon that makes it easier to focus upon the problems caused by addiction. Addiction is something that society is reluctant to even address unless it can be pushed into the realm of things like crime and punishment, but the springing up of all sorts of twelve step programs certainly shows that there is a need to reign in the problems caused by addiction.

Addict Nation adds a great part to the discussion of what is wrong within American society, or it will once Americans can actually have a discussion about what is wrong with society since most of the time the discussion amounts to one side trying to actually talk about what’s wrong and others just screaming that there’s nothing wrong.

Addict Nation by Jane Velez-Mitchell and Sandra Mohr is on the bookshelves now. Velez-Mitchell is the host of Issues on HLN.

Related articles

• Interview with Jane Velez-Mitchell, Author of “Addict Nation” (lezgetreal.com)
• Velez-Mitchell And Lohan’s White Dress On The Soup (lezgetreal.com)
• Addict Nation by Velez-Mitchell Explores Cultural Addiction And How It Damages Women and the Planet (lezgetreal.com)
• Jane Velez-Mitchell Focuses On Every Parent’s Nightmare (mediaite.com)
• Jane Velez-Mitchell Hosts Two-Part Special ‘Every Parents Nightmare’ on HLN (tvbythenumbers.com)
• An excerpt from ‘Addict Nation: An Intervention for America’ (cnn.com)

She will also be at a book celebration event tomorrow regarding her book Addict Nation, for those interested:

Saturday February 12, 2011 @ 5p.m.
Book Soup
8818 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90069

Related articles

• Addict Nation by Velez-Mitchell Explores Cultural Addiction And How It Damages Women and the Planet (lezgetreal.com)
• Interview with Jane Velez-Mitchell, Author of “Addict Nation” (lezgetreal.com)

I will not be anything less than blunt. I have read about three of her books, and found the rest of them rather difficult to read. Still, she has many fans.

From the source of these videos:

Here, the famously outspoken writer explains how she was surprised by the world-wide reaction last year. And Rice gives her gay son a number reasons about why she thinks the Catholic Church’s misguided belief system is hell-bent on suppressing gay people and gay families:

* ”The vast majority of [e-mails] I got were from believers who had also walked away from organized religion…. The second biggest group I got were from Christians who were [gay-] inclusive…. That was an eye opener. I didn’t know there were all those denominations.”
* ”I am completely confident that gays are winning the battle for equal rights in our country. And that the battle for same-sex marriage will be won. And that Don’t Ask, Don’t tell is going down.”
* ”I hadn’t been a Catholic for 38 years, so I began to study it. I began to live it…. And I came to the conclusion 12 years later that it was not a fine religion, that it was dishonorable, that it was dishonest, that it’s theology was largely sophistry… and that it was basically a church that told lies. And that it was for me, for my conscientious standpoint, an immoral church; and I had to leave it.”
* ”They’re very eager to blame the liberals, but the liberals have had no power in the Church all these years. And 75% of the priesthood and the hierarchy are gay.”
* ”There are some Catholics who are actually going around, like Bill Donohue, the disreputable spokesman for the Catholic League…. saying that a 15-year-old boy is complicit. He’s actually saying that 15-year-old children do not — they’re not entitled to protection under the law.”
* ”The main reason I think Christians and Catholics are going through this crisis with gay culture is they cannot face the reality … that good, wholesome, productive gay people exist in all walks of life…. They are at war with information. They’re at war with data. They can’t bear that thought that good gay people could have two adopted children, and get up before an altar or judge and exchange vows and live a good family life.”

Related articles

• Ann Rice on Leaving Christianity (bilerico.com)
• Bill Donohue: A “Good” Catholic, Terrible Christian (lezgetreal.com)
• Catholic Church Wants Courts To Keep DOMA, Trample On LGBT and Religious Rights (lezgetreal.com)
• Anne Rice: Catholic Church is “dishonorable…dishonest…an immoral church…” (insightscoop.typepad.com)

You have probably seen Jane Velez-Mitchell on CNN Headline News, hosting her popular show, “Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell.” You might have also seen her on Nancy Grace or read one of her bestselling books. If you have, you know that Ms. Velez-Mitchell is a strong, outspoken woman who isn’t afraid of having an opinion and sharing it.

In her newest offering, “Addict Nation: An Intervention for America,” Velez-Mitchell implores Americans to identify their addictions, legal or not and overcome them. Velez-Mitchell wants to wake readers up and make them think. Her book asks tough questions and makes readers face the impact each of their decisions make on their lives and the world in general. From fast food addiction to overpopulation, Velez-Mitchell wants you to be aware of the choices you are making and how they affect the world around you.

Also, she’s a lesbian and she is calling on the LGBT community to be a leader in the change that needs to happen in order to keep our planet healthy. I was lucky enough to be able to talk to the busy author and you, lucky LGR reader, get the play by play. Is gay the new green? Will you go vegan for Jane? (Spoiler Alert: I AM) Read more to find out!

LGR: Your fans know that you hyphenated your name to represent both sides of your heritage; can I ask you what your mindset was at the time and how you think that decision has impacted the perception of you by your audience?

Jane Velez-Mitchell: Well I was in therapy and I had not gotten sober yet and ultimately I did go on to get sober, thank god! But I was trying to figure out who I was. I wouldn’t recommend that people go into therapy to get sober; you go into a 12 step program to get sober.  In the interim while therapy didn’t help me get sober, it did help my maturity level…I did end up discussing other issues… and that was very helpful.

But the real miracle happened when I got sober. I tell anyone who tries to get sober to go to a 12 step program but nevertheless I got into therapy. I felt that my name, Jane Mitchell, didn’t really represent who I was. I was always kind of explaining myself, explaining my background and I got really sick of it. And people would say “oh you look very exotic, what’s your background?” People were very curious and I was always explaining myself. During the course of all this I realized that the name Jane Mitchell didn’t really fit me, [it was] making me feel inauthentic. I was telling my therapist, and I said my mother is one of the original hyphens…she married my father and became Velez-Mitchell. And my therapist said you could do the same thing, you could be Jane Velez-Mitchell and I said, “You know I like the sound of that.”  So, I added my mother’s name and immediately  felt a psychic shift to the right. Like “This feels better, now I am representing myself to the world, this represents my background.”  I never regretted the decision I thought it was great and it’s been all good.

…by the way that was many many years ago! That happened in the mid-80s! 

LGR: You have an interesting coming out story, you had a boyfriend, you met a woman and left your boyfriend. What was the process like for you and after you came out, how did you label?

JVM: It was a humdinger rollercoaster ride for sure. Basically what happened was I got sober. When I was 39 I got sober and very soon after I got sober I realized I had been drinking down a lot of things. And one of the things I had been drinking down, I kind of knew subconsciously but I never really confronted it, I was drinking down my sexual orientation.

After recovery I went back to anther psychiatrist and after talking around it I said to him finally, “I think I’m gay.” and I think he had figured it out before. He said “it’s very good that you are being honest about it.” After that I didn’t do anything about it, I talked to my boyfriend about it. He’s a great guy we are very good friends… He was also very intuitive of that and felt there was something there. I was grappling with it and then I met a woman at a charity event and I did fall in love and eventually I left my boyfriend and we moved in together and we are no longer together. We are very good friends and she is the co-author of my book, Addict Nation! (ed. Note: how gaaaayyy is that?! Also, Sandra Mohr is the co-author of Addict Nation, you will see her name on the cover when you pick up your copy.) 

LGR: Jane, you’re a pretty outspoken person. One of the criticisms of LBQ culture is that there is a racial divide; do you think that divide exists? Have you seen that in your personal experience?

JVM: I don’t! Honestly I really don’t. I feel that the LGBT community has to stick together and we have to be cohesive. It’s a good example because I’m also an animal rights activist and I always say I don’t want to get involved with nitpicking in the animals rights world or the LGBT community. I think we have to be cohesive and we can’t hone in on some of maybe those petty differences and let them splinter our cause. We need to be cohesive we need to be a unit to achieve political change.

If some people think that, they see that, they can try to change that. I think any improvement is always welcome and I would welcome that, but let’s keep our eye on the ball. Let’s work together to achieve change. I personally have not experienced that; as a woman of color I have been welcomed everywhere. Jarrett Barrios is the head of GLAAD and he’s Latino. I don’t see it at all! Maybe I’m naïve but I go to LGBT parties and there are a rainbow of people and much more diverse than parties I go to for other sectors of society. So I think we are very diverse I think that’s one of our strengths.

LGR: In Addict Nation, in the chapter focused on overpopulation entitled “Breeders,” you discuss the fact that many Latinos are very old school catholic, and that has contributed to the fact that they have a lot of children. I was wondering if you see a correlation between that religiousness and Latino’s attitudes towards the queer community?

JVM: My mom is Puerto Rican and she completely accepted me 100 percent and so did my sister, my nieces my nephews. My personal experience is that everyone is welcoming. I don’t see the Latino community being any more homophobic than any other sector of society. You can look at any segment of society and find homophobia. I don’t think we should single out the Latino community for that at all.

As far as the chapter on procreation, I will say that our planet is experiencing a huge population explosion…and you dovetail that with diminishing resources and you realize that something has to change because we cannot sustain this kind of growth. One of the things I point out in my book is that every 5 seconds a child dies of hunger. Jesus Christ would want us to do what we can to keep one child from dying from starvation…these children did nothing wrong but be born into an environment that cannot feed them.

We have to do something about this, as a species, humans have to do something about this. So in my book, I ask the question, I don’t have an answer to it, but I ask, is gay the new green? Nature has a tendency to adjust, it’s true of animals and we r animals. I ask the question, isn’t it interesting that the gay rights movement is surging at a time where population is surging and we’ve crossed a tipping point where the survival of the species depends less on procreation and more on controlling procreation so that we don’t over procreate so we don’t get to the point where we can’t sustain the population.

The gay movement opens the door to nurturing children and other sentient beings in a non-traditional manner, through adoption for example and I think this is a wonderful thing and it’s something we should contemplate.

LGR: Is there any part of the book that ur queer fans cannot miss?

JVM: I think that “we” have always been on the forefront of social change, because we have had the courage to come out.  So therefore we have kind of this chain reaction of honesty that happens within our community and we are open to new ideas because we had to be open about the fact that we wanted to be with somebody of the same sex, even though it might not be accepted in some quarters. So we have this courage to come out, so we can lead in other areas.

What I would tell everybody in the LGBT community is don’t buy into the consumer culture. Don’t be a consumer zombie. Look at everything you are buying and analyze it and harness your power as a consumer to say “No, I will not buy this if it’s bad for me.”  And that includes fast foods, products with harsh chemicals unnecessary cleaning products, products that are cruel to animals and products that are the result of factory farming.

We can be leaders in the green movement and say to the powers that be and say we are going to harness our purchasing power as consumers and say we want humane, environmentally sensitive, cruelty free, biodegradable, 100 percent recycled products. Because we are the cutting edge consumer and that’s what we demand we are not going to participate in a fast food junk product culture that is making us fat, making us sick and destroying the environment.

LGR: That’s really interesting and with the obesity epidemic, that fast food part is really important.

JVM: Just say no to fast food. You cannot negotiate with it. You cannot eat it successfully. Very few people can eat fast food successfully there is more and more evidence that it is addictive it is packed with sugar salt and fat. Three ingredients that we are biologically programmed to crave and it is very hard… this is about addiction. The book is about addiction; not just the usual addictions like drugs and alcohol. It’s about being addicted to things that are not considered addictions.

Obesity is not a lifestyle choice obesity is food addiction and my book talks about how you can work your way out of that addiction. I’m not coming from “oh I know it all” I’m coming from “I’m an addict,” and I have grappled and continue to grapple with many addictions in my journey to true sobriety.  I’m not there yet, but I am sober from alcohol. I’ve given up alcohol, I’ve given up drugs, I’ve given up smoking, I’ve given up meat, I’ve given up dairy, I’ve given up sugar and I’ll tell you I don’t miss any it. I feel happier, I feel more energetic, I feel lighter, I save money, I’m helping the environment it’s all good!

LGR: That’s so inspiring!

JVM: Thank you!

LGR: Why do you think more lesbians are obese than straight women?

JVM: I don’t know where that statistic comes from.* 2/3rds of Americans are overweight or obese. So, you’re telling me that more than 2/3rds of lesbians are overweight or obese? That’s not been my experience. I think we are right there with the rest of the population.

I don’t think we should stigmatize ourselves unnecessarily. There is an obesity problem within all communities and we need to address it and I think we need to take the lead on healthy eating. Look at Ellen! Ellen’s gone vegan, I’m a vegan, go vegan everything else will fall into place. Oprah is going vegan this week! Her whole staff! Ellen DeGeneres is very outspoken about vegan, I’m very outspoken about being a vegan so I say to the LGBT community go vegan!

Everything else will fall into place as far as your battles with health and weight. When I say go vegan I don’t mean eating pasta and potato chips! A plant based diet is about eating vegetables, fruits and nuts and grains and there are these people who do damage to the vegan vegetarian movement. They say I tried it and you ask them what they ate, they ate pasta! That’s not being a vegan, being a vegan is eating veggies and fruits. It’s a delight, it’s fun, it’s not this big sacrifice that people make it out to me. The all American diet is the most restrictive diet in the world! Burger, fries and a shake? There is a whole universe of beautiful vegetables and fruits out there that can be prepared in fabulous combinations. There are tons of cookbooks and restaurants all over America. It’s great, check it out!

LGR: Ok ! I will!

JVM: Yay!

LGR: And I’ll write about it [stay tuned to LGR for my week of vegan!]

JVM: Good!

LGR: Your latest book, “Addict Nation” discusses the obsessions of Americans, what, in your experience, would you say the lesbian community’s biggest addiction is, besides the WNBA?

JVM: To be honest with you I don’t want to separate the LGBT community. We are already unique in a good way and communities have a tendency in focusing on themselves to over criticize. You know, we’re people! We are going to have the sane addictions and the same urges as everybody else, so that’s what I see. I don’t see any real difference.

I think Addict Nation is a great book for every Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered person to read. And I do say that unapologetically because I do feel that we can be on the forefront of change. I do feel that we can take a leadership role, having done something very courageous once, we can do something very courageous again vis a vis our society and bring in values of compassion and celebrating out uniqueness.

To be a consumer is to be a zombie and we are more than consumers we are human beings and why not celebrate that. I really feel that instead of looking inward and criticizing ourselves, we have something very special. We defied culture once, in a sense and we can defy culture again and lead the group towards a humane and smart way of dealing with this culture that is so consumption oriented.

I would like to leave you with this thought. Every decision we make throughout the day is not a personal lifestyle decision. It’s a political decision, it’s an environmental decision and most of all it’s a moral choice. If you are buying products that are based on animal cruelty, that are made with factory farming, animal testing, destruction of the environment than you are a co-conspirator in those terrible things and I believe karmic-ly there is a price to pay. I do feel that we all need to work on these choices that we are making and we all need to have a ‘moment of clarity.’ And I teach in Addict Nation, I show, how you can have that clarity using the 12 steps. And get really clear about what you are doing and then get to better choices. 

LGR: Are you going to NYC’s pride parade this year?  

JVM: Yes! I always do, I was person of the year for gay pride in LA. I’ll be right there in Sheraton Square where I was last year!

For more Addict Nation, become a fan on Facebook or check out www.AddictNation.org

• Unfortch, this is the study that says lezzies are bigger than str8 girls. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37557883/ns/health-behavior/

Related articles

• Addict Nation by Velez-Mitchell Explores Cultural Addiction And How It Damages Women and the Planet (lezgetreal.com)
• President Obama Has Repealed ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ (lezgetreal.com)
• Fortune Feimster Joins the Chelsea Lately Team (lezgetreal.com)

Ms Robinson sent us a release about her work, and we here at LGR are more than willing to help her gain some more readers. I, myself, also write fiction, though of a more fantasy/magical realism kind of bent.

From the press release:

HONG KONG – January 27, 2011: As of today, Lee Harlem Robinson’s fiction blog ‘Trying to Throw my Arms Around the World’ (www.leeharlemrobinson.com) is live. The website aims to explore new ways of bringing chick lit directly to interested readers. It is an on-going narrative in blog form, written by Lee Harlem Robinson, who is looking back at the past ten years of her life and the reasons why she currently finds herself lonely and seemingly exiled in Hong Kong.

As Lee Harlem Robinson struggles to come to grips with the insanely fast-paced city of Hong Kong, where she was sent by her employers, she starts to wonder where it all went wrong. The reader is taken on a journey back in time from Lee’s early years in romance in London and Paris to her current life in the city where “yuppie actually still works as a term of endearment”. The big
question, as in every romance, is: will she eventually find love?

In order to explore new ways of distribution the content is also downloadable in tablet form, allowing the reader to take it away from the internet. “This is not just an adventure in fiction” saysLee Harlem Robinson, founder and writer of the blog. “I also want to test the waters of the self-publishing world. With the rise of tablet computers we currently experience a brand new way of approaching readers. While blogging is very much becoming a thing of the previous decade, reading electronic books is definitely a big part of the future. I want to use the older medium of blogging to encourage people to download my fiction to their iPads and Kindles.”

“Chick-on-chick-lit is as good as non-existing”, Robinson concludes. “I hope my style of light fiction finds its way to an audience and sparks some underground enthusiasm.”

LGR is proud to support Ms Robinson in her endeavor. We hope that those who are interested will go on over and have a read.

Editor: The link should now be fixed.

This is the subject of Headline News host Jane Velez-Mitchell’s latest book Addict Nation (which comes out February 2011). She “believes American women are being ‘hooked’ on everything from shopping to prescription drugs. It’s making a handful of ‘pushers’ very wealthy and our planet very sick.’ But, as she says, there is hope.

From the press release:

Americans are being lured into addiction. And what we’re hooked on isn’t necessarily illegal or even hard to come by. Prescription medications are making us high. Fast food is making us fat. The Internet keeps us constantly distracted with everything from gambling to porn, to compulsive social networking. Television seduces us into buying more stuff we don’t need while we drown in debt. Massive profits fill the pockets of a handful of “pushers” at the expense of everyone else.

In her new book Addict Nation-An Intervention for America (HCI Books, Feb. 2011), bestselling author Jane Velez-Mitchell says, “It’s time to take our power back!” She believes Americans have unwittingly supported a number of dysfunctional business practices that threaten our health and the earth.

The ravages of the over consumption of sugars including high fructose corn syrup, which is in foods that most people would not expect, to the toxicity of cosmetics which women are often pushed to wear every day are part of what Velez-Mitchell delves into, and especially how they damage women in the United States. Sugar, itself, has been shown to be highly addictive.

Within Addict Nation, Velez-Mitchell writes very frankly “Frankly, if we hope to survive as a species, the future better be female . . . or at least centered on matriarchal values and respect for women and girls. This is where American women come in. We are the most powerful nation on earth, and about half of us are female. As Americans who pride ourselves on helping others, we need to get our own “house in order” so that we may carry the message to others.”

Cultural addictions is something that most people are loathe to actually tackle as a subject these days, though there were several writers in the middle to end of the last century, who attacked this problem head on. Velez-Mitchell aims to tackle this problem head on, including her own blueprint on how to change the world. As she puts it “this is an intervention!”

While the Earth will continue on, what humans do in the near future will determine whether or not humans will continue on.

Jane Velez-Mitchell is openly lesbian. She was born on 29 September 1955. Her work as an author and journalist has netted her several awards, and she often comments on high-profile cases for networks ranging from CNN to E!. She also has dedicated her work to animal protection as an advocate. She is a vegan and a recovering alcoholic who has more than fifteen years of sobriety under her belt.

Here is the promotional video:

LGR hopes to have a review of the book for the site when it becomes available for review.

The book is being offered via Amazon.com both in print and electronic form and can be bought at http://amzn.to/e5EQHN (ISBN-13: 978-1456461928). The plan is also to make the book available at Chicago’s Women & Children First Bookstore by 15 January.

According to the press release:

What would happen if an out lesbian journalist met and became attracted to a closeted military spokeswoman? Would sparks fly? Would the sergeant risk her career for love? Would the journalist compromise her ideals for a chance at happiness? What about the servicemembers on the ground in Iraq? They faced bullets and dangerous chemicals, and some came back wounded and faced the loss of their career. See what happens in this fast-paced tale of war, pride, sacrifice, and love.

This fictional story was adapted for the Chicago stage as Half Life, in 2004.

Baim has covered military gay and lesbian issues since 1984. She is the author of the non-fiction book Obama and the Gays: A Political Marriage and Out and Proud in Chicago: An Overview of the City’s Gay Movement.

See www.halflifeplay.com.

About the Author

Tracy Baim is publisher and executive editor at Windy City Media Group, which produces Windy City Times, Nightspots, and other gay media in Chicago. She co-founded Windy City Times in 1985 and Outlines newspaper in 1987. She has won numerous gay community and journalism honors, including the Community Media Workshop’s Studs Terkel Award in 2005. She started in Chicago gay journalism in 1984 at GayLife newspaper, one month after graduating with a news-editorial degree from Drake University.

Baim is the author of Obama and the Gays: A Political Marriage (2010, Prairie Avenue Productions). She is also the co-author and editor of Out and Proud in Chicago: An Overview of the City’s Gay Community (2008, Agate), the first comprehensive book on Chicago’s gay history; and author of Where the World Meets, a book about Gay Games VII in Chicago (2007, Lulu.com-Baim served as co-vice chair of the Gay Games board).

Baim was executive producer of the lesbian feature film Hannah Free, starring Sharon Gless (2008, Ripe Fruit Films). She was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 1994 and was named a Crain’s Chicago Business 40 Under 40 leader in 1995. Baim is a native Chicagoan and has been with her partner, 20-year Air Force veteran Jean Albright, since 1994.

Lesbian and gay books are often ranked as being the most threatened for removal by parents and teachers by the ALA. Among the list of the books is And Tango Makes Three which topped the list in 2007 and 2009.

ALA President Roberta Stevens has stated that the organization had decided to add this prize long before the recent rash of suicides among LGBT youths. She stated “Millions of children in this country are being raised by gay or lesbian parents. There are young people who are gay and sometimes they feel very alone. This is a real opportunity for youths who may be feeling alone to read about other like themselves.”

Source

11/02/2010- by Natasia Langfelder

Portia DeGeneres, nee de Rossi, went to Oprah to promote her upcoming autobiography, which will focus on her battle with bulimia/anorexia as well as her complex feelings about being a lesbian woman. The book title is a pun, Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain; while serious, this pun proves LGR’s theory that all lesbians like puns.

On a more serious note, watch the emotional clip of Portia below, talking about her mother’s shame about her sexuality and it’s consequences.

Via Towleroad

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Obama and the Gays: A Political Marriage is a new book by long-time Chicago-based journalist Tracy Baim. The book presents an in-depth look at Obama’s trajectory on gay issues, and is available on print-on-demand through Amazon.com (link http://tinyurl.com/ObamaGayBook) and ebook readers. Kindle link: http://tinyurl.com/ObamaGayKindle

Baim, co-founder of Windy City Times newspaper, has compiled documents, photos, and interviews with Obama for a close look at how his views on LGBT issues have changed over the years, as well as the accomplishments and stumbles of his presidential administration. In the first book ever published on this important topic, Baim is joined by some of the most respected LGBT journalists, bloggers, and activists from around the US.

The book includes articles by Chuck Colbert, Lisa Keen, Karen Ocamb, Bob Roehr and others; essays by Wayne Besen, Sean Cahill, John D’Emilio, Kerry Eleveld, Rod McCullom, the Reverend Irene Monroe, Michelangelo Signorile, Pam Spaulding, Timothy Stewart-Winter, Andrew Tobias, and Phill Wilson; and dozens of interviews with Chicago and national gay movement leaders. Senior editors are Toni Armstrong Jr., Jorjet Harper and William B. Kelley. Kirk Williamson designed the book.

Baim will read from and sign copies of the book in Chicago Wed., Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m. at Women & Children First Bookstore, 5233 N. Clark St., and Wed., Oct. 27, 6 p.m. at the Harold Washington Library, 400 S. State St.

DADT. ENDA. DOMA. These four-letter words are familiar to everyone involved in the struggle for gay civil rights. Like it or not, they form the core of the national “gay agenda.” When Barack Obama ran for president, he promised repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell military gay ban and passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. He also said he would push for repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, even though he was personally against same-sex marriage.

Obama and the Gays presents a clear, lively, in-depth review of Barack Obama’s policies on gay issues, from the early days of his political career through his meteoric rise to prominence-all in the context of the political landscape of the times-and examines the role the gay community has played in Obama’s victories. Obama and the Gays also documents the actions and reactions of influential gay organizations and gay community leaders to Obama’s speeches, positions, and decisions that directly affect the lives of our LGBT citizens.

The website for the book is www.ObamaAndTheGays.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Tracy Baim is co-founder and publisher of Windy City Times, one of the oldest and most honored weekly gay newspapers in the U.S. Baim has been covering the gay community since 1984, including Chicago politics and Barack Obama’s first race for elected office. Baim interviewed Obama during his 2004 U.S. Senate run, and has covered a wide range of gay political issues for more than 26 years.

The children’s book “Chased by an Elephant, the Gospel Truth about Today’s Stampeding Sexuality,” is a self published book aimed at children to “help shed the clear light of truth on today’s dark and tangled ideas about male and female, proper gender roles, the law of chastity, and the God-given sexual appetite.” Yes, because we should all be reading what one homophobic Mormon family believes is the proper gender roles regarding male and female. Of course, if we want to get really Biblical. . .well, let’s not. Let us just say that Ms Graham would probably have to get a severe beating for daring to even write- if one wanted to get really Biblical about it.

Of course, Graham also talks about why she wanted to write this piece of Mormon propaganda. She wrote “The number of our young people involved in sexual sins has greatly increased in recent years. Some of the most stalwart-seeming youth find themselves involved in pornography, fornication, promiscuity, homosexuality, and the like.” Yes, and back in the day, it was common practice for a man of, oh say forty, to marry a girl of, oh say, eleven and try to have children with her. You know, like they are doing in Yemen and Afghanistan these days. In fact, throughout much of Christian history, girls as young as nine were married off without concern as to their welfare. After all, it was Biblically correct to do so. As for the boys- well, a little dabbling in the whore houses was never a bad thing. Oh, no worries about ‘it’ rotting and falling off- men were allowed to do whatever they wanted.

Of course, the book includes an introduction by Andrew Graham, the son that Janice Graham claims to have cured of homosexuality. He has stated that he was lured into homosexuality by older men at Brigham Young University. He also says he was able to turn away from the “deceitful and predatory nature of the ‘gay’ lifestyle.” Of course, from the sounds of it, he was bi-curious and never really interested in a full relationship with a man. His own story is not even in stock at his family’s private vanity press Tidal Wave Books. His book was not even cared by Amazon, though some of his mother’s books can be found there.

There are many Mormons out there who wonder just why they cannot be left alone to preach what they want to each other and believe what they want. This is precisely why. If it were not for the fact that these Mormons are busy pushing their religious beliefs and views on the American public and upon the many happy lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transpeople in the world because one or two of them have had bad experiences within the Community or they could not divest themselves of their self-hatred, then maybe the Mormons would be left alone to believe what ever they want.

As for Walmart, the day will come when some poor kid will have been bought this book in order to try and ‘cure’ them, and the end result will not be pretty.

Source

09/16/2010- by Natasia Langfelder

When books are made into movies, it’s not uncommon for a minor LGBT character to either become straight or disappear entirely. Sometimes TV shows or movies will even take a bisexual character and craftily snip the bisexual right out. However, Lifetime recently upped the ante by completely de-gaying the main character in their made for TV movie, “The 19th Wife.” 

Lifetime adapted the movie, “The 19th Wife,” from the book with the same title by David Ebershoff. The New York Times summarizes the book by describing it as:

“…[telling] two parallel stories of polygamy. The first recounts Brigham Young’s expulsion of one of his wives, Ann Eliza, from the Mormon Church; the second is a modern-day murder mystery set in a polygamous compound in Utah. Unfolding through an impressive variety of narrative forms—Wikipedia entries, academic research papers, newspaper opinion pieces—the stories include fascinating historical details. We are told, for instance, of Brigham Young’s ban on dramas that romanticized monogamous love at his community theatre; as one of Young’s followers says, “I ain’t sitting through no play where a man makes such a cussed fuss over one woman.” Ebershoff demonstrates abundant virtuosity, as he convincingly inhabits the voices of both a nineteenth-century Mormon wife and a contemporary gay youth excommunicated from the church, while also managing to say something about the mysterious power of faith.”

 Basically, the juxtaposition of the strict confines of Mormonism and of being gay are an important theme in the book. Also in the book, Jordan, the gay youth, has a boyfriend and two pets. All three of which were cut from the film. Lifetime has given no reason for these changes.

David Ebershoff has said in an interview that he was informed before the filming about Jordan being de-gayed. He continued to say that he isn’t a fan of the movie adaptation and hopes that is will at least lead more people to read the novel. I know I will.

“The 19th Wife” is David Ebershoff’s third novel and it is a New York Times Bestseller. Ebershoff’s first novel is ”The Danish Girl” which was published in 2000. It is based on the life of Lili Elbe, the first person to undergo sex reassignment surgery. The novel was a critical success and received many awards, including the Lambda Literary Award. Nicole Kidman is producing and starring in the big screen adaption of the book. Hopefully she will ensure that “The Danish Girl” will remain more true to the original novel than Lifetime’s “The 19th Wife.”

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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.

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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• Speculation Abounds on Amazon’s Eviction of Gay-Themed Books (daniweb.com)
• Hacker claims credit for Amazon anti-gay snafu (americablog.com)

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.
]]> http://lezgetreal.com/2009/01/see-exclusive-photos-from-the-2009-inauguration/feed/ 0 http://lezgetreal.com/2008/11/free-chapter-read-state-of-denial-by-andi-marquette/ http://lezgetreal.com/2008/11/free-chapter-read-state-of-denial-by-andi-marquette/#comments Sat, 22 Nov 2008 14:00:00 +0000 Lez Get Real http://lezgetreal.com/?p=427 You can read Chapter One of “State of Denial” by Andi Marquette on her website for free.

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.