Archive for February, 2009

Blogging and The Big O

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N723485690_6136587_8238407 For those of you still debating the power of self-publishing and blogging, do I have a story for you! This Monday, I blogged about Academy Award winner Dustin Lance Black and his acceptance speech that won the hearts of millions. In it, I personally expressed my appreciation to Black for using his hard-earned, well-deserved moment of honor and fame to unselfishly deliver a message of beauty and love to gay and lesbian youth, and those of us “newbies” who have only recently come out to friends and family.

On Wednesday afternoon, a producer from the Oprah Winfrey Show contacted me and asked me to attend today’s live show in Chicago where Black would be Skyped in to talk with Oprah and gal pal Gayle King. After reading my post, Oprah’s production team wanted me to speak with Black about his speech and its personal meaning for me, as a rather young gay man who is continuing to reconcile his religious upbringing, personal faith and emotional attractions for others.

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| February 27th, 2009 5 Comments »
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When Times are Tough, the Tough Go Online

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J0439490

What's important to you during these recessionary times? I have been thinking about it in light of friends being laid off of work, home foreclosures rising to record numbers, businesses large and small folding, new cars stacking up on docks. So here are my top 3 most important things that I try to focus on and remember during these tough times:

1. Relationships.

Relationships are one of the few things I can control. My relationships with my friends, co-workers, relatives, partner, even strangers is something powerful and important to me. So, online sites like LinkedIn and Facebook have become a lifeline. I have reconnected with probably 25 friends over the past 4 weeks. All online. And I love being able to go online to send an e-card to a friend to help lift their spirits or go online to LinkedIn and write a recommendation for a former co-worker. And the LGBT market has such a wealth of websites and blogs (like this one) that can lift my spirits. I like to cruise through 365gay.com and gayagenda.com to catch the latest news in our world.

2. Style and Fashion.

I love this one. Shopping on a budget is possible! Even in these difficult times you can find great sales to stay stylish. Some of the sales in retail stores are incredible. And what you can find online is equally as enticing. And that includes some high end brands. I bought a new yoga mat the other day and added a yoga bag and yoga pants to my order from Gaiam because of the great pricing they were offering. I noticed in the March issue of OUT magazine the first 6 full pages are fashion advertising……..someone must still be buying Gucci and Prada. I check out gay.com/style to stay up to date on all kinds of style tips for my home and my life.

3. Entertainment.
               
The LGBT market loves to be entertained. Whether we are actually traveling to an exotic beach or watching a movie like Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire, we can be entertained. I find the vicarious experience of watching movies a great way to experience a foreign country, especially when I am not going to be able to travel there any time soon. Even having friends over for a little grilled food and glass of wine has become more fun than going out to eat nowadays. Planetout.com has a great entertainment section for the latest on celebs, movies, books, etc. Right up my alley!

I'd like to hear from you. Please share with me what's important to you in these times?

| February 26th, 2009 1 Comment »
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Beyond the Party

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Disco I was in South Florida this past weekend and was able to get a sneak peak at this week’s Winter Party Festival in Miami Beach. As we always say on this blog, there is no singular LGBT community profile. We’re as diverse as any population. So programs targeting us should also be diverse.

With that in mind, I was pleasantly surprised, while attending a pre-opening reception, to see the depth of programming planned for the past few days through this weekend of what some might call stereotypical parties.

Hearing about the events, it was obvious that local leaders and members of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force certainly know how to portray their message of advocacy across a wide spectrum of our community during this event.

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| February 25th, 2009 No Comments »
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Can the Washington Post Spell LGBT?

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J0401131 Recent coverage of gay and lesbian topics, people and stories in The Washington Post has generated a fair amount of coverage in LGBT media and on LGBT Web sites and blogs. 

Today’s Post features a solid Style section story on our friend Pam Spaulding of Pam’s House Blend (nice photo, Pam!). This follows an odd front page story last week questioning the sexuality of Hollywood lobbyist Jack Valenti that also used the term “sexual preference” (ugh) and a largely positive story about a local male college student who was elected homecoming queen. And before that there was the Business section story on local businessman David von Storch that apparently omitted several key details of his life. 

New Post editor Marcus Brauchli gave an interview to the Washington Blade earlier this month in which he declared that the Post would be maintain its policy of "not mentioning a subject's sexual orientation in an article unless it's relevant to the story," seeming to indicate that the paper's uneven (at best) coverage would continue. In the past, the Post has repeatedly omitted mentioning the sexuality of prominent LGBT people in its obituary coverage, drawing understandable criticism for seeming to "straightwash" (in Blade editor Kevin Naff's words) individuals in their coverage.

I’m not sure what to think of the Post’s recent coverage. I’ve blogged here before about the importance of understanding what to call us and how to discuss issues related to our community. And many others, including John Aravosis of AMERICAblog, have addressed the Post’s repeated problems in covering our community accurately and respectfully.

While I’m largely encouraged by the Post’s Style section profile coverage (I enjoyed the piece on Pam Spaulding today), the Post’s news coverage seems stuck in some sort of last century limbo: not quite up to date but not so consistently bad as to be worthy of total condemnation. It all makes me wonder if the Post knows how to spell LGBT.

Obviously, how one of this nation’s largest and most influential newspapers covers our community matters a great deal to how we are perceived. But is the current coverage bad, or just uninformed? Would having even more out LGBT reporters in the newsroom than they already have make an appreciable difference in their coverage? What do you think? 

| February 24th, 2009 1 Comment »
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Hope to Live Life

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Picture2I’m not a movie-goer. In fact, unless the film includes singing and dancing, Quidditch or four girlfriends in couture, my general proclivity is for other forms of arts and entertainment on the weekends.

That said, every February without fail, I set myself in front of the television to watch the glamour and glory that is the Oscars. It’s a captivating affair, from the style to the speeches. Penelope Cruz said it best last night in her acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actress. “…This night is a moment of unity for the world because art in any form is and has been and will always be our universal language.”

And last night as the unified world watched films’ greatest artists, Dustin Lance Black, winner of Best Original Screenplay for Milk, gave a thoughtful acceptance speech that embodied the hope and message his award-winning film shared with audiences around the country.

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| February 23rd, 2009 2 Comments »
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