My first visit to Philadelphia was in 1976. I came here to walk the Boy Scouts of America's Philadelphia Bicentennial Trail of Freedom. I was only in town for a few hours but the experience left a lasting impression on a then 16-year-old kid from Long Island, New York.  When I returned to Philadelphia in 1992 it was to continue my studies and I quickly fell in love with this beautiful city. In 1994, I made the decision that I would call "Philly" my home and start a life here.

Flash forward 16 years later, I'm just as happy with my decision, having planted my roots here over all this time.  Philadelphia is truly a great city, not just for its fascinating history or its spectacular architecture, but for its neighborhoods and its people. Everyday unsung heroes toil to make our lives better and more secure in this city of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection.

Advocates, directors, managers, members of boards, glorious volunteers, and strong-hearted staffers provide care and services to our youth and seniors, our sick and disenfranchised, and our poor and rich alike.  All are sharing their time and talents for the greater good of whole community.

I am reminded of a thought I heard many years ago: I will always be enthralled by the good works of others for they lift me up from the doldrums of life and give light to my darkness.

All of these contributors of and to the community should be applauded and commented, for these are the true leaders of our community, the daily unsung heroes who give voice to those whose voice would not be heard otherwise.

As QUEERtimes completes its third full year of publishing with today's issue, we celebrate the thousands of individuals who give and serve and lead for the good of others, in all of the community's diversity. Let us embrace that diversity, forever making us strong and whole, and never allowing our differences to divide us.

The time is now to resolve those issues and personalities that endanger the health and well-being of our thriving local queer community that tend to separate us. We don't need factions, opposing camps, or divisiveness.  We need and deserve unity in our diversity.

It is important to be united, focused and active in not just the affairs of the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection but in our nation as a whole. Beyond all of our everyday lives, we must be ready to fight (and win) the even bigger battles so as to achieve full equality for the queer population both here in the United States and around the world. 

When queer legendary and sometimes outrageous fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, 77, who has sat at the top of the world's leading fashion houses, including Chanel, wants to say something he doesn't pull any punches. In a whirlwind of media who always swarms around Lagerfeld like bees to honey, he shared his personal views of none other than the subjects of gay male porn and escorts. "I admire porn[ography] . . . And I personally only like high-class escorts. I don't like sleeping with people I really love. I don't want to sleep with them because sex cannot last, but affection can last forever. I think this is healthy. And for the way the rich live, this is possible. But the other world, I think [that] they need porn." In case you didn't get it, he's referring to us-the masses and their "need" for porn. Curiously but amusingly, Lagerfeld admires fine adult entertainment performers and feels that they're underrated for what they do, deserving much more credit than the masses give them. In fact, he thinks that they work harder and better at their jobs than their Hollywood A-list counterparts. (Are you listening, Tom Cruise?) As far as sex scenes go, "It's much more difficult to perform in porn than to fake some emotion on the face of an actor," Lagerfeld said. -gay.com daily, March 18, 2010.

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Queer screenwriter Dustin Lance Black has become the poster child of success in Hollywood these days. With the incredible popular, critical and award winning "Milk," he's managed to remain in the spotlight of both the mainstream and queer media. Beyond his artistic talents, he's been outspoken about issues and causes that the queer community is still struggling with, still fighting for, still lacking, whether it's same-sex marriage, adoption, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, equality in the workplace, Black is passionate about his views and beliefs, even when they might smack controversial. "My biggest problem with HRC [Human Rights Campaign] is its leadership. I've heard . . . them denigrate the grassroots contribution . . . You only need to look at any successful civil rights movement to see that you need both . . . You absolutely need to have the acts of civil disobedience, the political theatre that keeps our struggle in the headlines, and be that squeaky wheel that the White House can't help but hear. At the same time, we have to have the people in place who can do the practical legislative work, and then make it happen when the White House finally responds to the grassroots activism."-OutFrontcolorado.com, April 21, 2010

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While young singer and actor, Levi Kreis, may not be a household name quite yet, watch out, because he's definitely on the "rising star" track. The handsome, young, creative and busy Kreis impressed audiences and critics alike with his role as the legendary rock 'n roll icon, Jerry Lee Lewis, in "Million Dollar Quartet," on Broadway. He won over many more fans with "his soulful, Southern and spirited voice" in addition to his seductively good looks with his music video, "Nothing at All" on MTV online, hitting the Number One spot. His "great balls of fire" caught even more fans with his CDs, the clever "The Gospel According to Levi." Now he's touting his latest (third) CD, "Where I Belong." The Tennessee native stays close to his familial roots. "Delving deep into my Southern roots to build the character [Jerry Lee Lewis] seemed to have bled over into my songwriting at the time. It's fun to now have a role on Broadway that I helped develop since 2004 that draws from my roots, and at the same time promote an album that accomplishes the same thing. I never auditioned for the role actually. I was around during the first reading when the producers grabbed me to help out with this new script. I did the table reading, they discovered that I grew up playing Lee's music. . .they just kept me." -Rage Monthly, May, 2010.

Publishers
Thom Cardwell
James Duggan

Editor
James Duggan

Editor-at-Large
Thom Cardwell

Contributor

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