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August 3, 2007 v.1 - i.12 It's on the Qt!
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Use the IN THIS ISSUE links below to navigate QUEERtimes newsletter |
| QUEERtimes Features queerNEWS: A review of weekly Queer news from around the
world queerVIEW: News with opinion - ok - it's news with an attitude queerARTS: - who needs an explanation.
queerVOICE: Opinion - no,
you're right, - attitude queerVOICE: Opinion - no,
you're right, - attitude
QuickTakes: Queer-centric photos by HughE Dillon Thom's Table on the QT: Thom Cardwell brings us the art of celebrating great food. Thom's World on the QT: Thom offer us queer travel destinations.
Back talk on the QT: Guest Opinion
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Do you...
...have something you want to say? - ...have a question you want answered? - ...have news you want to report? - ...have an announcement you want noticed? - Then email it to info@QUEERtimes.net
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Fight Discrimination
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Did you know that in 75% of the State of Pennsylvania you could be fired just because you're queer?
Help ADD Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender people to the state's anti-discrimination law
Call your PA Legislator and tell them to pass HB 1400 and SB 761.
The Fight For Queer Civil Rights is NOT over! CALL YOUR LEGISLATOR TODAY!
Find Your PA Legislator |
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Review past issues of the QUEERStimes Newsletter at www.QUEERtimes.net |
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Forward QUEERtimes to your friends by using the "forward email" link at the bottom of this newsletter
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Publishers Thom Cardwell James Duggan
Editor James Duggan
Editor-at-Large Thom Cardwell
Associate Editor Timothy Ferretti
Photographer HughE Dillon
Copyright 2007
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queerVIEW Federal Bench Agrees UPS Okay, NJ Not James Duggan ©2007
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Federal Bench Recognizes Queer Rights
This week
two separate Federal Courts issued rulings that recognize the civil rights
of queers. As reported in various media sources from San Francisco to
Philadelphia, Chief Magistrate Mikel Williams of the Federal District Court for
the District of Idaho ruled that the State of Idaho is obligated to provide
hormone therapy for a transgender person, and in a ruling against the U.S.
Probation Office, Senior U.S. District Judge Marvin Katz in Philadelphia ruled
that a long-term gay couple on probation has the same right to associate as a
married couple.
Both of
these rulings are groundbreaking. Their significance will be felt far and wide.
In Judge
William's ruling, in favor of the transgender prisoner, he held that "gender
identity disorder, left untreated, is a life-threatening mental health
condition," and that based on extensive expert medical testimony, the prisoner
is entitled to receive female hormone therapy.
In Judge
Katz's 10 page ruling, he wrote that the "defendants were in every way a
family," and that "the Due Process Clause [of the Constitution]
protects highly personal relationships of deep attachment and commitment."
Now we know
that the fundamentalist right will argue that these are simply activist judges
who are trying to legislate from the bench. But nothing indicates that
these Regan appointees (Katz - '83; Williams - '84) are "activist" judges and
noting indicates that they support the concept of "legislating from the bench."
Nor have they succumbed to the so called "gay agenda." They have simply
applied the logic that is found in our Constitution, and, like other judges
during the Civil Rights movement of the sixties, they recognized that the queer
minority share the same civil rights and protections as all other Americans.
We look
forward to the appeals. Anything that moves the Queer Civil Rights Movement
before the U.S. Supreme Court is a good thing.
UPS Comes Around but the NJ Still Needs to Get it's Act Straight
As reported
by the Star-Ledger, United Parcel Service (UPS) had reversed its earlier
position that its union contract, which provides health benefits for
"spouses" of employees, including gay couples married in Massachusetts, did not permit it to unilaterally extend
coverage to same-sex partners in New
Jersey civil unions. UPS cited the fact
that New Jersey
does not use either the term 'married" or "spouses" in its civil union law and,
therefore, their contact with the Teamsters prohibited them from offering
partner benefits to their union employees. It should be noted that UPS
has offered these same benefits to non-union employees since 2004.
But does
the problem really lie with UPS? Unfortunately, the Garden State
has created a mess with its Civil Union Law and they owe it to the people of
the state to fix it immediately. New Jersey's
Legislators and Governor need to change the law to allow full and equal
marriage, that includes the words "married" and "spouses" to New Jersey queers. Anything less is a
lie.
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What It Looks Like From Here Thom Cardwell ©2007 |
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Jesse Archer just can't get enough
from the City of Brotherly Love! The actor, screenwriter and
travel journalist will be returning to Philadelphia
for an exclusive book signing "You
Can Run: Gay, Glam and Gritty Travels in South America"
(Haworth Press, 2007) at Giovanni's Room,
345 S. 12th St.,
at 5:30-7:00 PM, on Thursday, August 9.
The handsome native Oregonian caught
wanderlust at an early age and has been traveling ever since, including living
aboard in Paris
and Buenos Aires
in addition to being bi-coastal residing in both Los Angeles and New York City.
Archer's book chronicles the two
intrepid years the author spent glittering through the rough and tough of South America with a
co-dependent ex-boyfriend, a prissy
Argentine, and a
hot pink wig. The writing fiend also contributes a popular monthly column in Out Magazine.

The multi-talented Archer recently
starred opposite Rising Star Award recipient, Charlie David, at the opening
night premiere of director Caspar Andreas' "A Four Letter Word,"
which he also co-screen wrote, on
July 12 at the 13th Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (PIGLFF)
2007 where he was in attendance. Archer previously worked with Andreas in first
queer feature, starring in "Slutty
Summer." The team of Andreas-Archer recently won a best screenwriting award at OutFest in Los Angeles.
The event is being held in conjunction with Where Magazine's publisher Laura
Burkhardt and BUCKmonkey's Thom
Cardwell and James Duggan, publishers of QUEERtimes.
For more information, call (215) 923-2960.
Are you sick of Perez Hilton yet?

Is he just
a media flash in the pan? Will
he become last year's news next year?
Perhaps. Perhaps not. It's hard to tell
with a self-proclaimed "Queen of All
Media." But you have to love that a queer
Cuban-American, far away in Miami, gathered the attention of the media and
the entertainment industries in New York City and Los Angeles, enough to have
achieved in a relatively short time possible "overexposure" in the mainstream media.
Yet one more unemployed (or
unemployable) actor, transplanted in Manhattan, after studying acting for a
while at the prestigious New York University, Perez started his now-famous, even infamous, celebrity gossip blog, Perezhilton.com,
as a whim, a hobby, for fun, in 2004.
Now he's become his own industry. His name recognition alone is the easily the envy of every public relations agency
on both coasts. (Perez himself claims that he doesn't actually have a
publicist. He says that he's too good at it and self-promotes as well as the
next person.)
He actually
"wished himself on 'The View' by
mentioning how much he love to be a guest on that day time hit show while he
was appearing, as a guest on another TV talk show. Most recently, Perez
had made appearances on "The View,"
on Victoria Beckham's reality special
on NBC, Kathy Griffin's reality TV
show on Bravo, "Nightline," and Gossip on VH1. And that was just a few
highlights during the month of July. The financial worth of that level of
national exposure is the wet dream of any topnotch entertainment publicist. But
in his hands, it's Perez just being, well, Perez
In the
fall, the no-longer 15-minutes-of-fame queer celebrity tell-all expert will
have a five-part series on VH1,
directed by queer filmmaker/TV director (and my personal long time friend) Glenn Gaylord of "Lez Be Friends," that
premiered last month at PIGLFF 2007 in our city.
"I'm doing things on my own terms,"
Perez told writer Mireya Navarro in The New York Times (Sunday, July 29,
SundayStyles), "I don't have to answer
to anyone but me."
Nowadays the 29-year-old Mario
Armandoi Lavandiers, Jr. (his real name),
the orange-haired pop cultural icon himself has clearly parlayed the art of
talking about celebrity into the success that he currently enjoys as a
"celebrity" expert.
"I'm like Madonna. I'm not afraid to
offend," Perez told the newspaper's interviewer. You'll want to stay tuned for future developments with Perez who,
Madonna-like, I have a feeling, will be back again and again as a recreation of
himself.

Hometown TV queer celebrity host
Butch , of
"In Bed with Butch,"
will be taping the premiere of his
eighth season with queer adult superstar Michael Lucas and guest pop
recording artist Ari Gold
on August 26 for airing on WYBE and DUTV on October to audience in the
tristate area. Happy Anniversary for
your 8th year in queer broadcasting!
Both Lucas and Gold appeared at the premiere of "Starrbooty" with iconic entertainer Ru Paul XIX at the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue. The eternally handsome and gracious
Lucas has become something a regular at PIGLFF, having appeared in 2006 and
2007. The ever-creative and intelligent
Gold remains a queer musical voice of his own during his prestigious and
soaring career. I adore them both!
Cordova
said that he'll be asking "many probing
questions" from the two New York-based queer celebrities about their alternative lifestyles, from Lucas
about owning an adult male production company producing a high-budget remake of
"Dangerous Liaisons" to Gold about
how to become a pop impresario in
the challenging music industry as an incredible self-promoter. Just do it,
Butch, baby!
Sure, go ahead and quote me:
On open-relationships among gay males:
"My stylist is gay and lives in L.A. and when he
came to Miami,
he went out. . .I asked, 'Your boyfriend doesn't care?' And he said, 'We have
an understanding, if I'm out of the city.' When I saw George Michael, he said
the same thing." --Enrique Igelsias
(Genre, August 2007)
On directing Ru Paul's Starrbooty:
"For me, it was completely self-indulgent. It gave a voice to every sort of
irreverent thing that I wanted to give a voice to. . .I didn't write it. .
.[but] it's totally my sensibility and point of view and the things that I find
funny and visually appealing." --Mike
Ruiz, queer model-turned-photographer, turned-director (Instinct, July
2007) _______________________________________________________ |
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Shop and Support Giovanni's Room
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America's World-Class Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Bookstore for Queers & Our Friends
@
12th & Pine Streets in Philly's "Gayborhood"
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Thom's Table's Tips on the Qt Hawaiian Paradise Right Here in Philly Thom Cardwell ©2007 |
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Aloha, welcome to Hawaiian paradise, chef/Roy Yamaguchi will be hosting
Roy's Island Hop Dinner in celebration
of the culinary riches of the islands, 6:30 p. m., Tuesday, August 7, at Roy's Philadelphia, 124-34 South 15th
St., with a prix fixe, five-course
Hawaiian fusion dinner, at $85 per person, not including tax and gratuity. The
menu, conceived by Roy Yamaguchi himself,
invites the restaurant's chefs across the country to create "five personal interpretations of
diverse aspects of the Hawaiian Islands" to
diners throughout the special evening.
The first course, entitled "ranch," features Pupu Style Honoka'a
Spiced Sirloin Steak from chef/partner Percy
Oani and sous chef Gene Villiatora, from Roy's Flamingo Las Vegas; the second course, "shell," a Pan Flashed Hawaiian Abalone & Crab Salad comes from
chef/partner Ty Mahler from Roy's San Francisco; the third course, "fin," the
Seared Rare Ono Sashimi, Lobster, Hearts of Palm & Pancetta is the creative
interpretation of Hawaii's most popular fish from chef/partner Larry Koucrek of
Roy's Austin; the fourth course, "mixed plate," a Grilled Venison Chop,
Kalbi Pork Belly & Thai Citrus Shrimp, from chef/partner Ryan Kelly at
Roy's Sarasota; and, for dessert, a
Guava Chiffon Shortcake, Lilikoi and Strawberries, "inspired by the fruit of
guava trees found on the landmark drive that connects Maui's most populated and
most isolated cities" from Roy's corporate pastry chef Noah French.
For more information, call (215) 988-1814; or visit www.roysrestaurant.com _______________________________________________________ |
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QuickTakes on the Qt HughE Dillon - photographer
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Thom Cardwell of BUCKmonkey, Guillermo Vega; General
Manager of Mixto, Jeff Liebreich of The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation and Mixto Owner, Jorge Mosqura, at the PIGLFF 2007 Closing Night
Party held at Twenty21. 
Thom Cardwell, Jesse Archer and James Duggan For more event photos visit
BUCKmonkey.net _______________________________________________________
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Featured Events on the Qt Swimsuit Boys of
Summer Gay Night Out at the Phillies
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Summer
in the city just got hotter! It's about boys in their
Speedos as the ever-popular PhillyGayCalendar.com presents the 4th Annual
"Boys of Summer Swimsuit Party," Friday, August 10, 9 PM to
3:30 AM, at Pure Nightclub, 1221 St. James St., in Philadelphia's Gayborhood.
You'll join hundreds of the hottest guys from the region who will
obligingly strip down to their swimsuits for the incredible all-night
party.
Highlights of the event will include Brittany Lynn, hostess of the
evening, drink specials until 11 pm, and featuring DJ Carl Michaels,
with live performances from special guest stars and hottie Quentin Elias,
one of the rising stars of the club scene from New York
City to London.
You'll appreciate this year's team of local lifeguards,
hand-picked by the staff of PhillyGayCalendar.com who have a reputation for
having an impeccable taste in men.
Tickets are only $10 in swimsuits and $15 for voyeurs. Proceeds
underwrite the costs of maintaining the free web site as a service
to the community throughout the year. You must be at least 21 years old to attend this event.
For more information about the event,
visit www.phillygaycalendar.com
For information about PURE, visit www.purephilly.com
Where's
my bat boy? It's the Fifth Annual Gay Community Night at the
Phillies with Gay Days, Thursday, August 9, with an official league game,
the Phillies versus Florida Marlins.
Organizers told QT that this event is "an excellent opportunity
in joining hundreds of other queers, their families and friends to celebrate
our community as we enjoy the nation's favorite past time.
Tickets costs $22 per person and can be ordered by downloading
an order form online by visiting www.phillygaydays.com or call Kasey at the
Phillies sales office at (215) 463--5000.
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Thom's Closet Flipped on Fip-Flops Thom Cardwell ©2007
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Despite the
fact that August seems to be flying by, the
hot days of summer, according to meteorologists, will continue into the
early fall. So you needn't bother rushing off to purchase your new fall
wardrobe quite yet. Besides, predictions are that, for fall, the new black will
be "black." That means you should enjoy the bright, happy colors and the wild, all-over, patterns of summer on garments
from casual dress shirts to surfer swim trunks.
Guys--are you flipped over
flip-flops?

These days it seems that way. Once the
lowly men's footwear was relegated only to the beach and the college
campus, now flip-flops have captured the imagination of designers across the
industry, from Mossimo for Target (priced at the all-time-low $5) to Hermes,
the high couture French fashion house (priced at a whopping $250).
No doubt about it--flip-flops have
reached a definite "fashion status." And they're an essential part of every
man's cool, urban, forward-fashion wardrobe, in a wide variety of colors,
patterns and materials. In fact, men may
now own several pairs of flip-flops, like athletic footwear, for different
reasons and at different price points.
Shopping for flip-flops can be fun and
easy with almost every retailer offering its own label or, for the high-end
designers, their own signature name, in flip-flops. Can you believe that there's even a status thing going on with
flip-flops? Check out Gap (rubber at $10.50), available at all area Gap
stores, including Walnut and South Streets, Nautica ("Zori," rubber at $19.95),
available at Macy's, Adidas ("Leucadian," nylon and rubber at $20), available
on South Street at their new store, J. Crew (grosgrain, nubuck and rubber at
$22.50), available at the Shops at Liberty Place, Center City, and Diesel
Footwear ("Jobim," nylon, mesh and leather at $50), available at Diesel on
Walnut Street.

Signature designers also feature
flip-flops, including Polo Ralph Lauren ("Dentric," rubber, at $20), available
at Ralph Lauren, Shops at the Bellevue,
Park Hyatt Hotel, A/X Armani Exchange (polyester and rubber, at $32), available
at all area stores, and Puma ("Footie," rubber, at $15), available at Foot
Locker. Other high-end flip-flops
have been designed by Paul Smith, Dolce & Gabbana, Hugo Boss, Bottega
Veneta, Louis Vuitton, Oakley and Salvatore Ferragamo.
The only downside of flip-flops are warnings
from foot doctors who suggest not wearing them all the time as the insert can
cause irritation and infection between the toes and the lack of support can be
hard on the bottom of your feet, especially if you're hitting the concrete most
of the time walking around the city in your favorite, most stylish flip-flops. This
means that you should alternate wearing
flip-flops with sandals, athletic footwear and even, yes, your shoes.
What to wear with your
flip-flops?

For a casual, hip, beach look, even when you're out partying in the city, you
can sport the latest and greatest in board (as in surf board) shorts.
Quicksilver features a retro, psychedelic, screen-print, three-dimensional graphic
design, actually inspired, by record album designs from Grand Funk (priced at
$45) and available from Quicksilver Boardriders Club stores.
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QUEERtimes is published by BUCKmonkey, LLC, for the Greater Philadelphia Region's
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning people and our loyal
Hetero supporters. Expressed opinions are that of the author and do not
represent the thoughts, feelings and /or opinions of any person,
organization, company, staff member, or any of our advertisers. QUEERtimes, queerVIEW, queerARTS, queerVOICE, queerVIEW, queerNEWS, Thom's Table, Thome's World, fueled by BUCKmonkey, "It's On the Qt" and the qt Logo are Trademarks of BUCKmonkey, LLC.
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