In a video message to the members of SaddlebackChurch Sunday night, Warren stated that he has "been accused of equating gay partnerships with incest and pedophilia," but insists that he "believes in no such thing."  He just believes that "God created sex exclusively for marriage - to be a marriage connection between a man and women. . . "

 
(Of note is Warren's belief that even if it is proven beyond a doubt that homosexuality is biological in nature, gay sex would still be wrong because it is outside of the covenant of marriage . . . all we queers need is the maturity to embrace that teaching and we will all be o.k. Just like the o.k. a lobotomy might provide.  It's o.k. to be gay, but not o.k. to act sexually on it . . . how Catholic of him.)

Most interesting in Warrens' video message was that it appeared he was coming out in support of civil unions.  If true then this is a major development in our fight for equality.

Warren stated, "I'm not opposed to gays having their partnerships. . . I'm opposed to gays using the word marriage for their relationships."  Sounds like an endorsement of civil unions to me.  He also stated that he believed in the "freedom of choice," and that he was opposed to forcing people to act the way he believes he ought to act. His words may come back to haunt him if we achieve our goals at the expense of current semantics.

Warren seems clear he is not opposed to "gay partnerships," but objects to our use of the word "marriage." "I'm opposed to any redefinition of the definition of marriage" he stated.  While he still considers homosexual sex a sin, he claims to believe that he does not have the right to force that belief on others.

So, has our fight for marriage equality all come down to a few words? Marriage vs. civil union? 

In light of the response to our recent objections I would ask; Should we focus more on obtaining all the legal rights, responsibilities, and privileges of heterosexual marriage, which according to the U.S. General Accounting office number well over 1,400, and less on being given the use of the word marriage?  Remember we are not fighting for marriage; we are fighting for our equality.

Noble American Cookery, 2025 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, will be opening in early 2009 by the entrepreneurial trio of Bruno Pouget (founder of Caribou Cafe), Todd Rodgers and chef Steven Cameron, of the successfully popular Blue, in Long Beach Island, New Jersey.

The concept for Noble will be, according to Pouget, "a fresh, inventive fare in a dramatic, rustic-yet modern space complete with reclaimed wide plank hickory floors, modern furnishings and a chef's rooftop herb garden."

Pouget said that the partners purchased the building that will house Noble, back in 2005, because they wanted to invest in the neighborhood as their way of helping to develop the area as a "dining destination.

"Back in the 70's, this area was known as Rittenhouse Village, and it was a great place to go out for a meal. Alongside neighbors such as Tinto, Melograno, Tria and Capogiro, we'd like to be a part of bringing that reputation back to this area," he said.

Thirty-three year-old Cameron has already won acclaim for his culinary achievements as the chef at Blue, including a prestigious semifinalist nod from the James Beard Foundation for "Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic" in 2008 and a glowing August 2007 review in The New York Times, which called his cuisine "far-reaching, inspired and ambitious."

"I'm a little obsessed with finding extraordinary regional products and preparing them simply and perfectly. I've developed close relationships with local farmers and fishermen, so I have access to some very special ingredients. And I pay close attention to what the Environmental Defense Fund says about ingredients' availability, so my guests can be confident that what they're eating is truly a 'green' meal," said Cameron.

Rodgers said that the building has been "painstakingly restored" in order to create a "charmingly rustic character" for Noble. Some of the design highlights will include: a 20-foot bar and floor-to-ceiling front windows that can be opened to allow outside-in sidewalk seating in the downstairs area; Philadelphia's first outdoor café with alfresco bar seating facing into the restaurant space and inside, modern banquettes offer comfortable accommodations for up to 30; the stylish, inviting main dining room can seat up to 70 guests beneath three sweeping skylights upstairs and a seasonal rooftop herb garden for use by chef Cameron for his culinary masterpieces.

For more information, visit noblecookery.com

Seafood Unlimited marks Two Decades in Business!

Seafood Unlimited, 270 S. 20th Street, Philadelphia, just off Rittenhouse Square, will mark its 20th anniversary in January of 2009.

One of the city's favorite and most longtime seafooder and fishmonger, David Einhorn will reach the milestone of 20 successful years of ownership as a restaurateur.

Einhorn is boastful in recounting that during two decades, Seafood Unlimited has developed from an old school fish market and very casual restaurant to a stylish neighborhood destination with renovation from the ground up but, always staying true, he said, to the restaurant's core values of fresh and modern takes on seafood classics.

Fifteen years ago, Einhorn also met and married his wife/now business partner, Judi Einhorn, who along with their daughter, Eden, have been immortalized into a mosaic that adorns the cozy bar area, looking out over bustling 20th Street, designed by Philadelphia's celebrated artist Iasiah Zagar.

These days Seafood Unlimited continues to feature a fresh selection of ahi tuna, marlin, swordfish, shrimp, clams and live lobsters, for either dining in at the inviting seafood bistro, augmenting the fish market with a full dining section and an elegant, zinc-clad bar or taking home these many items from their daily fish market for home chefs.

As part of the ongoing celebration for the 20th anniversary, diners can indulge in the Seafood Unlimited Eats and Drinks Happy Hour, featuring $5.00 special drinks and wine, $2.50 lagers, and a smattering of $5.00 bar menu items. Small plates like fried calamari, popcorn shrimp or creamy clam chowder highlight this marathon happy hour, which runs from 5 p.m. to closing every day.

For more information, call 215.732.3663; or visit seafoodunlimited.com

Josh Brolin expressed his viewpoint about the casting issue of who can play gay characters, based upon the real life people, in queer director Gus Van Sant's milk" (OutFrontColorado, November 26, 2008):  "I don't think it matters. You try to find the best actor. I think the only thing that's a bummer, but I do understand it a little bit, is the fact that you have gay actors that are still in the closet and can't come out because they don't want to be perceived as gay actors. So that's still a messy thing that we're in and I don't know if we'll ever get out of it, because would Rock Hudson have had the career that he had? When you look at him with women, I'm sure the studios, maybe even the audience, would be, 'Ok, maybe that's the gay guy kissing the girl so I don't believe the relationship because I know that he's gay.' I don't know when we'll ever get beyond that--who knows?"

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Veteran lesbian comedian/activist Kate Clinton talked about her forthcoming book, even audio book, "I Told You So," (www.kateclinton.com), her thoughts on Sarah Palin, the importance of the long-standing grassroots annual convention, Creating Change (www.thelastforce.org), and how she feels about the passage of Proposition 8 and the antigay measures that also passed in Florida, Arizona and Arkansas (OutFrontColorado, December 10, 2008):  "It was pretty staggering--to be at election parties and everybody cheering and then feel like you got kicked in the gut. I've never felt gayer. I just felt like, here we go again, we're at the big party, and you're reaching for your champagne glass and it's like, 'Not so fast, gay girl.'"

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Contrarian (his word) social scene columnist/editor Bob Colacello (ambivalently out gay who has more difficulty admitting that he's a Republican than queer these days) recollected his "golden years" writing, living, forgetting, regretting the high life (sometimes drug-induced) in the 1970's in the everybody-who-is-anybody Manhattan scene in his controversial tell-all book, Bob Colacello's OUT, he talked candidly to editors (W magazine, September 2007), with a healthy pang of nostalgia:  "The Seventies we're sort of an innocent stage of decadence. People were really approachable. You'd go to Studio 54 and Elizabeth Taylor would be sitting with Liza Minelli and Betty Ford. And we thought cocaine was like pot."

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I'm Glad I Never Said That: 

The American Family Association recently said the following on their Web site, in an article entitled, "M'm! M'm! Bad! - Campbell Soup Company embraces homosexual agenda,": "Campbell Soup Company has openly begun helping homosexual activists push their agenda. Not only did the ads cost Campbell's a chunk of money, but they also sent a message that homosexual parents constitute a family and are worthy of support. They also gave their approval to the entire homosexual agenda."