Magicially Queerlicious

ABOVE: Irish Queers member JF Mulligan sets up. (Embiggen to read the banner.)

Forget "Erin Go Bragh", the real chant of today's NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade was "Queers can march in Dublin! Queers can march in Cork! Why can't queers march in New York?" Or at least that was the favored chant in the Queer Corral, which is what the Farmboyz and I dubbed the fenced-in "official protesters" area on 5th Avenue in front of the Plaza Hotel, where the Irish Queers contingent was assigned. Our neighbors in protester jail were a group of very supportive artists protesting the parade's ban on whimsical costumes, such as leprechauns. (Thousands of men marched by in skirts, but no whimsical costumes are allowed?)
ABOVE: Irish Queers press liaison Emmaia Gelman leads the chanting.

Protesting for the 16th year, today's Irish Queers action also supported a broad menu of progressive causes, including the anti-war movement, the Sean Bell case, and immigration reform. This lead to some rather clunky although spiritedly delivered chants, one of which was so weakly rhymed that Farmboy C told me it offended his sense of meter. ("The cops murdered Sean! Homophobia is wrong!")

Yesterday's mini-blizzard dumped half a foot of snow on Manhattan, surely diminishing parade attendance. And after almost three hours of standing in ankle-deep slush, I had lost the feeling in my feet. But happily, the energy level in the Queer Corral was kept high by the Rude Mechanical Orchestra, NYC's "radical marching band" that lends musical accompaniment to many protests around town. The Farmboyz and I particularly enjoyed their marching band versions of Beyonce's Crazy In Love and Salt-N-Pepa's Push It. Ooh, baby, baby.
I paid close attention to the parade participants as they passed the Irish Queers. The children in the parade were just bewildered by all the shouting. The folks in the several large groups visiting from various Irish counties seemed to be largely supportive, many of them waved, smiled and took pictures. The bagpipe brigades and marching bands hardly allowed their eyes to slide over to our side of the street, although a couple of the drummers gave us the finger and shouted, "Go home!"

The parade's organizers, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, moved by with grim faces as the Irish Queers shouted "Shame! Shame!" Mayor Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani (marching separately, interestingly) did not give us so much as a wave. And the thousands of marching cops seemed too busy flirting with the hula-hooping cute girl in the artists' contingent next door to give much notice to us. I guess they didn't notice her sign.
ABOVE: The highlight of the day was when an Irish woman marching with County Kerry spotted the sign on the right and rushed over to the barricades to shout with a smile, "YES! He WOULD!" It was a wonderful moment. BELOW: From Cup Of Joe, a sign which once was posted in most NYC establishments, something the AOH seems to have conveniently forgotten.

From Boys To Men Gets Lambda Nom

From Boys To Men, which includes my story Terrence, has been nominated for a Lambda Literary Award for Best Anthology. Congratulations to the editors, Ted Gideonse and Rob Williams, and my fellow writers.

Hillary Continues Gay Outreach

Hillary Clinton continued her campaign for gay support yesterday, speaking at the GMHC 25th anniversary gala at Chelsea Piers. The event, which raised almost $900,000 for GMHC, was also attended by former NJ governor Jim McGreevey, Larry Kramer, Rosie O'Donnell, and other luminaries. Among the evening's honorees was Matilde Krim, founding chairman of AMFAR.

Alva On CNN

Openly gay Iraq vet Eric Alva appeared on CNN's Paula Zahn Wednesday night to challenge Gen. Peter Pace on DADT.
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Spitzer Nixes Parade

New York Governor Elliot Spitzer has announced that he will not march in tomorrow's NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade, the first NY governor to skip the parade in over a decade. Although Spitzer doesn't specifically cite the parade's ban on gays as his reason, his refusal to participate is consistent with his vigorous support of LGBT rights. Spitzer has promised to introduced legislation this year that will make gay marriage a reality in New York State.

RELATED: The group Irish Queers is planning a protest at the parade at Fifth Avenue & 58th Street at 10:30AM. That's conveniently near Bloomie's so I hope to see lots of us there! Protest, shop, brunch. It will be the gayest Saturday ever!
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HomoQuotable - Kenny Goss

"It ain't gonna happen." - Kenny Goss, partner of George Michael, saying he absolutely would not participate in the British version of TV show Wife Swap. Producers are said to be considering approaching Elton John and David Furnish instead. Maybe Goss is just upset at being the "wife"? I was looking forward to seeing how George Michael's replacement wife dealt with his nightly romps on Hampstead Heath.
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ACT-UP Army Rocks Times Square

National Gay & Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Matt Foreman and Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum were arrested for civil disobedience in today's ACT-UP/Queer Justice League demonstration against the "immoral" comments of Joint Chief's Chairman Peter Pace. ABOVE: Foreman and Kleinbaum block Broadway, moments before they were handcuffed.ABOVE: The NYPD closes in.ABOVE: Minutes earlier, Foreman and Larry Kramer attempted to gain entrance to the recruiting station, but found it locked and abandoned.ABOVE: Former Gay Officers Action League president Edgar Rodriguez (right) joins in.ABOVE: Activist Ann Northrop spoke eloquently to reporters.ABOVE: Former NJ Governor Jim McGreevey fields questions from the press.ABOVE: Village Voice gossip columnist Michael Musto arrived on his bike.ABOVE: Rainbow flag creator Gilbert Baker leads the procession to wrap the Armed Forces Recruiting Station in our flag. After arresting Foreman, the police confiscated Baker's 100-ft. flag as evidence, as it was used to block traffic on Broadway. Gilbert protested the confiscation, but was merely given a voucher to recover his flag later.ABOVE: Author, activist and radio host Michelangelo Signorlile lends his support.ABOVE: Vasco has it right.

UPDATE: More photos on Towleroad. Video coverage at Good As You. More extensive reportering can be found on veteran gay reporter Rex Wockner's blog, including a short interview with Larry Kramer. Andres Blabbeando has additional coverage.

UPDATE II: The Task Force has issued a statement on Foreman's arrest.

Attendance was rather light at the protest, probably less than 100, but not surprising given the fairly short notice and the time of the event. The police were initially genial, but became more brusque after Foreman and Kleinbaum sat down in the middle of Broadway, prompting a rush of press to photograph them.
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Sleep Munchies

One night last summer, I had a hard time sleeping so I took an Ambien. When I got up in the morning, on my kitchen counter I found an untouched bag of Chinese food and a delivery ticket. Apparently, during my sleep, I got up and called the Chinese joint on my corner and had some pork lo mein delivered, paid for it, then went back to bed without eating it. I had no memory of doing any of this. Today there's a report that some folks using Ambien or Lunestra have even been known to go sleep driving. Strangely, this news pleases me. I am not alone.

Hillary Beefs Up Pace Response

After being criticized yesterday by gay groups for her weak condemnation of Joint Chiefs Chairman General Peter Pace calling gays "immoral", Sen. Hillary Clinton issued a more strongly worded follow-up statement:

“I disagree with what he said and do not share his view, plain and simple,” the Senator said. “It is inappropriate to inject such personal views into this public policy matter, especially at a time in which there are young men and women in such grave circumstances in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and in other dangerous places around the world.”

Better Senator Clinton, better. But why couldn't you say that first?
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Open Thread Thursday

Sex without love or love without sex?
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First Action For ACT-UP Army

Press release:

Who: Members of ACT-UP and the newly formed Queer Justice League.

Where: 43rd Street and Broadway, Manhattan.

When: Thursday March 15th, at Noon (12pm)

What: The group will demand General Peter Pace's immediate resignation.

Why: We cannot tolerate top U.S. military officials making public statements of such a homophobic nature; such statements endanger all LGBT citizens currently serving in the military. We will not tolerate people in power whose personal hatred and bigotry make discrimination and prejudice against LGBT people acceptable.

I just heard about this today, but I will attempt to attend and take photos.
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Grandmothers Against The War

Grandmothers Against The War staked out their weekly lonely afternoon vigil on 5th Avenue in front of Rockefeller Center today, as always largely ignored by both tourists and office workers, who cast them scarcely a glance as they bustled onward to the food court and discount souvenir t-shirts.

Recovery Cowbell

Here's Holy Ghost, one of the baddest pieces of funk ever to good-foot out of Stax Records, from the immortal Bar-Kays, who are still p-funking up the joint today, 41 years after they formed in 1966, despite four members being killed in the same plane crash that killed Otis Redding. This song is for our boy Foxy, who is home recovering from a bit a surgery yesterday. Kids, if the drum/cowbell breakdown at 3:00 doesn't make you bust a groove in your cubicle, get George Clinton on the phone, you are seriously afflicted with the whiteness.

Bar-Kays - Holy Ghost, Stax Records 1978.

Stream. Download.
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HomoQuotable - Larry Kramer

"ACT UP is the most successful grass roots organization that ever lived. Period. There never was, never has been one more successful that has achieved as much as we. We did it before. We can do it again. But to be successful, activism must be practiced every day. By a lot of people. It made us proud once. It united us." - Author, GMHC and ACT-UP co-founder (and my hero), Larry Kramer, calling for a new "ACT-UP Army" in a speech last night to the NYC Gay & Lesbian Center marking the 20th anniversary of ACT-UP.

Read the entire text of Kramer's speech here, courtesy of the tireless Andy Towle. There will be a 20th anniversary ACT-UP march on March 29th. If you are a gay man reading this post, you may very well owe your life to Larry Kramer. I know I do. You definitely owe him the lives of many of your friends.

From Kramer's speech:

The life expectancy after infection by HIV is now thirty-five years. Thirty five years. Can you imagine that? That is because of ACT UP. A bunch of kids who learned how to launch street actions and release a propaganda machine and manipulate media masterfully, and use naked coercion, occasional litigations, and adept behind-the-scenes maneuverings that led to sweeping institutional changes with vast ramifications. We drove the creation of hundreds of AIDS service organizations across the country, leveraging hundreds of millions of dollars a year and fielding tens of thousands of volunteers, all the while amassing a huge body of clinical expertise and moral authority unprecedented among any group of patients and advocates in medical history.

We did all this. And we got all those drugs. The NIH didn’t get all those drugs. The FDA didn’t get all those drugs. We got all those drugs. And we rammed them down their fucking throats until they approved them and released them.

It was very useful, old ACT UP.

It is no longer useful. The old ACT UP is no longer useful enough. There are not enough of us. Few people go to meetings. Our chapters have evaporated. Our voice has dimmed in its volume and its luster. Our protests are no longer heard.

We must be heard! We must be.

Please join Larry Kramer on March 29th on the march to City Hall demanding health care for all, single-payer health insurance, and drug price controls. You owe it to Larry Kramer. You owe it to your dead friends. But most importantly, you owe it to your living ones.

UPDATE: Here is the Danish study that Kramer references, which finds that with free and early access to anti-retrovirals, a young person can expect to live 35 years after HIV infection.
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Tom Of Sparta

Last night I saw the movie 300, which I found gorgeously photographed, populated by innumerable beautiful men, and really, really, really awful. Ripped directly from the Lord Of The Rings canon of computer-multiplied hordes, freakish creatures, and interminable sword fights, the only thing that saved this movie from being a complete waste of time were the hot men and their sexy costumes, which were apparently borrowed from attendees of Folsom Street Fair. Codpieces, harnesses, armbands, masks.....add a bottle of poppers and some Nasty Pig chaps and you'd be hard be hard pressed to discern the cast from that of any Titan Media release. Clearly, somebody's a fan of Tom Of Finland.

But hey, if you like slo-mo gore, this movie is for you. Slo-mo beheadings? Check. Slo-mo de-leggings? Plenty. You also get slo-mo de-armings and not a few slo-mo de-eye-ings. It's gore for the sake of gore, and the audio engineers pot up the squishing and spurting to the limit, giving the bloodthirsty a full Sensurround splash and slop-o-rama. As for the acting, it's all straight out the tired LOTR school of "I'm making an IMPORTANT announcement." An important announcement delivered in the cliched historical-drama English accent, because all ancient peoples must speak in an English accent, that's just the law.

A lot of praise has been heaped on 300 for its unusual sepia-drenched photography, but as lovely as that was, by the end of the first 30 minutes, I found myself aching for some true color. The only slight saving grace for this movie was Andrew Pleavin as Daxos, the hot, harnessed, bald Arkadian shortie. Waiting for Daxos to make his next appearance was the only thing that keep me from bailing. If I could find a picture of Daxos in that harness, I'd feel slightly better about wasting $11. Very not-recommended. A lot.

UPDATE: Thanks to JMG reader Dennis, we have this photo of Andrew Pleavin, aka Arkenian shortie Daxos. I'm still hunting for a picture of him in his 300 harness, but in the meantime: embiggen makey hottie.

HomoQuotable - Eric Alva

"This kind of prejudice is going to continue to have a direct impact on our national security as we allow qualified gay men and women to lose their jobs for no good reason. This policy, and General Pace's bigotry, is outdated, unnecessary and counter to the same American values our soldiers are giving their lives for each and every day." - Purple Heart recipient and proudly gay American hero, Staff Sgt. Eric Alva USMC, responding to Pace calling homosexuals "immoral".

If Sgt. Alva isn't the grand marshall of this year's Pride parades, we should all raise hell.

UPDATE: HRC, for whom Alva is now a spokesperson, has issued a statement calling for Pace to apologize.

UPDATE II: Listen to Alva on yesterday's NPR All Things Considered.
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Donnie Davies Plays SXSW

Donnie Davies, perpetrator of the most hilarious hoax in gay blogosphere history, will be playing this weekend's SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas, with his band Evening Service. "Stroke the power" and "watch Donnie cock-block the Dark Lord on his own turf." I love the poster, check out Satan's pink jockstrap and hot bod. I wonder if anybody at next week's Black Party will have an outfit like that?

XXLcellent

Sunday night we collected our posse from the Dugout and hit XXL, the London-based occassional bear dance party at Element on Houston Street, where Rollerina was making her usual scene. I kind of adore Rollerina, a veteran of the Vietnam War, the Stonewall Uprising, Studio 54, and ACT-UP. Why hasn't anybody made a movie of Rollerina's life? The music at XXL was great, with very positive happy vocals putting everybody is a bouncy, grabby mood. Highly recommended and made even better by my fantastic group of body-hair fascists.

The Peter Principle

"I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts." - Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace, adding that he supports DADT. Pace went on to say that no Marine should have a cock bigger than his own (shown), effectively ruling out Matt Sanchez.

UPDATE: The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is demanding an apology from Pace.

UPDATE II: Pace has expressed his regret, but not apologized, for his statement, saying he should have restricted his remarks to official government policy, rather than personal views. (HT: JMG reader Winston.)
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Zonked

Holy crap! Last night I was feeling a little feverish, so I took a couple of the generic Walgreen's fever/sleep thingys that Eddie picked up for me. Thirteen hours later, I woke up. Those suckers are strong!

Facts Evasion

Here are the audio clips of Matt Sanchez' appearance on the Michelangelo Signorile Show today, thoughtfully broken into 4 topics by Sirius producer David Guggenheim. (Thanks, David!) As those who listened live have already commented in the post below, Sanchez was annoyingly evasive during Signorile's questioning, often responding to a question with a question. Signorile was led in circles for most of the interview, getting Sanchez to at least declare that he is not gay, never was, and that he willed himself into erections during all that man-fucking. Set your bullshit detectors on high.

Sanchez on DADT: Stream. Download.
Sanchez on his porn career: Stream. Download.
Sanchez on his sexuality: Stream. Download.
Sanchez on gay bloggers: Stream. Download.

And with this, we are hopefully done with Mr. Sanchez. As Signorile said on-air after Sanchez left the studio, the right-wing is probably puking right now that they ever lionized Matt Sanchez. And I don't see him winning any HRC visibility awards real soon. Signorile also said that Sanchez told him off-air that he'd "heard" from the Marine Corps and they told him not to worry about getting kicked out. Anybody buying that?

UPDATE: Sirius has provided me with the unedited interview. Stream. Download.
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10Couples.org

Today the ACLU launches a new website, 10Couples.org, to support the campaign for same-sex marriage.

In order to put a human face on the issue of marriage for same-sex couples, and to reach a wider audience using new media tools, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has teamed up with Emmy-award winning production company Public Interest to launch a video campaign via a new web site, www.10Couples.org . The web site launches today.

On the site, viewers are invited into the homes of ten ordinary couples who explain why marriage protections are necessary for themselves and their families, and, in doing so, draw attention to the many protections reserved in America exclusively for married people. Viewers can tell their friends about the site using an embedded email feature, and can find tools for turning these stories into meaningful action. The videos are also available on YouTube.

Currently, 26 states have amendments in their constitutions permanently barring same-sex couples from marriage. Many of these amendments prohibit many other forms of legal protections for the families of same-sex couples as well.

Campaign partners include the Equality Federation, Freedom to Marry, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, Lambda Legal, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

My favorite video of the ten is "Dick & Bob", which features a Florida couple that has been together for 52 years.

Sanchez On Signorile

Tune into Sirius OutQ at 4:30pm today, when Matt Sanchez will appear on the Michelangelo Signorile Show. As most of you may know, Signorile is largely credited with popularizing the term "outing", when his short-lived OutWeek Magazine ('89-'91) outed celebrities such as David Geffen for remaining silent on gay rights. It will be interesting to see how Signorile handles Sanchez. You can listen to the show online for free if you register for a 3-day trial.

And click over to AMERICAblog and listen, as Sanchez appears on the Alan Colmes radio show to say that he is "absolutely not gay". On the show, Sanchez denies that an escort ad in a 2004 issue of the NY Blade is him. Colmes then points out that the phone number in the ad is the same one he used to contact Sanchez for the interview. Oops. The fundies are rushing to embrace Sanchez, yesterday wingnut Kevin McCullough published a supportive post decrying how "diabolical liberals are once again showing their disdain for homosexuals, and their lack of love for those who struggle with sexual sin." Oy vey.
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True Colors Tour Dates Announced

Cyndi Lauper appeared on the Today Show this morning to promote this summer's 15-city Matthew Sheppard Foundation and PFLAG will have information kiosks at each concert. Tickets go on sale nationwide this Friday . The True Colors tour will play NYC, DC, SF, LA, San Diego, Dallas, Houston, Boston, Chicago, Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Toronto, Denver, Atlanta, and Salt Lake City. Here in NYC, the venue is Radio City Music Hall. I'm gonna be hitting Ticketmaster.com the minute the sale goes live, I'm not getting stuck in the balcony for this one.


UPDATE: Presale tickets are being sold on Ticketmaster. The presale code is "HRC".

HomoQuotable - Jason McCarthy

"O.K., everybody, remember what I told you. Smile a lot. Hug people a lot. Tell them how important the gay community has been to this place. O.K.?” - Roxy manager Jason McCarthy, giving his employees their final instructions Saturday night, as the legendary nightclub opened its doors for the last time. Over 4000 clubbers paid their last respects until noon on Sunday, when DJ Peter Rauhofer dropped the needle on Donna Summer's Last Dance, prompting not a few tears.

And the last gay megaclub in NYC is gone, as is an era of gay nightlife that we may not see again. The internet, crystal meth, high real estate prices, and the furious gentrification of formerly derelict urban warehouse districts have pretty much ended both the supply and demand for large gay dance clubs around the country. I feel sorry for the young gay men just entering their nightclub years, who may never know the spectacle and wonder of thousands and thousands of their peers moving in joy under the disco ball.
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Harlem Nights

Last night I trekked up to Harlem for pal Damian's birthday party, meeting up there with a gaggle of chattering nattering bloggers. Are all my friends bloggers, or are all bloggers friends? Damian's apartment is hoooge, even by Harlem standards, six or seven rooms, airy and light-filled with interesting details. My entire 2-room UES studio could fit into his living room. And get this, his rent is exactly the same as mine. Heavy sigh.

Damien's swell place is located over the historic Mt. Morris Baths, which opened in 1893 and is known as the only bathhouse in America that catered to a predominantly black clientele. We couldn't tell if the place is still in business, which greatly frustrated Father Tony. Leaving the party, we grabbed the above picture, then caught a cab in front of Al Sharpton's office across the street. A cab! In Harlem! At 3AM! Great night all around.