Issue 334

Lesbian 101: An Introduction

I was at a Super Bowl party, bored out of my mind, because every lesbian in the room was paying attention to the game, and not to me. Every time I made what I considered to be a witty remark about the players’ tight trousers, I was shushed, and threatened with bodily eviction if I […]

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Q Solution: “St. Patrick’s Gay”


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Q Puzzle: “St. Patrick’s Gay”

Across
1 Did a muscle Mary’s exercise
6 Tendency to get pissed
10 It’s for Rimbaud
14 Gay former NFL player Tuaolo
15 Like the end of a bacchanal?
16 Trucker’s rod
17 Roger Casement writings
20 The Fountainhead author Rand
21 Andrew ___ Webber
22 Company that can help you double-click your mouse
23 Bird in a simile about being nuts
24 State of polar bears
25 […]

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Letters

Corrections to MCIL Feature
We, the Metropolitan Center for Independent Living [MCIL], would like to thank you for taking the time in writing an article about our GLBT Support Group with Disabilities in Lavender Magazine [Feb. 15-28] entitled “Metropolitan Center for Independent Living: Beyond Handicapped.”
However, there are a couple errors, such as: Galen Smith is a […]

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BECAUSE Is Back: Midwest’s Premiere Bisexual Event Resurges

by Heidi Fellner

The popular urban myth goes like this: One can be either a Beatles fan or a Stones fan, but not both. Sometimes, Elvis subs for the Stones in this equation. However, the real oddity is that this cultural divide places the Beatles firmly at one end of the music spectrum, and gives them an antithesis. […]

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Style for the Undersized

by Wayne Martin

On The Runway Section
Even in today’s fashion-forward society, it seems that outfitting babies, toddlers, and preschoolers remains an untamed frontier—the wild west of fashion, you might say. No rules. Parents shopping around amuck, dashing from one homogenous big box store to another, waving their credit cards, and paying little attention to anything. Snatching up something […]

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Very Barrie Adds Style to the Office

by Russell Remmick

One of the newest and hottest galleries is open for business. Very Barrie, named after owner Barrie Lawrence, is not only one of the hottest, but also unique in its mission. Very Barrie provides something most galleries don’t—the opportunity for all artists to display, promote, and sell their artwork. It was designed specifically for artists, […]

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BigGayNews.com

Compiled by Bradley Traynor

National and World News

National News
Iowa Republican Wants Gay Marriage Debate
A Republican leader in the Iowa Legislature plans to try a rarely used parliamentary rule to force debate on same-sex marriage, a published report said. House Minority Leader Christopher Rants wants lawmakers to consider House Resolution 8, which would begin a process to amend the state […]

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Put A Little SPRING Into Your Wardrobe

Onward Style by Sara Rogers

On The Runway Section
Neon Brights
Martin + Osa
214 South Avenue
Vibrant colors are a top trend for spring, and this orange polo will really brighten up your wardrobe. Pair it with a classic jacket to add a little pop of color to your work week.

City Safari
H&M
117 West Market
Channel your inner adventurer with this season’s “city safari” look. […]

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Editorial Cartoon

Courtesy of Qsyndicate

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The Best Men and Women for the Job

Lesbian Notions by Libby Post

I have to admit, when I first read about the Gay and Lesbian Leadership Institute (GLLI) Presidential Appointments Project (PAP)—to make sure plenty of GLBT folks are in the new administration—I thought it was a bit presumptive. Don’t we have to win the election first? And then I thought, we might as well be prepared. […]

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Alice Dunbar-Nelson

Past Out by Liz Highleyman

Several leading male literary lights of the 1920s Harlem Renaissance were queer, but their Sapphic forerunner, Alice Dunbar-Nelson, is less well-known. Bisexual and of mixed race, she also crossed boundaries of literary genres. Dunbar-Nelson was born Alice Ruth Moore in 1875 in New Orleans. A precocious girl, she entered a teacher-training program at Straight College […]

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Talking the Talk

In A Family Way by Vince Sgambati

A game played at a baby shower I recently attended required each guest to change a baby doll’s diaper while watching football on television. I slipped out of the living room. Sure, I can change a diaper with my eyes closed. But watch football? No thank you! The game had been created cleverly to address […]

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Just in the Nick (and Eddie) of Time

Off the Eaten Path by Heidi Fellner

I may have seen entrées presented like a game of Jenga, but in the Twin Cities, I have not yet been subjected to foam—an invention of chef Ferran Adrià that never fails to remind me of SNL’s Bass-O-Matic. Feeling alone among foodies, I posed the foam topic to fellow food writer Elvira Masson (author of […]

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Diversions Opening in Eau Claire, Wisconsin

by George Holdgrafer

Diversions, a new GLBT bar in Downtown Eau Claire, Wisconsin, debuts March 28. A Grand Opening Extravaganza takes place April 25-27. Tim Romans is the owner of Diversions. In the early 1990s, he was manager of the Brass Rail and Saloon bars in Minneapolis, where, as “Sister Betty,” he originated the bingo fund-raisers for The […]

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Self-Made Leather

Leather Life by Steve Lenius

When I tell people I’m a leather columnist, many often assume I write about those cute little wallets they once constructed at summer camp from a Tandy Leather kit. Well, not quite. But I don’t mean to disparage the practice of leathercraft. Where, after all, would the leather/BDSM/fetish community be without it—without people who know […]

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A Word in Edgewise

by E.B. Boatner

Some situations defy an easy solution—at least in a democratic, equal-before-the law society. Take, for example the AP story filed by reporter Katrina A. Goggins under “Nation News, Weird News”: “Building Owner Fights Klan Item Shop.”
Few folks I know—none, to my knowledge—live near a KKK-Mart, not even in Jasper, Alabama, where I lived for eight […]

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Queer As Folks

Photo ©2000 Tim Schultheis.Naked and Singing
Join Lavender and Wilde Roast Café for a night Out at the Movies. On April 10, The Heights Theatre is hosting Naked Boys Singing. Part of the proceeds benefits Clare Housing.
The acclaimed musical is for every man’s (and woman’s) viewing pleasure. Enjoy a funny yet sexy show, as a group […]

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The Impact of Minnesota’s Discriminatory Laws Only Is Amplified During Economic Uncertainty

Changing the Laws by Jane Bowman

Just about every Minnesota family is feeling the uncertainty of today’s economy. Unemployment rose throughout the state late last year, and home foreclosures in the Twin Cities are at an all-time high. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that Minnesota’s 12-month job growth was the third worst in the country in December.
For about one out of […]

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Three Decades, Four Generations of the Blooms at the Gay 90’s

by George Holdgrafer
Three Decades, Four Generations of the Blooms at the Gay 90’s

At 28-and-a-half years, they hold the longevity record for owning a gay bar in the Twin Cities. For nearly three decades, the Bloom family has been at the helm of the historic landmark at Fourth and Hennepin in Downtown Minneapolis. So, it’s no wonder the news has spread like wildfire that they’re selling the bar […]

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Frankie Camp for Jersey Boys

On the Townsend by John Townsend
Frankie Camp for Jersey Boys

“Usually, after a show, I’m so exhausted that I devour a steak or something like that to replenish all the iron in my body. It’s sort of a triathlon. You’re acting and singing and dancing. There are 27 songs, and I only get to leave the stage twice.”
—Zachary Prince, actor playing Frankie Valli in Jersey […]

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The Secret Is Out, One Voice Mixed Chorus Sings

by Katy Meeks
The Secret Is Out, One Voice Mixed Chorus Sings

“For whatever reason, One Voice Mixed Chorus has been the best-kept secret in the Twin Cities,” member Jen Rivera says. “Not many people know about us. But we don’t want to be a secret anymore!” One Voice Mixed Chorus (OVMC), formed in 1988 as a reason for the gay and lesbian communities to come together, […]

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Meth Addiction, Gay Sex, and Music

Cover Feature by John Townsend

The new Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus (TCGMC) commission is one of its edgiest ever. Through a Glass, Darkly, composed by Michael Shaieb, wrestles with a burgeoning crisis in the GLBT community: methamphetamine addiction. Though pastor Ted Haggard and sex worker Mike Jones turned meth into a standing gay joke, its standard image remains rural, […]

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On the Townsend

by John Townsend

Summer of ‘42. Photo by Roy BlakeySummer of ‘42
Through Mar. 30
Hennepin Stages
824 Hennepin Ave., Mpls.
(612) 673-0404
www.aboutmmt.org
The classic film Summer of ‘42 epitomizes heterosexual awakening. But is its new stage musical version something gay audiences can relate to?
Cade Bittner, who plays protagonist Hermie for Minneapolis Musical Theatre, says, “Absolutely, if not more so. For gay people, […]

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On The Record

by Ed Huyck

For Emma, Forever Ago
Bon Iver
Eau Claire native Justin Vernon was at a dead end in 2006. A move to North Carolina had ended in disaster, with breakups of his band and a long-term relationship. So, he came home, and then retreated to his father’s cabin in the Wisconsin woods. There, the singer-songwriter began to […]

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Arts of Japan at MIA

by E.B. Boatner

Arts of Japan: The John C. Weber Collection, at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) through May 25, offers 95 extraordinary objects from the 12th to the 20th Centuries. The objects are stunning not only in their own right, but also in the exceptional condition of each piece—paintings, textiles, sculptures, ceramics, hanging scrolls. It is […]

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Deep Inside Hollywood

by Romeo San Vicente

Bravo Takes Another Step into Gay TV
After Queer Eye, Boy Meets Boy, Project Runway, Top Chef, and Make Me a Supermodel, could cable network Bravo get any gayer? Of course! Now, it’s got Step It Up and Dance, premiering April 3, featuring a dozen hoofers competing to see whose toes are the twinkliest. Four of […]

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Business Briefs

by Katy Meeks

Very Barrie Gallery
Very Barrie Gallery in Shakopee, which opened its doors in November 2007, has a variety of artwork from sculptures to pottery and paintings to photography, from mostly local artists. “Very Barrie supports Minnesota’s artists, and about 97 percent of works in the gallery are from Minnesota,” according to Nathan Ellering, Project Manager at […]

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Polo, the Sport of Queens

The Outfield by Dan Woog

Polo has been called “the sport of kings.” It’s now the sport of queens as well. In Southern California, the Gay Polo League (GPL) is thriving. It doesn’t matter if you can’t tell a mallet’s head from its shaft, or even if you never have mounted a horse. All comers are welcome.
At first glance, polo […]

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Sex Talk: Giving Head

by Simon Sheppard

Sure, anal sex has assiduous adherents, and mutual masturbation makes many men come. But there’s no doubt: Going down is number one on the homosex hit parade. As one fellatio-centric fellow says, “Everyone I know likes to give head.”

One might seek explanations from fellows like Freud: Shrinks used to claim that gay men were emotionally […]

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Out In The Stars

by Charlene Lichtenstein

Horoscope for Mar. 14-27 Venus and Mercury enter Pisces this period. We know in our heart what is what and which is which. And our minds are in tune with our emotions. Ramp it up, and see how it runs on the open road. Will it putt-putt or va-va-voom?
ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 20)
Proud Rams are more […]

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Curbside

by Robert Kirby

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Dykesville

by Tami Friday

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Trolín

by Rodro

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Bitter Girl

by Joan Hilty

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Our Community Cornucopia: Quatrefoil Library

For Whom The Bill Tolls by Bill Burleson

Anne Johnson moved to the Twin Cities from Chicago three years ago. While she had friends here already, she says, “I needed something to…feel part of the community.” So, what did she do? She discovered Quatrefoil Library, our very own GLBT community library. “When I moved here, it was the first thing I joined,” she […]

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Mayhem Ensues Gay Rugby

by Brian Cheese

“Ruck Me, Maul Me, Make Me….” What? The term is “scrum,” and it makes for more than just a suggestive tagline. As for the rucking and mauling, I asked Joe Vollmar, President of the Mayhem Rugby team, the state’s only predominantly gay rugby team, to explain.
“The scrum is basically a pile of guys trying to […]

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Glutes that Look Great in ’08

by Eric Homan

Having a great backside is always a head turner. It can fill out your jeans, improve your confidence, and give athletic performance a boost. Today, we’re going to talk about my favorite exercise to build a tight, strong backside.
This exercise is called the two-armed swing. It is typically done with a kettlebell, but in this […]

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Typing with One Hand

The Cutting Edge by Paul Varnell

With luck, you didn’t notice, but for most of the fall and into the winter, I had a broken wrist, and had to type my columns and reviews with one hand. My right hand, as it happens, but no more convenient for all that. My right hand had no idea where the letters were on […]

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Tat for Tit…Er, Ankle

Consider the Source by Julie Dafydd

So, there I was, faced with another birthday. The way I saw it, I had essentially three choices: (1) Celebrate; (2) Despair; or (3) Get a tattoo. I’ve gone the celebratory route before. What a disappointment! Who in their right mind would think cash is not an appropriate gift? Of course, it is touching to […]

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Lesbian 101: An Introduction

Dateland by Jennifer Parello

I was at a Super Bowl party, bored out of my mind, because every lesbian in the room was paying attention to the game, and not to me. Every time I made what I considered to be a witty remark about the players’ tight trousers, I was shushed, and threatened with bodily eviction if I […]

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Ms. Behavior®

by Meryl Cohn

Dear Ms. Behavior:
My girlfriend, Julie, and I have become close with a couple, Greg and Steven, who have a penchant for heavy cologne. As a happy queer foursome, we hang out together, see movies, and dine out all the time.
For a while, Julie and I just joked and hinted about the whole perfume business, then […]

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