Day of Decision part 2

Here are a few more photos from the rally/protest last week -





A special memorial was set up on the corner of Crescent Heights and Santa Monica Blvd., a small pocket park known as Matthew Shepard Human Rights Triangle Park. Women dressed as angels stood in front of pictures of GLBT people who have been victims of brutal hate crimes, including Matthew Shepard, Brandon Teena, and several others.




Related posts -

And the fight continues
I believe
The Right Side of History
The Eve of Justice

Day of Decision

As I'm sure you know by now, yesterday the CA Supreme Court ruled that Prop 8 will remain valid, while the 18,000 same-sex marriages performed last year will also remain valid.


GLBT organizations are already starting a campaign to put an initiative on the ballot in 2010 that will repeal Prop 8. In the meantime, they are recruiting volunteers to go door-to-door to talk to voters about the issue. According to one volunteer I spoke with, they have already changed the minds of 15% of the population. I don't have anything to substantiate this claim, but it would be excellent if true...


Last night I attended the West Hollywood rally and march. Celebrity sightings included Drew Barrymore and Kathy Griffin (I saw Kathy but not Drew). I heard there were 5,000 people in attendance, which is considered a good turnout (although if you compare that to the number of people who attend L.A. Pride, there's a huge discrepancy). The thing that struck me the most was the lack of energy I felt compared to the protests that followed the passage of Prop 8 last November. When I arrived, the rally (which means an organized thing with speakers) was going on and while a huge segment of people had broken off to go march/protest, the police were blocking the road so we all just sort of stood around idly for an hour until we could get through (after that it got dark, so I had trouble getting good photos).



Nevertheless, everyone seems to be looking forward to the prospects in 2010. And there are so many other politically promising things going on around the country for GLBT rights - the "don't ask, don't tell" policy has been brought to the forefront and may change under Obama's term in office, the Oregon Senate just passed legislation that protects GLBT students in schools, New York and New Jersey have been making headway on same-sex marriage legislation, some recent success has happened with hate crime legislation that protects GLBT people, D.C. started recognizing same-sex marriages from other states a couple of months ago, we had a recent marriage victory in Maine - so much is going on across the country, it's hard to keep up. But one thing is certain - things are moving, and quickly.

I have some more photos I will post soon. In the meantime, check out my favorite sign below, on the far right -

The GAYme Show Network

Last Saturday I videotaped some red carpet interviews for the first annual Game Show Network Awards. A friend of mine does freelance work as an interviewer/on-screen personality for various events, and he asked me if I could shoot some interviews for him. I've never shot a red carpet before, and it was actually quite fun.

While there were several cameras trying to get interviews (we weren't affiliated with the network - they had their own crew), we managed to talk to a good amount of people - the goth couple from "Amazing Race," the kids from "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?", a lady from the show "The Office," the host from "Dancing with the Stars," a lady from "Mad TV," one of the "Brady Bunch" guys (OK, so you can tell I'm not a "name" person), Cloris Leechman, Carnie Wilson, George Wallace, and I think Melissa Rivers. Bob Barker was also somewhere to be found, as was Alan Thicke from "Growing Pains," but we didn't get a chance to interview them.


Since I don't have a TV, I didn't know that Ross the Intern is now a host on the network (not that I would know that if I did have a TV, but I guess you never know).


I didn't recognize him at first and I couldn't help but think how interesting it was that they had this flaming queer as a host (he's no "Anderson Cooper," if you know what I mean).


But he's definitely a cutie, and props to the GSN for bringing him on board. Game shows are already so gay - it's about time they start embracing this rather than casting overly-sexed straight men (have you seen the old "Family Feud" shows where the host actually kisses all the women contestants on the lips? Talk about EWW, gross, sexual harassment, and herpes).


The awards show airs June 6th, and is hosted by Howie Mandel. You can even vote for your favorites on their website here. (Actually, I just went to the site and voting is closed, which of course makes sense since they already gave out the awards, but you can still take a look at the nominees).


And in typical game show style, as a parting gift for the event, we got to take home a box of good ol' fashioned rice-a-roni.


-

Erasing the "Huh?" from Abstract Art

I recently visited the MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) for the first time and loved it. If you go, go to the downtown location on Grand Ave. The MOCA has two other locations in L.A. besides the one on Grand - one is currently closed, and the other one is in WeHo next to the Pacific Design Center.


The WeHo one is free but it only has one small room that at this time has only one large piece of art (seen below).


I was ready to go in about 2 minutes, but my Dad sat and stared at it for at least thirty. It was actually quite cute - he would look at it with a very pensive look on his face, scanning it as if doing some sort of mathematical equation in his head.

After that, we headed over to the one downtown. Below is the sculpture they have out front, made from the parts of planes and other industrial things.



The exhibit inside was great - they have a temporary exhibit from one artist and a more permanent collection from several different ones. The best part was the tour we went on for the temporary exhibit - it really gave us a perspective on how to look at the art and what ideas the artist was exploring with his work. What I learned most from the tour was learning how to appreciate art as an experience and not necessarily as an intellectual exercise.

For example, when looking at a Jackson Pollock (the guy who dribbles paint on a canvas), don't necessarily think "What does this mean? What is the artist trying to say?" Look at it and feel something - the passion, the energy, the movement. The way the artist seems to erase all barriers between himself and his work - his experience painting it becomes what we see in the work. Of course, there's more to his notoriety in terms of doing something groundbreaking in the history of art, but I think the art should be more than just something "never done before." I think what matters is how I feel when I look at it, and any art class I've taken has always shied away from teaching that. I understand that you can't tell me what to feel, but it helps to be guided through the process by which we can discover what we feel, other than a simple - "Huh?"

When the process of looking at art starts to become an exploration of an experience, taking an idea and playing with it, being delighted by it, surprised, amused, entertained, or curious, it begins to resonate for me. As with the pottery exhibit in the picture above, I looked at it and just saw pottery - my Dad had an experience. Just as I started to have an experience as I explored an exhibit downtown that was comprised of glass, mirrors, and reflections - it's as if you start rediscovering and looking at the world as a child - everything is new and different. And when I go back to the MOCA I will be sure to take a tour of a new exhibit to gain some more perspective on the whole thing.

The Stories That Affect Us

I was at a meeting today and there was a man in his 40s - heterosexual, rational, and in control. He started to tell us a story about personal growth.

When he was a teenager, he and and his buddies used to beat up gay men and men who were effeminate. Where he grew up, it was one of those things you "just did," and he said he was actually afraid of gay people, a true homophobe.

When he went to college, he attended NYU, an excellent school smack dab in the middle of one of the largest gay meccas - the West Village. Arriving for the first time, he walked out of the subway and into Washington Square only to discover thousands of gay men walking around. He told himself he had two options - beat them (literally), or join them (figuratively). And he knew the only logical choice was to try to overcome his fears.

In time, he got to know them, and he came to have a very close group of gay friends. When AIDS hit, he lost many friends to the disease and it affected him deeply.

Then he said - "These people were so loving, so caring, and so accepting," and he stopped for a moment as he started to cry, "and the world hates them."

I was taken off-guard by his story and his emotion, and I stared at the floor to focus myself. I focused on hearing his words and feeling his sentiment. And I started to cry as well.

Not necessarily because the world does hate us, but because of the shame he seemed to have felt for having been loved by his enemy. At the complete injustice he feels for a group of people to which it appears he has nothing to gain from fighting for. And for the sheer beauty of the power that love has to transform people.

It's Rainin' Gays

While tax day has come and gone and is now just a brief, distant memory, I wanted to direct you to my friend Brenda's blog post about it, as she protested for "Equal Taxes, Equal Rights" at the post office during her lunch break. Since the official protest was canceled due to lack of support, she went by herself despite fears of being alone and possibly becoming an easy target for someone. Her story is both moving and inspirational and can be found here.

In response to the anti same-sex marriage video the "Gathering Storm," (a ridiculous ad that perpetuates fear and myths surrounding gay marriage) Funny or Die (the folks who brought us "Prop 8 the Musical") responded with their own video, "A Gaythering Storm," seen below.

A Gaythering Storm from Jane Lynch

HOLLYWOOD Land

Last week I did a small video shoot up in the hills near the Hollywood sign. It was an interview for Environment California, and we wanted a nice view of the trees and hills. While it's illegal to hike to the sign, you can get fairly close, and there's a nice view from the top.





Some interesting facts about the sign, compliments of wikipedia -

- Originally constructed in 1923 out of wood, it was so badly deteriorated by 1978 that all the letters were replaced with white-painted steel; at that time, each letter cost $27,777 to replace, which was half the amount of an average-priced house.

- Nine people donated money for the restoration, with each person being connected to a letter. Gene Autry is the second L, Hugh Hefner is the Y, Andy Williams is the W, Alice Cooper (in memory of Groucho Marx) is the third O.

-The original sign was put up for sale on eBay in 2005 (although I don't know what it sold for)

- A motion sensor and closed circuit cameras were installed in 2000, and notifies the police of any movement within 50 yards

- The shape of the hills give it its wavy appearance, but when observed at a comparable altitude, the letters appear straight-across

The Pursuit of Family

(billboard in West Hollywood)

As usual, it's been far too long since I last wrote. While I don't claim to be an up-to-date news blog, it is of course worth mentioning the great success we have recently had with the passage of same-sex marriage in Iowa and Vermont!

Vermont was the first state to do so with a legislative vote (as opposed to the court deciding), overriding Gov. Jim Douglas' veto of the same-sex marriage legislation. This happened nine years (has it already been nine years?) after they became the first state in the country to offer a civil unions law. Iowa and Vermont now join Massachusetts and Connecticut as the four states that allow same-sex marriage.

As for California, the word on the street is that experts believe the CA Supreme Court will not declare Prop 8 unconstitutional (i.e. no same-sex marriage), although we won't know for sure for another month or two. And the right wing is already planning a Prop 8-ish vote in Iowa.

While this will no doubt continue to be a tennis match for quite some time, there is still a lot to be proud of. This is only the beginning of the "post-closet" era, and we've already accomplished so much in such a short period of time. As they say, two steps forward and one step back...

Related posts:
Yay for Gay!
And the fight continues
I believe
The Right Side of History
The Eve of Justice

The Gay Ghetto

I went for a walk around West Hollywood (L.A.'s gay-borhood) over the weekend, something I haven't done since last summer. I can't tell you how many businesses have closed since I've been there. In fact, I've never seen so many empty storefronts before that weren't in a ghetto (and no, the "gay ghetto" doesn't count). Of course it's no surprise with the economy being in the state it's in, but seeing its effects hit me.


I went to visit A Different Light Bookstore, L.A.'s only GLBT bookstore, for the last time. After nearly 30 years of business, it's officially closing its doors at the end of the month (although will still be operating online and in San Francisco).




Similarly, in NYC, The Oscar Wilde Bookshop, operating since 1967 and believed to be the oldest GLBT bookstore in the country, is closing this month as well.

On the one hand, it's sad to see these businesses, which have had meaning and significance in our community for decades, close their doors. On the other hand, you could say that capitalism does not discriminate - these businesses are leaving because they are no longer needed by enough people. In 1967, The Oscar Wilde Bookshop was one of the only places to buy GLBT material anywhere in the country. The internet and big business have put a strain on independent shops in general, but there is another issue with GLBT businesses, and that is our community is becoming more and more mainstream. We can now buy GLBT books virtually anywhere - not just from businesses that cater specifically to us.

At the WGA panel I went to recently, one panelist mentioned that 10 or so years ago, there were 5,000 GLBT bookstores in the country. Now there are only 500, which he says "is a good thing," signifying that we've become less marginalized.

I can't say it's a good thing, but I don't think it's a bad thing either. It's just part of our evolution - you give up one thing to become another.

But while so many businesses have closed their doors, others in WeHo seemed to be booming. The nail salon, for example, was packed (Gay men do seem to love their pedicures, and the online marketplace still hasn't found a way to tap that).

Like looking at a glass that's half full, does an empty storefront point to the business that has failed and left, or does it point to the new one approaching? Emptiness is also an opportunity in waiting.

I Love L.A...?

My mom tells me that my dad thinks/hopes I will one day move to live near them and my sister's family in Missouri (they moved to the mid-west from CA after I went to college). She's tried to talk some sense into him, but he tells her to keep an open mind about it. Not that he's ever mentioned it to me, and he probably knows better than to even try. No offense to anyone in Missouri because I do know several cool people that live there and I'm sure they're happy. But everytime my mom tells me this (and it's been at least twice), I think - REALLY?? SERIOUSLY???

OK, so it's sweet. It's sweet to want to have the family all live near each other. But my family does not live near a city like Kansas City or St. Louis, but rather near the Arkansas border and a notorious little place called Branson, which is like Vegas without the gambling, booze, and titties (uh, so what's Vegas without the gambling, booze, and titties? Riiiiight... Think "good clean fun" with lots of fiddles, corny jokes, and patriotism).

Not to sound like a snob, but there are few places that could begin to satisfy me socially, culturally, and professionally. Even here, with everything this city offers, I have yet to fall in love - really fall in love with Los Angeles. I've lived here for 6 non-consecutive years (4 and then 2), but I still think it can one day happen.

Lately I have found myself thinking that I'm really lucky to live here, and that there are not many places in the world where I can do or see ____. Case in point. I recently joined a radical spirituality group. And it's...radical. Last time we met, a body artist came to share with us his experiences on the intersection between pain, ritual, and spirituality. Then with several candles lit and a couple of people drumming on some bongos, he carved a flower design with a scalpel into a woman's back. "Do they numb the back first?" my Mom asked me. "No, Mom - that's the point. Using pain and ritual as a transformative process. A spiritual transendence." OK, so I don't expect everyone to get it. But that's the point; there's enough people in L.A. who do, and who can come together and support such an endeavor.

My mom and I were walking near my apartment during this "Why I will not move to Missouri" conversation. "You see that building over there?" I pointed out to her. "That's the Writer's Guild of America. I live two blocks from the Writer's Guild. On Thursday they're having a panel on GLBT projects in Hollywood. Where else in the world could I go to such a thing?"

The panel was called "Gay Today in Hollywood: A Status Report." Writers, producers, and agents, most of them from the GLBT community, spoke on the panel. The highlight for me was Dustin Lance Black (Academy Award-winning writer from Milk), and hearing him talk about getting his project made. He shopped his script around for a long time, hearing "no" after "no" after "no." Then someone said "Maybe this could be a TV movie..." and it was Mr. Black's turn to say "no." He held on to his script until he was sure that it was in the right hands. He knew how great the movie could be and how much impact it could have. So he waited, held onto his idealism, and it paid off.

Another person on the panel was Liz Feldman, who writes for the Ellen Show. She's currently shopping around a sitcom with a lesbian lead. She's also gotten a lot of "no"s, but she told us that she's committed to sticking with the project until it gets picked up.

I found the panel inspiring to go to. This city, with everything it offers, can be a very inspiring place to live. There is so much to be found, if you look hard enough and if you know what you're looking for. I don't know if I will live here forever. I do have fantasies of moving (mostly because my curiosity loves to contemplate new territory). But as far as I know, it's the closest thing I've ever really found to begin to call home.

So here's where we are

I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since my last post...

The good news is I have finished a draft of Heterosexual Jill! (you can read my other post about the script which is much more descriptive here). I still have a good amount of work to do on it, but at least I have it down on paper instead of floating around in my head. Right now I'm in the process of getting feedback from people to help me re-think some changes for the next draft. The script is one of the most important things to get "right" before moving on to the next stage of production, so as eager as I am to get things going, I know I need to take my time and not rush things. Right now I'm looking at a 2010 production date if everything goes well...

As for Butch Jamie, it's been out on DVD now for 4 months. I don't want to jinx it, but it's been in the top ten lesbian best sellers list for Wolfe Video for the past 6 months! (which includes the 2 months prior to it being released)


If you're still looking to watch it, here's the lowdown:

Rental:
- Netflix
- Blockbuster online (not in stores)
- Your local independently-owned video store. If they don't have it, you can request it and they may purchase it to carry. I actually just got a myspace message from someone in Michigan who wrote to tell me how much she enjoyed the film and that her local video store ordered it for her to rent when she asked about it.

Purchase:
- Wolfe Video (really the best place to get it because they're the distributor and more of the sale goes to the filmmakers, especially if you use the above link; the rest of the sale goes to supporting an independently-owned GLBT film distributor, so all in all I think it's money well spent)
- TLA Video
- Amazon- LOGO
- Barnes and Noble
- Borders
- Best Buy
- Virgin Megastore
All of these companies only sell the video online and not in stores (I can't say that for sure, although I would be surprised). For that, I recommend supporting your local GLBT book/video store if you have one.

You can also rate and/or review the film on many of the above sites, as well as on IMDb. Any good word you can spread about it is much appreciated!

The Eve of Justice

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, the California Supreme Court is going to hear oral arguments tomorrow regarding the validity of Prop 8. Tonight I went to a rally/vigil/march in Downtown L.A. called The Eve of Justice, to help send the message that equality is protected by our constitution and not by popular vote.








Related posts:
And the fight continues
I believe
The Right Side of History

A Few of My New Favorite Things

Favorite new website - Post Secret
An art project where people anonymously mail in their secrets.



Favorite new music video - If I Were a Boy
Beyonce in a police uniform - Yum.



Favorite new religion - Raelian, where people believe they were created by Aliens.



Favorite new movie that I haven't yet seen - Puppetry of the Penis, a filmed stage show where men create puppets with their penises.

Tying the Knot

In a little over a week, the CA Supreme Court will hear oral arguments about the validity of Prop 8. Since the election last November, the GLBT community and our allies have mobilized in unprecedented ways - protests, rallies, marches, vigils, demonstrations, boycotts, viral videos, blogs, conversations, the white knots, people coming out of the closet, straight people postponing their own marriage until the right is granted to all - the commitment, energy, and passion toward this effort has been incredible. Of course, we all know that the decision of the CA Supreme Court will be huge - setting an example, good or bad, for the rest of the country and the world.

On Wednesday, March 4, the evening before the Supreme Court's hearing, there will be events all over California to send a unifying message that equality should not be up for a popular vote, and that the purpose of the constitution is to protect minorities and to make sure that the law treats everyone fairly. You can check out The Eve of Justice website for more info. I plan to go to the demonstration here in downtown L.A.

Also, a short little plug for Milk, which won two Academy Awards last night - the DVD is now on pre-order from Wolfe Video. Yes, you can buy the film at your local Walmart (oh, but dear God - why??), but if you want to support a small, independent, queer-owned business (who in turn supports filmmakers like me), I recommend buying it from Wolfe!

Related posts:
MILK - does a body good
And the fight continues
I believe
The Right Side of History