News: Amazon Swimmer, Palm Springs, Genetics, Tax Time
Gay families hit unfairly again at tax time because of Federal Defense of Marriage Act: "Each tax season, same-sex couples sit at their dining room tables and are forced to live a legal lie by checking single despite their decades together - arbitrarily dividing up their joint households income, expenses, and dependents. Even in states with domestic partnerships or civil unions, we still have to check single on our tax forms because our federal government doesn't consider us a family."
This may be as close to your ass as David Beckham's ever going to get.
Unhostile takeover: the rise of guerilla gay bars.
Former gay Big Brother Australia contestant David Graham dancing by on Dancing with the Stars, thanks to the "gay vote".
Palm Springs committee unanimously approves Rainbow Vision gay and lesbian retirement community...
NYT on sexual genetics: "Desire between the sexes is not a matter of choice. Straight men, it seems, have neural circuits that prompt them to seek out women; gay men have those prompting them to seek other men....Sexual orientation, at least for men, seems to be settled before birth. 'I think most of the scientists working on these questions are convinced that the antecedents of sexual orientation in males are happening early in life, probably before birth,' Dr. Breedlove said, 'whereas for females, some are probably born to become gay, but clearly some get there quite late in life.'"
52-year-old Slovenian man swims the Amazon river, covering 3,274 miles in 65 days, battling piranhas, sharks, crocodiles, and pirates. Here he receives aid from Brazilian medics at the end of his record-breaking swim. Here's a swim diary...
And the cat came back, the very next day... Traveling cat rides the bus every day for fish and chips.
Hillary Clinton becomes third Dem candidate, following Obama and Edwards, to pull out of FOX/Congressional Black Caucus debate.
Posted Apr. 10,2007 at 2:05 PM EST by Andy Towle in Australia, Barack Obama, Brazil, David Beckham, David Graham, Election 2008, Gay Rights, Genetics, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, News, Nightlife, Palm Springs | Permalink
Uhm, there are like 12-13 gay bars in DC not counting the lesbian bars. There are also 2 gay specific bars in the suburbs right outside of DC. Ok, on there only being 2 lesbian specific bars in DC the gurilla people might have a point.
Uhm, except for maybe the lesbians the group doesn't have a point
Posted by: pacificoceanboy | Apr 10, 2007 2:25:50 PM
The guerilla bar thing sounds cool. Anyone know if there's something like that in North Jersey?
Posted by: Jeff in Deserto | Apr 10, 2007 2:32:07 PM
Ewww, why would you want to use toliet paper with somebody's face on it??
Posted by: fangirlhater | Apr 10, 2007 2:36:23 PM
Guerilla Queer Bar started in 2000? Used to do that with Queer Nation way back in '89 & '90...I remember taking over a straight bar near Cornell.
Posted by: Mkusek01060 | Apr 10, 2007 2:51:52 PM
1st, Black Cat is one of the gay friendliest bars in DC, so i think this effort was pointless.
2nd if this is going to be done why not hit a real straight bar in Gergetown or Adams Morgan maybe that will help getting the point across.
Posted by: j | Apr 10, 2007 3:22:49 PM
I've met a lot of guerillas in bars.
Posted by: anon | Apr 10, 2007 3:30:36 PM
I was going to make the same observation about Black Cat... They used to have Taint there (a semi-monthly indie/punk/gay party), and, realistically, the crowd there runs about 20-30% rich on a 'normal' night.
I've been to three of those Guerilla things - two were effectively no-shows (I think me and my four friends doubled the attendance). These bars were kinda dank, nasty and out of the way, so I guess we shouldn'tve been surprised. The third, however, was pretty fun. As it turned out, however, it had nothing to do with the Guerilla Bar and everything to do with a going away party being held in the VIP area of the bar.
Posted by: SeattleDan | Apr 10, 2007 3:44:44 PM
I still don't get it. 12-13 gay bars in DC. How is 12-13 gay bars give the feeling of being left out? Everything from country western , leater/levi, twink, dance, latin, afro-american, yuppie, guppie, older, etc all represented by at least 1 bar specific to that sub genre.
I just don't get the need for this gurilla thing in DC. If they did it in like peoria or some place maybe they would have a point and actualy make a difference.
Posted by: pacificoceanboy | Apr 10, 2007 4:10:16 PM
Wow, I'm sort of stunned by the comments about the guerilla bar guys. As I read the article, I was struck by the fact that I agree with thier point. Most breeders only encounter with The Gays happens on television when they see a Pride parade on the news or Jack and Will in reruns on TBS. I applaud them for making an attempt to show another representation of our community, and for doing it in a way that's not aggressive or political. I say Bravo, er, Brava to them!
Posted by: Wayne | Apr 10, 2007 5:21:55 PM
Wayne, but the straights aren't stupid the ones that would be impacted know what days not to show up at a straight bar because it might be flooded by gays.
It is a set schedule. The sam day of every single month. The straights there are the already converted. Like a preacher preaching to the choir. It has no impact what so ever i am sure.
Posted by: pacificoceanboy | Apr 10, 2007 5:37:23 PM
Remember the Revolutionary War was fought over taxes. Gay couples deserve a fair shake as well as all citizens.
I heard of these guerilla bar groups before. I didn't think it was as popular as it is.
Scientist still have not figured out what role gay people play in evolution.
Congrats to the swimmer. That is an accomplishment.
Posted by: Jack! | Apr 10, 2007 7:24:37 PM
Perhaps even more interesting - well, at least more crazy - is Seattle's Guerilla Masquerade Party, which found inspiration in the guerilla bar movement and now regularly brings out 50-100 folks in costume to invade some unsuspecting Seattle joint: http://www.gmpseattle.com/faq.html
Posted by: Schlatty | Apr 10, 2007 7:25:31 PM
Pacificoceanboy: so you've been to one of these parties? You know those that attend? You know straight people who avoid the bar on the given night because they don't want to be around the gays? Or are you making an assumption from the comfort of your recliner?
Posted by: Wayne | Apr 10, 2007 7:29:32 PM
Wayne use your brain.
Those who could benefit from meeting gay people face to face are going to run as fast as they can from any hint that gay people are going to be around. The dates happen the same time evry month, it doesn't take a 5th grader to figure out the trend.
Those straights that don't know about what night each month there might be a gurilla bar invasion would logicaly only fall into 2 groups. Those that are already our friends and those that would run out the door split quick.
Use your brain, billions of years of evolution gave it to you.
Posted by: pacificoceanboy | Apr 10, 2007 8:41:00 PM
Thanks for the psychology lesson, but I'm still waiting on an answer to my question.
Posted by: Wayne | Apr 10, 2007 8:53:29 PM
the dc event is brilliant and hilarious.
Posted by: ricardo | Apr 10, 2007 10:36:01 PM
The researchers who think there is just one cause for gayness are noodle-brained. Even if all causes were initiated before birth, the only way to explain the variety seen in gay men is to acknowledge that there are several intermingling causes, not just one. When each factor is isolated its genetic impact would be minimal, and thus not selected against, but when working in combination they would produce a gay man with his 80% less children--and this would be uncommon as we know--happening, say 2-6% of the time with male fetuses.
Posted by: anon | Apr 11, 2007 1:30:09 AM
Anon, it's gang mentality. Read what Biological Psychologist Marc Breedlove has to say on this subject:
"But if some, perhaps many, gay men are in fact hypermasculine, where does this idea that gay men have feminine behavior come from? Obviously, I don't know, but I'm sure culture plays a big role in guiding gender roles among both straights and gays. It's pretty clear that human societies have always included men who were primarily attracted to other men, but it's not at all clear that those men always displayed feminine behaviors. In classical Greece at least some men whom we would describe as gay were also what we would describe as jocks. The idea that gay men would have feminine mannerisms really came to the fore in Victorian England, among the so-called "dandies".
So I think it's time to wonder whether the effeminate behavior of at least some gay men is due to social learning. If a boy realizes, at about age 10 or so, that he is having sexual feelings about other boys or men, does he then turn to our culture for guidance about what he's supposed to feel and how he's supposed to behave? If so, then popular culture strongly pushes the message that gay men talk and move in feminine ways: the hack sitcom writer who wants to introduce a gay man does so, using only 5 seconds of screen time, by having him display such behavior. This theoretical boy we're discussing may emulate such behavior, especially in environments where it is safe to do so. And of course, once such behaviors are established in gay subcultures, they become self-regenerating, as these are ways of expressing solidarity and a sense of belonging amid the larger, mostly hostile, culture."
Posted by: Jack! | Apr 11, 2007 2:16:21 AM
I don't understand why people have trouble believing that homosexuality, bisexuality, or heterosexuality can be determined before birth >> genetic.
But do you believe the physical (the sex, hair and eye color, physical appearance etc) are determined before birth?
Well, it's the same thing -- and just because sexual orientation is not "material" and you can't see it, doesn't mean it's not tangible.
That's why anything that has to do with the psyche (like gender and sexual orientation) can be flawed in theory, because ultimately it's part of the mystery of life. But I believe it's hidden for a good reason; if it wasn't it'd probably had been eliminated by now..
Posted by: Da | Apr 11, 2007 3:22:25 AM
I am so going Guerilla Gay Bar when I return to my hometown. Awesome idea, and thanks to Craigs list, easy to inform others.
Posted by: Marco | Apr 11, 2007 6:18:03 AM
i love the guerilla bar idea. anything for NYC?
Posted by: mark | Apr 13, 2007 3:29:25 PM
The doctor investigating the gay gene's name is Dr. Breedlove... WTF?
Posted by: Phil | Apr 14, 2007 7:04:26 AM