COOL SUMMER

Many thanks to everyone who came out for Cool Summer: Our House to Yours! We had a great crowd and raised about $800 for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Cincinnati, though I forgot to take any pictures! :-) That will help off set the stay of a family at the House for 36 days!

Many thanks to my partners in crime, Julie of WineMeDineMeCincinnati.com, Katy of KatesRandomMusings.com, Monika and Shannan of CincinnatiWomenBloggers.com. Also, many thanks to Below Zero Lounge for being such a fabulous host, and thanks to Lancome for setting up and doing free makeup consultations! And, of course, thanks to M2B Designs for her amazing graphic!

I think by the end of the night the overall reaction was: success!

Also, congratulations to the Ensemble Theatre Company and STOP AIDS for a hugely successful Big Hair Bingo, with pictures brought to you by Cincinnati NAMjA!

Of course, after the party and the time at Blue Bar with Cincinnati Guerrilla Queer Bar, I found myself sick with god knows what... so much so that I just woke up about an hour ago. Sigh. We're going to chalk it up to the relief from stress.

Job Postings per 1,000 Residents

And Cincinnati is number 15 on the list, ranking the top 50 metro areas in the counry. Yet another "Where are you getting these numbers and are you applying them properly?" studies.

Via Joe.My.God.

And, as an addenda, thanks to The Urbanophile out of Indianapolis, here are a couple other pieces of interest you may want to check out:

• The New York Times did a piece for their Travel section entitled 36 Hours in Cincinnati, detailing what a weekend in the Queen City was like and where cool things are in our fair city. The writer checked out such great locales including the Northside Tavern, Shake It Records, the Cincinnati Ballet, Playhouse in the Park, and Over-the-Rhine. Worth a read.
• The annual city population estimates are out for 2008 by the US Census Bureau, Cincinnati has only changed by approximately 100 between 2007-2008. On the bright side, even if it is a loss, it's not that big of one. It is not, however, a reflection of the greater Cincinnati area, our metro goes from Northern Kentucky as far north as Middletown, including southeastern Indiana and possibly as far east as Allen and Brown Counties.These numbers only reflect the incorporated city of Cicninnati, which is approximately 330,000 individuals. The 2005 population estimates for the metro was about 2.1m and growing.
• Ohio has been ranked by Chief Executive as the 46th best state for business based on a variety of variables, including gross state product, civilian labor force, unemployment, and average salary.

When we get bad numbers, it's always our first instinct to find out why they are wrong and argue that we aren't that bad. I wonder if we would be so willing to fight the numbers if we were ranked in the top 10. We all know the economy is shit right now, and Ohio has a lot of room to improve. Rather than fight the individual statistics, we should, perhaps, be working to improve them as fast as possible.

Rayya Restaurant

Quick review of Rayya: great food while you're on the go, probably not the best sit-in locale, but a fabulous little family-owned diner to run in and run out of.

I was wandering around the city today, in desperate search for last minute items for Cool Summer this evening, and I got a fit of the hungries on the way to the bus. My first thought? Skyline, though I knew it would leave my stomach churning in the hot sun and with the long evening ahead. I needed something else, and I've always thought it might be nice to try something new amongst the little shops downtown.

Thank god I was on Court Street.

When I walked into Rayya Restaurant (29 E. Court Street), my first thought was, "Oh my god, I've walked into My Big Fat Greek Wedding." From the little old Greek man sitting out front, to the pretty late 20s/early 30s Greek daughter helping mom behind the counter, to the drawing of the Parthenon on the front of the menu, I might as well have been in Dancing Zorba's on that movie, though much smaller. The layout is like any other quick service locale downtown -- a couple of tables, a bar from which everything is served, and the kitchen in the back. Very informal. So informal, in fact, mom walked back to grab my cheeseburger and walked it back out in her hand (gloves on), slid the fries on my table, and unobtrusively shouted, "What you want on it?"

OK.

I got it to go and walked it down to the busstop in front of the court house, and pulled it out, where I promptly took a picture, much to the amusement of my fellow bus riders.

As for the food: it's blandish and will remind you of an improved version of your high school's half-assed attempts at palatable beef. If you're going for the burger of the year award, Rayya is not the winner. It's juicy, the add-ons were good, and the fries -- lightly salted -- were acceptable. You will not leave this burger thinking, "I must have another one tomorrow!" Rather, for $5, you'll think, "That was a pretty decent meal." And, even better, it's perfect while you're running. Their menu is long and littered with classic diner fair to gyros and a handful of Greek items I had never heard of. All of it, I'm assuming, are hand-held delights that you can run off in the paper bag back to your office. Total time waiting on my meal? 5 minutes. And it was made fresh. The fries were steaming and the burger was hot off the grill.

Cheap, decent fair. Completely worth a check-in if you happen to be in the area and hit the hungries.

um. k.

Maddow on Pat Buchanan

And this is why the blogosphere is fabulous. Rachel Maddow makes Pat Buchanan look like a racist asshole, and, the next morning, though few of us watched the actual show, we all know about it. A bit from HuffPo:

When asked why the overwhelming majority of justices have been white, Buchanan declined to explicitly cite discrimination, but explained that "White men were 100% of the people that wrote the Constitution, 100% of the people that signed the Declaration of Independence, 100% of the people who died at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, probably close to 100% of the people who died at Normandy. This has been a country built basically by white folks, who were 90% of the nation in 1960 when I was growing up and the other 10% were African-Americans who had been discriminated against. That's why."

When Maddow asked whether the reason that 108 out of 110 justice were white is because "white people deserved to have those positions," Buchanan answered: "A lot of people get up there for a lot of reasons."...

Later, Buchanan attacked Maddow for being out of touch and seemed to slam judges who support affirmative action when he stated, "You know what they ought to do? They ought to defend the rights of white working-class folks."

Maddow cut him off and snapped, "I don't need a lecture from you about whether or not I know, what I think about working class Americans... For you to privilege race... and say that what we need to tap politically is white people's racial grievance, you're playing with fire and dating yourself."

Snap when you say that, girl.

Random Thoughts For Today

Guys online are flakey as hell. Including me. It comes with the territory.

I think I'm missing something about everyone's excitement over the Matthew Shepard Act. -- WIN or FAIL

Don't ever write a check your ass can't cash. TRUST.

I need to be more victorious in my awesome responsibilities. (Thank you, David Krikorian, for the most amazing personal mantra ever.)

I really need to start spellchecking and/or editing and/or reading my blogs before they post.

I think the best description of depression is this: You're more upset that you are depressed over everyone else, rather than being upset by anything in particular.

DiGiornio pizza is amazing. Better cold, though. Great drunk food.

People will find anything and anyhow to get high -- witness the growing fad, "Butt Hash." (not for the faint of stomach)

Social media websites that don't have an effective layout for mobile web are stupid.

I am overwhelmed by the greatness of the people around me, and constantly strive to live up to the person my friends believe/want me to be.

The chronically ill are simultaneously the strongest and weakest people in the world.

I have blogger envy. It's something like penis envy, but I have a blog.

Follow Friday (#FF) on Twitter is annoying to me -- so many to pimp, so few characters! (Meanwhile, I got to my 1000th follower -- WOW!).

Tried watching Borat again. Turned it off 20 minutes in. I remember it being better than that.

Meanwhile, Sweeney Todd was just as good, if not better, than I remember.

Slowly but surely, I'm becoming obsessed with old school musicals. I am listening to Barbara Streisand as I write this.

Really Gay Broadway Baby

I'm perusing YouTube this morning, watching more Broadway performances, and I thought I'd share.

First, John Barrowman's rendition of the La Cage Aux Folles classic, I Am What I Am, also a Gloria Gaynor disco hit and one of the many songs every drag queen tries to do in their careers.

And a mashup I never thought I'd see... Alan Cumming and Joel Grey performing Willkommen from Cabaret. I think this vid shows how drastically different the two actors are, and what amazing talents the two of them brought to the role.

Good morning from Cincinnati!

Milk: Summer Underground

Ari of Milk: Summer Underground, Cincinnati's weekly party that focuses on the music rather than the party, has been asking me to say something about the even since it began, and, though I started off posting announcements, I have done little else to support it. I went tonight, the first time all summer I've had a chance to, and had a great time.

Milk has had a bit of drama in the last few weeks. It moved its location from Below Zero to Little Bit, and I was sure that it would die. However, word had it that last week's event was huge and made for a packed house at Little Bit's. Once upon a time, Little Bit's was one of my favorite bars in the world, though I have not had the opportunity to enjoy as much as I should have, though it's the only LGBTQ bar I could feasibly walk home from. And it is the only LGBTQ bar left in Clifton -- sigh.

I will say this: for everything else I might criticize, Ari plays some great music. It's an unexpected break from the usual. Jazz, a little bit of pop, some hip-hop. It's both unexpected and delicious. In the two hours I spent there, I heard everything from Billie Holliday to Madonna... and who couldn't appreciate that kind of diversity? The crowd was distinctly smaller than the

week before. but still busy. I didn't see Irene -- one of the three owners and recently returned to the bar full time (a fact I am very grateful for) -- stop moving behind the bar except for a few brief moments the entire time I was there. A handful of cute gay boys even made an appearance, as well as some of the cast of Cincinnati Opera's Carmen.

The only true complaint is that the music, for the size of the crowd, was too loud. However, had there been more people, it would have been the perfect volume.

Milk: Summer Underground occurs every Thursday night at Little Bit's Bar on Vine Street.

Matthew Shepard Act Faces Veto

It was little more than a Twitter Rumor earlier (or "tumor," or "twumor" if you will), but it appears that the US Senate has voted to end discussion on (63-28) the Matthew Shepard Act, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity/expression to federal hate crims states, to be attached to a Department of Defense authorization bill. There was unanimous consent to add it to a Department of Defense Authorization Bill as an amendment. The bill allows for a $1.75 billion program to fund the building of new F-22 jets, which Pres. Obama has opposed in the past.

That's right, folks, the Matthew Shepard Act is now attached not only to a defense bill, but one that Obama is not happy with amd has threatened to veto...

...which means we are, again, potentially fucked. From the Advocate:

"The President has long supported the hate crimes bill and gave his personal commitment to Judy Shepard that we will enact an inclusive bill,” said Shin Inouye [D-Hawai'i], referring to Shepard’s Oval Office visit with the president earlier this year. “Unfortunately, the President will have to veto the Defense Authorization bill if it includes wasteful spending for additional F-22s. The collective judgment of the Service Chiefs and Secretaries of the military departments is that the current program is sufficient to meet operational requirements. A Presidential veto would not indicate any change in President Obama’s commitment to seeing the hate crimes bill enacted."

*sigh* Does this mean we have to go through this again next year? Perhaps. We'll see.

For the record: I don't want the $1.75B spent on the F-22s, either. I think most defense spending is a complete waste, but it is one of the few things the federal government is constitutionally mandated to deal in... but we just spend too damned much on it, and wasteful wars. However, I might be willing to suck it up the spinning if the Matthew Shepard Act is attached.

Might be.

Cincinnati Queer Bar: Spreadin' the Love

As always, at midnight, Cincinnati Guerrilla Queer Bar announced its newest target bar for Spreadin' the Love, where they strive to "take over" an underused queer bar, via Facebook...

Hello beautifuls!

Its time to spread some love! And this month we have an amazing night planned for you. Ready for this? We are jumping the river this month and meeting tomorrow night at Blue Bar! As always we are going to create a night full of queer community love - with games, drink specials, and all kinds of dancing. What else could you ask of a Friday night?

So tell your friends, that cuteness you have been eying, and anyone else you come across to come down and make some fun. We want this night to be just as amazing and beautiful and exciting as our first Friday events, because we love you and we have heard rumors that you might feel something special for us too. So lets make it happen!

As always we have packed the evening with incentives. $1 jello shots, $3 grape ape shots, $4 sailor jerry shots, and $10 domestic buckets. We are also bringing back the messenger game! There will also be a DJ makin' it happen on the dance floor.

You can find Blue Bar at 264 Pike Street in Covington, KY. It closes at 1:30, so come a little early to get in all the queer love you can handle.

Word is that CGQB (on twitter, now) has changed up its organizational structure. Whereas it used to be very hierarchical with Mr. Ethan Philbrick running the show, a crew has grown to organize the bi-monthly (does that mean twice a month???) events so that they can incorporate queers of all varieties -- black, white, asian, gay, straight, lesbian, bisexual, women, men, etc. etc. etc. As you might remember, CGQB has received some criticism for their white male-dominated organization that ignored other issues outside of the passing gender issue. I think this change will be good for the movement, as a whole.

But, as for a committee, well, I don't like them. You know what they say, when a committee chooses a color, it's always gray. But Blue Bar sounds like a fabulous time (though I'm not sure if Blue Bar is technically "underused")!

Equality Ohio Fundraiser

Equality Ohio hosted a little fundraiser at Below Zero this evening, and I had the distinct pleasure of hanging with my dears Erin Upchurch (of Equality Ohio), Cameron Tolle (of Impact Cincinnati), and Rusty Lockett (of Church of our Savior and the Gay and Lesbian Community Center), all pictured above. I did the single most shocking thing you would ever expect from me ... that is, gasp, signed up to be an Equality Ohio member. (Yes, Lynne, it's true.) Thanks to Erin we have a mini update on the Equal Housing and Employment Act (EHEA -- HB176), which would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression in Ohio.

The Ohio legislature is on recess right now, but we have received assurances that there will be a vote before this session ends. As it stands, we've not had a lot of leadership emerge in the Ohio Senate on the issue, so there is a lot of lobbying to do over there, too. Law in Ohio, though, seems to read that the House can pass a bill this session and then go to the Senate next session, so we don't have to start the process over again. Equality Ohio is asking people to continue to contact their State Representatives throughout the summer to keep the pressure on them until a vote comes up in late September or early October. For information on how to contact your local representative, go here.

Other events of note this weekend:

• COOL SUMMER Coktail Hour-- Brought to you by this blog, WineMeDineMeCincinnati.com, KatesRandomMusings.com, and CincinnatiWomenBloggers.com. It's a fundraiser tomorrow (July 17th) from 7pm-10pm at Below Zero Lounge. Promises to be a great time! (Facebook page)
• Big Hair Bingo -- "Honey, this isn't your grandma's bingo." Gay bingo comes to Cincinnati tomorrow night at 7:30pm at the Ensemble Theatre Company (1127 Vine Street), benefiting STOP AIDS and the theatre. (Facebook Page)

Hope to see you out this weekend folks!

Holy Shit, Meghan McCain

If you have not had a chance, you must must must read the Meghan McCain interview with OUT Magazine. I don't like Republicans, but she is on our side. Somehow. I'm a bit surprised, too. Her final statement:

“Homophobia is the last socially accepted prejudice,” McCain says, repeating it for emphasis. So it’s only natural that she also views the fight for gay equality as “my generation’s civil rights movement.” At a time when California can constitutionally ban gay marriage and the current presidential administration -- having vowed so much -- has yet to fulfill its promises, it’s hard not to be won over by this bubbly optimist. “In general, I don’t get a good response from the conservative movement,” she admits, unfazed. “But there are a lot of people who have said, ‘I’m Republican and I’m pro–gay marriage. Thank you for showing that you don’t have to be anti–gay marriage to be a Republican.'"

And she goes after Obama for his lack of support for LGBTQ so far in his presidency, and more importantly, this is the single most amazing single thing anyone has ever said:

“Joe the Plumber -- you can quote me -- is a dumbass. He should stick to plumbing.”

Snap when you say that, Meghan. For the love of god, someone needed to. I think in a single interview Miss McCain may have done more for the Republican LGBTQ'ers than years of gay-baiting via Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, George W. Bush, and the whole bit.

I have often said that gays would be far more Republican if only they would be more libertarian when it came to queers.

Meanwhile, she's still a Republican, which means she's against about everything else I believe in.

Internationally Queer Update

A few news items are floating in the blogosphere on international queer rights:

• Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Israel, Britain, and Australia all allow openly LGBTQ individuals to serve in their militaries, whereas the US does not. We've noticed.
• Lithuania: In an 87-6 vote, the Lithuanian Parliament overrode President Dalia Grybauskaite's veto of a law that would bans speech promoting homosexuality, bisexuality, and trans-identity to children. The heavily Catholic country also banned information that promoted hypnosis and bad eating. As expected, gay rights groups are pissed. One of the co-sponsors of the bill, Petra Grazulis, had this to say: "We have finally taken a step which will help Lithuania raise healthy and mentally sound generations unaffected by the rotten culture that is now overwhelming them." No word on how the EU will respond, which Lithuania joined in 2004.
• Mongolia: Queers in the Asian nation are seeking international help to get the Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendre Centre registered with the government. However, the Legal Entities Registration Agency is stonewalling the process, saying that the name is A) not moral and B) uses words that have been improperly translated into the native Cyrillic language. From the official rejection letter: "The name ... has a meaning that conflicts with Mongolian customs and traditions and has the potential to set the wrong example for youth and adolescent."
  
• Pakistan: In a surprising move, the Supreme Court has ordered that social service benefits must go to trans people, citing extensive prejudice, oppression, and social ostracism as a reason that poor trans-identified persons must receive governmental benefits. Unlike wealthy trans-individuals, who are protected often by their privilege, impoverished people are rejected and find themselves the victim of harassment and abuse. The court has ordered an investigation on the best means of extending these benefits to trans people.
• Ukraine: Banned Bruno for depictions of nudity and gay sex. Don't act surprised. You knew someone was going to ban it. On a related note, I really like Sasha Baron Cohen, and I'm just waiting for him to do something amazing after his blow-out performance in Sweeney Todd. Seriously, he's very versatile.
• Venezuela: The heavy Catholic influence in this country made it politically impossible to add equal protections for LGBTQ individuals in the remake of the Constitution a few years back. Now, the "Organic Law for Gender Equity and Equality" is coming up for consideration, which would extend some rights to individuals and same-sex couples. The same Catholic Bishops that stonewalled on equality in the consitution are now pointing to the very constitution they crafted to object to the new law.

The world, as it is, according to queer.

Daniel Radcliffe on everything queer

Daniel Radcliffe has been making some public statements lately that make him seem, to my mind, one of the coolest mo'fo's around. Seriously. I'm sure some people get angry with him over his lack of PC, but, like Hillary making a joke about Indian grocers, I wonder if he says them because he feels so part of the community.

On rumors that he's gay:

I grew up around gay people my entire life, basically, that's possibly why I'm quite camp, and some people think I'm gay when I meet them, which I think is awesome.... [Apparently] someone said 'Daniel Radcliffe is gay. He's got a gay face!' [Laughs] I really don't know what a gay face is. But I think it's wonderful that Dumbledore was outed as gay ... Half of me thinks Jo Rowling just did that to see if she could piss off the right wing, but I'm not sure how true that is.

On wanting to play gay:

I'd love to play a drag queen or transvestite, but not just because of the costumes. Wait, what am I saying? Yes, because of the costumes! If the script was good - I wouldn't just do it because I got to dress up. Although I maintain that I look good with eye make-up. And I'm not going to be an emo kid, so the only other option is drag queen.

On how to avoid the paparazzi:

The one piece of advice I would give to any actor is, if you want to go out on the street without being recognized, without even being looked at, go out with a 6' 8" beautiful transsexual. No one gives you a second glance. Especially when you're 5' 5"

See, now I just wanna hang out with him, though I still contend that Emma Watson is the best actor out of the leads in the Harry Potter series. And he's getting better looking the older he gets...

Speaking of Harry Potter -- my mother said it wasn't good. What were y'all's thoughts?

Matthew Shepard Act Up for Vote THIS WEEK?

The rumors are a-flyin' this week that the Matthew Shepard Act -- or, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HR1913 and S.909) -- will be voted on this week in the Senate. DailyKos is reporting it, the right wingers are up in arms about it, and it seems that Judy Shepard is in Washington, DC this week.

All signs point to yes, which means one thing:

It's time to make the phone calls to your Senators.

It's as simple as this: go to OpenCongress.org's Senator Page, click on your state, and make the phone call, or make the email. Takes about 45 seconds. DailyKos is saying that they have received well over 300,000 right wingers fighting against the bill that would add gender identity/expression and sexual orientation (oh, and disability -- did you know that one?) to federal hate crimes protections. It's so important to protect ourselves, and this is just one more tool added to the arsenal.

If it passes the Senate -- it has already passed the House -- President Obama has promised to sign it.

National Equality March

I guess it is happening -- October 11th, Washington, DC, let's MARCH, baby! (And follow their Twitter for more updates.)

Prepare to Prevail: 2012 for Proposition 8?

A group of California rights groups have posted on "how to win back marriage equality in California." It is a daring document, given what seems to be the interest in taking equality back to the polls in 2010. Perhaps they are right:

Unlike Proposition 8 in 2008, any upcoming electoral campaign for marriage equality would be one of choice, not one of necessity in fending off an attack from religious-right foes. Timing is ours to determine. Going back to the ballot to remove the voter-imposed ban on same-sex marriage from the state constitution in 2010 would be rushed and risky. We should proceed with a costly, demanding, and high-stakes electoral campaign of this sort only when we are confident we can win. We should choose to Prepare to Prevail.

We have much work to do before we proceed to the ballot. Many of us, which includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) organizations and progressive allies, have been doing critical educational and organizing work for years, intensified it during the Prop. 8 campaign in 2008, and have continued to communicate with key constituencies after the election. We vow to intensify our efforts until we win back marriage equality in California. We invite all groups and individual leaders to sign on to this statement and join us in building a solid battle plan for equality. We must step up our work, collectively and in concert, as soon as possible.

It's for 2012, huh? Most of their reasons are around simple organizing coalitions and building support, as well as data collection/etc. A good portion, also, has to do with the realities of the ongoing economic recession.

Take a gander at the list of signatories which includes a lot of regional groups that I have never heard of. Nothing national signed on yet, except for local offices of nationals like the ACLU.

WEARING WHAT WEDNESDAY: True Blood

The Twitterverse is always so up on True Blood, the vampire TV show that Twilight should have been. I have never seen it. But, after these pictures of Ryan Kwanten and Mehcad Brooks came out on the omg blog, I may have to check it out. Click on the pictures above for the NSFW pictures. Seriously -- NSFW.

And this week's fabulous beautiful men blogger -- check out V-M-P, Vintage Male Physique, which seeks out images from the "golden age of gay erotica." My first gay erotica was a book of black and white physique pictures that I took from my employer -- the library. :-) Check it out. It may not be our perfect A&F models you typically see on WWW, but it's totally worth it.

Bill Clinton Supports Equal Marriage

In a high profile turn, former President Bill Clinton comes out in support of equal marriage -- well, basically. Or, at least, that's what every other gay blogger would have you believe. It is not, however, true, at least, not entirely. From the Nation:

Asked if he would commit his support for same-sex marriage, Clinton responded, "I'm basically in support."

This spring, same-sex marriage was legalized in Iowa, Vermont, Connecticut, Maine and New Hampshire. In his most recent remarks on the subject, Clinton said, "I think all these states that do it should do it." The former president, however, added that he does not believe that same-sex marriage is "a federal question."

Asked if he personally supported same-sex marriage, Clinton replied, "Yeah." "I personally support people doing what they want to do," Clinton said. "I think it's wrong for someone to stop someone else from doing that [same-sex marriage]."

SFGate blogger Joe Garofoli makes the perfect point: this is the man who tried to redefine what "is" is. I don't think Mr. Clinton will be waving any flags anytime soon... but it is in the right direction.

In somewhat related news, Liz Cheney is looking to run for public office. That should throw the national groups for a loop. A high profile, lesbian GOP'er. Hrm. And the daughter of a former VP. I falsely reported that Liz Cheney was the lesbian daughter... which is not true. Mary Cheney is that happy lesbian. Liz is the other one.

aw, the joy of brand new doctors