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June 21, 2007
God and Gays
God & Gays: Bridging the Gap
The Movie. The Gathering. The Movement.
Bishop Spong, Mel White and Actor/Comedian Jason Stuart and many more converge in Nashville for the highly anticipated
God & Gays Gathering 2007: Unity is Our Identity
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., July 1, 2007 -– “I’d rather she be dead than gay,” confesses a mother who, unfortunately, got her wish. She lost her daughter to suicide and talks about it in the heart-wrenching and yet unifying feature documentary, God and Gays: Bridging the Gap.
Filmmakers, Gathering founders and life partners, Luane Beck and Kim Clark, created God and Gays: Bridging the Gap to offer an intimate look into the lives of people raised in Christian homes and who struggle, knowing – or fearing, their homosexual path. Now, they host the largest, most impressive line-up of qualified speakers on the country’s most non-discussed topic, can you be Christian and be gay? With the religious right and mainstream Christianity teaching emotionally traumatizing ex-gay therapies, celibacy or subtle and equally as harmful forms of tolerance, it’s the perfect time in history for the God & Gays Gathering.
The God & Gays Gathering features progressive Episcopalian Bishop John Shelby Spong, previous ghost writer to Jerry Falwell Rev. Dr. Mel White, evangelical minister’s wife Peggy Campolo and ex-Exodus group leader Darlene Bogle plus many more together to Nashville, TN. Considered a central location for people all around the Bible belt area to attend, Gathering founder Kim Clark hopes, “anyone who is tired of being asked to vote on marriage equality and hearing only fear as the reason to keep people divided and are ready to deal with the human side of the debate around homosexuality and religion in a safe, accepting environment is welcome. We are ready for the parents and friends of gays, lesbians and transgender people to come so we can support them as they will and do get flack from society for not disowning their loved one. We are ready for the gay person with nowhere to go safely, who has contemplated or attempted suicide to instead invest time in him or herself, in what they’re going through and how to work with their faith to be the solution, not the problem. We’re ready for the church leader, the teacher, the therapist, to give them support in leading their groups to learning more on what it’s like to be gay and religious. The goal is empowerment. Get people out of victim status and they become more of who they are, how God made them.” Clark is best known for her quote, “comfort zones are slow dream killers” and lives by it on a daily basis, which is what got her through making God & Gays: Bridging the Gap and creating several support services like the Gathering. Her partner, Luane Beck, originally made the film based on Clark’s own personal struggle with being gay and Christian. Since premiering, they’ve toured the country speaking to large groups, showing the movie, receiving thousands of emails, letters of support and stories about changed lives.
God and Gays: Bridging the Gap is a rare opportunity to get questions answered, challenge the myths about gay people, and to put a human face on a hot political issue. The story is uniquely told by the people who live the struggle, judgment, fear and ignorance of others every day. “This is about real human beings, contributors to society, educated, kind, God-loving people. This is for real and people deserve to see and hear the stories of the people whose lives they will affect,” says Producer Kim Clark.
God and Gays: Bridging the Gap unifies Christianity and sexual preference in a time where church denominations are on the verge of dividing, in an era where history doesn’t repeat itself, but people repeat history.
Editors: For an EPK and free viewing of the movie trailer, go online to http://www.godandgaysthemovie.com. To schedule an interview with the filmmakers and people featured in the movie, call (718) 351-9599.
About Zernus Productions: Writer, Director and Actor Luane Beck started Zernus Productions to produce her first feature-length narrative drama Intentions in 2001. Award winning documentary producer Kim Clark joined in 2003 and together they focus their true-to-life stories with social integrity and unification in mind, heart and soul. Learn more about the nationally distributed Intentions at http://www.zernusproductions.com
June 20, 2007
GAY USA
Our guest this week is comedian Kate Clinton, marking 25 years of
making us laugh. She has a special currently running on LOGO, a CD
out called "The Marrying Kind," a DVD of her Here! special, and a
book out from Carroll & Graf called "What the L?" You can read more
about her at www.kateclinton.com
Podcasts of Gay USA can be downloaded at:
GayUSAPodCast
You can listen to any or all of three recent shows. You can also
click on the subscribe button to download recent show to your
computer's iTunes or other music player they may have on your
computer. The iTunes program on your computer will automatically
look for new Gay USA podcasts whenever you open the iTunes
application.
If you have any comments about the podcsast, please direct them to
Bill Bahlman at depeche7@mac.com
Bill has also produced a website for the show. Go to
GayUSATV
“Gay USA” is seen in Manhattan on MNN on Thursdays at 11 PM on Time-
Warner 34 and RCN 110 and simulcast at www.MNN.org channel 34. It
is distributed nationally on the Dish Network through Free Speech
TV. Go to www.FreeSpeech.org for the schedule or see below.
To keep up with LGBT news between shows, go to www.PageOneQ.com
The Month Formerly Known as June
It’s Gay Pride Month in New York City and I don’t know if it’s a result of that premature spring ahead clock change thing that George did to save energy, but it seems awfully early this year. That is why it has been suggested that we just call it Gay Pride Era, claim the century and be done with it.
One of the traditional kick-offs of the week’s festivities here in New York is the Mayor declaring that he is no longer a Republican. Or at least that’s a new and cherished tradition. We hope every Republican mayor follows Mike Bloomberg’s lead. And the New York legislature got the gay marriage bill out of committee. It only took thirty years to pass a gay rights bill in New York, but we remain optimistic. What’s our option?
The other tradition of NY Pride is the LGBT Center’s Annual Garden Party. This year was number 24 and was held again on one of the Chelsea Piers. I had the honor of emceeing for the 18th time. My Staten Island posse, under the direction of my promo domo, Michele Karlsberg, was out in full force, getting names for the mailing list, handing out fliers of upcoming shows, finding all the free stuff and just being their usual fun schmooze operator selves.
I love our New York Center. It truly is the gay heart of Manhattan. Everyone loves it, so it’s jammed to the rafters. It’s time to expand. The $50 million capital campaign got a boost from Manhattan Borough President, Scott Stringer’s $1 million pledge and the $8 million pledge from Council Speaker and our favorite Irish lesbian, Christine Quinn. The grants were announced at the Garden Party and were a lovely testament to Richard Burns, the Center’s executive director, and his twenty years at his job.
It was a gorgeous night. We watched the sunset over New Jersey. We heard great entertainment – two-time Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins, recording stars Chris Garneau and Kirsten Price, perennial favorite Lavender Light Gospel Choir and a hilarious, impromptu set from Michele Balan, last seen on The Last Comic Standing. And because the GP24 is sub-titled “A Taste of Pride”, the food was a smorgasboard of New York’s best, a dim sum of the divine. The people were proud and well-fed.
June 23, the night before the big Sunday gay pride march is The Dyke March. I can’t wait. It kicks off at 5p from Bryant Park and we don’t even get no stinkin permit. That’s what I’m talking about. We just march, dammit. Well not really march. It’s more of a mingle. It’s a sea of ex-lovers. And lesbian moms. And lesbian cheerleaders. And my favorite moment is when the young girls start peeling off their tank tops and climbing the streetlight poles. I don’t know who gives the signal, but this year I’m fixing to find out. And then I’m just going to give the signal in every city I visit. Happy LGBT Pride Era!
June 13, 2007
Incoming!
Psssst! I won’t tell you what I had to do to get it, but I finally secured the secret formula for the Gay Bomb! And just in time for Gay Pride Month! Okay, I’ll tell. It involved a bunch of tequila and a recent visit with some fly-girls from the Air Force’s Wright Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio. That’s all the freedom of information you’re getting.
Apparently the military has a program to develop non-lethal weapons: e.g. mega-ton tasers, stare-downs from Mr. Karen Hughes, what not. Non-lethal weapons are so thoughtful, if a tad late for thousands of Iraqis. The Air Force requested $7.5 million from the Pentagon to develop a so-called “gay bomb” which would release a chemical aphrodisiac to turn enemy forces gay, causing them to become more interested in sex with one another than in fighting.
Unfortunately, I was unable to obtain the formula, also proposed at the time by the Air Force, to make bees angry enough to attack enemy forces. It was not clear if those attacks would come while the enemy lovers were having sex. Which is just plain mean. As you know, the Air Force Academy is located near Utah, the Beehive [not hair] State There must have been concern that the bees would flee their collapsed colonies, illegally migrate across borders and attack some yummy Mormon sister-wives.
The Gay Bomb proposal, per usual, has nothing to do with women. Because it takes a bit more than an incoming canister of eau de Tom Ford, a soupcon of Rufus Wainwright qua Judy Garland and some K elixir to flip women soldiers into lesbians. Hint: if you leaflet U.S. women with promises to pay their full student loans and faster than you can say “Private Benjamin”, you’ll have a lean, mean fighting lezbeen machine. Turns out everyone loves multipocketed camo pants.
News of the Gay Bomb had surfaced back in 2004 and has resurfaced in tandem with the renewed political need for a gay wedge [AKA get-out-the-base-vote] issue. Tired old Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is the new Gay Marriage. It is so 2004. And so desperate.
The tide might be turning. Under the carpet bombing of “I Love Paris in the Slammer” coverage, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that the contract for General Peter “Homosexuality is Immoral” Pace would not be renewed, though he could still pitch for the Yankees. In our house, we believe that Paris Hilton works for Karl Rove.
Military recruitment goals are not being met. Five rabidly Catholic Supreme Men who never served in a war, ruled that pregnant women must deliver children [AKA soldiers], even if it is a threat to their health or it is against their doctor’s counsel. It’s a perfect storm of a long war. Would somebody ask Dick “Granpa” Cheney where I can find some aluminum tubes for my Gay Bombs? I’ll need some rainbow decals too. I want to lob one into Congress. Then the Supreme Court. Not the White House. Maybe Pierre, South Dakota.
June 12, 2007
Tonight on LOGO
It's Come To This!
25th Anniversary Tour
At 9pm EST.
We hope you enjoy the show.
For more information: logoonline.com
Kate Clinton: 25th Anniversary Tour
USA, 2007, 62 min, Video
World Premiere
Directed By: Andrea Meyerson
Kate Clinton has been delighting audiences with her sharp wit for 25 years. Catch her hilarious silver anniversary tour, full of observations on aging, sex, and politics, in this cross between documentary and performance film.
June 08, 2007
CommuniKATE at the Top
About.com names CommuniKATE in the Top Lesbian Blogs:
http://lesbianlife.about.com/od/lesbianactivism/tp/Blogs.htm
June 07, 2007
The Bill Dwight Rewind Show
Perugia Press of Florence is celebrating its 10th anniversary this weekend with a series of events featuring the poetry of the selected women artists whom have they have published over the years.
The events are capped off by the sharp and comic insights of Kate Clinton in a special performance at Northampton High School on Sunday night (check out Perugia's site for ticket information).
Kate does all the heavy lifting for the show and I provide an adequate excuse for her to avoid doing her bills. Symbiosis is so cool and makes for decent radio.
To Listen:
http://www.theriverondemand.com/mp3/bill/060707.mp3
Happy Gay Pride Month – or
The Month Formerly Known as June
On the last night of May, under a stunning Manhattan full moon, I made my way down to the Fashion Institute of Technology. Not for a butch outfit tune-up – “Is this tie too fat?” – but to attend the 19th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. The Lammies, darlings. The bad news is that the ceremony started in May and ended in June.
The good news is that there is just that much LGBT writing out there, despite LGBT bookstore closings, imprints ceasing and desisting, and a supposed decline in LGBT reading scores. I come from a family of readers, so it was a pleasure to help kick off the ceremony. Charles Flowers, the executive Director of the Lambda Literary Foundation and his hard-working board have resurrected and expanded the organization. From the silence of the Lambdas, the literary lions are aroar. Stop me before I ménage again. (www.lambdaliterary.org)
Early the next morning, I flew to Long Beach, California to do a show with the South Coast Chorale at the beautiful Karen & Richard Carpenter Performing Arts Center on the gorgeous campus of Cal State Long Beach, incidentally the alma mater of my booking agent, Tam Martin. She loves her old school. The evening was the chorale’s last with their innovative and creative musical director, Kevin Robison, who is moving to Atlanta to take over their music directorship. The South Beach Chorale gave it their joyous all and was joined by Men Alive from Orange County in the second half of the program. I joined the chorale on stage for one number, but I only lip-synced, I swear. Those chorales have a ton of fun.
Next day I flew up to San Fran Sisters, a city still recovering from NCLR’s 30th anniversary bash at Fort Marsha Mason. I did two shows at the Brava Theatre, now in its 21st year under the indefatigable direction of Ellen Gavin. She has made Brava! the entertainment hub of the Mission with a long commitment to the work of lesbians and Latinas. P.S. SF could use a little global warming. It was freezing and reminded me of the great line from Will Rodgers, “The coldest winter of my life was the summer I once spent in San Francisco.” I saw lots of my San Fransisters and had a great Moroccan dinner with Deb Shapiro and Mosk. We thought the belly dancer was a little underwrought.
Since it’s Serena Ova on that French clay s’il vous plait, this weekend I’m finally off to see friends in Hudson, New York, the home of many of my artist friends from Ptown who have been driven out by the ridic high cost of living. From there I will GPS my way to Northampton, MA to take part in the celebration of the 10th Anniversary of Perugia Press which keeps in print the words of women poets. It will be a lovely bookend to a week that started with the Lambda Awards. I think they are officially over by now.
But first, this evening, my excellent girlfriend and I head to Brooklyn to the 7th Annual Miss LEZ pageant hootenanny, founded by drag king host, Murray Hill. Last year’s winner, Glenn Marla, whose platform was “to make backfat the new cleavage” will crown the winner. We will hook up with the very tasteful lezbo comique and LOGO a go go starlet, ulie Goldman and will scream our support for all contestants. I loves the lesbians, did I mention that? Happy Dyke Day!
June 05, 2007
It's Come To This! World Premiere
Kate Clinton: 25th Anniversary Tour
USA, 2007, 62 min, Video
World Premiere
Directed By: Andrea Meyerson
Kate Clinton has been delighting audiences with her sharp wit for 25 years. Catch her hilarious silver anniversary tour, full of observations on aging, sex, and politics, in this cross between documentary and performance film.
Frameline: San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival
Sunday, June 17
5:30 p.m. at the Castro Theatre
http://www.frameline.org
Newfest: New York Gay & Lesbian Film Festival on Thursday, June 7
http://www.newfest.org
Provincetown Film Festival on June 14
http://www.ptownfilmfest.org
Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival between July 12-23
http://www.outfest.org
June 04, 2007
NEW YORK CITY
I am happy to announce I will perform my only NYC Climate Change show on:
Thursday, Nov. 1 at 7:30pm at the Gotham Comedy Club, 208 West 23rd St., NYC www.gothamcomedyclub.com $20 cover/2 beverage min. Reservations: 212-367-9000.
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