Author: Randy Slovacek

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Lesbian couple told to leave restaurant – “get a room…”

A lesbian couple in Phoenix were asked to leave the Sheraton Hotel’s District restaurant on Sunday after sharing a kiss during an anniversary dinner, ABC15 reports:

Kenyata White and Aeimee Diaz were celebrating their one-year anniversary Sunday at Sheraton’s District restaurant, inside the downtown hotel, when they were asked to leave. The couple says they shared a simple kiss and they didn’t think anything of it until the manager came up to them and told them to get a room.

The women said the manager told them other patrons had complained to him.

“By no means at all were we doing any inappropriate activity. It was a light kiss a kiss that you could give your friends on the lips. It wasn’t any make out at all and so we were very puzzled as to why we need to get a room,” White said.

After the manager saw how upset they were they say he apologized and offered them free drinks if they would leave and come back another time.

That’s it. “Please leave and make my life easier, and if you do I’ll buy you a free drink…”

I can’t count the number of times I’ve watch heterosexual couples kiss or hold hands in public while consciously aware that I risk being bashed or harassed for the same behavior.

And yes, I did it anyway…

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Support for marriage equality jumps in California

California registered voters now favor same-sex unions by 59 percent to 34 percent, a 25-point gap that is the largest margin of support for the issue in the three-plus decades the Field Poll has been asking the question.

The new Field survey shows support has leapt markedly in the three and a half years since California voters approved Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage, 52.3 percent to 47.7 percent.

The poll showed increases in support virtually across the board – among voters under 64, non-white voters, Catholics, Republicans and nonpartisans.

Poll Director Mark DiCamillo said the move to a 25-point gap goes beyond the gradual increase in support that has been expected as young voters age and “replace” older voters in the electorate.

“This is now showing that opinions are changing irrespective of generational replacement,” DiCamillo said. “This is real change.”

“The winds of change are blowing in other states (and) when judges start ruling the same way, I believe that has an influence,” he said.
(source)

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Now THIS is how to sell air-freshener

The Renuzit brand of air fresheners is being expanded with the addition of a line named Renuzit Fresh Accents.

The campaign, scheduled to begin in earnest this week, avoids the approach common for the category of presenting homes transformed into gorgeous showplaces by a spritz or whiff of fragrance.

Rather, the campaign is centered on other gorgeous images: buff young men who are either shirtless or have opened their shirts to reveal chiseled midsections.

The gist is that Renuzit Fresh Accents is as gorgeous as the models because it is, the print, online and outdoor ads declare, “the first air freshener designed to look as great as it smells.”

My one question is: there’s air freshener in the ad?

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Teacher fired from St. Louis Catholic School for being gay on his wedding day

Al Fischer, a popular, openly gay music teacher at a St. Louis-area Catholic school, was fired earlier this month after an archdiocesan official overheard him talking with co-workers about his upcoming plans to marry his longtime partner in New York.

To add insult to injury, Fischer’s firing will take effect on March 9 — the day of the couple’s 20th anniversary and their wedding day.

The report from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch makes it clear that Fischer’s sexual orientation was no secret at St. Ann Parish. Fischer directs the local gay men’s chorus. His partner, Charlie Robin, noted that the two attend school functions like concerts and staff parties as a couple.

In a letter he emailed to the school’s parents shortly after receiving his pink slip, Fischer wrote: ”I think the word has been well spread that this is not the fault of St. Ann School or its leadership, and I want to emphasize that I get that, too.” He said further that the school principal and parish priest “are still there for me in a big way.” Parents at the school are said to be very upset.

In the midst of all of this, Mr. Fischer is taking the high road and doing what a good teacher does: thinking not about himself, but about how his very public firing will impact the children he teaches. His letter encouraged parents to talk to their kids, to make sure that they don’t let what’s happened to him make them scared to be themselves. ”A family conversation about whether or not justice was served here could be a great thing. I do not want the lesson from this for the kids to be, ‘Keep your mouth shut, hide who you are or what you think if it will get you in trouble.’”

Read more at Truth Wins Out.

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Davy Jones of the Monkees passes away due to heart attack

Singer Davy Jones of The Monkees has died of a heart attack at 66, the medical examiner’s office in Martin County, Fla., has confirmed to NBC News.
The news was originally reported by TMZ.

Jones was most famous for his role in the pop group The Monkees, which was put together in 1965 for the TV show of the same name. With such hits as “Daydream Believer,” “Last Train to Clarksville,” “I’m a Believer,” and “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” and the “Monkees” theme song, the group sold more than 50 million records.

In 2008, Yahoo Music named Jones the top teen idol of all time.

After “The Monkees” disbanded in 1971, Jones sang solo as well as with various reincarnations of the group.

He also acted on stage and screen, with his most famous TV appearance as himself on “The Brady Bunch,” in an episode where Marcia Brady was the president of his fan club and tried to get the singer to appear at her school dance. He also played Fagin in “Oliver!” on Broadway.

He released his final album in 2009.

As recently as June of 2011, Jones told The Palm Beach Post that after a routine stress test, a doctor said he had the heart of a 25-year-old. “The doctor says my heart’s so good, the door’s open to do any kind of exercise I want,” he told the paper.

Last summer Jones and fellow bandmates Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz as the band, minus Michael Nesmith, prepared to tour. That tour was later canceled due to internal conflict.

Peter Tork, Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz of The Monkees
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Moderate GOP Sen. Olympia Snowe to not seek re-election

Believe it or not, this actually makes me a bit sad. GOP Senator Olympia Snowe (Maine) has decided to retire at the end of her current term.

Sen. Olympia Snowe from Maine is one of the few good, moderate, “willing to work with Dems” Republicans left. She has shown a lot of intelligence and ability to get things done.

“Unfortunately, I do not realistically expect the partisanship of recent years in the Senate to change over the short term,” she said in a statement explaining her decision to retire. Snowe said her ability to win re-election was not at issue—she was heavily favored to win re-election. Her exit gives Democrats a new opportunity to be pick up a GOP-held seat in a year where they are fighting to hold on to control of the Senate. Democrats currently control the chamber with a 53-47 split, with 2 independent senators caucusing with Democrats.

Snowe has a 78% rating from the HRC on LGBT issues. She supported the Hate Crimes Act, the repeal of DADT, and voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment. In 2009 she was the Senate cosponsor of the fully-inclusive ENDA.

While it is a good chance for the Dems to pick up a seat, I do have great respect for Sen. Snowe.

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Celine Dion cancels string of concerts due to throat infection

Celine Dion has announced that she has to cancel her current run of Caesars Palace shows through March 18 due to the throat infection she is battling. Medical specialists also have ordered her to rest her voice for 8 weeks to allow her a complete recovery.

She has been further diagnosed with weakness in her right vocal chord.

Celine flew to Los Angeles Monday afternoon for a thorough examination at UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Gerald Berke has now diagnosed Celine with weakness in her right vocal chord, secondary to the viral illness. Berke has prescribed 6 to 8 weeks of voice rest in order for Celine to completely recover from the condition.

“I tried to sing at my sound check last week, and I had no control of my voice whatsoever,” Celine said. “We thought that after a few days’ rest, I would improve, but it wasn’t getting any better. … I guess it was worse than I thought.

“Obviously, this is the worst thing for a singer …. not being able to do your shows. I feel worse knowing that I’m disappointing my fans. I’m so sorry. … I hope they forgive me.”
(source)

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Broadway Backwards – March 5, 2012

Broadway Backwards is the only annual Broadway event custom-made for the gay and lesbian community, our friends and families. Broadway actors, singers and dancers perform famous songs and numbers from the Broadway lexicon, but with the performers genders reversed.

Look for this year’s star-studded, one-night only event March 5, 2012 at Broadway’s Al Hirschfeld Theatre.

Watch the video to learn more about the event and see highlights from the first six editions of Broadway Backwards.

The event is produced by Broadway Cares and benefits BC/EFA and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center of New York City.