Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2000)
September 1. 2000 * Ju st ▼ Intimacy by Julia W aco C h e z m oi he eighth annual Dinner at My House for Our House benefit series is under way. One 1 of the first opportunities will be a good old- fashioned summer barbecue Sept. 16 presented by Portland PFLAG co-founder Ann Shepherd, her daughter Susie and Katie Chase. Future hosts include: Chameleon owner and chef Pat Jeung; former Oregon Gov. Barbara Roberts with some help from her friend Terry Bean; Darcelle XV and Roxy; and popular pianist Michael Allen Harrison, who also will perform for his guests. G et a brochure listing all the din ners or make reservations at (5 0 3 ) 736-9276. Tim e to h it th e la n e s , L o is he Portland Community Bowling Assixria- tion will begin its season Sept. 10 with team signups at Hollywood Lanes, and all skill levels are welcome to participate. Besides, you get to wear those nifty shirts! Tom Geil is the guy who started the gay and les bian league 23 years ago, and he’s still making strikes. (For those more accustomed to softball lingo, in bowling that’s a gixxl thing.) Geil says that the league is more social than competi tive and that scores average between 80 and 200 a game. He adds that the association boasts an equal number of men and women and keeps the season short “so people don’t have to overcommit themselves." Be there by 3:30 p.m. at 4030 N.E. Halsey. Call (503) 293-0438 or visit www.pdxhowl.com. L e t ’ s g e t c o lo r fu l A n o th e r k in d o f s u r v iv o r ake a date Sept. 6 to hear actress and Saturday Night Live alum Julia Sweeney (“Pat”) talk about her personal journey as a cancer survivor. She will also perform excerpts from her hook God Said, ‘H a !’ as a benefit for All W om en’s Health Services. After a question-and-answer session, she’ll sign copies of her hook, which will he avail able for sale. The event starts 7:30 p.m. at the Portland State University Smith Memorial Ballroom, 1825 S.W. Broadway. Tickets are $ 3 0 from Ticketmaster. ainbow Youth will present The Revue: RefleC' If f dons on a Colorful Past, a talent show benefit- Hi I ing Basic Rights Oregon’s effort to fight Ballot Measure 9. The show starts 7:30 p.m. Sept. 15 at the Metropolitan Community Church, 2400 N.E. Broadway. A $5 to $ 10 donation is suggested, but the event is ffee to those younger than 23. For more information call (503) 281-8868. O r , le t ’ s g e t b la c k a n d w h ite *he Rogue Valley chapter of PFLAG invites \ you to the fourth annual Black and White l Ball on Sept. 16 at the historic Ashland Richer Rich m y now, every headhunter on Borneo knows it was the “fat naked fag” (his words, not m ine) who outwitted the other castaways to win the big bucks on Survivor. Despite his less-than-winning personality, Richard H atch never lost sight of the fact he was playing a game, and he intended to win. I, for one, am glad he did. I think it’s obvious why he won: H e’s the only one who brought his own food source. While the rest of the tribe was lapsing into malnourished torpor, R ich’s brain cells still were living off the fat of his belly and able to keep spinning out revised plots. Granted, he wasn’t the poster boy for the prototype, high-maintenance, gym-rat gay guys we all know and love, but he did clean up really well. And after a few surgical nips and tucks and his ongoing regimen of run ning six to nine miles a day, he looks better all the time. One aspect of all this that fascinates me is how little homophobia seems to have figured into the actual process. Out of 16 contestants who appeared to represent quite a wide cross sec tion of American life, the only confirmed homo sexual among them is the one who prevails. I find that revolutionary. Even crusty old Annory. It’s an anything-goes dress code as you dance the night away to the sounds of Blue Lightning. Tickets are $15 or $25 a couple from the Abdill-Ellis Center or at the dcxir. For the full scoop call (541) 779-2201. B Rudy (right) stood by his man Rich Rudy, who early on professed a strong dislike of “them queers,” eventually bonded with Rich as part of the infamous alliance. W hen it came time to vote for the ulti mate winner, Rudy stood up and, like the Navy SEA L he used to he, stuck by his com rade and cast his vote for Rich. The alliance B u t y o u 'r e a c h e e rle a d e r? f you saw the Portland pride parade in recent years, you surely remember the flamboyant West Hollywood Cheerleaders and their rau cous rallying cries. Well the diva herself, Miss Misha Rockafeller, is organizing our very own squad and encourages anyone so inclined to show up at a rehearsal. This is an all-inclusive group, she explains: “We already have queens, trans, gay hoys and some lesbians.” Tentatively called Rose City Cheer, the costumes are sure to he stunning, and Misha promises, “O f course, they’ll he glitzy.” Zip her off an e-mail at misha@themisha.com or call (503) 916-8036 to held to the vitriolic end, each member acknowledging it was Rich who got them to the final four. Even the media didn’t make much of a fuss about the gay angle. I’m only one woman with one VCR, but I have monitored the national media since Rich won, and it really seems to be a nonissue. (O n any show that thinking, sentient beings would watch— Howard Stem and his ilk don’t count.) Even Geraldo Rivera, who isn’t known for his reticence, didn’t feel the need to mention Rich is gay during the half-hour he devoted to the Big News. And late-adapter David Letter- man finally got with his own network’s pro gram the Night After with an entire Survivor- themed show— and still resisted the urge to crack a single gay joke. He only went there to spin off the phallic homage Rich made about knowing when to keep his hand on the pole— an allusion to the final immunity challenge. As someone who got hooked on the show right away, I feel qualified to philosophize on the subject. W hat I don’t get is all the fuss about Rich’s scheming. (SurvivorSucks.com tagged him Machiabelly.) So he had a strategy. Good for him! W hy is what he did any different from what coaches do when they diagram plays for their teams in an effort to trounce the other guys? Wasn’t this a game show? Why is everybody dumping on Rich— dra find out about the next practice. S h e p a in ts in th e c o lo r o f life rtist Julia W aco will present an unusual show this m onth at the First Avenue Gallery. Inspired by a friend’s lament that he rarely sees images of gay men in popular culture, she spent a year inter viewing gay men about their relation ships and transform ing their emotional stories into paintings. “T h e public focuses too much on the physical part of gay relations,” W aco believes, “and ignores the qualities found in every human rela tionship, like falling in love, breaking up, attractio n .” Her show opens Sept. 7 at 205 S.W . First Ave. I to ld y o u k . d . ’ s c o m in g b a c k his just in: The line forms 8 a.m. Sept. 15 i at all Fred Meyer I Fastixx outlets for k.d. lang’s concert Nov. 9 at the University of Port land Chiles Center. Her opening act is Shelby Lynne. It’s sure to he one big lollapa-lesbo-looza— see ya there! ■ Compiled by O riana G reen matic pause— or is that where the homopho bia really lurks? Wouldn’t be prudent to denounce the victor just cuz he’s an FNF, but we can find other sanctioned excuses to spew our dislike of him? Keep in mind, too, that the show’s produc ers had to edit hundreds of hours of tape down to 14 hours of programs, which gave them lots of leeway to spin these characters in many dif ferent ways. They knew Rich was the winner when they decided to air his many plotting asides on almost every episode. Perhaps his arrogance also could’ve been spun as confidence. Rich told his personal trainer, who helped him drop 100 pounds before filming began, that he was going to win. He told his family and he told the pro ducers he was going to win. He had a plan, and he followed it. I think it’s really one of those old-fashioned, all- American values called Believing in Yourself! I also admire Rich because he never wavered, never tried to hide his determina tion. Even at the last council, when he could have reminded the jury of his peers that he single-handedly had fed them all those weeks, he didn’t play the food card. 1 think he demonstrated the importance of being earnest. And Rich. And if he follows through on his plan to start a camp for trou bled youth, the importance of being rich. — OG
