September 1. 2000 * Ju st
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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