chess, cycling,
half-marathon,
swimming, 10-
kilometer and
triathlon.
W om en’s bas
ketball, he says,
is most desper
ately in need of
Verone Flood’s “Crosses of New M exico” is one of T h e Triptych Series on
at least two
display at Jantzen Beach Barnes & Noble
more players.
You don’t have to be a pro to participate,
and even if you have no real sports interests
j ortland lesbian landscape photographer
whatsoever, the games include a variety of less
Verone Flood is addicted. “To cameras,
physically oriented activities, Gaarder says, “as
computers and Diet C oke,” says the artist,
well as a Cultural Conference presenting a
who travels around snapping outdoor shots
number o f topics of interest to the G L B T com
“with my 12-year-old basset hound named S te l
munity.” Spectators are also welcome to travel
la, who rides shotgun.”
along with the team.
Flcxxi’s latest installation, The Triptych Series,
And, attention supportive area businesses,
is on view at the Jantzen Beach Barnes &. Noble
Team Oregon needs sponsors. Plaster your name
through March 31. Meet the artist during a recep
on the back of their T-shirts for all the world to
tion from 7 to 8 p.m. March 8. Each piece in this
see by calling Chris at 503-603-5408. If you
series is a collage of three images “about relation
want to join an event or form a new one with
ships,” she says, “of shapes and color, balance and
Team Oregon, e-mail info@teamoregonusa.com.
tension, and negative and positive space."
You can also visit the team’s under-construction
Last summer, Flood’s “Old Columbia High
Internet site at www.teamoregonusa.com.
way" won third place in Just O ut’s Spring into
Pride Photo C ontest and wasfeatured in th e
June 15 issue. This year, she will offer her pic
tures for public inspection and purchase at S a t
ore than 1,500 people are expected at
urday Market. O ne o f her photos also has been
the Portland Conference C enter for the
chosen to be part o f Seattle’s Northwest Exhi
27th annual International W om en’s
bition o f Environmental Photography in April.
Day from noon to 6 p.m. March 10. T he event
includes two floors o f entertainm ent, resource
rooms, vendors and fcxxJ.
Womens Words will take place from noon to
ay Philadelphia journalist Jim Gladstone
4 p.m., bringing together women of varying back
has written a lot o f stuff.
grounds and experiences to read and philosophize
His cultural commentary and criticism
on life, love and politics. The only all-girl poetry
have appeared in the New York Times Book
slam in the city will kick off at 4:30 p.m., and
Review, Billboard, Spm, Lambda Book Report and
participants can still sign up at 503-235-3485.
an array o f daily newspapers across the country.
A partial list o f entertainm ent includes
He has published short fiction and essays in a
belly dance companies Circle Dance and Sister
host of literary magazines and, thanks to the
Caravan, and the
r—i
glamorous world of copywriting, his prose can be
Portland Lesbian
The Bi g B o o k of
M is u n d e rs ta n d in g
found (in tampon packages and promoting fresh
C hoir is scheduled
■
turkey products.
Fortunately for liter
ature, Gladstone re
located to Paris, where
he found his muse (no
doubt a cute Parisian in
a beret) and penned his
first novel, The Big
What’s popped
and what’s flopped,
In a theater near you.
A flo o d o f im a g e s
’ Cause I’ m a w om an
C h ild h o o d = h e ll
<£><§> B lack H awk D own
Director Ridley Scott succeeds at con
vincing us war is hell but fails in providing
any context for a Hitched 1993 mission in
Somalia— with the exception of a cigar-
chomping warlord and a few explanatory
titles. O f course, considering this is a military
movie, the hunks are on parade, including
Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor and Ron
Eldard. A ttention!
—Jim Radosta
dud, bottom of the bag
only if you’re really hungry
good effort, pass the salt
<£§>
mmmm, tasty!
get the big tub o’ com
even though he has the m ental capacity o f a
7-year-old? N o, I cringe.
-JR
<&> C rossroads
L antana
No one on the Just Out staff was willing
to actually see this movie starring publicist-
proclaimed new “gay icon" Britney Spears;
however, we’re sure it sucks.
— Lisa Bradshaw
40 D ays and 40 N ights
A promising premise turns tiresome in
this romantic comedy aKiut a sex fiend (Josh
Hartnett) who gives up all
forms of nookie— including
masturbation— for Lent.
G lenn Fitzgerald (the “ex
gay” contestant in Series 7)
plays a conniving co-work
er who takes wagers on
how long the abstinent
addict can hold out. Will
he get the girl (captivating
newcomer Shannyn Sossa-
mon) in the end? You can
bet on it.
This late arrival in the Oscar race shouldn’t
be missed. Director Ray Lawrence orchestrates
a complex cast o f couples in writer Andrew
Bovell’s riveting exam ination of adultery, trust
and deception. W hen therapist Barbara Her-
shey counsels a gay patient, she begins to get
second thoughts aKiut her distant husband,
Geoffrey Rush. Is he or isn’t he?
-JR
-JR
<g> <£§> <£> G osford P ark
B(x>k o f Misunderstand -
ing. T he author visits
A nnie Bloom ’s Books,
7834 S.W . Capitol
Highway, at 5 p.m.
March 9 to read from
this trek through the
strange and wonderful
world of family.
Jim G lad ston e reads from his first novel, T h e Big Book of
Big Book is a darkly
M isunderstanding, M arch 9
comic kxik at life
through the eyes of Carly Simon-obsessed Josh
to delight the crowd with song at 1:30 p.m.
Royalton, a 22-year-old gay aspiring childrens
T h e Aurora C horus will take the stage at
book writer. The first page finds him in the bath-
2:45 p.m. led by lesbian composer/director Joan
Szymko.
rcxim, pill Kittle in hand, asking, “Do 1 have to
Part of a global women's month observation,
end my life to end my childh<xxl?" Thus begins a
Portland’s celebration hopes to provide opportuni
difficult but often hilarious inner and outer jour
ties for women and the entire community to dis
ney toward the realization of past and current self.
cover similarities and learn from differences in a
respectful, inclusive and supportive environment.
Event coordinator Hilary Seidel says it’s important
“to take one day to celebrate how far we have
es, Oregon will be duly represented at G ay
come and to look ahead to all we can still accom
Gam es V I Sport and C ultural Festival
plish when we support one another.” She notes
O ct. 25-Nov. 9 in Sydney, Australia. In
that this observance allows the opportunity “to
fact, you can help do the representing.
reflect on and redefine our roles as women and
According to team member Chris Gaarder,
leaders in Portland and around the world.’
only sailing and swimming are full, and the
registration deadline isn’t until July 31. So far,
C om p iled by LlSA BRADSHAW
forming teams include basketball, Niwling,
Te a m O r e g o n D o w n U n d e r
Y
’in
Subtle metaphor and dry wit carry Robert
A ltm an’s 1930s period piece. It’s Upstairs,
Dounstairs at the McCordle country estate
when guests arrive with servants in tow. But
when Sir William is murdered, whodunit?
Stephen Fry is memorable if a bit too bum
bling as a police inspector, and Emily W at
son is Oscar-worthy as a dexterous maid.
T here’s a rich feminist theme and a delight-
ul peppering of homoeroticism, but the
whole thing ends a bit too quickly, allowing
nice memories but a feeling of being rushed
out the door.
— LB
< C %> I A m S am
I really wanted to like this sappy tear-
jerker, but the entire experience is excru
ciating: A m I supposed to laugh when
Sean Penn (as a m entally challenged
father) says som ething unbelievably
m oronic? A m I supposed to swoon when
he and M ich elle Pfeiffer (as his icy
lawyer) start flirting with each other,
<& £$><& > M onster ’ s B all
A heartbreaking, incendiary, passionately
erotic drama involving a racist cop (Billy Bob
Thornton) and the widow (H alle Berry) of a
black inmate he helped execute. T h e unlikely
twosome become, through a tortuous chain of
events, romantically involved. Som e situations
and resolutions seem a bit pat and contrived,
but under Marc Forster’s sharp direction, the
pacing and performances are spot-on.
— Christopher M cQuain
O range C ounty
Lawrence Kasdan’s son directed and the Rev.
Mel W hite’s son wrote this alleged comedy star
ring Tom Hanks’ son and Sissy Spacek’s daughter
as high school students who enlist the help of
Penny Marshall's brother in a desperate attempt
to get into Stanford. The only laughs come
from the film’s sole non-nepotistic cast
member, Jack Black, who steals scenes
„ _
as the deadbeat brother.
^
- JR