by
iustnn
M a r t y D a v is
n e w sm a g a zin e
the in publication for the out population
Founded 1983 • Jay Brown and Renée LaChance
It was the worst of times...
Vol. 22 No. 4
...but 2004 was also a year of wonderful success stories and individual celebrations
A
nd another year comes to a close.
This was a tough one, this 2004- Hard losses on the political
home front, statewide and nationally, and hard losses on the bat­
tlegrounds of Iraq. In Oregon and across the country, same-sex
marriage dominated the headlines and the airwaves. Everyone was
talking, and everyone, it seems, was voting. With the dawn of Nov. 3
came the image of a strange, new, unfamiliar and foreboding red
nation, emerging victorious.
In the wake of the re-election of President Bush, of the passage of
Ballot Measure 36, of the national glut of approved Defense of Mar­
riage Acts, it could he easy to focus on loss and defeat. That, in and of
itself, would he a defeat. Remember all the uncomfortable and awk­
ward jokes that appeared in the wake of 9/11, after months of too many
terrorist warnings, “If we give in to fear, the terrorists have won” ? Well,
same concept still applies. If we give in to defeat, the damn conserva­
tives have won. Let’s not give them anymore victories than what they
already have.
So, enough about defeat and loss. I happen to think that there were
also wonderful success stories and individual celebrations to he
acknowledged this past year. Here are just a few. Apologies to those
I’ve missed.
• Our trio of Local Boys Make Good: Wade McCollum, Thomas
Lauderdale and Marc Acito. 2004 brought to play their impact and
achievements in theater, music and writing. Look for these fellas to
continue on in 2005 and beyond with even more successful endeavors.
And we can all say, “We knew them w hen....”
• My vote for Most Improved Performer goes to Kevin Cook aka
Poison Waters. The role of Miss Texas in the Triangle Productions pre­
sentation of Pageant was delightfully entertaining and shows real
promise and growth into news arenas of entertainment. Perhaps even
those not involving a horse.
• My Friends, Allies and Supporter award goes to Patricia Keeney
and Joyce Liljeholm. These seemingly tireless women are everywhere.
The hours and hours of volunteer time that they donate to our com­
munity and our causes deserves far more thanks than I can offer here.
When it’s time for Spirit of Pride Award nominations, let’s not forget
those who toiled for us.
• Again, in 2004, my vote for Most Comfortable Place to Hang
Out goes to Harriet and Andy and all the staff at Hobo’s. I love the
place. OK, the service is slow sometimes, but you know, we all need to
chill out and relax more anyway. I love the brick walls, the tablecloths,
the piano, the music and the fact that everyone can mingle there com­
fortably. And, year after year, their holiday decorations bring an added,
and needed, touch of elegance and class to an evening out.
• Most Touching Moment of the 2004 General Election? OK,
only touching moment: Sam Adams and his utter and sincere befuddle-
ment upon being told, repeatedly, that he had actually been declared
winner of the race for Portland City Council. He was as hard to con­
vince as an undecided voter.
• Best Candidate Deserving to Be Elected to the Portland City
Council— N ext Time? Nick Fish. G o for the third mn, Nick. It will he
your turn. You will serve the city well, and we look forward to working
with you.
• For Graciousness While Giving U p a Dream, the nod goes to
Mark and Wally at Radiance, Rick at Gai-Pied and Steve and Larry at
Wild Life. All three of these gay-owned businesses succumbed to eco­
nomic doldrums and didn’t survive the year. I encourage everyone to
support all our gay, lesbian, hi and trans business owners. They bring
enormous value to our community, and each time we lose another one,
we lose a little bit of ourselves.
• And, to the Question Most Frequently Asked of Ju st Out in
2004? Yes, the planning committee for the gay, lesbian, hi and trans
community center is alive and living and will be coming back to the
pages of Just Out soon. Sam Adams will he returning in a leadership
role, and the project will be moving ahead to the point of identifying
physical sites for possible location. There was some down time as ener­
gies were diverted to political matters, and the sudden and unexpected
death of co-chairwoman Kaelin Bowers had a strong impact. Not all of
our losses were political in 2004. Some were very personal and deeply
felt by many in the community.
For my own moment of compassionate conservatism for 2004, I
wish to acknowledge the deep loss felt by U .S. Sen. Gordon Smith
after the suicide of his son, Garrett Lee. I laud his efforts this past year
in championing legislation to help with the problems of teen depres­
sion and suicide. A s the senator comes to terms with his grief, I hope
he finds it in himself to view with deeper care and understanding the
struggles of young gay, lesbian, hi, trans and questioning youth who
have a disproportionately higher suicide rate than their “straight-
identified” peers. I fear that the srniggles of our youth are destined to
he compounded in coming times as the nation is led deeper and deeper
into the stranglehold of Republican social repression. Senator, you’re
on the right track. Please work to save other families from the pain you
feel. Please work to save all our youth.
Just Out will be on vacation the week of Dec. 20. We return to
work Dec. 27 and will have the first issue of 2005 ready for you (an. 7.
Best wishes to each and all of you for the coming new year. | H
December 17, 2004
FE A T U R E
20 THE YEAR IN REVIEW
2004: Celebration, Struggle, Courage
N EW S
6-11 NORTHWEST
Measure 36 update; domestic violence affects
queer communities; Salem youth benefit from
BRO’s road tour; Bridgetown Real Estate cele­
brates 25 years in business
12-17 NATIONAL
Servicemembers sue to dismantle “don’t ask, don’t
tell”; gay pioneer journalist Leroy Aarons dies
18-19 WORLD
South African Supreme Court OKs same-sex
marriage; Nigerian couple may be stoned for
allegations of homosexual activity; Brighton
bans anti-gay dancehall music
A R T S A N D CU LTURE
35 CULTURE
Wanna ring in 2005 with a midnight smcxxh?
This is where the out crowd will be partying.
37 PEOPLE
Ubergay Cabaret subverts gender—and sibling
rivalry
38-39 DIVERSIONS
Aurora Chorus; The Cold Comedy Concoction;
Matthew Kern and Esera Tuaolo release Christ­
mas CDs; Prints for PICA
41 MUSIC
Back to the future with Jobriath and Duran Duran
44-45 FILM
Bad is best for Pedro Almoddvar; Brother to
Brother recalls Renaissance; Bollywood meets
Jane Austen in Bride and Prejudice; stare at Wes­
ley Snipes’ hard-on in Blade: Trinity; dive into
Loc/i Ness and Life Aquatic, but don’t swim in
the Ocean; learn Spanglish; dodge Daggers
CO LU M N S
33 MS. BEHAVIOR
Drama queen dethroned
34 EPIQUEEREAN
Home away from home
i
• A total of 62 gay and lesbian Canadians have brought their foreign lovers
to live in Canada since the government's 1993 decision
that same-sex partners could be processed for landed
immigrant status on “ humanitarian and compassionate
grounds.' reported London's C apital Gay.
• In Alabama, Soma Rutstein, lesbian lead singer of the
rock group disappear fear, walked o ff the stage during a
concert at Samfond University to protest college officials'
censorship o f her songs Rutstein and sister Cindy Frank
were under contract to avoid certain words or clothing
that would hint at lesbianism.
• Elizabeth Birch will become the next executive director
of the Human Rights Campaign Fund. She was chosen by
the board of directors at its meeting Nov 19 and 20 in
Washington. D.C.
• *1 think our position should be toleration fof gaysl. * said
Georgia Republican Newt Gingrich, ihe next speaker of the
U.S. House of Representatives It should not be promotion
and it should not be condemnation I don't want to see
police in the men’s room, which we had when I was a child,
and I don't want to see trying’ to educate kindergartners in
understanding gay couples. I think both approaches are
fundamentally wrong."
• Sue Hobart, senior features editoi for The Oregonian,
says her paper does not print same-sex wedding
announcements because those relationships are not
legal
• Backers o f Hopewell Apartments, a planned resi­
dence catering to those with a combination o f HIV and
mental illness, are calling it a “ one of a kind’ facility.
"W e're talking about people who may have had a pre­
existing mental iUness and contracted HIV, or folks
with HIV who became increasingly mentally incapaci­
tated as their disease progresses There are facilities
that cater to one population or the other, but not a
population affected by both mental illness and HIV.*
• Oregon is going to Sundance More precisely, an
80-minute documentary highlighting the state's
volatile struggle two years ago concerning Ballot
Measure 9 has been tapped to show next month at
tfie renowned Sundance Film Festival— the nation s
premier showcase for independent films.
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43 J IM ’S CLOSET
Yoko Ono visualizes world peace
46 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARC
Revenge of the nerds
PUBLISHER & MANAGING EDITOR
Marty Davis
NEWS EDITOR
Sarah Dougher
ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR
Jim Radosta
STAFF WRITER
Meg Daly
ART DIRECTOR
Bonnie Barrett
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Zanne deJanvier
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
Larry Lewis
ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES
Kari Taje, Ashley Austin. Cshea W alker
CONTRIBUTORS
Marc Acito. Stephen Blair, Carole Boswell.
Meryl Cohn, Jodi Helmer, Patncia L.
MacAodha. Andy Mangels. Chnstopher
McQuain, Gary Morris, Rebecca Ragain,
Bob Roehr. Aaron Scott, Cori Taratoot, Jim
Thompson. Rex Wockner
DISTRIBUTION
Kristine Ashton, Allison Benn.
Lisa Benson, Brian Boucher. Bob Terry