Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 17, 2005)
start a new writing group named Scratch Pad. Scratch Pad is a group by men who identify as writers who also happen to be queer—men who aren’t too concerned about defining themselves by their writing or their queemess but wouldn’t be complete without one or the other. Scratch Pad meets the fourth Wednesday of each month in an intimate downtown public place, usually a tavern or coffeehouse. Members gather and read a few’ pages of whatever they are working on and discuss. The material can be fiction, nonfiction, poetry, prose poetry, ram bling lists, journals, plays, whatever makes you you and whatever makes you write. The group focuses feedback on constructive ideas, pointing out the strengths of the writing and places of confusion. There are no rules or gurus, and each member is encouraged to bring his own joy and method of writing to the group. The group wishes to stay intimate, around seven or eight members, so enrollment is limit ed. There is no cost to join the group. Meetings usually last two or three hours. The next meet ing is June 22. For more information, contact the group at scratchpad_writers@yahoo.com. —Glenn Scofield Williams Messin’ with Texas Comprehensive medical care... for the rest of your family. | Murrayhill Veterinary Hospital I 14831 SW Teal Blvd., Beaverton www.murrayhillvethospttal.com 503.579.3300 THINK Tamala Jones (left) and Janeane Garofalo star in the romantic comedy Nadine in Dateland, premiering June 25 on Oxygen. Texas is about to invade Portland. Don’t manifests similarly in the two cities, and I worry, though, not with its generic brand of thought an event like this would be a gixxl start family values but with ours—in a gixx] old- in celebrating, showcasing and meshing those fashioned lesbian hootenanny. communities.” TX 2 PDX QueerMusicFest is the brain TX 2 PDX is 8 p.m. July 2 at Mississippi child of Austin transplant Marie Fleischmann, Pizza Pub, 3552 N. Mississippi Ave. Admission who you might remember from her organization is $5-$ 10 sliding scale. of Friday night music at In Other Words or her —Lisa Bradshaw MCing of DK PDX shows or belting out her own tunes with Portland duo Pirate Jane, It’s a hard Knox life whose guitar player also moved here from the Lone Star State. In fact, there are just a gaggle The only thing bigger than Shelby Knox’s of gay girls in this city lately who’ve journeyed hair is Shelby Knox’s heart. across the wild west to settle their haunches Reared in a conservative Christian family in here among the evergreens. the ultra-Republican city of Lubbock, Texas, A couple of years ago, explains Knox emerged four years ago as a crusader for Fleischmann, “a friend safe-sex education moved out here to get and a fag hag who away from the heat, supported queer chaos and general ick of teens in their Texas summers and efforts to form a conservatism.... Gay Straight Hilariously, about a Alliance at school. dozen of us thought New York film over the course of two makers Rose years: ‘Hey, that sounds Rosenblatt and like a great idea. Can Marion Lipshutz we come, too? ” spent four years in Lubbixzk profiling And come they did. this headstrong “Here we are, a group of teen and her com Texas queers all living, munity, resulting working and doing in a fascinating activism in PDX,” documentary Fleischmann continues. called The Not to mention Education of Shelby making music. Terri Knox. Winner of Lord and Stacy Hcxibler, two of Austin’s the Excellence in Cinematography hardest-working Award at the 2005 drummers-for-hire, will Sundance Film be in town to back up Festival, it airs a wealth of Texas trans 11 p.m. June 21 plants, including punk on OPB. band Littermeet, The Education of Shelby Knox documents a Texas Liberals, queer acoustic gems Tamara J. student (front, with parents Paula and Danny) who Brown anil Laura and otherwise, crusaded for safe-sex education and gay rights. Mejia, pop rockers often scoff at the religious right. But we rarely get a firsthand Excuse Me Sir and, of course, Pirate Jane. kxik at how this growing political faction works Portland’s Glam Star Burlesque and DK PDX will lend their own brand of cowboy imagery to its dark magic on constituents. Rosenblatt and Lipshutz provide us with that opportunity by the fray. trailing Knox as she confronts schixil and “Austin and Portland are sister cities in that church officials of the G<xl-fearing persuasion. the queer communities are a sort of liberal When we first meet Knox, she’s an obedient mecca in a vast land of conservativism,” claims girl who embraces her community’s abstinence- Fleischmann. “This kind of progressive artistry only approach to sex education. She’s initiated into a national program called Tme Love Waits, promising she won’t have sex (with a man, of course) until her wedding night. But in a split from her abstinent pals, she promotes condoms and safe-sex training when she learns that Lubhxk has astronomically high rates of sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy. We’re never given any reason to believe Knox is not a heterosexual. But after learning that guys with baseball bats regularly threaten the out queer teens, she shifts her attention from sex education to gay rights. Knox fights to rhe brink of tears against a community that believes God, family and coun try (in that order) are the only priorities anyone should worry about. “Look to your Bible,” says a pastor who’s try ing to convince Knox once and for all that homosexuality is sinful. She replies, “There’s something in me that somehow doesn’t disapprove.” If more people followed Knox’s example and listened to their guts instead of their preachers, maybe places like LubbiKk wouldn’t seem quite so scary. —Stephen Blair digital photographs of your original artwork 503.235.5330 www.redkatimaging.com info@ redkatimaging.com Coventry Cycle f/Works Profejdumal Service Com fortable Bikeo Recumbentd a Specialty! (COME SEE WHY!) Janeane meets her match w In Oxygen’s newest romantic comedy, Nadine in Dateland, the title character (Janeane Garofalo) is a 30-something, down-on-her-tuck matchmaker who can’t even seem to fix her own loveless love life. She owns a dating serv ice that needs a professional revamping srxin to prevent its dixirs from closing. Short on cash, Nadine convinces her moth er (Swoosie Kurtz) to invest in her business endeavor. But there’s one small catch: In order to get out of the red, Nadine must prove to her mother that she can make a successful romantic match between herself and Adam (Brad Rowe), her old college sweetheart. With the help of her lesbian best friend, Star (Tamala Jones), she’ll go to any measure to win Adam’s heart in order to keep her agency—even if it means taking a “mission impossible” approach to dating. Tlie movie premieres 8 p.m. June 25. Nadine in Dateland offers a wonderful combi nation of funny and entertaining moments, great sidekicks and gixxl music. It’s a pleasure to see Janeane’s comedic talent at her best. —Yvonne P. Behrens jH Open Iuesdax -Sunday 2 30-772 3 2025 SE Hawthorne - \ * We test because we matter. Do you know your Status? Free HIV Testing Gay/B1/Trans Guys Thursdays 5 to 6:30 PM Drop in clinic
