OREGON'S LGBTO NEWSMAGAZINE
JUNE 17. 2011
THEY’RE BAAACK!
Here comes Pride, and our Amateur Photo Contest
paqe 3
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BY MARTY DAVIS
s I start to write this page, head burst­
ing with topics— several o f which I
shall remain silent on, for now— comes
word that beleaguered U.S. Congressman
Anthony Weiner (D -N .Y .) has resigned
his seat. Some will say that this resignation
comes as a result o f photos and text mes­
sages sent; others will say it’s because o f how
he handled the situation when said photos
and texts made their way into the glare o f
public scrutiny. Did the “crime” merit the
punishment? There was no legal crime,
after all. Weiner’s woes are simply another
journey into a gray morass o f indecision as
Americans ponder if they have the right, the
expectation, to elect people who don’t panic
and lie when caught with their pants down,
so to speak. Since members o f the House
have to run for reelection virtually every 15
minutes it often seems, perhaps the matter
might have been left to his constituents to
decide?
A
ow, the main topic at hand. It’s June, so
it must be Pride time again in the Pa­
cific Northwest. Wait, I want to talk more
about Weiner, don’t make me talk about
Pride. No, no, no. I’ve been writing this
column for a million years now, and every
year about this time I search for something
meaningful to say about Pride— what it
means to me, what it means to the com­
munity as a whole. Rainbows, glitter, naked
butts, bare breasts— people, do what you
will. I got nothing. Pride in Portland has
become a dusterfuck o f annoyance. That’s
what Pride means to me. But wait, don’t
whine and complain, Davis, find something
-good to say. You can do it.
Here goes.
Pride to me means— oh hell, I need to be
honest, I might want to run for office some
day. Pride to me means money. This was
N
hurled in my direction recently, intended as
an insult or accusation. Sorry, I’ll say it loud
and proud. Pride is harvest season for this
newspaper, this business. Pride means mon­
ey. It means reaching out to advertisers who
often can afford ads only once a year. Pride
means one month o f catching up on the
bills carried over from the doldrums o f the
first quarter before the same sets in for the
third. Enhanced Pride revenues allow me to
sponsor events, buy program ads, order new
purple boxes, buy and pay for plastic bags
from Bill Dickey. Yup, Pride means money.
I take no shame in that.
Now about those bags. I f you visit Ju st
Out at our Waterfront Festival booth (#9
in the PABA Village), we will offer you a
copy o f the paper along with a lovely plastic
bag within which to carry it. These are fine
plastic bags. They are made from recycled
plastic and are 100 percent recyclable in and
o f themselves. They were purchased from a
local company, Morel Ink, which in turn
contributes much back to our community.
These bags will last a long time, are mul­
tiple use and would cost you as much as a
whopping dime if purchased at Fred Meyer.
I mention all o f this solely for the benefit o f
the plastic bag police. You know who you
are.
was saddened this past week to have to at­
tend the closing night o f another popular
gay-owned business, the Northbank tavern
in Vancouver. I was not a “regular” at this
establishment, but I’d drop in now and then
for specific events.The Northbank was home
to many o f Vancouver’s LGBTQ_m em bers
and now they’ve lost it. When the letter
came from the owners 1 had two immedi­
ate emotional reactions. The first was, “Oh
God, I almost had to write this same letter.”
The second was, “W hat could I have done
I
just out
to help?” There’s no helping the Northbank
now, but I’d like to plant the suggestion that
if you value a business or establishment, you
need to spend some money with them— if
and when you have it. We often don’t realize
the value o f something, or somebody, until
it’s lost or gone. Each time we lose another
gay business we lose a piece o f our unique­
ness, our culture, our past, our present and
our future. Spending our dollars wisely and
well within our own community is one way
to keep the pride in Pride. Additional details
on the closing and photos from the last call
at the Northbank can be found on p. 20.
oving on to the photo contest— good
job, everyone! At one point I had de­
cided that this was going to be the last year
for the contest. We’ve had a great run but
all good things must come to an end. It was
looking like there was no longer as much
interest and it’s been nigh on to impossible
to find sponsors to help with the cost o f
the prizes. I f you haven’t noticed, this is a
contest with very nice rewards for the win­
ners. This again is due to the extra monies
brought in during Pride season. Advertisers,
thank you for trusting/wj/ Out with your ad
dollars and allowing me to put more money
back out into the community. L e t’s have a
group hug and a big Proud moment here.
I’m going to hold o ff on making a decision
to continue the contest until the first o f the
year. Rather than drop the contest entirely,
I need to look at ways to change it and re­
fresh it. Stay tuned for more details— and
big thanks to everyone who contributed.
VOL. 28. NO. 14
I
JUNE 17. 2 0 11.
INSIDE
» GAY PRIDE 2011
M
n closing, I’d like to share a moment o f
personal pride. Last week I was delighted
to be able to traipse off to Mexico for the
wedding o f my niece, Erin. M y family, for
reasons I’ve never understood, chooses to
live in Texas, so I don’t get to see them as
often as I’d like. This was a lovely and spe­
cial wedding, and it meant a lot to me to be
able to attend. For this opportunity, I owe
a big thanks to the highly capable Ju st Out
staff who, by the way, have put out two very
kick-ass and high-quality issues this month.
Thanks for all your good work J u s t Out. You
make me proud.JW
3
23
ORGANIZATIONAL PRIDEFILES
24
2011 PRIDE AMATEUR PHOTO
CONTEST
40
IT’S HERE! QUEER! PRIDE!
44
STATEWIDE PRIDE
46
PRIDEFILES
» NEWS & COMMUNITY
|
5
LETTERS/NW NEWS IN BRIEF
12
STANDING FOR TRANS RIGHTS
14
BIAS CRIMES RECAP
16
MEET Q CENTER’S NEW EXEC
DIRECTOR
20
NORTHBANK CLOSES
» ARTS & CULTURE
| 35
60
OUT & ABOUT
NIGHTLIFE: GAY SKATE
» COLUMNISTS
18
THE SASSY GARDENER
57
LADY ABOUT TOWN
58
ASK A GAY
62
REMEMBER TO BREATHE
66
MS. BEHAVIOR
ON T H E C O V E R
“Glitter and Grease” by Atom Ion:
“This amazing creature is Domingo, part of my
Artists as Art series. I observe the world around me
from an impassioned perspective of latching onto
things that interest me most, sometimes tuning
out the other senses near me—capturing people
at their most natural, be it nude or candid. I’m on
a never-ending search for beautiful creatures.”
Find Ion on Facebook or email him at atomseyesGP
gmail.com.
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