The Daily Sheet: May 14-27, 2007

[Marge_Innavera]

Monday, May 14, 2007

 
 
International News
by desertrat

The Eurovision Song Contest, Europe's biggest annual music competition, was held this week in Helsinki. It could have easily been renamed "Eurovision Gay and Drag Contest": here's a short list of the "highlights" among the 42 competing countries: The winner of this year's Song Contest, Marija ŠERIFOVIĆ from Serbia, is a lesbian. The Danish contestant in drag, DQ (short for "Drama Queen") presented "Drama Queen", a disco/dance hit in Danmark. The Ark, competing for Sweden, is a very colourful rock/pop band with an openly bisexual singer. For France, Les Fatals Picards presented "L'amour à la française", a song sung in a fake American accent. The band is known as "gay scene music" and is mentioned on most of the French gay Internet news pages. Verka Serduchka from Ukraine - a Dame Edna - Style Drag Queen. No more words needed. A glittery performance! And those were only the "official gay/drag" acts. There was the British group, performing a dancefloor song about airplanes and flying, dressed as stewards and stewardesses and several boygroups including a Spanish one... In total, this year's Eurovision Song Contest was a very colourful event with great diversity - funny songs, serious songs, dance songs, ballads,.....enough to cater to everybody's taste! And statisitics of about 100 million viewers prove them right! For more info on this year's Eurovision Song Contest, visit their homepage, and their  Wikipedia page for plenty of history and details.

 

ROME -- Almost a million people, including families with their children, protested on Saturday May 12th, the proclaimed "Family Day", against a legislation that would give legal rights to unmarried couples, including gay and lesbian partners. The legislation has been at the centre of a debate dividing Italians. On one side are those who support calls by Pope Benedict (who sent a message from his current Brazil trip saying that popular culture promoted sexual immorality and destroyed the sanctity of marriage) to defend the traditional family. On the other are those who say the measure would recognize the basic rights of people who live outside marriage, arguing that the bill would make Italy a more civilized country since most western European countries acknowledge the rights of unmarried couples, including homosexual couples.

 


Post of the Day

One of the earlier forum members to get a copy of Beyond Brokeback, LoveEmBoys  has shared some reactions as well as insights into the personal meanings the book might have for readers from this forum, among them a history of a unique gathering of people: "It's taking me right back to the early times on the forum. . .  I think everyone just joining the forum experienced the same sense of bewilderment about how they were reacting to the story, and then to discovering the forum where so many like minded souls were gathered. Days which I thought were gone are very real again." They became real enough to prompt a phone call to a friend who had an entry in the book and who had also shared a trip through Wyoming last year: "The wonderful discoveries we made along the way, some of the crazy things that happened. How we know neither of us will ever have another trip like that again, nor another friend. So much that never would have existed if it were not for this forum; this story." Read the entire post at BrokeBook Fever.

Earliest “Gay Rights” Document Unearthed By Janjo[/b] Dr. Hal Gladfelder from the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures at the University of Manchester in the UK has discovered the earliest known document written in defence of gay rights. The 258-year-old document was found at the National Archives in Kew, London.

Most of the stories in the book were translations of early Greek and Latin homoerotic texts, although one is a story of cross dressing. The writings are all in defence of male homosexuality. There are no copies of the complete document in existence, but there are large extracts contained within the body of the indictment. It includes the statement:  "Unnatural desire is a contradiction in terms; downright nonsense. Desire is an amatory impulse of the inmost human parts."  This is the earliest known documented attempt to explain homosexual feelings which was not condemnatory in nature, or evidence from sodomy trials.

The document was a three foot by five foot scroll, and was handwritten. Written by Thomas Cannon in 1749, and immediately suppressed, it was an indictment against the printer of a book called “Ancient and Modern Pederasty Investigated and Exemplified.”  Thomas Cannon himself had to leave the country for Europe in order to avoid the threat of court action.  Cannon must have been writing for a homosexual audience which would have been very hidden and suppressed at the time.  Sodomy was a capital offence punishable by death until 1861 in the UK, and homosexuality was not legalized until 1967.

Little is known about Thomas Cannon himself other than the fact that he was from a church family. His father was the Dean of Lincoln Cathedral, and his grandfather Bishop of Norwich and Ely. Cannon was a friend, and sometime rival of John Cleland, the author of Fanny Hill, the memoirs of a woman of pleasure, and the only other person of that date to write a description of an act of male homosexuality. The silencing of Thomas Cannon was almost totally successful for 250 years, and it is only now that his work has been recognized. Dr. Gladfelder says that “Though he lived in anonymity - possibly because of the notoriety of his pamphlet - I certainly regard him as a martyr.” Further details of this most interesting discovery can be found at the University of Manchester website, and at The Edge.

Ca$hing In On Brokeback[/b]

Kenneth and LaVerne Richardson of Chicago, Illinois hope to win $400,000 in a lawsuit they filed Friday on behalf of their twelve-year-old granddaughter, Jessica Turner. The lawsuit claims that the girl suffered psychological distress after a substitute teacher screened Brokeback Mountain for her class.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the lawsuit claims that a substitute teacher at Ashford Elementary School "introduced herself as Ms. Buford to Jessica's class. . . She then said, 'What happens in Ms. Buford's class stays in Ms. Buford's class.' Buford then had a student close the door, and started showing the controversial R-rated film, which features two men engaged in sex." The suit claims that Jessica was sufficiently distressed to be still undergoing psychological treatment and counseling.  Turner claims that she was confined to her seat, so the plaintiffs are accusing Buford, the school's principal and the Chicago Board of Education of "negligence, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress."

Heath Gets Out

. . . . Under the heading "Daddy's Day Out,"  the JustJared website ran a number of photos last week of Heath taking daughter Matilda out for a stroll in London. One reader identified the location as Regent Street, near Piccadilly Circus.

. . . . Three weeks ago, on April 23rd, JustJared ran an alleged photo of Heath in makeup as the Joker, his role in The Dark Knight. A Forum member reports that "after this photo hit the site and all Batman fans were crazily questioning the legitimacy of the photo, the person who did this came forward on a Batman film forum and admitted it was a manip of a Heath photo combining the body of an Orlando Bloom photo."

 


Anne Plays Jane

Anne Hathaway plays the role of Jane Austen in Becoming Jane, which opened in the UK in March and will be in US theatres in August. Derek Elley in Variety thought the film too long but remarked that "Hathaway again shows talent way beyond her age and The Princess Diaries. The Rotten Tomatoes movie website has rated the film "85% fresh."

Considering it one of the "10 most promising" films for this summer, Savannah, Georgia movie critic Matt Brunson remarked that "I feel for Anne Hathaway, the fine young actress who watched all her costars grab the accolades for showier roles in both Brokeback Mountain and The Devil Wears Prada. So it’s encouraging to hear that the early notices claim that this Yankee’s just dandy as British author Jane Austen in a period romance loosely based on a romance in the young Jane’s own life." View a trailer for Becoming Jane on YouTube  and several clips on The Film Factory.

 
 

 

 

Being Non-Celebrities

At Rockmount Ranch Wear  in Denver, you can dress as much like Ennis and Jack (or Lureen in her rodeo days, for that matter) as your imagination and budget will allow. The store is, in fact, where the now-legendary shirts originated. However, while Ennis and Jack could have bought their entire wardrobes at Rockmount, neither Heath Ledger or Jake Gyllenhaal are featured in the extensive Celebrity Gallery on the store's website. Celebrities included in the Gallery range from Don Henley and Bonnie Raitt to Ronald Reagan and members of the San Francisco Giants.

Basque Sheepherder's Potatoes

Presuming it to be safe for 12-year-olds to eat, the Chicago Sun-Times  ran this recipe last August, under the title "Basque sheepherder's potatoes (inspired by Brokeback Mountain)" 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and sliced thin 1 tablespoon bacon drippings or vegetable oil for frying, more if needed 2 medium-sized boiling potatoes, chopped coarsely 1/2 medium green bell pepper 1 teaspoon dried herbs such as parsley or thyme In an 8-inch cast iron skillet, fry onions in bacon fat or oil for 1 minute, just to give it some color; add potatoes, cook until light golden brown, then add bell pepper and herbs. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are crisp and cooked through, about 10 minutes.  Makes 2 servings. (From American Cooking: The Great West by Jonathan Norton Leonard)

PlanetOut In Trouble The San Francisco Chronicle[/b] reported Saturday that PlanetOut Inc., owner of Gay.com as well as the Advocate and Out magazines, is in a financial crisis. Their first-quarter earnings report last week revealed that "virtually every piece of the business needs fixing," and CEO Karen Magee told the Chroniclethat the company's RSVP travel agency had been an especially poor performer. PlanetOut has also been struggling with increased competition for advertising and online personal ad revenues. Quote of the Day:

"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened."  ~ Winston Churchill

 
Photo Caption of the Day
From Photo Captioning Fun 2[/b]
By HR

...the old radio sputters for a moment,
then begins in mid-song...

Each night before you go to bed, my baby
Whisper a little prayer for me, my baby
And tell all the stars above
This is dedicated to the one I love...
[/b]
[/i]

The Daily Sheet depends on you and your ideas.
Contributors to today’s edition: whiplash, LoveEmBoys, desertrat, HR, KittyHawk, Janjo, michaelflanagansf[/b]

Calendar of Events
If you have ideas about initiating a gathering, go to Start Your Own Threads
and get the ball rolling to plan a get-together near you.

[li]May 25 - 29, '07 - Estes Park, CO - Brokeback BBQ 2007[/li] [li]June 1 - 4, '07 - Paris, France - Europe Spring Get Together[/li] [li]July 14-17, 2007 - Minnesota Camping Bash[/li] [li]August 3 - 6, '07 - Seattle, WA - West Coast Summer Get Together[/li] [li]Let us know of any events you'd like listed here.[/li]

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The Daily Sheet is a production of The Ultimate Brokeback Forum at www.davecullen.com/forum

Editor: Marcia (Marge_Innavera)

Forum profile assistant: Dawn (stilllearning)

International editor: Martina (desertrat)

Columnists: cynical21, Connie Bailey, Jim Bond, michaelflanagansf

Proofreader/Researchers: whiplash, mobody, gnash

Today's edition produced by Marcia (Marge_Innavera) email: marge@davecullen.com

Today's edition formatted and proofed by whiplash

We count on you to send us your news items, questions, and nominations for posts of the day.

To subscribe to The Daily Sheet, press the "Notify" button at the top of the page.
When a new TDS is posted, you will be notified by email.

Previous issues of The Daily Sheet.

Response thread for The Daily Sheet.

[Ellen (tellyouwhat)]

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

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Jake Talks About Jack Twist’s Masculinity

A video interview with Jake from 2005 has emerged, in which Jake sheds light on how Ang Lee saw the characters of Jack and Ennis as polar opposites, with Ennis representing the “Old West”—stoic, reserved, tied to tradition – while Jack represents the “New West” – open to new ways of living and seeking fulfillment. Here is an excerpt from a post on the website Wet, Dark and Wild: Jake argues that Jack has to fight to be recognized as a man, notably by his father-in-law. There is an "offensive simplification" that Jack is less of a man than Ennis and this raises the question of what is masculine and what is feminine. Are these fair assumptions?  Ironically, "love is what's difficult." Although they live during a time of free love, "they're not free to love at all.” Watch the interview with Jake

Inside the Minds of Gay Poets

Author Christopher Hennessy visited our forum recently and wrote to Dave to send us his compliments for the depth and breadth of our Brokeback curiosity, philosophy, and research.  He is a freelance writer living in Boston who publishes frequently in national and international gay literary publications. He is associate editor at the Gay and Lesbian Review--Worldwide. Christopher Hennessy’s new book, Outside the Lines, is the first book to collect the voices of today’s foremost and most promising gay poets.  The book includes twelve frank, intense interviews with some of America's best-known and loved poets, who have not only enjoyed wide critical acclaim but who have had lasting impact on both the gay tradition and the contemporary canon writ large, for example, Frank Bidart, the late Thom Gunn, and J. D. McClatchy.  In addition to a selected bibliography of works by established poets, the book also includes a list of works by newer and emerging poets who are well on their way to becoming important voices of the new millennium.

Speaking about the book, Hennesy says: "Gay men often grow up as outsiders or have to live 'outside the lines', as it were.  What I discovered writing this book is that often times that perspective can be a rich one, leading us to see the world differently and to develop unique and powerful ways to speak to our desires. The poets I talked about shared their thoughts about this idea, among others, and talk about a host of other subjects of interest to writers, readers, and gay artists of all kinds. And for those who think poetry is dry and boring, you'd be surprised how often these poets bring up steamy sex, lust for hot young things, and how love informs their work."

Excerpt from Publisher’s Weekly review:  "Michigan is known for its Poets on Poetry series, which collects the prose statements, interviews and poetry-related ephemera of individual contemporary poets; this anthology of frank interviews fits nicely alongside it. . . . As an interlocutor, Hennessy is . . . deeply informed, with an ability to register the hotter material without comment."

Outside the Lines is available through our Ultimate Amazon Connection.

And you can read more about the book here and reviews here. And you might enjoy his blog. He mentions us today. And there's an interesting recent post called Professional Homos?

Equality Under the Law
by desertrat

Interesting court decision in Austria: a woman who left her husband to live with another women was denied alimony from her divorced husband in a court trial. What, on first thought, sounds like harsh discrimination of a lesbian woman, is - if one knows divorce laws in Austria - actually a big success for the anti-discrimination organizations. The idea of alimony is that a partner (in most case the woman), especially if she (he) takes care of children, has to be financially aided to prevent her (him) from slipping into poverty. If the person who receives alimony is partnered again and therefore the family income is high enough, the divorced partner is excused from paying alimony.  In this case, the two women had an adequate income and where treated like any other couple - therefore, the plea for alimony was rejected. Sometimes successes come disguised as losses.... Austria, sadly, is one of the last countries in Europe without gay marriage. Hopes are high that with a new family law legislation this autumn, a full gay marriage law will be passed as well.

Hot Topic:  Jerry Falwell Dies

The Reverend Jerry Falwell, a leader in the Christian conservative movement that became a political power in recent decades, has passed away at the age of seventy-three.  He was found unconscious in his office at around 11:00 a.m. Tuesday. In 2001, Rev. Falwell apologized to gays, lesbians and feminists after implying that they were to blame for the 9/11 attacks.  Two years later (July 2003) he objected to the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold an individual’s right to privacy in a Texas sodomy case.  Rev. Falwell said “This is probably as bad a day as the Court has had on social issues since Roe v. Wade."  His death brings to mind other Evangelical leaders of his generation, such as James Dobson and Pat Robertson.  Will the passing of their generation result in changing views towards gays in Christian America?

Post of the Day:  BBM in Context with “Gay” Films


A post by michaelflanagansf in the film club discussion of The Celluloid Closet demonstrates why our forum discourse is so special.  Where else can you assume everyone in the group has an encyclopedic knowledge of BBM?

“...one thing that I've argued since early on is that we should not be looking at Jack and Ennis' lives in the film as gay lives - there is homosexuality, to be certain, and a commitment to maintain a homosexual relationship over twenty years (within the context of at least one other heterosexual relationship), but this is not being gay in any sort of late 20th century context.  So in that way BBM is certainly separate from films in the trajectory of 'Boys in the Band' and 'Cruising' in that there is no cultural vestige of being 'gay' in it.  The homosexuality is met with the rural homophobia that we've talked about throughout this site…

“As far as it being sexual and emotional porn - well, it would be hard after the floodgates of lashers have opened wide to argue that this story does not inspire sexual and emotional longings in people…”

Read the entire post.




Fanfic Review – Going Home
By Stilllearning


What FanFiction story has readers scrambling around to find out when the next Scottish holiday is?  That would be Going Home by 1_of_one, an AU/AU story set across the pond, with Ennis, a farmer, living in close-knit, rural town in Scotland and Jack, a salesman, living in the urban city of Glasgow.

The men meet when the plane they are traveling on has to make an emergency landing as they return from holiday, where it’s necessary for them to share a room at a Bed and Breakfast, and a bond between them is forged. We are treated to the nuances of the language and the customs of Scottish life where Jack and Ennis wear jumpers and wellies, and celebrate First Footing at New Years; their money is in pounds, their cars have a bonnet and a boot, and when one miss the other’s voice, they ring each other.  It makes reading the story almost as fun as the game of Twister they play:

"Ye daft horse, I told you I'd be coming out for you, didn't I?"
She whinnied again and he patted her neck whispering, "wee darlin'," into her ear. She flicked it back, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. "Come on, slowcoach, we haven't got all day."

This enchanting story paints a beautiful picture of the land that nurtures Jack and Ennis’s relationship:  He stopped to listen to the unseen waters of the sea rushing around the rocky shoreline, puddling into crevices and dried out pools, before sweeping back, scratching at the grit and the pebbles, leaving bubbling traces of foam in its wake.

Written in third person, without the advantage of hearing either character’s point of view this story is able to capture the intimacy, fears and feeling of the characters so poignantly:  Jack was lying fast asleep in front of the fire. Ennis walked towards him, took in the contented look as Jack slept, sprawled over the length of the settee, feet dangling over the edge, his lips curling up in a half smile. His skin looked so soft that Ennis almost let the back of his fingers graze across Jack's face. Instead, leaning over the back of the settee, he held them over Jack's forehead, brushing back the black fringe that had fallen across his eyes, long lashes lying serene on his cheeks. The movement caused Jack to open his eyes, and he smiled lazily at Ennis.

Their growing friendship is not without its struggles and difficulties: unspoken prejudices, family concerns, and life style differences between the men:

"What were they saying?"

"Nothing much." Jack wound down his window a little. "Just that you were gay and that I was your boyfriend." He wound the window back up.

Ennis clenched his teeth. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Jack sighed. "Because I wanted to keep seeing you, knew you'd not like it. I thought you might decide that that was it. Cheerio Jack."

"Why are you telling me now?"

"Because I don't want to keep things from you. I want us to be able to talk to each other about things. Everything." He opened the window again then looked across at Ennis. "Would it have been it, if I'd told you then?"

This story has a unique updating schedule with new chapters posted on holidays, allowing us to share the Christmas holidays with Jack and Ennis, followed by New Years and Boxing Day.  You wouldn’t want to miss the special gifts the men exchange for Valentine’s Day, and as for Easter, let’s just say once you’ve read this story, you will never think of a crème Easter Egg the same way again.

Find Going Home at 1-of-one's Livejournal page. 




Beyond Brokeback Arrives in the Mail

BeyondBrokeback.com

A few members have received their personal copies of Beyond Brokeback.  So far the comments are overwhelmingly positive. 

JRBforBBM posted:  "...when I touched it I was startled by its seductive satin quality.  So I was drawn into it's pages, telling myself that I would only take a few moments to see what it looked like.  I found it beautiful on all levels: The paper, its quality and color; the type face and size that invited me to come in and look around; the organization in chapters, whose titles tantalized and suggested that I stay a while.  I read and was very moved by the first chapter."

Waiting for the mail by Grant Wright Christian

Others are still waiting.  Have faith, the book will arrive.  Once you clear away the tears of joy (or relief), please read your books and post in When you receive your book…  KittyHawk is especially eager to know of any errors you may spot, so the book team can clean up any errors before the second printing.




Marketing Team Ramps up for Pride Month

Pride season is nearly upon us, and members of our marketing team have been busy working out an approach to get the word out about Beyond Brokeback.  goaboydc has been compiling a calendar of events in various venues, and we have recruited BrokenOkie to help keep us up to date on which Pride Events are imminent, and what we can do about it.

The cornerstone of our plan is to ask you, the members, to help in your far-flung locations.   OKC Pride 2007, scheduled for June 15, has asked for 1000 of our flyers to distribute in their registration bags.  For this to happen, a forum member, guest or lurker in the OKC vicinity would need to print a flyer, donate 1000 copies to the festival, and get them to the right person during the first week in June. 

Is there anyone in Oklahoma who can handle this task?  (Anybody have a relative who runs a copy shop?)  Please respond to BrokenOkie.




More True Marketing Stories from Members


BBM-Intern asked for free business cards and flyers (pdf download) to promote the book during the Pride festival where he lives in Australia.  Please PM KittyHawk if you would like some of our free marketing materials.

BrokenOkie contacted the director of Metropolitan Community Church about publicizing the book within various congregations.

tellyouwhat contacted the Unitarian Universalist Association in Boston to recommend the book for Unitarian book stores.




Brokeback in the News


Strange as it may seem, sarah, who has some experience with the press, believes the current headlines (reported in May 14 TDS)  about the lawsuit over 12 year-olds viewing BBM might actually work in our favor as we send out our press release, because reporters who cover that story are “tuned in” to Brokeback stories at present.




What To Wear to the BBQ

. What would a Brokeback BBQ be without beans?  You can't go wrong with our prête à porter Brokeback themed clothing.  As BBQ season approaches (especially the big high-altitude BBQ coming up next week) you can go in style.  Impress your friends with Brokeback apparel from our new CafePress line. Remember you can easily access CafePress through the new buttons at the bottom of any forum page.

Message from the Tech Team -- Some of our members have noted the disappearance of the Search button at the top of the forum pages.  No, you are not going crazy,  it really did used to be there.  The Tech Team, however, disabled it sometime ago as it was becoming apparent that it was one of the culprits slowing down the forum resulting in substantial delays in loading pages, and even sometimes blocking log-ins and posting.  Since disabling it we have noticed a reduction in those random slow-down events, so we have determined that we are going to leave this function disabled for now. It is on our desire list to upgrade the forum to a newer release of software, and at that time we may be able to re-enable search. Such an upgrade to a basically entirely new version of the SMF forum software is a major undertaking, requiring a lot of downtime for the forums, and we can't even be sure that it would solve the search slowdown problem, so currently the tech team is not setting a specific date for when that software upgrade might be tackled.  We thank you for your understanding.  (Tech team: BayCityJohn, Nax, Lance, LoveEmBoys)

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~~:~~

Transgendered NASCAR racer writes about her experience – A nearly fatal accident brought a NASCAR champion face to face with the fact that he had not been living his life to its full potential as a male.  Now a woman, she writes about the hurdles she faces with her career, her parents, and dating in a Newsweek web exclusive, I Had to Fix my Life by Terri O’Connell.

~~:~~

Cash crisis at PlanetOut – The owner of Gay.com and the Advocate is suffering a shortage of cash due to decreased personal ads and decreased participation in gay oriented cruises.

In a note to investors, Richard Ingrassia, an analyst for Roth Capital Partners, said it's possible that PlanetOut would sell its travel business. Overall, he said, the company is still unchallenged in terms of reaching the gay demographic.

~~:~~

Photocap of the Day
By TwistandShout

BEHOLD THE MAN. . .

ECCE HOMO

The Daily Sheet depends on you and your ideas.[/b]

Contributors to today’s edition: brokeback_1, whiplash, desertrat, KittyHawk,
stilllearning, michaelflanagansf, TwistandShout, BrokenOkie, Sarah, Dave Cullen



Calendar of Events

If you have ideas about initiating a gathering, go to Start Your Own Threads
and get the ball rolling to plan a get-together near you.

[li]May 25 - 29, '07 - Estes Park, CO - Brokeback BBQ 2007[/li] [li]June 1 - 4, '07 - Paris, France - Europe Spring Get Together[/li] [li]July 14-17, 2007 - Minnesota Camping Bash[/li] [li]August 3 - 6, '07 - Seattle, WA - West Coast Summer Get Together[/li] [li]Let us know of any events you'd like listed here.[/li]

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The Daily Sheet is a production of The Ultimate Brokeback Forum at www.davecullen.com/forum

Editor: Marcia (Marge_Innavera)

Forum profile assistant: Dawn (stilllearning)

Columnists: cynical21, Connie Bailey, Jim Bond, michaelflanagansf

Proofreader/Researchers: whiplash, mobody, gnash

Today's edition produced by Ellen (tellyouwhat)  email: ellen@davecullen.com

Today's edition formatted and proofed by mobody

We count on you to send us your news items, questions, and nominations for posts of the day.

To subscribe to The Daily Sheet, press the "Notify" button at the top of the page.
When a new TDS is posted, you will be notified by email.

Previous issues of The Daily Sheet.

Response thread for The Daily Sheet.

[Marge_Innavera]

Friday, May 18, 2007

. . . . . Forum Profile: Whiplash Everyone who reads the Daily Sheet has seen a major contribution that Whiplash makes to this forum. She is one of TDS' three formatters, who pull all the text, pictures and links together every week come what may. The staff at TDS would like to lead off this profile by giving Whiplash, as well as formatters gnash and mobody, a very heartfelt thanks for all their work and talents.

I’m Lydia and I have been at the forum since January 20, 2006, two days after my first viewing of BBM. Like everyone else here, I was searching for more information about this beautiful and tragic story. That I happened upon a group of people discussing the story and my subsequent first (and only) foray into on-line discussions groups has been my great fortune.   I live in a small town in northwest Illinois where Joe and I moved five years ago. We left behind comfortable lives in Chicagoland to seek lives driven by our dreams and desires not by our pocketbooks. It has been a struggle but I recently found a teaching job so we are finally beginning to realize our entire dream of living away from the hectic city (yet close enough to visit) and owning a pottery shop where Joe can spend countless hours immersed in clay. Currently listening to? I discovered iTunes shortly after discovering this forum and I can’t stop popping .99¢ songs.  I love words, so lyrics are important to me. I am currently listening to a mix of Ben Harper, Indigo Girls, Ray LaMontagne, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews, John Prine and about fifty other artists. Someone stop me please!  I think I need iTunes Anonymous. Currently reading?  I love poetry and have over 100 books in my collection. I am currently reading New and Selected Poems by Mary Oliver (suggested to me by a forum member) and Until I Find You by John Irving. Biggest challenge?  Trying to keep a positive outlook while dealing with my twenty year old Godson Thomas' brain cancer. He was diagnosed in September and it has created a whirlwind of feelings, emotions, and sadness I could never have imagined. Your perfect day?  Starting on a hike at sunrise with good friends, eating a sack lunch along the trail, more hiking, then sitting, well-spent with a glass of wine watching the sun set. What’s your indulgence?  Dark chocolate. What’s your inspiration?  Poetry, Thomas and Erin, skipping children (as in, carefree children in the act of skipping – have you ever seen anyone in a bad mood skipping?) Last major purchase?  The 1860 brick Italianate we call home. First job?  Pizza maker. What do you know for sure?  That the inhabitants of this forum are some of the most quirky, humorous, intelligent, passionate people I have never really met. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?  You were a good exchange for Thomas. Your favorite threads? Just about any thread in the Juicy Bits section and The Garden thread. How many times have you watched BBM?  Hmmm… well 6 times at the theatre. I stopped counting when I got the DVD. It’s hard to believe it can still bring such an emotional response from me. I really have to psyche-myself up to watch it all of the way through. Your favorite BBM scene?  The scene after the divorce when Jack meets Ennis at his home. The moment when Jack gets out of his truck, looking better than any man has a right to, and he and Ennis embrace. They both look so young and beautiful, Jack so hopeful and Ennis once again losing himself in the moment. The first time I saw the movie, I believed it could be a turning point for their relationship.   Favorite movie besides BBM?  The original 1939 version of Wuthering Heights.

. . . . .Jake At Cannes Jake Gyllenhaal is attending the Cannes Film Festival, where Zodiac is one of the films selected for competition and was screened on Thursday. In an interview at Cannes, summarized in Reuters Canada, Jake focused much of his comment on co-star Robert Downey Jr., remarking that "A very good, typical actor has about 25 really interesting choices and ideas within a minute. And then there's Robert Downey Jr. who has, I would say, 500 to 750 ideas." Go to Jake’s Eyelashes 8 for up-to-date links and more great photos.

Jake and costar Chloe Sevigny

Brokeback In the Classroom ........................................................................

The news about an elementary school being sued because a substitute teacher screened Brokeback Mountain revealed a significant difference between the US and Canada in attitudes toward young people viewing the film in school. The host of Filmchat  reported that "in British Columbia and Ontario, at least, Brokeback Mountain is rated 14-A -- which means anyone under that age would need to see it with a guardian ... but anyone above that age could see it on his or her own. Thus, the BC Teachers Federation posted a "Brokeback Mountain lesson plan" for Grades 10 to 12 last year -- and any debate here over whether the film was appropriate for the classroom would rest pretty much entirely on 'cultural politics'."

The "Learning Outcomes" were listed as:  •  To analyze how this movie reflects current day attitudes toward gay people •  To understand how homophobia impacts daily lives •  To encourage student's personal choices in making the world more accepting of LGBT people." Suggested questions included "What needs to change in society before Jack Twist's dream of him and Ennis owning a ranch together would be a non-event in a rural community?" and "What factors influence homophobia in rural communities? How would they be similar to your school community?" View the entire Brokeback lesson plan here.

.................................................... "Got me a year a high school... Too bad it wasn't in Canada..."

Toward Equality

The Rocky Mountain News reported on Tuesday that Colorado governor Bill Ritter had signed House Bill 1330, a "second-parent adoption" bill that allow a child “to be adopted by a specified second adult parent upon the written and verified consent of a single parent if the child has no other legal parent.” That would include not only grandparents, aunts and uncles but also the partner of a gay biological parent. The bill's supporters have pointed out that this will make it easier for nontraditional families with children to get health insurance coverage and Social Security benefits. Previously, only married couples or single parents - straight or gay - could adopt under state law. Gov. Ritter also signed "House Bill 1292," requiring public schools offering sex education to adopt standards rooted in sound scientific research.

Predictably, both bills have met with opposition from right-wing political activists, particularly the adoption bill. Colorado Media Matters reported that in Denver, Fox 31's Good Day Colorado show had made references to the “gay adoption bill” and to an unnamed “Republican public policy group which says the measure is aimed at promoting a ‘homosexual agenda.’ “ Media Matters also quoted Focus On the Family as stating that “all the high-minded discussion of 'protecting children' and 'parental responsibility' is merely a smokescreen for the true intent of this legislation: paving the way for homosexual adoption." The Denver Post had already pointed out that "Colorado law already permits gay men and lesbians to adopt, as single parents. Because HB 1330 would only come into play when a child already had one, but only one, legal parent, it would thus only allow a same-sex partner to adopt as a second parent when a child is already in the care of that couple."

Check out the Family Builders website for more information on adoption by GLBT parents.




The Quotable Falwell

Reactions to right-wing evangelist Jerry Falwell's passing have, not surprisingly, been varied, with the word “controversial” getting a full workout this week. And memorable Falwell quotes are especially easy to find on the Internet this week. The Joe.My.God blog listing some of the more memorable ones.

....

.................................................................... .................................................................... .................................................................... . "AIDS is the wrath of a just God against homosexuals. To oppose it would be like an Israelite jumping in the Red Sea to save one of Pharaoh's charioteers."

Falwell is remembered by many for his statements blaming “the pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians” for the September 11 attacks on New York and the Pentagon. However, his incendiary remarks were not limited to gays, feminists and neo-pagan religious groups, however. In October of 2004, he stated on a broadcast of CNN Late Edition that "you've got to kill the terrorists before the killing stops. And I'm for the president to chase them all over the world. If it takes 10 years, blow them all away in the name of the Lord."

Predictably, some of the public reaction fell considerably short of solemn condolences. The Joe.My.God blog in particular came under fire for reporting an “anti-memorial” being held in San Francisco. Although the gathering was attended by only six people, the right-wing publication WorldNet Daily proclaimed that “anti-Falwell venom flows on blogs,” singling out Joe.My.God as more venomous than most. “Falwell, of course, was used to being targeted by the media-pagans. Being Godless is camp and a necessity to be a bona fide Liberal,” WorldNet quoted. “Their worship is that of themselves: self-anointment and self-righteousness are part and parcel, their diktat." The FOX network asked Joe.My.God’s host to appear on The Commentators, with hosts John Carlson and Ken Schram, but Joe declined, remarking that “I don't feel like going on what appears to be a conservative attack Fox radio show. (Is there any other kind?)”

Most GLBT organizations, however, cautious in their reactions. Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, issued a fairly representative statement:


"The death of a family member or friend is always a sad occasion and we express our condolences to all those who were close to the Rev. Jerry Falwell. Unfortunately, we will always remember him as a founder and leader of America’s anti-gay industry, someone who exacerbated the nation’s appalling response to the onslaught of the AIDS epidemic, someone who demonized and vilified us for political gain and someone who used religion to divide rather than unite our nation."

Forum members also weighed in with their own insights.  For Rob in Puyallup, “good old Jerry Falwell and the many like him, helped push me deep in the closet where I resided for 46 of my 47 years. It's sad that he didn't wake up to the fact that folks such as myself are as worthy of love, respect and compassion as anyone else....Good night, Jerry. I hope you find what you've been looking for!”  fritzkep answered that “some people seem to believe, for some reason, that whipping up hate for any minority group that they object to will, perhaps, divert residual love and compassion to themselves,.  “Yet it never happens that way. Love begets love, hate begets hate.”

Read these and other comments on the Respond to the Daily Sheet thread.

In the Celebrity Gallery The Daily Sheet reported on Monday that Rockmount Western Wear, which had provided Ennis and Jack's clothing for Brokeback including the now-legenday shirts, had omitted Heath and Jake from their Celebrity Gallery. The Daily Sheet editor contacted Rockmount about the omission, and received this reply: "Thanks for pointing out the oversight. I have advised web person to add the photo from March 2006 under press clippings. It should have been in both places and I never noticed. Check tomorrow." Check out this very positive tribute to BBM and its two lead actors at Rockmount's Celebrity Gallery.  A Housewarming Delivery killersmom reported in How Brokeback Affected Me that Beyond Brokeback was the first mail delivery at her new home: "I am sitting on the floor with my laptop on my lap and the books are next to me on the floor, as my furniture has not arrived yet," she said. "How apropos that this is literally the first mail I have received addressed to me at my home in California. It all just fits![/b] So many things have some together concerning my move here, and how right it has been, this is just one more confirmation that what I have gotten from the story and movie, the boys and all of you has had such a positive affect on my life and has given me the courage to do what is so right for me. To be able to hold this in my hand brings about the same emotion I get from watching the movie." Quote of the Day: “You can safely assume that you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.” ~ Anne Lamott

Photo Caption of the Day

From Photo Captioning Fun 2,[/b] by tfmisc

EVERYBODY’S A CRITIC



Jake: What do you mean, you think the character of Cigar Butt is underdeveloped?

 

The Daily Sheet depends on you and your ideas.

Contributors to today’s edition: killersmom, garybbm, tfmisc, whiplash, LoveEmBoys, nelly, KittyHawk, fritzkep, Rob in Puyallup[/b]



Calendar of Events

If you have ideas about initiating a gathering, go to Start Your Own Threads
and get the ball rolling to plan a get-together near you.

[li]May 25 - 29, '07 - Estes Park, CO - Brokeback BBQ 2007[/li] [li]June 1 - 4, '07 - Paris, France - Europe Spring Get Together[/li] [li]July 14-17, 2007 - Minnesota Camping Bash[/li] [li]August 3 - 6, '07 - Seattle, WA - West Coast Summer Get Together[/li] [li]Let us know of any events you'd like listed here.[/li]

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The Daily Sheet is a production of The Ultimate Brokeback Forum at www.davecullen.com/forum

Editor: Marcia (Marge_Innavera)

Forum profile assistant: Dawn (stilllearning)

International editor: Martina (desertrat)

Columnists: cynical21, Connie Bailey, Jim Bond, michaelflanagansf

Proofreader/Researchers: whiplash, mobody, gnash

Today's edition produced by Marcia (Marge_Innavera)  email: marge@davecullen.com

Today's edition formatted and proofed by gnash

We count on you to send us your news items, questions, and nominations for posts of the day.

To subscribe to The Daily Sheet, press the "Notify" button at the top of the page.
When a new TDS is posted, you will be notified by email.

Previous issues of The Daily Sheet.

Response thread for The Daily Sheet.

[Marge_Innavera]

Monday, May 21, 2007

International: Equality Anniversaries

May 17th is a very special day for gay rights: in removing homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses on a May 17, 1992, the World Health Organisation (WHO) put an end to over a century of homophobia in the medical field. The International Conference on LGBT Community Human Rights held in Montréal from July 26 to July 29, 2006, made the recommendation to have an International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) on May 17 of each year. Here is a short summary of the world-wide activities on the International Day Against Homophobia 2007:

Canada's awareness campaign for the International Day Against Homphobia was inspired by the question: Is being gay a question of nature or nurture?

Germany's GLTB groups protested against Poland's ban on the CSD parade which was scheduled for July 11th in Warsaw.

Guyana continued to commemorate International Day against Homophobia 2007 with the screening of the film "Songs of Freedom" by Jamaican born director Phillip Pike.

Even in Iran, where homosexuality is forbidden, nothing could stop the GLTB activists from making themselves heard: 1- 3 days before 17 of May a number of gayweblogs, individual gays from many cities in Iran, an email based GLBT magazine and a gay organisation, jointly published an announcement about IDAHO in Persian language and asked all Iranians to speak out against homophobia in the society. This announcement was sent by email to thousands of Iranians. MAHA (an Iranian GLBT email based magazine) dedicated its editorial to IDAHO. In addition, a number of gayweblogs in Iran wrote about the issue, and PGLO (an Iranian gay/lesbian organisation) published the announcement in its website.

In Kenya, a GLTB organisation called Equality Now! organised an interesting movie and documentary programme on Saturday, 14th May 2005.  The two Documentary Film Presentation of Amnesty International LGBT Human Rights Documentary,  “Outlawed” (1998) and “Less Than Human” (2003) were screened at the Equality Now! Headquaters, followed by a lecture in Human Rights and a presentation called “Gay Men and Aids in Africa” on Sunday.

In the Netherlands, some thousand or even more gay men, lesbians and bisexuals and sympathetic straight men and women gathered Tuesday, 17 May for a Kiss In Action at Leidseplein in the center of Amsterdam. This action was held in protest against the ongoing homophobic violence in the Amsterdam inner city and in the neighbourhoods of the city.

A Swedish and Norwegian rainbow cultural ceremony took place in the Swedish capital on May 17th with Norwegian opera singer Björn Haugan presenting the same song he sang at a ceremony in the Nazi concentration camp of Mauthausen in Austria in 2002 honoring the homosexuals who perished in the death camps.

Find out what other actions have been taken world wide here.

In Other News:

The US did not participate on May 17th, although other supposedly less likely countries did including China, Iran and Poland. However, March 17th marked the third anniversary of full marriage equality in a US state.  While a color-coded US map compiled by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force showed only two small clusters of states with marriage equality or family recognition laws, the Task Force listed impressive legal gains made in the last few years, and particularly since the 2006 elections. More than half of all Americans now live in jurisdictions that outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and 37 percent in jurisdictions with legal protections for transgendered people; the latter up from 5 percent since the year 2000. "We're moving forward, against great odds," commented Task Force spokesperson  Sue Hyde, "and at a pace that amazes those of us who remember the days when our very sexuality was criminal. . . . Happy anniversary to all of us in Massachusetts! We look forward to the moment when a second, a third, a fourth state joins us in fully welcoming our families into all our communities. "

Strike~Me~Gyllen

Strike~Me~Gyllen, the new forum started by Forum member lovelyamazing, in February, is not a Jake fan site but its stated theme is "Activism through the Arts ... Inspired by the Gyllenhaals". The topics range from movies to religion, poetry and personal loss, with threads about Maggie, Naomi and Stephen Gyllenhaal.  If you're wondering about the photo of the Gyllenhaal family, read and post on "She Holds the Torch of Liberty". Don't miss lovelyamazing's touching and perceptive tribute to her mother, who was known on this Forum as “catchafallingstar,” in "A Farewell Message." "She was fully prepared and had made her peace with one and all," she wrote after posting her mother's farewell

message. "But an overpowering life-force swept over her one last time, when we both ran head-on into Jake Gyllenhaal and Brokeback Mountain, and that led to the amazing last few months of her life. It was like getting one more chance to live life in ways she hadn't anticipated, to contribute some rare thoughts on the major issues of our times. . .  and also to depart with the confidence that she was leaving me with a entire global community of genuine, compassionate, sensitive human beings to nurture me."

You can post on the site by hitting the "Guests Don't Need Login" button at the home page. A username can be filled in with each post, but if you wish to register at the site, send an email to gyllensite@gmail.com introducing yourself.

The Filmink Awards

Brokeback and its stars are still winning awards. On May 9th, Heath Ledger shared the "Best Performance by an Aussie in an overseas film" honors with Hugh Jackman (for The Prestige ) in the 2007 Filmink Awards. Described by JD Film Reviews as "more of a tongue in cheek, MTV movie awards type affair than Cannes or even the A.F.I," the event was broadcast in Australia on May 12th on MovieEXTRA.  Categories included best and worst film, best Australian film, best remake and a few oddities such as "Best Movie Mind F#$k" and "Best Movie Moustache." The winners were decided by a vote of the magazine's readership, with more than 15,000 votes cast last year.

The reviewer noted that only 2 or 3 contestants were present to accept awards. Australian actor and Candy supporting co-star Damon Herriman, "pretending to be Heath Ledger," according to News.com collected Heath’s award. In reviewing the Brokeback DVD, Filmink had described Heath's performance as "terse, insular and laconic at every turn, but he digs right into his character of ranch hand Ennis Del Mar to find the wounded pride and damaged soul that make him tick. It’s the best kind of performance: non-showy, honest, uncompromising and beautifully constructed. Ledger hits all the right notes, making Ennis an unforgettably sad and haunting character."

Pride Events

Thanks to the tireless efforts of BrokenOkie, we now have an international list of Pride events through October at Info and Event Listings.  Pride events this week are in Nashville, Tennessee; Washington, D.C. and Honolulu, Hawaii starting May 27th.

If you're planning to help market Beyond Brokeback at pride events, check out the new discussion thread at "Marketing 'Beyond Brokeback' At Pride Events."  We have plenty of marketing materials available at our Beyond Brokeback website.” 

Post of the Day All of us have heard the expression "hate the sin and love the sinner," and more than a few of us have been exasperated by how it misses the point when applied to GLBT people in particular.  In Gay and Christian in the World Today, SilverLake offered an exerpt from a dialogue that gave another view. "While we're on the subject of hate, an Episcopal priest named Tobias Heller recently posted on his blog a thought-provoking short meditation on why Christians are to "hate" neither the sinner nor the sin, "Enough of hate."      "Part of what he says: "It is impossible to “hate the sin” apart from the sinner, as if sin had some reality apart from the desires and actions of fallen human beings, as if you could somehow extract the sin from a person and vent your purifying fury upon it. Such a notion is very far from the Gospel. What is worse, those who begin by “hating the sin” in this abstract way soon will come to hating the sinner in a concrete way, as indeed they must, since the one cannot exist apart from the other. And when those who legislate what is sinful have sufficient power, we have seen what results: the auto da fé was intended to save the souls of those repentant heretics being burned alive." "The whole thing (which is short) is well worth reading.  Many of the comments that follow are quite thoughtful and worth reading as well."

Stand Back a Few Paces Always inventive, gnash has shared some remarkable examples of fan art. Stand back a few feet to see the picture of Jake in the full-sized image of this gridded pattern, posted on BBM Fanart. Also take a look at its companion piece: a similar picture of Heath.

"Wide-Eyed Gyllenhaal" Reporting in Bloomberg.com this morning, correspondent Farah Nayeri included Zodiac in her "Cannes Roundup." Her remarks about Jake: "...and the paper's geeky cartoonist, Robert Graysmith, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. Wide-eyed and obsessive, Gyllenhaal gives a stellar performance that surpasses his lovelorn gay cowboy in Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain."

Quote of the Day: "There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it--always."  ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Photo Caption of the Day

chapeugris posted this un-captioned cartoon, the subject of one of the New Yorker's regular cartoon captioning contests. Several forum members supplied Brokeback-inspired captions. View all the "entries" at Photo Captioning Fun 2

From Janjo:
Doctor: Now let me get this right Mr del Mar, you met this fella Jack on a mountain,
and then this naked cherub with a bow and arrow was floating round your heads
firing his arrows into you.  Are you sure it was just whiskey you were drinking?

From doodler:

Doctor: Perhaps you shouldn't have told them you voted for Crash.

The Daily Sheet depends on you and your ideas.

Contributors to today’s edition: Lovelyamazing, Ministering angel, BrokenOkie,
gnash, SilverLake, KittyHawk, Janjo, doodler, chapeaugris[/b]

Calendar of Events
 

If you have ideas about initiating a gathering, go to Start Your Own Threads
and get the ball rolling to plan a get-together near you.

May 25 - 29, '07 - Estes Park, CO -
Brokeback BBQ 2007

June 1 - 4, '07 - Paris, France -
Europe Spring Get Together

July 14-17, 2007 - Minnesota Camping Bash

August 3 - 6, '07 - Seattle, WA -
West Coast Summer Get Together


Let us know of any events you'd like listed here.

The Daily Sheet is a production of The Ultimate Brokeback Forum at www.davecullen.com/forum

Editor: Marcia (Marge_Innavera)

Forum profile assistant: Dawn (stilllearning)

International editor: Martina (desertrat)

Columnists: cynical21, Connie Bailey, Jim Bond, michaelflanagansf

Proofreader/Researchers: whiplash, mobody, gnash

Today's edition produced by Marcia (Marge_Innavera)  email: marge@davecullen.com

Today's edition formatted and proofed by whiplash
We count on you to send us your news items, questions, and nominations for posts of the day.

To subscribe to The Daily Sheet, press the "Notify" button at the top of the page.
When a new TDS is posted, you will be notified by email.

Previous issues of The Daily Sheet.

Response thread for The Daily Sheet.

[Ellen (tellyouwhat)]

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

[/size]


Thread of the Day:  New Members Introduce Yourselves


We are happy to welcome new members.  Some are joining after long periods of lurking, others have only just discovered BBM.  Bighorn Mts  is a new member whose life changed months ago, after seeing BBM.  She posted in New Members Introduce Yourselves:

“Unique experiences that I've had since this story came into my life relate to the outdoors, photography and writing, camping and hiking, which are all big passions of mine.  BBM was supposed to have taken place in/near the Bighorn Mts of Wyoming, even though it was not filmed there.  I'd traveled through the southern end of these mountains once before, and appreciated their rugged beauty, but that was before BBM. 

Therefore, after seeing the movie, I was inspired and driven to take a solo road trip to the Bighorn Mountains again during the late autumn; I was at a point in my life where a significant change was immanent and I need some space and time away to retreat and think (I throughly enjoy my time alone).  Interestingly, my friends now refer to this trip as my vision quest.” 

Read the rest of the post, and greet Bighorn Mts and other new members.




Pride News
By BrokenOkie




Calling all volunteers!  June is the busiest Pride event month of the season and there are numerous opportunities for you to help spread the word about 'Beyond Brokeback'  in cities around the world.  To find an event near you see the Info and Event Listings.

If you'd like to help out at an event please PM BrokenOkie.  We have plenty of marketing materials available at our "Beyond Brokeback" website and a discussion thread for volunteers at "Marketing 'Beyond Brokeback' At Pride Events."




Another True Life Marketing Story


Tex_in_OK, one of the authors featured in the book, has volunteered to make 1000 flyers for the OKC Pride event.  The flyers will be placed in registration bags.  Big thanks to you Tex!



See What's New at Beyond Brokeback.com


LoveEmBoys is collecting selected reactions from readers of Beyond Brokeback. They can be found on the book web page under Readers' Reactions.



Collector’s Slash Poetry Mugs


On these unique mugs, artwork developed with the book project by ChrisFewa has been paired with poignant lines of Slash Poetry from our own forum members.  The lines featured here are from whiplash.

. . . "Your face a memory Our threadbare sleeves entwined Come home to me now" See all six designs at CafePress

. . Can o Beans reminder:   You may notice The Daily Sheet going lite on some days over the summer as editors and other staff take breaks from their computer screens.  Over the next few weeks please help the cause by submitting your favorite 100 words about BBM (approximately five forum lines).  PM Marge_Innavera.

The Penguin Atlas of Human Sexual Behavior[/i] Lola posted in The General Discussion Thread a link to a review of The Penguin Atlas of Human Sexual Behavior.  The review is by Matt Rosenberg for the website About Geography.  "According to the atlas, on any given day, sexual intercourse takes place 120 million times on earth. Thus, with 240 million people having sex daily and a world population of just under 6.1 billion (as of 2000), about 4% of the world's population (1 out of every 25 people) is having or had sex today."

You think these things don't happen any more? dejavu posted:  Well guess what happened.  Little blurb from my morning paper (Bucks County Courier Times): Missouri Fires Gay Lacrosse Coach "The openly gay coach of the Missouri men's lacrosse team was told his contract will not be renewed after nine seasons.  Team leaders said Kyle Hawkins was dismissed because of his job performance, not his sexual orientation. "Hawkins recently completed his first season as head coach after publicly disclosing his homosexuality.  The team finished with a 6-9 record, Hawkins' first losing season at the school. {snip} "'We, as a team, did not feel Coach Hawkins was the best man for the job,' team president Andy Mackley said.  'Sport is all we care about, not the sexuality of our coach, players and those associated with our team.' "

Paraphrase of the Day from the novel No! I Don't Want to Join a Book Club by Virginia Ironside:  "In your twenties, you worry about what other people think of you.  In your thirties and forties, you don't care anymore that they think of you.  Later, you realize -- they're not thinking of you."

Photocap of the Day
By gnash

WELCOME to the BROKEBACK MOTEL

[/size]

Stay a night or two and kick up your heels, take off your hats, unbuckle them belts a yours and spit a spell.
Most rooms feature 24 hour room and linen services. Horse rentals and bareback riding lessons available on premises.

          

Access to the motel's gay bar, the world-class sauna and redneck swimming pool is included in every Brokeback Package.

Choose from a number of uniquely memorable
room styles for your vacationing pleasure.

• JOE'S TRAILER room, for those who can't wait and want to recreate some quick action between the boys. Authentic recreation of the office includes fold out desk/bed combination, water cooler, and that's about it. • The popular FNIT "Outdoor" Room with wrap-around nightstar murals and special "full moon" lighting. The room is kept at a chilly 48F for yammerin, but the authentic Brokeback Tent, erected on a carpet of astroturf, is downright cozy. Includes 1 (one) bedroll, two (2) bottles of whisky, and a shitload of asprin for top grade hangovers.

• Our SNIT Outdoor Room features a roomy new enlarged miner's tent for enhanced comfort with luxurious bed linens of 600 thread count Egyptian cotton. A realistic gas campfire in the middle of room burns brightly thoughout the night. Remember, what happens up on Brokeback, stays up on Brokeback!

• The LAUNDROMAT STAIRWELL is an exact replica, rentable by the hour. No linens provided, but there is a handy outdoor type garden hose available. The swingset has been upgraded for adult use, and the management takes no responsibilities for injuries.

• The SIESTA MOTEL room is another exact replica, right down to the smells, recreated using the latest aromatherapy innovations. Scratchy linens and smoking allowed, no minibar, no room service, only cheap soap and rough towels. One soiled orange chair provides additional seating.

• Our unique MEXICAN ALLEY suite is an expensive copy of a cheap Juarez motel room. By the hour only. Free Coke, chewing gum and all the taquitos you can eat. Upgrade to the grandé package and get one large chimichanga, a back massage, and real live jumping beans to take home to the kids. It is recommended that you do not drink the water.

   

• Enjoy the "MISS YOU SO MUCH I CAN HARDLY STAND IT" outdoor suite, featuring that blue nylon dome tent and those low-to-the-ground folding chairs. Smoking is allowed and a free bottle of Old Rose whisky is included. Dinner served on speckled blue enamel dishware. An early check-out time of 7:00 am is strictly enforced.

• NEW:[/i] The "UPSTAIRS AT JACK'S" room. Enjoy the spartan furnishings of his childhood bedroom for yourself. Discover a replica of the shirts, yours to take home if you upgrade to the deluxe package. Comes with a complimentary cup of coffee and a piece of cherry cake. Guests are required to change the sheets themselves when staying in this room. • Stay the night in Ennis's homely "17" TRAILER from the last scene, now with more furniture, a plasma screen TV and improved lighting. The closet contains a set of actual Brokeback Mountain shirts, on loan for a limited time only from Gregg Thomasary. This room features a small sink and a cramped bedroom, just perfect for sleepin single in a double bed. • COMING SOON: Lureen's Maternity Room for you kinky S.O.B.s, Bitchy Bobby's Playpen, the Childress Thanksgiving Table and our new Zagat Rated gourmet restaurant, Cassie's Greyhound Dive.

Call 1-800-JACK-I-SWEAR for room reservations, availability and group rates.

The Daily Sheet depends on you and your ideas.[/b]

Contributors to today’s edition: Bighorn Mts, BrokenOkie, (fanfic), dejavu, Lola, gnash



Calendar of Events

If you have ideas about initiating a gathering, go to Start Your Own Threads
and get the ball rolling to plan a get-together near you.

[li]May 25 - 29, '07 - Estes Park, CO - Brokeback BBQ 2007[/li] [li]June 1 - 4, '07 - Paris, France - Europe Spring Get Together[/li] [li]July 14-17, 2007 - Minnesota Camping Bash[/li] [li]August 3 - 6, '07 - Seattle, WA - West Coast Summer Get Together[/li] [li]Let us know of any events you'd like listed here.[/li]

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The Daily Sheet is a production of The Ultimate Brokeback Forum at www.davecullen.com/forum

Editor: Marcia (Marge_Innavera)

Forum profile assistant: Dawn (stilllearning)

Columnists: cynical21, Connie Bailey, Jim Bond, michaelflanagansf

Proofreader/Researchers: whiplash, mobody, gnash

Today's edition produced by Ellen (tellyouwhat)  email: ellen@davecullen.com

Today's edition formatted and proofed by mobody

We count on you to send us your news items, questions, and nominations for posts of the day.

To subscribe to The Daily Sheet, press the "Notify" button at the top of the page.
When a new TDS is posted, you will be notified by email.

Previous issues of The Daily Sheet.

Response thread for The Daily Sheet.

[Marge_Innavera]

Friday, May 25, 2007

. . . . . . . . . . Member Profile: lovelyamazing

I'm a single woman aged 49, born, raised and living all through in Kolkata, an Indian national who's never physically stepped out of my country but grew up thinking and feeling as a world citizen. I'm called Mayalakshmi Rao in RL. I have worked as an IT professional and been with a well known Information Technology corporate for 14 years before moving out, perhaps to escape the sheer "un-creativity" of what I increasingly found myself having to do, besides not agreeing with the reasons for doing it. I have benefited in numerous ways from this experience and am eternally grateful for it especially for the gift of numerous enduring friendships from those days, but the need to evolve beyond that way of life and its objectives, has driven me. I've always admired those who take the "big interests" head on ... I'm now finding the guts to start doing that. It's not been smooth sailing .. I've been obsessed with people for their own sake, and the need to work with people as people and not treat them as mere profit-centers ...I always try to do that and that's inevitably not-so-paying materially. I have made my transition through the stages, in my self-employed Avatar, via Infotech-Training into Cyber-powered School Education. I have also launched and am running "PAAR - Crossing Barriers" a "micro" outfit for bringing opportunity and a fresh outlook to disadvantaged adolescents through a process of personal involvement and mentoring. For me all these have been rites of passage to a better self. My Gyllenhaal/BBM encounter has released a wave of creative energy which lay untapped within me and I am right now attempting to evolve into a full-time writer and I'm working at that and in Social Networking (a relatively new field where I live). I have to make it lucrative too because the pot has to keep boiling. It's very tough to do that without compromising artistic integrity but my stay on this forum has made me feel equal to the challenge. I have setup an internet Forum, Strike~Me~Gyllen -- Activism Through The Arts and I'm in the process of setting up an educational forum. I hope also to start an e-magazine based on the activist theme.

Now for the questions: I was told that the questions are not set in stone. Nor are my answers ---the last time I asked myself these questions the answers were somewhat different. I'm happier with my answers this time and hope next time I ask myself these questions the answers will indicate a forward and upward movement in my own evolution. Currently listening to? Birdsong (yes, the estate I live on in the heart of my congested city has fortuitously become a safe haven for birds displaced by realtors). The sounds of my city waking up. The sound of my own heartbeat through the din. My mother's voice in my head. In a while, as the birdsong starts getting drowned in the sounds of traffic picking up outside, I'll probably play some Led Zeppelin tracks on my computer. I think that's today's choice. Currently reading? I have several web pages open and I'm hopping madly between them. On one is Jake's Eyelashes, on another a piece I'm writing for my forum, on a third is a balance sheet which is refusing to balance. I have several books waiting to be read, heading the list is Borrowed Time which I've already started. I have one eye reading the titles off a stack of DVDs lying on my table and I'm trying to pick out the next film to watch. I'm attempting to read several minds as my eye travels over forum posts. And I never stop reading the writing on the wall. That's a constant on my current reading list. Biggest challenge? The simple everyday mundane activities. Your perfect day? I don't indulge myself with the myth of perfection but I think a day when I wake up with a sense of loving and being loved and can sustain that feeling without admitting any negative vibes, till I fall asleep at night. What’s your indulgence? Lazing around when I know that work is waiting. What’s your inspiration? Generally the everyday people around me in RL and cyberspace, nature and the greenery that I'm surrounded by. People past and present who risk their lives for the right reasons. And ask me who my muse is? Jake Gyllenhaal. The most important event of your life? My mother's recent death. Last major purchase? I would like to rephrase this as my last major expense ... My mother's hospital charges for her last illness. I've been unable to make a really important purchase that I need to because that intervened. First job? Well, my first real sense of empowerment came when I was offered and accepted a Junior Programmer's job in what I later found out was a fly-by-night software outfit. At that point in my personal life my independence and right to self determination had to be "bought" so to say with financial independence. Life is a lot different 25 years down the line. What do you know for sure? The certainty of death .. and at this point of time I find it reassuring. Favorite movie besides BBM? The Graduate. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? In my lighter moments I do have a mental picture of a place called Heaven but there's no God there, there's a lady gatekeeper though, and she takes one look at me and says looking puzzled and a little annoyed "There's been some mistake" And I grin and do an about-turn and hurtle down my "beanstalk" again to catch up with some work. But in all seriousness my vision of heaven is Brokeback Mountain, the place where our unfulfilled wishes, hopes, dreams are finally realized. What brought you to the Forum? Oddly enough not Brokeback Mountain but the poetry of Stephen Gyllenhaal. Your favorite threads? The Mourning thread, How BBM affected me, BBM's impact on Women, The Serious Jake thread. Formerly it was Jake's Eyelashes. Now Lashers do it for me more than the thread does. How many times have you watched BBM? Twice and that too only from DVD. There was a gap of eight months between the two viewings. Your favorite BBM scene? The movie from start to finish is my "favorite" scene but if I had to choose the scene I personally identify most with, it's the one of Jack clad in nothing but his boots washing Ennis's shirt. My avatar, which has remained unchanged, will tell you that. How would you like to be remembered? First as a compassionate and really brave human being, then as a writer and activist.

International News

17 South African Churches perform gay marriages The 17 churches, all outside the the major denominations (the Anglican Church, the Baptist Church, the Presbyterian Church and the Catholic Church), have applied to the department of home affairs to officiate gay marriages and have been accepted. The church ministers have to take an exam about their knowledge about the Civil Union Act of December 1, 2006, which legalized gay marriages. Several ministers of the denominations banning gay marriage have challenged the decisions of their superiors. Among the denominations who perform gay marriages are The Unitarian Church, the Reformed Church of South Africa, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Africa and The African Church.

The Health News Digest announced this week that the 22nd annual AIDS Walk, held in New York on May 20th, raised a record-breaking $6.8 million. The fundraising event benefits the Gay Men's Health Crisis center in addition to 50 other local AIDS-related organization. This year's opening ceremonies included special musical performances by the cast of A Chorus Line, and Stephanie J. Block (The Pirate Queen), who sang "You'll Never Walk Alone," the AIDS Walk theme song. "These dollars permit us to provide innovative direct service programs, outreach and education to hundreds of thousands, and fierce public policy leadership at all levels of government," said Robert E. Bank, Esq., Chief Operating Officer at GMHC. "We are grateful to our corporate and individual donors, media sponsors, and especially to the tens of thousands of New Yorkers who make this event the largest gathering of AIDS activists in the world."

. . .

In Other News:

Sean Wright had published the Gay Pages phone books in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, but didn't intend to try a Salt Lake City version when he moved to Mormon-dominated Utah, often called Deseret by its residents. He changed his mind this year, citing incidents such as Salt Lake City theatre owner Larry Miller refusing to screeen Brokeback Mountain. Though Miller changed his mind, Wright was inspired to line up 120 advertisers and print 50,000 copies. During the project he got reminders of why it was important: "[Some contacts would] tell me, 'I'd love to be in the book but I don't want to be boycotted by the Mormons,' " he recalls. Two callers left death threats and Wright was spat on twice, once by a real-estate agent who told him, "all you faggots should burn in hell." Nevertheless, Wright says he has received a 10-1 positive response so far, although he hasn't yet started delivering the Gay Pages to conservative Salt Lake City suburbs.

Reading Brokeback Mountain Reading Brokeback Mountain, the essay anthology previously mentioned in The Daily Sheet of March 7th is scheduled for publication on June 30th and is now available for pre-order on Amazon. McFarland , the book's publisher, says that the book offers "a wide variety of perspectives and academic disciplines, including English, communication, film, theatre, American studies, women’s studies, ethnic studies, and gender studies. A juried selection process picked 15 out of 60 submissions from around the world, including England, Australia, Italy, Finland, Germany, and 23 states."

"What Exactly Is the Pentecost?" "I guess it's when the world ends and fellows like you an me, we march off to hell," Jack speculates about the Pentecost. Jack's definition of this often-neglected Christian holiday is well off the mark, perhaps assumed from hearing references to the "Pentecostal fire," but his timing is not. Jack's references to Pentecost are made just hours before their first encounter in the tent, when both will be overcome with a "fire" that will totally change both their lives.

The Christian religious holiday of Pentecost is celebrated at the same time as the Jewish holiday Shavuot. The Christian ["New"] Testament relates events at a Shavuot gathering that became the "birthday of the Church" in the book of Acts 2:1-4:

"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place./ And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting./  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them./  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

Pentecostal churches are often associated with beliefs about "speaking in tongues" (gloasslalia), a source of controversy among Christian denominations. However, the the term "Pentecostal fire," the phrase that Jack probably had heard and misunderstood, is interpreted by many Pentecostals as being "to permit the [Holy] Spirit access to the deepest reaches and recesses of the human personality," a concept similar to the idea, repeated in many religious traditions, of sacred possession. Pentecost Sunday's designation as the birthday of the Christian Church has made it a traditional date for the rite of Confirmation.

Pentecost has been the subject of religious art for centuries,
with interpretations ranging from traditional to mystical.

The Christian church drew numerous parallels to the older holiday of Shavuot, according to Rabbi Michael Zedek of the Emmanuel Congregation in Chicago. Associated with bringing early harvest offerings to the Temple, Shavuot is also the anniversary of “the creation of the Jewish people in a covenant relationship with God,” says Rabbi Zedek. "They became a people with a mission at that point; and the mission was not to make all the world Jewish but to make the world better.” Just as the date for Shavuot falls 50 days after Passover, so Pentecost is 50 days after Easter.



Still Searching For the Joker

Heath fans still looking for a preview of what he'll look like as The Joker in The Dark Knight may have found another clue in a decidedly odd location. Blogger and critic Christopher Beaumont of BC TV/Film reported that the "campaign website" of Harvey Dent, former Gotham City district attorney turned Batman's enemy, shows Harvey's campaign poster being vandalized by The Joker and slowly morphing into his image.

Beaumont remarked that if the grisly Joker image is accurate, it "definitely strays" from earlier TV and movie treatments of the Batman story: "it appears, based solely on this image, that this will likely be the cruelest imagining of the Joker yet to reach the moving image."

Click here for an explanation of the "Page Not Found" dead-end at the Harvey Dent "website." 

Turner Classic Movies will begin its  "Screened Out: Gay Images in Film" series on Monday, June 4th.  Beginning next Friday, The Daily Sheet will be carrying the schedule for each week. Check out Lavendar Magazine for an overview of TCM's movie lineup and remarks from Richard Barrios.

Gay Flamingos Start Family Carlos and Fernando had been together for six years were determined enough to start a family, and had resorted to theft in order to do so. They weren’t arrested for kidnapping, however, as the gay couple are a pair of flamingos at  the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) in Slimbridge near Bristol, UK. The staff was impressed enough with Carlos and Fernando’s parenting skills that when a nest was abandoned, they were chosen to adopt the orphaned chick as their own. In order to ensure normal bonding, the incubator-hatched chick was returned to the eggshell, which was then taped shut and moved to Carlos' and Fernando's nest. Bisexuality may be the norm among flamingos, as spokeswoman Jane Waghorn told the BBC News that same-sex couples among these birds was not unusual and that "if there aren't enough females or they don't hit it off with them, they will pair off with other males."

. .

Beyond Brokeback Fine-Tuning As you're reading your copy of Beyond Brokeback, be sure to contact KittyHawk about any errors or typos you happen to spot. Correcting these as we go can make the book even better and more professional for the next printing.

Reunion Preview Pictures from this year's BBQ in Colorado are already being posted! Check out the Forum Meetings/Reunion Pics for more first-day photos.

Ministering angel, Brokeback1, Katrina, Front-Ranger, BayCityJohn, killersmom, EDelMar,
Neatfreak, RodneyFL, PTannen, and  jstephens9

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Quote of the Day: "Black holes are where God divided by zero."              ~ Steven Wright

Photo Caption of the Day

From Photo Captioning Fun 2, by Vic

LaShawn: "And when I say I'm feeling really gay today he goes all red. Isn't that right, honey?"

Randall, muttering: "Uh... yes, dear."

The Daily Sheet  depends on you and your ideas.

Contributors to today’s edition: lovelyamazing, ruth, Nax, killersmom, KittyHawk, Vic, jlm1, neatfreak[/b]

Calendar of Events

If you have ideas about initiating a gathering, go to Start Your Own Threads
and get the ball rolling to plan a get-together near you.

[li]May 25 - 29, '07 - Estes Park, CO - Brokeback BBQ 2007[/li] [li]June 1 - 4, '07 - Paris, France - Europe Spring Get Together[/li] [li]July 14-17, 2007 - Minnesota Camping Bash[/li] [li]August 3 - 6, '07 - Seattle, WA - West Coast Summer Get Together[/li] [li]Let us know of any events you'd like listed here.[/li]

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The Daily Sheet is a production of The Ultimate Brokeback Forum at www.davecullen.com/forum

Editor: Marcia (Marge_Innavera)

Forum profile assistant: Dawn (stilllearning)

International editor: Martina (desertrat)

Columnists: cynical21, Connie Bailey, Jim Bond, michaelflanagansf

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Today's edition produced by Marcia (Marge_Innavera)  email: marge@davecullen.com

Today's edition formatted and proofed by gnash

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