Row Team Austin
Departs For Amsterdam
RTA comprises the largest squad of rowers headed to the games from outside of the Netherlands, and promises to be a major contender. "Austin is fortunate to have such dedicated men and women representing our city at a major world event," says Steve Onken, RTA coordinator.
Most of the rowers never rowed before beginning their training for the games over a year ago, while others have been rowing for several years. With the expertise of RTA Head Coach, Matt Diefenbach, the squad has accomplished a great deal in a short amount of time. Already RTA has scored sixteen medal winning races (6 gold, 5 silver, & 5 bronze) in coast to coast events over the last 11 months. "These guys have trained extremely hard, and I've enjoyed every minute of working with them," says Diefenbach who has over 10 years of both collegiate and Olympic coaching experience.
The Gay Games are built upon the principles of inclusion and participation, and are open to all people without regard to their sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, political belief, physical ability, athletic/artistic ability, or HIV status. There are no minimum standards to qualify for the Gay Games; the only requirement is a desire to support the ideals of the Games.
This will be the first time that the Gay Games recognize rowing as an official sport category.
The trip would not have been possible had they also not been successful raising the $20,000 needed to cover team expenses such as coaching, uniforms and equipment. Except for two scholarships, each of the rowers is funding his or her own personal travel and expenses. Says Onken, "we've done more to prepare than any other crew we know of, so we're determined to make it pay off at the finish line."
Adam Gay Video
Porn Star Calendar
Getting a jump on the competition, Adam Gay Video magazine presents its new Gay Porn Star Calendar for 1999 featuring 12 months of the great stars of adult video. Selected from this multi-million dollar home entertainment industry are such major stars as Mike Bronson, Vince Rockland, Cliff Parker, Dax Kelly and Alex Powers-all time film favorites as well as new hunks including Brian Daniels and Ethan Marc. Superstar Bill Stetson is the 1999 cover man.
"And there's more than fantastic color views of these 1999 calendar hot guns," says Calendar editor Doug Lawrence. "This year the calendar will feature national holidays, significant dates in Gay history as well as birthdays of celebrated performers in the arts, sports, politics and science." The edition also boasts more than 600 birthdates of stars.
The Adam Gay Video 1999 Porn Star Calendar opens to 11" x 17" for wall mount and goes on sale in Aug. at newstands and bookstores worldwide.
Getting It Right
Law enforcement officers made a sweep of "cruising" parks in socially conservative Citrus County, FL recently, and charged several Gay men in connection with having sex in public. In an extensive July 19 article, the St. Petersburg Times presents a wide variety of viewpoints on this controversial topic-from a Gay man who says, "Really, those are the only places you can meet people," to City County Sheriff Sgt. Dave DeCarlo's statement that "Community members want something done and we're in the business of getting that done." The report quotes at length from sources ranging from the mayor's wife-a local P-FLAG member who worries that the public arrests will distort the public view of Gay men-to a Gay man who spent a year in jail after exposing himself to an undercover officer. Reporter William Yardley did think to ask if deputies would arrest a woman offering free sex to an undercover officer. However, the story did not report whether county arrest records indicate equal resources have been expended enforcing against public sex by heterosexual couples in parks.
Please thank the St. Petersburg Times for their informative presentation of the many complex issues surrounding this issue. Contact: Neil Brown, Managing Editor, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, fax: 813.893.867, E-mail: letters@sptimes.com. [GLAAD]
"Until It's Over"-
New Positive Voices CD
Positive Voices, from Dallas' Cathedral of Hope, the critically-acclaimed, all-HIV positive chorus which performed a benefit concert recently for Baton Rouge's Joie de Vivre Metropolitan Community Church, has released its second recording, "Until It's Over." The new recording reflects the hope and determination of persons living with HIV in the wake of new treatments and understandings about the disease.
Positive Voices was founded by Jackson Myars in 1994 as part of the music ministry of Cathedral of Hope of Dallas.
Jeffery L. Newman, in a recent review, said that the "new album is as close to perfection as a chorus album gets. The harmony ignites from the first note on "Stand" and you can hear the passion and energy from song to song. Backed by piano, synthesizer, guitar, French horn and trombone, the nearly two dozen voices soar, especially on tracks such as "It's Time," "I Know A Love," "Greater Than AIDS" and "So Great A Cloud Of Witness." The final cut, "Celebrate" from Elegies For Angels, Punks and Queens, is inspiring."
Visit the chorus's Web site at www.positivevoices.com to sample this ethereal music and to order the CD; or, call Sources of Hope at 800.501.4673.
"Trans Across America"
In its July 20 issue, Time magazine becomes one of the first national publications to present an extensive article on transgender individuals. "No one knows how many transgendered people exist," Time states, "but at least 25,000 Americans have undergone sex-reassignment surgery, and the dozen or so North American doctors who perform it have long waiting lists." The article explains that a person is "'transgendered,' if that person's mental gender-his or her "deepest awareness" of identity-"doesn't correspond to the "parts" he or she was born with. Writing of one male-to-female transgender, it says she "does plan to undergo what doctors call 'sex-reassignment surgery' when she and her beau David can afford it; it will cost about as much as their new Nissan." The article offers its own gender balance as well, including interviews with both male-to-female and female-to male transgenders. This unique article realizes the significance of the community's smallest victories: "Transgenders faced practical obstacles to organizing themselves separately. Most couldn't simply dress as a member of the opposite sex without getting beaten or fired."
The writing is non-sensational and highly informative. It is an accurate and thorough examination of the transgender community, its triumphs and challenges.
Please thank Time magazine for sensitively portraying the challenges facing transgender people without dipping into sensationalism. Contact: Walter Isaacson, Managing Editor, Time Magazine, Time-Life Building, 1271 Avenue of the Americas, NY, NY 10020, fax: 212.522.8949, E-mail: Letters@time.com (include phone and address with all correspondence).[GLAAD]
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