May 3, 2008
Is BearWatch 9 expected to be the biggest and best gathering ever of hairy and hearty men (and the men who love them)? Does a bear poo in the woods? • Scheduled May 16–18, the Houston Area Bears-hosted annual weekend brings together that inter-community within the larger community of gay men who revere the image of the hirsute hunk built more for comfort than for speed. • What does it take to be a bear, besides hair and heft? • “It’s really a frame of mind,” says BearWatch 9 chairman, Patrick Gay (yes, that’s his real name) — pictured here with (l–r) Meynard Patacsil, Ray Priest, and Tony Stegal — at Tony’s Corner Pocket, home of the Bears’ monthly beer bust. “It’s not just for bears. It’s for anyone who wants to come and just have fun. Lots of people show up for our day at the beach.” • As many as 225 men are expected to join the furry fun this year, traveling from as far away as California, New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida. • With “Booty Call” as the military theme, BearWatch 9 (www.bearwatch.net) occurs in Galveston, with Groove as the host bar and Inn at the Waterpark as the host hotel. A wet boxers contest, an obstacle course, the beach party, and more round out the weekend. Proceeds in part benefit HATCH, the support group for GLBT and questioning youth. • “I believe it is incumbent on every community to give back to their community,” Gay adds. “Even small events like this can play a part in helping out other people.”
May 1, 2008
Legendary business and philanthropic leader I. W. Marks passed away at the age of 73 on February 27.
May 1, 2008
It may seem like I am splitting hairs, but I must take some issue with the caption under Annise Parker’s piece on Louie Welch in the March OutSmart [“InsideOut at City Hall”]. It identifies her as the highest GLBT elected official in the top 10 U.S. cities.
May 1, 2008
Tony Kushner needs little introduction. Preeminent American playwright; winner of Pulitzer, Tony, Emmy, and Obie awards; forever immortal as the creator of Angels in America, the grandly epic stage play and HBO television presentation—ringing any bells? On May 19, Inprint, the local literary organization, pre sents an evening at the Alley Theatre with Kushner, whose recent works also include the 2002 musical Caroline, or Change (music by Jeanine Tesori), the dramas Only We Who Guard the Mystery Shall Be Unhappy and Homebody/Kabul, and a new translation of Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children. In 2006, the feature-length documentary Wrestling With Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner premiered at Sundance Film Festival and was recently broadcast on PBS. In anticipation of his Houston appearance, I asked Kushner what he would be reading. “If there’s something that I’ve just been working on that day that I want to try out, sometimes I do that,” he responded. “I have my little pieces that I know work, mostly stuff from the plays. It really depends upon what’s going on at the moment.” After the reading, Alley artistic director Gregory Boyd conducts an on-stage conversation with Kushner. What follows may give you an idea of how broad and stimulating a conversation with Kushner can be.
May 1, 2008
To quote a civic ad campaign from the previous century, Houston’s hot. Whether you are spending the next sizzling months at home or taking your sexy self on the road, these fashions will help you look fabulous all summer—whether you are splashing in the pool or lounging languorously beside it. Models are Sarah Bindhammer/Page.713, Aaron Thorpe/Neal Hamil. Styling by Jeff Smith Hair and makeup by Carol Wagener/Page.713.
May 1, 2008
While exploring the steep, crooked streets of this “town that time forgot,” you will feel as if you are in some surreal Victorian theme park. The charming architecture includes elegant, pastel-hued “Painted Lady” mansions and gorgeous buildings constructed from native Arkansas limestone. The entire town is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Even the local McDonald’s is housed in a Victorian-style building, painted several shades of lavender with gingerbread trim. For many, the appeal of Eureka Springs, Arkansas, lies in the odd but wonderful sense you feel here of having escaped the real world.
May 1, 2008
Silence can say harsh things. Joel Osteen’s refusal to speak an opinion on God and homosexuality has ruffled either side of the issue—those who say it’s a sin and those who believe it’s not. Both opinions mostly agree on this. A man who reaches more than 40,000 people at Lakewood each week and another 200 million television viewers worldwide (not to mention those who bought his best-selling books) should take a stand on one of today’s most pressing societal issues.
May 1, 2008
His name is forever linked to a seven-deadly-sins scandal that rocked Christian faith and captivated secular media. But Jay wears his last name like a purple heart. The name Bakker is pinned to his heart. He overcame Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s infamously fallen ministry to evangelize Christianity very differently than his parents did on The PTL Club, their 1980s television show that reached nearly 13 million viewers.
May 1, 2008
Be Sociable, Share! TweetLook and Listen: From innovative doors to high-tech toys to local art, these ideas can make home a better place to see and hear. IT’S AUTOMATIC Want to upgrade your home but not quite ready for a 100-inch TV set? Will Breaux of Audio Video Designs offers other ideas: • “Flat panel [...]
May 1, 2008
E”ven as a dancer I was never really athletic. I grew up on a farm, and I went away to ballet school at 10 to get out of having to join a baseball team,” says Canadian choreographer James Kudelka with a laugh. “That whole hockey thing on the Canadian five-dollar bill just doesn’t turn my crank.”
