Archive for December, 2008
From AIDS service organizations and LGBT youth groups to the highest levels of South Carolina state government, no one was able to hide from their share of controversy this year. Of all the stories and news covered and reported by Q-Notes in 2008, six stories stick out in our minds [...]
2008 was more than just an election year. Our galvanized community accomplished great deeds and made history. The election of our nation’s first African-American president was just one of a litany of amazing events. Right here at home, the Carolinas LGBT community saw plenty of forward movement on our quest [...]
From her humble home in North Carolina to the doorsteps of national organizations and the halls of Congress, there’s no doubt that Angela Brightfeather has done her part this year. If there were issues to be discussed, if the transgender community needed an advocate or if the transgender community was [...]
Online Extra It’s been three years since “Brokeback Mountain” and we’ve finally got another queer film, this one by a queer director, winning awards and connecting with mainstream audiences. I’m talking, of course, about Gus Van Sant’s “Milk,” the inspiring and empowering story of Harvey Milk, which ironically has a [...]
For their upcoming anniversary performance of the musical “Bat Boy,” Q-Notes had the opportunity to sit down with the some of the cast and the director for a conversation about their work, the musical, the theatre and how it relates to the world around us today.
Well, here we are — another year, another year-end recap. These are the albums I loved or just felt compelled to re-visit that were issued by gay and allied artists in 2008. Madonna – “Hard Candy” (Warner Bros): The Material Mom’s 11th studio album is an interesting combination of the [...]
[Ed. Note — Joseph Urbiniak is an inmate at Harnett Correctional Institution in Lillington, N.C., and is the plaintiff in a pending lawsuit against the N.C. Department of Corrections to secure the right of LGBT prisoners to possess non-sexual, LGBT-themed books, newspapers and magazines. Q-Notes is publishing a collection of [...]
Charlotte Step on stage CHARLOTTE — The Carolinas Black Pride Movement (CBPM) is opening casting and audition calls for its March play, “Before it hits home.” The play is directed by Jermaine Nakia Lee and jointly produced by CBPM and the Afro-American Cultural Center. A synopsis of the play reads, [...]
Are you going to Barack Obama’s inauguration on Jan. 20? Yes No I don’t know yet View Results
Principal censors student press MYRTLE BEACH — The principal of an arts and sciences academy has censored a student newspaper, expressing concern over a front-page editorial endorsing marriage rights for same-sex couples. Academy for Arts, Science & Technology Principal Robbie Burgess banned the distribution of The Academy Post’s November issue [...]
Meeting targets gay prison issues SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — The California Senate Committee on Public Safety held an informational meeting Dec. 11 to examine issues affecting LGBT people in California’s prison system. The meeting focused on the problems faced by LGBT people who are incarcerated, including harassment and abuse, unequal [...]
UNITED NATIONS — A statement jointly sponsored by France and The Netherlands, and supported by most Western nations, condemning anti-gay discrimination was heard at the U.N. on Dec. 18 amid stiff opposition from Islamic nations, the Vatican and an absent U.S. Signed by all European Union members, as well as [...]
Way back in January, before the 2008 primaries, The Advocate interviewed the president of Charleston, S.C.’s Stonewall Democrats chapter, Keith Riddle. Riddle told the national news glossy that the infamous, fall 2007 Donnie McClurkin incident in Columbia kept coming up in “every conversation” he had with LGBT folks. “Obama never [...]
I was once told that having privilege comes with great responsibility. With that thought in mind, let me begin by wishing you a joyous holiday season and hoping that you, your family and loved ones celebrated a time of giving and a time of sharing. As an entertainer in this [...]
A couple issues ago, we asked readers in Charlotte where they go out, especially after the close of Velocity. Here are the results from our online QPoll, with web comments. When we are in Charlotte, we usually hit up Hartigan’s and Liaisons. Kameela Vose, Nov. 30, web …Velocity had bad [...]
As 2008 winds down, the worldwide wackiness level jumps up. In Paris, armed robbers made off with $100 million worth of jewelry from a Harry Winston store near the Champs-Élysées. Police said the heist ranks among the biggest jewel thefts in French history. That wasn’t all that made the robbery [...]
Online Extra . Special to Q-Notes Someone’s Sister is a long-time North Carolina band favorite. The quartet of openly out performers recently released their second album, “Calm In The Chaos.” It certainly doesn’t disappoint. Comparisons to the Indigo Girls and Melissa Etheridge have been long said, but Someone’s Sister shouldn’t [...]
Online Extra A new film series on here!, one of two premium LGBT TV networks in the U.S., will feature critically-acclaimed, queer-themed films and special commentaries and interviews with film writers and directors. The series, “Kevin Thomas Presents,” will feature several films, including “The Amazing Truth of Queen Raquela,” “Breakfast [...]
Happy holidaze, kiddies! And wish an old bytch a happy belated birthday, too. Yes, by the time you read this, Miss D. will be 29 (+ 13). Ha! And the old gyrl’s still got it, by golly. Still waiting on that order I placed with Santa about the Cuban swim [...]
Online Extra Well, months after I first mentioned it, I’ve finally gotten around to giving some limelight to our Carolina girl who made it to prime time TV — Columbia’s Dorae Saunders, a Top 40 contestant on this past season’s “America’s Got Talent.” It seems that when Dorae was appearing [...]
