Genre Gman of the month: Miami Beach's Michael Aller

In this month's Genre magazine (click photo to enlarge):

Pandora Events newsletter (Descarga this Saturday, Aqua Girl info, Gay Day info and a new Pandora event at Sokya)

News release:

This Saturday

La Descarga
Saturday, April 5th Pandora Events 

Special Show:
Fresas y Chocolate

Join us for this monthly Latin night filled with beautiful women! DJ H playing a hot mix of your favorite Latin sounds! GO-GO Dancers and Live Entertainment

Featuring Live Music
Doors Open at 10PM
21 and over

Yuca Lounge 501 Lincoln Rd.-South Beach $10 all night www.pandoraultra.com

PROHIBITION
Saturday, April 19th
A secret society event for exquisite women...

Breaking the rules never felt so good

Join us at the infamous hotspot as we take you back to the roaring 20's for an evening filled with music, beautiful women and surprises

Call for VIP table reservation and dinner reservations.
305 495 6969

Soyka
5582 NE 4th Court, Miami, Fl.

Marketing opportunities with AQUA GIRL 2008

Aqua Girl 2008 is coming.  Thousands of women merge onto South Beach for 4 days of incredible events for women,

May 14th-18th. 
If you want their business and this type of visibilty, then there are a few things you can do:

1. Buy an ad in our new, revamp program book.  This book is put in the hands of 3,000 women.

2. Donate an item for our silent auction that takes place at our uber, exclusive VIP event.

3. Purchase a booth at our pool party or our beach party and sell your product. Only a limited amount available.

If you are interested in any of these great marketing options, then contact me directly at icandee@mindspring.com.

And remember, your donation is completely tax deductable.

To buy tickets to Aqua Girl go to www.aquagirl.org

Kitty's Toy Box

* naughty toys . board games . harnesses . flavored lubricants . bondage lesbian movies . vac-u-lock . cyberskin . e-glass . powerlock . toy boxes oils . fun cards . waterproof . remoteless . multi-speed . kits . & more...
www.kittystoybox.com
Lesbian Owned!

June 4-8th

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!!!

Get ready for the most magical weekend of the year as we present the premiere women's events celebrating the Eighteenth year of Gay Day Orlando.
Join us as we present a new event line up that promises something for everyone including Laugh Out Loud Comedy event, Live Women's Music Show, Dive In Movie, spectacular dance parties, More Pool Parties, Polynesian Luau, Sporting events, TWO exclusive Women's Host Hotels, theme parks and thousands of women from around the country and the world celebrating Gay Day Orlando and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
Ladies it's time to celebrate!!!

Rooms start at just $88

The Courtyard Marriott and the Fairfield Inn at Marriott Village are the Official Women's Host Hotel for Gay Day Orlando, Girls Gay Day and Girls in Wonderland 2008.   

8623 Vineland Avenue Orlando, Florida

*Girls In Wonderland hotel guests (Courtyard and Fairfield Inn) will enjoy our fabulous Pool Parties on Friday, Saturday and Sunday as well as the Welcome Reception for FREE.
Book your reservations online: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mcolz-fairfield-inn-and-suites-orlando-lake-buena-vista-in-the-marriott-village/?groupCode=gwagwaa&app=resvlink
Call for reservations: 1 800 922 3194 
Must use the reservations code: "Girls in Wonderland"

If you have any problems with booking your hotel reservations please call us at 305 495 6969 .
Click here to reserve your room today!
www.girlsinwonderland.com

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Where are the girls?….they’re in Greece, and you should be too!

Last day for special! Call NOW!

Goddess Mediterranean
Adventure 2008

5 September 2008,  Cruise, 7-days departing from Athens

Starting as low as $950 per person, double occupancy,

+ $100 shipboard credit, per stateroom, if booked and deposited by March 31^st.

Come relax and enjoy yourself. Connect with women, meet new friends, share experiences, and meet the woman of your dreams (or bring her with you!) 
Celebrate your life, your love, or your suntan on the most beautiful islands in the world.  During our 7-day cruise departing from Athens, Greece, we will visit gay-friendly Mykonos, Istanbul, the storied island of Lesvos, Rhodes, and Heraklion on the island of Crete.  Pristine beaches, hot springs, cultural sites, antiquities and party towns.  This cruise has it all.  Prices starting as low as $950 per person, double occupancy.  Book, and deposit your stateroom by 31 March and receive a $100 shipboard credit, per stateroom. 
Ship carries European Union Flag and meets all applicable international regulations.

To make reservations call(305) 507-1930 or email address sales@monarch-cruises.com.

'Beirut' previews Wednesday, opens Friday at Sol Theatre Project

News release:

(Click photo to enlarge)

BEIRUT - Preview discount Wednesday April 2, $15 Opens Friday April 4, plays Wednesdays & Fridays until May 2 Reservations encouraged

Wandering around a room wearing underwear concealing little, spooning food out of a can with fingers, lying face down on the couch and masturbating ~ Beirut is a highly - disturbing and attractive - sexualized play in which a couple struggles to make love and, at the same time, not to make love. "Beirut" is the name given to New York's East Village where, in a futuristic dystopia, positive people are quarantined (the play doesn't use the terms AIDS or HIV, but the references are clear). Outside this area, the world has changed. Sex is forbidden on pain of execution, and hanged bodies are displayed in public places. Women are forced to cover their bodies with sack-like dresses; all the simple joys of living are proscribed. There are guards everywhere, and intrusive body searches are the norm. Eventually you will stop squirming and start thinking about what this piece of theater means.

Sol Theatre Project April 14 audition - 3 males & 4 females needed

News release:

Monday April 14, 2008, 7 P.M. to 9 P.M.

Greetings!

Sol Theatre Project will hold open auditions at the theatre for:

~ Matthew Todd's Blowing Whistles
~ Claire Chaffee's Why We Have A Body

Needed are:

~ Three males ranging in age from late teens to early forties
~ Four females ranging from late twenties to mid fifties

"Whistles" deals with two gay lovers who bring a young man into their lives from an internet hook up site.
"Body" deals with two sisters, their wandering Mother, and a lesbian love affair.

Auditionees will present two contrasting, contemporary monologues, one minute each. Also bring headshot and resume.
Call Robert for an appointment: 954-801-9207 or E-mail information to sol_theatre@comcast.net

Sol Theatre Project

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Email: sol_theatre@comcast.net

Phone: 954-801-9207

Website: http://www.soltheatre.com

Chris Crain: Washington Post 'ins' gay soldier killed in Iraq

From Chris Crain's blog, Citizen Crain:

The Washington Post ombudsman has gently criticized the paper's editorial judgment for "inning" a gay soldier killed in Iraq, omitting his sexual orientation from a story about his life.

Deborah Howell tackled the issue after a Washington Blade story quoted friends of Army Maj. Alan G. Rogers who were upset the Post ignored that Rogers was effectively the first openly gay soldier killed in the Iraq war. Rogers was out to many friends and was active in AVER, a gay veterans group.

Howell's look behind the scenes in the Post newsroom was quite telling:

For The Post, Rogers's death raised an unanswerable question: Would he have wanted to be identified as gay? Friends also struggled with that question but decided to tell The Post that he was because, they said, he wanted the military's "don't ask, don't tell" rule repealed. …

[The reporter] first wrote a story that included his friends talking about his orientation; some at the paper felt that was the right thing to do. But the material was omitted when the story was published. Many editors discussed the issue, and it was "an agonizing decision," one said. The decision ultimately was made by Executive Editor Len Downie, who said that there was no proof Rogers was gay and no clear indication that, if he was, he wanted the information made public.

It's fascinating to see journalists aggressive as those at the Post deferring to (some) friends and family rather than applying the same standards of newsworthiness they would to any other story. The Post stylebook even incorporates the views of the story subject into the editorial decision:

"A person's sexual orientation should not be mentioned unless relevant to the story . . . . Not everyone espousing gay rights causes is homosexual. When identifying an individual as gay or homosexual, be cautious about invading the privacy of someone who may not wish his or her sexual orientation known."

I'm not sure what "evidence" Downie needed to to prove Rogers' sexual orientation. Ex-boyfriends? Love letters? Did the reporter search for them? Yes it's true that heterosexuals can join gay rights groups and have gay friends, and that is true. But still why wasn't Rogers' participation in the group, which was confirmed, in and of itself newsworthy, along with what his gay friends had to say about him?

Howell eventually concludes in the last paragraph of her column that the story should have included Rogers' sexual orientation, but she cushions her criticism:

The Post was right to be cautious, but there was enough evidence -- particularly of Rogers's feelings about "don't ask, don't tell" -- to warrant quoting his friends and adding that dimension to the story of his life. The story would have been richer for it.

Cautious OK but the way the story was handled suggests a real double standard, however well-intentioned, is at work here. My own belief is that real reason for the omission -- which has been an ongoing issue with obituaries at the Post that I've written about a number of times over the years -- was signaled in the opening line of Howell's column:

What should a newspaper print about a person's most private life in a story after his death?

Rogers' being gay was his "most private life"? Why is the sexual orientation a gay person his "most private" secret when it is a routine fact treated with no privacy expectation whatsoever with heterosexuals? Howell acknowledges that Rogers kept his romantic life -- not sex life, which is private, but romantic life -- only as private as he needed to in order to comply with "Don't Ask Don't Tell."

I'm not of the school that the press "owes us" our heroes and thus should report sexual orientation more frequently. But I do believe the same editorial standards ought to apply to gay and straight alike.

Jesse's Journal: Florida's Nude Beaches -- The State of the Art

By JESSE MONTEAGUDO

Florida is a great state with horrible rulers.  This seems to be the case with Florida’s clothing-optional beaches, or the absence of them.  According to Michael Boyd, editor of Naked Places: A Guide for Gay Men to Nude Recreation and Travel, “Florida should be a nude beach paradise, but it simply is not.  There is a clash of cultures at play in the state.  Florida’s mild weather and beautiful beaches have made it popular with gay men and with international tourists form places where beach nudity is not controversial.  Despite such cosmopolitan influences, Florida is still very much part of the Bible Belt.  Florida has a state anti-nudity law, and there are hardly any places where authorities leave nude sunbathers alone.”  In a previous article I wrote about Florida’s gay nudist scene – Fort Lauderdale and Key West are two of the three capitals of gay nude recreation in the US; Palm Springs, California being the third – as manifested in its gay nudist clubs and clothing-optional resorts.  Here I will limit my scope to Florida’s nude beaches, and here the news are both good and bad.

Highest on the list of good news for Florida’s nudists (gay and otherwise) is Haulover Beach, located in the north end of Miami-Dade County.  Florida nudists’ greatest victory was establishing a clothing-optional strip (with gay and straight sections) in the north end of Haulover Park.  According to no less an authority than USA Today, “while the rest of Haulover Beach is virtually empty, the clothing optional section hosts in excess of 1 million beach-goers annually from around the world.”  Gay men (and others) frequent the “gay section” of the Beach, where they talk, tan, eat, swim, cruise and take in the scenery.  Haulover is also popular with adventurous heterosexuals: Openly straight heartthrob Enrique Iglesias shocked Matt Lauer of the Today Show the other day when he spoke of his love for “Miami’s nude beach” and invited Lauer to join him there.  Haulover Beach is a lucrative tourist attraction, which is why the attitude of the Miami-Dade County government is generally benign.  Haulover’s biggest foes are not moralists in power but developers, who would like to tear down the only public beach left in North Miami-Dade County and replace it with another high-rise monstrosity.  According to the gossips no less a figure than Donald Trump himself wanted to expand his empire at the expense of Florida’s only legally-sanctioned, clothing-optional beach.

Elsewhere in Florida, the news are mixed.  There are nudists all over the Sunshine State – according to “Florida’s Nude & Clothing-Optional Guide,” an online piece by Dawn Henthorn, (http://goflorida.about.com/cs/floridabeaches/a/nude_guide.htm?p=1) tiny Pasco County is “the North American Capital of Nudism.”  Across the state, on the Space Coast, nudists frequent Apollo Beach in Volusia County and Playalinda Beach in Brevard County, both part of Cape Canaveral National Seashore.  But while Volusia County authorities have a live-and-let-live attitude towards nude sunbathing in Apollo Beach, the folks in charge of Brevard County do their best to suppress buff beach-going in Playalinda.  Recently the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office increased its harassment of Playalinda Beach-goers, as if Brevard doesn’t have more serious crimes to deal with.  This BSO went so far as to fly a helicopter over the beach - equipped with binoculars no doubt - searching for nudes.  In short, naturists would do well to avoid Playalinda (and Brevard) in favor of Apollo (and the much-friendlier Volusia).

While nude beaches flourish on the Atlantic, the more conservative Gulf Coast is less hospitable, Pasco County to the contrary.  One group that hopes to turn things around is Tampa Area Naturists, which is trying to establish a clothing optional beach in Tampa Bay to rival Miami’s Haulover Beach.  Using Haulover as a model, the folks at TAN want to create a publicly-sanctioned beach at Fort DeSoto Park, south of St. Petersburg.  Having failed to convince DeSoto Park authorities of the wisdom of their cause, TAN is now working to influence the local tourism industry and the Pinellas County Commission.  TAN is also collecting petitions and letters from both Tampa Bay residents and tourists, asking the Commission to establish a clothing-optional beach.  Signing a petition is easy: just visit the TAN Web site (www.tanfl.com).

Meanwhile, each year the Florida Legislature – when I write about horrible rulers the Legislature is what I have in mind – considers bills that would ban nude beaches throughout the State. And each year the activists of South Florida Free Beaches/Florida Naturist Association (SFFB/FNA) do their best to s++top such punitive legislation.  This year the main enemy is Florida House Bill 801, introduced by State Rep. William D. Snyder (R-Stuart).  The bill would upgrade Florida Statute 800.3, which regulates the public exposure of sexual organs, from a misdemeanor to a felony and make nudity within 1,000 feet of a “state, county, or municipal park” or “a public beach” an automatic felony at any time.  Needless to say, naturists are up in arms about this bill, for it would do away with nude sunbathing at Haulover, Playalinda, and everywhere else in Florida.  Activists are keeping an eye on Snyder’s bigoted and mean-spirited proposal while the rest of us can keep track in the SFFB/FNA Web site (www.sffb.com).

[Update:  Since this article was written, House Bill 801 has been approved by the State House Committee on Homeland Security & Public Safety, but not before lobbyists from SFFB/FNA met with Rep. Snyder and convinced him to remove all references to F.S. 800.03 (exposure of sexual organs).  Though Florida naturists are not out of the woods yet as far as the State Legislature is concerned, Snyder’s decision to amend his own bill was a triumph for the Florida nudist movement.]

When it comes to nude beaches, as with other matters, Florida combines the best of places with the worst of places.  As Dawn Henthorn put it, “bare if you dare while you’re in Florida, but be sure to check local laws wherever you go.”  To which I say, amen.

Jesse Monteagudo is a freelance writer and lifelong nudist who lives, works and plays (often nude) in South Florida.  Write him at jessemonteagudo@aol.com.

FAU gay student group, Equality Florida hold town hall meeting on marriage vote

I moderated a town hall meeting Thursday night to discuss Florida's constitutional marriage amendment, which will be on the ballot in November.

The amendment would ban same-sex marriage, civil unions and the equivalent.

The town hall meeting was sponsored by Equality Florida and hosted by Lambda United Student Group at Florida Atlantic University.

Here are scenes from the event. Below, photos by Tazzy Vue Photography:

Guests check in at Florida Atlantic University's Grand Palm Room.

G. Allan Hendricks of Equality Florida in Palm Beach County, right, introduces me.

The panel: From left, Pastor Renwick J. Bell, Church of Our Savior MCC, in Boynton Beach; Jennifer Digilio, a mom and social worker; attorney Charles D. Jamieson; Mark Pafford, a candidate for Florida House of Representatives, District #88; and Stratton Pollitzer, deputy director of Equality Florida.

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Below, photos by Donald Cavanaugh, program director for Safe Schools South Florida:

Lambda United students gather for a photo.

New on the Web: a gay real estate directory

News release:

One of today’s fastest growing home owner market segments is our gay family communities. They are highly successful and very influential members of our American society. They have the means and the need to secure loans and purchase homes in some of the wealthiest communities. They are searching for like minded as well as opened minded business professionals to help them achieve their life goals.

If you are a gay or gay friendly real estate agent or broker we would like to invite you to become a part of our community. We need representation in major cities to service our gay community. Our future gay homeowners would like to view your website listings and possibly find their special dream home. To share your professional services with our visitors all you need to do is to go to this address www.gayrealestatedirectory.com and choose the agent and broker signup choice at the bottom of the page.  This will take you to our submit page where you will receive instructions on becoming part of our marketing community.

Our gay community website has already moved up to the first page and top positions of the major search engines. We are one of the Top Gay Real Estate Directories on Yahoo.  http://search.yahoo.com/search gay real estate directory .

We are also on the first page of Yahoo for Gay Real Estate Listings as well.
http://search.yahoo.com/search gay real estate listings

As you can see, we work very hard to provide the Gay Community with a unique gateway access to some of the Top Real Estate Professionals and Brokers in the country. We want them to feel comfortable that our real estate professionals understand their life style and will be focused on their specific needs and goals in finding their next dream home.

Click here for the Florida directory.

Submitting your site to online directories is an efficient way to drive targeted consumers to your website. People will find you on our internet site and be given a path to go directly to your website. This not only brings visitors to your website, but it also provides a direct path for search engine "spiders" to find your website and index your pages within their results. We do all of this for you so you can focus on closing your real estate transactions.

For an annual fee of $80.00, (US Funds) you can have two advertising positions on our site (more if desired) and all the advertising exposure that goes with it. We not only include your business address, e-mails, telephone and cell numbers; we also create a direct path to the home page of your personal web site. We include a personal photograph if you so desire and you may write a small paragraph about the unique services that you will be offering. In case you don't have a web site, this will give you internet exposure on the World Wide Web.

You can enter our site at http://www.gayrealestatedirectory.com/
To register, just use the attached URL we have provided. http://www.gayrealestatedirectory.com/register.htm

We take PRIDE in servicing the Gay community.

Gay Real Estate Directory
Saffron Trail
Deland, FL  32724

CoralGAYbles.com next social April 2 at Mariposa, Neiman Marcus in Merrick Park

News release:

Mariposa
390 San Lorenzo Avenue
Coral Gables, FL 33146
786-999-1018
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008
6PM-9PM

If you would like to be added or deleted from the coralGAYbles email list, please go to: www.coralGAYbles.com, and enter your email address in the space provided.

News and events from Sunshine Cathedral MCC in Fort Lauderdale

News release:

Sunshine Cathedral MCC
1480 SW 9^th Ave
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315-1375
954-462-2004
FAX: 954-462-7070
www.sunshinecathedral.org
info@sunshinecathedral.org

March 30, 2008

Light U. Spring II Term begins in April

Light University is committed to offering affordable, quality religious education to deepen the spirituality of the members and friends of Sunshine Cathedral. Please consider taking advantage of one of the following courses offered during the Spring II term:

Affirmative Prayer - Have you ever wanted to learn ways of enriching your prayer life? Have you ever wanted to feel as if your prayers really made a difference? Have you wondered how you could pray more effectively? Then this may be the class you've been waiting for! This class will meet for only three weeks on Mondays: April 7^th, 14^th, and 21^st at 7:00 pm. The entire course is only $10 and will be taught by Rev. Durrell Watkins. Let's spend April praying together.

Who Killed Jesus - This course is based on historian / biblical scholar John Dominic Crossan's book, Who Killed Jesus?: Exposing the Roots of Anti-Semitism in the Gospel Story of the Death of Jesus. The book is "Crossan's riveting and definitive historical investigation into the nature and meaning of Jesus' death." This is a post-Lenten look at the death of Jesus that will breathe Easter life into the story we thought we knew. This class begins Tuesday, April 8^th at 6:45 pm and will meet once each week for eight weeks. The cost for the entire course is just $25.

Revelation in Context - The most fascinating and misunderstood book in the New Testament is the Book of Revelation. Too often presented as a prediction of doom and violence, Revelation may be something much more liberating and optimistic. This class will explore the artistic, counter-cultural, historical, and political aspects of this lively and dramatic biblical fantasy. Once the source of fear and dread for many Christians, Revelation may now become for students in this class a treasured tool of hope and empowerment. The class will be taught by Rev. Durrell Watkins and will meet Thursdays at 7:00 pm for eight weeks beginning April 10^th. The cost for the entire course is only $25.

Happiness NOW

Beginning this Sunday, March 30^th, and lasting until Trinity Sunday (May 18^th), we will be offering a new sermon series called "Happiness Now" based on the book Happiness Now!: Timeless Wisdom for Feeling Good FAST by psychologist Robert Holden. The sermons will still focus on the scripture readings for the day but will be linked to the theme of happiness (perfect for the Easter season!). For those who want to read Holden's book as a supplement to the sermon series, we have ordered several copies that will be available in Simply Divine Books & Things by Palm Sunday. Join us each week for the eight-part series on living happier, more fulfilling lives as people of faith, and invite your friends to join you.

Pastor's weekly devotional available

Are you a subscriber to the Pastor's weekly email devotional? It's free and all you have to do to subscribe is send an email to durrell@sunshinecathedral.org and type in the subject line "Weekly Devotional". You will receive a progressive, positive, practical message every week. Feel free to forward the messages to your friends.

Q&A with Rev. Durrell Watkins

Question: Are all the Christian rituals based on astrology? Many pagan celebrations coincided with ours.

Answer: This one is harder than most for me, but I'll try. The truth is that ancient cultures often felt a divine presence in Nature and looked to the skies for guidance. Matthew's gospel suggests that astrologers followed a sign in the heavens in order to find Jesus. Easter is calculated by observing lunar cycles in conjunction with the Spring Equinox. Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon falling upon or after the first day of Spring.

Some of our rituals (like our Easter celebration and our Epiphany story) have an astrological element to them. But I don't think that astrology motivated all of our observances. Pentecost, for example, is an ancient Jewish festival that we adopted and Christianized. Christmas is celebrated on December 25^th (the day of the Winter Solstice before the calendar was changed), but that is a natural time of year for a community to remind itself that the light of spring will in due course return. I don't know of any obvious astrological connection for Advent or Lent. Numerology (the idea that numbers can be spiritually significant) plays a role in some of our celebrations: Advent is always four Sundays before Christmas; Christmas is always 12 days leading up to Epiphany; Lent is always 40 days (out of 46 because Sundays are NOT counted in Lent) leading up to Easter; Ascension is always 40 days after Easter and Pentecost is always 50 days after Easter.

The first "followers of the Way" (later to be known as Christians) were Jewish, and within a century the movement had reached out substantially to Gentiles in a pagan culture. So, Christianity has borrowed from Jewish and pagan traditions, and has initiated some of its own to meet its own needs. I wouldn't say that "all" Christian rituals are based on astrology, but it would be naïve to suggest that astrology and other esoteric traditions didn't have some influence at times on the development of Christianity.

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If you have questions about faith, the bible, the church, or sexuality & spirituality, you can email your questions to durrell@sunshinecathedral.org, or go to the Cathedral web site at www.sunshinecathedral.org and click on the link there. Rev. Durrell Watkins will answer your questions and publish the answers in this column. Your name will always be withheld, so only the actual question and the response will be printed.

You can read past Q&A entries in the SunBurst archive .