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(03/28/13 3:16am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When talking about cult classics, it is almost impossible to avoid the notion of “camp.”Camp, if you’re only vaguely familiar with the term, is a seriousness that fails. Focusing widely on aesthetic, camp produces mannerisms and exaggerations in film meant to evoke a sincere and dramatic response from a viewer but instead creates something unnatural, artificial, “off” — an unmistakably over-stylized version of the human experience.Put simply, it’s considered “bad art.” It is performance, as Susan Sontag puts it, “in quotation marks.” Camp is sincere but rarely knows it is camp. The over-eager “High School Musical,” for example. The villainy of the Wicked Witch of the West. The emphatic RuPaul. The costumes of Liberace. The Bette Midler, in anything and everything.But you cannot talk about camp without talking about Cher. And you don’t know Cher like I know Cher. Let me take you on a walk to discover Cher and the art of camp. A few introductions: follow her Twitter. There are many gems such as this from the Internet anomaly:“Going dentist.EVERYONE SHOULD BOYCOTT WALL MART ! They R BIGGEST SELLER OF GUNS IN U.S ! Pick Up Milk,Pick Up BULLETS. Shop TARGET.RT RT RT”Technologically, she’s past her prime, but scout her old work could enlighten you. Watch “Mermaids.” Then, watch “Burlesque.” Take a look at an online gallery of her outfits. Then, Google “Cher West Side Story.”Especially do that last one — just trust me.There is a 1987 film called “Moonstruck,” which stars Cher, and — not exaggerating — is the greatest movie of all time.Loretta Castorini is an Italian-American widow who falls in star-crossed love with her fiancé Johnny’s brother, Ronny (played by the timeless Nicholas Cage). Ronny is an embittered bread-maker whose love left him long ago after his hand was chopped off in a bread slicer. His hand is now made of wood.The hilarity of simply describing the plot cannot do justice to the true camp masterpiece of this film. Not only is this piece melodramatic and over-the-top, but it brought camp to a new level. For the first time, the Academy recognized the true merit and art form of camp. “Moonstruck” won best actress, supporting and screenplay that year.Whether you’re a fan of Cher or whether you’re about to be, it’s important to reevaluate what camp means. Broadening your perspective on “good art” and “bad art” will surely allow you to enjoy life’s great dramatizations.
(03/22/13 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>I’ve been waiting for the emergence of queer heroes since I was a little fifth grader swooning about the rippling depictions of gods and heroes in my copy of “D’Auliare’s Book of Greek Myths.” I think, though, that my search for the queer hero (and my pending thesis topic) unfolded when I saw Pixar’s “Brave.”I left the theater feeling disappointed. Pixar has only ever challenged their audience with socially-conscious storylines and daringly dark material for the likes of kids. But “Brave” was mere tokenism in its seemingly “feminist” backing. Giving the female protagonist, Merida, a weapon — not to mention, a frail, long-range weapon — is an underdeveloped idea, and hardly forward-thinking. We’ve seen girls with weapons before, and thank goodness, feminine brutality has already manifested itself and been normalized.And then I thought to myself, “‘Brave’ would have been much more progressive had they replaced Merida with a redheaded, bow-wielding, sword-slinging gay man.”This would vastly start to reconstruct the girly, foppish stereotype found in most movie representations, i.e. the “Glee”-type. Movies are foreclosing on the gay guy’s potentially dynamic character with the constant reappearance of stereotypes — the Gay Best Friend, the Sassy Maestro, the Fashion Naysayer, the Socially Repressed. In a world where gay oppression has been overbearingly natural, our media representations often stick to that plot — “Brokeback Mountain” or otherwise. What that story accomplishes, though, is that gay people are heroes in real life, and should be in fiction, too. I’m all for reversing the hackneyed image, but it’s important that in the construction of this homosexual masculinity — ”homomasculinity” — we accurately assess a multiplicity of gay perspectives. You could hardly walk up to someone and say, “describe a straight person” and expect a straight answer. But if you asked, “describe a gay person,” they could probably sketch out the stereotype. This is phenomenon deluded and ill-conceived.Gay people have a culture, divided into many, many subcultures. We differentiate, and many of us would shatter the gay mold existing now.So, if “Brave’s” Merida were actually, let’s say, Murtagh the gay killing machine, what does that add? Aside from breaking the pattern, we finally have a gay character that can defend himself, instead of needing best friends, parents or judicial systems to run to their cause.The beauty of a narrative outside of reality is that, in a fantasy terrain, gay oppression doesn’t have to dominate the narrative. Game of Thrones, while their gay warriors are hugely progressive in their exposure, unfortunately still adhere to the secrecy and insecurities of gay subjugation.Gay heroism that focuses on action and adventure — the physical, narrative incident of the protagonist — helps the gay character demonstrate their struggles in actuality, rather than politically or internally. The weapon gives agency directly to the gay character, not indirectly via some gesture for equality. The queer hero can defend himself, thank you.Not only that, but queer heroism allows us to reconsider what it is, exactly, that makes a hero. Bravery and physicality have always been a part of the equation, but if we spun the archetypal hero with this new gay sensibility, the depth of a character could also involve a facet of self-acceptance. The ability to conquer ourselves, per se, would heighten the value of a hero who also conquers others. Our quest is not the liberation of identity but the liberation of self.Let the gay guy pick up the sword.— ftirado@indiana.edu
(03/21/13 3:40am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>I have this theory that if you were to host a party that was exactly an hour and 10 minutes long, Justin Timberlake’s “The 20/20 Experience” could acutely, precisely and pristinely carry a crowd through every essential, phase of the dance floor. The record achieves exactly what it needs to do, transitioning smoothly within its tracks, inching to the next addictive chorus just like “FutureSex/LoveSounds.” “The 20/20 Experience” is thorough, no doubt, with lyrics keeping literal to its album title: a honed-in lens on the gentleman himself. Through the thick of it — the crunching, the beatboxing, the sexy sighs and then the lose-your-breath samba, the lusty ballads— ”20/20” does have “inconsequential beauty,” as The New York Times puts it, but that’s never been a bad thing. The Times falsely made Timberlake out to be some lazy savant — an Amadeus of pop. But then again, the high-strung review also managed to reference America’s economic climate.More haters to the left, Kanye dissed Timberlake’s single in one of his
infamous onstage spoken word therapy sessions, saying “I got love for
Hov, but I ain’t f–kin’ with that ‘Suit & Tie.’” I’m fairly certain,
at this point, that Kanye did so because he, like an endangered,
foamy-mouthed animal, felt threatened. And rightly so.Despite what you might think, JT, unlike Kanye or Amadeus, isn’t presumptuous. The album comprises tracks averaging six to eight minutes long and expresses diversity within and outside of each song. I am weary of using the word “song” to describe what it is, exactly, Timberlake manufactures with producer Timbaland. Tracks that last so long could be “self-important,” or “high artistry,” but it’s apparent that Timberlake made no such claim. Never overbearing, he always com back to where he is most comfortable and what he does best. This wasn’t some stab at subversion but the natural course of flow that the performer falls into. The art takes its own form as a slow-cooking, unassuming bedroom seduction. As he says so in the
steamy “Spaceship Coupe”: “Everyone’s looking for the flyest thing to
say / but I just wanna fly (fly away with you).” Yes, me, yes, Justin,
fly away with me, take me, please.JT has ever and always been shameless, sensationalist funk. “FutureSex” was, without a doubt, ahead of its time. An album of the same nature nowadays has lost some of its wow-value, but his meticulousness providing the backbone to the “experience” is nothing short of genius in its own category. In its construction, the opening track “Pusher Love Girl” is flawless. And I don’t use that word lightly. A combination of symphonic overture and slow gospel rouses a listener with seductive, spiritual sound. The outro, however, is possibly the best segment in the work with classic JT filler-groove and a muffled, growling synthesis of singing and rapping. He coos, “Uh, my nicotine, my blue dream, my hydroponic candy jelly bean.” I am most assuredly “a, ju-ju-ju-ju-junkie” for whatever else he wants to tease us with.The head single, “Suit & Tie,” was a glance into the classic meat and potatoes of “20/20” — modernity and synths mixed with orchestra. New additions, though, are the brassy renditions of ’70s-style soul brought to you by “JT and the Tennessee Kids.” The vintage feel of “That Girl,” “Pusher Love Girl” and “Suit & Tie” are such sultry stuff that the clothes of every girl (and gay man) in the room are in danger of flying off. It makes complete sense, and somehow, this wholesome throwback seems like exactly what JT was born to do.“20/20” is more raw is with its second single “Mirrors,” finding the emotional side of electronica. With similar tracks, like the memorable “Tunnel Vision” and the arousing “Spaceship Coupe,” the content of “20/20” takes a yearning turn. This side of the experience is heartful and real, not to mention the cold shower of a final track, “Blue Ocean Floor.”And it takes cajones to make a record like this — one that is not radio-friendly — for the much-anticipated virility of Timberlake’s return from hiatus. It takes even more guts to announce the record’s second volume with musicologist ?uestlove dropping in November, for which I am peeing with excitement.Haters can hate, but their chastising is fruitless, as JT is so likable, erotic and delicious that we’ll still sob for another record even if it takes him another seven years.By Francisco Tirado
(03/08/13 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It’s safe to say that comic books have always been ambitious and unflinching in their representation of LGBT characters. I just wish the rest of the world would pick up on the cue. Here’s a recent update on the gay comic book hero front. Hercules and Wolverine share a kiss in an issue of Marvel’s “X-treme X-men.” After vanquishing “the worst monster who ever threatened the dominion of Canada,” they declared love for each other in the heat of an alternate universe.Batwoman finally asked her leading girlfriend Maggie Sawyer to marry her, multiple comic book heroes have been nominated for the 24th annual GLAAD Awards and anti-gay comic book artist Chris Strause has withdrawn from the latest Superman series because the backlash from the outspoken LGBT community was just too fierce to continue.If more than 60 superheroes identify as LGBT in the comic realm, it’s remarkable to me that we can’t find queer heroes in other media. The entertainment industry fails to pick up TV adaptations and movie scripts with the queer hero pitch. This might be due to the risk factor, or possibly because the gay demographic is such a smaller consumer niche. What they’re forgetting is not only is the comic book consumer both in paper and for the big screen fiercely loyal, but America just loves an underdog. The development of the gay superhero market could be incredibly successful, because comic bookies show up to premieres hours early, they see the movie dozens of times and they promote it doubly over in their various blog media and comic conventions across the United States. Even the low-grossing superhero-movies “Green Lantern” and “Hulk” cruise in with a cool $116 million and $132 million, respectively. Why? Because we love heroes, and oftentimes, we need them to believe in ourselves. If we developed a new breed of underdog hero, in the light of a little guy known as Spider-man (among countless other “underdog” alter egos), perhaps the gay community members could believe in themselves a little bit more.This is cowardice on Hollywood’s part. If we have yet to explore this new niche, how can producers know it will be unsuccessful? More importantly, why should it matter? Gay narratives have obviously braved the movie industry and crossed the finish line with flying colors and Academy Awards. By ignoring queer heroes, we’re missing out on something.The queer hero has the opportunity to move beyond the stereotype — the foppish, limp-wristed emasculation — and breach new territory in external, dangerous conflict. A new kind of masculinity can come forth, a “homomasculinity,” if you will. With this homomasculinity, not only could the narrative exist outside hegemonic or homophobic systems that foreclose on the narrative identity of a gay protagonist, but through the context of adventure — of superheroes — gay people could be removed radically from their subordinated stereotype. By fostering this new masculinity, the warrior-type could be reevaluated. No longer does he or she have to solely be the physically fit killing machine, but this superhero could be an amalgamation of masculine physicality and queer bravery — embodying the feminine sensibility that puts us in touch with the acceptance of ourselves and the embrace of our non-majority orientation. I’m writing my thesis on queer heroism in adventure genres, so I could talk about this forever. You should tune in after spring break to hear more about how we can advance to the gay guy wearing the cape and saving planets.— ftirado@indiana.edu
(03/07/13 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Like the Pixar movie? Like pizza? Try this healthy snack on for size. This is a no-knead crust recipe, but feel free to find your own. My recipe is more of a flatbread, but I’d strongly recommend some goat cheese if you want it to be more pizza-like. I made mine into the shape of a heart just cuz.Makes two 15 to 18-inch pizzas.Ingredients:3 1/4 cups flour2 teaspoons sea salt1 packet dry active yeast1 1/2 cups water1 eggplant1 zucchini1 yellow squash1 red pepper1/4 red onion1/2 cups tomato sauce1 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper1/2 teaspoon pepper2-3 tablespoon olive oilAny goat cheese, if you want it.1. Blend flour, salt and yeast together, slowly adding warm water and stirring constantly until a dough is formed.2. Put in a large bowl covered in plastic wrap and let rise in warm room temperature for at least 18 hours. 3. You do not need to knead it. Divide into two or three portions, depending on your preferred size, and roll out onto floured surface. Let it rest for an hour.Preheat oven to 375 degrees.4. Slice all vegetables as thin as you can get them — as thin as a coin. I used a mandolin, but your two good hands could get pretty close.5. Spread tomato sauce onto crust and add cheese if you want to. 6. Layer the vegetables in a pattern that suits you until the whole pizza is covered. I find that the pepper and onion between the squash vegetables is best for flavor.7. Brush olive oil over vegetables. 8. Sprinkle garlic salt and lemon pepper and bake for 45 minutes or until golden and crust is puffy.
(02/28/13 5:00am)
What New York Fashion Week S/S (Spring/Summer) 2013 menswear trends
actually mean to the average IU college student is virtually nothing.
(02/21/13 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The media is taking the wrong approach on this whole “traditional prom” nonsense.Last week, a group of people from a small-town Indiana high school called for a non-school sanctioned “traditional prom” — one that explicitly banned gay students and couples from coming to the event. The efforts of the planning committee were clear.“We want to make the public see that we love the homosexuals, but we don’t think it’s right nor should it be accepted.” And in return, the nation’s media has made its headlines clear: They’re a load of sheltered, hateful, homophobic idiots who should sod off. And I agree. But what’s unfortunately happening is this small school is being used as a cultural whipping boy, striking it for the sake of teaching the rest of the homophobic lot a lesson. That is neither productive, nor a very insightful approach to this particular case.What we fail to recognize is the fact that every prom is a “traditional prom.” Aspects of this kind of homophobia are found in every school — in the very nature of the event. Prom is inherently conservative, heteronormative and isolating toward LGBT couples. Story time: My junior year at prom, there was a lesbian couple in my group. They were close friends of mine, and they looked absolutely beautiful together, not to mention they were possibly the most confident relationship I could think of. When picture time came, they were nowhere to be found. When I asked where they’d gone, my friend said they had gone to their parents’ house to take their own private photos. “A gay couple makes things kind of awkward,” my friend said. He was referring to several more conservative parents in our group who would have felt uncomfortable, including my own parents, who were openly anti-gay at the time.I felt hurt and particularly defensive, because I was gay and feared the opinions of parents on myself had I brought a date. Even parents who were not homophobic were “traditional,” and the notion of a gay couple made them uncomfortable. Furthermore, how had my two lesbian friends felt so shy and insecure that they would subjugate themselves to please this veiled bigotry?So prom not only instigated harmful norms but uprooted prejudices I didn’t even know existed for parents who were not used to seeing what they themselves grew up with. Because of that, the lesbian couple made a case for how gay people tend to hide themselves even more in the hopes of enjoying their own, private prom pictures on which no one will impose. We can sequester ourselves in these instances even if a small Indiana planning committee isn’t there to do it for us.My senior year, I had a boyfriend. Neither of us were out to our parents, so the result was us finding two fake dates/close friends that would be in the same prom group. Looking at these photos now, it’s sad to see how distant we look. The fear put in us by the traditionalism of prom had made us cower, and I had never felt further from him. We would scarcely talk to each other until we got on the bus which strictly forbade same-sex couples to register together as “dates.” When we got to the dance, one photo was taken of the two of us standing in tuxes, which I still later asked to be removed from Facebook for fear that too many people would see it.Prom needs to be rethought. Not just in how, exactly, we could exercise our capabilities in opening up the dance floor for LGBT couples, but in how we ourselves can make greater efforts to be more visible. Until then, the tide of LGBT acceptance for small and large towns alike can never advance.— ftirado@indiana.edu
(02/21/13 3:47am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Academy Award is one of the most prestigious awards any filmmaker can receive. As with any exclusive club, not everyone is invited to join. This year, like every other year, some significant people were left out who should have been included on the list of Oscar nominees.Ben Affleck: Best Director Not only did he do an exceptional job directing the film “Argo,” but he also starred in and produced it. And a film just does not receive seven Oscar nominations without having an amazing director. Kathryn Bigelow: Best DirectorThe Academy needs more lady-director representation, and they know it. Kathryn Bigelow is highly involved in all aspects of her film, and what’s more is that she has been conceptualizing and writing “Zero Dark Thirty” since 2001, rewriting it entirely after the death of Osama Bin Laden.Quentin Tarantino: Best DirectorWith one of the most memorable directing styles known in the movie-watching world, you’d think that his critically-acclaimed “Django” would have won him some recognition.Leonardo DiCaprio: Best Supporting ActorDiCaprio was pushing forward the most explosive moments of the film “Django Unchained,” and he constructs one of the most seductive villains we’ve seen this year. Maybe he suffers from child star syndrome? Maybe he’s just too attractive? No matter what, we love you, Leo.Javier Bardem For Best Supporting ActorSpeaking of seductive villains, Bardem, who has been something of a nominee darling, put forward a killer performance for a film that had otherwise lackluster acting. Keira Knightley For Best Actress“Anna Karenina” was a breath-taking movie, but as far as Joe Wright films go, this was the first I’ve seen Keira Knightley produce a character that was not Keira Knightley.“Anna Karenina”: Best Adapted ScreenplayRenowned playwright Tom Stoppard did a beautiful, subversive and editorial adaptation of a very, very long and boring Russian novel. That takes talent.“Moonrise Kingdom”: Best PictureOkay, we get it. Wes Anderson will probably never get nominated for Best Director because, well, he directs everything the exact same way. But “Moonrise Kingdom” is without a doubt the best of the best in terms of his aesthetic.Tom Hooper: Best DirectorHe was a driving force behind the success of “Les Misérables” and set the film apart from other film musicals by deciding to have the whole cast sing live on set. This was a surprising decision, but singing live allowed the actors more emotional and artistic freedom than prerecording would have. Some people claim that Hooper was passed over this year at the Oscars because of his win in 2010 for “The King’s Speech.” This year, the Academy should have been considering Hooper’s role in “Les Misérables,” not “The King’s Speech.”
(02/14/13 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The gay dating front is weird, and I am so, so single.I cannot fairly speak for every LGBTQ dating experiences, nor do I consider myself an authority in the matter, but there are some patterns and protocols that permeate gay male etiquette that need acknowledgment and should be called into question. In the light of Valentine’s Day, I want to shed light on some of these anomalies in hopes of improving them.First up: Grindr. If you don’t know, Grindr is a smartphone app that facilitates semi-anonymous hook-ups for available men who have sex with men (MSM). As far as stigmas go, Grindr does a whole lot to enforce stereotypes about MSM and our reliance on hook-up culture. These stereotypes are true. But they should not be written off or considered tasteless.Finding love, if just for the night, can be a positive reinforcement of anyone’s confidence level. It rounds out the advance of your sexual experience and exposure, your dos and your don’ts and, in retrospect, is just good practice. It will, though, keep you single. Whether you’re on the app to date or just for sex, the impermanency is undeniable. Studies show that intercourse early on in the relationship shortens the length of the commitment. I’m not one for abstinence, but postponing sex one or two months increases future stability by 22 percent. If you’re meeting up with someone primarily in the interest of sex, you are statistically inclined to not see that person as a part of your romantic future.What’s truly problematic, though, is that 46.4 percent of MSM using hookup apps like Grindr, such as Growlr, Manhunt, Scruff, are having regular, unprotected sex. I shouldn’t even have to say that MSM have responsibilities and biological risk to own up to. Since we did not experience adulthood during the ’90s, the liberation of our generation has made us ignorant.The Internet has weakened our capability to come to terms with reality and with the real consequences of human relationships. Ask any gay man, and chances are likely they’ve probably had a sexual or romantic encounter with a man that was initiated or developed on the Internet.Our reliance on Facebook flirting can be cowardly and desperate. If you don’t know, gay men frequently friend other gay men in their area or mutual friend groups on Facebook for that reason and possibly the chance of hooking up. I never accept that request, sorry. This kind of social networking softens our standards for advances and romantic gestures. It makes vague our ability to accurately assess a personality behind a profile. And it’s weird. Just talk to him.We are, in our nature, inherently shy towards one another. But if you are a gay man, you will not walk up to another gay man on the street and ask to be their friend. You can, at the very least, develop a pick-up line. Toughen up, flirt and ask for their number, or even just smile — what a ludicrous notion. We should subscribe to the same courtesy and humanity we’d want toward ourselves.So, no, liking someone’s profile picture at 3 a.m. does not constitute “flirting.”Not only are we shy, but we are territorial. At this age, we are always acutely aware of other gay men within a visible radius. This is not an exaggeration. Not only do we tend to feel threatened and compete with each other, but our acknowledgement of each other’s sexualities is often tip-toed around, tense and explosive. We are self-destructive repositories of sexual aggression.I can illustrate this final point with something called “the gay eye.” This phenomenon is most often found in classrooms or professional work settings. When a gay man is introduced to someone, or in passing, recognizes a man known or believed to be gay, overt eye-contact is made. In a moment that locks two gay men for barely a second, we communicate to each other through an instantaneous cognitive understanding. We communicate, “I am gay, and I know that you are gay, too.” It is eerie and inexplicable. It is neither overtly sexual, nor passive. But our heightened awareness and connection with each other, yet failure to verbally or physically acknowledge that connection, is what puts us in this passionless rut in the first place.You must understand, our seeming desperation is not unwarranted. Our chances are significantly lessened, as we only comprise about 3.8 percent of the U.S. population — slim pickings. But with confidence and only that this Valentine’s Day, I have hope for the love lives of gay men everywhere to improve. — ftirado@indiana.edu
(02/14/13 3:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Back Door is a new gay bar in Bloomington, the name evoking both a coy double entendre and, quite literally, a back door. Behind Atlas Bar, you can peer in before opening hours and see dormant zebra print walls, a vintage chandelier hanging next to a disco ball and two purple zoot suits sitting on a coat rack by a large bear costume, waiting until they are needed.Today is their grand opening, and the moment all of these things will fall into their places.This fresh establishment is an answer to a plea made by enthusiasts for downtown Bloomington nightlife who aren’t finding quite what they’re looking for — the ones scrounging for a place to dance but is also not someone's shady house party. Though it is a venue sprung forth by and for the LGBT community, few bars could be more inclusive.On The Back Door’s pre-opening previews on past Saturday nights, men, women and non-identifiers came from all ages and backgrounds, social groups weaving in and out of one another. From straight couples to drag queens, middle-aged folks to budding burlesque performers, the synergy of the atmosphere is unified in one valiant place: the dance floor. The bar becomes a cultural petri dish on its sweaty, glamorous nights.During the course of the bar’s development, the project has become a community space more than anything, helping open doors for small-town queers to find love and companionship, as well as provide fun space for open-minded people to grab a drink.“It gets very sexy in here,” co-owner and proprietor Olive Lykins said.Their motive, Lykins said, is to rekindle the legacy of the former Bloomington icon, Bullwinkle’s, a gay bar located downtown in the late 1970s that has since closed. The new Back Door dance venue inherited Bullwinkle’s artifacts, such as event posters donated from the Kinsey Institute and a fully salvaged cinder block wall with the Bullwinkle’s logo. The Back Door not only nods to the story of Bloomington’s LGBT past, but embraces every demographic across the board.As Bloomington has opened up opportunities for the new dance bar and the brains behind it, The Back Door finds dance the main attraction for as many demographics as possible. Catering equally to the LGBT community, the straight community and the sober community, as well as bringing bands and local talent, The Back Door is malleable, a room of requirement ready to take the shape of whatever you need that evening.As the grand opening falls on Valentine’s Day, there is no doubt that the main mission for the team behind the bar is love for all. The Back Door has provided a need for dancing fiends, whether gay or straight, and it is thrilling that it opens during a “holiday” that makes so many feel isolated.Not only does the bar do a remarkable job catering to a vast swath of people, but the prices are cheap, and sometimes you get free drink coupons for Atlas as well. Stop by the bar this weekend, and let’s dance at Bloomington’s soon-to-be darling.THE BRAINS BEHIND THE BARThe Back Door and all of its glamour is the product of a small group of tenacious, socially conscious entrepreneurs. The newly established dance venue has become a community project during the past few months.“It’s about making a cultural destination,” Lykins said. “We want to create a safe place where it’s OK to express your identity and sexuality.”About six months ago, Lykins was presented with the opportunity to open up the LGBT-friendly space and fostered the project with business partners Calvin Rose and Sara Gardner. Lykins came to the idea wanting to provide a safe place downtown after being verbally harassed at a Bloomington bar last summer. The team dreamed of a dance bar where nightlife prejudice wouldn’t be an issue. “It’s hard, being a teenager in a small town,” he said. Growing up in Bloomington, Lykins left high school early to do production for MTV in New York and has been in the entertainment business ever since. He has worked on events spanning from White House parties to shindigs at the Playboy Mansion. He never saw himself coming back to Bloomington, he said.Gardner, also an IU alumnus, said she agrees having this space is essential to Bloomington’s cultural identity. “We need a gay dance bar,” Gardner said. Gardner said she was glad to have Bullwinkle’s when she was coming out, and she wants a newer generation to have a similar resource. The venue’s anticipated grand opening will take place today, Valentine’s Day. The Back Door is located at 207 S. College Ave. behind Atlas Bar. Doors will open at 8 p.m. and cover is $5.
(02/07/13 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When Beyoncé performed during Halftime XLVII, I was actually shocked to hear from those who were sourly underwhelmed with her performance. I’ll get the sentimentality over with. Beyoncé was one of the key factors to my coming to terms with my homosexuality.“Alright, Fran, that’s a stretch,” you say, but I kid you not. The 12-year-old me who checked out Destiny’s Child’s “Survivor” album from the library did a whole lot of over-enthused dancing and lip-syncing alone in his room until he finally admitted to himself he might be a little different from other boys.Not only was Destiny’s Child my breach into the world of female R&B, but my breach into the world of secular music, in tandem with Gwen Stefani’s “Love. Angel. Music. Baby.” Before then, I had a devout ear for Christian rock that would only have deterred me from what I loved in pop music. I am glad that I saw the truer light, and since then, Beyoncé has been my all-time favorite music artist/human being. She has taught me to love myself.I don’t know why I found it so bizarre that Queen B does not resonate in the same way for everyone as she does for me. I have quite a bias.So here’s my beef with the nonBey-lievers. As seriously and objectively as possible, here’s why Beyoncé is a living legend and the icon for my generation (pre-Gaga, post-Madonna). Here’s what Beyoncé means to me and can to you.Beyoncé is a good human. Last year, she was not only the spearhead for World Humanitarian Day in an effort to engage her audiences with philanthropy in all its forms, but she voiced support for recently out artist Frank Ocean. She wrote not only to him, but to the whole he might embody: “Be Fearless, Be Honest, Be Generous, Be Brave.” She called Ocean an inspiration for those who have not yet come forward. Beyoncé, to me, is a greater symbol of equal human rights than any other activist celebrities because she does with grace, without over-politicizing and without the vanity it comes with.The early 90s generation, which I think largely misses out on the loud, yet garish LGBT movement spawned from Lady Gaga, has much to gain from the sophistication of Ms. Knowles. Beyoncé is real and accessible. Her talent and experiences are vested deep in struggle, bouts of postpartum depression, self-doubt and existentialism. Sure, these things lose their credibility when you make $40 million in a year, but her nerves make her accessible and humble, singing about psychological warfare when she isn’t singing from a diva’s perspective.Bey fosters the diva in all of us — bear with me — in that success, independence and confidence grows from the hardship of your former failure. She attests that we can reappropriate the negativity in our lives in generating a better version of ourselves. — ftirado@indiana.edu
(01/31/13 7:33am)
The PRIDE film festival was just an idea 10 years ago, brewing between two graduate students.
(01/31/13 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>I was semi-relieved to hear that the Boy Scout’s ever-fought anti-gay policy may indeed be lifted sometime soon.Funny story: I met my first boyfriend through the Boy Scouts of America.In the under utilized auditorium of a church buried in my relatively conservative Chicago suburb, Troop 12 introduced me to a guy who later became my longest-standing relationship, but that wasn’t until years after I had quit the program.Looking back, it’s funny to think whatever latent attraction I had to him, or had possibly exhibited at our Monday night meetings, would have alerted my scoutmasters and could have caused a regionwide, if not nationwide controversy, and I had barely hit puberty.My failure to grasp or understand the political weight of my preadolescent impulses directly corresponds to the BSA’s mistake when reaffirming its policy to overtly exclude gay scouts and scout leaders. The BSA places a blanket ban on a livelihood that might have barely yet surfaced.Though I did not come to terms with my sexuality until my senior year of high school, I can’t imagine the implanted trauma I could have experienced getting kicked out of a recreational organization before I could even finish middle school. Boy Scouts could have taught me at a very young age that only some people are valued, and I was not one of them — that intolerance and segregation are integral parts of any structured society.If the Boy Scouts repeals its discriminatory regulations, there are several positive outcomes, in addition to one likely drawback.Foremost, if the BSA lifts its ban, a young gay scout like me can enjoy male companionship and the outdoors without worrying about whether he will be suspended from his extracurricular activity.Second, the BSA will have finally joined the shifting tide of human civil rights supported by largely public organizations and groups. If only we could get Chick-fil-A on that list.Third, an assertion for gay civil rights at such a young age would then expose other scouts to belief systems and dynamic opinions that would round out an experience from all backgrounds. Scouting has been a melting pot and a safe haven for those who frequently feel left out of their school environments.But such is not always the case. The reason I eventually quit the BSA was straightforward and is still ingrained in my memory. I didn’t fit in.Though this might surprise you, I have always been a defender of stereotypical, American machismo. Constructing masculinity and learned robustness — what it means to “be a man” — is constantly redefined in our age, but either which way, it builds our character. The sad fact is I rarely met those standards, and I’m not the only one.I was picked on, singled out, monkeyed-in-the-middle, isolated, pranked and called “pussy,” “girly,” “fruit” and “faggot.” It was no different than at school, and the scoutmasters made few reprimands.The BSA offers merit badges on entrepreneurship, law and environmental sciences, but it seems that boys are not yet mature enough to address issues of sexual orientation. I am doubtful that values of equality, tolerance and gender diversity can be addressed consistently via the privately-owned organization, as many core principles of Boy Scouts only reinforce male stereotypes and masculine hegemony that downplays the legitimacy of the homosexual. If only there were an LGBT ally badge.This week, 15-year-old Jadin Bell was taken off of life support after trying to hang himself in the school’s playground. Jadin was a victim of gay bullying. The world needs more safe places for teens like Jadin, and perhaps the BSA could have been that for him, but they need to rise to the occasion and work to change more than just its policies.Until then, I look forward to its next big step.— ftirado@indiana.edu
(01/25/13 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>I don’t want to be haughty, but I should start out by saying that I feel like I’ve worked pretty hard over the past three years in helping develop a positive gay voice for the IDS. It is my livelihood. I mean, if you Google my name and the word “gay,” you’ll find that most of my internet contributions revolve around our civil rights.So you can imagine that I was disheartened to see one of our pro-LGBT columnists write that bisexuals just don’t exist. Comparing bisexuality to Bigfoot, he uses celebrities to make an argument, which is a problem in itself. I am as star-struck as the next person, but when it comes down to it, a celebrity is not a real person. Everything they do goes through a publicist first, and they are conscious of all the buzz it can create, positive or negative. Megan Fox is incomparable to the 16-year-old who is too scared to tell her conservative parents that perhaps she likes both genders. Not to mention that the columnist claims there are too few male bisexuals in the mainstream media for it to be legitimate, which just isn’t true. Just to name a few: Ezra Miller, Cary Grant, Billy Joe Armstrong, Alan Cumming, James Dean, Michael Chabon, Cole Porter, Malcolm X and of course, David Bowie.I understand the core concept that perhaps bisexuals are underrepresented, which is why there is such a stigma against them. But what troubles me is that this disjointed, mysogynistic, lazy claim only reinforces the stigma. Bisexuals are not mythological beings that dodge legitimacy. The column is a classic example of LGBT allies ganging up against their own team. It is blasphemy. It is transphobic, queerphobic and arrogantly obstinate. LGBT would be nothing without the “B” and “T.”Working with the Human Rights Campaign this summer, I met people from all backgrounds, sexual orientations and “alternative” genders. There were identities I didn’t even know existed, but just because I’ve never heard of a “demisexual” or a “polysexual” does not mean that fluid sexuality is completely out of the question. Limiting ourselves to “gay” and “straight” is not only close-minded, it is self-limiting. It shames the notion that young people should be exploring sexuality and gender. Coming from a university that was host to the legendary Alfred Kinsey, I am shocked that we can’t think outside our neat little categories. According to Kinsey, human sexuality exists on a sliding scale. Our orientation is varied and complex, vacillating between same-sex attraction and heterosexual attraction. There is no “normal.” Everyone is a little bit queer.To stick to binaries is counter-productive. For gay men to say they don’t believe in bisexuality is to not believe in themselves, for it is that very heteronormative, cisgendered, patriarchial defamation that dug us into the rut LGBT rights are trapped in. If everyone was labeled like the columnist suggests, then there would be no diversity for the gay demographic. Open up.— ftirado@indiana.edu
(01/24/13 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>From withholding the Westboro Baptist Church, to nominating seven openly gay candidates for federal bench, to “don’t ask, don’t tell,” to the first presidential endorsement of same-sex marriage, President Obama has done a whole lot of LGBT “firsts.” I’m not sure why it came as a surprise to me when Obama gave a shoutout to the LGBT community in his 2013 inaugural speech. Perhaps picking the first gay, Latino inaugural poet seemed enough — a title that should have been mine, but whatever. Obama said, “our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law,” and that the love we hold ourselves accountable to “must be equal.” Most notable, though, was his mention of the Stonewall riots alongside Seneca Falls and Selma. Here’s why Obama’s speech did more than just accomplish another ‘first.’The Stonewall riots, though monumental and progressive in their own right, are not considered “positive history” in most respects. What I mean is that Seneca Falls and the marches from Selma to Montgomery have always found their place in history books as points of groundbreaking movement. These were for liberation and, subjectively, good against evil. The Stonewall riots were not a march, nor was it a convention. They were lashing out against police forces, they were unplanned and they involved lots of alcohol and angry drag queens. Comparing civil rights movements often leaves gay rights the losers of the noble contest, even if like Seneca Falls and Selma, Stonewall was the singular catalyst in the movement of a civil right — the last straw. Long did we have to fight so that Stonewall deserved its place in textbooks.So when Obama name-dropped this near-controversial event in history, he legitimized its history. He was doing just what our gay brothers in 1969 were doing: defying.In standing up for the LGBT community and prioritizing gay social issues, he stood up against the forces that exist — the Supreme Court, the nation’s Republican leaders, his conservative supporters and America’s religious infrastructure. He showed that he was willing to step forward in protest, comparing us to the forebears of black and women’s rights.Coming from the first black President of the United States, I’d say that’s a little more than just a “first.” He had the audacity to say that discrimination in any form, in any movement, against any group of people, is wrong.It was not just a first. It was a promise. I can only be grateful for Obama’s evolution since 2008 and look forward to what will be accomplished by 2016.— ftirado@indiana.edu
(01/17/13 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Golden Globe Awards on Sunday made way for another coming out, and — to my dismay — it ended up being one of the evening’s bigger events. While accepting her Cecille B. Demille award, actress Jodie Foster stepped out of her glass closet and thanked her long-time ex-partner, talking about coming out “a thousand years ago” to those who knew her personally — an approach similarly used by journalist Anderson Cooper in his coming out this summer.This approach was not so much a coming out as it was “coming forward,” as gay civil rights during the course of the past decade are more important now than ever.At the pivotal moment of her speech, she said, “If you had to fight for a life that felt real and honest and normal against all odds, then maybe you, too, would value privacy above all else.”Privacy was the ringing virtue, and in that aspect of it, she wagged her finger and gave a subtle “how dare you” before she gracefully left the stage.In her defensiveness, a surge of media responses screamed “how dare you” right back at her, claiming that her statement was euphemistic, evasive and too little, too late.In parsing one of the most notable facets of Foster’s speech, she never said the big ol’ L word. But I’d like to see you say something a fraction as elegant as she did with about 20 million people watching. Though her coming out was not so matter-of-fact, the fact of the matter is that this long-time private lesbian just didn’t come out the dramatic, over-politicized way you wanted her to.To hold a celebrity accountable to a perfectly orchestrating, highly confessional disclosure about someone’s private life is as silly as expecting that of anyone else. She came out in her own way, at her own pace, and what’s more is that these criticisms geared at her were often coming from her own team. I do believe, in the words of Anderson Cooper, that “the tide of history only advances when people make themselves fully visible,” but in instances like this, where a celebrity comes out as LGBTQ, turning on each other in the heat of what truly is a political battle is purely negative. And what’s more is that to create so much negative buzz around a natural stepping stone in one’s life only further stigmatizes an identity we’re trying to make natural. Don’t take this opportunity to criticize someone who did something most cannot do. Instead, see it as one more example that could allow the next celebrity, public figure, human being, etc., to work up the courage.And those of you who have already come out know that Jodie did it the most intuitive way: casually mentioning that you’re in love.— ftirado@indiana.edu
(01/17/13 4:45am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>1. Share Buttons: Most blog servers these days (WordPress, Blogspot and select themes on Tumblr) offer your readers the ability to share your blog with just the click of a button. At the bottom of everything you post, small icons for Facebook, Twitter, email, etc. allow your readers to share your thoughts on their own social forums, thereby publicizing your blog by recommendation. To increase the likelihood your blog will travel the Internet, hunt down the share settings for the server you’re using and enable “sharing buttons” or some variation.2. Social Media: Every time you post, repost the link to all your social media. It doesn’t matter if you’re a frequent or infrequent contributor. Share it with all your friends via Facebook, Twitter, Google+ — anything to create buzz. The more your post is clicked, the more hits your blog receives, and comments or retweets will round out your mission from different perspectives.3. Pictures: If you don’t have images in every post (every post!), you are doing something wrong. These days, all people want to do is flip the channel as soon as something loses their attention, and a wall of text will most assuredly deter them. Only your close friends will read text-only posts, but, if you take the extra step to find photos, link a video or share a GIF, your aesthetic will be dynamic and raring to go.4. Make it sharp: Don’t bother with patterned themes or bright colors. These can repel specific tastes and express a personality for your blog that you might not have intended. Find something clean, white or off-white with standard font and size. Find one small focal point of visible space for your blog and restrict your wacky design idea to it. Professionalism is the most accessible aesthetic, no matter what you’re blogging about.5. Regularity: Commit to posting at least once a week, but not too regularly. Consistency is face time on your social media and on your server, so it’s important that your readers don’t forget you’re there. Unless you’re on Tumblr, it’s important not to bombard them with images and ideas several times a day, or they will become annoyed and unsubscribe to your blog. Be reliable to your readers, and they’ll rely on you.6. Converse: Enable commentary on your blog, whether you like it or not. It’s important to build buzz, whether it’s positive or negative feedback. Likewise, comment on other people’s blogs and media so they know your avatar, otherwise they’ll be less inclined to form an opinion on your own posts. Send individual messages to bloggers you truly admire. Chances are they’re just as responsive to fans as you’d be.7. Follow back: There are a hundred million blogs out there. Spend a few hours searching out other bloggers on your server and introduce yourself. Internet relationships should not be shied away from in the effort to get people to know who you are, so be courteous and show the same interest in other Internet presences as you’d give your own.
(01/17/13 4:43am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Your weekend editors have scoured the Internet for the best blogs and Tumblrs run by or relating to IU students or alumni. If you’ve got the urge to procrastinate, take a few minutes to look at some of the sites below. THE HEARTY HERBIVOREtheheartyherbivore.com “I’ve been eating food for 21 years now,” said Bloomington local vegetarian blogger in describing her foodie expertise. Jamie writes restaurant reviews, publishes recipes, takes beautiful photos of her food and does giveaways. Whether you’re a vegetarian or not, tune into her culinary endeavors.THE SARTORIALISTthesartorialist.comMost people don’t know that this world-renowned male fashion blogger is an IU alumnus. Scott Schuman tells stories with on-the-street photos, capturing a style moment like no one else can. Appearing in GQ, Vogue and Burberry advertising, his photos are what many aspire to be.ALLISON MAKE SWORDSallisonmakeswords.tumblr.comA semi-anonymous thought cataloguer, this female blogger writes in small, digestible chunks. Offering cautionary tales, true conversations, personal anecdotes and advice, her Tumblr is darkly honest, acutely self-aware and has a hilarious bite. Vacillating between laugh-out-loud and some of the most real and relatable stories about her college experience, there are fewer things more frank than her post entitled “overexposed.”FUTURE FLAVORfutureflavor.fmIU senior Tyler Goulet runs this
cutting-edge music blog with his older brother, Alex Goulet, a recent
IU graduate. The blog talks about the best new hip-hop, R&B and
electronic music that’s off the beaten path. If you’re tired of top-40,
watered-down music, peruse Future Flavor to listen to songs that
literally sound like nothing you’ve ever heard before. Let them help you
stay ahead of the curve.IU ON STRIKEiuonstrike.tumblr.comThe
group advocating for IU students and employees to strike on April 11,
2013 uses its Tumblr as a tool for communicating with the public. IU On
Strike chronicles the details of the proposed strike and the group’s
reasoning behind it. It’s interesting and definitely worth a read
whether you oppose or support it, especially as the date approaches. HOOSIER LOVE THIS hoosierslovethis.tumblr.comThis
deliciously snarky Tumblr, seemingly run by IU students who are hiding
their identities, is modeled after the famous “Whatshouldwecallme,” the
originator of GIF reactions. Hoosiers Love This pairs GIFs — for you
old people, super short, silent, captioned video clips — with
descriptions of annoying IU experiences, often lampooning high-profile
groups and dropping names. It’s a guilty pleasure. WEEKENDidsweekend.tumblr.comThis is our Tumblr — if you haven’t heard — and we’re very, very proud of it. We post entertainment news, viral videos, recipes, self-made GIFs — the whole shebang. Take a look if you haven’t already.FOLLOW THE EDITORSKelly:kellyonthefritz.tumblr.comfashiononthefritz.tumblr.comKelly On The Fritz is Kelly’s main blog/confessional. It’s where everything that can’t run in the paper goes, and it includes semi-funny, inappropriate and often profane stories about Kelly’s life, pop culture musings and lots of animals. Fashion on the Fritz is its fashion-obsessed little sister, started recently as a place for Kelly’s outfit posts and Francisco:holdfastholdfast.wordpress.comwhenthemorningcomes.tumblr.comWriting about LGBT cultural events, making in-house poetry and dappling in watercolors, these smorgasbord blogs are sassy with a nautical twist. The Wordpress is “professional,” the Tumblr “inspirational,” but both are all in good fun.
(01/10/13 6:19pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Here’s an easy formula to make a soup personalized for your tastes and guaranteed to sooth an aching throat. If you’re missing ingredients, don’t sweat it. Anything in broth is good for the recovering soul. When you’re picking the bean, think garbanzo, canellini or kidney. For greens, try spinach, kale or mustard greens. Vegetables can range from types of potatoes or squashes to celery or carrots!Kitchen Sink MinestroneStart to finish: 35 minutesServings: 81 tablespoon olive oil1 clove garlic, peeled and minced1 red onion, peeled and mincedone 16-ounce can of tomato paste4 cups vegetable or chicken broth1/2 teaspoon basil1/2 teaspoon oregano1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper1 bay leaf (optional)a pinch of salt a bigger pinch of freshly ground black pepper 3 to 4 of your favorite vegetables, peeled and choppedone 16-ounce can of your favorite beana handful of your favorite green1/2 cup of your favorite pasta shape1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, sauté garlic in the olive oil until browned. Add the onions, and brown them as well. When your house fills with soothing onion-garlic smell, add as many of your vegetables as can fit on the pan’s surface. Toss periodically until evenly browned or slightly burnt.2. In a large stock pot, bring tomato paste and broth to a boil. Add vegetables, beans and remaining spices, and simmer for 15 minutes. 3. Add your favorite pasta and greens and continue at a boil again for 8-12 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked.Serve in bowls with parmesan cheese, and curl up in a blanket.
(01/10/13 5:00am)
The nothingness that gets you through January and February comes from a
pit — as in a peach — that responds with sad emotions because it seeks
to get better. To be depressed is to work against something, and in
each specific case, one must prod to find out what it’s working against
and run to strengthen the opposition.