Nice To See StevieB: Deadlines In A Leather Bar

By StevieB

I'm not quite sure how I missed it. It was on the syllabus since day one, along with all the other assignment due dates. "Saturday, September 6th. Outline for the big research project." Due at midnight, Saturday night. As this is for my online history class, I had logged in several times over the last couple of days to complete other assignments, yet somehow missed this deadline. Until noon Saturday, right as I left for work. In a panic I emailed the professor to tell him that I would miss the deadline. That, however didn't sit well with me. I grabbed my computer bag and headed into the office, knowing that I wouldn't be done until ten that night.

If all went well, I would be able to kick the kids out of work at ten. Knowing that all coffee houses within the tri-county area close way before ten on a Saturday I would show up at Jim's bar and use his office for a study hall. This was for his wifi and his comfy recliner. I chose this because I knew that if went home to write an entire paper in two hours it would never work, dogs to be walked, doughnuts to eat. If I were to pull off his major cue of ignoring a paper, then cramming it into the very last second, I'd need seclusion.

At ten the plan started to move. I hopped into the Jeep and headed to Denver's finest leather bar. At 10:20pm I walked through a field of leathermen in a Polo shirt ( I blended perfectly with my school bag and khakis) to make my way to the office. Right at 10:30pm, behind schedule, I cracked open the MacBook. A proposal for my history research project fell onto the computer screen. The topic will be how Catholic monks saved classic Greek philosopher's works be transcribing them and saving them from obscurity.

As the security cameras displayed the Saturday night craziness of a leather bar ramping up to full swing, I clicked away. Attempting to ignore the party going on right out side the office door. Until 11:55pm when I clicked SUBMIT on my paper outline. I was in the Professor's dropbox before the deadline.

This post originally appeared on Steven Bennet's website Nice to See StevieB. Republished with permission.

Google, YouTube receive inaugural Ric Weiland Award at GLAAD Gala San Francisco: Game Changers

GLAAD  honored technology leader Google and video-sharing innovator YouTube with the inaugural Ric Weiland Award Saturday night at the GLAAD Gala San Francisco: Game Changers at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square. The Ric Weiland Award honors innovators who advance LGBT equality through tech and new media. YouTube stars Tyler Oakley and Hannah Hart presented the award to Arjan Dijk, Vice President Marketing at Google, who accepted the award on behalf of Google and YouTube.

"Google is proud to be considered a Game Changer, especially in the memory of Ric Weiland and what his work represents," said Dijk in his prepared remarks. "Google has a longstanding history of standing up for the LGBT community and we work hard to make sure that Google and YouTube are platforms that make information accessible to everyone. I am so proud and happy that YouTube and Google are global platforms that can help people find their way in life."

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Matthew Shepard Meets Coyote to play at San Francisco Fringe Festival

Blending Christianity, Native American folklore, and modern spirituality, playwright and GTU professor Harry C. Cronin interprets the final moments of Matthew Shepard’s life as manipulated by the trickster god of the American West as performed in a witty and poignant solo performance by Christopher P. Kelly of Matthew Shepard Meets Coyote at the San Francisco Fringe Festival. 

Las Vegas' Liason Nightclub Grand Opening This Month

Who's up for a weekend in Vegas? Liason nightclub will have their grand opening celebration September 20 hosted by the divine Laverne Cox.

The Arvada Center announces auditions for the play "Harvey"

The Arvada Center will hold auditions for the play Harvey on October 27 and 28. Callbacks are scheduled for October 30.

Auditions are on October 27 and 28, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., by appointment only. Call the Arvada Center Box Office at 720-898-7200 to schedule an appointment time. Actors must be 18+ to audition.

Experienced actors with strong acting abilities are needed. See the character breakdown (after the cut) for specifics on available roles. Actors should prepare one minute dramatic monologue of the style and period of the piece. A current headshot and résumé are required. Audio and video submissions will not be considered. Equity members must have a current equity ID card. This is an Equity LORT D production, non-equity actors will be considered. Individuals of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds are needed and encouraged to audition for all roles. 

Republicans Vote Against Benefits for Active Duty Service Members and Veterans

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest advocacy group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights, strongly condemned yesterday’s vote by the Republican majority on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs defeating an amendment that would have extended equal benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs to active duty service members and veterans legally married to someone of the same sex. The amendment, introduced by Representative Dina Titus (D-NV), would have corrected discriminatory language in federal law that prevents service members and veterans legally married to someone of the same-sex from accessing vital spousal benefits provided through the Department of Veterans Affairs if they live in a non-marriage equality state. The measure was defeated by Republican members of the committee with a 12-13 vote falling along party lines. The exception was Representative Jon Runyan (R-NJ) who put partisan politics aside to stand up for all service members and their families.

“It’s a shame that Republican members of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee chose to disrespect our LGBT service members, veterans, and their families with this vote by denying them access to the benefits they’ve earned,” said David Stacy, HRC Director of Government Affairs. “Every service member sacrifices for our nation, and often must put their life on the line to defend our freedoms. It is unconscionable that full access to earned veterans’ benefits is determined by the zip code of where a service member or veteran happens to live.”

Transience - Endless Change

Based in Melbourne, 6-piece Transience's first single, "Endless Change", hailsfrom their debut album Temple. Showcasing the soaring melodies, crushing grooves and multi-layered instrumentation that Transience has become known for, "Endless Change" is sure to please both musicians and casual listeners alike. Interchanging between bitter and sweet, the band keeps it catchy, while still adding a healthy dose of progressive chaos.

Fire up a cigarette and fire a gay person?

We need to tell Rep. Pittenger that no one should have the "freedom" to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Add your name to HRC's petition now.

"It’s like smoking bans," Pittenger said at a recent town hall in Charlotte, North Carolina. "Do you ban smoking or do people have the right to private property? I think people have the right to private property...we don’t want to micromanage people’s lives and businesses."

Jake Cruise Tweets Response to Bareback Filming Fine

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OUT on DVD: Southern Baptist Sissies

Breaking Glass Pictures will be bringing Del Shores' award-winning play Southern Baptist Sissies to DVD on November 4, 2014. The GLAAD award-winning play is the story of four gay boys growing up in the Southern Baptist church and how they deal with the conflict between religion and sexuality. Southern Baptist Sissies stars Emerson Collins ("Sordid Lives: The Series"), Leslie Jordan ("Will and Grade," The Help), Matthew Scott Montgomery ("So Random"), Bobbie Eakes ("The Bold and the Beautiful"), and Willam Belli ("Nip/Tuck," American Wedding).

Is Being Gay Good for Business?

“Good for business” has become a rallying cry for LGBT activists, and multinational corporations interested in the bottom line are taking heed. Will money be the vehicle that drives LGBT equality around the globe? For its October/November 2014 cover story, The Advocate contributor Jeremy Lybarger examines why allying with LGBT consumers is no longer enough to foster unconditional goodwill to a brand, and why companies now need strategies that are more sustainable, more systematic, and–not least of all–more far-reaching.

Several organizations have sprouted up to help advise corporations on how to achieve these strategies, include the Global Equality Fund, launched by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2011; Out Leadership, which connects senior executives from law, insurance, and finance in order to leverage the collective reach of those industries; and Out and Equal Workplace Advocates.

For his story, Lybarger talked to representatives from these organizations. Scott Busby, deputy assistant secretary of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, under the State Department, noted that they Department is advocating for LGBT issues aboard, but it’s a careful dance. “It’s very situation specific,” he tells The Advocate. “Sometimes we speak out and we want companies to speak out. In a lot of circumstances, though, it involves quiet diplomacy. Quiet conversations between us and the host government, between companies and the host government.” He later continues, “A lot of people out there in the world care about whether or not companies are living by and respecting human rights in the work that they do.”

For Todd Sears, found of Out Leadership, consensus around human rights is secondary. “I primarily focus on the business sustainability and the business bottom line impact,” he says. “I call it ‘return on equality.’” Sears believes business is a business-first conversation is more effective than one about human rights or culture or religion. “It’s a universal driver. Lots of things don’t translate. Cultures are different. Pop stars may be popular one place but not others. Movies can be popular one place but not others. But business is something that everybody understands, and commerce is something the every country needs.”

Now that President Obama has signed an executive order protecting LGBT contracted government workers, it may be a lucrative opportunity for organizations to help rehabilitate corporate offenders. And as companies look to standardize equality laws, it will be critical for companies that expand overseas. But there’s a danger in think these potential American can be exported abroad. “It’s very easy from the outside to say ‘make a policy,’ but you may be risking people’s lives,” says Thom Lynch, chief development officer at Out and Equal Workplace Advocates. “The last thing we want is to be an American organization that goes into a foreign country and tells them what to do.”

Out Leadership’s Sears believes global standards of equality are a matter of making LGBT acceptance a nonnegotiable part of foreign government’s infrastructure. “It’s good for safety to have OSHA regulations, right? If a company is going to build a new headquarters in India, they want to make sure the government actually has regulations on the building because businesses care about the safety of their employees and the longevity of their business. It’s no different – just as you had to have building codes up to speed, you have to have LGBT inclusion up to speed.” This also implies that American corporations must be prepared to invest heavily in communities abroad. And because the tide of history is inexorable and uprooting, these companies must also be prepared to weather some storms.

HRC Celebrates Victory Fund President & CEO Chuck Wolfe After a Decade of LGBT Leadership

Yesterday Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Institute, announced he would be leaving the organization after nearly 12 years as head of the organization. In response, Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Chad Griffin issued the following statement:

“Thanks to Chuck Wolfe’s tireless leadership and advocacy during his years at the Victory Fund, LGBT people are far better represented in elected office across America – more so than many in this community ever thought possible. During Chuck's tenure, Victory has helped to more than triple the number of openly LGBT Americans serving in elected and appointed office, and the number of out members serving in Congress has gone from just two to 8. Throughout history, government has virtually never been a leader on issues of equality. But Chuck Wolfe and the Victory Fund have helped to change that, ensuring that LGBT people are represented in the institutions with the power to address the vital needs of our community.

“We are sad to see Chuck leave. But at this pivotal moment in our nation’s history, the Victory Fund is in a powerful position to make great progress for the LGBT community throughout the nation. We look forward to a continued partnership with the organization and whoever is fortunate enough to take its helm. The entire HRC family wishes Chuck the very best, and the entire LGBT community owes him our deepest gratitude.”

BeTested.co: Changing the Future of HIV/AIDS in Denver

We will change the future of HIV/AIDS in Denver and throughout Colorado. It's no longer a dream. We will change the future of HIV/AIDS. There is not a cure or vaccine yet, but remarkable advances have transformed HIV from being a deadly infection to a manageable, chronic disease. The future of HIV/AIDS is in our hands.

What you can do - Test, Talk, PrEP, PEP, Treatment, End Stigma.

Deals and Discounts on Andrew Christian With MileHighGayGuy!

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